What A Secret Looks Like | ✓

06: grayson

"What about her?" Will asks, pointing to the blonde at the end of the bar, downing a shot and I feel nothing. No pull to get to know her or take her home because her hair is too long, too blonde, she's too short. I can tell from here that she's wearing way too much makeup.

"Too fake," I reply, continuing to nurse my whiskey.

Will scoffs, "You're finding something wrong with every woman here tonight, what's wrong with you?" He asks, putting the back of his hand against my forehead.

I push his hand off, "Nothings wrong, all of them are just boring."

"How are they boring? It's not as if you're looking for a relationship from any of them; it's just sex."

A month ago I would have agreed with Will, but now it just seems juvenile. "I should probably get back to the office. I have some paperwork to go over for Hayes with one of his buys."

I hand my card to the bartender as Will shakes his head at me, "Who is she?"

I roll my eyes, and re-button the front of my jacket, "I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"This is the first time I've gotten you out of the office in over a month, and I don't understand why you're so eager to go back." He continues, and I down the last of my drink, feeling the slight effects of the glass I've had. "You're hitting your secretary!" Will concludes, and I let out a chuckle.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm not." The bartender walks back over, and hands me my card back.

"Someone has you whipped so if it's not Marcie then who?"

I raise an eyebrow, looking at him as if he's crazy because he is. "I think you're just having a hard time accepting that we're growing up."

"Whatever you say Gray, I still think that there's a girl, who's the reason for your sudden change in heart," Will puts another hand up, signaling to the bartender that he wants another drink.

I shove my wallet back into my pocket, "Have fun Will."

He winks at me, "You know I'm going to."

I slip between the groups of people until I'm greeted with the kiss of the cold air and the honking of horns in the city that never sleeps. The walk back to the office gives me a chance to clear my head from the fuzziness that's taken over it. I feel like I'm moving at the pace of a snail.

Except clearing my head really means calling Tessa, and the phone only rings twice before she picks up, "Hey."

"What do you want Gray?" She mumbles in response through the phone.

"How did you know it was me?"

It was a stupid question, considering we've talked on the phone a few times. It usually happens when one of us is tipsy, but I still wait for her to answer, while kicking a rock with the toe of my shoe. I watch it skip across the cracked concrete, "Because you're the only person that has my number, and would call me at four a.m.," She replies. I pull the phone down to look at the time, but it's only ten?

"It's only ten though?" The confusion slips out through my voice and I stop in my steps.

Tessa yawns, "You fucker," She swears, causing the corners of my mouth to turn up into a smile. "I'm in Madrid, my wakeup call isn't for another three hours."

"Sorry," Except I'm not.

"Did you need something?" Tessa asks quietly. I feel kind of bad for waking her up, but I'd rather talk to her, even if its for a few moments. She'll tell it to me straight, which I guess Hayes could do also, but we're also connected by the secret I have to keep from him. My chance to come clean passed the moment I figured out it was Tessa that I had my one-night stand with, and I still chose to say nothing. I like to think that he would have understood, but everything about Tessa makes him act completely irrational. This was proven by Hayes's reaction when he saw her with Sephine. "Grayson, I'm going to hang up if you don't have anything to say."