The shy boy from math class

Chapter 19| Sleepy

He lightly chuckles and whispers, "Time for the twirl." I pull away and he spins me as everyone else does with their partners.

We gaze into each other's eyes and everything feels safe. I feel like there's nothing going on in my life right now. He and I are the only people on earth and we're safe looking into each other's eyes.

He has really nice hazel eyes. Like really nice.

We slowly start leaning in, my heart beating faster by the second. My lips slowly part a little when we're centimeters away from each other. I feel Grayson pull me closer by my waist and his gaze is even stronger. I hear him gulp and I get break eye contact. I slightly pull away and feel the knot in my stomach.

"Is everything okay? Did I do something-"

I shake my head no and I can't even look him in the eye. "You know I can't," I mumble.

He nods. That fucking nod makes guilt just pour into me. "Grayson, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't-"

"You don't have to apologize. You're not ready and you know I'd never pressure you into anything you don't want to do." He reminds me.

"Right," I whisper.

The slow song fades into an upbeat one in a split second. We immediately pull away and start walking back to the table. Fuck. I feel like a complete idiot.

I feel awkward. I flat out rejected him. Oh my god, I hope no one saw me. I continue to shove food into my mouth and Genevieve pats my shoulder. "I'm going to the bathroom, wanna come?"

I cover my mouth as I chew and nod. Grayson watches as Genevieve and I walk out the big doors and into the ladies' room.

It's pretty empty in there. There's like one or two other girls in here. Genevieve lifts her dress from the floor and so do I. She goes into a stall and I wait in front of it. I scroll through my phone and see the time. It's nearly midnight. The party ends at midnight.

I hear the toilet flushing and Genevieve comes out of the stall. She walks over to the sink and starts washing her hands. "So how are you and Grayson going?"

I suck in a breath and avoid her stares. "It's a long story that I'll tell you tomorrow."

She pouts and I boop her nose. We laugh it off and make our way back to the ballroom. Grayson is laughing along with Everett and I smile at the sight of it. I sit down at my seat and kiss his cheek. I see his cheeks turn pink through the dim lighting and it can't help but make me do the same.

"What was that for?" He asks me.

"I wanted to apologize for earlier and-"

"I told you that there's nothing to say sorry for."

I playfully roll my eyes and he winks at me. Holy shit. That was hot.

I glance over and Genevieve who has her jaw dropped. I laugh to myself and she starts to motion her finger between Grayson and me.

☆

"Thank you guys so much! I really appreciate it." Genevieve thanks us as we pick up the trash left behind.

"Gen my feet are killing me! But you know me, I always got your back." I push a bunch of disposable cups into the trash bag.

It's almost two in the morning and we still haven't finished cleaning up the place. Even though they paid a lot of money for this ballroom and the decorations, we have to clean all of it up. The soles of my feet hurt like hell and my eyelids feel heavy. I took off my heels the minute the party ended and I've been clutching on to them since.

"And that's the last of it!" Genevieve claps. We all cheer and she sighs in relief. I grab Grayson's hand and we walk outside where the cool breeze immediately hits us. I try not to rub my arms but I feel my teeth chattering.

"Here," Grayson pulls off his tux jacket and wraps it around me. "take it."

I instantly feel the warmth and the strong scent of his cologne hits my nostrils. I enjoy it for a second then I start to take it off.

"I'll just heat up my car." I hold it out.

He shakes his head no and pulls out his car key from his pocket. "Just take it."

He gets into his car first and I rest my arms in the window, leaning in my head. He takes a big yawn and I feel the sleepiness hit me too. "You sure I can't drive you home? You look sleepy."

He shakes his head no and yawns again. "I'll be wide awake once I get on the road."

There's a few seconds of silence. I huff and see my breath every time I breathe out. "Thank you for coming with me tonight and for helping us clean up.
I'm sure Gen appreciates it as much as I do."

"Tell her parents I said thank you for having me." He softly smiles.

I glance at the time in his car. Fuck it's late. "I'll drop off your tux another day or something."

He nods and yawns again. "Are you sure you don't want me to-"

"I'm sure."

"Goodnight, Grayson. Or should I say good morning?" I joke.

He cracks a smile and grips the steering wheel. "I'll text you when I wake up."

I nod and lean in to kiss his cheek. "Have a great sleep."

He blushes and I take a step back. "Drive safe, okay? Don't fall asleep."

He laughs and says a quick 'yeah'. He closes the window and gives me a little wave before driving off. I feel my heartbeat faster again as I see him drive off.

"Should've kissed him for real," Genevieve says.

I turn around and see her smirking. "Ha Ha very funny," I tell her, walking back to my car.

"I'll see you Monday, Gen," I tell her before climbing in.

"Thanks for coming! Oh and tell Grayson thanks for helping us clean." She waves.

I chuckle and drive off.

☆

It's nearly three in the morning when I finally get home. If I wasn't so tired I'd probably take a shower. But I don't want to wake anyone either. I grab some makeup wipes from my vanity and start wiping it off. Then I unzip my dress and get into the pjs I find first. Red flannel pants and a grey v-neck.

Once I hope into bed I take a deep breath. It feels so good to lie down. I cover myself in my blanket and feel myself start to doze off very quickly. My phone starts ringing and I flinch. I lean over to pick it up from my nightstand and see that it's Grayson calling.

I chuckle to myself. "You woke up already?"

"Selena?"

I sit up and furrow my eyebrows. "W-Who's this?"

"It's Elle. Grayson's mom. Listen, I shouldn't be calling you right now but Grayson... he's been in a car accident. I didn't know who else to call. The cops gave me his phone and Steven is out on a business trip and I'm here alone and-"

"What hospital?" I ask, jumping out of bed.