OPAL'S POV
My eyes flutter shut at the feeling of Grayson's lips on mine, my gasp of shock being muffled by his mouth.
I'm kissing Grayson Dolan. I am kissing Grayson Dolan. And it feels... really good. His lips are soft, and warm, and he tastes like mint. It's enough to make my thoughts swirl and my knees buckle.
He was very sure of himself, of the moment, which was good because I needed that reassurance. All of his gentle movements were precise-the way he tucked stray wisps of my hair back, the way he held me steady, the way his pillowy lips moved on mine.
It was slow, and I felt the rest of the world fall away as his cool hands rested on either side of my face. I take the moment to wrap my arms around his neck, our bodies flush together.
I feel his tongue gently swipe across my bottom lip, parting them for him without a second though. It had been a while since I'd kissed anyone like this, but I wasn't that nervous anymore. Grayson's touch is comforting, in a way that words could never be.
My heart was pounding in my chest, and all I could focus on was the taste of mint and his lips. I didn't realize I'd been waiting for this.
The sound of a car horn makes us both jump apart, and it's then we realize we're blocking someone's driveway. The old man inside his car looks displeased at the sight of us kissing very much in his way.
Grayson, grinning with red cheeks and even redder, swollen lips, pulls me to the side. I imagine the shade of my face matches his. Though I can't see it, I can definitely feel it.
Mint lingers in my mouth and butterflies in my stomach, both of our heavy and irregular breaths creating clouds in the cold air. I just kissed Grayson.
"It's pretty cold out here, let's go inside?" He hums, still holding my hand. Nodding breathlessly, I follow him into his house. I'm not quite sure what to say now. My thoughts are still swirling-everything about my feelings for Grayson are complicated. "Hey, get out of your head. You can't be all shy after I've had my tongue in your mouth."
"Grayson!" I gasp, his loud laugh echoing off the walls.
"You make it too easy, Opal." Our hands are still interlocked as we climb the stairs. "Oh, hey, E."
"...what's going on?" He raises his eyebrows, noticing me in Grayson's hoodie. I almost forgot I was wearing it. "Ugh. Gross. Be quiet."
"We're not-"
"Dude, she was just crying. And it's Opal. We're not gonna do anything," Grayson snorts. "She was freezing, so I gave her my hoodie."
"Oh thank god," he sighs. "Wait, why were you crying?" I shrug, not really wanting to blurt it all out to Ethan. "I get it, I'm not the favorite twin. It hurts, y'know, Opal? But I'll live through it."
"You're so fucking extra, bro. This is why she likes me more."
"Hey! I was joking, she obviously prefers me," he scoffs, placing a hand on his chest. "You've been way worse to her over the years. I'm the fun one. Right?"
Shaking my head, I take a step back. "I'm not getting involved in this." It was crazy, to think about how much Grayson annoyed me at the beginning of the year. How much he annoyed me even just a couple of weeks ago, actually. And now I was in his house, after kissing him, wearing his hoodie. It almost felt like a joke.
I wasn't sure if we should talk about it. It was just a kiss, right? But it was a kiss with Grayson. We definitely needed to talk about it.
Now now though. For now I'd focus on just being present, and then I'd process everything later. After that I could talk.
"We'll be in my room," Grayson says, rolling his eyes. He only shuts the door halfway as we enter. "Last time you were in here you were drunk off your ass."
"I was not that bad," I laugh, sitting on the edge of his bed. As I do, I feel my phone vibrate.
Dad: where are you? safe?
Opal: yeah. I'm sorry. I'm at Celia's
Dad: Ok
Dad: I'm sorry 2. have fun
Smiling, I turn my phone off and look back to Grayson. He glances my way, "what're you smiling about?"
"My dad and I are cool," I tell him, watching his eyebrow raise. I toss my phone, unlocked, toward him. Risky, but I think he's being nice today. "Don't push your luck-just the messages with my dad."
He chuckles, nodding his head. "You're at Celia's, huh?"
"My dad doesn't need to know I'm here."
Grayson and I weren't doing anything bad, but I wasn't sure how my dad would react anyway. I'd never really had any guy friends to be able gauge a reaction. The last guy I actually dated was freshman year, and we know how that ended. I'd had one or two small things since then, but no one I introduced to my dad.
"I have an idea," he hums, face breaking into a grin. "If I let you I go through my phone, can I look through yours?"
"No."
"Opal!" Grayson groans, my phone still in his hand, though he's actually not looking through it. "What the hell are you hiding on here? Are you living a double life or something?"
I'm not really hiding anything. I deleted those texts from Celia I was hiding, I just liked to keep stuff on my phone private.
It felt like an invasion of space, even if nothing was that personal. But the idea of looking through his phone was a little tempting. Plus, he was pouting and seemed really interested for some reason.
"I'm not, I just... yeah, alright, hand over your phone."
Grayson cheers triumphantly, unlocking his and tossing it onto his bed next to me. He immediately starts digging into mine, and the first thing I do when I grab his is open his messages.
Curiously, I type my own name in the search bar. I get a few results, but the thing that catches my eye the most is from a group chat.
Grayson: guys back off of Opal, alright?
Grayson: you're making her uncomfortable
Mark: it's just jokes bro
Ryan: yeah it's not serious
Josh: fr what's wrong w it
Grayson: she doesn't like those jokes guys
Grayson: I told her I'd talk to you. just back off a little bit with the virgin shit
Grayson: it's not funny to her and that's what matters
Grayson: got it?
I smile slightly as I read them. He did tell me he'd say something, but knowing exactly what he said and that he actually cared how I felt about it was nice. Even if he acted like an ass about it at first.
Afterward I go through his photos, most of which are stupid. A lot of funny ones of Ethan, of him getting hurt or doing things he shouldn't be. A lot of Grayson at the gym. "You take a lot of shirtless pictures."
"You're welcome," he smirks, barely glancing up from whatever he's looking at on my phone. "You have a ton of stupid google searches. No porn though," he teases. I only roll my eyes and ignore him. "What the hell is a cloaca?"
"Oh my god. Celia made me look that up. You don't wanna know." Grayson just laughs, taking my word for it. "Ouch! I see you've been left on read on Instagram. That's gotta hurt."
"Eh, I've had time for my ego to fully recover," he shrugs. "What is-oh."
My eyebrows furrow as he cuts himself off. I look up from the screen to see him gaping with wide eyes at mine.
Grayson gulps slightly, looking back up at me for a split second. "Woah."
"What?" I ask, frowning.
"You, uh-just woah, Opal." Grayson, rendered practically speechless? What the hell did he find on my phone? My heart is pounding as I think of the possibilities, reaching for it. "It was in your recently deleted."
"Oh my god," I mumble, looking at the picture. "Shit."
I'd forgotten I took these. They weren't nudes, but they were a lot. The lacy bra and underwear set left at least a little bit to the imagination-but it was a lot of skin-a hell of a lot more skin than Grayson had ever seen from me. A hell of a lot more skin than anyone had seen from me, and I wasn't sure if I wanted him to see it.
Typically, I preferred wearing hoodies, sweaters, whatever. I liked more shapeless clothing because I felt comfortable-the most revealing thing he'd seen me in before was a tank top and loose shorts, and that wasn't by choice. This wasn't something I wanted him to see.
I took a few pictures when I first got the set because I thought it was cute. I felt a little confident in it and I don't have a full length mirror, so I turned on my phone timer just to see. I'd deleted them shortly after.
Now I felt like a dumbass, and Grayson was just sitting there, looking at me. He swallows slowly, and I notice a hint of a blush on his cheeks. Mine are on fire.
"I forgot about those," I whisper, staring at his bedspread. I want nothing more but to sink into the soft sheets and disappear.
"Who were you sending those to, Opal?" Grayson asks. I'm tempted to look up at him but feel way too nervous now. "I uh, never really thought you would do that kind of thing. Not that you can't I just didn't know you were seeing anyone or... well I figured you'd be too shy to send anything like that."
"They weren't for anyone. I-I just liked them," biting my lip, I finally meet his gaze. He's surprisingly not smug, just shocked.
But then he chuckles, "well, you can always send them to me."
Groaning, I shove my warm face into his pillow and ignore his teasing. I was never living this one down.
"I gotta go home."
"You don't have to be embarrassed," he laughs again, moving closer. "It was surprising but... it was a good surprise."
"Oh my god, please shut up," I whine, lifting my head to look at him. Grayson's face just has a huge, cheeky grin on it. His awkwardness was short-lived. "No one was supposed to see those but especially not you."
Grayson just sighs contently, sitting next to me on his bed now. "Sorry, babe."
Shaking my head, I shove him backward. He just smiles, sending a wink my way and reaching for my phone again.
A/N
opal made an oopsie
also they finally fuckin kissed after all that slow burn <3 we'll see what they do with that tho!
it's very hard for me to resist updating constantly bc I'm impatient but I also don't want the story to end fast do y'all see my predicament