Mr. Gray

by Hazel Parker

  My thoughts were going randomly back and forth and occupying my mind that it took me a while to hear the footsteps behind me. I frowned. I was walking very slowly, which meant whoever it was could have just sidestepped me and walked ahead of me. Deciding to wait it out, I walked closer to the side road and kept my slow pace, breathing in more of the sea breeze and only feeling my head spin. No more margarita, mister, no siree.

  Ten minutes later, the footsteps were still behind me. Despite my alcohol-filled state, a hint of alarm entered me as I realized that whoever this was…he was following me.

  I knew I should turn around and announce that I knew what he was up to. Then I should run as fast as I could. But there were a couple of flaws in that plan, namely: him knowing I knew would probably end in disaster, and I couldn’t run in my current state even if my life depended on it.

  Literally.

  My hand tightened on my bag. There was one other option.

  I didn’t let myself think. As my walking went faster and the footsteps behind me quickened as well, I lifted the bag I had with me—a purse bag, really, but it was made of metal and had some heavy shit in it. Then I turned around, ignoring the dizzy sensation at the sudden movement and swinging with all that I had. My purse connected with something hard, and I heard the grunt before I saw it. My ears rang from curses, and I was about to hit again when the last curse suddenly slid through.

  It was a familiar voice.

  I squinted, my purse up in the air. I stared, shock filling me as I realized that yes, I was being followed.

  But it wasn’t by some snatcher.

  “Jesus, Kate, what the hell is wrong with you?”

  It was Gray.

  CHAPTER TEN

  GRAY

  Kate was clearly loaded, and she hit like a damn girl. But that didn’t stop my head from pounding, and that didn’t stop the glare I gave her as she stared at me incredulously.

  Torn between irritation and shock, I blurted out the first words that came to mind.

  “Jesus, Kate, what the hell is wrong with you?”

  She blinked. She stared some more. Then she took a step forward and started to point a finger at me, her expression accusing.

  “What is wrong with you?” she asked, right before she hiccupped. “You were following me like some maniac stalker!”

  I blinked, not quite expecting that. I stared in shock when her hand pushed at my chest repeatedly.

  “I thought you were my ex-boyfriend!”

  “I—”

  “I was about to beat you up! You scared me half to death!”

  “I’m sor—”

  “I’m really, really dizzy!”

  The last statement was followed by her swaying on her feet. With another curse, I dove for her and wrapped my hands around her waist, steadying her. She groaned and clutched on my shoulder, then closed her eyes.

  “Hey, snap out of it,” I admonished. “We still have to walk home.”

  Her eyes snapped open, and she frowned. “Where’s your car?”

  “I left it parked. I was looking for you.”

  For some reason, that made her frown all the more. I waited her out, just holding her there in that quiet night and scolding myself for not checking up on her earlier—and for scaring her like that. She was right. I should have announced my presence instead of following her, but listening to her mutter away to herself had me amused. Now I was more irritated than amused, but I banked it down and waited her out until she was able to stand by herself.

  “We should get my car,” I began, changing my mind about the walking thing. But she was already shaking her head.

  “The sea breeze will clear my head,” she said stubbornly.

  “No,” I said.

  “Yes,” she shot back. Then she started walking, but paused again and turned to give me a challenging look—at least, as much a challenging look a person who had too much to drink could give. “Come on, hotshot. The exercise will be good for your bod.”

  I stared at her incredulously as she continued walking down the side street like she owned it, even humming a little tune. Then I chuckled and followed her, figuring that leaving her alone right now would probably end in disaster.

  * * *

  Surprisingly enough, the sea breeze did clear her head as we kept walking—enough for her to form coherent sentences and stop yelling out every other word she said.

  I remembered the look of panic on her face earlier and decided again how wrong I’d been to sneak up on her like that. I found myself apologizing, something that surprised even me as she seemed to be one of the few people who could get me to do so.

  Kate shook her head in response. “You don’t have to. I’m in Florida now, not in Los Angeles. I shouldn’t be fearful of something that I purposely left behind. Old habits die hard.”

  Her words made sense, but I knew that was easier said than done. Remembering everything Paul told me about what her ex had done, along with her own confession in the bar, I could feel anger surge in me at how a man she trusted could treat her so callously.

  Kate seemed to be having the same train of thought, with her head staring down on the ground and her hands wrapped around herself in an almost defensive posture—that was, until I watched her shiver and realized she was just feeling cold. With a sigh, I removed my jacket, got her attention, and then tossed it in her direction. Her drunken reflexes weren’t up to par as the jacket landed on her head, but she yanked down and muttered her thanks. She wrapped it around herself and tossed me a look, one that was curious and wary at the same time.

  “I’ll be fine. You should go back to that woman and…you know.”

  There was something off with her tone, and I watched as her cheeks turned pink. I began to understand exactly what she meant and the amusement was back. But there was also the irritation at the thought of her walking alone, which I felt I needed to address first.

  “You shouldn’t walk alone at night, especially when you’ve drunk so much. Why didn’t you wait for me? I told you I’d be back.”

  “I can handle myself.”

  “Maybe.” I frowned. “But had I really been some serial killer you would be in a lot of trouble right now.”

  Kate mumbled something, and it took me a while to hear the words.

  “I didn’t want to interrupt you and…your date.”

  “Interrupt what?” I ground out, disliking her way of evading words.

  “I don’t have to spell it out for you,” she muttered.

  Unable to help it, I chuckled. “Are you referring to Valerie?”

  She shrugged. “Maybe.”

  We kept walking the few blocks to my apartment, and she tightened her arms around the jacket. Kate kept inhaling the air, then stealing glances at me until I finally raised a brow.

  “What? Might as well speak your mind since this is your only chance.”

  She debated it for all but two seconds. Then she walked a little closer beside me so as not to shout, giving me her drunk version of a guilty look.

  “I hope I didn’t interrupt your time with her. I’m sorry if I did.”

  I nodded, putting my hands in my pants pocket. “You didn’t interrupt anything.”

  “Oh, great.” Her cheeks turned pink again.

  Unable to help myself, I chuckled. “Nothing happened.”

  “I wasn’t asking,” she shot back. “And that’s a little hard to believe.”

  I shot her a puzzled glance. “Why is it a little hard to believe?”

  “I just…never mind.” She sighed. She walked faster. Then she whirled around again. “I didn’t realize you’d finish sex so fast.”

  I stared at her. Then I burst out laughing, shaking my head at how confused she looked. “I told you, nothing happened.”

  “But the ladies in the bar said—” she hiccupped. “They said you were going to have sex with Valerie. In your car. Because you like it that way.”

  “
You really shouldn’t believe everything people say,” I warned. “Some rumors can be vicious and pointless, you know.”

  “Yeah, I know.” We got to the building and into the elevator, where Kate bit her lip and closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. It’s none of my business. And I’ll take a taxi next time.”

  I shook my head. “No, we go home together next time. I promised your brother I’d protect you.”

  “I can protect myself,” she murmured. “I’m an adult, and I’m in Florida. No one knows me here. You don’t have to worry. Do your business and I’ll do mine.”

  I watched her as she kept her eyes closed and leaned against the elevator, looking more sleepy than drunk now. I knew she still was the latter, but the walk had done her good, and she was doing a lot better now.

  Something in me wanted to protect her—probably an after-effect of Paul’s concern. It was odd how we’d gotten to know each other in a short amount of time, and I realized I wanted to know more about her. I never had a female friend, but it didn’t seem so bad. Plus Kate had no malice when it came to me, nor any tact, for that matter, which I kind of liked.

  We reached the top floor, and the elevator door opened. I leaned on the other side of the elevator wall, keeping my watch on Kate until she finally became aware of it. Her lashes fluttered, then her eyes opened, gaze zoning in on me.

  Instead of blushing like most women did, Kate yawned. The action had me trying to hold back a smile.

  “We’re here,” she said, stating the obvious.

  I nodded. “Yeah. You should get some sleep.”

  “I will. Thank you for the lovely walk,” she chirped, then yawned again. We both walked towards the suite, where she stumbled for a bit and I readied my hands at her back just in case she would actually fall.

  Instead, she leaned against the suite doorway and turned to me. Then she smiled sleepily.

  “Gray?”

  “Hmm?”

  “You really should try the bed next time.”

  I stared as Kate slowly made her way to her bedroom, humming the same tune she hummed earlier. I chuckled as her words repeated in my mind.

  Christ.

  If only she knew.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  KATE

  The first thing I felt when I woke up was my throat being so dry I might as well have been the Sahara.

  Then the pounding headache came, so strong and intense, knocking on my skull over and over. I groaned, rolling around on the mattress and trying to find a comfortable position so I could sleep again and just forget the world existed for a few more hours.

  The world didn’t want that, though.

  The knocking continued. It took me a few seconds to realize that the knocking wasn’t just in my skull—it was also on my bedroom door, quick and firm movements that set a rhythm in my head. It took me a few more seconds to sit up, and even that had me dizzy.

  “Stop knocking!” I croaked out. “The door isn’t locked!”

  The knocking blessedly stopped and the door opened. I squinted my eyes as Gray stood in the doorway, eyeing me so curiously that I couldn’t help but rub my head. He looked so…chipper and bright that I couldn’t help but glare. Why was he looking so good when he had more drinks than me?

  As if to rub it in, he smiled. “Good morning.”

  “What’s so good about this morning?” I muttered. Then, disliking that I was being a grouch so early, I groaned again. “I’m never drinking margaritas again.”

  I closed my eyes. Footsteps approached, and I heard sounds at the bedside table. The darkness made everything slightly better, so I kept my eyes closed as Gray’s voice filled the air.

  “That’s aspirin and a special mix shake. Take it all in and get a few more minutes sleep. You’ll be better in no time.”

  The footsteps receded and I heard the door close. I opened one bleary eye and slowly took in the aspirin and green-colored shake in a glass beside me. Then, deciding he had better experience at this than I did, I reached out for them and swallowed the pills. Then I took the shake in a few huge gulps, feeling the coldness of it hit my teeth and give me brain freeze.

  It tasted like vile sludge and didn’t go down any smoother. I swallowed the revulsion and lay back in bed, closing my eyes again and trying to think of last night. Everything was a blur, but I could clearly remember one part of it all—me hitting Gray with my bag like some madwoman. That had me groaning again before I realized that any sound I made only increased the headache. I clamped my mouth shut, trying to calm myself down.

  Then I followed Gray’s advice and went back to sleep.

  * * *

  I didn’t wake up minutes later, but an hour later. To my surprise, my head was no longer pounding, and it was now only my body that was slightly tired. Feeling great about it, I quickly got out of bed and into the shower, then back out with a relatively peaceful mind. It was still early in the morning, which brought to awareness that Gray must have woken up pretty early to mix that drink up for me.

  I opened the door. Immediately, a ball of fur went at me and I giggled as Chuck placed his furry head against my ankles and rubbed affectionately. He licked once, then began to bounce around like the little bundle of joy he was. I picked him up and cuddled him, asking if he’d been a good boy while we were out and getting nuzzled on the shoulder with his nose.

  The scent of something delicious drifted in the air, and it was coming from the kitchen. I wandered over curiously, my mouth watering. Aha! It was bacon! I saw Gray manning the frying pan looking as fresh as ever and glancing at me and Chuck.

  “Are you feeling better?”

  I nodded. “Thank you. Your horrific sludge worked wonders.”

  Gray burst out laughing and I grinned. He indicated to me to sit down on the kitchen island, which I did after I put Chuck down. Gray said that he’d already fed and walked Chuck, which had me raising both brows and staring at him so incredulously.

  “I researched YouTube videos,” he said grudgingly—an admission that had me laughing.

  “You’re cute, Denton.”

  He shot me a look, then winked. “You mean I’m hot.”

  I rolled my eyes. Then a troubling thought entered my mind, leaving me suddenly horrified. “Oh, my God.”

  “What?”

  “Did I hit on you last night?”

  Gray grinned, eyeing me with such a heavy, deliberate stare that I could only stare back. Then he burst out laughing again and nodded. “If you consider hitting me with your purse, then yes.”

  I groaned. “I’m so sorry about that.”

  “Don’t be. I could have been a serial killer like you said. You were right to hit me.”

  He turned off the stove and began to transfer food onto two plates. Then Gray turned and sat on the island’s other end, sliding the first plate towards me. My mouth watered again when I saw the bacon I’d been smelling, along with what looked like eggs Benedict and a healthy helping of hash browns. I watched as Chuck went over to Gray’s side and waggled his tail, quietly asking for attention. Gray glanced at him, then slid him a piece of bacon when he thought I wasn’t looking.

  I stifled a smile and pretended not to see. Then I dug in, feeling the bacon burst on my tongue and murmuring in appreciation at how good the eggs and herbed hash browns tasted.

  “You’ve got some talent,” I complimented.

  Gray shrugged in amusement. “I lived alone for most my adult life. You’ve got to learn how to cook if you don’t want to load yourself with fast food.”

  “Too true,” I agreed. While I was pretty good at cooking myself, Paul often relied on take-out, arguing that he worked out often enough to get rid of the calories, anyway. I didn’t agree with his method, though I still had a long way to go in convincing him to eat healthy every once in a while.

  We ate in companionable silence, with Chuck moving back and forth between us to ask for food. When he was full, he strutted towards the balcony and
sat to watch the ocean view, making me smile.

  “I have practice in an hour,” Gray said. “Are you going to be okay?”

  “Of course,” I said, waving whatever worry he had away. Despite my state last night, I could still remember that part of him telling me he needed to protect me. “I’ll be fine. Chuck and I will go to the beach later. I bet he would love that.”

  Gray raised a brow. “Especially if you buy him ice cream.”

  I nodded and agreed. There was something else I planned to do while Gray was away, and that was look for a decent job nearby. Just because I had savings didn’t mean I would waste my time not earning anything.

  For now, I had to do my best to make a life here.

  * * *

  A trip to the beach and some scouting later, I discovered that most workplaces in the vicinity were full and the only one that wasn’t full was a barista position that required a license—something I didn’t have. Glumly, I decided to distract myself by settling Chuck down and cooking dinner. It had always been a comforting process for me, and by the time Gray returned, the chicken was frying, and the potatoes were roasting nicely in the oven.

  “What on earth smells like heaven?” Gray asked the moment he walked in the kitchen. Belatedly, he glanced as if to look around for the dog, then seemed to look more relaxed when he saw Chuck on his dog sheets, napping.

  You’re a softie deep inside, aren’t you?

  “My cooking,” I replied. Once the chicken pieces were fried golden, I transferred them to a plate and indicated with my hand. Then I took out the potatoes and arranged them on a separate plate and placed everything on the island. I didn’t know why we never ate in the dining room, but I didn’t question it because it was much more convenient here anyway. “Come on. Grab a plate and let’s chow down.”

  “Great,” he said.

  We dug in with gusto, and my ears burned at all the deep, appreciative sounds Gray made as he ate every single thing.