Six Days: Book One in the SIX Series

by Randileigh Kennedy

  Mallory laughed. “No, Addie, not crazy. But geez, I think you’re even more smitten than I thought.”

  Mallory and I spent the rest of the morning mixing batter and baking cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and a few other different pastries. Steve and Megan stopped in around noon on their lunch breaks. They brought in some Chinese take-out, which was a welcome break from all of the baking we had accomplished in the last few hours. We talked a bit about Griffin, how great his music was, and I recounted some of our hang gliding experience. I tried as best I could to keep the conversation light. I was happy they didn’t ask too many questions about it. Steve had actually gone hang gliding once with Griffin, about a year ago. He recounted the same feelings about it and remarked it was one of the most amazing experiences he’d ever had. As he spoke, it made me realize that perhaps that was just a normal ‘friend’ activity after all, considering I apparently wasn’t the first person Griffin had taken there. Not that it mattered, I guess.

  We talked more about Steve and Megan’s marathon training and tossed around the idea of a mid-summer road trip, if everyone could get off work for a couple days. The thought of a little getaway with Griffin really excited me, even if everyone else would be there.

  By the time they left Mallory and I went straight back to work, mixing up frosting and decorating the desserts. Mallory and I talked more about opening up the shop full time, which she actually planned to do in the next few weeks. By the time six o’clock rolled around, we had completed everything we needed to do that day.

  “Want to grab a quick bite to eat before your date tonight?” Mallory asked, smiling at me.

  “It’s not a date, Mal. I’m pretty sure an official date would be something he is not contractually obligated to do, right? I mean, technically he owes me seven days of adventure whether he wants to or not. Just so I can get my name out of the box, right? Let’s get dinner,” I said smirking, grabbing my bag as Mallory shut off the lights.

  “I see your point. But come on Addie, if this is ‘work’ for him, he sure doesn’t act like it. I’ve seen the way he looks at you too, I get it,” Mallory responded.

  “Stop feeding into my craziness, Mal. I’ve got to stop thinking about it or I’ll get nervous to see him. You want to go to that café around the corner? We can walk,” I said, changing the subject.

  “Sounds perfect. That should be nice and fast, that way I’ll have some time to dress you up for your date tonight,” Mallory responded, pinching my arm. I shook my head at her in denial.

  After we ate some sandwiches, Mallory followed me back to my apartment. As promised, she offered me plenty of fashion advice.

  “Addie, this one is perfect,” Mallory said, holding up a sheer light blue top. “You can wear this with those tight black capris and some strappy sandals. Here, try this camisole underneath it. This is perfect, the capris are more casual than a dress, but the top is sexy enough to scream ‘undress me,’ which seems good.”

  “Mallory!” I said, interrupting her. “Don’t put those thoughts in my head! I already get flustered enough around him as it is. You’re making this worse!”

  Mallory laughed, throwing the blue shirt at me. “Wear it, Addie, I know what I’m talking about. The last time I wore that shirt I met this guy at O’Malley’s pub, Chad Swanson, and he definitely undressed me later that night,” Mallory said, trailing off. I threw a shoe at her to get her to stop talking and we both laughed.

  A few minutes before nine o’clock, I was finally ready to go. I had to give Mallory credit for always making me look better than I ever did on my own. The light blue shirt was a little sheer for my taste, but I suppose there could be worse things. I was happy to note there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, so with no chance of rain, I should at least be safe in such thin fabric.

  I drove over to Griffin’s place, a little surprised he wasn’t picking me up this time. It seemed a little late too, considering our adventures usually lasted at least a few hours. I smiled at the possibility of a later-than-usual night, then reprimanded myself for even letting my mind go there.

  As I pulled up in front of Griffin’s garage, his front door opened. Griffin stepped out wearing dark jeans and tan sandals. He also had on one of his usual white button down shirts with his sleeves partially rolled up.

  “Wow, impeccable timing. How did you know I just pulled up?” I asked, getting out of my car.

  “Honestly, I’ve been staring out the window waiting for you,” he said, shrugging. “Oh no, that sounds creepy when actually said out loud, doesn’t it? Is that terrible?” he continued, slightly blushing. “I just meant I was anxious for you to come, so I was kind of watching for you,” Griffin paused. “Damn, I still sound like a stalker a little bit, don’t I?”

  I shrugged my shoulders in exaggeration and Griffin walked towards me. He placed his arm gently on my waist and gave my cheek a quick kiss.

  “I’m really sorry about not calling you last night, Addie. I feel really terrible about it, that’s not like me,” Griffin said apologetically.

  “That’s okay. Your father didn’t sound too happy, so I figured you had something important to do. I’ll give you a pass on this one,” I said coyly, looking into his eyes. They seemed even bluer than usual tonight.

  “Are you ready?” he asked slyly. His eyes lit up as he spoke, staring into me.

  “Are we staying on Earth tonight? No jumping out of the sky or anything else moderately psychotic this evening?”

  “Nope. It’s late, so I thought we’d keep it simple. Did you hear about the meteor shower tonight?” Griffin asked, grabbing my hand and leading me to a park across the street from his loft.

  I shook my head no.

  “Well it’s supposed to peak around midnight tonight, but the meteorologist said there should be some activity earlier than that. So I thought we could just relax tonight, take it easy. Unwind a bit.”

  “That sounds perfect,” I replied, squeezing his hand as he led me up a small grassy hill.

  “I know, not a crazy adventure I guess. But I always loved meteor showers as a kid. We’d sleep outside on the lawn and just stare up into the sky for hours, making wishes on every single one of them,” Griffin said nostalgically.

  “What did you wish for?” I asked.

  “Oh, that was easy. I always knew what I wanted back then. I wished for the same thing on every star,” he replied.

  “So what was it?”

  “Simple. That I would grow up to be stronger than Hulk Hogan,” he replied, laughing. I laughed too.

  “Of all things in the universe, that was your wish?” I said mockingly.

  “Hey, he was a very impressive man when I was six years old,” Griffin responded. He led me to a large spread out blanket. There was a picnic basket sitting on top of the blanket, along with a wine caddy and two wine glasses.

  “When did you do this?” I asked inquisitively, impressed that he was always so well prepared for everything.

  “Almost thirty minutes ago,” he replied. “I’m surprised it’s all still here, honestly. I was kind of worried a homeless man would have picked all this up by now,” Griffin smirked, motioning me to go sit down on the blanket.

  I slipped off my strappy sandals and sat on one side of the blanket, Griffin stretching out on the other side.

  He uncorked the bottle of wine and poured some of it into the two stem-less glasses sitting out. He then reached over and hit a button on his iPod and David Grey’s voice sang out of the speakers. I had really come to know and like Griffin’s choice in music. It was emotional, but very soothing. We both laid back a little bit, still propped up on our elbows.

  I looked up at the sky, though I could feel Griffin’s gaze on me. I smiled, wondering if he knew why.

  “There,” I said, almost spilling my wine, pointing up at the sky. “Did you see that one?” I asked, referencing the shooting star I just saw. Griffin still hadn’t taken his eyes off me.

  “So, make a wish,” he said softly.

&n
bsp; “I did,” I replied. Trust me, I did. The second I saw the flash of light, all I could think about was wanting to stay in this moment for as long as possible.

  “What did you wish for then?” he asked.

  “That someday you really would be as strong as Hulk Hogan,” I said mockingly.

  “How do you know it didn’t already come true back when I wished for it?” Griffin replied, laughing. “You’re wasting your wish on me? Surely there’s something better than that to hope for, right?” Griffin smiled, and his deep grey-blue eyes looked so honest.

  “You can’t tell someone your wish or it doesn’t come true. Everyone knows that,” I replied.

  “Or maybe you should tell someone your wish, so they can make it true,” he responded, his gaze still locked on me. I set my wine glass down.

  “What do you want, Adelaide?” Griffin asked quietly.

  I wanted to say something, anything in that moment, but no words came out. Griffin leaned in closer to me and tucked a piece of my loose hair behind my ear. It seemed as though the world around me disappeared.

  In that exact moment, there was a loud hissing sound around us. Within seconds, sprays of water began falling all around us from the park’s sprinklers. I squealed and jumped to my feet, not knowing which direction to run. I looked over at Griffin as the water poured down around him. He tried to contain his laugh so he could speak.

  “Addie, I am so sorry,” Griffin said, shaking his head, “I had no idea.” He laughed again, which made me laugh too. There we stood, engulfed in spraying water, laughing uncontrollably. Griffin finally held out his hand and pulled me into his arms.

  “So what now?” I asked, brushing the wet hair out of my eyes, looking up at him.

  “Have you ever danced in the rain before?” he responded with such an innocent tone to his voice.

  “It sounds so much more whimsical and romantic when you call it rain,” I said, smiling back at him.

  Griffin tucked his arm around my waist and grabbed my right palm, holding it to his chest. The music was quiet, drowned out by the hissing of the sprinklers, but I could still hear it. Griffin swayed against my body, and he had pretty good rhythm despite the circumstances. He whispered the lyrics of the song in my ear. Within a minute, the music stopped, probably from the water soaking up into his iPod. Griffin laughed softly and I turned my head up to look at him, and his body stopped moving. He released his hand from mine and brought it up to my cheek. My body shivered.

  Ever so gently he moved in and kissed me, his lips lingering for a moment.

  “Addie,” he whispered.

  I kissed him back, realizing that I didn’t want to stop kissing him. The water poured down our bodies and soaked through our clothes.

  “Do you want to go back?” he asked, motioning his head towards his loft. I could see the outline of his abs through the thin white soaked fabric of his shirt. I nodded in agreement.

  Griffin grabbed my hand and swept down to pick up my sandals. We turned towards his house and lightly jogged through the sprinklers, laughing the entire way. He looked so boyish in that moment and I thought back to what he said about the joy of water for a child, and how he never wanted to lose that. I realized in that moment that dancing in the rain, well the sprinklers, felt like it could really stop time, at least for the moment. I understood everything he was trying to say that day. It was exactly how I felt right now.

  As soon as we got to the grasses’ edge, in one swift motion Griffin picked me up and carried me across the street and all the way up to his front door. He opened it, setting me down on my feet just on the inside of his house. He closed the door behind him and reached around me, putting his strong arm on my back. He pulled me in and kissed me, passionately. I reached for the buttons on his shirt and slowly unfastened them, one by one.

  “I can get you some dry clothes,” he whispered between kissing me.

  I responded by peeling off his shirt, completely soaked through from all the water. His jeans hung loose on his hips, and I knew I’d never before seen a man who looked this good.

  Griffin picked me up again and carried me into his bedroom, kissing me the whole way.

  “Addie,” he whispered.

  “Yes, Griffin,” I said, putting my hand on his face. “I’m saying yes.”

  I kissed him, hungrily, and he slowly helped me peel off my wet clothes.

  Chapter 13

  The next morning when I awoke, I was confused at first by my surroundings. Griffin’s bedroom. A smile spread across my face and I rolled over. Griffin’s side of the sheets was pulled back and he was gone. Sitting on top of his pillow there was a note and a single pink Gerber daisy. I picked up the note.

  Day 7: Be with me.

  I sat up, smiling. My clothes were still lying in a wet pile on Griffin’s floor, so I knew I couldn’t put those back on. I quickly grabbed a shirt from Griffin’s closet and walked out towards the kitchen, where it sounded like Griffin was making breakfast. I tiptoed quietly, hoping to surprise Griffin standing at the stove. As I walked around the corner into the kitchen, I was startled to see a man sitting at the counter directly across from where Griffin was standing. They both quickly turned their heads towards me and I froze where I stood.

  “Addie, I’m so sorry. He just showed up. I didn’t know he was coming,” Griffin said apologetically.

  The man, handsome even in his early fifties, stood up. I realized in that moment that I still didn’t have any pants on, and I immediately felt the heat of embarrassment in my cheeks.

  “So, this is Adelaide,” the gentleman said, extending his hand out in my direction. He wore a dark grey expensive looking suit, but I suspected he wasn’t on his way to church. “I’m Griffin’s father, Gregory,” he continued, his hand still outstretched.

  Reluctantly, I stepped forward and shook his hand.

  “It’s nice to meet you, sir. I’m so sorry, I didn’t know Griffin had company.” I cursed myself again for not putting on pants, but was thankful Griffin’s shirt was long enough to at least cover what needed to be covered.

  “Don’t worry Addie, he’s on his way out,” Griffin said curtly. “We can discuss this tomorrow at the office.” Griffin’s face looked unyielding.

  “Griffin, I think this situation is more important that you realize,” his father responded.

  “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to change,” I chimed in quietly.

  “Addie, no, stay here. He’s on his way out,” Griffin said again, walking towards the front door.

  “Griffin, this cannot wait until tomorrow. I expect you to meet me in the office this afternoon. Can you be there by two?” his father asked sternly.

  Griffin nodded and opened the front door. Gregory nodded at me, and I tried to smile back, but I wasn’t sure how convincing I looked. Griffin closed the front door and walked back towards the kitchen, looking defeated.

  “Did I just meet your father with no pants on?” I shrieked.

  Griffin’s worried face turned into a smile. “I guess you did, Addie,” he said, reaching his arm around my waist, pulling me in. “I didn’t know he was stopping by. I think something is wrong. He’s in some kind of trouble. I would have told you he was here but he just let himself in,” Griffin said, sounding frustrated.

  I smiled up at him and he kissed me gently.

  “So how do you like your eggs?” he asked, walking me back to the stove.

  “In chocolate cake,” I replied, running my hand through his messy hair. “I got your note.”

  “Well you actually get a choice on this adventure,” Griffin replied, slightly blushing. He looked down at me with pleading eyes, appearing somewhat vulnerable.

  “Same answer. Yes,” I said.

  We didn’t end up eating any breakfast. Instead we spent the entire morning wrapped up in his sheets. We talked about the previous six days. Somehow it seemed like a lot more. I felt like I had done more with him in six days than I had done most my life. All the heartache of being alon
e, being left by my parents, the situation with Grant; it felt so far away in these moments with Griffin.

  Reluctantly, we finally peeled away from each other with the promise we would meet up again that evening. I had to get to the bakery to meet Mallory for the open house, and he had to go into work for a bit to clear up whatever was going on with his dad.

  Griffin walked me out to my car and paused before opening up my door. He bent down, his lips less than an inch away from mine, lingering, and then he finally kissed me. I felt his touch surge through my entire body, and I wondered how I would make it through the rest of the afternoon until I would see him again.

  I smiled, hesitantly getting in my car to drive over to the bakery. I knew Mallory would have some clothes for me to change into once I got there. I wondered what her reaction would be when she saw me show up in the same light blue sheer top I had on last night.

  As soon as I walked into the bakery, Mallory dropped her spatula.

  “Oh my gosh, Addie, where have you been? I left you, like, six messages. I left a couple for Griffin too, and no one called me back. What happened to you? I was starting to worry,” Mallory said, throwing her hands in the air.

  “I’m so sorry, Mallory. I don’t even think I took my phone with me to Griffin’s last night,” I said apologetically.

  “Then why didn’t you call me back this morning? Oh my gosh, did you stay the night?” Mallory shrieked, piecing it all together. A big smile spread across her face. “The blue shirt, you’re still wearing the shirt! Shit, Addie, so come on, give me some details,” she said excitedly, clearly forgiving me for not returning her calls.

  “Where do I begin,” I said blissfully, sitting down on a stool. “It was the most amazing night, Mal.” I went through the entire sequence of events with her.

  “So you guys are like, officially together then?” Mallory asked smiling, clasping her hands together.