Grayson.
She’s hammered.
I don’t know whether to be worried or laugh. She gets up and grabs my hand, pulling me up from the table. She starts dancing around me, and I’m drinking her in. She looks so happy, so beautiful as she dances like no one is watching.
But everyone is watching her, looking at her. They can look all they want, but tonight she’s mine. I’m here with her, making her let go and have fun like she asked me to. I won’t fuck this up. She needs me, and she asked me to help her. I will do everything to make that possible.
She swivels her hips to the music, getting dangerously close to my groin, so I back up, clutching her hand so she doesn’t fall to the floor. She had two drinks and half of my beer. It’s almost funny how drunk she is.
She turns around unexpectedly, spinning on her heels, and then trips, crashing into my chest. I groan as our bodies make contact, but she just laughs, letting me hear that heavenly sound of how happy she is, and wraps her arms around my neck.
My hands drift to her waist, holding her up. She feels so good in my hands, I want to relish this moment right here, knowing she feels comfortable with me.
She sighs, resting her head on my chest. Her movements slow down, and I feel her relax in my arms.
“You want to go home?” I whisper in her ear.
She nods. “With you.”
I laugh. This fucking girl. “Okay, angel, let’s go.”
I take her hand in mine, pulling her out of the bar. She’s tired. I wonder if she enjoyed herself. She looked happy in there. She looked like she was having fun. I love being the reason for that smile. The one who can make her forget for a little while.
I drop her inside my car, and she closes her eyes, resting her head on the headrest.
The whole way home, she’s got her eyes closed, and I steal glances at her. Her lips are parted, and her head laid back. She’s asleep. If I had known she got drunk so easily, I wouldn’t have gotten her that second drink.
When I get to her apartment, I turn the car off and look at her for a while. I find myself tracing her features with my eyes. Seeing how her chest moves when she breathes, how her lips are plump, and her skin is flushed from the alcohol. She’s so goddamn beautiful. Fuck, I’m an idiot.
I stroke her cheek. “Rosie,” I whisper. “We’re here.”
She mumbles, blinking her eyes open.
“Hi,” I say.
“Hey,” she says and then lets out a hum. “I had fun tonight,” she tells me.
I like the sound of that. “Yeah?”
She nods. “Thank you.”
I shrug. “That’s what I’m here for, angel.”
She sighs, closing her eyes again. “I like when you call me that.”
“Me too.” I open the car door and get out, walking over to her side. I open the door, and her head turns to face me. When she makes no move to get out of the car, I laugh. “You want me to carry you?”
She nods, holding out her arms.
Shit. I was joking, but it seems like she’s serious. Fuck it. A beautiful girl wants me to carry her in my arms. Who am I to say no?
I lift her off the seat, carrying her bridal style to her apartment. The concierge looks at me sideways, and I get it. What is a fuck up like me doing out with a girl like her? I don’t get it either.
“What’s her apartment number?” I ask him.
“It should be on her key, he tells me, not even glancing up at me, typing away on the computer.
I look down at Rosie in my arms, her eyes are closed again. “Rosie,” I whisper. “Do you have your key?”
“Hmm,” she hums. “In my pocket.”
I reach for her pocket and pull out her key. 305.
I don’t even look back at the concierge and walk towards the elevator, taking her to her room.
I find apartment 305 and manage to get the door open without dropping her on her feet. I head through the apartment, finding her bed. I place her on the bed, taking off her heels. She starts to kick her feet, trying to cover herself with the sheet.
I pull the covers back, getting her under them, but she shakes her head. “Pants,” she mumbles. “Off.”
I freeze. Is she serious?
“What?” I ask, in case I heard her wrong.
“I want them off.” She starts to fumble with the buttons, and I don’t know where to look. I can’t look at her, right? I turn around, giving her some privacy, and run a hand through my hair, trying to think how in the hell I got here. Rosie groans, sounding frustrated. “Help me,” she says from behind me.
I curse under my breath, and then I turn around. She mutters those two words, and I do anything she says. Who the fuck have I become? I stare dumbfoundedly at her as her pants are hanging halfway down her legs. I pull them off her and cover her with the sheet. Thank God she didn’t ask me to take off her top too.
“You’ll be okay, Rosie?” I ask her.
She nods, her eyes already closed.
I want to stay here with her, but I can’t. So, I back up from her. “Call me if you need anything,” I tell her from her bedroom door.
I leave her apartment, shutting the door behind me, wishing I would have stayed with her. But I can’t do that. I told her we’d be friends. Sleeping in the same bed would confuse things for her. Things are already starting to confuse me. Lines are starting to blur, and I don’t know what to do about that.
