After a shut-out morning game at the League, Grey had invited the entire team over his house for a barbeque and fun in the pool.
Smitty was manning the grill while Max and Grey and a couple other dads were playing pool basketball against the boys.
I couldn’t keep my eyes off him. He was so incredibly tall, ripped, and tan. Maybe dad-bods were in… but looking at the other dads compared to him… no one could even come close. He still had the full athlete bod. My heart fluttered when watching how care-free and happy he was- he became a kid again when playing with the boys. And I loved the way he treated and included Canyon. It was like Canyon was one of the guys versus just a kid, and I could tell Canyon loved it. No one was criticizing him, instead, Grey made sure Canyon was always on his team, making Canyon feel like he was on top of the world. Grey had a way of making you feel that way, I knew it well. And damn. He was practically glistening in the late afternoon sun.
I internally slapped myself for ogling him in front of the whole party. I turned away from the pool and continued trying to keep up with all the trash the munchkins were leaving around. I didn’t want Grey to have to deal with a huge clean up after.
I grabbed a garbage bag and was moving around his huge patio.
I felt him before he spoke. His rough, wet cast brushed down my arm.
“You should be enjoying yourself with the other moms,” he said in a concerned tone. “Are you having fun?”
He was leaning over me dripping water on me.
“Yes, you throw quite the barbeque, Greyson Scott,” I turned to him with a smile and pushed him back a bit, “and I don’t mind. But is that cast supposed to get wet?”
He had water droplets streaming down his body and water clung to his long eyelashes making them look even more full. His St. Christopher medallion on his gold chain shone bright in the sun. I didn’t have to look to know what it was. He never took it off. He was devastated when he lost it in the ocean at 20, only to be the luckiest guy and grab it out of the water five minutes later.
He took the trash bag away from me and slung a wet, heavy arm over my shoulder. Giving me a boyish smile, he said, “you worry too much, Juju. I get it off tomorrow… and you know what that means.”
I cocked an eyebrow at him.
He leaned in to whisper, “I get to make love to you with two hands… just imagine how much louder you’ll be screaming my name, baby.”
I felt a shock course through my body, emitting from low. My face was heating up fiercely, and my cheeks were without a doubt turning bright red and he totally noticed.
I could smell the beer on his breath. He was definitely feeling the alcohol a bit to be so outspoken.
He dipped close to me, “I love it when I get you all hot and bothered,” he said in a low grumble. “I love that I still have that effect on you,” he added in a more serious tone. He moved away from me then and moved towards the cooler. I immediately missed his presence in my personal space.
He grabbed two Coronas out of the cooler and handed one to me, just like he had so many times in the past.
I shook my head and looked up at him, “I have Canyon.” I really didn’t drink much anymore, besides the occasional glass of wine at dinner or the end of the day. My mom radar was always on, and I didn’t mind at all, in fact, I preferred it that way. That’s why Kevin didn’t even try to get more than partial custody of Canyon, he was still in frat boy mode half the time. I sometimes did think it would be nice to have a night out though.
“I have chatted with Mrs. Troy’s mom, whatever the hell her name is,” he countered playfully. In the back of my mind, I liked how he didn’t pay attention to her tall blonde figure the way Kevin had. Even if I didn’t want to admit it to myself, I wanted all of his attention. “I already asked if she could take Canyon home and baby-sit tonight. They loved the idea of a sleepover, they were like jumping out of their skin,” he smirked.
That was definitely more of a dad move- making sure Canyon would be alright instead of just expecting me to be free for him. It was a little different having someone else make plans… but I appreciated it.
His eyebrows drew together, “I hope that’s alright,” he added quickly.
“Oh, yeah,” I assured him. “But What’s happening tonight?” I hesitantly accepted the beer he was still holding towards me.
He shook his head at me and flashed his heartbreaker smile with all his confidence back in place, “A surprise.”
