Six Rules: Book Two in the SIX Series (10 page)

Chapter 14

          
As evening rolled around, Greyson steered the boat towards
a small cove area where there were other boats tied up to some buoys close to
shore. He anchored the boat and tied it to a buoy as well. Within a minute a
small metal boat with a young teenaged kid pulled up to the side of our boat,
offering us a ride to the shore to eat at the outdoor restaurant on the beach.
We got in the kid’s boat and made our way to the outdoor eatery.

          
“Have you ever been here before?” Greyson asked, taking my
hand as we walked to a table overlooking the lake.

          
“No, I had no idea this place even existed,” I said,
taking in the beautiful view and the sunset in the distance.

          
“It’s always been one of my favorite places. Kind of a
hidden gem not too many people know about. They have really good food too,” he
said, picking up his menu.

          
We placed our orders and Greyson continued to ask me more
questions, still intrigued and wanting to know everything possible about me. We
had already talked about my studies abroad in Europe and Australia, my family
growing up, and my long term plans for the bakery. I had learned quite a bit
about him as well. He loved the outdoors, loved his family, and he was a very
spontaneous person. On numerous occasions he would just head out camping on his
own in the wilderness, or hitchhike a ride somewhere, anywhere, just to
experience a new place. He was so genuine as he spoke, and I liked him more and
more as the day went on.

          
“So, tell me one more thing about you,” he said, eyeing me
as the waitress set down our food. “Something you’ve never told anyone before.”

          
I thought about it for a moment, trying to recall
something secretive about me. I had such a close group of friends, so I really
struggled to think of something Megan or Steve didn’t know about me. It seemed
like they knew it all.

          
“I really don’t have any secrets,” I said, shaking my
head.

          
“Oh come on, everyone has secrets,” he replied with a
raised eyebrow.

          
“Oh, there is one thing. But I don’t know if I’m ready to
say it,” I said shyly.

          
“Come on, you can say it. You have to be comfortable with
me by now, you’ve been talking to me for the last seven hours. Well, minus that
one brief hiatus we took from talking,” he said winking at me.

          
“Well, you know how you asked about the bumper of my car
yesterday? I didn’t exactly tell you the truth,” I said, biting into my club
sandwich.

          
“Ah, so you do have a dirty little secret. Did you run
over someone’s cat or something?” he asked playfully.

          
“No. It’s worse,” I said, embarrassed to be talking about
it.

          
“Something worse than killing someone’s beloved pet?
Mallory, I hope this story isn’t so terrifying that it makes me want to leave
you alone here on the beach,” he teased. “I’ll sail away in that boat, I’m not
afraid to do it.” He smiled at me and paused, holding his sandwich in one hand
and waiting for my explanation.

          
“Well, it pains me to tell you this. But that night I was
supposed to meet you at Eastwick’s Pub, when I stood you up,” I said awkwardly.
“I wasn’t going to meet you, I swear. But for some reason I wanted to see if
you were really there waiting for me. So I just did a quick little drive by
hoping I could see in the window,” I said, shrugging my shoulders.

          
“You were the car that rear-ended the Miata?” he said,
laughing.

          
“What? You saw that?” I asked, even more mortified that he
had witnessed the entire thing.

          
“Yeah, I was sitting close to the window in the bar area.
That was really you?” he said, sounding a little shocked by my confession.
“Come on, you really weren’t going to come in?”

          
“Honestly, no. I really was resistant to the whole thing.
I mean I was just dumped that morning. And then you came along, all pompous
with your desserts and all your confidence like I was into you immediately. I
was trying to prove a point,” I said valiantly.

          
“Well, here we are,” he responded, motioning around to our
beautiful surroundings. “Do you feel like you made your point? You still
couldn’t resist me,” he said with a cocky grin on his face.

          
“Oh come on, maybe I’m still just humoring you,” I
responded. “Maybe I’m just here out of guilt because I’d never been so mean to
a guy before and I felt a little bad.”

          
“No, I’m pretty sure you still hated me at the bar that
night when we ran into each other again. What was it exactly that changed your
mind about me?” he asked with a raised brow.

          
“Alcohol apparently,” I said with a giggle.

          
Greyson stood up and sat down on the chair right next to
me, grabbing my face and kissing me passionately.

          
“Best summer romance story ever,” he said, pulling away
from me. “Girl meets boy, hates boy until she’s drunk, and then the girl has
the best summer love of her life.”

          
As he said the words, I was surprised they actually seemed
true for the moment. I still wasn’t sure what even made me fond of Greyson in
the first place. I had to admit though, I was glad I turned the corner on that.
This day was perfect. Breakfast on the patio, a boat ride, jumping into the
lake, learning about each other in the sunshine, then frolicking on the beach
for a sunset dinner. It all felt like an eerie, love-drunk haze. A cool breeze
swept by as the sun dipped below the mountain top. It seemed there were always
romantic tales of summer love. There were songs about it, movies about it. The problem
was, August was almost over. The chill in the air hit my skin, and I couldn't
help but wonder if things would still feel this way once our contract was up.

Chapter 15

          
Greyson was going to be out of town the next few days,
prepping for the wedding job he had this upcoming Saturday. We were as giddy as
teenagers to talk on the phone every night, recounting our days. I genuinely
missed him. I had some big orders at the bakery, so at least I was pretty busy
as well.

          
On Saturday Addie and I had to prep for six different
birthday parties, a record for us in one day. We also had plans to hang out at
our friend Johnny’s house that night. Everyone had been so busy over the last
couple weeks. We hadn’t all gotten together since the night we found out Addie
and Griffin were engaged.

          
Saturday night was wonderful, just like old times with all
of my best friends. Megan and Steve arrived together, as they usually did. I
was convinced they should date, but we had all been such good friends for so
long, they acted as if that idea was repulsive. Johnny was a sweet, genuine
guy, but despite having a few relationships here and there, he was perpetually
single. And then there was Addie and Griffin, still very much in love. They
couldn’t keep their hands off each other. It was just the six of us,
reminiscing, drinking, and discussing our busy schedules.

          
“So, where’s the new boyfriend?” Megan asked as we all sat
around drinking in Johnny’s living room. “Addie keeps telling us about him. Are
we actually going to get to meet this guy?”

          
“Yeah, eventually. He’s catering a wedding tonight, so I
probably won’t get to see him until sometime tomorrow. Although Addie and I
have a busy day planned, so I don’t know,” I responded. “I don’t know what I’m
doing. It seems too good to be true. I thought that with Dillon also, and look
how that turned out.”

          
“You can’t be jaded by that Mal,” Addie chimed in. “This
guy seems genuine. The whole set up with all your rules is an interesting
concept, but it could work.”

          
“Rules? What rules?” Steve asked curiously. Addie and
Megan knew all about it, but I hadn’t really explained the arrangement to the
whole group. It was a little weird to talk about. I explained the whole thing
and watched their puzzled faces.

          
“So I don’t get it. Why can’t you just proceed like a
normal relationship? You guys actually discussed specific things you want the
other person to do?” Johnny asked. “I don’t understand women. Not one bit.”

          
“It was his idea, actually,” I responded. “I know it seems
weird, but I don’t know. It just kind of works. Neither one of us has had a
successful relationship, so I guess we’re just trying to find a way to
logically get around that.”

          
“Mal, no one has successful relationships. No offense
Addie and Griffin,” Megan said apologetically to the newly engaged couple. “I
mean, even those who make it to marriage, most of those are unsuccessful too.
So what’s the point? You’ve just gotta live. Let what happens happen. Go with
the flow, love when their worth loving, then get out.”

          
“Geez, Meg. Could you be any more pessimistic?” Steve
responded. “I think it’s actually kind of a cool idea. You get to explain what
you want up front, that way no one has to be disappointed with false
expectations or miscommunication about what they want. And then instead of some
dramatic break-up, which you think about and mull over for weeks before it even
happens, you just end it by not showing up for dinner. It’s like a free trial
run. I think it could work,” Steve said nodding in agreement.

          
“Thank you Steve,” I said, winking at him. “Look, I know
it’s unconventional. But I don’t know that I would have given this guy the time
of day otherwise. I like that he came up with a different approach to the whole
relationship thing, that’s all. And it’s only three weeks. How bad can I fall
for this guy in just three weeks if it doesn’t work?” I tried to sound
confident as I spoke, but I knew I was already in too deep not to be affected
by the outcome of this whole thing if it didn’t work out.

          
Around eleven-thirty, my phone buzzed. I leapt off the
couch and into another room to answer it.

          
“How did the wedding go?” I asked eagerly as I answered
the phone.

          
“It was great, actually. All the food turned out
perfectly. The bride and groom were very happy with the whole thing, so I would
consider it a success. I’m finally back at my place. Can you come over? I want
to show you something,” Greyson asked in his sultry voice.

          
“Oh yeah? What is it?”

          
“Saturn is out tonight,” he responded.

          
“Um, is that like a name for your…”

          
Greyson cut me off before I continued. “As in the planet,”
he said with a soft laugh. “I have a telescope on my patio. It looks really
amazing.”

          
“You want me to come over to see Saturn, the planet, which
you already rushed home and looked at before even calling me? Is that some kind
of nerd aphrodisiac talk?” I asked playfully.

          
“Just come, please. I haven’t seen you for three days.
It’s killing me. We don’t have to look at Saturn at all, I promise,” he said
eagerly.

          
“That’s more like it,” I responded. “I’m on my way.”

          
I quickly said goodbye to all my friends, thankful they
knew me well enough not to make me feel bad for ditching out on the rest of the
night over a guy. I wondered what they would all say about me when I left. This
was unusual behavior for me. It’s not like I was all mushy-gushy over Greyson
or anything. But still, I typically talked about the bakery more than I ever
talked about Dillon, so I think my friends at least noticed that something
about Greyson had me a bit more smitten.

          
As soon as I arrived at Greyson’s condo, his front door
opened up and he swept me inside, kissing me hungrily. I had to admit, it felt
good to see him after his absence. We stood in the hallway, my body pressed up
against his wall. I could feel the outline of his muscles and the protruding
bones from his hips as he pressed against me.

          
“Can I ask you something crazy?” he said between kisses,
brushing some hair back from my face.

          
“As long as it isn’t about astronomy,” I responded
playfully.

          
“Move in with me,” he said softly, kissing my neck.

          
“That didn’t sound like a question,” I replied, kissing
him back.

          
“Sorry. Will you move in with me? I know it’s way too soon
and that probably freaks you out. Maybe it’s completely irrational. But I don’t
really care,” he said, kissing my jaw line, making my body shiver.

          
“Greyson, no way.” I put my hand on his chest, hoping he
would actually listen to me. “There is nothing practical about that. Living
above my bakery is one of my favorite things. It takes me fifteen seconds to
get to work. That’s a big deal at six a.m.,” I answered honestly. “And yes,
that is a completely irrational question. It’s way too soon.”

          
“I missed you,” he said breathily as he continued to kiss
me.

          
“Interested in making up for lost time?” I said with a
suggestive glance. He nodded his head and swooped me up, carrying me into his
room. Apparently Saturn would have to wait.