The Rules Regarding Gray (5 page)

As Ian walked back into the house, Jas chuckled quietly as she watched him curiously.

“Tell me about your grandmother. You said you lived with her. Is she still in San Diego?”

He watched her calm and intrigued eyes for a moment, relieved this topic was easier than the last. “Yeah. She does. We’re very close. I talk to her every week.” He was quiet for a moment, but Gray didn’t interrupt. She waited to see if he was going to say something more. “She’s… Well, she’s spry as hell for eighty-nine actually. More attitude in that woman than most anyone I’ve ever met.”

Gray smiled at him. “I’m glad you have her.”

He watched her for a moment, and she held her focus on him too. When Ian returned moments later, he was carrying another bottle of wine, the wine bottle opener, and a deck of cards. He gave the bottle and opener to Jas, and then took his seat again as he started shuffling.

“Poker. You play, babe?”

“Umm… It’s been a long time. But I’m sure I’ll pick it up.”

They found out soon enough that wasn’t going to be happening. And when she threw down a straight with only four cards, they stared at her, waiting for the fifth.

“What?” she asked defensively. “That’s good stuff right there.”

Jas held back the laugh as much as possible due to the completely serious look on her face. But he couldn’t help but comment, “And what
is
that good stuff if you don’t mind explaining?”

“It’s a small straight. Duh.” She actually rolled her eyes like
they’d
lost
their
minds.

He didn’t bother holding the chuckle back then.

Ian stood, holding his hand out to her. “Up you get. We’ll be doing this together.”

“Why?” She was truly baffled, but she took his hand as he helped her stand and then took her chair, pulling her down to sit on his knee.

“This isn’t Yahtzee, babe. No small straight I’m afraid.”

Jas shrugged as his brows shot up when she scowled at him. For the next hour, he watched her fumble through her cards. Her face would scrunch up, she’d bite her lip, she’d scowl, and her eyes would pop open wide when she saw something she liked. There was definitely no poker face on this gal.

He’d occasionally glance at Ian over her shoulder, and when he’d catch Ian’s eye, Ian would smirk at him. By the time they’d given up on their game, he was tired and slightly drunk. And as Ian returned to his chair, Gray sank back into hers. Her eyes looked lazy and calm, and she smiled at him. It was dark out, but the pool lights and the lights from the house lit up the area around them. They were silent for a while, and it was completely comfortable and enjoyable.

And then Ian destroyed it all in one second flat.

“I want you to fuck Jas.” Ian’s words were so casual one would think it was nothing more than normal dinner conversation.

Jasper and Gray started coughing simultaneously—Gray on her wine, and he on nothing at all but his tongue. Rather than her focus snapping to Ian’s eyes, they snapped to his, and he stared back at her, trying to breathe but failing miserably.

She managed to get her wits about her first, and she finally looked at Ian. “What?” Her expression was shock, incredulity, utter confusion, and for added intrigue, nervousness and shyness as well when she glanced at Jas again. She shook her head. “What?” The second rendition of the word was loaded with even more shock, and Jasper sucked in a quick breath.

“What the fuck, Ian?” he muttered.

Gray’s focus shifted to the table as she sat there in stunned silence, but she was shaking her head.

“I want to share you with him,” Ian said calmly.

She kept shaking her head.

“I know you’re attracted to him.” There wasn’t an ounce of offense in his voice.

“I… I just…” She was stuttering, and as she stood, she stumbled, nearly knocking her chair over as she pushed it back. Her eyes met Jasper’s, and he watched her. When she covered her mouth with her hand, he stopped breathing again, slowly standing to his feet too.

She looked like a trapped bird, and he knew at any moment … she was going to flee.

“Oh, come on, babe, it’ll be—”

“Fuck you.” Her voice was uncharacteristically low as she spat the words out at him, and then she turned … and she fled.

“Gray,” Jasper called after her. He knew it would do little good, and just as he expected, she didn’t even bother looking back. She marched into the house and, moments later, the front door slammed, and then tires screeched out of the driveway.

Ian hadn’t even bothered to stand or try to stop her, and as Jas sat back down, he looked at his oldest friend in the world, and he contemplated punching him in the nose.

“What the fuck was that?” he shouted, his anger getting the better of him.

“What?” Ian responded as though he didn’t quite get the issue at hand.

“Let me explain something to you, since you’re clearly way off the mark here. She isn’t some casual fuck you can do this with. And if you haven’t already figured it out, you will absolutely destroy this relationship if you push this with her, and that’s if you haven’t already destroyed it.”

Ian shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. “I disagree. She’s … adventurous and—”

“And you think that translates into being open to—”

“I’m willing to find out,” Ian cut him off, finally getting irritated.

“At the risk of your relationship with her?”

Ian stared at him for a moment. “Yes.” The man was oddly calm and serious when he said it.

Jas shook his head, letting the anger that Ian’s one word affirmation fueled in him take hold. “Then maybe you don’t deserve her,” he muttered as he stood.

Ian snorted. “Yeah? What are you going to do? Tell her that? Huh?” Ian said nothing for a moment, but then his expression fell, and he shook his head in frustration. “Look, this … relationship thing… It’s fucking boring,” he cried incredulously. Ian looked at the ground, and when he pulled his attention back up to Jas, he grumbled. “But I like her. I do. I just … want to do it on my terms, and if she’s open to that, then … maybe…” Ian shook his head again.

“She’s not like you, Ian.” Jas planted his hands on his hips. He needed to walk away from this, but…

“You mean, she’s not like
us
?”

Jas’s jaw clamped down tight. He didn’t actually enjoy being likened to his best friend in that way. But in truth, his actions said he was exactly like Ian, and he knew it perfectly well.

“I get it. She’s sweet, she’s wholesome, she’s from Iowa for fuck sake!” Ian was actually smiling when he said it.

“She’s from Idaho you asshole,” he muttered. “She doesn’t want this, and you’re going to end up ruining this relationship over it.” He studied Ian for a moment. “Bravo, you fucking asshole.” Jas turned and walked away then, tossing his anger over his shoulder. “Leave this alone!”

Chapter Four

“So, are you going to break up with him?” Anna was sitting cross-legged on the practice room floor, picking at the dead skin of a blister on the side of her toe as she asked the question.

It was late, and all the other dancers and instructors were gone for the night. But they enjoyed this. It was quite a thing to have the building to themselves. The only other people in Butler Center were the janitors, and as Gray sat on the floor, pulling her pointe shoes from her feet, she stretched her aching toes and ankles and listened to the far off sound of a vacuum.

“I don’t know,” she answered honestly. She hadn’t seen Ian for three days, and after one phone call between them that had ended badly, she’d given up on communication for the time being. It didn’t mean he had. He’d called her multiple times since that conversation, but she’d not answered, and he’d text messaged her incessantly too, but he hadn’t once come over to try to talk to her, and she was glad for that. She just didn’t want to see him. But … she wasn’t sure she was ready to pull the plug either. Or maybe she just hadn’t worked up the nerve to finalize that decision.

“Is this guy you mentioned the one who was in the theater with Ian last week? The taller nicely built guy with the longer dark hair? Looks part… I don’t know… Native American or Hawaiian?”

“That’s the one.” She wrapped the long laces around her shoes, stashing them in her bag that sat beside her on the floor, and then she stood.

Her loft was only a few blocks away, and she had no intention of changing out of her black leotard and pink tights just to walk that short distance. She pulled her tattered and frayed short jean skirt up her legs and slipped her gray shrug on her arms. When she sat back down, she slumped her shoulders, relaxing her body. There were slits on her tights on the soles of her feet, and she pulled the fabric over her toes and up her ankles to let her feet breathe, and then she slipped her feet in her black gladiator sandals as she waited for Anna to stop picking at her own feet. Anna was scowling at her toes, and Gray smirked at her.

“Sweetie, you gave up having beautiful feet a long time ago,” she commented.

“Eh… You’re right.” Anna peered at her, finally giving it a rest and pulling her slip on mules from her own bag, but once her shoes were on, she made no move to stand. “He was hot. You noticed, I assumed.”

Gray just stared at her best friend.

“Of course you noticed.” Anna smirked. “Kind of scary looking, but … hot for sure.”

“He’s not really scary. He can be… I don’t know… Kind of nice actually.”

“Tell me about him.”

“His name is Jasper. He and Ian grew up together in California. He had a rough childhood, and Ian told me he dropped out of high school when he was a junior, but they stayed in touch. When Ian ended up at the University of Texas, Jas eventually settled down in Austin too. Ian fronted the money for Jasper to buy an old rundown house on Rainey Street—you know, where they have those cool, eclectic bars? Anyway, they converted the house into a bar, and—”

“Ian is part owner of a bar?” Anna sounded shocked.

Gray laughed. “No. Not now. Jas bought him out a few years ago. The bar ended up being really profitable, but Ian wasn’t interested in staying involved long term—not with his own career in corporate finance to worry about.”

Anna hummed thoughtfully. “What’s the bar?”

“Graystone.”

“How very coincidental.” Anna smirked.

“How so?”

“Graystone. Gray.”

“Oh, please,” she muttered. “I should entertain the idea of sleeping with the man because the name of his bar contains part of my name in it?” She scoffed.

“No. I don’t think you should sleep with him at all.” Anna studied her for a moment. “I know you, and I don’t think you can do something like this and then just walk away as though it was nothing.”

“I know. And I’m not going to. I’ve only been with one other man besides Ian. I’m practically a prude.” Gray’s focus shifted to her lap as she picked at her fingernail mindlessly. “Ian said Jas already knew what he wanted to do. That they’d already talked about it even.” She gnawed on the inside of her lip as the pain of that thought once again bit her.

“And?”

Gray glanced up to Anna, but then she glanced away, still trying to wrap her head around why that bothered her so much. She shrugged. “He knew Ian was going to ask, and…” She shook her head. “…I don’t know.”

“Shouldn’t you be upset with Ian for springing it on you like that in front of Jasper? Not Jasper for not telling you what Ian was going to do.”

“Yep.” She nodded. So why was she so offended by Jas too?

Anna’s expression turned quizzical as she studied the floor. “I wonder what it would be like.”

Gray snorted. “Painful?” But even as she said it, her skin warmed and she flushed.

“You’re probably right. Especially if either one or both are well endowed.”

“Well, according to Ian, Jasper is hung like a stallion.” And her skin was flushing again.

Anna’s eyes bulged, and she shook her head as she laughed quietly. “Best to leave this one alone, honey.” She clapped her hand on Gray’s leg.

“I intend to.” Gray thought about it for a moment. “I mean, where’s the intimacy in it?”

“Is it about intimacy with Ian?” Anna’s brow was cocked as she waited for a response. “I mean, he’s the one who suggested this. I’m just curious.” She looked nearly offended for Gray.

“Honestly, I don’t know what anything means to Ian anymore.” She smiled at Anna, and then she released a huff of breath, shutting down the conversation. “Let’s blow this popsicle stand, sweetheart.” She smacked her palm to Anna’s as they clasped hands and pulled each other up to stand. “I seriously need to soak these dogs in a nice hot bath before I can hit the hay.”

They walked slowly from the building, and Gray hugged Anna at the curb as Anna pulled her car door open.

“Wanna lift?” Anna asked.

“Nah. I’m just gonna hoof it. Maybe the fresh air will do me some good.” She smiled at Anna and waved as she started off down the sidewalk. Her mind wandered as she walked, and by the time she was standing in front of her building, she couldn’t remember a single step she’d taken to get herself home, she was oddly aroused, still offended, and most definitely, still confused.