“People? Are any of them hot?” she asks.
“They all are,” I admit.
“Which one has your eye?”
“Griffin.” I sigh.
“Aw, I like you like this,” she says. “I’ve never seen you let yourself fall. You have stars in your eyes, little sister,” she teases.
“Stop it.” I laugh. “I do not have stars in my eyes. He’s nice and definitely easy on the eyes. He doesn’t know me as a Monroe. He just knows me as Peyton. I don’t get that back home.”
Parker nods. “Yeah, I get that. So, what are your plans today?” she asks.
“Griffin and his friends invited us to hang out at his place at the pool.”
“Be careful, Peyton. You don’t know this guy.”
“I know. My gut tells me that I can trust him.”
“Can you get me an address of where you’re going to be?” she asks. “I’m not trying to be all over-the-top protective big sister, but you’re young and beautiful, and it’s spring break, and I’ve heard horror stories.”
“No, I get it. Let me text him and ask for his address.” Reaching for my phone that I set on the couch cushion beside me, I fire off a text.
Me: Hey, sorry to ask this, but can you send me your address? Or the address of where we’re going to be today?
Griffin: You have nothing to be sorry for. That’s smart on your part.
Me: Well, that all goes to Parker.
Griffin: Middle sister, right?
Me: So he listens.
Griffin: It’s hard not to when it’s you who’s speaking.
His text is followed by another with a picture of his license, and then his actual address that matches his license typed out.
I turn my phone to show it to Parker, and she laughs. “Okay, I admit he’s charming,” she says as my phone alerts me to another message. She snatches my phone and reads it, and nods her approval. She hands it back to me, wearing a smirk.
Griffin: If you’d let me come to your room to pick you up, I could meet her.
“He can come up here,” Parker tells me.
“I didn’t want to risk Holden being here.”
“He’s at training camp all day.”
“I’ll stay here with you. I can cancel.”
“Not a chance. Autumn and I are planning to do some shopping and hit the beach for a little bit of sun.”
“Are you sure?” I ask just as my phone rings. I turn it so she can see that it’s Griffin calling.
“Answer it.”
I roll my eyes and swipe at the screen. “Hello?”
“Let me come to your room.”
“It’s a hotel, Griffin. It’s not like you need to come to the door to meet my parents.”
“No, but your big sister is here, and that’s the next best thing.”
“That’s really not necessary. I’ll meet you in the lobby at noon.”
“Fine. I’m sitting on the bench next to the elevators.”
“What?”
“I’m sitting—” he starts, but I stop him.
“I heard you. Why are you here? We don’t meet for another hour or so?”
“Because I was driving Oliver crazy, and I thought if you changed your mind and wanted me to pick you up properly for our date, I’d be close.”
“So, you’re what? Going to just sit downstairs by the elevator until noon?”
“That was the plan.”
“You’re crazy.” I laugh.
“About you.”
“You barely know me,” I counter. I look over at Parker, and I can’t decipher the look on her face, but it’s obvious she’s listening intently to our conversation.
“Yeah,” he agrees. “It sounds insane, even to me, but here I am.” He chuckles.
“Tell him to come up,” Parker says loud enough that she knows Griffin will hear her.
“I heard that,” he says, confirming what I already knew.
“5602.”
“Thank fuck,” he mutters. “I’m on my way,” he says. I hear the elevator doors whoosh open.
“Okay.”
“See you soon,” he says and ends the call.
“Wow. You’ve got it bad.” Parker laughs.
“I don’t know him.”
“That doesn’t mean you can’t be vibing on the guy.”
“Vibing? Really Parker?”
“What?” She laughs. “Fine, crushing, is that better?”
“Can you crush on someone you just met?”
“Yep.”
I don’t get to answer before there’s a knock on our door. Standing, I wipe my sweaty palms on my jean shorts and make my way to the door. When I open it, I’m surprised to find Holden and not Griffin
“Holden? Come on in.” I step back, and then panic hits me. Griffin is on his way up, and he’s going to see Holden, and that’s going to ruin it all. How am I going to know that he’s here for me and not my connections to baseball?
“Hey, Peyton.” Holden leans in and kisses my cheek as he passes me and rushes to my sister.
I look over my shoulder and watch as she stands to greet him, and he lifts her into his arms and kisses her like it’s been weeks since he’s seen her and not hours. “What are you doing here?” I hear her ask, but I don’t hear what he says because there’s a tapping on my shoulder.
I turn to find Griffin smiling down at me. “You look beautiful,” he says, pulling me into a hug.
His scent, so much like the ocean, wraps around me, and I don’t know how but it’s comforting to me. I’ve known him for just over twenty-four hours. How is that possible?
“Let him in,” Parker calls out.
“You don’t have to do this,” I tell him. I’m not ready to lose him even though I just found him.
“Come on, Peyton. It’s going to be fine. I promise.” He presses his lips to my temple, entwines his hand with mine, and leads me into the room.
“Parker, Holden, this is Griffin.”
“Parker, it’s nice to meet you.” Griffin offers his hand that’s not holding mine to my sister to shake. Once she does, he then looks at Holden. “Holden, nice to meet you,” he says again, offering his hand to Holden. I watch him closely for recognition, but his expression doesn’t change.
“You too,” Holden says, shaking his hand. “How long have you known our Peyton?” Holden asks, and I have to fight not to roll my eyes.
Griffin gives my hand a gentle squeeze and smiles down at me. “We met yesterday.”
“Right, so we’re going to go,” I say, tugging on his hand.
“Hold up,” Holden calls out. “You can’t expect me to let you just leave with this guy. You barely know him.”
I look over at my sister and give her a pleading look, but she just smiles and shrugs.
“I have a picture of his driver’s license. I can send it to you,” I tell Holden.
Before he can reply, there’s a knock on the door. Holden walks to the door and pulls it open. “Come in. Peyton has a guy here.”