“It’s stupid.”
“Nothing you feel is stupid. Talk to me.”
“I don’t know you.”
“Yet here you are sitting with me. What’s going on, Peyton?”
“I wanted to be just Peyton. I didn’t want you to see me as Easton Monroe’s daughter or Cameron Taylor’s sister-in-law. I just wanted to be Peyton.”
“That’s who you are to me. You’re Peyton, the beautiful girl I met on the beach yesterday and has somehow managed to burrow her way inside my head. I can’t stop thinking about you. That started before I knew who your family was.”
“Yeah,” she says, but I can tell by her tone that she doesn’t believe a word that I’m saying.
“Pull out your phone,” I tell her.
“What?”
“Come on, humor me. Pull out your phone.” She does as I ask. “Now, open up our messages and read through them.” She shakes her head as if she can’t believe she’s doing this, but she scrolls through our messages anyway. “Now, tell me that I’m not here for you.”
“Oh my God,” she breathes. I smile because she’s finally getting it. “You knew. You knew who I was all along. How could I be so stupid? I let my guard down. Dammit.” She stands and begins to walk away.
“Peyton!” I call out, running to catch up with her. “Hey, stop,” I say, grabbing her wrist gently to get her to stop running away from me. She stops moving but doesn’t turn to face me.
My heart thunders in my chest as I realize she could walk away and I’d never see her again. I don’t want that to happen. That realization alone has my palms sweaty. I’ve never chased a girl, but something in my gut tells me that Peyton is worth it. She’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met before. She’s down to earth. She is who she is, and she’s unapologetic about it. She’s not one of those girls who refuse to eat in front of you. She’s not constantly worrying about her appearance, messing with her hair and makeup; she’s just Peyton. And although I’ve only known her for a very short amount of time, I know that I want to know more. I never want to know more.
Not knowing what else to do, I wrap my arms around her from behind, holding her close just like I did last night. “I didn’t know,” I whisper in her ear. “I didn’t know who you were, and even if I did, it wouldn’t have mattered to me.”
“How can you say that?” She turns in my arms. Her brown eyes are full of sadness. “You don’t know that.”
“I do know that. I know you’re the first girl I’ve ever met who I want to spend more time with. I’ve yet to ever meet someone who doesn’t annoy the hell out of me with their fakeness until you. You’ve been nothing but real with me, and I want to learn more about you. I want to spend more time with you. You told me that you’re here for five days. If my listening skills are correct, this is day three. That means I have today and two more to spend with you, and I’d like to do that if you’d let me?”
“Griffin—” she starts, but I stop her, pulling her into my arms for a hug. Her body fits perfectly next to mine. She just feels right.
“Let’s move out of the front of the hotel,” I whisper in her ear.
She nods and steps out of my hold. I don’t let her get far. I slide my arm around her waist and walk her to the side of the hotel. Seeing a bench, I sit down and boldly pull her onto my lap.
“Is this okay?” I ask.
“Now you ask for permission?” she teases.
“I just wanted you close so that you can’t escape, but I’d never force you to do anything you’re not comfortable with.”
“I believe you.”
“Do you believe me that I didn’t know who you were when we met?”
“You didn’t even react in there, Griffin. There was no shock on your face.”
“I was shocked, trust me, but I was trying to impress your family, Peyton. I didn’t want them to think I was some fan using you. That’s not who I am or what I’m doing.”
“What would make you think that? You had to know who I was to come to the conclusion so quickly,” she says, folding in on herself.
I hug her to me. “I read your body language. Your shoulders were tight, and you barely made eye contact with me. I could tell that you were uncomfortable with the situation, and the only thing I could think of was it was me being there. You didn’t want me to come to your room, and it’s my guess if I read the room correctly, Cameron and Holden weren’t supposed to be there.”
“Pretty much.”
“Let me show you. Spend the day with me. Karina is probably waiting for us in the lobby.”
“I live in Tennessee.”
“I know, and that sucks, but that doesn’t change the fact that I want to get to know you.”
“This can’t go anywhere.”
Hearing her say those words brings out the competitive side of me. I want to prove her wrong. I’m starting to think that Oliver’s right, and she did cast some kind of voodoo spell on me. “Please?”
She bites down on her bottom lip, and I can’t help but wonder what those lips would feel like pressed to mine. “Okay. We can hang out.”
“What about this?” I ask.
“What about what?”
“Can I hold you like this?” I ask, not even recognizing myself.
“Do you want to?”
“More than anything.”
“I’m not sleeping with you. You can’t pull out all of your charms to convince me otherwise.”
“Who said anything about sleeping?” I tease.
“Sex, Griffin. There will be no sex.”
“Get your mind out of the gutter,” I fire back, pretending to be horrified.
“Stop.” She laughs, pushing at my shoulder.
“I’m kidding. I just want to hold you. Like last night. I just want you close.” For the first time in my life, I’ve found someone I don’t want to let go of.
“This doesn’t make any sense.”
“Trust me, I know. I’m not this guy. I don’t chase, and I don’t beg for more time, but here I am.”
“Why me?”
“Because I knew the minute I laid eyes on you that you were special. I felt it in my gut. It’s a feeling I can’t explain, and it’s one I’ve never felt with anyone but you. I always trust my gut, Peyton. So even if this is out of character for me, I’m rolling with it.”
Her only reply is to rest her head on my shoulder. I don’t understand my reaction to her, but I meant what I said. My gut has never steered me wrong.
“Come on, let’s go get Karina and head to my place. The guys are waiting on us,” I say just as her phone rings. She stands and pulls it out of her purse and shows me the screen. She smiles when she places the phone to her ear.
“We’ll be right there.” She pauses. “Me and Griffin.” Another pause. “I’ll explain later.” She ends the call and slides her phone back into her purse. I stand and offer her my hand, and she takes it.
I feel ten feet tall walking into that hotel to meet her best friend with her hand entwined with mine. I should be worried that this is happening too fast, but I can’t seem to care when she’s this close. Who am I kidding? I didn’t care this morning when I couldn’t stop thinking about her either.