“Because I’m ready to go back home.” This was a lie. She didn’t even try to convince him. “It’s just temporary,” she added.
“Do you believe that?”
She shook her head and pressed her lips together.
“No. I’m going to get sucked back there and never be able to escape.” Tears threatened, causing her eyes to glisten and her lip to tremble. “I’m sorry. I’m not going to cry. I promise.”
“Are you sure? It looks like you need to.” Gray winced and pulled her closer.
“What good will it do?”
“None, but it might make you feel better.”
“Guys hate crying,” she said.
“That we do, but sometimes it’s inevitable.” He stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. With her face against his chest, he wasn’t sure if she let herself cry or not, but it was nice just to hold her. “I have to say, I’m rather insulted.”
“Why?”
“I offered you a very nice room for a decent price and you’re turning it down to move to Albany. You might as well tell me I’m worse than Albany.”
She laughed and looked up at him.
“I like you, Gray. But I can’t move in with you. It wouldn’t be right. We want different things. Maybe we can meet up when I come to the city to visit.”
“I don’t see that happening. Besides, I don’t know how I feel about hooking up with someone from Albany.” He shivered this time, making it more theatrical. As if Albany was a slum. It made her laugh. Mission accomplished.
They lay there in silence for a long moment while he thought over the situation. In all reality he should be insulted. She was brushing off his perfectly reasonable offer and giving up everything she had here. For what? Just so she wouldn’t have to spend more time with him?
“Liss?” He checked to see if she was sleeping.
“Yeah?”
“Why won’t you move in here? Really? I mean, I’m not making you sign a lease. You would be free to try it out for a month or so, and if it didn’t work out you could go with Plan Albany next month. I don’t get it.”
“I don’t expect you to get it.”
She didn’t elaborate.
“This would be the part where you tell me the reason.”
“I don’t trust people.” He got that. He had his own trust issues. Didn’t everyone?
“I understand, but I’m offering you a room, not matrimony or even an exclusive affair. You wouldn’t need to trust me any further than knowing I wouldn’t steal your stuff or eat the last of your Oreos.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Really. It would be just like this, only you would have a home and not have to move to Albany.”
“I’ll think about it.”
Thinking about it was a step in the right direction. He wasn’t giving up.
Chapter 6
Alyssa found a T-shirt that smelled clean on top of his dresser. She slipped it on, taking a moment to notice how sexy Grayson looked stretched out in his bed with the sheet low across his hips. One small tug and she’d be able to see everything. She sighed and went out to the kitchen to start coffee and see if there was anything to make for breakfast.
The refrigerator shocked her. He had real food. Bacon, eggs. The milk wasn’t even out of date. She opened a few cabinets to find a hodgepodge of cookware, including a skillet.
“Excellent.” She put it on the stove and checked for plates. She found a toaster and bread. Things were getting better and better.
As the eggs cooked, she looked around his place. It was very neat for a guy’s home. It wasn’t huge, but the living room was bigger than her entire apartment.
Not her apartment for much longer, she reminded herself and flipped the eggs over. When they were done, she put the eggs, bacon, and toast on two plates. She poured coffee, adding tons of the vanilla creamer that she found in the refrigerator, and carried everything into his room.
He was just waking when she set the coffee on the nightstand.
“What is this?” he asked.
“Breakfast in bed.”
“Seriously?” He looked adorable with his big smile and bed head. “I’ve never had breakfast in bed.”
“It’s awesome, unless you spill something,” she warned while handing him his plate.
“This is the second meal I’m eating with you in bed with no clothes on.”
“I have clothes on,” she noted.
“Yeah. Mine.” He tilted his head to look her over. “You make that shirt look good, Ms. Sinclair.”
“Thanks.” She laughed at the formality while he made “mmm” sounds about his breakfast. When they were done, he gathered their plates and took them out to the kitchen, refilling their coffees.
They sat in bed for a long time, talking about where they grew up, and where they went to school. She was surprised by how easy it was for her to share information about herself. He was safe.
Eventually, she realized she needed to get going. Staying for breakfast was one thing, but lunch would be overstaying her welcome.
“I should go,” she said.
He nodded as they slipped out of bed. She followed him to the hall, still wearing his shirt. He’d put on a pair of boxers and she loved the way they hung on his lean hips.
In the hall, he opened the other bedroom door and leaned against the jamb.
“So did you think about it?”
She had, but she let out a sigh, unwilling to tell him he was breaking through her resolve. She didn’t want to leave the city. She didn’t want to move back with her mother. And worse, she actually wanted to live with him. But she had lived with a man before and it hadn’t worked out. In a very bad way.
He reached for her, letting his hands rest on her hips. He picked her up and kissed her as he turned and then put her down inside the empty room.
“Please Liss.” He whispered with his forehead pressed against hers.
“I can’t live with you,” she said, but without real conviction.
“Why not? What’s the matter with me?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t know you well enough to know what is wrong with you. Other than the fact you invite strangers to live with you.”
“When I was in college, I moved into a dorm with a stranger. Guess what? He’s still my best friend to this day.”
“Do you hear what you’re saying?” she said.
“I do. I think it would be fun.”
“Fun? Fun because you would get sex and breakfast whenever you want it? Would I be like a slave for room and board?”
His head snapped back and he looked insulted.
“No. You would pay your rent with actual money, not services rendered. That’s real nice, Liss.” He frowned at her.
Why had she given him permission to call her Liss? She liked it too much.
“Sorry.” She apologized for the low blow, but certainly if she’d thought it, other people would too.
“Just forget it. Move back to Albany.” He made a wide sweep of his hand. “I was just trying to help.”