If you're loved by someone, you're never rejected, decide what to be and GO BE IT
-The Avett brothers
Recommend Reading Introduction to Unproven
DEFINITELY READ Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
It was after nine on Saturday night when Ary’s phone rang, startling her from the book she’d finally managed to engross herself in after hours of replaying the previous night. She grabbed the cell and stared at the screen, Unknown number. She answered it with her heart in her mouth.
“Hello?”
“Aryanne.”
Her stomach did a giant flip and she grinned. “Grayson, hi.”
“What are you doing right now?”
“Um nothing really.”
“Where are you?”
“Oh, I’m home.”
“Can I come over?”
She grinned again before she remembered her grandma would not be cool with that, she was a firm believer in ‘No Guests After Nine P.M.’ She glanced over at her window and said, “Well here’s the thing, my grandma’s home and the only place to hang out in this house is my room, which she’d never allow,” she laughed quietly, “basically you’d have to sneak in my window.” She held her breath.
“Sneak in your window? Sounds good to me, just need your address and bedroom location.”
She grinned and told him.
“Okay, see you in fifteen to thirty.”
She pushed end on the phone and dropped back on her bed, doing a replay of her morning victory dance, kicking feet and all. He was coming to her house. It was still hard to believe that Grayson, face of an angel, body of a god, Teller, had jumped out of her fantasies and into her reality.
She sat up and looked down at herself. She was wearing a white tank top and pink silk shorts. Not bad…She froze in mid-thought and slowly lifted her head as her face heated several degrees. Her eyes skimmed over wallpaper that depicted Winnie the Pooh and friends in various settings, all surrounded by a pink sky. Oh God, why hadn’t she taken her grandma up on the offer to change it? Well she knew why, she happened to love Pooh bear, and the thought of tearing him down along with Tigger and Piglet and Roo would be like throwing away old friends. She groaned and gave in to a helpless laugh, grabbing her phone off the pillow. She dialed Andie’s number as she stood in the middle of her bed and ripped the small picture of him from her ceiling, relieved that she’d remembered. She hopped down and stuffed the photo in a drawer then sat on the bed as the phone rang.
“What up?” Her friend answered.
“He called me. He’s coming over. He’s going to sneak in my bedroom window.”
“Rea-lly. Guess he wants a little more of the Aryanne some-some, huh?”
“Oh. You think?” Ary frowned as her gaze dropped downward. She was still a bit sore.
“Well, yeah, why else would he be sneaking into your bedroom?”
“Because Nana is all Nazi about guests after nine.”
“Oh, well in that case, maybe I’m wrong.”
She didn’t sound convinced and Ary wasn’t either. Oh well, it wasn’t that bad, she could take it. She frowned, realizing she’d made the call hoping her friend would be happy for her, but she definitely didn’t sound it. She cleared her throat. “You really hate him, don’t you?”
“What? No, I don’t hate him. I just don’t especially like him.”
“And what would change your mind? If he wanted to be with me, not just have sex but date me, would you give him a chance then?”
Andie made a noise of the ‘yeah right’ variety. “I suppose.”
“Great, thanks, that’s encouraging, love that my best friend is so happy for me, after all it isn’t like I’ve been dreaming of this for years or anything.”
There was silence for a second. “You’re right, I’m sorry. If he actually proves he’s a human being by treating you well I promise to give him a chance.”
Ary sighed. “Okay, anyway I wanted you to laugh with me about something.”
“Um, hahahaha?”
“You’re a witch, I meant something in particular…of the cartoon variety.”
“The cartoon- ohhhh, the pooh bear, right I forgot about that,” Andie snickered, “well that oughtta give you two something to talk about. Might take his mind off the some-some too.”
Ary laughed, “Yeah.” She heard a noise outside and turned toward the window. “Um, I think he might be here already.”
“Wait, before you hang up, remember our little talk,” Andie admonished.
Ary winced, “Yeah, I know, condom, got it.”
She disconnected the call just in time to watch Grayson hoist himself through the window.
He grinned, “I’ve never done that before, it’s pretty sexy,” His eyes skimmed over her, “definitely sexy.”
She smiled self-consciously as he crossed the room and sat next to her then watched in mortified silence as his eyes left her to peruse his surroundings. He refocused on her face, one brow lifted, his lip curved in amusement.
“I know,” she said before he could comment, “Pooh bear, I know.” She dropped her head on her knees as he laughed.
“Nothing to be ashamed of,” he said, still chuckling, “Pooh’s the shit.”
His comment caught her sideways and she cracked up. When her laughter died she raised her head. “I couldn’t bring myself to change it,” she told him, “I know it’s childish, but it…”
“Suits you,” he finished. “It’s sweet and innocent like you. Don’t apologize, I love it.” He wasn’t lying, he did love it. Fucking her in this setting..., just the thought of it had his cock swelling. He tore himself from that fantasy with effort. Not tonight. Tonight he would play the sensitive guy role. He leaned over and brushed her cheek with his lips. “I thought about you all day,” he told her.
Her flush deepened. “So did I. But then I think about you pretty much every day.” She looked down at her knees again.
Grayson shook his head inwardly. Talk about showing your cards, this girl had no clue how to be subtle. Not that he was complaining, it made his life infinitely easier. “I can’t believe we’ve never met. I wish you’d introduced yourself sooner.”
She looked back at him shyly, “Really?”
He stroked a finger down her face, “Yes, really.”
She looked away again, biting her lip, and he realized if he wanted to get to know her he was going to have to start asking questions. “Are you intimidated by me Aryanne?”
Her head snapped toward him and she blinked before inclining her head in a slight affirmative. “Yes. It’s just… you’re Grayson Teller and I’m… well me.”
He cocked his head to the side, studying her with a slight frown. “What does that mean?” He leaned in closer, “Tell me how you see yourself and why you think you’re beneath me.”
She stared at him, “Well, not beneath you,” she looked down at her hands. “I don’t know, okay, let’s see. Until yesterday the only real excitement in my life came from either books or my imagination. And I guess maybe I built you up into this larger than life image, someone to fantasize about but never actually know. It’s strange, but so far you’re exactly like I thought you would be, better even. I was convinced that if I actually got to know you I would be disappointed, or maybe my friends were convinced of that and it rubbed off, but it’s the opposite.” She glanced at him and her stomach flipped around again at the way he was smiling, like he knew how fantastic he was. For some reason his arrogance was extremely attractive to her. “How are you so self-aware?” She blurted.
It was his turn to blink, “Self-aware?”
“I mean most people our age are completely clueless, self-conscious but not conscious of themselves, it that makes any sense,” she wrinkled her nose, trying to think of a different way of putting it.
He stared at her and coughed out a laugh, “That makes complete sense, actually. It’s also a pretty astute observation.” His eyes narrowed a fraction though he continued to smile. “There’s more to you than you let on.”
She smiled, recognizing the compliment, but shook her head. “No, not really. Well I do pay attention to people I guess, though it isn’t until recently that I’ve tried to understand them. So far I’m failing pretty miserably on that score, though I think it’s because people in our age-group don’t understand themselves so they’re always changing. Except you, you know exactly who you are.”
He leaned away as his interest in her became something more than sexually motivated.
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