Grayson

 

It seemed like everyone had already arrived. Cars were parked all along the driveway, front wheels on the grass, and all the close spots were taken.

Cal looked at me. I looked at him. "Best man's gonna win," I said, extending my hand.

He sniffed and switched off the ignition. We both sat there for a microsecond.

And then I lifted both middle fingers before throwing open the door.

Cal's door slammed and I heard his feet pounding on the gravel as he raced to catch up with me.

"Too slow," I jeered, walking a little faster.

I heard his feet pounding on the gravel. "Never!" Cal laughed.

"Motherfuck—" I started jogging.

He came up on my left side and I threw out my arm. "Are you fucking serious?" he panted. "Throwing elbows?"

"Did I break your hip, old lady?" I asked.

He responded with a hard shoulder check, sending me staggering to the side. I swore and regained my footing, then broke out in a dead run.  Cal played football in high school because his dad could afford the equipment, but you don't need much equipment for track, so that was my sport. He was good at short sprints, but distances were my area of expertise and we both knew it, which was why were suddenly both running, full tilt, a flat-out sprint the two hundred yards to the McCabe's front door.

"You're gonna lose!" I called. He looked back with an arrogant grin and then leaped onto the front porch. But he'd misjudged the distance and only caught the edge of it with the ball of his foot. He stumbled backward just as I slammed into him, propelling us both onto the welcome mat, where we stopped, breathing hard, before jostling and jockeying for position to ring the doorbell.

And after all that, it wasn't even Harper who answered the fucking door.

Everett stood there, wearing a suit and tie like he was born in it, and an expression of pure confusion on his face. "What the hell are you doing ringing the doorbell?" he asked. "I don't think you guys have ever done that in your lives."

I looked at Cal, who looked down at his feet. We both knew why. We are both hoping to get to Harper first. 'May the best man win' apparently extended to foot races in the driveway. But now that Rett was here, we had to play it cool. Because even though we'd reached an agreement about how things were going to go in our quest for Harper's heart, neither one of us had the balls to inform Rett of that agreement.

For the second time in a week, I walked into the McCabe's new place and felt that strange frission about it no longer being the same. The cabin down by the gully had been a second home to me, and there was no way I was ever going to be able to recapture that feeling in this new place. Time passed, things changed, and we'd never be the same three scruffy-headed, skinned-knee group of maniacs tearing around the woods.

That feeling made me feel strangely melancholy.

But once again, the appearance of Mrs. McCabe, who immediately starting clucking over us — straightening Cal's tie and muttering about the crease on my pants —  made me feel right at home again.

"How's it going, Gray?" she asked me, her green eyes just like Harper's searching my face. "Rett tells me you have an interview the day after tomorrow. It's okay if you can't make it to our vows ceremony, that's much more important. You might need the time to prepare."

I leaned over and kissed her on her cheek. "Nothing is more important than seeing your vow renewal," I reassured her. "I'll be able to do both, I promise."

She started saying something else, worried and fretting, but I was distracted by the faint whiff of Harper's shampoo. She wasn't in the room, but her scent drifted by on the breeze.

Callum looked up, then turned to stare at me meaningfully. He wasn't trapped under Mrs. McCabe's worried clucking, so he was free to go follow that scent. As I was reassuring Mrs. McCabe that yes, I was excited about my new prospect, he sidled off into the living room, leaving me trapped. I clenched my fist as I assured Mrs. McCabe that yes, I would make sure to tell them that my greatest flaw was my perfectionism, when I heard Harper's laugh float in from the living room, followed quickly by the low rumble of Cal saying something. Harper laughed even harder, and I felt my stomach twist in a knot. Bastard wasn't playing fair, not at all.

"Ma, I'm going to be fine, don't you worry," I declared, clutching her hands. She looked mildly startled at my sudden interruption, but I ignored it and kept talking. "I need to go run in and check something about the tree I brought over, okay?"

Her eyes widened. "Oh dear, is there something wrong?" she asked, hands fluttering near her mouth.

I fixed her with the baleful glance. "Gosh I hope not," I said. "But just to be sure..." I was backing out of the room as Mrs. McCabe made worried sounds with her mouth. I felt bad about appealing to her anxieties that way, but it was the only way I was going to make sure that the best man truly did win.

Cal had maneuvered Harper over to the couch, sitting way too close to her for my liking.

So, of course, I went right over and plucked my ass down next to her.

"What are you drinking tonight?" I asked her, nudging her with my knee.

She flipped her gaze up to me, and for a second I remembered what a jerk I'd been the last time she saw me. I turned the corners of my mouth down. Great Aunt Hilda had once accused me of using my puppy dog eyes to get away with murder, and she wasn't wrong. "I'm trying to make amends," I told Harper mournfully.

She rolled her eyes and laughed. "You two are collectively a piece of work," she sighed, leaning over and picking up pieces of fuzz off the sofa.

That was a little better. At least she was acknowledging both of us. "Oh come on, you've known this forever," I reminded her.

"I have." She nodded.

"And you've always known that Gray has a touch of the douche in him," Cal piped up.

I shot him a murderous glance. "There's a lot of room for it, since there’s no stick up my ass," I reminded him.

"Guys," Harper said sternly. "Let's not have a repeat of the Falls."

I leaned back. "Of course. I'm going to be on my best behavior tonight."

Harper looked at me quizzically. "I don't think I've ever seen that before," she deadpanned.

I laughed. "Well played," I told her. "You actually have, though. Remember when I needed to hide out at your old place when my dad was being a shit head? You guys let me live with you for three weeks and I promise you, I was on my best behavior."

Harper's eyes softened as she remembered.

But Cal, of course, interjected smoothly. "I remember there being a tragedy involving a piece of stained glass and a hockey puck," he reminded me. "Is that your best behavior?"

I opened my mouth to protest, but Harper raised her hand guiltily. "No, that was actually me," she said, wincing. "Gray took the fall for me, though."

I nodded. "I figured your mother would get less mad at the guest," I said.

Harper turned to face me full on. "Thank you for that by the way. Did I ever actually thank you for doing that?"

Mentally I marked the scoreboard, Grayson - 1, Callum - 0. I shrugged. "Nah, but you were just a little kid back then."

"Kid sister," she's said, sighing. "I know. Seems to be my lot in life." She leaned back and stretched and as her hands lowered back down again, they came to rest in two different places.

One of those places was on my thigh, and that place still burned from her touch on Christmas.

The other one came to rest on Cal's upper arm.

I didn't even have time to be jealous, because the way her fingers sank into my skin, it was like her touch was connected right to my dick. "When are you leaving?" I blurted.

"Day after New Year's," she said, and I swear her fingers twitched, holding on to my thigh just a little bit tighter.

Two days, that's all I had. And I had to have her, before she left again. There was no way I could let her go without getting her into my bed. No matter what.