“Do you have an innie?”
I’m startled awake by Luke’s voice, by the curious face that’s angled to the side, staring at me, and by the grin he’s fighting a losing battle with.
In the split second it takes me to remember everything that happened last night, it’s already too late to escape this situation unscathed. My hands tighten the comforter around me as his eyes glance at my bare shoulders. I cringe as I imagine what he’s thinking.
Stay cool. Stay calm.
“Shh, your dad’s asleep.” I look next to me, where Grayson’s forearm is over his eyes and his breathing is still even.
Deep breath. I’m just going to have to talk my way around this one.
“Do you have an innie?”
“You mean my belly button?” I ask, more than aware that I’m absolutely naked beneath the cool sheets sliding over my skin.
“No, silly.” He laughs, and in that moment, Grayson jolts in awareness beside me. But he’s good. He stays still despite his breathing telling me he’s silently freaking out. “I mean a vagina. An innie. Sam told me that men love women because they have vaginas. Dad said that’s not true. He also said that boys have outies and girls have innies. So is it true?”
I cough in response as I try not to laugh at him or embarrass him when he shouldn’t be, but my sleep-drugged mind is freaking out about whether his question refers more to marriage or more to sex and how exactly I should answer.
“Well, I am a girl,” I say with a soft smile, remembering just how sweet he was to me last night as we talked Creepers and Justice League and then went through the PS4 games that were his. Not the ones in the top cabinet that were ones he could only play with his dad. “So, I guess that means I have an innie.”
“Hmm.” He puts his index finger on his chin as if he’s thinking. “How come you slept in here last night instead of my bed?”
Knowing Grayson is listening makes this so much more nerve-racking because I fear I’m going to say the wrong thing. “Your bed was kind of small, so your dad offered to let me sleep in here, so I didn’t have to drive home when I was tired.”
That curious smile that melts my heart reappears and tells me he isn’t buying my story. “Justin told me his parents sleep in the same bed. He even said that sometimes he hears weird noises coming from their room when the door is shut, but his dad told him it was just him and his mom playing their PS4. I think they’re lying to him. Parents don’t have PS4s in their rooms.”
I choke on my breath of air. “What do you think they’re doing?”
His cheeks flush, and he clears his throat before he talks. “I think they’re wrestling. Or kissing. One of the two.”
“Oh.” I’m sure the expression on my face is priceless, but so is the one on his.
“I’ve gotta get ready for school. Are you going to take me, or is dad?”
I stutter momentarily at how easily Luke is accepting this situation. “Your dad is. Why don’t you go get dressed, and I’ll get him up? Make sure to brush your teeth and wash your face.”
“Are you going to remind him to do the same?” He lifts his chin over to his dad.
“Definitely. I’ll even make sure to have him wash behind his ears.”
“Ewww!” Luke says as he bounds toward the door. “Hey, Sidney.” He stops and turns back to face me. “Thanks for spending the night. It was fun. Hopefully Dad will let you do it again soon.”
I stare at him and nod as tears fill my eyes. This—a kid, or rather, a man with a kid—used to scare me, but now, the whole situation seems so very normal.
As I watch Luke retreat down the hallway, I try not to think of last night. Of the tenderness in Grayson’s touch. Of the intimacy we shared. Of what felt like making love but couldn’t possibly have been.
“Thank you.” Grayson’s voice is gruff as he moves his arm off his forehead and turns to face me.
My God, he’s breathtaking. With his hair mussed and sleep lines etched in his face. But it’s his eyes full of unspoken emotion that do me in.
“I know you’re cautious of what he knows . . . just tried to cover as best as I could.”
“You did fine,” he says as he grabs my hand and presses a kiss to the center of my palm. Every part of me swoons and wants to curl up next to him and waste the day away. “He handled that better than I expected.”
“He’s a good kid, Grayson. You’ve done a great job with him.”
He nods but doesn’t speak as my words hit his heart. “Thank you.”
We both fall silent, our fingers intertwined, both of us staring at them instead of looking at each other.
“We should get up,” he says but doesn’t move. “You know, before he figures out that you’re supposed to stick the outie into the innie.”
I stifle my laugh, knowing damn well he could be listening down the hallway. “Maybe I could stay over again soon and play PS4 with you.”
He squeezes my hand. “I’m pretty versed in which buttons to push.”
“That you are.”