Chapter 31

Greyson

I woke to see a pair of big green eyes looking up at me.

Skylar had her arms draped over my chest. Her chin rested on the back of her hands, and she was looking up at me with a small smile playing on her lips. Her dimples were attempting to show themselves.

“Good morning,” I said, unable to stop myself from grinning. I couldn’t think of a better sight to wake up to.

“Morning,” she said.

“What are you doing?”

“Just admiring the view,” she said, shrugging one bare shoulder. “I wanted to spend as much time with you before I had to leave. What time will the plane be here?”

The thought of the plane arriving to take Skylar home made my stomach churn. “Eleven,” I said.

She frowned and then sat up. She was still naked. She stood and stretched, arching her spine as she reached her arms high above her head. Her hair fell down her back in a silky black curtain. The muscles of her thighs worked as she bent down to collect her clothes from the foot of my bed. She shimmied into her pajama pants first. She did a little hop in place to get them over her full hips, and her tits bounced, causing blood to rush immediately to my cock.

I doubted there would ever be a day where she didn’t make my head spin with how sexy she was.

Skylar pulled her shirt on and turned back to look at me. “Are you going to get up, or what?”

I clasped my hands behind my head. “Maybe I’m not ready to give up my alone time with you. As soon as we go out there, I have to share you. I don’t want to.”

Skylar smiled and hopped onto the bed. She crawled playfully toward me and sat on my lap with one knee on either side of my legs. “Don’t be selfish.”

“I can’t help it.”

Skylar leaned over and kissed me. Her hair fell all around us and showered me in the smell of her coconut shampoo. I inhaled deeply until she sat back up and patted my thigh. “Come on. The others are probably wondering where I am.”

“Alright, alright,” I said. She rolled off of me and stood at the side of the bed as I threw the covers off and got up.

Her eyes fell on my side and the bruises. “Greyson,” she said softly.

I looked at the damage. My ribs were purpled, but not black. The yellow tinge was still framing the darker bruising. “It’s not as bad as it looks,” I said, trying to reassure her.

She made an unconvinced sound in the back of her throat. “Really? For some reason, I’m having a hard time believing you.”

“I promise. I’m fine. This will be gone in a couple days.”

I went to my dresser and put on a pair of sweats and a loose shirt. Skylar watched me, worry still lingering in her gaze. Her anxiety seemed to ease once I pulled the shirt down and the bruises were hidden out of sight.

“Hey, Skylar,” I said, hearing the weakness in my own voice.

“Yeah?”

“Would you ever consider moving here?”

Skylar looked at her feet. I knew her answer before she found the nerve to speak it. “My life is in Houston, Greyson. There isn’t anything I can do to change that.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “I just had to know for sure. I would regret it forever if I never asked.”

She bit her bottom lip and refused to look up at me.

“Come on,” I said, taking her hand. “I’ll make the three of you breakfast before the plane arrives.”

“Omelettes?” she asked deviously.

“But of course.”

Skylar rewarded me with a brilliant smile, and I led her out of the bedroom.

Renee and Nikki were sitting on my sofa. They were each cuddled up in separate corners and had blankets draped over their legs. When we emerged from my bedroom, both of them looked at us and smiled.

“Good morning,” Nikki said in a sing-song voice. “What did the two of you get up to last night?”

Skylar blushed beside me and fell back a step to hide behind me. I chuckled and released her hand before making my way into the kitchen. “You ladies discuss. I’m going to fix breakfast.”

“And he cooks, too?” Nikki exclaimed as Skylar walked over to them and sat down between them. The three of them proceeded to giggle and whisper while I cracked eggs in a bowl and set to cutting peppers, onions, mushrooms, and spinach. I shredded some cheddar cheese and mixed it all together. Then it all went into a pan, and I began my routine of flipping and folding the omelettes.

It was odd to be so close to Skylar but feel so far away. Her life was going to move forward when she got home. The three of them would probably sit around like this in the future and talk about me, but that was all it would ever amount to. Talk.

I looked over my shoulder at them as I began transferring the omelettes to plates. Renee was leaning forward with one hand on Skylar’s knee. Nikki was covering her mouth and giggling. Skylar was staring dead ahead through one of my windows. Her expression was impossible to read. She looked, for lack of a better word, empty.

I sighed and brought the plates to the table. I poured coffees, and the women joined me, tucking their chairs in and complimenting my cooking skills.

Nikki took the first bite and praised me. “This is the best omelette I’ve ever had.”

“Really?” I asked. “You probably haven’t had a lot of omelettes, then. I find it hard to believe my omelettes are anything above ordinary.”

“They’re pretty tasty,” Renee offered.

Skylar ate quietly and savored every bite. Her left hand was resting on the table. I wanted to reach over and cover it with my own, but I thought better of it. She was leaving soon. In an hour. This closeness was fleeting.

“This is a beautiful home you have Greyson,” Renee said after swallowing a particularly large mouthful of omelette. She washed it down with a sip of coffee and gazed around the dining room and out through the massive windows. “Such a spectacular view.”

“Thank you,” I said, already tiring of the mundane conversation. No one knew what to say here. I could feel the tension around us. “I’m sorry I got you all into trouble,” I blurted out, putting my fork down and resting my hands in my lap.

All of the women looked up at me. I rubbed my palms on my thighs and sighed. “I should have considered all the variables at play and realized how far Bravo would have taken things to get his money back. I’m sorry I put you all in the line of fire. It was never my intention, but it was definitely my fault. If you ever need anything, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I’ll do whatever I can to help you with whatever you need. No matter how small.”

“Greyson,” Skylar said. “You don’t have to do that. We’ve forgiven you. We’re safe. Nothing happened. It’s okay.”

Nikki smiled. “The omelettes already made up for it. Promise.”

Renee was sitting across from me. She gave me a tight-lipped smile and popped another bite of food into her mouth. “We don’t blame you. Try not to think too much on it anymore, okay? It’s behind us all now.”

How they were able to forgive me so quickly, I had no idea. Had the Bravo’s treated them poorly, I knew this would have been a different story. They probably would have cursed my name and never set foot in that car with Meek and me. But the Bravo’s hadn’t hurt them, and I would be forever grateful for that.

When breakfast was done, Skylar cleared the plates and loaded them into my dishwasher. I joined her in the kitchen and helped her, and we intentionally made sure we were close to one another. Our bodies were somehow always touching. As she bent down to close the dishwasher, I put my hand on the small of her back. When she straightened, she smiled at me and sighed. It was a sad sort of smile, and I shared one of my own with her.