▫️Twenty-five

Ginelle's pov

That wasn't how far I had expected things to go and I wasn't complaining; infact, I was over the moon.

We had kissed.

Grey and I.

I doubt there was any greater feeling than this because my body tingled all over. I was experiencing things I had never before, a fire running through my veins everytime we locked eyes.

Grey had joined me in preparing the cookies that Mayella had asked for before. I had urged him to finish his work first but he was adamant on staying which made me blush profusely.

Over his black t-shirt, he had put on a brown apron which was similar to the one I had on and side by side, we mixed the flour together whilst exchanging smiles.

More than once I got distracted by the veins that popped on his arms. His muscles bulged each time he moved the slightest and I was at awe of how strong he was.

We passed the ingredients at each other, coordinating too well as if we had done this on a daily basis. Soon enough we were done, just waiting for the cookies to finish baking.

I turned to Grey who stood beside me, his lower body leaning against the counter with his legs stretched before him. Our eyes met and I laughed softly at the flour that rested on his left cheek.

He gave me an inquisitive look, his left brow slightly raised. I giggled out half of the words, unable to contain my smile at how funny he appeared. "There's flour on your face,"

He slowly turned to stand in front of me then lowered his head so that we were at eye level, not once breaking eye contact. I pursed my lips together, an action that had his gaze dropping.

His gaze fleeted back to my eyes then to my lips as he moved impossibly closer, pinning me at the back of the counter. I slowly lifted my palm to his face, his eyes meeting mine again.

I attempted to wipe the traces of flour on his cheek though with my still dirty hand, I ended up spreading the flour to his nose and down his chin, eliciting a laugh from me.

"Sorry, it's now all over." My eyes closed just the slightest but blinked open when I felt large and rough hands cup my face. There was a cheeky look on Grey's face as a smile played over his lips.

"Adorable," he murmured as he squished my cheeks, no doubt spreading flour all over me. He lowered his forehead to my face and I ducked lower, not wanting more flour on me.

With a playful glint, he again lowered his forehead and I stopped resisting when my head reached the top of the counter. Grey smiled in triumph as he nuzzled into my face.

I giggled at the tingling sensation when his sideburns grazed over my soft skin. He pulled away in a smile to look at me then planted a kiss over my nose.

He dropped his hands from my face to both sides of my head, his eyes a lighter grey shade as he caged me whilst standing over me, his chest almost pressed on me.

"My sweetheart," he stared at me for the longest time and I could see a far away look in his eyes. I softly held his right cheek and then shyly pecked his lips.

By his index finger, he got hold of my chin before I looked away then his mouth claimed mine. One of his arm went round my back to incline me up towards him while the other framed the side of my face.

His intoxicating scent, the taste of strawberry and the way he held me confused my senses that a strange sound left my throat though that didn't stop him from devouring me.

Our mouths moved in sync, our bodies pressed against each other as we got carried away into this new feeling. I melted into his embrace, abdicating myself to him as he took lead.

I slightly pulled back for a second gasping for air though Grey didn't seem to have had enough because he moved to claim me again although someone hastily passed by us before he ventured further.

"Something is burning," Reece turned off the oven then checked the cookies and after confirming that they were almost fine, he gave us a brief glance.

Reece cleared his throat though Grey didn't turn his back away from him. He didn't move from me even with Reece's next words though I hid my face into Grey's chest.

"Continue with what you were doing," I was embarrassed at the teasing by Reece yet Grey seemed to reconsider his words though Mayella came rushing in shortly afterwards and I laughed at the grumble that left his chest.

"Masha," she stretched the phone in her hands towards Grey while asking him to put on a game she wanted to play and I assumed that the screen was locked.

She smiled widely when Grey gave her his phone then tugged my wrist, a beam coating her small face. "Elle, come play with me."

She showed me the screen of some princesses and I smiled back knowing she was playing dress up. I was surprised though that the game was in Grey's phone.

I went back to the living room with her as Grey took out the cookies from the oven and I hoped he would be careful enough not to burn himself.

"Elle, which dress do you want? The yellow one or the blue one?" Mayella had the phone angled my way between us. I pointed at the blue one which had her frowning.

She looked at the yellow one for a long time which made me eventually give in and she giggled proceeding to pick up a pair of shoes.

We played for three more rounds before Reece came down to join us. He picked up Mayella from her spot and that made her whine at his interruption.

She kicked in the air and from the corner of my eye I saw Grey come out to check on us. Upon seeing Reece, he relaxed slightly and passed me a smile that I returned.

"Put me down Reecie!" Mayella grabbed a fistful of his hair while clutching Grey's phone on her other hand. I laughed when Reece released her after he feigned a cry.

Their interaction had me envy their relationship. It was usually alone for me at times being an only child and I envied people who had siblings.

"Your lovely brother will be leaving," Mayella lifted up her head once to acknowledge Reece's words though she paid him no heed as she concentrated on her game.

I looked at him in surprise though he pointed at the kitchen while smiling, giving me a teasing look. I shyly looked away abashed, though Grey joined us a minute later with a tray balanced on his left hand.

He placed two glasses of milk before us and then spread out the cookies before us. The aroma had Mayella swiftly looking up as she dropped the phone on the sofa.

The cookies were slightly burnt though.

I tried not to think of what had transpired leading to that as I helped Mayella sit up and brought her glass of milk to her small pretty hands.

Mayella and I moved to pick a cookie at the same time but Grey's voice stopped us, making us turn towards him. "Careful baby, they are still hot."

He wasn't looking at Mayella.

I turned scarlet as he squatted in front of us and took out two cookies. He softly blew across them then handed them to us after assuring that they were warm enough.

Reece snickered beside us and Grey clasped his arm over his shoulder driving him towards the kitchen. I watched them leave and I smiled to myself.

I helped Mayella balance her glass while I slowly sipped the milk. Grey and Reece came out once they were done talking.

Reece gulped down his cup then swallowed a whole cookie at once. He came to Mayella's side, straightening her hair for a bit.

"Maya I have to leave now but Grey will take you home, okay?" She nodded once and Grey whispered that it was about work, having already taken the spot beside me.

"See you tomorrow baby sis," I watched Reece wave for the final time though Mayella didn't seem fazed that her brother was leaving.

She continued to dip her cookie into the milk, softly chewing as she bounced her legs over the edge of the couch.

"Thank you for making the cookies," Mayella beamed at me once she was finished and I nodded while telling her that Grey helped even though he mostly helped in distracting me.

"Thank you Masha," she thanked him nonetheless and I saw him smile. Grey cleared everything after we were done though he protested after I'd offered to help.

Mayella and I went back to playing our previous game that I was slowly starting to get addicted to.

In the midst of our playing, Grey received yet another important call so we went back to watching TV, a princess show of course. It was pretty entertaining and I caught Grey peeking at us severally.

Half an hour later, Mayella was snoring beside me while Grey neared the end of the call and I could only tell because he was walking my way while humming at the person on line.

He had a shawl draped over his shoulder that he wrapped around Mayella's body and the bottom of my legs that were curled up on the sofa.

He didn't go back to the next room, instead, he sat on the arm of the couch by my side. I attempted to focus on the show that was playing though he began to gently run his hand through my hair.

"Tulip," I lifted up my face to him when he was done with the call. I smiled as his fingers continued to roam through my hair, a comfortable feeling going through me.

"Want to play again?" He handed me his phone which I hesitantly took. I admired the curve of his lips as he smiled, his pearl teeth and dimple showing.

"You have a pretty smile," I breathed out softly and I watched his eyes grow light, his grin broadening as he turned to fully face me.

"It's yours," I suppressed a smile not knowing what to say as I shifted my attention back to his phone. The screen had locked so I extended it back to him.

Shaking his head he said, "The password is 0123." My eyes widened and after gaping enough at him, I punched in the numbers.

"That's so random," I looked back at him after the screen unlocked. I only used patterns on my phone because I always ended up forgetting numbers if they weren't my birth year.

"It's the day we met," my heart stilled when he replied then it soared when he began to graze over my left cheek with his thumb.

23rd January.

I looked down at the phone then back at him, several emotions taking over me. I drowned into the pools of his eyes, feeling teary all of a sudden.

"Sweetheart please don't cry, I'll change it if you're uncomfortable." I shook my head as he spoke so softly that I teared up even further.

"You're just so sweet," I laughed while smiling and at the same time attempting to wipe my tears away. Grey turned his head to the side as if I'd said something out of the ordinary.

Was there a man sweeter than him? As attentive and caring as he was? Ever so attractive, kind, affectionate and tender. Was there?

I lifted my arms up his shoulders and snuggled into the warmth of his neck. His arms encircled my back, hugging me even tighter.

I was so happy that I had met him even though I was a crying mess at that time, it was our beginning. He was there by my side and for once I thought that all beginnings might still be beautiful.

I withdrew my arms to look at his face, his arms dropping to my waist and pulling me somewhat closer to him. Under his gaze, I felt wonderful.

I was mesmerized at how hard his body was yet his actions were always tender. He was probably the softest man I knew, how ironical that he was also the toughest while at work.

Mayella moved in her sleep, placing her head over my lap while Grey shuffled on my other side. He wound his arm over the back of the couch just behind my neck.

I felt his breath over my neck as he moved closer to a relaxing position though my heart was far from that. He urged me to show him the game we'd been playing, his face so eager to learn.

It was really endearing that he even wanted to play such a girly game though his color combinations weren't the greatest. It was fun knowing that at times he was just a boy.

Laughing at his strange choices, the afternoon dragged by as he got cozier by the couch. Mayella in a different world from the one that Grey and I were.

It was peaceful and for once, I had nothing to worry over. I was satisfied with just being in Grey's embrace as we played over a game and his hand occasionally patting the side of my face.

Evening came faster than we anticipated and I was now shaking Mayella awake so that Grey could take her home, she had been asleep for over three hours.

She stirred awake on my third try as Grey brought her pink jacket out of a black bag. With her eyes half open, he helped her into the clothing then adjusted her white doll shoes.

I admired all this before he suddenly turned to me after taking out another brown jacket. I was surprised when he began to adjust my arms so that I could put on the jacket, I had assumed it was his.

He buttoned up the front and after he was content that I looked warm, he lifted up a still drowsy Mayella to his arms, her head gently resting on his shoulder.

I followed them out till he got to his car and he softly placed Mayella in the back seat. He turned to open the passenger beckoning me to get in and I got confused.

He was going to drop Mayella while I went home. Or was I missing something? He looked at the ground for a second before his eyes fleeted over the top of his car.

"Stay with me longer?" He pleaded softly and I found myself easily giving in because he looked so adorable and spending time with him was a favorite moment of mine.

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I'm sorry guys for missing an update last week- I just got a little bit busy. Thank you for your great patience. I hope this warms your heart.

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