"Admit it! You're going to miss me," Grey said, securing his arms around my waist.
"I will admit no such thing," I told him. My arms were hanging limply at my sides because we'd been standing in the same position for five minutes. This started as a sweet hug goodbye but then turned into this. Me, not bothering to escape Grey and his antics.
"But I'm going to miss you," he muttered sadly.
I was two seconds away from actually falling for that.
"Yeah, well, who wouldn't miss me?" I replied, earning myself a very predictable reaction.
Grey snickered and stepped back away from me. "You can't humor me for a minute?"
I scrunched up my nose at him and stuck out my tongue. "Let's be honest. Whether I was serious or not, the minute you hear that I might potentially miss you, you'll get a big head about it and throw it in my face the entire time you're away." I crossed my arms. "Now hurry up. I don't want you to be late. The guys are probably waiting for you." I handed him my truck keys.
Two days ago, Grey and the guys got a call from an old friend of Lila's. They asked if they could play at their rehearsal dinner and wedding reception. Their band had quit last minute, and they thought the guys would be a great replacement.
The guys didn't have anything else planned for those days, and the location was within a reasonable driving distance, only five hours away. Also, they made them an offer they couldn't refuse. It's easily one of the biggest paydays for the band.
Supposedly, the happy couple was loaded, and I wasn't surprised. Santiago and Lila were pretty well off too. By the way, Santiago, Lila, and Mari will also be there while one of the managers holds the fort back at the bar. They asked me if I wanted to tag along, but I declined.
This would be the first guys' trip that Grey had been on. I was not counting all those times he and my dad hung out and went fishing by the lake. So I think it would be good for him and the guys to bond. I mean, they're practically four peas in a pod at this point but still. I wanted him to enjoy this and experience the whole band thing.
"Fine. Gimme a kiss for the road, and I'll leave." Grey lowered his head, and I stood on my tippy toes to meet him halfway.
Once our lips touched, I melted into him, savoring every second of it.
I parted my lips giving him access and our tongues collided. He tasted like Cinnabon and espresso. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders.
Grey grabbed my hips, pulling me to him and effectively eliminating the tiny space between us. Good.
I didn't know how I managed to ignore the fire between us for as long as I did.
Everything about this kiss, the way Grey's tongue hungrily chased after mine one minute, then how he expertly took nips at my bottom lip the next, I was in an absolute state of bliss.
He released a deep sexy groan, and my thoughts went to the dirtiest place.
I broke away first, but it took me a minute to gain some composure before I slowly blinked my eyes open.
I watched a slow, smug grin take over Grey's features.
"Yeah, you're totally going to miss me." He winked.
See! That right there was what I was talking about.
"Whatever." I rolled my eyes. I said the first thing that came to mind, desperately needing a subject change. "Anyways, I want updates. Call me when you get there and check in to your hotel. And please drive safe. We have one car since someone wanted to be impractical and ride a motorcycle around," I teased.
"That's a lot of instructions from someone who says they're not going to miss me."
I gave in and finally muttered the words he wanted to hear.
Grey cupped one of his ears. "I'm sorry. What was that?" he asked obnoxiously.
I repeated it louder. "I guess I'll miss you just a teeny bit." With my pointer finger and thumb, I measured a centimeter to express how little I would miss him.
Of course, I was going to miss him way more than that.
He chuckled. "You know what, I'll take it." He swept me off my feet, and I planted another kiss on his lips. "Are you sure you're okay with this? I mean, it's too late for me to back out now, but if you were lying, I'd at least like to know the truth."
I interlocked my hands at the back of his neck. "Let's say for the sake of argument that I was lying. What would you do?"
"Unpack my bags and stay home with you, of course," Grey said with a straight face, and I knew he meant it.
I shook my head.
"Is that how you feel?" he rushed on. "You want me to stay?" His eyebrows scrunched together, and a slight frown tugged on his lips.
"No. I'll miss you like crazy, but I want you to go out and do this. You've loved spending time with the guys. Out of all your hobbies, I've never seen you dedicate so much time to something like how you have been with playing music."
While working, Grey was with the band practicing most of the time. He tried to come home before me, or he picked me up from work so we could spend the rest of the day together. But even at home, Grey had his guitar nearby. When he suddenly got inspiration, he grabbed his notebook and started strumming a few chords.
I've been begging Grey to play me that song he wrote, but he continued to insist that it wasn't finished yet.
I didn't believe him, but okay.
"You're wonderful, you know that?" he said in awe.
I laughed nervously because that was an unexpected compliment. And let's be honest, my heart still got swoony when Grey said these things.
"I mean it, Mia." He stared deeply into my eyes. "I know this summer is supposed to be about us, and I don't want to lose focus of that. I want to spend as much time as we can together together."
I palmed his cheek. "Don't worry about it. We have all the time in the world. I want you to do this, and I need you to know that I'll be cheering you on the entire way."
I earned myself another kiss, and I was downright giddy about it.
"Okay. That makes me feel a lot better." He placed me on my feet. "I can ditch you now and go have the time of my life," he joked.
"Yeah yeah, whatever," I grumbled.
Grey's phone started to ring, and he dived into his pocket for it.
"Hey, Dean... Yeah, man... I'm on my way... No problem...Cool... Bye." He pocketed his phone. "Dean says to tell you you're an angel, and the guys can't thank you enough for letting us borrow the truck."
I waved it off. "It's cool. Anything for my favorite band." I winked.
Grey grabbed his guitar case and duffle bag. "Okay, I'm leaving right now," he said, walking backward.
I nodded slowly.
"I'll be gone for like three days. Away. From my girlfriend." He pouted, and I was sure my face matched his in every way.
I ran to hug him. He dropped everything and wrapped me in his arms.
"Why are you making this so hard?" I whispered.
"Because it feels like I'm leaving my whole heart behind," he replied instantly.
"I'll be one phone call away. Most importantly, I'll be right here waiting for you when you get back." I pulled away from him to show him my very reassuring smile.
Grey smoothed back my hair with one hand and then kissed on the top of my head.
"Alright. I'm leaving for real now."
"Okay," I said.
"So, um, Mia, you know you have to let me go, right?"
I pouted, but he couldn't see it. "Hold on, let me get my fill."
He chuckled.
"Okay, okay." I reluctantly released him. "Hurry up and go," I ordered. I shooed him in the direction of the front door. "And hurry and come back," I mumbled the last line, jutting out my bottom lip.
"Will do. I'll see you soon."
I waved, watching him pick up his bags and finally head out the door.