Page 139 of Lessons In Grey
Grey frowned. “Let them up. Call Emily next time, this is her place.”
I straightened, trying to decipher the words on the other end.
“Yes, but her name is on the—” He grasped the bridge of his nose. “Goodbye, Jerry.”
I smiled as he hung up. “You told me you put a gun to his head a week ago to get up here, don’t you think he’s in the right to call you?”
Grey went back to his cooking, frowning. “I didn’t actually shoot him though. The gun wasn’t even loaded.”
I laughed. “It was a gun. Jerry is a part of Ash and Syn’s world, not ours.”
His eyes lifted at that, so intense that it caused my heart to pick up and my cheeks to burn. “Ours?” he asked, a smile touching his lips.
I chewed on my lip nervously, picking at my nails. “Yours,” I corrected. “That was presumptive.”
“Look at me.”
My eyes lifted.
He smiled, his eyes shining. “It’s ours. You can’t be classified in their world now, right?”
I shrugged, my face far too hot. “Yes, but I can’t be classified in yours, not really. I’m never going to be the person to hold a gun, to…huntpeople. I’m certainly not going to be able to torture them.” I winced at the idea. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled, forcing my eyes to remain on his despite the fact that I wanted to look away.
He shook his head. “Don’t apologize, Snowflake. Partners don’t always mean ‘the same business’.” His smile widened. “You can be the successful publisher, publishing stories about mayhem and murder, and I can be the person those stories are about. Equal in the most perfect way, hmm?”
A smile touched my lips as the elevator dinged. “Yeah.” The most perfect way.
God, I was fucking lucky.
“Hey,” Syn greeted as Ash pushed open the door.
My nerves skyrocketed as I turned towards the elevator. Syn was carrying two bottles of wine, and Ash had her hands deep in her pockets as they walked into the room.
Ash looked me over carefully, her eyes skeptical and worried. “You look great.”
I swallowed, pulling at my sleeves, suddenly far too nervous. “Yeah, Grey helped me get better.” I cleared my throat. “How are you two doing? How are classes?”
Syn joined Grey, sliding the bottles over the counter as Ash stood a few feet away from me, clearly trying to keep her distance. Which I deserved. Yes, we had been texting, but evenso, I had ignored her, whether it was on purpose or not, I never messaged her back during those days before Grey came back.
“Good, Jeremy is…” Ash fought for the right words. “Have you ever met a puppy high on life? He’s that.”
I laughed lightly, earning a shocked look from her. “I’ve heard.”
Her brows pulled together as she found Grey’s eyes. “Heard?” she asked, turning back to me. “You’ve forgotten him?”
I nodded, eyes falling, guilt coating my lungs. “Yeah. Grey said a few days ago that my memories should come back, everything I’ve forgotten, but he can’t be sure. Minds are weird.”
Ash stepped up to me, looking me over as if she would be able to find the button that would fix me if she just looked hard enough. “Did you have any swelling? Did you at least go see a doctor?”
I nodded, glancing back to Grey who had started cooking the vegetables. “One of his doctors,” I answered, remembering how terrified I had been that day. “Off the books, so we didn’t have to report it to the police.” I turned back to her. “No swelling, no damage. That’s why he’s hopeful.”
Ash looked unconvinced. “But you’re okay? Physically, I mean.”
I smiled and nodded. “No broken bones, no cracks or torn ligaments. Good to go.”
Relief exited her on a breath. “Good,” she said just as Sirius jumped up onto the counter. She beamed as Syn began to help Grey. “Hey, baby girl,” she cooed, scratching her head. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
My brows furrowed. “You have?” I asked as Sirius walked up to me. “I can’t even remember how she got here.”