Page 20 of Yours, Always

“Greyson,” Prudence interrupted him, her eyes now bouncing from somewhere on his chest to the front of his towel, “would you mind maybe putting on some pants?”

With an inward groan, Greyson realized he was getting hard again. He stepped into the walk-in closet and pulled on boxers and jeans, trying to think of something, anything, to make this new boner go away. His mind flicked to Mrs. Crenshaw and her cat, and he immediately got soft. He walked out of his closet a minute later with a shirt in hand and said, “Let’s get to the car lot.”

Prudence nodded once and stepped out of his room. “I’ll wait downstairs.”

Chapter Eleven

The sun was bright on a beautiful fall day as Greyson and Prudence set out, coffees in hand. He waved cordially at Mrs. Crenshaw tending to her garden as they passed by, silently thanking her for unknowingly being a hard-on killer.

“How is it she’s always outside?” he asked, making small talk. Anything to avoid talking about what had just happened.

Prudence laughed awkwardly. “You know, I’ve seen her peeking through her shades plenty of times when I’ve come over to help Gabe with his designs. I guess she can spot gossip from anywhere. Not that there was anything to gossip about with me and Gabe. I’m sure that still miffs her to this day.”

They walked for a few blocks, both sipping their coffees, before Prudence broke the semi-strained silence. “I’m sorry I came in your bathroom this morning,” she finally said, turning pink at her choice of words. “Intoyour bathroom,” she corrected. “I’d just gotten done talking to Gabe downstairs and I wasn’t thinking when he sent me to get you. I heard the water, but thought it was the faucet and that you were shaving or brushing your teeth or something…” She waved her free hand in the air, as if it would whisk away the memory.

Greyson shrugged a shoulder. His embarrassment at Prudence catching him in the act had already started to fade. Right now, she didn’t know that it was her that led to one of the best one-handed orgasms of his life. In fact, he was almost glad it had happened. The perfect ‘O’ her mouth formed when she saw him was something he’d keep in his mind. Possibly for future…imaginings of her.

Prudence kept talking, a rambling habit she had when she was nervous. “It’s nothing that I haven’t seen before. I mean, I haven’t seen yours before. You know what I mean. I’m in my thirties, it’s nothing new. It’s nothingIhaven’t done. Maybe not in the shower, but waking up like that, needing to take care of it…”

Greyson’s mind stopped, and his mouth went dry as he imagined a still languid, tousled, Prudence pleasuring herself in the morning. He took a gulp of coffee and winced as it burned. He’d never be able to get that carnal image out of his head and as he pondered it for a moment longer, thought that he might never want to. In fact, he was certain that he wanted to play a part of this scene in the very near future. His mind drifted to Chuck.Well, that’s a bucket of cold water to my libido.As they turned the corner, the car lot came into view. Greyson had so many questions about Prudence and Chuck. “You’ve had plenty of chances to tell me about Chuck, Pru. Why didn’t you?” Greyson finally broached the subject.

“Oh, you know how it is. We’ve played phone tag, then things get hectic. And the time difference doesn’t help of course…” She shot a sideways glance at Greyson.

Greyson laughed. “Oh touché, Pru. Touché. But really, how did you two get together?”

Prudence’s steps slowed as they walked through the gates and into the lot. “You know last year when I bought my Flex? Chuck sold it to me, he asked me to dinner after and well, he stuck around.” Prudence didn’t tell the short story like some grand romance, but did all romances need to be grand? Greyson couldn’t help but be taken aback by how simple it all sounded. Guy liked girl, guy asked girl out and girl said yes. His heart thumped an uneasy rhythm, knowing the girl in this scenario was Prudence.Hisgirl, but he was not the guy. So, was that it? Should he have realized the full extent of his feelings and come home sooner?

As Greyson and Prudence stopped at the commercial set, Greyson pushed thoughts of romance aside and had to chuckle—it was like an over-the-top movie production. There were four trailers, one strobe light, three camera cranes, three boom mics and numerous other pieces of equipment they’d probably never use. And that was just what he could see.

“What’s so funny?” Prudence glanced toward Greyson.

“This just seems a bit over the top.” Greyson schooled his features, not wanting to act like the big star who was too far above local productions, thinking they were trying to impress him.

“Really? This is about how it has looked for the last couple they’ve shot. Charles Senior. spares no expense as you can see.” She glanced around the set. “Well, maybe there’s more.” She amended. “Three extra trailers, they’ve never used camera cranes before…huh. I guess there is a lot more equipment.”

Turning around to scan the rest of the set, Greyson exclaimed in shock, “Is that Simon Fredora?” He pointed to a man standing next to Charles Charleson Senior, the owner of the car lot. He was a little bit taller than Chuck, with shiny silver hair and thick, black framed glasses.

“Who?” Her too-adorable nose scrunched up. Everything about this woman was not just adorable, it was sexy. Perfect for him.Me, not Chuck. This couldn’t be how it ended for them—in his gut he knew he and Prudence were made for each other. He was not a homewrecker, but he had to figure out what Chuck’s long game was and if they were serious. He gave himself a mental shake.

“Simon Fredora, one of the most sought-after directors on the East Coast,” Greyson explained. “He’s known for shooting intense scenes that put you in the middle of all the action. I’m not surprised at the big production now. Simon knows how to get the job done.”

They approached a small group of people gathered around the newest model Ford Mustang. Greyson stood back, though, wanting to watch Prudence and Chuck, and maybe, although he’d never admit it, threw up a little in his mouth as he watched her kiss his cheek. Chuck smiled at her but there was something almost like…annoyance in his gaze? Now that was interesting. He couldn’t imagine a scenario in which he’d be annoyed at Prudence kissing him. She came back over to Greyson, leaving Chuck with the director, and he refocused on Simon as he gave the instructions for the scene.

“He’s in the middle of getting directions,” Prudence said quietly.

“And then you’re going to take a running leap over the car and slide across the hood.” Simon motioned the action he wanted the stunt guy to take. “Once you’re across, you stay down so Chuck can pop up in the next frame,” he added, knowing clean breaks like that made editing so much easier.

“Well, well, well, who do we have here?” Charles smiled broadly at Greyson, his gray eyes twinkling as he then walked over to the two newcomers from behind the camera. “Greyson Atwood is that you?” he asked, extending his hand.

“Hello, Mr. Charleson, how are you doing?” Greyson smiled, taking his hand and noting that even after his long absence, this man still didn’t look a day over forty-five, even with his solid mop of white hair and deep fake tan.

“No complaints here, my boy. Getting ready to retire soon, so no complaints.”

“No shit, Greyson Atwood? What in the hell are you doing here?” Simon shouted from across the lot as he jogged over. Charles laughed, putting his arm around Greyson’s shoulder. This guy lived for these moments. Surprising everyone—and no one—that he knew just about everyone.

“Amber Falls is Greyson’s hometown,” Charles offered for him. Chuck joined the three of them, clearly having heard Simon’s boisterous exclamation.

“You have your very own action hero in town, and he’s not starring in this commercial? You’ve got Ben Stoneright here.” Simon stared at Charles, clearly baffled.