Chapter 8

*Clara*

We sat on top of a hill in the middle of nowhere and the sun had barely just sunk underneath the horizon before we arrived. Apparently for our 'practice' date, he wanted to take me on a picnic. So there we were. On a comfortable blanket with a bunch of different foods, staring at the cloudless sky above us. The stars were scattered across the hues of blue in tiny speckles of white and Grayson and I... Well, we were kind of in our own little bubble, shielding us from the horrors of the world.

I grabbed a slice of pizza and turned towards Grayson. The bruise on his cheek was fading pretty quickly. It was barely noticeable now. I still wondered what happened but I didn't want to pry so instead I took a bite of the cheesy meal and closed my eyes, savoring the taste of it. It was perfect.

Speaking with my mouth full of food, I looked at the sky above, "I can't even remember the last time I had pizza."

"By the way you're stuffing your face with it, I would say a very long time ago," I could here the smile in his voice and I secretly marveled at how I was the one who made him sound like that. "I should've brought two pizzas."

I laughed softly. "Yeah, you should have."

It really was a beautiful night. The city lights glowed in the horizon, melting into one another. It created a whirlwind of color that stared at us and I loved it. I loved the calmness of the night. I looked towards Grayson and he gazed towards the city. His cheek slightly caved as he bit the inside of it and I suspected that it was a habit of his for when he was deep in thought. It was cute.

"You know staring is something that's usually classified as rude." He turned his head towards mine and smirked.

A soft orange glow illuminated his face but what caught my attention the most was his eyes. They were so different. They were so...

"I've never met you before that night at the diner, right?"

He clenched his jaw and looked away. "No."

My own eyes narrowed in thought. "I could've sworn I've seen you before," A sudden image of vibrant eyes in the darkest of nights flashed through my mind and I shook my head. "Never mind." I never wanted to think of that night again and there was no way it was him.

I squared my shoulders, trying to put on an indifferent face. "So come on Mr. first-dates-are-always-awkward, what do we do to make this date not, you know, awkward."

His shoulders sagged a bit as he looked at me and an easy smile rested upon his face. "I have no idea."

My mouth opened slightly, my brows drawn together. "You are the one who said that we should go on a practice date so that our actual date wouldn't be weird and now you're telling me this?"

He laughed. "That is exactly what I'm telling you."

It was silent as Grayson's eyes widened when he realized what I've done and I clamped my hands over my mouth to try and stifle my own laughter. He was covered in chocolate milkshake. My chocolate milkshake that I might have dumped over his head to be exact, and my giggle finally bubbled over my lips as I doubled over.

"You look absolutely ridiculous!" I howled.

"Now you've done it."

I gasped as a cold substance trickled from my hair down to my face and laughed even harder; this time Grayson's laughter mixing with my own. I threw anything I could get my hands on at him and I shrieked when he tackled me to the ground. The impact wasn't that hard since we were already sitting down but I wouldn't have cared either way. I was having fun.

I struggled in his grip as he moved to a more comfortable position on top of me. He straddled my hips and held my arms above my head, making it near impossible to move.

"Get off of me! You weigh a ton."

He smiled broadly and looked at me. "Oh yeah? Commenting on someone's weight isn't very polite on the first date, now is it?" He shook his hair and the milky drink dripped all over my face.

"Well, people don't usually straddle their date on the first date, now do they?" I said, mimicking the way he talked to me.

The laughter stopped instantly as Grayson observed the position we were in. He left my arms and rested both of his hands on either side of my head, leaning forward. I inhaled, feeling a bit nervous. He was not going to kiss me right now. We locked eyes and I averted my gaze quickly. I know I was probably making it awkward, but I couldn't help it. His face was nearing mine inch by inch and anxiety gripped at my stomach. He was so close that his breath fanned my face and my own breathing faltered.

Suddenly, his face darted to the side and licked the milkshake of my cheek, rolling off me afterwards. He was laughing again. My eyes squeezed shut in mock disgust as I sat up, wiping away at my cheek but even I couldn't stop the chuckle rising from my throat.

"You are so gross! I don't know where your tongue has been!"

He was basically hysterical as he shook his head. "You wouldn't want to know."

The rest of the night was just that. It was filled with easy conversations and I don't think I've ever felt this peaceful in the presence of another human being before. It was a new feeling. One that I didn't entirely dislike. And that made me hate it even more.

We eventually decided it was time to get back and although I didn't want to go I knew I had to. In two weeks time, the hot air balloon ride would be over and Grayson would go his way and I would go mine. I knew he wouldn't stick around after that because who would? He was just politely keeping me company until his part of the deal was done and I was happy with it. Or at least I think I was. I had to be.

Standing at Dawn's front door, I was sticky and tired and surprisingly elated. I looked up at Grayson as he peered down at me.

"Is this the part where you kiss me goodnight and say thank you for the amazing date before my dad comes out and shoots you? Or in this case, before Dawn shoots you." I smiled.

He loosed a breath through his nose. "Do you want me to?"

No. It would make me like you even more. "Yes."

He hesitated a moment as he brought his hand to rest on my dirty cheek, his pinky and ring finger sliding behind my ear. He leaned down and I closed my eyes tightly. His fingertips brushed my bottom lip softly and my breathing hitched a bit.

"Look at me." He whispered.

I opened my eyes and he looked down at me. His eyebrows were slightly drawn together and he leaned down further to kiss my cheek. Yes, my cheek.

He pulled back. "As much as I do want to kiss you right now, you need to know for sure if you want to kiss me back, Clara," He shook his head. "I don't do fifty percent bullshit."

He started to walk away from me towards his car and I grabbed his hand before he got too far. "Thank you for tonight. I had fun."

He pursed his lips as if in thought and squeezed my own fingers lightly. "Surprisingly, I had fun too," He left my hand, making his way down the driveway and I turned towards the door, turning the knob. "Oh and Clara?" I turned back to see Grayson standing at his opened car door.

"I like your curly hair more."

I blushed as I faced the front door again, finally opening it to step inside. All the lights were out when I entered and that only meant one thing; that Dawn and her parents were already asleep. Trying to walk as slowly and softly as possible, I made my way up the stairs to the guest bathroom so that I could shower without waking anyone. Feeling clean and refreshed, I climbed into bed next to Dawn with a slight smile on my face.

It was a good night.