Chapter Twenty-Eight

M y phone vibrates as I step outside. I pull it out of my bag and groan when I see my mom's name.

"Hey, Mom."

"Hi, sweetheart. Are you busy?"

I shake my head even though she can't see me. "No, I'm done for the day."

"I thought so. It's been a while since I've talked to you," she gently scolds me.

"Sorry, I've been busy."

"Too busy for your mom, I see how it is," she teases.

"It's not like that, and you know it."

"I know, sweetheart. I know. Now tell me, how have you been?"

"I've been pretty good."

"You sound happy."

I sigh as I take a seat on a bench. "I am."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, I actually have a boyfriend."

I hear my mom suck in a breath and wait for her to say something.

She clears her throat. "Anyone I know about?"

"It's Clay, actually."

My mom hums. "Clay, huh? Tell me about him."

"Well, I think I told you that he plays hockey with Kellan, and he's just…he's amazing," I say softly.

"Does he treat you well?"

"He does."

"Then I'm happy for you."

"Thanks."

"Is Kellan still taking it hard?"

"You could say that."

"Don't let it get to you, sweetheart."

"I know, but it's hard."

I hear someone say something to her in the background, and she tells them she will be just a minute.

"Do you need to go?"

"I do, but before we do, I was wondering when you plan on coming home?"

"I'm not sure. It depends on how things are going here."

Mom sighs. "Well, keep me updated. I won't push you, but we would love to see you."

"I know. I miss you guys too," I tell her.

"Okay, I have to go. I love you."

"Love you. Later," I say before hanging up.

A wave of homesickness hits me full force. I might not miss my hometown, but I do miss my family.

"Grace."

I look over and see Kellan walking toward me with his hands in his pockets.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

He shrugs. "You just looked upset."

I hold up my phone. "I just got off the phone with Mom, and I didn't realize how much I missed her."

"I get that. Hey, what are you doing this afternoon?"

"I'm not sure. Why? What's up?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to do something with me."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Well, I rented ice time at a local rink. You could come watch me." He trails off when he sees me cringe and mutters, "Or not."

"I'm sorry, sitting in the stands and watching you run drills on your own is the last thing I want to do, and I'm not comfortable enough on the ice yet to get out there with you."

Confusion fills his face. "Why would you get on the ice with me? You never have in the past."

"Oh, Clay is giving me skating lessons."

The corner of his eye twitches. "I didn't know you wanted to learn to skate."

I shrug as dread fills my stomach. "You never offered."

"Right…" he mutters as he looks away. "What if we go paintballing or something? We used to do that."

I cringe again. "I really would rather not be covered in bruises for a week."

"I'm trying here, Grace."

I rub my hands together. "I know, I know you are."

"So why are you shooting down my ideas? We used to do this stuff together all the time."

"Will you sit, please?" I plead.

Reluctantly, Kellan does as I ask.

"Look, can I be honest with you?"

"I would hope you can."

I ignore his sarcasm and tell him something that I've been wanting to tell him for years. "I hate paintballing, and I really, really don't like going and sitting in a rink, watching you skate for hours."

His jaw clenches. "Since when?"

"Since always."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

I sigh and choose my words carefully. "I never said anything because I knew if I did, you would stop inviting me, and all I wanted to do was spend time with you. You were my best friend."

His fists clench. "Were."

I frown. "What?"

"You said I was your best friend, not that I am your best friend."

"Yeah, well, in all honesty, it doesn't feel like you've been my best friend lately considering all we do is fight."

He leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees and rubs his face. "I don't know what to make of this, Grace. You just threw a fucking bomb at me."

"I'm sorry."

And I am. I never wanted him to know, but for years, we always did what he wanted to do, and I went along with it to keep the peace.

My phone vibrates, and he looks over at me with hurt in his eyes. "Let me guess, that's him?"

"I don't know."

Chances are that it is Clay, but he doesn't need to know that.

Kellan stands and looks down at me. "Look, I'm going to go."

"But Kellan…"

He cuts me off. "I need space."

I sink back into the bench and nod, trying to push down my emotions that I feel boiling to the surface.

"I'll see you later," he mutters as he walks away.

I close my eyes and let the tears fall. For some reason, I have a feeling that this was the first of many hard conversations with him. I feel as if I'm mourning the loss of a friendship, and it kills me. I never wanted it to come to this. My phone vibrates again, pulling me out of my feelings. I dry my tears and get myself under control.

Taking a deep breath, I pull my phone out of my bag and wake up the screen. I see I have two texts from Clay.

Clay: Hey beautiful, do you want to hang out?

Clay: Grace, you there?

I stand and shoot him off a text.

Me: Sorry, I didn't feel my phone go off. Where do you want to meet?

The doorbell rings, and I can't help but smile as I head toward the door. I swing it open and smile when I see Grace. Her cheeks are flushed, and she has a beanie on her head.

"Hey gorgeous," I say as I pull her into a hug.

"Hi." She pushes up on her toes and kisses me.

All too soon, she pulls away, and I step back, letting her in.

"How was your day?"

She shrugs. "It was all right. You?'

"Can't complain," I tell her as I take her hand and lead her up to my room.

Grace pulls away and rips off her beanie, dropping it onto my nightstand before she flops back onto my bed while I close the door. I move over to her and pull her into my arms.

"Everything okay?"

Grace sighs as she turns into my chest. "I ran into Kellan, and…it was less than great."

I clench my jaw. "Was he an ass?"

"He didn't start off that way. He wanted to do something and didn't like it when I shot down his ideas."

"Why did you say no?"

"Because I just couldn't do something I hated just because he likes it. Not anymore."

"What did he ask you to do?" I ask, my mind racing.

"Nothing bad." She sighs. "He wanted me to watch him skate and then didn't like it when I told him that I wasn't comfortable enough on ice to get on there with him, and I really didn't want to sit there and watch him. He really didn't like the fact that you showed me how to skate. Then he mentioned going paintballing, and I fucking hate paintballing. He didn't like it when I said no."

I cringe. While the Grace I know is game for anything, I don't know why one would think she would like paintballing, and I fucking hate that the guy can't pull his head out of his ass for two seconds to realize that the world doesn't revolve around him and that he's hurting her every time he doesn't take her feelings into consideration.

"I'm sorry, babe," I tell her sincerely.

She lifts her shoulder as she drums her fingers on my chest. "It's okay. It was bound to happen."

"That doesn't make it any easier."

"Anyway, tell me about how guys' night went."

I kiss the top of her head. "It was good. We played video games and shit."

"Sounds like a blast." She laughs.

"It was." I smile down at her. "You had fun with Peyton?"

"I did. I didn't realize how badly I needed girl time."

"Then I'm glad you girls made time."

"Me too."

We fall silent, and my mind drifts back to what she said about Kellan. He didn't really know her or do things that she liked to do. An idea starts to take form, and I smile.

"Hey, do you want to get out of here?"

She hums. "What do you want to do?"

"It's a surprise." I jump off the bed and hold out a hand. "Come on."

She places her hand in mine, and I pull her off the bed. I grab her beanie and put it back on her head.

"I take it we're leaving?" she asks with humor in her voice.

"You know it." I wink as I grab my own beanie off my desk and pull it onto my head. "Ready for an adventure?"

"Yep. Lead the way," she says as I take her hand.

I just hope she likes what I have in mind.

"Wait, are we going into a bookstore?" Grace asks softly as I pull up into a parking spot.

"We are," I tell her as I shut off the car.

Grace turns toward me, eyes wide. "Are you serious?"

"I mean, unless you don't want to…I mean, I figured this would be something you would like, since when I met you, you were reading."

Grace reaches over and grabs me by the back of my neck and pulls me in for a kiss. When she breaks away, she rests her forehead on mine.

"Thank you. Seriously, no one has ever done anything this sweet for me before."

"I'm glad I thought of it then," I tell her as I reach for the door. "Now come on, let's go."

Grace and I get out of the car and meet in front of the hood. I take her hand in mine, and we walk into the store together.

"Where do you want to start?" I ask as she looks around.

Grace hums. "I want to get a drink and then hit up the romance and fantasy sections. What do you want to look at?"

I shrug. "I'm not big on reading, really…"

"That's because you haven't found the right book yet. How about we look while we're here? I mean, if you're up for it."

"I'll give it a try. Do you want to start looking while I get your drink?"

She turns toward me with a soft look on her face. "Are you sure?"

I squeeze her hand and smile. "I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't. Now tell me, do you want coffee or tea?"

She looks over at the chain coffee store in the corner of the bookstore with a thoughtful look on her face. "If I have coffee now, I'll be up all night, so tea would be the safer option. Maybe some of that peach peppermint kind."

"Can do. I'll meet you over there." I lean down and kiss her.

"Thank you, Clay," she says before turning and heading down the aisle.

I can't help but watch her walk away with a little bounce in her step that she was missing when she showed up to my place earlier.

I did that.

I did that when he couldn't. Logically, I know it's not a competition between Kellan and me, but I can't help but feel a little cocky that I managed to make her happy with something so simple when he couldn't even take the time to try.

I shake my head to try and clear my thoughts. I push forward and head toward the coffee shop. My girl wants something to drink, and I'll give it to her.