The Truth About Bad Boys

The Ride Home

Gray’s POV

There are so many thoughts flashing through my mind, I have no idea which one to address first.

What was she doing there? Why did she text me? Why didn’t she text me sooner? And what the hell happened with them and Ezra right before I got there?

“Are you friends with him?” Memphis asks me as I pull out onto the road. Bridget lives pretty far up the east coast from Seacoast, which means we’ll have some time to chat. I’ll take all the time I can get. "With Ezra?"

“No,” I say, laughing. “Definitely not.”

“You didn’t mention anything about him. Hating him, or whatever.”

“I guess I should have. I’m sure I would have, if we’d gotten the chance to talk more. But I noticed he wasn’t at the Velvet Room, so I figured your friend figured it out on her own.”

She sighs. “Bridget and I both suspected, but Tally’s…”

“Naïve,” I surmise.

“A little. When he invited her, she couldn’t say no.”

I nod. It’s disappointing to hear Tally couldn’t see through Ezra’s charms, but heartening to know that Memphis could. “Too bad for Kai. It kinda seemed like they hit it off at the Velvet Room.”

“I know. But he hasn’t asked her out yet. Tell your boy to man up.”

I laugh. “I’ll do my best. Though I can’t say the ‘man up’ approach has been working too well for me lately.”

She glances up at me, confused. "What's that supposed to mean?"

“Nothing. I just… didn’t much get the sense you were interested in seeing me again.”

She sinks lower into her chair and curls her legs up against her chest. She’s not dressed remotely like she was last weekend; she’s in jeans and another baggy, band tee. I chose to take that as a compliment. “That’s not true,” she says quietly.

“Really.” I’m certainly glad to hear it, though genuinely surprised. “Do you text all the guys you’re interested in so infrequently?”

“I told you, I prefer talking to texting.”

She did mention that. And yet… “Is that really all it is?”

“I just… I haven’t really been in this position in a while, Gray. You know… actually liking someone beyond…”

Beyond the physical? Is that what she means?

My stupid, lame-ass heart starts fluttering like a schoolgirl’s at the possibility.

“I’m just not sure I’m ready,” she finally says.

Well, that’ll stop the fluttering.

I should have known, of course. Without knowing the details of what she went through and when, I know that that kind of thing can seriously mess with a girl’s head. Maybe she hasn’t had a boyfriend since it happened; maybe she’s never had a boyfriend. The bottom line is, I shouldn’t have just assumed she’d text me back and jump into the dating game with me right off the bat.

I’m disappointed, but I’m not about to give up altogether. Sorry, but I like her too much for that.

“Ready for what?” I ask her. “Whatever you’re not ready for, we won’t do. Whatever you are ready for, we will do.”

I glance at her just long enough to catch a small smile on her face. “I don’t know. I guess this, I can handle.”

“Perfect. Designated driver friendship with inebriated female, it is.”

She laughs. “I don’t know. I guess I just mean to say that I don’t want you waiting around for something that may never happen. You seem like a good guy, and you deserve better than that.”

“I don’t know if you know this, Mem, but Granger isn’t exactly filled with cool, red-headed drummer chicks who kick ass at billiards.”

She shoots me a sarcastic look.

“All I mean to say is, I don’t mind waiting. And if, in the end, you’re never ready, then I’ve made a good friend in the process.”

I really do mean it. It would probably break my heart into a million pieces to get ultimately rejected by her, but I would still be glad I got the chance to know her.

“Anyway,” I say, clearing my throat. “What the hell happened with Ezra tonight?”

“Oh.” She sounds annoyed at the reminder. “He tried to drown Tally with his saliva, so I told him to stop. Then he tried to get her to go upstairs with him, she said no, and I… intervened.”

God, that guy’s a prick. He might be my least favorite guy at all of Seacoast. I’ve never caught him actively assaulting a girl, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened. “Intervened how?”

“Just kind of… got between them.”

I squeeze the wheel a little tighter. “But he didn’t hurt you?”

“No. Not physically, anyway.”

My eyes shoot over to her. “What does that mean? What did he say?”

She looks amused, which doesn’t remotely match the level of hostility that I’m currently feeling. “Why do I get the sense that if I say the wrong thing, you’re going to turn the car around and stab his eyes out?”

I grant her half a laugh at that. “Stabbing eyes isn’t really my style, but you’re not far off. What did he say to you?”

“Nothing. He just…” She sighs. “Let’s just say he and his friends have heard the rumors about me that you claimed you didn’t.”

What is it with these rumors about Mem? I truly haven’t heard them, but now I can’t help wondering what they are. They’ve gotta be s*x-related, right? That she’s promiscuous? Only, she seems like just about the least promiscuous girl I’ve ever met.

(Okay, not the least. But certainly not the most.)

“He needs to be taught a lesson,” I say darkly.

“Please don’t.”

I’ll have to think about that one. Ezra runs with a posse; beating him up won’t be easy. But he’d damn well deserve it. “About these rumors. Where did they start? Who else do I need to beat up?”

She laughs. “I don’t know. I wish I did. They started around the time… Well, let’s just stay they probably started at Lancaster.”

It’s not hard to read between the lines. The guy who raped her then started spreading rumors that she was easy.

Men really are the worst.

“I do…” She sounds pained. “I’ve made some mistakes, Gray. I have a… complicated relationship with sex.”

Of course, she does; it only makes sense. And yet, I won’t lie—I don’t like hearing that she’s been with other guys. I’m not about to hold it against her, or anything, but the damn green monster is certainly pricking its ears at that.

“I’ve made mistakes, too,” I tell her as gently as I can. “It’s called being a teenager.”

I’ve slept with four girls, in total. Three were semi-serious girlfriends, though I never exactly fell hard for any of them; the fourth was a hookup. I wouldn’t say my relationship with s*x is particularly complicated, but I will say that the stronger the connection I felt with the girl, the better the s*x was.

Which means I can only imagine the s*x with Memphis, if it ever were to happen, would be really, really good.

“Well,” I say, clearing my throat. “I wish I had been there to see you tell off Ezra. And I’m sorry I didn’t properly warn you about him sooner.”

“It’s okay. And thank you for driving me back. I feel bad you’re just going to turn the car around and drive back afterwards. If you want…”

But she trails off, and it’s clear why: she doesn’t want me coming over. And as long as she doesn’t want me to, I don’t want to.

I’m going to find my way into Memphis Edgerton’s heart.

But it sure isn’t going to be easy.