Chapter 28- Advice
Gray lived just down the hall so he went there. If anyone could help him wade out this mess, it would be Gray. His best friend answered half asleep and shirtless.
"Lost your shirt?" Natsu quipped.
"It's my apartment, you Bastard!"
Natsu brushed past him and let himself inside. Alike Natsu, Gray had only been in Magnolia a few weeks. Unlike his apartment, Grays was already unpacked and decorated.
"You want to tell me why you're waking me up early on my day off?!"
"I fucked up..."
"Yeah, it's wayyy too early." Gray yawned.
"Not that you dolt!" Natsu's jaw clenched.
Rubbing his hand down his face, he fell on top of the couch. Gray sat across from him and the entire story poured out. From the club, the clinger, the dance, the drinks, the sex, oh the sex!
Gray's expressions switched from concern to shock to amusement.
"So what should I do?" He asked tortured.
Gray scratched over his chin in a pensive way. "So to summarize, you fucked your employee—"
"I didn't fuck her!"
"Really?" He raised a brow skeptically.
The words 'Fuck me like you hate me.' replayed in his head.
"Well yes I did, but don't talk about her like that."
"Okay, so you two ..."
"We made lo— We slept together."
Hell, He'd almost said 'made love'. He should've just left it as fucking, but he knew last night was more than that.
What he felt for Lucy was already more intense than anything he'd EVER felt. That scared the shit out of him.
"You slept together.. okaayy.. and now your looking for distractions so you won't be tempted to sleep with her again. Is that right?"
"Yes."
"You're an Idiot."
"What! Why?" He popped to his feet and started pacing.
"You're looking for trouble Natsu, do you know anything about women?"
Natsu glared and continued his pacing in front of the wide bay window.
"Lucy will just see you as the pitiful, pining fool you're becoming and holy shit are those bite marks on your neck?!"
Natsu scrubbed at his neck wishing they could fade instantly. "Focus Gray, you were calling me a pitiful, pining fool."
"Holy shit, they are!" The arsehole laughed at his misery.
Natsu felt his cheeks heat.. Blushing, fucking hell!
Defeated, he fell back onto the couch. Stretched out and staring at ceiling. "Your humor is uncalled for."
"Not it's not."
"Yes, it is."
"No it's not."
"Yes, the fuck it is!"
"I've never seen you this worked up over a woman." Gray chuckled.
Natsu rolled his eyes.
"Why don't you ask her out?" Gray suggested.
"Lucy?"
"No, your mother. Seriously Natsu, you're such a pain. Who else?"
"I have two reasons for not dating Lucy. One, she'd say no and inflict some type of bodily harm. Two, I don't want to."
"Bullshit. The only bodily harm I see are bite marks. And they certainly don't look unwelcome. Accept it, you want to do more than just sleep with her. You want to talk, laugh and spend time with her. Just save ourselves a mental breakdown and ask her out."
"You're wrong."
"God, your stubborn. Look Natsu.. not all woman are evil."
Women never know what they really want. He learned that first hand..
"Even if I tried talking to her, we'd only end up at each other's throats." Pun intended.
"Apparently that's foreplay." Gray waved off.
"Or Premeditation for murder." Natsu growled.
"You're being obtuse and I'm too tired for it. So listen up, life is short.. stop wasting it and missing out on what could be? If you want Lucy, go get her. Just try to play nice and I guarantee she'll consider you then."
Play nice and she'll consider me? Being told he treated Lucy badly cut deep. His eyes narrowed.
"Don't look at me like that, you know you've treated her badly."
"Yeah I guess.. but she liked it!"
"Did she like it? Or did you like it? .. Wait! Don't answer that!"
"We both liked it." Natsu smirked.
"On that note, I think we've discussed enough today." Gray flipped him off.
Natsu barked out a laugh and strode to the door.
"Just listen to what I said, don't over complicate things. Whether you admit it or not, you do want her."
"Thanks, brother."
"Anytime.. except maybe mornings."
He strode to the hall and dug his keys. Grays's advice played through his mind. Should he disregard what happened as Lucy wanted? Or should he try to develop something with her?
Yes, he wanted her again. Badly. She'd awakened something caged inside. And desired him just as he was.
Lucy was starting to make him want things. Impossible things.. Foolish things.. Starting?Ha! He'd wanted the impossible from her the first moment he'd seen her.
She was wrong for him, Lucy was his employee, his partner. Yet it ceased to matter last night! If he made a play for her now, she'd definitely reject him.
A few steps from the door, Natsu stopped and leaned his head against the cool wall.
Fuck!
Why did she have to be so sexy?
How did you get yourself into this mess? First you did everything you could to make Lucy hate you, then you slept with her and now you're actually considering dating her?
Christ, he really was a pitiful pining fool.
He didn't do serious, he reminded himself. He preferred no-strings. No ties, no expectations.
Lucy was as cynical about relationships as he was, maybe she'd be open to that?
'Life is short.. stop wasting it and missing out on what could be? ' Gray had said.
There was no denying it. Employee or not. Rule two or not. He didn't want anyone else. He wanted Lucy.
He was going to do it, yes he was..
Hopefully she'd agree and he had to get her to agree. He'd go crazy otherwise.
Keys in hand, he bypassed his door and strode outside. Ready to see her, he grinned for the first time that morning.
End of Chapter 28
What do you guys expect to happen next chapter? Thoughts?
