I must say this: there is a really long build-up to the date that I promised last chapter, but the GrayLu is there! I promise! It just happens… later in the chapter. Don't kill me.
"Wait!" He sounded panicked, but when I turned to him, his face was calm. "Do you think I could meet with you in a week? Next Sunday?"
…
Wait, so is this a date?!
Cana called in sick for 4 days. Whether she was actually sick or not, I didn't know, because when she came in on Friday, all she really looked was shitfaced drunk.
"Were you actually sick these past few days?" I asked, eyeing her flushed cheeks skeptically.
"Yes!" she protested feebly. "Sort of."
I raised an eyebrow, and she sighed.
"I broke up with my boyfriend over the weekend. So I figured I'd give myself, like, two days to get over it. But then I guess I went a little overboard with drinking to forget because next thing I knew I was dying with strep throat or the flu or something. So I've been sick since Tuesday, but I absolutely had to come in today, dead or alive, because I needed to find out what happened between you and Fullbuster before the weekend arrived." She finished off her explanation with a hacking wet cough, and I rolled my chair a few inches farther from her.
"Sorry about the breakup, Cana. Do you want to talk about it?"
"Nah, fuck him. What I'm curious about is you, Miss Heartfilia. What happened between you and Jacket Man?"
Oh my God. I'd left so abruptly last Saturday I'd forgotten to return Gray's jacket to him.
Cana observed me shrewdly. "You didn't give it back, did you?" she said. "Okay, now I need to know why. Spill."
I recounted the events of last Saturday, which Cana let me do so completely uninterrupted. When I finished, she didn't even pull a sarcastic joke like she usually did. Instead, she tapped her chin thoughtfully and said, "I thought you didn't mix these things up. Dating life. Work life."
"I don't. Last week was strictly work."
"And this week?"
As though to answer her question, a delivery man walked in just then and placed a large vase of forget-me-nots, hydrangeas, and periwinkles on the reception counter. I signed his clipboard, then asked, "Who should I deliver these to?"
"Uh… Lucy Heartfilia."
I flinched, and the vase slipped a few inches from my fingers before I quickly stilled it. I kind of already had an idea when he brought in a gigantic bouquet of blue flowers, but hearing my name said aloud still surprised me nonetheless.
"Who sent them?" Cana squealed.
"Um, he didn't want the last name included. Just 'Gray.' Mr. Gray," the guy said. Then, with a sly smirk, "Looks like he sent you fifty shades of… blue."
I rolled my eyes at the lame joke, but Cana giggled. She leaned over the counter, giving him a nice view down her shirt. "You got any other deliveries here?" she drawled, eyes flicking down to his name tag, "...Bacchus?"
"I believe I have one at The Drunk Falcon tomorrow night at 10 p.m. My package, for one…" he glanced at her name plate, "Cana Alberona."
"I'll see you at the club," Cana winked, and Bacchus left. She sat back and sighed happily.
"What was that about mixing things up?" I asked sweetly.
"That question still applies to you. I mean, look at these flowers! Are they the cold climate ones you burned his bank account for? He's probably trying to show you that they and his savings are still alive and well. Though I'm surprised he didn't send you rainbow sakuras after you told him they were your favorites."
"No… these aren't the new ones. I'm pretty sure these are the old ones I moved outside. His mother's flowers." Looks like they finally bloomed. All they needed was some warmth. I smiled happily.
"Lucy! What's with that dopey smile on your face?!" Cana hissed, whacking me across the head.
"Ow! What was that for?!"
"Gray basically just said you remind him of his mother. His mother. Mavis almighty, you've been mother-zoned!"
"Wait, there's a card sticking out." I picked it out from the blossoms, a small square of cream-colored cardstock. There were only a few words on it, written in thin, angular print.
One of a Kind
A silly grin spread across my face. Hadn't he said his mother was "one-of-a-kind?" Maybe it wasn't so bad being like Gray's mom.
God, I was such a romantic sap.
I flipped the card over. "Wait, there's more." There was an address written in the same spiky handwriting, and a sentence under it.
10:00 a.m. Don't look it up. It's a surprise.
"This Gray guy is like a freaking prince," said Cana after reading over my shoulder. "He sends you a bouquet and card instead of shooting you a text like he said he would. Damn, you're living the stuff of dreams."
"Will you go clothes shopping with me tomorrow?" I asked. "I'm sort of confused on how I should dress for this maybe-date."
"I can't. I'm still not feeling too great."
"You mean you've got a date to get ready for yourself."
"Exactly. Take Laxus with you. He's a guy. He can give you a guy's opinion. Oh, and the address Gray wants to take you to? I looked it up just now." She waved her phone around. "Good luck in that place. I pray you survive."
"You're an idiot for agreeing to go with him," said Laxus when I returned home with an enormous vase of blue flowers. "And I'm an idiot for agreeing to go with you."
"So you'll come with me tomorrow then?!" I gasped excitedly.
"Only because you're promising free lunch. And you can bet I'm going to hold you to that and order the entire menu."
"Order away."
"But Lucy," Laxus said, his face becoming serious- well, more serious than it usually is, "watch out for guys like Gray. They've got all the money in the world, and can play you any way they want. Be careful not to get hurt."
That was the most I'd ever heard him say all at once. I was touched.
"Yeah, yeah. Now can you get off the couch and help me cook?"
"Sorry sweetheart, that was a one-time gig. You're the woman in this household."
"And you're a misogynistic chauvinist."
"Tch. 'I'm Lucy and my hobbies include reading dictionaries and hating men.'"
"You pig!" Hang on a second. "That's the first time you've teased me."
"You're saying that's the first time I've fucked around with you? Well… how can you blame me? You hate men."
"Laxus!"
He laughed, a rare but pleasant sound, and I smiled.
Unfortunately, Laxus was not nearly as entertaining come Saturday.
Everything was going fine when we entered the store. I tried on a lot of different clothes, from pants to jackets to suits to dresses. Laxus was unsurprisingly sparse in his commentary, mostly staring out the window at the eatery across the street. Maybe Cana was wrong. Maybe getting Laxus' opinion wasn't the best idea because he rarely ever even had one.
I was on my way back to the dressing room after gaining another mediocre reaction from Laxus when an associate pulled me over. He looked at me with a twinkle in his eye.
"You're not getting much of a reaction from your boyfriend, are you? Don't worry; men are just like that."
"Oh, he's not my boyfriend."
"Shame. I had just the thing that could make a guy's heart race."
"I'm listening." Wait a second. You're talking about Gray here, Lucy. Not Laxus. Gray.
"It's a dress I found in the back. It's got no tags or brand or price, and we're supposed to throw those out, but it's so pretty, I just couldn't. It'd look smoking on you," he said, giving me a once-over.
"You had me at 'no price.' Bring it on."
He scurried off and returned a few minutes later with a balled up wad of red fabric. "Did I mention no hanger either?" he chuckled. "It'll look better once it's on you, I promise."
It took a few minutes for me to find the correct holes for all my limbs, but once I got my head and arms through, the dress settled on me softly, the hem sitting just above my knees, and the folds falling into place naturally. It felt wonderfully luxurious, the blood red color lending my pale skin a pretty glow. The neckline, though, plunged down almost to my belly button and exposed the middle third of my torso.
The dress screamed "sexy," which wasn't out of my comfort zone, but how was I supposed to know if this was suitable for wherever Gray was going to take me? I walked out to look for Laxus to get an opinion, and conveniently bumped into him.
"You done yet?" he grunted.
"I don't know. Am I?" I did a little spin for him, and watched his eyes widen, and his cheeks… go pink?
"Oh my God, are you blushing?" I crowed.
"Yeah. But you shouldn't buy the dress," he mumbled and turned his head away.
"But you just admitted I made you blush. That's counterintuitive."
"Just trust me. It don't send the right message, and it don't look clean."
"Are you implying that I look like a slut?"
"I'm trying to say you look beautiful!"
"Then what's the problem?"
"It's hard to explain. You'll just have to trust me."
"You're being ridiculous!"
"I don't care. You can't wear that tomorrow."
"You're not my dad, and you're not my boyfriend. So excuse you, I can wear whatever I want!"
"Then buy the fucking dress!" he roared, and I winced because he usually didn't raise his voice. "This whole thing is fucking stupid. I'm out."
He stomped out of the store, leaving a crowd of staring people in his wake.
"What the hell's your problem?!" I shouted after him, but he was already gone.
A few moments later, the store associate from before sidled up to me. "And the verdict is?"
"I'm buying it," I snapped.
"We technically can't sell it to you," he said, "because the manager says we can't sell uncatalogued items. But, if you bought something else, I could maybe throw in a 'freebee'?" He winked.
I grabbed something off a shelf and made the purchase.
I didn't go back to the apartment until late that night because I didn't want to see Laxus. When I finally returned long after dark, the lights were off in the apartment. Looks like Laxus had the same idea as me and spent the night somewhere else. I went up to my room and carefully folded and placed Gray's jacket into a bag. I was definitely going to return it tomorrow.
The next day, Cana dropped by my apartment to drive me to the location. She was very much into the whole secretive nature of the place, and didn't want me putting it into the Google and accidentally finding out what it was.
"Have fun!" she called, as I got out of her car and found myself downtown, in front of a large stone building with a grand set of stairs leading up to its entrance. Across the top of the Pantheon-like structure was a banner that said "New Reedus!"
"Oh. My. God," I breathed. "This can't be. Magnolia's contemporary art museum? And Gray got us tickets inside?" I took a few steps up the stone stairs when my heel caught between a crack and I epically face planted.
"Ow…" Way to make a grand entrance, Lucy. My right cheek, which I had fallen on, was throbbing. Had Gray seen that? He seemed like the sort of guy that would arrive early, but he was nowhere in sight.
"Are you alright, beautiful lady?" someone asked. It was a man in a suit, and although he was wearing sunglasses, I was pretty sure he was staring at my chest.
"F-Fine."
"Need a ticket inside the art museum? The ticket collector is a woman, so I think I could get you in."
"I don't like playboys."
"But I'm not a playboy. I'm Loke."
"A low-key playboy is still a playboy in my book."
He chuckled. "Not 'low-key.' I meant my name is Loke. God, you're cute. Are you sure you wouldn't like to wait for whomever inside the museum at least? I promise I'll behave."
I checked my phone. It was 10:15, and Gray still wasn't here, and it was hot. Gray had my number. He could call me when he got here.
"Sure, why not?"
The inside was yellowed stone like the exterior. Massive paintings covered the walls and the hall was divided in half with glass display cases featuring sculptures and other types of art. The air conditioning inside hit me like a wall and I sighed happily. As soon as we began strolling around, though, Loke was pulled away by some angry woman.
"Sorry, but it looks like I have something to take care of!" he apologized as the woman pulled him away by his tie.
"You're right you better take care of me! Who the heck's this chick? You said I was your girlfriend!" she shouted. The two disappeared around a corner.
And that was why I disliked playboys: drama was not sold separately. Well, I might as well take a look around until Gray arrives. I had made rounds around the entire museum twice when I finally got a call from an unknown number at 10:45.
"Hello?" I huffed into the receiver.
"Lucy…? Where are you?" Gray's voice sounded hesitant and guilty, and I wanted to slap myself because for a moment the word adorable actually flitted across my mind.
"That's a good question coming from someone who's over forty-five minutes late."
"I'm so sorry, Lucy. I had an unplanned business meeting this morning and it dragged on longer than I thought it would."
"I thought you didn't work on Sundays?"
"If it was my choice, I wouldn't work on Sundays either. But work waits for no one."
"Well, neither does Lucy. I went home when you didn't show."
There was a disappointed silence on the other end and I stifled a laugh. "I'm kidding! I'm inside the museum."
He sighed, which came out more like a relieved laugh. "I have your ticket, so how did you get in?" The background noise dropped out, so he probably just entered the museum.
"Um…" A playboy helped me? "...my feminine charms."
"That good, huh? Now I'm curious to see. Where are you?"
I ignored his question. He could come find me. "You know, you could have just texted me the location to the museum like a normal person."
He laughed, the breathy sound sending chills down my neck. "I was afraid that if I texted you, you'd have my number. And then you might text me back telling me you couldn't make it. Sorry for being selfish."
"You don't sound sorry at all. I'm moving somewhere else again. Good luck finding me." I rounded another corner and walked down that hall.
"Lucy! Quit making things so difficult for me!" But he was laughing. "I'm really happy that you're still here."
I stopped walking. Had I heard that correctly?
"Anyway, can I get a hint? I've made a round of the museum already and I still haven't found you."
"Why don't you make another round? It took that many times for you to call me."
"Ouch." Okay, he didn't deserve that one.
I glanced up at where I was: in front of a very surreal painting, with lots of bright colors, eyes, money, and couples. It was titled Gatsby Reinvented.
"You know, Gray, when I first saw you, you reminded me of Jay Gatsby."
"Jay Gatsby…" It sounded like he'd just entered a different room again. "...like the guy from The Great Gatsby, right? You like books or something?"
"I love reading books. Anyway, you know the story, right?"
"Millionaire guy chasing the love of his life. I see the similarity."
I almost dropped the phone. "A-Anyway, despite being handsome and wealthy, he doesn't get the girl in the end. And he keeps wishing he could turn back time."
"...You're still mad at me for making you wait, aren't you?"
"No, I'm just saying love is a matter of timing."
"Then am I too late?"
His voice was suddenly beside me. "Found you," he grinned. Gray was sporting his usual suit and artfully tousled hair, and I wondered whether this was actually a date at all because of how normally he was dressed. His eyes dipped down briefly to what I was wearing, and I saw a slight blush creep across his cheeks.
I really hoped this was a date because what I was wearing and his reaction to it would be so inappropriate otherwise.
"You look incr…" he started to compliment me, when his hand suddenly reached out and I felt his cool fingertips touch my cheek. My breath hitched.
"...injured?!"
"What?" My heart was hammering so quickly, it must have messed with my hearing.
"Y-Your cheek. It's cut, and it's bleeding." His fingers grazed the skin there, and the sudden pain brought me back. The stairs.
I pushed his hand aside, taking a shaky breath to calm my pounding heart. "Don't do something so misleading. It's fine. I tripped on the stairs when I got here and fell. Honestly, I kind of forgot it was there. What you did just now freaked me out a lot more."
"Really?" He looked both shocked and pleased. "Why?"
"I… can't answer your question until you answer mine."
"Name it."
I took a readying breath. "Who are you spending today with? Is it the receptionist you called on a whim to remodel your greenhouse? Or is it the woman that- well, I guess all you really know about me right now is that I love reading, but you get the idea. You've been very sweet whether at work or on this… date. But I have to keep those two people separate."
He pondered the question for a moment. "I know more about you than just the fact that you love reading. But it's both, I think."
"Then sorry, but this probably isn't going to work out."
"But why not? It's natural for the two to overlap sometimes."
It was time to set things straight. And it was going to suck, because Gray was a really nice guy.
"Look, you've been such a gentleman in the short time that I've known you. And honestly, you make my heart race a million miles a minute sometimes, and I like you. But overlapping the business and personal life just doesn't work out in my experience. My dad brought his work into my family all the time, and it really messed up our relationships. The whole thing exploded to pieces. Mother, gone. Father, gone too, but it a different sense. It's a bad idea."
"But this is different. I'm not your family. I'm just some guy you met at work. You don't owe me anything, and if I'm not mistaken, you're not expecting anything either. You said that you like me, and that I make your heart race. Isn't that enough reason to at least give me a chance?"
I looked at Gray, who was gazing at me with a determined and hopeful look in his eyes. Jay Gatsby, standing before me. Daisy had given it a chance and, well, we all knew how The Great Gatsby ended.
But I wasn't Daisy. I didn't have some husband on the side that made what I was doing wrong. I blew out a breath.
"You've got until the end of today to convince me."
Gray was giving me a confident smirk. "You got it."
"So what are we going to do now? We kind of already toured the museum, albeit we did that on our own while looking for each other."
"What are we going to do?" he grinned. "We're going to go whale-watching."
Now answer me quick: did you remember that Lucy was supposed to return Gray's jacket? Probably not, huh. She forgets, you forget, I forget to put it in the chapter, and Lucy should just hang onto it forever, ne?