A/N Again the disclaimer. I do not know personally anyone mentioned. This is purely a fiction exercise. Also because English is not my native language you may have to excuse some mistakes I may write. That being said I hope you enjoy it. :)

You have just told Grant you love him, after an emotional moment between you two. You didn't really thought about it; the words just came out of your mouth.

You were afraid something like that would scary him so you don't even dare to look at him.

After some moments of silence that were already making you think you had blew it, Grant finally speaks. "You do?"

His answer in the form of a question confuses you. You look up at him, without knowing whether you should nod or not.

Grant's eyes are fixed upon you, waiting for your answer and you can't honestly tell if he's scared, shocked, intrigued or somehow happy.

You, on the other hand, are certainly terrified. You just make a smirk while you shake your head, like you're scolding yourself. "Never mind, I... I don't know why I said that, I don't want to pressure you, I know you ended a serious relationship just over a month ago and you're not ready for this... Forget it. I'm an idiot."

Grant is now smiling tenderly at you. "You're so cute when you rant like that. And please, don't be mad at me when I say you're wrong. You're wrong because you're not pressuring me, you're wrong because I am ready for this. You're not an idiot and I hope the reason you said it is because it's true."

You look at him with a foolish expression. You shrug your shoulders with an apologetic pout. "This is new for me. I never said it to anyone before. Probably because I never felt that way about anyone before..." You see Grant's surprised face and you sigh. "Shit, now I've really ruined it, uh?"

Grant smiles again. "You didn't ruin anything. I'm just... Still over the moon. Because when you hear someone you love saying they love you too in that spontaneous and honest way you just did..."

You frown for a second. Wait, has he just indirectly said he loves you too?

Grant smiles again. "I love you too, I love you probably since the day I've met you. It's been growing, of course..."

Before he finishes his sentence you shut him up by kissing him hard and strong. He's taken by surprise and you both end up falling down, rolling over the sand while you kiss each other passionately.

When you finally pull away, you two are all disheveled, clothes and hair full of sand, lying down. You both laugh loudly. This is all you need after that serious conversation about lawyers and your options for your future with Grant.

"You look adorably adorable." You giggle, running your fingers through his hair.

"I do, I know." He grins. "You do too." He holds you tight against him and he asks with a smile. "Am I really the first one? I mean, the one you love..."

You chuckle rolling your eyes. "Ha, you guys are all the same. But yes, you are. I thought I knew what it was like to love someone but you taught me wrong. And the proof is that I never felt like it was right saying it to someone before. And I never felt the way I feel for you... It's just... Overwhelming, really."

Grant is still smiling tenderly. "You're overwhelming. I hope I never let you and your feelings for me down."

"You haven't so far. Misunderstandings aside..." You remember your little tiff with Grant after he arrived from Norfolk.

"Oh, stop. I'm truly embarrassed because of that." He giggles. "And by the way... I need to confess something..."

"What?"

"I told my mother about you. Us." He pouts apologetically.

"Oh." You weren't expecting something like that.

"We started talking about my breakup, the cheating, then my work, you as my publicist and I ended up telling her we're dating. I told her the whole story. I guess I just needed someone to talk to. Doug is the only one I can talk to about this but sometimes a female opinion is better and I love my mother for that stuff."

"Ok..." You're still a little surprised. You're not really sure how do you feel about Grant talking to his mother about you.

"Don't worry. Our secret is safe with her."

"That's not what is really worrying me..." You chuckle nervously. "More like your mother's opinion about us..."

"Oh, don't worry."

"What did she say?"

"Well, she was a little surprised that we were together... I mean, she was surprised I was already with someone so soon after the break up... I told her that I was surprised myself but it couldn't be any other way."

"Hummm... So she's not very happy about us..."

"She's just afraid that I might get hurt again... It's nothing personal."

"Ok, I can understand that... And what about the secrecy thing? What does she think about that?"

Grant hesitates for a moment which makes you even more worried. "She understands why it has to be that way."

You frown. "Really? You know you can tell me the truth."

"Well, she's a little apprehensive with all this..."

You sigh. The last thing you need is something else to worry about. And having Grant's mother 'apprehensive', as he says, is certainly not a good thing. You already know how close Grant is to his mother.

"Hey, babe, it's ok. Don't worry. It's gonna be fine." He kisses your lips, trying to make your worries fade away.

"I want to leave." You say suddenly.

"Leave? The party?" He asks surprised.

"Yeah. I don't feel like partying. You have no idea how much it annoys me this whole thing of pretending we are just friends. What's the point of staying here if come midnight I can't even kiss you?"

"Oh, I know... Tell me about it... Ok, we'll leave then. We'll go to my place or yours, wherever you want." He kisses you again and you both stand up, trying to remove the sand off your clothes.

Grant notices your upset face. "Are you mad at me? For talking to my mother?"

"Of course not, Grant. I'm mad at I don't even know what. I'm sorry to ruin your night. You can stay if you want, but I can't."

Grant pulls you into his arms. "You wish. Do you really think I'd let you stay alone in your own birthday? And you're not ruining anything. If I'm here in LA for the New Year instead of home in Virginia is because of you. You said you love me, that made my night, my week and my month. And if you still remember I love you too. There's nothing I want more now than to spend the rest of the night and enter the New Year with you. Just with you."

You smile tenderly at him. "That's why I love you. And not only because of that, of course." You giggle feeling a lot better now.

He grins. "Of course." Grant kisses your lips and asks, "So, shall we?"

"I'm just gonna pick my jacket and purse, ok?"

"Ok, do you have your car here?" He asks.

"No, I came with Nate."

"Good, we'll go together in mine then. I'll wait for you there, I don't need to go back in the house. The least we show off the better."

"Fine. I'll meet you there then. See you."

You go back to the house and Grant goes directly to his car, going around the house.

You find almost everyone playing the Truth or Dare game. You try to pass unnoticed but Sophie sees you and she walks over you.

"Where are you going?" She asks as she looks at your purse and the jacket on your arm.

"I'm leaving."

"What?! Why? This is your own birthday party." She seems upset.

"This is also a New Year's Eve party so I'm sure everything will be fine and you all will have a lot to celebrate nonetheless."

"Where's Grant?"

"Excuse me?"

"He's not here. He's with you, right? Is he leaving too?"

You hesitate for a moment, you didn't know Sophie already knew about you Grant.

She speaks again. "I already know you guys are together. I heard you two earlier. You could have just told me instead of letting me make a fool of myself by hitting on him and thinking I had a chance."

"I'm sorry, but as you probably know too, this is complicated. Very."

"I understand that, but I honestly don't recognize you. You're putting a guy on the top of your priorities, ahead of your job and friends. You've never done that. I think you're making a mistake."

"I can take care of my own life, thank you."

"Is he really worth it? To risk your job like that? If things go wrong, will he stay with you? More, if finally you two can be together without having to hide anything ,will he be able to handle that? Or will he just get bored without the entire exciting secret thing?"

"I can't predict the future. So far he's been more than worth it. He's... I don't want to say perfect, because no one is, but he's not far from that. Despite all these... limitations of our relationship, the secrecy, the worries and all that, I've never been happier with someone. "

"It's all pretty recent... In the beginning everything always seems perfect... Give it a few more months..."

"Thanks for the optimism." You say ironically rolling your eyes. You don't take it too seriously because you know she's probably still upset by the whole Grant's rejection thing.

"I'm just being realistic, something you used to be too..."

"Ok, thanks anyway. I'm leaving. Hope you all enjoy the night."

"Yeah, you too." Sophie is visibly upset and she returns to where the others are. You leave the house and you meet Grant, who's already waiting for you inside his car.

Sophie's words are still echoing in your head. The moment you enter his car you burst into tears.