Hello again! Thank you so much again for all of the support and kind words that were sent my way after I posted last chapter. I know I say it each time but I truly can't put into words how much it all means to me. So, thank you yet again.
I won't babble on for too long. I just wanted to leave some kind of warning/disclaimer here. Don't get me wrong, I know that I've been writing sex scenes and whatnot but I think that's more to be expected, so I wanted to make a CLEAR WARNING/TW/CW: THERE IS TALK OF ABUSE AND HARMING OF CHILDREN in this chapter. Nothing is detailed and none of it happens during the chapter, but it's referenced and recalled by Greyson/his inner workings. There are also brief mentions of drugs.
Thank you for reading, please enjoy!
Just as expected, the whole thing with HOT FAME Magazine had blown over quickly enough. Sure, there were still a few stragglers with cameras wandering around outside his building with the hopes of catching something juicy, as River had said, but there was nothing interesting for them to see. Sadly, it had taken someone else's tragedy to put the young lovers in the rearview, but they both did their utmost to feel sorry for the tragedy while being pleased with the overall lack of attention it earned them.
Though he and River hadn't seen one another again, they'd been texting non stop. So, as much as the forced distance sucked, it could have been far worse.
For one thing, Greyson learned about the joys or sexting. It was a happy medium, he figured. Not as good as sex, but not as sad as a lonely jerk. Somewhere in the middle, somewhere that he still got some contact with River, but that made him ravenous for more.
Once the weekend came, so too did the barbecue, awaited by all. So, as he walked up the steps to his parents' place, he was beyond thankful when Amelia yanked the door open and made some happy, shocked sound at the sight of him. "Greyson's here!" She hollered loudly into the house. While he was, of course, happy to be seeing River, it was also nice to see his folks. After all, it wasn't all that often that, these days, they managed to wrangle all of the cousins for more than a phone call, let alone the actual day together.
Of course, as was the way with barbeques, everyone was outside, so Amelia's words announcing his arrival fell on deaf ears. Still, she gave him an excited hug before grabbing one of the many items of food from him, running to the kitchen.
"Whoa there, slow down, Meals!" Came the loud, clear voice of one River Nivalis. She feigned fright as the younger girl collided softly with her, dramatically miming crashing into the teen, tumbling into the kitchen counter and nursing a fake head injury as Greyson entered the room. The air shifted quickly, though the younger girl didn't notice it.
Between them, even as Greyson was simply stood in the doorway, the air was electric. "Oh, shit. Bad crash?" He asked through a smile.
River, hand still on her head, let a smirk tug at her lips. "Terrible." She answered. "You know, I might need some kind of rich, conventionally attractive man to come and save me. Kiss of life, something like that." A wink followed, sending his heart into some manic flutter.
He could feel her teasing, feel the way it knotted his insides excitedly. He almost forgot Amelia was there until she spoke.
"I saw you both on that trashy, gossip page." The teen said proudly into the room. It was spoken as if she'd said something so very profound and shocking, awaiting a reaction.
Immediately, River was healed from her terrible crash. "Oh yeah, smartass?" She was quick to round the counter, playfully poking at Amelia's arms and sides. "Aren't you a little young for HOT FAME's bullshit?" She laughed as the younger girl began to giggle at the tickling, desperately swatting at River's hands in some weak effort to get away.
Greyson set the food in his arms down on the island just as Amelia managed to escape River's torment. His sister ran to his side, hiding in it. "It's for people my age!" She screamed, still laughing as River made to advance. "It's not my fault you're old!" She then barked, howling with laughter as River feigned a shot to the heart.
"Old? You know, you used to be my favourite Grey, but now? Oh, I'm gonna switch sides, it's Phoebe now!" She laughed, no longer looking to get at the teen.
With the threat gone, in spite of being in her brother's side, Amelia grew bold. "So..." She prompted, suggesting, looking between the two lovers. "Are you guys together now?" She then asked when they simply glanced at one another.
Groaning, Greyson softly shoved her. "Meals." He grumbled, his tone warning.
Coming up beside them both, River leaned heavily against the counter. "We're just friends, Meals." She said it just the same as they both seemed to have done a million times now. "We were just hanging out and some photographer got the wrong idea."
At that, Amelia simply rolled her eyes, groaned and walked off. "Boo." She grumbled on her way out.
The two lovers held their laughter in at her attitude for all of three seconds before they were snickering at one another.
"Hey." River, once they were done laughing, leaned closer to Greyson against the counter, bumping his shoulder with her own.
Smiling down at her, he bumped her right back. "Hey." He repeated to her. Even the simple touch of just their shoulders, it seemed, was already setting him a little more at ease. The proximity to her was like some kind of healing tonic, sapping the stress and tiredness from his very bones. He wanted more, more of her, as he always did.
Maybe, if he played his cards right, he could convince her to sneak off with him at some point.
For a second, her eyes flitted down to his lips, then back up. Caught, she looked almost guilty for a second before letting an amused breath out. "How're you feeling? Teddy's on decent behavior today, I think your mom's told him not to mention it." Huh, so maybe she was feeling the distance almost as badly as he was. Maybe his idea of sneaking off wasn't so stupid.
While that, the information about Teddy, should have been some kind of comfort, it wasn't. Teddy rarely listened, least of all when it came to teasing him. "I'm fine. I've missed you." He answered honestly, earning a raised brow in return. "And fuck Teddy. I'll tackle him extra hard during the game later if he says anything." At that, he got a laugh.
The game in question was just a simplified version of football that they all played and had done since they were kids who didn't yet grasp the rules of actual football. All it really consisted of was getting the ball to a predetermined end zone and, if your team didn't have the ball, tackling. It was mostly played by the cousins and siblings these days, but Greyson's Uncle Elliot and Uncle Ethan both took just about any opportunity they could to tackle both their kids and one another.
There were no time-outs, no half time or scheduled breaks. The game ended... when it ended. There was no specified length, it just tended to come down who quit first and called the other side cheaters.
"What about you?" Greyson asked, turning and leaning his hip against the counter, facing River. "They still hassling you?" He asked her, referring to the paparazzi.
She made a noise, holding a hand up in a so-so kind of motion. "I'm still seeing a couple of 'em, but we got lucky with that story on Gregory whatever-his-fucking-name-was dropping when it did. God rest the souls of those poor people, of course." She was right, of course. Gregory wasn't someone that either of them knew, just some drunk idiot who's wrapped his Lambo around... wait for it... the front of a fucking ambulance, killing a woman, her son and two paramedics in the process. So, as horrible as it was that it happened, River and Greyson were lucky at least that HOT FAME had taken more of an interest in it than in them.
Nodding, Greyson shifted a little. "Puts things into perspective, I guess." He mused. "You know, like, it really doesn't matter whether or not we're screwing, not when there are morons like that killing innocent people and then trying to claim innocence on, what, the fact that the ambulance was parked at an angle?"
River hummed her agreement. That really had been put out in a statement by that moron as soon as he'd managed to get his hands on his cell.
Together, after a minute of mentally preparing for Greyson, they left the kitchen and headed for the backyard. They each took some of the food under their arms, taking with them.
Outside, the grill was fired up, manned by both Ethan and Elliot. Greyson's parents were sitting with Mia, Kate and Greyson's grandparents, leaving Teddy, Phoebe, Jen and Amelia with the host of cousins
Speaking of cousins, there was Ava, eldest of Kate and Elliot, then her two younger brothers who were closer to Greyson and River's age, Thomas and Callum. Mia's and Ethan's kids were twins, both eighteen, called Lucas and Lara. Ava's husband, Dean, was sat beside her, along with Callum's boyfriend, Jacob.
It was, to put it mildly, a lot of names and a lot of faces. Yet another group of people that Heather hadn't ever made a real effort with, yet there River was, already literally jogging over to the group of them in order to steal a burger from Teddy's plate. Naturally, her mission was a success, leaving her to cackle and run off with it, hiding behind Phoebe as Teddy actually chose to give chase.
As he found himself doing often these days, he thought of Heather. Or, more specifically, the ways in which she really had just been terrible. River, his friend, was there, right now, being a part of the family. Heather, though? Well, she would have sat inside on her cell. No, seriously. She always said that it was to do with the sun and that she couldn't afford to get any kind of tan lines or some shit like that, but that rule magically went away whenever they were seeing her own folks or her friends. Hell, even when they saw Boof, a friend from school that she magically didn't hate, but never when they did anything that Greyson wanted.
Now, it wasn't an issue with him if anyone wanted to sit inside. Of course it wasn't. The thing was, she'd have complained about being lonely, so, in his loyal stupidity, he'd have sat with her.
She'd have also complained about the food. Heather's diet was strict and he'd always respected the dedication that she had when it came to preparing her food, but she'd just actively shit verbally all over the food all day long. She'd complain about the meat industry, though she wasn't veggie. She'd complain about the cheese. The burger buns? Oh, well carbs were evil, duh. Don't get her started on the bacon, least of all the shrimp or lobster tails. Even the freaking potato salad wasn't safe. It wasn't even any kind of moral or nutritional concern sometimes, she'd just hate something and then seemingly feel the need to comment on it every single time someone else tried to enjoy it. She didn't seem to struggle with the champagne though, oddly enough.
River's groan, somewhat ironically, brought him from his thoughts.
Looking up, he caught sight of her dramatically enjoying the burger that she'd stolen from Teddy. "Dude, this burger's so good, I'd fuck it if I could." She took another huge bite, still avoiding Teddy carefully. "You should get one, Theodora." She called out after swallowing.
Scoffing, still with Phoebe between them, Teddy flipped her off. "You know what, you'd fuck my brother, so I don't actually know how trustworthy you are." He shot back, looking proud of himself. Further away from all of their parents, cursing was back on the table. It was funny really, given that they were all adults, but they still held off of cussing around their parents.
Greyson's blood boiled, but River laughed. "Not until our wedding night. We've already been over this." She, it seemed, was completely unbothered by the accusation, simply taking another bite of the stolen food item.
Whether defeated or simply not looking for a fight, Teddy shocked Greyson by simply rolling his eyes and, with a laugh, walking off to the grill in search of more food.
From her spot beside River, Phoebe raised a brow. "I thought you hated that burger sauce Teddy likes." She said, looking curiously at River, a smile tugging at her lips.
Once Teddy was just far enough away, River nodded. "It's so gross." She admitted, swallowing. They laughed together as Greyson neared, earning a few chuckles from the siblings and cousins around them. "Your other brother, however, is equally gross. Non-suspicious, definitely not stolen burger?" She, of course, had noticed him. She held the offending item out to him, drawing attention to his arrival.
Trying to wipe the stupid, happy smile off his face, he took it as he greeted the others. "You got me food? How sweet." He wasn't sure what to say or how to act, especially with the others around. Worst of it, though? Jen. She'd been in the room a mere few days ago as they'd had to talk about the article. She was looking curiously between him and River, possibly trying to put things into place herself.
He knew he didn't have anything to worry about. Jen was a sweet, truly kind woman who wouldn't saw a word even if she walked in on them actively fucking, but he knew she'd tell Phoebe. Phoebe who, in turn, would tell Teddy. He was sure of it. After all, they were siblings. Those kinds of secrets didn't stay secrets for long.
So, as he put his mouth where River's had been, he tried not to think at all about the fact that they were, more or less, sharing food.
It seemed to be the stupidly small things like that which meant the most to him. You can take a wild guess at who wouldn't have shared food with him. He hadn't ever minded not sharing food with Heather, it had been something he'd gotten used to quickly. He had to admit though, he liked sharing food with River, even if it was a burger stolen from Teddy.
It wasn't all that much longer before a bunch of food was laid out in a positively massive spread on the outdoor dining table. With instructions for everyone to help themselves, they all did just that.
"Mm," Phoebe, eyes wide, looked at River. "Is this your mom's recipe?" She asked around a mouthful of potato salad.
Before River could answer, Ana was nodding. They were all mostly sitting together now. "Oh, I'd recognize this anywhere." She said simply, agreeing with her daughter.
Smiling, River nodded. "Yeah, I figured I'd bring about as much as I could fit in my top box."
While River's mother may have been... well, a fucking terrible mother, she did have the most amazing potato salad recipe. No, seriously. Greyson usually hated potato salad, but this stuff? To put it into context, even Heather had eaten some when they were teens. Naturally, she'd claimed to not like it, especially once she'd found out who had made it, but still.
"Better than crack." Greyson joked, immediately getting a snort from River.
"Asshole." She grumbled. They got a few looks from some of the others, but neither cared.
The story, though not actually as funny as either of them made out, was simple. Though River's mom had been an addict for almost River's entire life, minus a few years here and there, she had once been found silently crying over a mixing bowl of potato salad. Upon River, having been barely twelve at the time, finding her and asking what was wrong, her mother had confided in her that she had no money for getting her drug fix, having decided that her potato salad was, simply put, better than crack. The sentiment hadn't lasted long and she soon found money to use on what she needed it for, but the statement had stuck and had, between her and Greyson, become a little joke whenever River recreated the recipe.
"So, River," It was Ava, Kate and Elliot's eldest, who spoke up next once all talks of potato salad were through with. "I swear I heard something about the gym you work out of recently?" Beside her, husband, Dean, nodded. He'd heard something too? This was the first Greyson was hearing of anything gym related.
Greyson's ears perked up. River nodded around a mouthful of food, swallowing.
"Yeah," She started, wiping her mouth quickly with a napkin. "It's stupid, honestly. Some moron's been stealing files and, like, selling them, I think? There're cameras around the entire place and we've all got individual logins on the PCs, so it's seriously stupid, but the cops came and took a bunch of stuff." She practically scoffed at the stupidity of the thief.
What got Greyson though? For all their talking, she hadn't mentioned this to him. Oddly, he felt a little hurt. A little left out.
"It was you, right, Ringer?" Teddy asked teasingly from beside his mom, earning himself a soft, playful tap from her. Naturally, he feigned a moment of agony, simply getting rolled eyes from her.
Snorting, River nodded. "You got me." She admitted dramatically. "I just- God, making all those workout plans? All the diet plans? It's not enough for me. I yearn for the company logo, so I upload them all, then I steal them back and sell them on the black market." She was, of course, joking.
Teddy laughed, seemingly amused by most things out of her mouth these days. Greyson wasn't too keen on that. "What's the going rate for, say, a sheet on triceps, these days?" The eldest Grey son asked, continuing the stupid joke.
"Triceps?" River repeated, whistling lowly. "I mean, honestly? I don't think even you could afford that. I got some deals on quads these days though."
As the conversation carried on, Greyson couldn't help but think what an odd choice it was. After all, who would steal from a gym? Sure, the equipment was valuable, but what was there on the computers that was of any value? Possibly customer details, bank info and such, he guessed. For a place with so many cameras, it just seemed more effort than it was worth. Maybe that was his wealth showing though, that he wouldn't go to such efforts to get so little money.
It didn't matter to him all that much, so long as River wasn't impacted in any way, though he figured she'd be safe enough from all that. She had a way of resisting the temptations of anything less legal.
They all ate and drank for a while longer, conversation flowing nicely. Plenty of food was dropped for Bean, Ava and Dean's monstrosity of a dog, all of which he ate quickly, drooling heavily as he hoped for more.
Elliot told them all about his new bike as Kate rolled her eyes. He ended up speaking almost exclusively to River, even telling her that she could take it for a spin some time. They went back and forth together about different specs, talking about things that were well over Greyson's head. As far as he was concerned, bikes had two wheels, brakes, a seat and handlebars, anything more than that was stuff he didn't need to know about.
One of Kate and Elliot's son's, Callum, told them all about the docu-series that he and his boyfriend Jacob were close to finishing production of. The two of them were adorable and massively popular on social media, so it hadn't been much of a surprise when they'd announced the project to begin with, but hearing that it was coming to a close made Greyson happy beyond belief for them both. He knew that they'd put countless hours into the passion project and he was certain that it would be brilliant.
The biggest news of the day though? Well, that had to go to Jen and Phoebe. Together, giddy and in love, they announced that they'd found a venue for their wedding and had booked a date.
Of course, everyone was over the moon for them. It was such amazing, beautiful news. While the wedding still wouldn't been for a while, they were thrilled to share the details.
It wasn't too much later on that the food was through with and a few of their folks, namely the older ones, headed inside. Greyson would have put money on finding his grandparents passed the fuck out on a couch in not too much time at all.
That, it seemed, was when he saw pieces of his plan forming. If everyone was dotted around, which they were, then no one was specifically accounted for. It made it easier, he figured, to sneak off. He had to time it right, sure, but the thought of River was beginning to get too much for him. Also, shocking him, the idea of sneaking off? It seemed to be a huge fucking turn on.
He wasn't too sure how he planned to sneak away and to get River to follow him, but his plan was still in the works.
So far, his best idea was to ask River in front of everyone if she wanted to go play on one of the games consoles in his old room. That seemed way too fucking risky though.
As he sat there, scheming, River stood and stretched her sore muscles. His eyes were drawn to her immediately. Unlike the times that she'd come from work, she wasn't wearing sweats today. Sure, he thought she looked cute in sweats, especially in an oversized hoodie, but he liked this look just as much. It wasn't anything too fancy, just some comfortable looking jeans, a tank top, sneakers and a necklace. The necklace, he knew in spite of the way that it disappeared into the depths of her shirt, held her father's wedding ring on the end of the chain. It was about the only thing of his that she managed to hide from her mother during the times that anything of value was being pawned off.
Greyson knew she only put it on when she'd been thinking about her father. Her mom's recipe, he figured, must had reminded her at some point earlier on of better times.
While he hadn't ever gotten to meet her father, he knew through River that he'd been a good man.
After her stretch, she announced that she was going to go for a walk of the grounds. Just as Greyson was beginning to think that he was some kind of pervert, looking at her how he did while she was potentially feeling all sorts of conflicted about her parents, he saw it. Just as she turned, she gave him a look. He knew that one. It said "follow me", and who the hell was he to disappoint?
He'd give it a few minutes, he figured, so as to not draw any attention to them both being gone at the same time. That made sense, right?
At the light buzzing of his cell though, he didn't know just how long he could wait. He knew it was a message from her, it had to be. So, in the least suspicious way possible, he stood. "Hey, Mom?" He started, getting his mother's attention immediately, drawing her from a light conversation easily.
Smiling, she looked across at him, making a light hum, questioning.
"Is, uh... is the summer house still up?" He asked her. He watched a light look of curiosity pass through her eyes. "You know, I was just thinking about heading out and reading in there a little while." As he spoke, he was glad beyond all else that Teddy had long since gone inside. He could imagine that he brother would have immediately voiced the fact that he was looking to leave the group almost the second that River had done so.
With his mother's confused assurance, he was off. First though, to seal the illusion, he headed up to his old room and grabbed a book.
"It might be full of spiders, darling!" His mother called out as he returned, book in hand. "Why don't you take a blanket? Something to sit on? Better yet, let me find you something to wipe all that old furniture down with-"
"Mom," He chuckled easily. If anything, this was proof that she didn't suspect anything, right? Or maybe, a stone in his gut called to him as it sank ever deeper, she wanted the be sure that her son wasn't about to try to seduce his friend in a summer home crawling with spiders and other creepy crawlies. "It's fine, seriously. I'm probably just gonna sit on the deck so I'm in the sun. The spiders are welcome to stay inside." Sure, he knew that spiders didn't typically have a way or respecting doorways, but he didn't care. Plus, he was pretty certain that there were vacuum sealed blankets and clothes in there from when they were all younger and used to camp out there.
With some more light assurances, he was off.
The summer home was basically a fancy play-house for rich kids. They usually tended to be the size of a garden shed, sometimes with two floors, but always small and intended for play.
Well, that sure wasn't what they Grey kids had. Their "play" summer house was more or less a log cabin. It was larger than any shed and even had working plumbing. It had a single bedroom with two large bunkbeds, a kitchen-living area combo with a tiny kitchen that backed onto a real couch as opposed to a kids' one. It was about ten feet tall at the highest point of the roof, even having a shallow attic built into the ceiling that Christian and Ana had used to store everything.
Back when he, Teddy and Phoebe had all been living at home, they'd spent many a night out there. It was far enough from the house, in the woods, that they felt as if they were "away from home" for the night, but close enough that they could have sacredly scurried home if they'd wanted to. Greyson had usually been the one to call it a night, running back through the woods in search of his new parents, where he'd almost always end up with a steaming mug of cocoa, squished between them both on a couch as they showered him with assurances that they wouldn't ever let him go back to where he'd come from.
Unlike Teddy and Phoebe, he hadn't yet been used to their lavish lifestyle. So, as they went into the woods and the summer house in search of adventure, he in turn found himself face to face with something akin to a nightmare: being in another group home, away from their parents, desperately trying to wait it out for long enough that his new siblings didn't think he was being a baby. For them, it was a fun escape as they played at not being children of billionaires, but for him it had been like being tossed right back into the pool of in-need kids with no hopes of finding his way back out.
Back then, once he and River had become friends, they'd spent many a night in there. For some reason, the idea of sharing his fear with her hadn't ever seemed all that scary. Where he'd panicked about losing his newly acquired wealth and family, she had simply been glad to be away from her mother. Helping her to be without new bruises for a few days helped him to get over his fears quickly enough as he saw that he could do good.
As he walked, he couldn't help but think back to the time that River had shown up on the doorstep after school one day. She'd been hiding tears as well as a young teen could have, barely the age that Amelia was now. He'd never forget her cries as, in the bathroom, his mother had so very carefully helped River out of her shirt. She'd cried all the way to the emergency room, begging his parents to not send her home to her mom.
That time, although massively triggering for Greyson as he'd found his mind taken back to the times in his short life that he too had felt the bite of a belt, he refused to leave her side. Alas, when CPS eventually made their visit days later, River assured them firmly that her mother had played no part in her pain. As many times as they visited, she told them children's loving lies each time. It became apparent with time that all the Greys could do was make it clear beyond all doubt that their doors were always open for her.
So many times, River would show up on their doorstep, be it with a bloody lip or a black eye. Each and every time, she and Greyson would choose to camp out in the summer house. In the bunkbeds, they would be nothing but the poor kids that they'd always seen in one another as they talked the hours away. They'd gorge themselves on the snacks that neither of them had ever dreamed of being able to afford, guzzling name-brand sodas and playing games on consoles that had always felt vastly out of reach. The few times after then that River had found herself at the mercy of her father's belt, heavy in the iron grip of her mother's hand, she would take herself to the Greys and would bathe herself in their love, knowing that she would find none at home.
It didn't take Greyson all that long to reach the old structure. The walk, it seemed, was hardly an issue for the legs on an adult, something that Greyson found himself thankful for.
The double doors were open as a million memories poured out and onto the deck.
Sitting on an old, wooden rocking chair on the porch of the decking was River. She wasn't looking at him, not even as the leaves and twigs crunched loudly underfoot.
As the sunlight filtered through the trees, River seemed to have found herself bathed in a solid spot of light. She had her head tilted back and was smiling softly. "You look content." Greyson spoke quietly, so as to not startle her.
Cracking her eyes open, she rocked a little on the chair. "Oh, I am." She assured him, getting a grin in return. "Plenty of memories in this place, huh?" She then asked, nodding her head toward the cabin behind herself.
With a light chuckle, Greyson nodded. "Not all good ones." He supplied, his chest tightening.
Her rocking ceased immediately. "No?" She prompted. She rocked the chair forward and moved to stand, offering a hand down to him.
As he took it, he scoffed lightly. "I mean, the state you used to come here in? That was hardly good."
Her smile deepened and she shook her head. "This place didn't do any of that to me." She told him, tugging softly and leading him toward the door. "This place healed me. You healed me, Grey. You kept me safe here and gave me the time and space to get better. It's my favorite place in the world." As she spoke, opening the door and pulling him inside behind her, he couldn't help but look into her eyes.
As he stared down at her, he could see it. She was telling the truth, completely. "Well, when you put it like that." He grumbled, taking his gaze from her own just long enough to glance around the place. It was surprisingly clean, not bosting any great webs or layers of dust. None of that would have mattered though, not when he could feel River's hand, so very warm in his own.
The summer house opened immediately into the dual living/kitchen area, spitting inhabitants directly into a space with couches and a TV, leaving the kitchenette to stand off to the right hand side. On the upper left corner was the bathroom and directly ahead of the front door was the bedroom. It was quaint as far as houses went, but naturally it was grand for any such children's structure, as was the way of the Greys.
"You know," River started as her legs hit one of the two couches, drawing Greyson ever closer until their shirts touched with each puff of the wind's breath around them. "If your memories of this place are so terrible, we could always make new ones. I recall something about owing you head." She looked so terribly innocent as she looked up at him, looking through eyes that swore they hadn't just said anything that threatened to make his dick twitch. Her eyes, he now knew, were liars. Although, if he looked just long enough, he'd see the glittering shine of mischief. She knew what she was doing to him, there was no doubt.
His mouth flapped open and closed a couple of times as he tried to find words. Somewhere among the useless flapping, a strangled groan fell out, making them both immediately laugh.
Finally, brain clearing, he chuckled shyly almost. "You, uh... you don't have to do that." He told her, sheepish as a blush claimed his cheeks. That seemed to be happening a lot lately, not that he minded in the slightest.
The smirk that she never seemed to be without for long appeared. It was light, so very nearly a normal smile, but he could see the teasing in it. It looked so fucking good on her. "Do you want me to?" She asked simply, placing his hands softly against her sides, allowing her the freedom to move her own.
As her hands laid flatly on the upper portion of his abs, he couldn't help but swallow heavily. So little from her, yet he gave her such a reaction. He put it down to the years of being touch starved, but deep down he knew that wasn't it. It was her. It was the effect that she had on him.
"Only if you want to." He finally spoke, having to clear his throat a little. "I don't want you to feel like you have to just because you said that the other day. Like, seriously, you know I'd never try to hold you to that, right? If you want to, then I'm game. I'm good, you know? It's all good. Everything is good. Are you g-"
"Grey!" River exclaimed, chuckling. He stopped immediately and groaned, embarrassed. "Relax." She spoke softly, rubbing her hands over his chest in something of a comforting motion.
Smiling, he looked into her eyes. "I'm sorry." He grumbled, both of them laughing softly together. "I don't want you to feel like you have to do anything, that's all." He told her honestly, not ever wanting to make her feel like she was backed into any kind of corner, least of all by him.
She nodded, understanding. She sat her self gently on the arm of the couch, letting his hands fall away from her as she went. "I appreciate that." She brought her hands back down to his stomach, letting them go to his side. "Listen, I wouldn't offer if I wasn't willing, okay? And I'm never willing to do something sexually that I don't want to do, so don't worry about that if you can help it." With each word from her, he found reassurance. More than that, he found himself, uh, growing to the occasion, so to speak. He was definitely turned on, especially knowing that River had offered because she'd wanted to, not out of some place of feeling as though she owed him anything.
"Okay." He nodded lightly, blush rising as his mind conjured up all kinds of thoughts.
"Okay?" She repeated, on hand trailing slowly down to lay just on the top of his right thigh. He nodded again, finding himself transfixed. "So, Grey, do you want me to suck you off?" She asked, this time with that same devilish smile that he couldn't help but adore.
Swallowing thickly, he nodded, finding his voice. "Definitely."
The end of a chapter again, thank you for being here! I don't know if anyone actually wants the BJ scene, but please speak up if you do! Honestly I'm on the fence about whether or not to write it (I don't know if I'm writing too much of them having sex and too little story, or if the balance is okay or even if there could stand to be more sex, so please let me know) so honestly it's going to come down to whether or not anyone wants that in the next chapter.
Speaking of next chapter, I'm thinking that it could be the rest of the barbeque, then a scene change to something else. I like having River and Greyson around family/loved ones and I honestly think the Greys are a fascinating bunch that I'd like to beef out a little more. Either way, please let me know any thoughts or feelings, you know that I adore it, and I can't wait to be back (hopefully soon) with another chapter! Have an awesome day/weekend!