The change ( his mate)

Chapter 6: What are you hiding

Lara

When I arrived in class I smiled at Grayson who was already sitting down, but he didn’t return it. I frowned confused as I took my seat and looked over at him. He was leaning back against his chair, arms folded, the front legs of the chair were in the air as he tipped it.

I watched him. He slammed the chair back down and started bouncing his leg, he was restless and frustrated about something. I’d always been a strong empath and that, on top of being quiet, meant it was easy for me to observe people and read them, they could sweet talk me all they wanted, but I knew if it was genuine by their body language and their facial expressions, sometimes I swear I could almost feel their energy.

I wasn’t anything cool or mystical, just your plain average human who had an uncanny ability to know how people were really feeling, I wasn’t always right and sometimes my own emotions got in the way and I projected it onto others, but nine times out of ten I was right.

Today was just written work and every so often I glanced over at Grayson, he would write, stop, seem lost in thought and shake himself out of it and start writing again.

Just how strong was the guy? I watched as he looked angry about something, clenching his pen so hard it snapped in two. “S.hit,” he muttered, shoving it in his bag he pulled another one out.

He was completely in his own world today, he didn’t look over at me once and when the class was over he waited for the crowd to leave and then he was up and rushing out the door not even waiting for me.

He hadn’t even said hello. Pfft, I didn’t care, ok, maybe I did, but I’d been expecting it, a guy like that didn’t go for girls like me, clearly he’d just been giving friendly conversation, but then why say about the movies if he didn’t want to?

I pushed my overthinking down and reasoned he had been frustrated about something, maybe something had happened and he didn’t have time for chit chat.

Feeling a little deflated, I slowly made my way out of the class, down the hall and was hit by a gust of cold air as I opened the doors to leave the building. I was surprised to see Grayson standing there waiting for me.

“Hey,” he smiled.

I was so confused. “Hey?” I made it a question and he stepped up beside me as we walked. “Sorry I didn’t speak in class, my mind was preoccupied.”

“I noticed, what’s wrong?”

He broke eye contact, looking ahead and shrugged, “nothing bad, just family stuff.” He looked up at the almost full moon, quiet and then he turned to me and asked, “how late does your bus come, and how close does it stop at your home?”

“I think the latest is eleven thirty and it stops pretty much right outside my place. Why?”

“If you weren’t busy I thought maybe you’d want to hang out for a bit.”

He was looking at me expectantly and I hesitated. He was drop dead gorgeous, but I still had a fear of men and their intentions.

“What would you want to do?” I asked, keeping my face calm.

He shrugged, “I don’t mind, walk around or if you’re cold maybe get a hot drink at the Starbucks across the road?”

“Ok, let’s go to Starbucks,” I smiled.

He gave me that heart stopping grin and I tried to calm my racing heart. It doesn’t mean anything Lara. We walked inside and I sighed contentedly to the warmth after coming in from the bitter cold. It was pitch black outside, with glowing street lamps. Starbucks lit up the side walk with its light streaming through the windows to the outside.

It was quiet inside with only a couple at one table and a singular person at another, tapping away on their laptop. I could never understand how people could work in busy environments or among the public, I always felt too awkward, uncomfortable and could never concentrate thanks to social anxiety.

I was about to place my order when Grayson asked, “what do you want?”

“A hot chocolate, what are you having and I’ll get it.”

He snorted at that and replied, “I asked you to stay out, so I’m getting.” He placed an order for two hot chocolates and paid the blushing blonde.

“Come on.” He led me towards the back of the shop away from everyone else and asked, “is here ok?”

“Perfect,” I smiled.

We sat down and I asked, “so you don’t have to rush back home for anyone?”

“Nah, I’m staying in an apartment next to the college while I do the course. Family’s back in Surrey.”

“Ah,” I smiled, but couldn’t make it reach my eyes. Family, so he had a wife and kids? Just my luck.

I really hoped he hadn’t noticed my look of disappointment because that would be so embarrassing. He looked at my face and maybe he had because he said, “by family, I mean my brother Leo, I live with him.”

I blushed hard, had my face been that obvious? I smiled, nodded and could only manage a, “that’s nice.”

He was still watching me when he asked, “how about you? Family back home waiting?”

“No,” I smiled.

“A lover?”

“Definitely not,” I laughed.

“Good,” he smiled.

My heart did somersaults when he said that, did that mean he liked me? I didn’t know and I was too curious not to try and find out. “Why is that good?” I cringed asking, but I had to know.

He never broke eye contact when he said, “because I like you.”

“I like you too,” I blushed and then had to break eye contact.

When we finished our drinks he walked me to the bus stop and slipped his hand in mine. I smiled up at him and he smiled back. When my bus arrived he leaned down and kissed my cheek. “Get home safe,” he murmured.

He was so sweet, I know it was only a few days, but I already liked him so much, I’d always worn my heart on my sleeve and fell so easily. He did seem really lovely and different to any other man I’d known, he hadn’t tried to kiss me on the mouth, he hadn’t tried to hug me or push any boundaries, he was very respectful and gentlemanly and I hoped that didn’t change.

We met up for the movie like we’d planned and after, we got a drink in some milkshake shop and talked. We did that almost every other day over the weeks, he enjoyed listening to me talk about my own life, he gave little bits of information here and there on his own personal life, but not much, he was a mystery and I couldn’t help but want to unravel him and find out more.

All I knew was that he lived with his older brother Leo who had adopted him when his parents had passed away, but didn’t elaborate on how they passed. He mentioned having a lot of cousins he was close to, but otherwise I knew nothing else.

We reached the fourth week mark of dating. We were holding hands as we left cooking class and I still could hardly believe it was real, that he actually wanted me, liked me and was a decent guy. We were bantering playfully over the movie scream, I was explaining why it was such a good movie and he was arguing why it wasn’t.

“It’s lame,” he said.

“No it’s not, it’s a classic!”

He snorted, “it’s cheesy, typical bunch of teens fooling around and get themselves killed, by other teens that think they’re so cool and powerful.”

“Pfft, you don’t appreciate the classics.”

“Yes I do, Halloween, Freddy, the exorcist, they are all way better.”

I shoved him playfully and he shoved me back. I made a mock gasp and tried to get him into a headlock, laughing he broke free and got me into a headlock instead and ruffled my hair. “Just accept it, darling,” he grinned.

“Never!” I tried to push him away, but he was so strong, I tried stomping on his foot, but he didn’t even flinch. “Damn it!” I mock snapped.

He was laughing and finally let me go only to tickle me instead. “No!” I screamed, laughing, begging and thrashing like a wild woman in the middle of the college field we were on.

“F.ucking hell, you’re like a woman possessed, better than Linda Blair herself,” he laughed.

I collapsed to the floor while he continued to tickle me and I rolled away from his grasp. I was breathless and panting. Grinning, he joined me on the floor, lying beside me. I was looking up at the stars, it was bitterly cold, but the play fight had warmed me up and the sky was clear.

Grayson leaned over me and then he gently cupped my cheek, pulling my face to him and leaned down. He pressed his lips against mine softly and pulled back to ask, “is this ok?”

I nodded dreamily, and he leaned down to kiss me again. His lips were cold from the winter air, but soft, so soft. His lips were moving against mine and I started moving mine too, hoping I was kissing him right, it had been three years since I’d dated anyone.

He claimed my tongue with his own, but kept the kiss gentle and sweet. We were kissing for such a long time I was starting to grow cold laying on the cold grass, even with my winter coat.

He pulled away from the kiss, grinning. “I can feel you shivering against my lips, do you want to come back to my place?”

He saw the hesitation in my eyes and asked, “what’s wrong?”

“I just, well, I don’t know if I’m ready for that yet.”

“Ready for what?”

“You know.”

Frowning, he said, “no, I don’t know, what is it?”

I looked up at his face and saw nothing but sincerity and confusion, did he really not know what I was getting at?

“S.ex,” I blurted, and then blushed hard.

His eyes widened and he sat up, “oh, f.uck, no, sorry I didn’t mean that, I just meant come to mine to get warm and hang out for a while and I’ll drive you home after.”

Smiling, I agreed. He stood up and taking my hand helped me to my feet. He held my hand as we walked and I enjoyed the peace, there was something about the night that I loved, the air smelt fresher, it was quiet and peaceful, even the wind seemed to hush more quietly in the dark.

He only lived ten minutes from college and I followed him along as we came to a three story building. He opened the entrance door for me and I walked through and looked down the cream painted corridor with an ugly green carpet. To the right, I saw a see through glass window that looked into a gym.

Grayson led me up to the first floor, down the end and opened his front door. I stepped inside looking around, there wasn’t much to look at, the apartment was furnished only with the basics, a three piece grey sofa, coffee table in the middle, a dining table and chairs in the far left hand corner, and a tv mounted on the wall. The floor was a matching grey carpet to the sofa and the walls painted a cream.

While he closed the door and threw his keys on the table, I toured the place curiously. The grey carpet cut off to white Lino flooring in the kitchen, the kitchen was tiny, barely room for two people, but nice enough with a simple white oven, microwave and a wooden counter.

I looked up the narrow stairway and saw it only led up to a bedroom, kind of like a loft, there was no door for privacy, heck, no wall, I could just look up and see the single bed with its white sheets and the beige carpet.

“Enjoying yourself?”

I jumped to the sound of Graysons voice and turned to see him grinning at me and holding out a glass of coke. Smiling shyly, I took it and thanked him. We sat down on the sofa together, talked, messed around and play fought as if we were teens and not grown adults, and we kissed…a lot.

True to his word he was nothing but respectful , he didn’t try to do anything other than kiss me or cuddle me. When it was half ten that night he broke the breathtaking kiss he’d given me and smiled softly, “as much as I don’t want this night to end, it’s getting late and I know you have work in the morning. Let me drive you home.”

Smiling dreamily at him, I nodded.

When I kissed him goodnight he didn’t drive away until he saw me go safely inside. I smiled happily, still feeling high from spending the evening with him. He was perfect in every way with his heart stopping good looks, blonde, blue eyed, chiseled jawline and well built, which I’d seen just how well built when he had taken his jacket off in his apartment. I hadn’t been able to stop staring at his muscular arms and physique.

He was so patient and respectful too, he’d never tried to push for anything more than a kiss, four weeks and tonight was the first time he’d kissed me on the lips and not the cheek. Kissed me more than once in fact.

Almost, he was almost perfect in every way, I suppose if he’d been too perfect I’d be worried. It was small things I’d noticed with him that sometimes worried me, like not sharing anything about his life, even his brother Leo he didn’t talk too in depth about and I wondered why, worried if he was lying and he really did have some girlfriend or wife somewhere waiting back home for him.

And then there was his attitude, with me he was fine, played the perfect boyfriend, affectionate, caring, friendly. With others he was downright cold and hostile, he didn’t smile, didn’t engage, I’d lost count the times I’d seen him snarl, sneer and give people looks of contempt, if he even deigned to give that person his attention.

It felt too early in the relationship to ask him why he was like that with others, but there had to be a reason, surely? I’d watched him, figuring he was like me, socially awkward and shy or anxious, but over time I’d noticed it wasn’t that, he was a confident guy who didn’t seem to care what anyone thought, he could go up and give his order to a waitress just fine for example, so it wasn’t social anxiety, although he was definitely antisocial and he had a hot temper that would have made Lucifer himself proud. I’d never seen him with any friends or mention having any.

I’d have chalked it up to arrogance and being a jerk, but if that was the case I feel he’d direct the same treatment at me, and honestly, I didn’t get that vibe from him, if anything he was modest, to the point he didn’t even realise how much attention he got from women, if he did he was rude about it, but it felt more like he just wanted to be left alone and not because he thought he was too good for anyone.

He truly didn’t seem to realise just how gorgeous he was. Pfft, it was hard enough not to drool just looking at him, but women almost keeled over when he decided to speak too. He has this gorgeous lilting Irish accent with a hint of American to it. Anyway, I’m getting way off track, the point was that I felt like he was hiding something, what that something was I had no idea.