GRAYSON

I instantly regretted it—barging into her room. Because based on the look on Nessa's face, I scared the shit out of her.

"Christ, Grayson!" she yelled, throwing a shoe at me. Which I dodged. "What the hell?"

She threw another shoe at me. Dodged that one too. One day I would show her that she couldn't beat my reflexes.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," I said, meaning it. "But goddamn, Adler. You didn't tell me that you sing."

It took her a few moments to recover, and I half-expected her to tell me to get out. But she didn't. Nessa settled back onto the futon, laying the ukulele down beside her, a blush blossoming on her cheeks.

"I don't sing."

Bullshit.

"Yes, you do. I could hear you singing from the hallway."

She made a face, and it was adorable. Even if her next words weren't. "Why are you such a creep?"

I laughed before shrugging. "Why do you sound like a fucking angel?"

Nessa looked away with a sigh, but I didn't miss the slight smile that peeked out from the corner of her mouth. She had on a slouchy, cream-colored sweater with a short skirt today, and she wiped her palms over the black tights covering her legs.

I knew that tights were supposed to add a layer of modesty to an outfit, but goddamn. The thought of peeling them off Nessa made them into more of a temptation than if she'd been wearing nothing on her legs at all.

"Shut up. I'm not very good." She gestured to the ukulele, and I snapped my attention away from her legs. Shit, maybe I was more of a creep than I realized.

Luckily, Nessa didn't seem to notice. She was still side-eyeing the instrument, speaking quietly. Almost timid. It was unlike her. "I just like playing for myself. Or sometimes a friend like Madie. Or Bren."

I couldn't contain my frown. "Who's Bren?"

"Bren? Oh, he's—he's just a guy that used to work with me." She paused. "But there's not a lot I know how to play. Like I said, I'm not very good."

"That's not what music is about anyway."

"What?"

"Being good. Music isn't about mastery. It's about feeling, Nessa. The whole point is just to feel something."

Her wide eyes blinked at me like I'd just spoken in a different language, and she couldn't figure out how to translate it. "Tell me what you play," she said suddenly, tilting her head to the side. "You never did."

Stuffing my hands in my pockets, I leaned against the bed frame, smiling at her. "I play a lot of things."

"Like what?"

I shrugged and then listed off the one instrument that I thought might appeal to her the most. "Guitar, for one."

Nessa wasn't typically a predictable girl. In fact, I was pretty sure this would be the one and only time that she'd respond the way I hoped. But I would take it. Because her eyes lit up, and her whole body leaned forward. And what I wouldn't pay for her to react that way every time I walked into the room.

"I've always wanted to learn how to play the guitar," she said, wistfulness in her voice.

Score.

"I can teach you sometime."

She immediately shook her head, dampening my celebration. "No," she said. "I just know I'd be hopeless at it."

"I wouldn't be so sure, Adler." There was a short silence, and I wanted to fill it. But I was too tired to talk, to convince her further. Honestly, I was too tired to even stand, and I dropped onto the bed beside me, stretching out without reservation. Nessa's eyes narrowed, but she didn't say anything. "Play for me?" I asked.

She shook her head again.

"Just pretend I'm not here." I swiveled my head to stare at the ceiling. "I won't even watch."

"I can't—" She sounded flustered, and I fought a smile. "I can't just pretend that you're not here, Grayson."

"Try," I encouraged.

There were a few beats of silence. Nessa sniffed once.

"Why is your hair all wet?" she asked, and I didn't miss the hint of judgment.

I peeked over at her. "I was at the gym before this."

She wrinkled her nose, and I laughed. "Don't worry, it's not sweat. I just showered."

"I wasn't worried." She cleared her throat. "I just don't want my bed smelling like man."

"I'm clean," I assured her. "Would you like to come smell me yourself?"

"I—what? No."

Another laugh flew from my lips as I looked over to see Nessa scowling.

"Play for me," I said again, wanting to hear her voice. Her scowl softened, but it didn't disappear. She shook her head, and I gave a slight shrug before looking at the ceiling once more. "I can wait until you're ready."

I heard her sigh. "Has anyone ever told you that you're a bit....?"

"Adorable?" I filled in for her while tracing the ceiling tiles with my eyes. "Devastatingly handsome? Sweet as goddamn sugar?"

"None of that is what I was going to say," she mumbled, and I smiled.

Of course it wasn't what she was going to say.

It grew quiet again, but it was a comfortable sort of quiet. I heard Nessa move around on her bed, and I managed to keep from looking over at her. My body felt like it was falling, sinking into this crappy mattress. It was the same one as mine, of that I was sure. But lying here in Nessa's room felt so much...better.

Nessa started humming something, a tune I didn't recognize. She plucked at the strings here and there, but she didn't strum a chord. So I waited.

I had no clue how much time passed before my eyes started to flutter shut. I weaved in and out of consciousness, but I didn't miss it when Nessa hissed at me.

"Grayson?"

When I didn't reply—because too many parts of my body were already sleeping—Nessa started muttering under her breath. A deep sigh followed. And then....

Music.

It started with just the ukulele, the happy-sounding chords filling my nearly comatose brain. But then she started singing again—softly—and the throaty, deep sound of her voice was like nothing I'd ever heard before. God, it soothed my very soul.

I was torn. I was so fucking tired. But this was some kind of nirvana, lying in this state, listening to her.

Skinny Love—that was what she was playing. The perfect rendition of it, too.

But no matter how hard I tried to hold onto her voice, I couldn't.

My body won, and I was gone.

***

"I can't believe he fell asleep in my freaking bed."

I woke to Nessa's voice. Except she wasn't singing anymore. And she was a lot closer than before.

My eyelids were heavy, but I started the slow process of prying them open. I swore waking from naps was worse than waking up in the morning.

But then Nessa touched me, her hand brushing the hair off of my forehead, and I reconsidered if I should open my eyes.

This was nice.

"Grayson," she whispered, and I could feel her breath on my cheek.

Yeah, this was really nice.

She sighed before muttering some more.

"Goddamn you, Everett. You really are annoyingly handsome."

Well, I couldn't continue to be asleep now, not after that remark. Because there was no fighting the grin sneaking onto my face.

"I stand by what I said," I mumbled, keeping my eyes closed for a second longer. I wanted to savor the darkness, how it accentuated the feel of Nessa's touch. "You sound like a fucking angel."

The hand on my face quickly vanished, and it was replaced by a light slap on my shoulder.

"I thought you were sleeping!"

"I was," I said before finally opening my lids. "But I caught a bit of it before I dozed off."

"Oh, great. So my singing put you to sleep."

"In the best goddamn way, Adler."

She was hovering over me. Her dark eyes searched mine, and the only thing I could think of was making sure that I'd get to see them again soon.

"When are you done with finals next week?" I asked, hating how drowsy I sounded. My voice was throaty and thick, a drunkenness to it.

Nessa looked confused, like my question had caught her off guard. "Finals? My last one is on Friday at eight."

"Great," I murmured. "I'll be done by then, too. I'll pick you up for our date at like noon?"

Nessa's nose scrunched up. "Date?"

A full-fledged smile split onto my face as I pushed up from the bed. Shit, my whole body ached like I'd just been tackled by UCLA's hulking defensive lineman again. "Our ride home. You, Patterson. Me, Modesto. One coffee. Maybe even a stop for lunch?"

She rolled her eyes, the confusion clearing from them. "You're ridiculous."

"And you like it."

With a laugh, she shook her head. But it was barely a denial, and I'd take it.

Nessa stared at me for a moment in a way that nearly made me feel self-conscious. Her eyes flicked over me, like I was being assessed. But I swore it was more than that. Because while there was judgment in her eyes, there was also heat.

"Are you still hanging out with he-who-shall-not-be-named?" she asked, keeping her voice low as if we were actually at Hogwarts in the middle of a magical war. Sparks lit up her eyes as she looked up at me beneath her lashes. Shit, she was magic.

I gritted my teeth. "No."

Fuck Quinton.

"Fine," she said after a long pause, breathing out a sigh. Of relief, perhaps. "We can stop for lunch, but only because I have to eat anyway."

Again, I'd take it.

Nessa took a step back, and it was then that I realized how flushed and flustered she was. She flipped her hair over her shoulder before swinging it back to the front to play with the ends.

"And it has to be for like...burgers," she continued. "Not something fancy and weird. And most importantly, you have to let me pay." She waved her finger at me like I would be in trouble if I didn't obey. But I found her bossiness kind of hot, so I smiled at her like an idiot. Especially when she gasped dramatically and added, "Oh god, you're not a vegetarian, are you?"

I shook my head. "My mom is vegan so I grew up without eating a lot of meat. But I'm not vegan or vegetarian. And I'd love to take you out for burgers."

As much as I wanted to stay and keep talking to her, I knew if I stood there another second, I'd pass out on her floor. And I really didn't want Nessa to see how fucking weak I was at the moment, so I turned around, making my way toward the door.

"Can't wait, Adler," I said before slipping into the hallway.

"But I'm paying, Grayson!" Nessa called after me.

With a shit-eating grin on my face, I laughed and sent her a wink before the door closed between us. We'd see about that.

When I made it back into my room, I noticed Brodie was gone again. He was barely ever around anymore, making me second guess the decision to room with him. But tonight, I was glad. Because all I wanted to do was sleep.

And I did. Nessa's sweet singing voice still rang in my head, and I let it carry me off.

I slept better than I had in weeks.

💗
finally graduating from coffee dates ☕️