Forever And Ever

46. Grayson

"I want cuddles," Emery whines when I try to put her back in her seat.

"I know, baby. I do too," I murmur, kissing her cheek. "But you still need to eat."

"After I eat, then?" She looks up at me with big eyes.

"Yeah. We'll go back to my house," I smile at her and she climbs back into her seat.

She reaches into the backseat.

"What are you looking for, baby?" I murmur as I slip my clothes back on.

"Your hoodie," she giggles as she faces forward and pulls it over her head. She slips her shorts back on and leans against the window. I slip my hand into hers and she squeezes mine.

We pull up to Five Guys and Emery smiles at me.

"Let's go eat, pretty girl," I get out of the car and walk around, opening her door.

She gets out and wraps her arms around my waist. I kiss her forehead and we walk inside.

"Sit here, baby. I'll get you some food," I gently push her into the seat of a table. "Don't go anywhere."

"I won't," she smiles sheepishly.

I walk to the counter and quickly order her food.

As I wait, I feel my phone buzz.

Devyn: We're all going to the pool in a little bit to hang out before we leave for New York.

Devyn: That is if you still want to go.

I slip my phone back into my pocket with a sigh. I grab the bag of food and walk to the table Emery is at.

"Emmy, what are you doing?" I laugh.

"I'm drawing," she says proudly. She dumped salt onto the table and she's drawing shapes in it.

I laugh again as I sit down across from her.

"Why are you sitting so far away?" She frowns, getting up and walking around so that she's sitting next to me. She cuddles as close to me as she can, leaning against me before she starts eating.

"Everyone's going to the pool today," I murmur into the top of her head. "They want to hang out before Devyn and I leave for New York."

"You're still going?" Emmy looks up, trying to hide the sadness in her eyes.

"I can tell him I don't want—"

"No, no. You should go," she kisses my cheek. "You guys have been waiting to go since like forever. And I do want to go to the pool."

"Alright, baby, eat your food. I'll take you back to your house to grab your bathing suit," I smile softly.

"What about yours?" She narrows her eyes.

"I'll steal one of Devyn's," I waggle my eyebrows at her and steal one of her fries.

"Okay," she giggles, stuffing the rest of her food into her mouth. "Let's go."

"We need to clean up your salt mess," I pull her gently back into the chair as she tries to get up and leave.

"Okay fine," she huffs, quickly wiping the salt into her hand. "Now can we go?"

"Mhm," I murmur.

We walk back to the car and Emery quickly climbs into the passenger seat.

"Why are you in such a rush, baby?" I smile as she slips her hand into mine and I start driving.

"I want to go swimming with you," she murmurs.

"I didn't know you liked swimming so much," I tease lightly, squeezing her hand.

"I want to look at you without a shirt on," she mutters under her breath.

"Emmy," I laugh.

"It's true," she says defensively.

"All your friends are going to be there, baby," I shake my head, still smiling. "You can't just look at me the whole time we're there."

"Watch me," she sticks her tongue out.

God, I love her.

We pull up to her house and walk inside. She grabs my hand and pulls me towards her bedroom.

"Sit," she says, pushing me onto her bed before walking over to the closet.

"Which one?" Emery asks as she walks back over to me. She holds up two bikinis, one of them a plain black, the other a white one with tiny blue flowers on it.

"The white one," I murmur, pulling her into my arms.

"Why this one?" She giggles.

"I love the way blue looks with your hair color," I kiss her forehead.

"The blue one it is," she smiles at me and stands up. "Now, go get the bathing suit you're wearing. And hurry up and change. Let's go swimming." She pushes me out of her bedroom and I laugh as I walk to Devyn's room. I pull out his spare swimsuit and quickly slip it on.

I walk back into Emery's room just as she's slipping her toppiece on.

"Gray, I don't think I can wear this," she whispers.

"Why not, baby?" I murmur, wrapping my arms around her neck.

"You can see my cuts too clearly," she says quietly and tries to hide her face from me.

"It's okay, baby," I kiss her forehead. "I'm sure you can just cover them up or something, right?"

I hate that she hurt herself because of me. I fucking hate it.

"Okay. Can you help me tie it, please?" She looks up at me.

"Yeah, come here," she walks over to me and turns around.

I tie her bathing suit and she turns back around, smiling up at me.

"Ready?" I mumble, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Almost," she hurries back over to her bed and pulls one of my shirts over her head. She grabs a pair of loose shorts and comes walking back over to me.

"Where'd you get that shirt from, pretty girl?" I laugh as she hugs me tight.

"Your closet," she grins.

"Is that where all my clothes are going?" I raise my eyebrows at her and she giggles.

"I love you," she says into my neck.

"I love you, too, baby," I kiss her head and we start walking back to my car.

We get in and start driving to the pool.

"Gray?" Emery says suddenly.

"Yes, baby?" I hum, resting my hand on her thigh.

"When we get home, can I cuddle you until you leave? I'm going to fucking miss you so damn—"

"When we get home, I'm going to cuddle you until Devyn drags my ass out of bed," I say, squeezing her thigh gently.

"Okay," she smiles.