32 | you make it easy

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Chewie falls asleep again so we stay on the mountain for a while, eventually sitting down and opening up to each other. Gray reveals the reason for his gigantic backpack; he packed us a small picnic.

He spreads out a large blanket on the ground for us to sit on. I take a few minutes to show him just how much I appreciate his romantic gesture.

We eventually peel ourselves off each other and bring out the food. Gray leans his back against a tree, and I sit between his legs, relaxing into his chest.

Between our eating, we discuss our pasts, but the conversation is completely different from the one earlier. He tells me about his friendship with Tommy in middle school, how he got into street racing through him, and the way he's managed to balance raising Gracie with street racing.

With his arms draped around me, he tells me about how much he loved his mother.

I tell him about my friendship with Violet and Peyton, how they've been by my side through thick and thin. Although I try to avoid it, I eventually let information slip about my parents. Gray holds me while I talk about my childhood and the weeks I spent alone in my house. In a way, I almost feel guilty for getting emotional about my childhood, knowing what he went through as a child.

But Grayson doesn't judge me, nor does he put me down for holding onto my parents' neglect. As we open ourselves up to each other, there aren't any tears or yelling, just pure understanding.

By the time we finish the food and decide it's probably time to head back, I feel more validated than ever, and I can only hope Gray feels the same. Gray helps me wrap Chewie back up in my arms before grabbing my hand.

The walk back down is much slower than the run up, and we fill the forest with our conversation and the occasional laugh. Something in my heart tells me that we're coming down the mountain as a new and improved couple. The walls between us seem thinner, if they're even there at all anymore. Gray holds me close, and his body feels relaxed next to mine.

We slow down as we get closer to the car, and I'm glad to know Grayson doesn't want this walk to end any more than I do. I think back to the quote on the card, and I realize that we both got so much more out of this nature hike than either of us had planned.

Before getting in the car, Gray pulls me into him, and we share a long, emotional kiss. It feels like a fitting conclusion to this long morning.

In the car, Chewie starts shaking in my lap, pawing at the door and crying. I try to calm him down but he's inconsolible, turning in circles nervously. Looking at him this closely, I can see the fleas and ticks moving around his irritated skin. His fur is dirty and he has a rough outline from being tied up.

"He's in bad shape," Gray says, taking his eyes off the road for a second to examine Chewie. "I think there's an animal shelter around here. Chewie looks pretty young, so they'll take good care of him."

I know what he's saying: he's young and cute so they probably won't kill him. That doesn't make me feel any better.

Tears prick at my eyes as I think about what we have to do. My parents would never allow me to bring home a stray dog, and from what he's saying, I don't think Gray is willing to take care of Chewie on top of his existing responsibility with Gracie.

"You're right. I shouldn't have named him," I murmur, still trying to soothe Chewie but also trying to hold back my emotions.

Gray drives silently to the animal shelter. As I look out the window, I realize we're near Ridegcrest High, our rival school. Nothing looks familiar around here, and that makes me even more nervous about leaving Chewie here.

An older man greets us at the animal shelter, asking us general questions about his age, breed, etc. We don't have any information to give him other than that we found him alone in the forest earlier. The man doesn't look pleased by our answers, and dismisses us, saying that someone would be out in a moment to take care of it.

Already sad over having to leave Chewie, I cry even more after the rude man talks to us. I can tell after seeing me cry, Gray has to hold himself back from going behind the counter to have a 'talk' with the man.

Then a young, blonde girl comes out from the back, wearing the biggest smile possible. She's full of pep and kindness, letting out a series of awws when she spots Chewie. We tell her everything we told the receptionist.

After examining him for a few minutes, she tells us that Chewie is a pitbull, probably about one - month old, and was likely tied up and neglected until someone dropped him off in the forest.

"I'm honestly surprised he survived out there alone. It's a miracle," she says, petting the nervous dog. She smiles up at me. "I'm even more surprised that you carried him up and down that mountain by yourself. Even at this age, baby pitbulls are quite heavy."

She turns to Gray. "Did you even offer to help her?" She jokes. I wipe away my tears and laugh, nudging him with my elbow teasingly. I feel less sad knowing that Chewie is in the caring hands of this girl. But still sad. Grayson wraps his arm comfortingly around my shoulder, sensing my melancholy.

I glance at the girl's nametag, ready to thank her. Sadie, it reads in hot pink Sharpie.

Oh shit. Sadie. Who works at the animal shelter.

She catches me staring at her and looks around uncomfortably. I quickly stutter, "Do you happen to know Peyton?"

Her big blue eyes sparkle, and she nervously flips a strand of hair behind her shoulder. "Graham?"

"Yeah, yeah," I say. "Peyton Graham. Really good at soccer. Inflated ego. Very tall."

Sadie laughs, and it sounds like a choir of saints. I can tell why Peyton is attracted to her. She nods her head. "Yes, that's definitely my Peyton. Did she...tell you...?"

"More like gushed about you," I admit, feeling the tears on my face dry. This morning has really been a roller coaster of emotions. "I've been dying to meet you, actually. Now I can see why Peyton is so head-over-heels for you."

Sadie blushes a bright pink, and it's probably the cutest thing I've seen in my entire life. She's at a loss for words, probably not used to her girlfriend's friends bombarding her at her job. I calm down a bit.

"Well, it was really nice to meet you," I finally say, breaking the awkward silence. "I'm guessing I'll be seeing you soon enough."

Sadie nods happily, scooping Chewie into her arms. I lean over pet him one last time, trying not to get emotional again. Even Gray pets Chewie goodbye.

"I'm looking forward to it...River, right?" Sadie responds. She notices the questioning look on my face. "Sorry, Pey talks about you and Violet all the time. She described Violet as a dirty-minded, Asian spitfire, so I went out on a limb and guessed that you're River."

I laugh at Peyton's description of Violet, which actually suits her perfectly. "And what did sweet, precious Peyton say about me?"

She tilts her head, thinking. "I remember the words 'hilarious' and 'neurotic'. Oh, and she said something about you dating a super hot badboy with anger-issss......"

Sadie turns her head to Grayson, putting the pieces together. "I mean, a super nice gentleman with a great sense of humor!" She smiles brightly.

I stifle a laugh. "Sounds about right."

I give Chewie one last look, trying to commit the image of him to memory, then start turning to leave. "Again, it was great meeting you, Sadie. Take care of Chewie, okay?"

Sadie nods. "Of course, I'll make sure to find him a great home. See y'all!"

Gray waves and I smile at her as we leave. In the car, he turns to me thoughtfully. "Did you hear the part about me having anger issues? What was that all about?"

I giggle. "I don't know what you're talking about. All I heard was 'super hot badboy' and I think that fits pretty well."

"Oh really?" He leans over.

"Definitely." Then he kisses me for probably the four hundredth time today.

Back at his penthouse, between games of Scrabble, Monopoly, and Checkers (during which he definitely cheats), we rack up the total to somewhere near one thousand kisses. Of course, Chewie still lingers at the back of my mind, but Gray does a great job at taking my mind off things.

Even after Gray drops me off to pick up Gracie from school, my mind is stuck on him. If I close my eyes, I can still feel the his arms protectively wrapped around me, the sun on our skin as we watch the sun rise together.

♔     ♕     ♔

There will be a double-update today to make up for the short chapter, so be on the lookout! Thank you so much for reading!
- Kenzie

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