"Have you iced it?"
I shake my head.
Grant sticks his head out of the bathroom. "Ashton, do you have ice or ice packs?"
I don't hear Ashton's answer before Grant closes the door again. "Guess it was too much anger for a phone call, huh?"
"Yeah." My answer is hushed. "Way too much."
"I'd hate to see whatever took the brunt of it." He smiles softly.
"It didn't move, so I kind of lost this fight."
"But did you?" he asks, his blue eyes peering right into me. "I mean, do you feel ... any better?"
"I do." And there's more honesty in those two words than I can possibly relay. But I know he sees it in my eyes.
"Good." He shifts uncomfortably before continuing. "This could probably wait, but part of me doesn't feel like it should."
I'm silent.
"Lily and I used to date."
I lean back against the wall, needing to brace myself.
"I didn't tell you because of your rule. When you first told me about it, I wasn't sure what to do because we were still just flirting. And I really didn't know if you and Lily were friends. I mean, I knew you weren't before you came to Blackwood because I would have heard about you. So, I wasn't positive if that applied. Because you weren't friends with her when we dated." He's nervously over-explaining. It's so fricken endearing and cute. I decide to put him out of his misery, shutting his mouth with my lips.
Grant wraps his arms around me and holds me close, like he's thanking me with a hug. I pull away before the kiss can progress. "I know. Parker told me today."
He leans back a bit. "I'm trying not to be the crazed jealous guy, but can you please explain you and Harrison brothers? I spoke to Wil--"
"You what?" I interrupt.
"Yeah, the night of your birthday. He asked if he could crash at Stefan's. Said something about ..." He closes his eyes in realization. I raise my brows to encourage him to continue. He sighs. "He said it was probably safer. Just realized what that meant." I bite my lip, knowing exactly what that meant too. "Anyway, I told him I was interested in you, and that I knew the two of you had history. And I wanted to be sure it was okay, that it wouldn't affect our friendship or make it strained between him and you."
"You did that?" I ask in shock.
"Yeah, of course. I thought it was the right thing to do. And that's why I told Lily about you today. I needed her to know that ... well, how I felt. She and I dated for a long time, and I still care about her. But I needed to be honest."
"Your curse ..." I shake my head in disbelief. "And could Lily and I be any more opposite? Are you sure you're not rebounding?"
Grant laughs. "Really?" I nod. He becomes serious. "No. I'm not. We broke it off last December. And the reason we decided to end things is because she wasn't being honest with me. She was shutting me out, and I didn't know why."
"You both decided to end things, not just her?"
"We talked about it and decided together after I told her I felt disconnected. She couldn't explain what was happening with her and wasn't willing to share. I knew it had to do with her family. But it was impossible to be there for her, to be a part of her life if she couldn't confide in me. And I need that. Honesty is really important to me."
"You'd prefer full, unabridged, blatant, sometimes cruel, and always sarcastic honesty?"
"Completely," Grant says flashing me his gorgeous smile.
"You may be an idiot," I tell him, chuckling.
He laughs, hard. A deep, rumbling laughter. "I'm an idiot? So does that mean, you are too?"
I crinkle my eyes in confusion.
"The first time we spoke, you said you'd have to be an idiot to fall--"