Now or Never

line of conquests?”
    Grayson grinned. “Did you just call me Gray?”
    “You don’t like to be called Gray?”
    “Actually, I love it. As a kid, I insisted that everyone called me Gray instead of Grace, but no one listened except my grandmother.”
    “You’re avoiding the question.”
    Grayson propped her head in her hand and stared at his profile. “No, I’m not. I’m thinking about it. I’m not sure I should inflate your ego so early on.”
    “You don’t have to lie. I’m a big boy.”
    “I haven’t been with very many people.”
    Derrick looked at her, his expression saying, “Yeah, right.”
    “I’m serious. Up until three weeks ago, I had only been with one guy. And since then, I’ve had two one night stands.”
    “Really?” His attention was fully on her now. “Were you and your ex high school sweethearts?”
    “We might as well have been. I met him during the first year of college, and didn’t really date in high school. Other than that loser, Chase, who felt me up at a dance, and then went out with my sister the next day.”
    “You expect me to believe you were a virgin until college?”
    “I don’t expect you to believe anything, but it’s the truth. I’ve always lived in my sister’s shadow. That’s the way I like it, too.” Grayson turned and stared at a water spot on the ceiling.
    “You certainly don’t seem very inexperienced.” Derrick’s hand caressed her stomach, and she could see he was clearly aroused once again.
    “Just because I haven’t been with many people doesn’t mean I haven’t had a lot of sex. It was just with the same person.”
    “On a scale of one to four, where do I fall?” Derrick was now on top of her and had her hands pinned above her head.
    Grayson’s breath hitched. She wasn’t about to tell him that just his touch was enough to drive her crazy, or that when his warm lips touched her skin, she was like putty in his hands. He made her want to forget that Todd, Jerry, and Josh had ever laid a hand on her. She couldn’t tell him that three years of sex with Josh couldn’t even come close to one night with him.
    She smiled coyly. “I’d say you’re number two.”
    “Number two, huh? I guess I have to work a little harder.”

CHAPTER 18

    The next day while driving back from the grocery store Grayson’s phone rang. Her eyebrow rose in surprise when she saw it was Derrick. Just the sight of his name across the screen made her stomach drop. She pulled into the driveway hitting the brakes too hard causing a bag to spill on the floor. She frowned as she watched an apple roll under the passenger seat.
    Taking a deep breath she answered, “Hey, didn’t expect to hear from you so soon.”
    “Why’s that?”
    “I don’t know.”
    Maybe because you’re a womanizer , she thought.
    “I was just calling to see how your day was going.”
    “Really? You just called to see how my day was?” A wide smile spread across her face as she grabbed the items that had been fallen out and threw them back in the bag.
    “Yes, really is there something wrong with that?” He chuckled.
    “I guess not. I’m just surprised.”
    “Well, I can hang up if that would make you feel better?”
    Grayson laughed. “No, don’t do that. My day has been fine. Yoga in the morning, then I took my jeep to get an oil change and got groceries for my mom. How about you?”
    “Good. I’m on lunch break now. I thought I’d say hello and let you know I enjoyed yesterday.”
    “Me too.”
    “We’ll have to do it again soon.”
    “Are you asking to see me today?” Grayson immediately wanted to take back those words. Desperate much Grayson? Get it together, play it cool.
    “Not today. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
    “Oh. Okay then. I guess I’ll talk to you later.” Grayson clicked off the phone, feeling like an idiot. She had a feeling this was going to get complicated real quick. The fact that he called so soon kind of freaked her out, but also made her way happier than it should have. Perhaps he saw her as more than someone to just hook up with. Or maybe he was just a nice guy and calling the day after was out of respect. She scolded herself. She was pathetic and had no idea how to even act around guys. She wished she could talk to Luna about it, but she was keeping Derrick to herself.
    She pushed the jeep door open and grabbed the rest of the groceries from the back.
    No strings attached Gray , she said over and over under her breath.
    A couple of hours