“I was afraid that I wouldn’t be any good,” Hailey nodded. “I was so nervous; I didn’t even really know what to do, but it all happened so fast. Was it good for you? I mean…could you tell that I was new at it?”
“Nope, you were a natural,” Grant smiled.
“Don’t smile at me like that,” Hailey shook her head.
“Smile, how?” Grant sighed. “There was no pretense in that smile. It was a generic, run-of-the-mill smile with no subtext whatsoever. However, I would be willing to scowl at you from now on if you prefer that.”
Hailey rolled her eyes, and a dimple that Grant had never noticed before shown in her cheek.
“Oh, see, when you do that it is impossibly difficult for me to maintain my scowl,” Grant grinned.
Hailey put her hands in Grant’s hair again.
“And when you do that, it’s impossible for me not to kiss you,” he smiled.
The kiss was long and sweet; Hailey didn’t even notice the blowing rain or the popping lightning. She was lost in the moment until Grant began running his hand up her thigh, and then her instincts kicked in, and she swatted his hand with hers. “Hands to yourself, Mister,” she said with a raise of her eyebrow.
“Sorry,” Grant laughed. He raised his hands into the air. “Better?” he grinned as he began kissing her again.
Hailey laughed as she took Grant’s hands and put them on her waist. “Move ‘em or loose ‘em,” she giggled.
There was something so innocent and appealing about Hailey that Grant found irresistible. She wasn’t a tease; she was simply exploring new boundaries, discovering feelings she didn’t know existed. He couldn’t believe the words that were pouring from his mouth, but, after another long kiss, he showered Hailey’s cheeks with rapid fire, playful kisses. “Alright, let’s not get carried away,” he smiled.
“You don’t want to kiss me anymore?” Hailey sighed.
“It’s not that I don’t want to kiss you,” Grant said, laughing to himself. “I just want to talk to you instead.”
“Okay,” Hailey nodded. She sat up and pulled the covers up over her shoulders. “What do you want to talk about?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Grant shrugged. “I thought I would tell you about the scariest day of my life, maybe my biggest regret while we’re at it, and anything else you think you might want to know.”
Hailey smiled broadly. “Gosh, I’m a really good kisser,” she nodded proudly.
“That’s a fact,” Grant grinned. He looked into Hailey’s eyes, and he froze. “But, I don’t really know where to start.”
“We don’t have to get too deep if you don’t want to,” Hailey said, trying not to sound disappointed.
Grant sensed the dissatisfaction in her voice, and, not wanting to disappoint her, he promised himself he would make a concerted effort at sharing his feelings. “Over the years, as I moved from place to place, things in my life changed. There weren’t a whole lot of constants, and, somewhere along the way, basketball became my focal point. It crossed cultures…it didn’t matter what language people spoke or what color their skin was, they knew the game. The rest of the world is soccer obsessed, so that might have been a more natural choice, but it’s not nearly as much fun to play by yourself. As much as I loved basketball, growing up in my house the mantra wasn’t Wanna be like Mike… but Wanna be like Ike. My older brother did no wrong in my father’s eyes. He was the perfect role model in every way, and, though I don’t remember him at all, I was always expected to live by the example he set. He spent his entire life blazing a path toward West Point, and when I fail to live up to those expectations, my father is going to see me as the failure he’s always feared I would turn out to be.”
“Not going to a particular college doesn’t make you a failure,” Hailey said so defensively it surprised both of them.
“My dad doesn’t see it that way,” Grant shrugged. “In his mind there is nowhere else, so I think my biggest regret is probably that I’m never going to live up to the expectations he has for me.”
Hailey was quiet as Grant thought about the scariest day of his life. He could practically feel the intensity of the heat from the flames burning the hair on his arms. He could smell the thick smoke and see the old man lying on the ground, looking terrified and helpless. His throat burned as he tried to find the words to explain away a year’s worth of lies.
“Are you going to tell me about the scariest thing that has ever happened to you?” Hailey asked softly.
“Well,” Grant thought. “Once when I was hiking through the Amazon, I was viciously attached by an Anaconda, and I had to fight him off with my bare hands.”
“How very MacGyver of you,” Hailey grinned with a nudge of her elbow.
Grant grinned. “Once I had to go with my sister Rachel to watch her boyfriend’s band perform at some dive in town, and they were pretty scary. Honestly.”
“Scarier than the guys in the prison?” Hailey rolled her eyes.
“Yes, only because none of the inmates have the potential of becoming family,” Grant quipped. “That is, of course, unless Joey falls for a convicted client, but I don’t see that happening.”
“I’ll be sure to tell her it’s a serious concern of yours,” Hailey laughed.
“We’ve beat around the bush long enough,” Grant shook his head. “Now it’s about time we tackle life’s truly great questions like, at what point did Jesse Cochran become Jesse Katsopolis? Who in the world is the random, dark-haired boy seen hanging out with the family during the opening credits of season one of Step by Step? And how many versions of Cory and Topanga’s first meeting can there really be? I mean, if they had so little faith that their viewing audience was actually paying attention, then why keep making new episodes? Boy Meets World, but how the heck did boy meet girl?”
Hailey laughed out loud. “I like to think there is a lost episode of Full House that will one day be ripped from the cutting room floor, and we’ll finally find out exactly how Jesse suddenly became a Katsopolis.”
“Yeah, that I’d have to watch,” Grant grinned. “They can air it as a special hosted by the Olsen twins.”
“I’ve got one for you,” Hailey smiled. “What was your favorite episode of Saved by the Bell?”
“I was pretty fond of the Girls of Bayside Calendar,” Grant shrugged.
“Especially Ms. December, right?” Hailey winked.
“Who didn’t love Belding?” Grant laughed.
“Remember that one episode when the younger, cooler Belding brother showed up, but Mr. B had to save the day in the end?” Hailey recalled.
“How about that cell phone Zack carried around?” Grant laughed. “As big as it was, he should have just hauled around his own phone booth.”
“I wish our school had a payphone in the hall. And I wish I could freeze time like Zack did!” Hailey giggled. “How cool would that be to narrate your own life? Timeout!”
