I promise you, I will | A Short Story
Hey, you!
Here’s an update on Molli x Grayson.
*Please note, this content may contain spoilers if you haven’t already indulged in Everlasting Love.
In the meantime, enjoy. And yes, you will get more of these two in my upcoming novel, An Intricate Love! 💋
With love, ShanicexLola
(Copyrighted material)
He wasn’t talking to me.
He was the most thoughtful, patient, selfless, and courteous man I’d ever encountered, and he refused to give me access to him right now. Not to mention how effortlessly alluring, charming, and enticing he was. It’d only been six hours since he stormed out of my house for work. Since then, my texts and calls to explain myself further went ignored. All because I wanted to keep our business to ourselves.
Grayson swore I was hiding my pregnancy from my family and friends because I was disappointed. The truth was, I was still trying to wrap my head around everything. It’d been two weeks since I took ten pregnancy tests in my guest bathroom. I revealed our newfound truth to him only after I realized I couldn’t change the reality of it. Now, he was worried that we didn’t want the same things.
Matrimony and a family.
“Hello? Molli? Are you still there?” My publisher’s assistant, Danielle, asked. Thankfully, she pulled me from my thoughts before I drove myself crazy.
“Y-yeah. I’m cool with that deadline since my writing process is moving along nicely,” I said. “Quick question, though. I noticed that my deadlines are getting shorter with each release now. Why is that?” I tucked my feet underneath me on the couch, positioning the phone between my ear and shoulder as I filed my nails.
“To avoid backlash from our supporting readers, we aim to maintain a certain momentum with our authors’ releases, especially regarding interconnected books,” she explained, sounding like she was reading from a damn employee handbook.
I felt strongly that no one’s creative process should be rushed or pressured. One-hundred thousand to three-hundred thousand words novels weren’t a walk in the park, especially not within the thriller genre. This bitch didn’t know a thing about the time and effort that went into the world-building in my stories.
Create it Forward Publications helped start my writing career and placed me in the spotlight for over ten-thousand readers. I expressed how grateful I was for their help to Danielle all the time, but my contract would be up at the end of the year, and taking Monika’s advice to go indie wasn’t looking like a bad idea right now.
“Backlash, huh?” I asked, refraining from saying everything else that was on the tip of my tongue.
“Yes. We don’t want you to rush anything; that is not our goal for our authors. However, we do expect you to work hard and stick with the deadline we assign you.”
I rolled my eyes, wishing she could see me perform my most epic eye-roll yet.
“Got it, Danielle. Thanks for your time.”
“Anytime. I’m here if you need me,” she chirped before I aired a quick goodbye and ended our call.
At the same time, I tossed my phone onto the cushion next to me, a noise at the front door made me leap up from the couch. I approached the door on my toes, gradually gliding across the plush carpet until my hand was around the crystal doorknob.
I sensed him and wondered if he was hesitating to knock like I was pausing to snatch it open and greet him. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I opened the door, and our eyes met. Per usual, his light brown eyes were low and dreamy as he leaned on the threshold.
“Hi,” I whispered and stepped aside. He and his bowlegs stalked inside like they belonged in my space. And despite how he'd stormed out earlier after our disagreement, he knew he belonged with me.
“How do you feel?” he asked as I locked us inside.
He’d trapped me against the door when I turned around, towering over me beautifully. I admired his glistening, groomed beard, then reached up to caress his smooth, dark brown cheek.
Grayson caught my hand mid-air and squeezed it in his. I smiled at his full lips. I knew the scowl on his face wasn’t to be taken lightly, but he was too handsome for me to take it seriously.
“You ready to stop being upset and talk to me now?” I asked.
“Not quite, but resisting you isn’t easy,” he said, pulling me into him. His buff chest poked out in his crew-neck T-shirt, and I loved lying my head on it.
“So, don’t,” I affirmed, securing my arms around him.
Staring up at his handsome face never got old. Grayson leaned in, and I thought he would bless my cheek or neck with a soft kiss. Instead, he whispered in my ear and said, “I’m ready to hear those good reasons you claim you have for me.”
Shit. Why did every move he made turn me on?
Molli pulled away, and I followed her deeper into the living room. While she paced from one end of the room to the other like a mad woman, I leaned against the wall and chuckled. She was on some bullshit right now, but that bullshit was low-key adorable to me. After a long day of work at the Smokehouse, returning to her never got old, no matter what terms we were on.
I couldn't be mad at my woman if I tried, and I’d tried for seven hours today. I missed her too much to keep up with the act.
“You know, they say you should wait until you’re in your second trimester to tell people there’s a bun in the oven,” she stopped walking to say, side-eyeing me with her pretty ass sparkling brown eyes.
“Mol, stop playing with me.” I brushed my hand down my face. It was wild how this woman stressed me out and made me the happiest man alive at the same damn time.
What type of witchcraft was this?
“My parents are Christians.” She started pacing again. “My mom will jump for joy, but my dad… oh, man, he’ll have a lot to say to you. To me. To us.”
“As he should.” I nodded. “I can handle it.”
“And my sisters, whew. Mona will be excited, for sure. But Monika won’t waste any time reminding me that we’re moving pretty damn fast.”
“We don’t need to be reminded of something out of our control.”
“Oh, Grayson,” she soothed, walking into my arms. “Honestly, I don’t care what anyone thinks of how fast we’ve fallen for each other. I don’t care that my family thinks marriage comes before sex, kids, and all that good stuff. I’m not hiding our truth from them or anyone else. I just want to relish in our moment right now,” she said. “Is that such a bad thing?”
I shook my head and wiped her glossy eyes.
“Grayson, your family is different from mine. Gia is already calling me on Group FaceTime with your mom every day to talk about baby stuff and us possibly giving birth around the same time.” She laughed and sniffled. “Like, what the hell? I don’t even think that’s possible.”
“That’s my sister for you,” I mumbled, holding onto her as she laid her head on my chest. I roamed underneath her long, oversized sweatshirt and grabbed her ass through her shorts. It was hard keeping my hands to myself whenever I was around her. Her butterscotch skin reeled me in.
“My family means everything to me, but it sometimes takes them a while to come to grips with things. I’ll tell them, Grayson,” she whispered. “I promise you, I will. Can we enjoy our reality for now? Right now. Together.”
I’m with you,” I assured her. She squealed excitedly as I threw her over my shoulder and carried her into the kitchen. I sat her on the corner of the marble-top island and opened the refrigerator.
“Now, let me feed you and my baby something other than those crab legs and that Blove’s Sauce you’ve been eating every day. Shit is getting out of hand.”
Her sweet giggles drowned out my thoughts. Before that, all I could hear echoing in my head was, I’m going to tell them. I promise you, I will.
I sure as hell hoped she kept her word. I found out the hard way that the last woman I loved didn't want the same things as me. Ultimately, it cost me a child because she had an abortion. I didn’t want to lose another one. Mentally, I couldn’t afford to.
“I love you, Grayson.” She jumped down from the island and cupped my face.
I licked my lips while staring at hers. “Show me.”
Subscribe to my mailing list for exclusive deets on my upcoming novel.
Thank you for your continued support!
💋