Grayson: An MM Friends To Lovers Romance

“What, uh, what it’ll be?” he asked, his tone casual, all business and no play.

“I’ll have a gin martini, with extra olives, please,” I said, leaning against the table, if only to try and stifle the erection that was forming in my pants from the sheer sight of this man.

The last time I’d seen him, he’d been dressed in a basic blue blazer and dress pants, dark hair slicked back like he was going to a school dance or something.

I’d thought he was cute then, like a little fish out water. He stood out like a sore thumb among the rest of the three hundred and fifty guests at the engagement party, but he’d also hung back.

I, of all people, understood being anti-social. Especially when you were being dragged to a wedding event against your will. So, I’d done the most noble thing I could do, and left him alone to his devices. I knew I much preferred if someone left me alone, but alas, being the brother of the bride and part of the wedding party had its disadvantages too.

“Coming…” he said, his voice cracking for a moment as he pulled at his collar. “…right up,” he said, turning away from me, but not before I could see the flush of pink in his cheeks.

My gaze fell to his perfectly shaped ass in those tight blue jeans, and I had to admit, it looked divine walking away from me.

I broke away from the preferred sight, if only because I didn’t want to seem like a total creeper.

Mia threw her arm around me, forcing me to look up, noting Giselle caught my gaze, and raised an eyebrow at me.

“Tonight is going to be the best night ever!” Mia drawled as Lacey, Julie, and Giselle raised their water glasses in salute, and I was remiss to raise my own.

But when in Rome, one should do as the Romans do, right?

CHAPTER 3

Henry

I set my sights on my sister and the other members of Giselle’s party from behind the bar as I gathered waters for the table together, watching with perhaps a little bit of fear of missing out.

My sister, Mia, and Giselle had been friends for years, so it wasn’t like it was unexpected that Giselle would have asked her to be a bridesmaid. What was unexpected was how Giselle constantly opened the invitation to me to join her and the wedding party at events that were deemed for the wedding party themselves. Like tonight, they had all decided they needed a “night out” and had decided to come to M’s Place for the monthly Bar Bingo and Karaoke. Giselle texted me, as well as my sister, inviting me, but unfortunately I’d been called in to work due to a last minute call off. Which happened to be the very place they were going.

How embarrassing that I couldn’t hang out with everyone because I would be the one serving them.

But I guess, in a way it was like I was still part of the group… even if I couldn’t really hang out because I was working.

The party themselves was a decent size, and I recognized a few other individuals at their table, even though I knew they weren’t part of the main party. Taylor, the local florist, and Giselle’s GQ-esque brother were also in attendance.

Though from my understanding the older Sanderson sibling was both elusive and single. Not that either of those things should matter to me, but it was nice to know I wasn’t the only one who liked to keep to themselves in this gossip-ridden town.

While Mia and Giselle were practically joined at the hip in their younger years, they were also a few years older than me, which meant when they were giggling over heartthrobs and having sleepovers, I was still playing video games and building Legos.

To be frank, I wasn’t part of the it crowd, and I didn’t spend a lot of time over the Sanderson’s. It wasn’t even until Giselle’s engagement that I’d met her older brother, for a millisecond before he was being pulled away by their mother for something.

Still, I had to respect the man for doing his own thing and staying out of the mouths of the Sunday Susans who loved to dish over who was romancing who.

I headed over to the table, if only to say hello and get their orders started, but between the bar and the hightop, something changed.

It was like the closer I got to them, to him, I could feel this magnetic pull, like the planets were aligning or some shit.

I shook off the weird feelings as I set my tray down, dispersing the drinks. Mia threw her arms around me, Giselle squealed in excitement, Aaron and Riley entangled in some deep discussion about hockey, and Lane and Lacey were, of course, entranced in one another’s eyes as usual.

Which left Julie and Grayson as my focal points.

Heat enveloped me as I caught Grayson’s steady gaze, and I couldn’t help but meet it.

At the engagement, he’d looked rather dapper in his expensive suit, every bit the well-to-do bachelor, but in the low light of M’s Place, dressed down in a pair of tailored chinos and a dark blue button down, his dark hair swept back like some teenage heartthrob from those old magazines, I couldn’t help but gape at his features.

His perfect jawline, plush, pouty lips.

Deep, rich hazel eyes that reminded me of autumn sunsets over the lake.