Addy And The Smart Guy (Big Girl Panties #3) (22 page)

Another email came in. This one from Dr. Markham stating that she and the rest of Addy's thesis review committee would be calling Addison in for questioning tomorrow to determine whether any academic dishonesty had occurred.

Grey shut down his computer. He opened the top drawer on his desk and pulled out the informational catalog for the Peace Corps. Not for the first time he regretted that Addy would have likely volunteered if it hadn't been for her feelings for him. She'd probably go now, if only to get away from all this ridiculous drama. Maybe he would volunteer again. Maybe they could go together. It was something he'd meant to ask her right before she'd given him that near-fatal kiss.

But no. Addison wanted marriage. Children. Was she disappointed not to be pregnant? He had to admit to himself that he had been slightly disappointed. For some reason, fantasies of carrying a little brown-haired, blue-eyed girl on his shoulders had been flitting through his mind. He'd been imagining taking the little girl to the zoo, to fly kites, to go roller skating, to swim at the water park…all the things little kids should get to do. All the things he and Addy had talked about doing together.

It was for the best, though. He didn't want to be a father, not when he couldn't be sure that a marriage would last. It seemed wrong to knowingly bring a child into the world when he couldn't promise that child that it would always have both its parents around.
 

No, he definitely didn't want what Addy wanted. But maybe she could learn to want what he wanted. Companionship for as long as it would last. A partner in life. Someone to go out into the world and make a difference with.

Grey gathered up his things and went out to his car. He drove to Addy's apartment, went upstairs, and knocked on her door.

When she opened it, her eyes were wide and her jaw set. He didn't know that expression…didn't know whether she was happy or upset to see him. All he knew was how much worse the cut on her cheek looked, with bruising all around it; and how tired she looked with the dark circles under her eyes. He reached for her, cupping her jaw. "Addy—"

"Dr. McDaniel," she said, stepping back. "Let me introduce you to my parents."

Shit. For a fleeting moment, he considered turning around and running. But the idea dissipated almost as soon as it formed. That wasn't who he was.

So he lifted his head, stepped into the apartment, and shook the hand of the man standing to greet him. "Dr. McDaniel. I'm Michael. This is my wife Camille."

"A pleasure to meet you both. Please, call me Grey."

Michael and Camille took seats on the sofa. Camille clung to her husband and glared pure hatred at Grey.

"Have a seat," Addy said. "Can I get you something to eat or drink? Xanax? Whiskey?"

He smiled, tipped her chin up, and pecked her lightly on the lips. "I'm fine," he said, for her ears only. Then he sat in an armchair across from the Harts.
 

Addy left, returning with a glass of wine. She perched on the arm of the chair he was sitting in, her hand resting along the back.
 

"So," Michael said, "Addison tells us the two of you have been seeing a lot of each other. I hope things are going well?"

Grey dropped his head back to look up into Addy's eyes. He saw that she'd confessed everything to her parents and was now guzzling the glass of wine she'd filled to the top. He turned his attention back to her parents. "Actually, not well at all. Addy's about to be called in for questioning by her review committee. My ex-girlfriend has been following us and spreading gossip, which has made it onto Gwen's blog, which I'm sure you've heard about. So now I need to discuss with Addy how we're going to handle the situation."

Addy left again, this time returning with her refilled glass and the rest of the bottle. She sat cross-legged on the floor in front of him. Grey found himself grinning at her.
 

"Addison, please don't drink so much," Camille said. "It's unbecoming."

Addy, in her shorts and tank top with her hair falling down around her face, merely snorted before taking another gulp of wine. She turned her pretty face up to him, her lips glistening and red from the wine. "Will you come with me to the review committee when they call me in?"

Grey gave her hair a stroke. "Anything you want, sweetheart."

"I want to tell the truth. All of it. I just want to be honest, and if they accept my thesis, fine. If not, fine. I don't even care anymore."

"How can you say that?" Camille shouted. "You've worked so hard! This man has ruined your reputation and mine! You can't imagine the snide looks people have been giving me. One woman even had the nerve to offer me sympathy."

"Oh, dear God, not sympathy!" Addy cried in mock rage.
 

Camille was on her feet. "You have no idea what I'm going through!"

"Camille," Michael said, with warning in his tone.

Addy's shoulders were shaking. Grey leaned down to see that she was laughing. Her laughter ended with a hiccup. She finished off her second glass of wine and poured another.
 

"Listen, we're going to go," Michael said, guiding Camille to the door. "Addison, darling, if there's anything you need, don't hesitate to call."

Addy tossed her hand up in a dismissive wave.
 

Grey followed her parents out into the hallway and pulled the door closed behind him. "Michael?"

Michael turned, his eyebrows raised.

Grey glanced at Camille and back to Michael. "She won't be…punished, will she?" Grey asked. "You won't disinherit her?"

"Of course not," Michael said good-naturedly. "Whatever gave you such an idea?"

Grey glanced again at Camille who turned red in the face and lowered her eyes. "Nothing. I've just been concerned. I'm afraid things won't work out between she and I, and I like to know that she has plenty of love and support from her family."

"She'll always have that." Michael patted Grey on the arm and turned to leave.

On an impulse, Grey stepped forward. "How long have the two of you been married?" he asked.

They turned to face him, then smiled at each other, looking into each other's eyes with a connection that Grey found fascinating and perplexing all at once. "Thirty-two years," the two of them said as one.

"Thirty-two years," Grey repeated. "Is it good, then? Marriage?"

"Oh, yes," Michael said. "There are certainly bad times, but overall, I recommend the institution."
 

They turned and left Grey staring after them. After a long moment, he took a breath and returned to Addy's apartment. She was in the same spot on the floor except that now she was on her side, tracing patterns in the rug with her fingertip and humming something. Her wine glass was half empty and the bottle was tipped on its side, not enough liquid left in it to spill out.
 

Grey picked up the glass and bottle and sat them on the coffee table. He pulled Addy into a sitting position. She gave him a sloppy, drunk smile as she swayed side-to-side. "I need to talk to you when you sober up," he said.

"Then come by tomorrow. I'm not sobering up anytime soon." She reached for her wine glass and finished it off.

"Addy, that's enough."

She giggled maniacally. "Oh, you're so cute when you try to boss me around. Listen, I'm going to crawl to my bedroom. You just make yourself at home or go away or whatever the fuck you want, okay?"

She started to crawl, but Grey helped her to her feet and into her to bed. It wasn't even dinner time, yet she was already asleep. He went down to his car to retrieve his laptop bag. He settled into Addy's living room and graded some exams from one of his classes.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

The next morning, Grey woke up stiff from sleeping on Addy's sofa. There was a half-eaten pizza on the table that he'd only had two pieces of, so unless there were really large rats living there, she must have gotten up in the night sometime to eat. He'd stayed awake until ten o'clock waiting for her, but eventually had to give up.

There was singing from the bathroom. Grey listened until he identified the song "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend
."
He stood and peeked in Addy's bedroom to see that
Gentlemen Prefer Blonds
was playing on her television. Just then, Addy emerged from the bathroom, still singing the song. She stopped and smiled at him.
 

"Guilty pleasure movie," she said.

"Who doesn't love Marilyn Monroe?"

"Right?" She beamed at him, kissed him on the cheek, and slipped past him into her bedroom.

He leaned against the doorframe watching her peel her tank top off and then go digging around in her dresser for a bra. She looked way too refreshed for someone who'd gone to bed with a bottle of wine in her system.
 

"I got an email from Dr. Markham," she said, as she shoved a bra over her shoulders and fastened it behind her back.
 

Grey merely sighed in regret at losing sight of his two favorite friends.

Addy slid out of her shorts and into some panties and jeans. "They want me there at ten. Can you come?"

"I have a class and no TA to cover for me. Let me see if I can get Markham to reschedule."

"That's not necessary, I can do it alone."

"No way, kiddo." He pulled his phone out of his pocket and texted Markham. Her response was only a slightly more polite version of "fuck off." So Grey went to the living room and pulled out his laptop. He emailed his students that the ten o'clock lecture was cancelled. "All taken care of," he shouted over his shoulder.

"She rescheduled?" Addy asked as she moved into her tiny kitchen to prepare her coffee pot.

"Cancelled my class."

Addy put her hand on her hip and cocked her head. "That's entirely unnecessary."

He just shrugged, not interested in arguing with her over it. A few minutes later, she sat next to him and handed him a cup of coffee. He sipped, sat it on the coffee table, and leaned back with his arm around her shoulders.
 

"This is nice," she said, leaning into him.

"Yes, it is." He pressed his nose into her hair and inhaled the scent of her shampoo.
 

"Why are you here, Grey?"

"Mmm? Because I want to be with you when you go before that committee."

"No, I mean, why'd you come over yesterday?"

"Oh. Yes, I'd forgotten." He reached for his computer bag and pulled out the information on the Peace Corps. Suddenly, he felt a little nervous. She would probably say no. It was almost inevitable that she would say no. But still…what if she said yes?

She laughed when she saw what he was holding. "You're really trying to get rid of me, aren't you?"

He looked at her. "Addy, I want us to do this together."

Her smile faded but her eyes remained wide. She sat her coffee cup down and took the catalogue. "We can? I mean, we can go together?"

"Yes, absolutely. My friend, the one who contacted me about a job, says he's got two volunteer openings where he could place us as a couple. You can teach, and I can work with the local government either in a health or economic capacity, depending on what's needed. We could do this, Addy. You'd get the job experience you need. I'd get to go back to doing something I love."

He watched her as she flipped through the information, her eyes big, clearly in shock. "Um…do we have to be married, or…?"

"No, we don't have to be married."

"Well…when would we go?"

"The first of the two openings is in August. The jobs last two years."

"Is this something you want to do even if I don't go with you?"

He had an answer to this question, he'd just hoped not to have to face it. "Yeah," he said quietly. "I'm going. One way or the other."

She didn't look up. Just nodded as though the question didn't break his heart just a little. Suddenly she slammed the catalog shut and smiled at him. "God. I have to think about this."

He nodded. "Take your time."

He was silenced when she climbed on top of him, straddled him, and kissed him. Her hands in his hair, his hands on her breasts, her pelvis grinding against his increasingly hard erection.
 

He broke from the kiss. Her lips went to his neck and ear. "Holy fuck, Addy, slow down." He was mere seconds away from coming in his pants if she didn't stop grinding.

"Oh, Grey!" she cried. "I want you inside me! Oh! Oh!"
 

She was doing it on purpose, knowing all that noise was driving him crazy. He opened his mouth to tell her to slow down and stop moaning, but nothing came out. He grabbed her hips and pumped against her as he came hard and moaned in relief.
 

He dropped his head back on the sofa, his hands at his sides. Addy let out a light, airy laugh. "That was really fast."

"Shut up," he groaned with his eyes barely open.

Her hips rolled as she kept moving, slowly this time, for her own pleasure. "Does that always happen when someone sneaks up on you?" she asked softly. "You come that fast anytime a woman jumps on your lap and starts humping you?"

He laughed. "Well this would be my first time, so I guess so."

"Mmm. I had no idea you'd react so passionately. You'll have to go back to your apartment and change, now."

"Yeah, whatever. Tell me what I can do for you, Addy?"

She smiled, peeled her shirt off, and pulled her bra down, exposing her nipples. "Tease them a little," she whispered.

Grey was already there, sucking one into his mouth, feeling her nipple harden against his tongue, fairly certain he was already getting hard again himself. Her soft little breaths, her fearless, but gentle hands, the slow, grinding movements of her hips were all driving him crazy. God, he could lose himself in her. He thought, just then, how much he was willing to give up to be with her. More than he'd ever imagined giving up for a woman, but he'd do it for her. He'd give up his freedom. He'd give her a ring, if that was what she wanted. He'd give her all the lies she wanted.

She cried out, her voice high and lost as her whole body trembled in orgasm. He clutched her tightly. Yes, he thought. Yes, yes, yes. This was his girl, coming in his arms, owing all her pleasure to him in that moment. She lost herself, and he held her, keeping her rooted to him and this moment.