Chapter 105

Chapter 29 The rumors were showing no sign of fading, which was only making Grayson worse. There were plenty of times when someone would approach him and ask him when he was going to dump me since I didn't really love him. And he was so, so close to snapping and swearing at them, but all he did was walk away. That didn't stop him from crying when he got home. I had never seen him cry so much before, even when he was depressed. I really didn't think he would go back to depression, however. The only thing that was bothering him was people telling him that I didn't love him. He needed someone to show him love. We were sitting on our couch, with his arm wrapped around my shoulder as we watched one of our favorite movies. I was paying attention, but I knew Grayson wasn't. His focus was centered onto the TV screen, but I could tell he wasn't registering what was happening in the movie. I looked up at him with a concerned expression. He looked down at me for a few seconds before looking back at the TV. "Want to go do something?" I asked. "Outside of the apartment?" he asked in return. "Yeah," I said. "I don't know," he said hesitantly. He hated leaving the apartment, even for university and work. It took me a lot of convincing for him to even get out of bed. "Please?" I asked. "I want to do something today. It's not like we're going to run into anyone from the university. We can just go to a restaurant or something. Maybe the movies. Something special." Grayson released a long sigh and rested his head back against the couch. "Fine, I guess," he said. "How about a restaurant? It's almost dinner anyway and I'm getting hungry." I gave him a smile and kissed his cheek. "Sounds perfect," I said. Grayson reached for the TV remote and turned it off before helping me stand off the couch. I kind of wanted to get changed into something nicer, but none of my clothes fit me anymore. I had to wear Grayson's clothes, which I didn't mind because they were extremely comfy. I tried convincing Grayson to let me buy maternity clothing, but he wouldn't let me. We barely had enough money as it was, and I guess we were saving money. Grayson grabbed his keys and after locking the apartment, we went to his car. I didn't really have a place in mind, so Grayson just drove to a restaurant that wasn't fancy. I didn't mind, as long as we were doing something together today. When we got there, we got a table for two and ordered our beverages before looking at the money. "Everything looks so good," I said, unable to decided what I wanted to eat. Grayson eyes the menu for only a few seconds before closing it. "I decided," he said. "Poutine." I furrowed my eyebrows. "Poutine? What's that?" "French fires, gravy, and cheese curds," he said. "It's a Canadian food, but it's so good." "Well, I still don't know what to have," I said. That was when I got to the dessert section. "Ooh, chocolate cake." "Flower, you can't have that for dinner," Grayson said. "I'm not, I'll have it for dessert," I said. "And for dinner... I still have no clue. Can you pick something for me?" "Sure," Grayson said, right as the waitress came back with the drinks. Grayson ordered for me, steak and fries, as well as the chocolate cake. I was fine with it because I was starving and I honestly didn't care what I ate. When the waitress walked away, Grayson looked at me and gave me a faint smile. "You know, I'm actually glad we're out of the apartment," he said. "It feels like we've been coped up there." "And I'm glad you agreed to go out somewhere," I said. "I want to spend time with you. Even though we spend basically any moment together when we're not at school or you're not working. And we live together. But I still want to spend time with you." This time, he gave me a genuine smile, one that I hadn't seen for the past month. It warmed my insides, and I couldn't help but smile back. It wasn't look before the waitress came back with our food and my mouth was watering at the sight of my plate. The steak looked so good. I began eating it, but I couldn't help but look at Grayson's plate. His poutine, or whatever it was called, looked good as well. I had never tried it, nor heard of it, but I was actually wanting to try it. Grayson noticed me looking at his plate and chuckled. He placed some of it on his fork and held it out for me. "Here, you try," he said. I took the bite and I was immediately in love with the food. "Holy crap," I said, not even caring that my mouth was filled with food. "It's good, right?" Grayson asked, the smile still on his face. "Extremely good," I said after I swallowed the bite. "We totally have to make this at home for dinner." "Don't worry, we will," Grayson said. "Now, I'm even happier that we decided to go out. I haven't had poutine in a long time." "Are you okay?" I randomly asked. "The rumors are affecting you a lot, even though you know they're lies. You know I love you, Grayson. Why are they affecting you so much?" Grayson sighed and looked down at his plate. "It's just... My dad and brother beat me, you know that. And my mom left when she found that out. For the longest time, the only person who gave me love was Gale. She was always there for me when I was getting abused. But then I met you. I have never felt what I feel with you with anyone before. You're pretty much the reason I'm still alive today. Without you, I'd..." He shook his head to shake the thoughts from his brain. "People don't know what I've been through or how much you mean to me, so when they say stuff like that, it hurts like hell. I'm trying to not let it affect me so much, but it just does." "I'm sorry it's affecting you so much," I said. "It affected me too, but I seriously do not give a crap about what people say about me anymore. I'm tired of playing the victim, so they can take their rumors and shove it." Grayson snorted a laugh. "I'm glad you're thinking about it that way. By the way, I love you." "That was random," I noted. "Random, yes, but true," he said. I smiled at him as I finished the rest of my food before moving on to the chocolate cake. When I was almost done, Grayson randomly chuckled. "What?" I asked. "You, uh... You have some chocolate on your lips," he said. I reached for a napkin and wiped my lips. "Is it gone?" Grayson shook his head, so I wiped it again. "Now?" "Here, I'll get it," he said before leaning towards me and pressing his lips softly on mine. "There. All gone." "Was that just an excuse to kiss me?" I asked with a smile. "No," he said. "You really did have chocolate on your lips. But you actually did wipe it off the second time." I smiled at him and quickly pecked his lips before taking another bite of the cake, purposefully getting chocolate on my lips. However, I pretended not to notice. "Uh, Flower?" Grayson said. "You have some chocolate on your lips again." "Oh, do I?" I asked. "Mind getting it for me?" Grayson rolled his eyes, obviously knew what I was doing, before pressing his lips on mine again. When he pulled away, I saw the chocolate on his lips. He, however, must have known it was on there, because he took his napkin and wiped it off before wiping mine off. An friendly looking elderly woman suddenly walked up to our table. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to tell you how cute you two are together," she said. I couldn't help but smile after she said thank. "Thank you," I said. Never has a complete stranger approached Grayson and I to tell us that. "How long have you been together?" she asked. "As of today, we've been dating for two years," I said. The woman smiled. "That's great. I can tell how much he loves you by the way he has been looking at you when you're not looking." She then looked at Grayson. "And you, I can tell you treat her right. You remind me of my husband when we were young. He always showed me how much he loves me and I can tell you do the same for her." "Yeah, I do," Grayson said, giving me a smile. An elderly man than walked up to the woman. "Lacey, ready to go?" he asked. Lacey nodded. "Yes, I was just talking to this lovely couple." The man looked at me and smiled. "You remind me a lot of my wife here. So beautiful and happy." I smiled at that as he looked at Grayson. "I can tell you two will stay together judging by the way you look at each other. I know she loves you. Don't lose her." Grayson looked at me and gave me his warm smile. "Don't worry, I don't plan on losing her." After saying a goodbye, the elderly couple left. "I liked them," I said. "Yeah, me too," Grayson said. Right now, Grayson was looking and acting like his regular self. Maybe all he needed was complete strangers to tell him that I loved him. He knew I did, but hearing it from someone who never even met us before gave him even more assurance. Grayson will be okay.