What. The. Fuck.

Grant was here—he was here. He was in my fucking room. I knew how the expression on my face probably looked, but the last thing I was expecting was to see him again. But he was here. Maybe I was dreaming. I bit down on my tongue...yep. This was real. 

The seconds seemed to trickle by and we never broke eye contact. Finally, Grant flashed me a shit-eating grin. "Hey, you."

I took a few steps towards him—okay, more like stumbled. "What—what are you doing here?"

"I got your message." He frowned when he noticed my black-eye. He reached out and carefully traced it with his finger. "What happened?"

I was still so stunned by his presence, that it took me a few seconds to answer. "Uh, Wyatt and I got into it." My eyes fell to his split lip. "What about you?"

In all the years that I'd known him, Grant wasn't the fighting type. 

"It's kind of a long story. I'll tell you about it later. First," he whispered before he brought his other hand up to cup my face, "I need this."

When he pressed his lips to mine, my body melted into him. The shock I was feeling before was gone—and in it's place was a raw need so strong, that calling it love would be an insult. I reached out with my hands and gripped his waist. I tilted my head to the side to deepen the kiss and a little moan slipped out of me. 

When we pulled apart, I looked into his eyes and shook my head slowly.  "God, I missed you. And I'm so sorry about what happened."

The corner of his mouth lifted in a sexy smirk. "I missed you, too. We have a lot to talk about, and we will talk, but we need to get downstairs first."

My body tensed up immediately. "Downstairs?"

Grant didn't miss my sudden hesitation. He had an I'm-up-to-something look that worried me. "Yes, downstairs. Dinner should be here and your mom will be pissed if we aren't down there."

Did I feel better that my parents knew who I was? Yes. That didn't mean I was comfortable going downstairs with Grant and having dinner with them. My instincts told me to lock the door and stay here with Grant all night. Fuck the food.

"Hey," he said quietly, "look at me." I hadn't even realized I looked away from him. When my eyes met his, he said, "It's going to be fine, Logan. Its just dinner with you're family. Then when we're done, you and I will come up here and talk." 

He made it sound so simple. Just dinner with the family. But the churning in my stomach and the sweating of my palms said otherwise. "I don't know..."

Grant leaned into me and licked teasingly at my lips. "Please? For me? I promise you, you'll enjoy it. Actually," he trailed kisses along my jawline to my neck, "I can guarantee it."

Whenever he touched me, everything else seemed to vanish. My voice came out a little breathlessly when I asked, "How...can you guarantee it?"

Grant pulled back, flashing me a grin that made me want to do other things with my mouth than eat dinner. "I can guarantee it, because I've already met your mom—and she loves me."

The fact that he's probably met my entire family should cause me to feel even more anxious. But to my surprise, I couldn't help but laugh at that and a little of the tension eased from my body. "Of course she does." I exhaled a defeated breath. "Okay, fine. Let's go to dinner." 

"Really?" His tone was hopeful with a hint of surprise. He probably didn't think I was going to say yes. 

"Yeah." I shot him a look. "It's not like I could really say no. My mom would come up here and drag me out if I didn't go down there." 

Grant chucked and started walking to my door. "Very true. But I wouldn't have forced you if you were that uncomfortable." He opened the door but hesitated before going out. He threw me a glance over his shoulder and I felt his heated gaze on me. "I would have tried...other things to convince you to come down to dinner." 

I arched a brow at his teasing tone. This was a different side of Grant that I had never seen before. He seemed more relaxed. Happy. Optimistic. There was something else about his attitude that I couldn't put my finer on. Perhaps when we talked tonight he would tell me. For now, I walked the few steps it took to stand right beside him. 

"Oh yeah? Well you might just have to show me what those 'things' are after dinner." 

"You guys coming, or what?" 

When I first heard the sound of Wyatt's voice, I froze. But when it was followed by Grant's chuckle and the deep sound of his voice, I relaxed. 

"Yes, we're coming," Grant answered as he started down the hallway. 

I exhaled a deep breath and followed after him. This was going to be fine. He was right—this was a family dinner. They knew everything about me now and they accepted me. I didn't have anything to worry about. At least, I hoped I didn't. 

If Grant was willing to do all of this, then I assumed that he was willing to give it a shot with me. But that meant we were going to be eating dinner with my parents...as partners. Boyfriends. As much as I was willing to be open about who I was, kissing a guy in front of my parents wasn't something I was quite ready for. 

Once we got to the dining room, Amelia was already waiting by the dinner table. I watched in awe as she and Grant exchanged greetings. Her face lit up when they embraced. Grant told me he and Amelia had bonded. I was grateful that they made some sort of connection. Amelia didn't really have any friends outside of Wyatt and myself, and the same went with Grant. Knowing they had each other made me feel a little less of an asshole for everything that I had done. 

"How you doing?" Wyatt asked from beside me. "Okay?" 

"Yeah. I'm good. It's just all...new. Different." I lowered my voice before I asked, "How did he plan all this?"

Wyatt snickered as he watched Amelia with Grant. "While you and I were beating each other's asses, Grant was at Amelia's."

"Really?"

He nodded. "She asked him to meet and they talked for awhile. She wouldn't tell me much of the details, but she said it was his idea to surprise you here tonight." 

Damn. I really needed to talk to Grant. I had so many questions about all of this that needed to be answered. But that was going to have to be handled later. Now...now my mother was coming from the kitchen carrying multiple pizza boxes. 

"Oh, Logan! Good. Take these."

I took the pizzas and sat them on the table. "Do you need anything else, mom?" 

"No, that should be good. You all go get something to drink and then we'll eat."

Grant, Wyatt, Amelia, and myself all walked into the kitchen to get our drinks. Where was my dad? I hadn't seen him since I had gotten here. I saw his truck outside, so I knew he was at least here at the house. I just hoped he was coming to dinner. It would be awkward if he wasn't there. 

"What do you want to drink?" Grant asked. He was standing in front of the fridge, looking at all the different sodas, beer, and juice. 

"What I want is not in there," I mumbled. He must have heard me, because he shut the fridge and walked over to where I was leaning against the counter. 

He kept his voice low, so only I could hear him. "Relax, Logan. Just breathe. Dinner will be quick then it'll just be me and you for the rest of the night."

"Promise?" The word was out before I could stop it. 

He chuckled. "I promise." He leaned in a little more to whisper in my ear, "And if you behave at dinner, I have a bottle of Moscato with your name on it."

God he knew me so well. "Deal."

"Food's getting cold!" my mom called from the dining room. 

"We'll be right there," Wyatt answered. "We better hurry up before she grounds us or something." 

Amelia chuckled. "She can't ground you guys. You're adults now." 

Wyatt and I answered at the same time. "You'd be surprised."

"Wow," Grant chuckled. "Okay, then. What do you guys want to drink."

"Coke for me."
"Lemonade, please."
"Cranberry juice."

Everyone looked at Wyatt. 

"What? Cranberry juice is good for you," he said defensively. 

Laughter filled the kitchen as Grant made quick work of getting the drinks. Once everyone had what they ordered, We joined my mom—and dad now—in the dining room. We all took a seat around the large table. I sat at one end of the table with Grant on one side of me and Amelia on the other. My mom was on Grant's left and my dad was at the head of the table. Wyatt took the last remaining seat next to Amelia. 

My mom passed out paper plates and napkins to everyone before opening the pizza boxes. The aroma of marinara sauce, garlic, and pepperoni had my stomach growling with hunger. 

"Help yourselves," my mother said. "There's plenty for everyone." 

The dining room filled with the sounds of light chatter and laughter. The dinner was actually going better than I thought. One thing I noticed was that Grant was right—my mother loved him. She couldn't help but talk his ear off. But Grant was a gentlemen and didn't seen annoyed in the least. Wyatt was carrying on with our dad about God knew what, and Amelia went to get more drinks from the kitchen. 

I was on my third piece of pizza when I finally convinced myself to stop worrying. I needed to stop worrying and start allowing myself to be happy. I came out to my parents—and they accepted me. I fucked up royally with the man I loved—but he was here. Things couldn't be better right now.

Then I heard my father say...

"So, Grant, Logan hasn't filled us in much. Why don't you tell us a little about you?" 

Annnnnnnd everything I said about being comfortable just went right out of the window.