Six Days: Book One in the SIX Series (16 page)

           
I looked up at the sky, though I could feel Griffin’s
gaze on me. I smiled, wondering if he knew why.

           
“There,” I said, almost spilling my wine, pointing up at
the sky. “Did you see that one?” I asked, referencing the shooting star I just
saw. Griffin still hadn’t taken his eyes off me.

           
“So, make a wish,” he said softly.

           
“I did,” I replied.
Trust me, I did.
The second I
saw the flash of light, all I could think about
was wanting
to stay in this moment for as long as possible.

           
“What did you wish for then?” he asked.

           
“That someday you really would be as strong as Hulk Hogan,”
I said mockingly.

           
“How do you know it didn’t already come true back when I
wished for it?” Griffin replied, laughing. “You’re wasting your wish on me?
Surely there’s something better than that to hope for, right?” Griffin smiled,
and his deep grey-blue eyes looked so honest.

           
“You can’t tell someone your wish or it doesn’t come
true. Everyone knows that,” I replied.

           
“Or maybe you
should
tell someone your wish, so
they can make it true,” he responded, his gaze still locked on me.
 
I set my wine glass down.

           
“What do you want, Adelaide?” Griffin asked quietly.

           
I wanted to say something, anything in that moment, but
no words came out. Griffin leaned in closer to me and tucked a piece of my
loose hair behind my ear. It seemed as though the world around me disappeared.

           
In that exact moment, there was a loud hissing sound
around us. Within seconds, sprays of water began falling all around us from the
park’s sprinklers. I squealed and jumped to my feet, not knowing which
direction to run. I looked over at Griffin as the water poured down around him.
He tried to contain his laugh so he could speak.

           
“Addie, I am so sorry,” Griffin said, shaking his head,
“I had no idea.” He laughed again, which made me laugh too. There we stood,
engulfed in spraying water, laughing uncontrollably. Griffin finally held out
his hand and pulled me into his arms.

           
“So what now?”
I asked, brushing
the wet hair out of my eyes, looking up at him.

           
“Have you ever danced in the rain before?” he responded
with such an innocent tone to his voice.

           
“It sounds so much more whimsical and romantic when you
call it rain,” I said, smiling back at him.

           
Griffin tucked his arm around my waist and grabbed my
right palm, holding it to his chest. The music was quiet, drowned out by the
hissing of the sprinklers, but I could still hear it. Griffin swayed against my
body, and he had pretty good rhythm despite the circumstances. He whispered the
lyrics of the song in my ear. Within a minute, the music stopped, probably from
the water soaking up into his iPod. Griffin laughed softly and I turned my head
up to look at him, and his body stopped moving. He released his hand from mine
and brought it up to my cheek. My body shivered.

           
Ever so gently he moved in and kissed me, his lips
lingering for a moment.

           
“Addie,” he whispered.

           
I kissed him back, realizing that I didn’t want to stop
kissing him. The water poured down our bodies and soaked through our clothes.

           
“Do you want to go back?” he asked, motioning his head
towards his loft. I could see the outline of his abs through the thin white
soaked fabric of his shirt. I nodded in agreement.

           
Griffin grabbed my hand and swept down to pick up my
sandals. We turned towards his house and lightly jogged through the sprinklers,
laughing the entire way. He looked so boyish in that moment and I thought back
to what he said about the joy of water for a child, and how he never wanted to
lose that. I realized in that moment that dancing in the rain, well the
sprinklers, felt like it could really stop time, at least for the moment. I
understood everything he was trying to say that day. It was exactly how I felt
right now.

           
As soon as we got to the grasses’ edge, in one swift
motion Griffin picked me up and carried me across the street and all the way up
to his front door. He opened it, setting me down on my feet just on the inside
of his house. He closed the door behind him and reached around me, putting his
strong arm on my back. He pulled me in and kissed me, passionately. I reached
for the buttons on his shirt and slowly unfastened them, one by one.

           
“I can get you some dry clothes,” he whispered between
kissing me.

           
I responded by peeling off his shirt, completely soaked
through from all the water. His jeans hung loose on his hips, and I knew I’d
never before seen a man who looked this good.

           
Griffin picked me up again and carried me into his
bedroom, kissing me the whole way.

           
“Addie,” he whispered.

           
“Yes, Griffin,” I said, putting my hand on his face. “I’m
saying yes.”

           
I kissed him, hungrily, and he slowly helped me peel off
my wet clothes.

The
next morning when I awoke, I was confused at first by my surroundings.
Griffin’s bedroom.
A smile spread across my face and
I rolled over. Griffin’s side of the sheets was pulled back and he was gone.
Sitting on top of his pillow there was a note and a single pink Gerber daisy. I
picked up the note.

           
Day 7: Be with me.

           
I sat up,
smiling. My clothes were still lying in a wet pile on Griffin’s floor, so I
knew I couldn’t put those back on. I quickly grabbed a shirt from Griffin’s
closet and walked out towards the kitchen, where it sounded like Griffin was
making breakfast. I tiptoed quietly, hoping to surprise Griffin standing at the
stove. As I walked around the corner into the kitchen, I was startled to see a
man sitting at the counter directly across from where Griffin was standing.
They both quickly turned their heads towards me and I froze where I stood.

           
“Addie, I’m so sorry. He just showed up. I didn’t know he
was coming,” Griffin said apologetically.

The
man, handsome even in his early fifties, stood up. I realized in that moment
that I still didn’t have any pants on, and I immediately felt the heat of
embarrassment in my cheeks.

           
“So, this is Adelaide,” the gentleman said, extending his
hand out in my direction. He wore a dark grey expensive looking suit, but I
suspected he wasn’t on his way to church. “I’m Griffin’s father, Gregory,” he
continued, his hand still outstretched.

           
Reluctantly, I stepped forward and shook his hand.

           
“It’s nice to meet you, sir. I’m so
sorry,
I didn’t know Griffin had company.” I cursed myself again for not putting on
pants, but was thankful Griffin’s shirt was long enough to at least cover what
needed to be covered.

           
“Don’t worry Addie, he’s on his way out,” Griffin said curtly.
“We can discuss this tomorrow at the office.” Griffin’s face looked unyielding.

           
“Griffin, I think this situation is more important that
you realize,” his father responded.

           
“If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to change,” I chimed in
quietly.

           
“Addie, no,
stay
here. He’s on
his way out,” Griffin said again, walking towards the front door.

           
“Griffin, this cannot wait until tomorrow. I expect you
to meet me in the office this afternoon. Can you be there by two?” his father
asked sternly.

           
Griffin nodded and opened the front door. Gregory nodded
at me, and I tried to smile back, but I wasn’t sure how convincing I looked.
Griffin closed the front door and walked back towards the kitchen, looking
defeated.

           
“Did I just meet your father with no pants on?” I shrieked.

           
Griffin’s worried face turned into a smile. “I guess you
did, Addie,” he said, reaching his arm around my waist, pulling me in. “I
didn’t know he was stopping by. I think something is wrong. He’s in some kind
of trouble. I would have told you he was here but he just let himself in,”
Griffin said, sounding frustrated.

           
I smiled up at him and he kissed me gently.

           
“So how do you like your eggs?” he asked, walking me back
to the stove.

           
“In chocolate cake,” I replied, running my hand through
his messy hair. “I got your note.”

           
“Well you actually get a choice on this adventure,”
Griffin replied, slightly blushing. He looked down at me with pleading eyes,
appearing somewhat vulnerable.

           
“Same answer. Yes,” I said.

           
We didn’t end up eating any breakfast. Instead we spent
the entire morning wrapped up in his sheets. We talked about the previous six
days. Somehow it seemed like a lot more. I felt like I had done more with him
in six days than I had done most my life. All the heartache of being alone, being
left by my parents, the situation with Grant; it felt so far away in these
moments with Griffin.

           
Reluctantly, we finally peeled away from each other with
the promise we would meet up again that evening. I had to get to the bakery to
meet Mallory for the open house, and he had to go into work for a bit to clear
up whatever was going on with his dad.

           
Griffin walked me out to my car and paused before opening
up my door. He bent down, his lips less than an inch away from
mine,
lingering, and then he finally kissed me. I felt his
touch surge through my entire body, and I wondered how I would make it through
the rest of the afternoon until I would see him again.

           
I smiled, hesitantly getting in my car to drive over to
the bakery. I knew Mallory would have some clothes for me to change into once I
got there. I wondered what her reaction would be when she saw me show up in the
same light blue sheer top I had on last night.

           
As soon as I walked into the bakery, Mallory dropped her
spatula.

           
“Oh
my gosh
, Addie, where have
you been? I left you, like, six messages. I left a couple for Griffin too, and
no one called me back. What happened to you? I was starting to worry,” Mallory
said, throwing her hands in the air.

           
“I’m so sorry, Mallory. I don’t even think I took my
phone with me to Griffin’s last night,” I said apologetically.

           
“Then why didn’t you call me back this morning? Oh
my gosh
, did you stay the night?” Mallory shrieked, piecing
it all together. A big smile spread across her face. “The blue shirt, you’re
still wearing the shirt! Shit, Addie, so come on, give me some details,” she
said excitedly, clearly forgiving me for not returning her calls.

           
“Where do I begin,” I said blissfully, sitting down on a
stool. “It was the most amazing night, Mal.” I went through the entire sequence
of events with her.

           
“So you guys are like, officially together then?” Mallory
asked smiling, clasping her hands together.

           
“Yes, Mal, I couldn’t be happier. I really didn’t expect
it. It certainly wasn’t what I was looking for. I mean really, under different
circumstances, I would say it’s too soon for me given what I just ran away
from. But Mal, he’s just… amazing,” I gushed, unable to stop beaming.
“So why all the calls from you?
What happened?”

           
Mallory changed the subject and told me all about a new
job we got. It was a steady order two days a week for one of the resort casinos
in town. It was a large enough job to where Mallory felt she could sustain
being open full-time. They even signed a year contract, guaranteeing us the
steady business. Mallory was elated and I was too, mostly out of happiness for
her.

           
Mallory led me up to her apartment. I quickly changed
into a light striped cotton dress, and I hurriedly pulled my hair back into a
pony tail, hoping to look somewhat put together before people came in for the
open house. I still felt a little disheveled, but smiled as I thought of why.
We headed back downstairs to the bakery to lay out all of the desserts.

           
The open house was another success, and we received a
good number of party orders and had a lot of people stopping by for carry-out
boxes. Johnny came by with a new girl he met that week, something Mallory and I
would gossip about later for sure. Megan stopped by as well to grab a box of
pastries to take into her office for a meeting she had the following morning.
When we were finished, we cleaned up the shop and added up our orders. When we
were done I decided to go home to finally shower, smirking at the thought that
the only cleansing I had in the past twenty-four hours had been from
sprinklers.

           
When I got home I showered and cleaned up my place a bit,
waiting for Griffin to call. We didn’t have a set meeting time that night, but
I had assumed on a weekend he wouldn’t be working long, so I was surprised when
six o’clock rolled around and he still hadn’t called. Suddenly, there was a
knock on my door, and a smile spread across my face.

           
I flung open the door, surprised to see Mallory standing
there.

           
“Oh, hi Mal. Sorry, I didn’t expect it to be you,” I
said, confused as to why she just popped over without even calling. She knew I
had plans with Griffin tonight. We had talked about it at the bakery. “I
thought you had to drive to your parents place in Sacramento tonight?”

           
“Addie, have you seen the news?” she asked with a shaky
voice.

           
“No. Why, what’s going on? What’s wrong?” I asked.

           
“It’s Griffin. He’s been arrested,” she said, shaking her
head. She walked over to my TV and turned it on to the local news station.

           
The reporter spoke about Gregory Dixon, flashing a picture
up on the screen, mentioning the huge arrest that had taken place after a long
investigation.

           
“Dixon?” I asked Mallory, “as in Dixon Industries? I
think I’ve heard of them. Don’t they own a bunch of the casinos around here and
a couple in Vegas?”

           
Mallory nodded her head.

           
“I don’t understand what’s happening,” I said, shaking my
head. “So Griffin’s father was arrested?” The news reporter went on, discussing
details about Gregory’s financials, and Mallory turned down the volume.

           
“I don’t know exactly what happened, Addie. But they took
his dad, Griffin, and six other employees to prison. It’s something bad.
Something with the gaming commission I think. They were misreporting some
numbers. I don’t know,” Mallory said, her voice trailing off.

           
“So Griffin was part of it? I still don’t understand,” I
said, shaking my head. “So his family actually owns the casinos? Griffin’s last
name is Dixon?”

           
Mallory nodded, pulling out a magazine from her purse.
“Check out the finance section. There was a whole article about Griffin’s dad
last month. They’re worth $37 million dollars, Addie. So for something to be
wrong, it’s a pretty big deal.”

           
I glanced over at the magazine, opening it to see a color
photograph of Griffin’s father smiling in a dark suit. “That’s definitely him,”
I muttered softly, shaking my head. I hated that my first interaction with
Griffin’s father was less than ideal. I wasn’t even fully clothed for it, and
his demeanor seemed so angry.

           
“Griffin never told you what his dad did? They are crazy
rich. I mean I get why he wouldn’t have come out and said it like that, but I
guess I’m surprised he didn’t tell you how much of downtown they owned,”
Mallory replied.

           
I set down the magazine. I felt frustrated at the feeling
of not really knowing Griffin much at all, despite the past week we had spent
together.

           
Mallory went on to explain the casinos were originally
owned by Gregory’s father, but switched over to Gregory’s control once his dad
passed away several years ago. Griffin didn’t have nearly as much of a hand in
things back when his grandfather ran the business.
But once
Griffin’s dad took over, his expectations shifted from wanting him to take an
interest in it to wanting him to help run it, despite Griffin’s reluctance to
the whole thing.

           
“I talked to Steve about all of this. He’s actually going
to come over in a bit. From what I gather, Griffin was in charge of a few
departments. But he always joked that he didn’t do much, like it was more of
just a title. But bottom line, Griffin oversaw some of the departments.
Unfortunately I think one of the departments he was in charge of is the one
with the misreported numbers,” Mallory said, pacing my apartment.

           
“Griffin said something to me about that, about
overseeing some different areas of the company. But he made it sound like he
didn’t make any actual decisions, like other people technically called all the
shots. What are you getting at? Do you think Griffin really did something
wrong?” I asked. Tears started to well up in my eyes.

           
“I would say no, Addie, it’s just not like him. I don’t
think he would have done anything intentionally. But I don’t know what he knew,
you know? He never really talked about his job that much. We just knew his
father drove him crazy and that he was always torn between doing what was
expected of him rather than what he wanted. I don’t know how far that went,”
Mallory said, plopping herself down on my couch. I really didn’t know what to
think or feel in that moment. My mind was blank and my body felt numb.