hoy·den

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hqgrcysons:

GRAYSON MADDOX WOKE UP feeling lighter that morning. he woke up feeling like someone had hollowed his chest out and filled it with naked sunlight instead – and it wasn’t a coincidence that this sudden sensation of lightness arrived around the exact same time carter moved in with him. the first thing his eyes caught sight of when they flickered open was the dress he’d hastily torn off her body the night before sitting there on his bedroom floor. their bedroom floor. memories of last night came back to him in waves. the kisses had slowly dissolved into whispers as they lay side by side until the storm outside softened and their words lulled each other to sleep, as they did most nights. getting out of bed, grayson moved along the hallway of their small apartment until he reached the kitchen. leaning against the doorframe, grayson crossed his arms together and allowed himself a second to take in the sight of carter wearing nothing but his hoodie. granted, it fit her just as a regular dress would.

INVOLUNTARILY, ONE CORNER of his lips tugged up into an easy smile as she turned her head to look at him. ❝ scrambled ❞ he decided after a moment of deliberation, despite knowing just as well as she did that they were probably going to end up ordering breakfast in again. pushing his length off the doorframe, grayson moved over to where carter was and wrapped two arms around her petite shoulders, pressing his lips onto the top of her head and peering over at the contents of the frying pan ❝ gordon ramsay is shaking in his boots right now ❞ he bantered, only realising just how hungry he was when he caught a whiff of the cooking. maybe they weren’t going to order in after all. 

IT HAD BECOME sort of a thing — her wearing his clothes and walking around their apartment. it wasn’t intentional, at first, she was mostly just grabbing whatever piece of clothing that happened to be within her reach. what started out as convenience turned into a source of comfort — and it was not until she’d caught him staring one day that she’d decided to call it a little something more. — ❝ oh, shut up. ❞ the sharp words that came out of her mouth was soften significantly by the smile that formed around them. — a quick  banter, much like a good cup of coffee, was easily an essential in their morning routine. it was something she could barely imagine being without.

❝ I CAN’T BELIEVE  you’re thinking of gordon ramsay while i’m literally standing here making you breakfast. ❞ the mock offense in her voice was contradicted by the way she leaned back into his embrace, moving her face just enough to have a glance up at him. — it was almost scary how easy this whole thing was for her, for them to be all up in each other’s space, fitting together like two pieces of a perfect puzzle. ❝ unbelievable, is what that is. ❞ she was fully aware that there was no way he would be convinced by her offended act, not when her back was resting against his chest. ❝ i guess we might have to do something about that. ❞

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@rcquiems

IF SOMEONE HAD TOLD HER this was where she would end up, she would have laughed right in their face at the sheer ridiculousness of it. —there was no way, she’d though, no way she would ever move in with HIM, the only guy whose guts she’d hated right from the very beginning. it was ridiculous. impossible. less likely than the least likely thing one could ever imagine. and yet—there she was, standing barefoot in the middle of the kitchen in an apartment they share, frowning at the eggs she had frying in the pan and wondering if it was too late to call it quit and order something from the diner across the street. 

SUNDAYS HAD CHANGED quite a bit for her since it all began. she’d started going out for a run less and sleep in more —living a little slower and allowing herself to enjoy the languid way time seemed to move whenever she pulled his hoodie over her head instead of donning her usual running gear. —it was a change in her routine, something she felt like she was supposed to hate. and she would have—she would have hated it if she didn’t love that look on his face when she turned around to look at him more. ❝ sunny side up or scrambled ??  ❞

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hqgrcysons:

if were anyone other than grayson, her sour tone and clear animosity probably would’ve been more than enough signs to send him sprinting away. however, HOSTILITY and animosity were two things grayson embraced just as easily as ardor and affection when it came to carter. tearing his eyes away, grayson sauntered over to the middle point of the court with the irritatingly cocky smirk still plastered on his lips “you’re right, that is weird. maybe i should just conform to society and just head to the basketball court to wrestle it out with the ball alone next time i’m wide awake at midnight” he quipped, quirking a single brow at her as their eyes met again. as she tossed another insult his way, grayson just pressed his lips together for a moment before furrowing his brows in feign disdain “again,” he started, “so much unresolved FRUSTRATION. it’s the law of attraction, johnston. it’s pure physics. even when you’re thinking about me hard enough to send me to the fucking moon, you’re still thinking about me. hard. if anything, this is your doing” out of nowhere, however, the ball came flying out of carter’s hand and towards his chest. while he’d managed to put his hands up just in time to catch it, the hard basketball still came thudding against his ribs, knocking half of the air out of his lungs. he’d be damned if he let carter see that, though. holding the ball with one hand and attending to his aching chest with the other, grayson watched as carter lifted her shirt over her head and tossed it aside. rich with avidity, grayson’s dark green eyes SHAMELESSLY and lazily ambled along the length of carter’s body as she approached him. when his eyes finally lifted up to meet hers again, grayson leaned over ever so slightly as he gave the ball a few dribbles “how about i make this worth your while?” he started, rotten thoughts beginning to manifest in his head “you win this, and i’ll leave you alone. for good. transcend to the moon myself” he offered, withholding the biggest catch of it all. 

even though she knew, damn well, that there was no point in arguing with him—she still couldn’t help but throw a couple of snide remarks his way every time they circle back around to each other. “ maybe you should. maybe that would make you look less like a serial killer on the search for his next victim. ” the corner of her mouth twitched up in an unamused, sardonic thing of a smile, the biting tone in her voice showed no sign of subsiding. “ but have you considered that maybe YOU are the reason for this frustration being unresolved ?? i mean, you’re a smart man, maddox, you can make a connection between me being frustrated and you being anywhere near my sight, can’t you ?? " it was a genuine question, albeit asked in such manner. it was not as if she didn’t KNOW that perhaps there was something in that ‘law of attraction’ thing he was going on about. for some very odd reasons, she found herself being able to shut herself off to anyone BUT him, especially when she feels like absolute shit. —but then again, carter being carter and true to the nature of their relationship, it would have been a cold day in hell before she even come close to admitting that he was right. —through the very corner of her eye, she noticed the way his gaze ran down her frame lavishly, apparently not bothered enough to make an attempt at hiding the look in his eyes. —if there was anything she’d learned from the films she’d watched and the books she’d read, it was that no good ever comes from making a deal with the devil. —and grayson, with his rugged stubble and darkish smirk on his was, was nothing if not the perfect picture of the devil himself. " and if i lose— ” she paused for a moment, catching his gaze in the dimmed light of the streetlamp “ what’s in it for you ?? ”

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hqgrcysons:

it only took carter a few moments to get into the usual scowl she sported around grayson. surely enough, the smirk that was somehow designed specifically for her graciously fell on his lips in return. in response to her HOSTILITY, grayson raised his two hands up in feign innocence ❝ look, i was out for a run and i just so happened to find you here ❞ he said, telling the sincere truth for once ❝ but it’s almost as if the universe wanted me to find you here ❞ he teased, his words dousing her flame further with two tins of gasoline ❝ or was that just your energy willing me towards you ? ❞ giving it a rest for now, grayson zipped his jacket down and shrugged out of it, tossing it away to the side and gesturing for carter to pass him the ball ❝ but if you’re looking to blow some real steam, here’s your chance ❞ he said, dragging his tongue over his bottom lip as he watched her stare at him lethally ❝ in a completely and irrevocably non-sexual manner, of course ❞ he added in a self-satisfied hum. he knew that any sort of COMPETITION between them would be raw, ugly, tense, and he KNEW he would enjoy every second of it. 

it was not an unusual thing for the tension ( non-sexual, mind you ) to rise rather RAPIDLY between them, even in any other situations where she was not already in such a SOUR mood. there was something so very IRRITATING about the way his smirk spread across his lips—slow and lazy like he knew exactly just what he was doing. “ right, ‘cause that’s what people do. just casually going out for a run in the middle of the night. ” —the sarcasm laced in her voice was heavy, even to her own ears. “ but trust me, if my ENERGY could do shit, i’d be repelling you so hard you’d be on the fuckin’ MOON by now. ” if not for the intense look in her eyes as she was practically glaring a whole in his face, it wouldn’t have been any different that their usual ‘conversation‘ ( if one could even call it that ). —and with only a blink of an eye as a warning, carter tossed the ball with whatever strength she had in his direction, aiming towards his chest—half expecting him to catch it and half hoping he’d miss. " you wanna play ?? ” the look on her face was simply VICIOUS as she reached her hand down for the hem of her t-shirt, lifting it up and over her head, revealing the sport bras she had on underneath. —tossing the garment to the side, she took a step forward and brought herself closer to where he was standing, her eyes gleaming with challenge. “ FINE, let’s play. ”