Gingerbread/Strawberry/Guava/Trail Mix malt smoothie
Authors: Marina and Casey
Story: Shifts universe (post-Shifts)
Challenge: Gingerbread 30 (true love’s kiss), Strawberry 8 (signpost) [Marina]; Guava 15 (life is but a dream), Trail Mix 26 (upwind/downwind) [Casey]
Toppings/Extras: Caramel, Sprinkles, Smoothie [both]; Malt (pfah - signpost : Ellen : dancing in the dark) [Marina]; Malt (Trick-or-Treat: There’s thirty people in the kitchen and there’s always room for more - GBS, Going Up) [Casey]
Word Count: 2,485
Rating: PG
Summary: Ellen and Grayson run into unexpected mischief at the yearly Christmas party. Luckily, it ends well.
Notes: Follows this and this. Holiday stories ahoy!
Grayson pulled the car up outside Isabelle and Michael's mansion. "I'll get Nate if you grab the food," he said, grinning at Ellen.
"Fine with me," she returned. The green bean casserole she had prepared was her specialty, housed by her most treasured holiday pot, and she did not trust Grayson not to drop it.
He hopped out of the car and opened the back door to let his son out of his car seat. "Ready to see everyone, Nate?"
"Addy!" the toddler crowed, beaming.
"Yeah, I bet Addy's already here waiting for you," Ellen agreed, with a smile for him.
"Good," Nate said, shimmying out of his car seat and into Grayson's arms. "Ellen carry Nate?"
Her smile faltered a little at hearing that, but she bravely hoisted it back up, along with the pot. When Nate said things like that, she felt torn in two. She had to move out soon if she meant to avoid another broken heart, but Nate was making it as hard as possible for her to get up the nerve to tell Grayson-almost as though he were doing it on purpose.
"Maybe later, kiddo,” Grayson said easily, “but she has to carry the food you helped her make for now."
"Food!" Nate said happily and allowed Grayson to carry him in. His dad shifted him to his hip so he could open the front door, holding it for Ellen as she passed through.
"Thanks, Grayson," she said quietly.
"Welcome," he said, as chipper as ever, pulling it shut behind them.
Oriana met them in the hall, smiling brightly, and took the pot from Ellen. "Merry Christmas, you two," she said. "I'll take this to the kitchen. Everyone else is in the game room."
"Be careful with it," Ellen warned.
"Ori!" Nate said, beaming at her.
"We all fit in one room? That's rather impressive," Grayson said.
"Not everyone's here yet," Oriana replied, with a beatific smile for Nate. "Go on, have fun."
"Addy," Nate reminded his father, tugging on his jacket.
Oriana chuckled and walked off with the pot, and Ellen suppressed a grin. "You heard the boy," she said to Grayson.
"Yes, sir, Master Nate," he said, winking at Ellen and bouncing off towards the game room. She followed, trying to ignore her accelerated heart rate.
They arrived at the game room to find it mostly full, even though not all the "family" had arrived. The Harpers had come, though Catherine was missing, likely because she was helping in the kitchen. Bill chatted with Eleazar while Mariah and Josh lovingly harassed their little half-sister. Drew and Lynne were also there, with their three, and Rand had brought his wife and daughter, too. "Hello everyone!" Ellen greeted them, with a smile.
Immediately, Mariah snickered, but attempted to cover it up by slapping a hand over her mouth and turning away. Lynne was the picture of innocence.
Grayson looked at both of them but then shrugged as his son wiggled quickly out of his arms and all but sprinted towards Drew, who was holding their youngest. "Addy!" Nate said happily, ignoring the three older children.
"Nate!" she beamed. "Dada, down, p'ease!"
Ellen smiled at the two toddlers. She then turned to greet her brother and his wife, but stopped when she saw the majority of the group eyeing her. Drew, in particular, looked caught between amusement and brotherly concern. "What?" she asked, mystified.
"I'd look up," Mariah said, pointing above them.
Ellen glanced up above the doorway and blanched. Every year, someone hung a sprig of mistletoe somewhere in Isabelle's house, and one of Ellen's more immediate missions when coming to Christmas parties was to find and avoid the instigator so she would not have to kiss anyone. This year, it was pinned in the one place she could not escape it.
Feeling her face grow red, she lowered her gaze-casually, she hoped-to Grayson's face.
He was still staring up at the mistletoe. "Well, damn, you guys hung it rather early this year..." Slowly, he brought his gaze back down, but uncharacteristically avoided looking at her. "Nate, c'mere, kiddo, we need someone to kiss."
Nate turned to look at his dad. "But Addy," he said with a pout, even as he turned and trundled back towards them.
"That's the rule of mistletoe," Ellen said, scooping him up and planting a noisy smooch on his cheek. "You got caught with us, so kisses it is."
Nate giggled, making a show of wiping it off. "You silly, Ellen!" he said but obligingly gave her a kiss back.
"So are they, for putting it there," she said, handing him to Grayson. Lynne was practically rolling on the floor by that point, damn her.
"I think that's cheating," Mariah said loudly even as Grayson kissed the toddler on the nose. Ellen spared her a frown.
"So do I," agreed Josh, crossing his arms.
"No one asked you, shrimps," Grayson said, now allowing Nate to go back to his friend.
"They're right," Lynne informed him, with false sadness. "Hop to it."
"You are kidding, right, Lynne?"
"Not at all, I assure you."
"Drew?" he said, appealing to both Drew and Rand with a look of slight terror.
"Rules are rules," Drew said, looking a little uncomfortable. "No one's been allowed to get out of it before." Rand nodded his agreement. Ellen looked at the floor, feeling hurt.
"It's not that I..." Grayson trailed off, now looking at Ellen.
"Just do it," Lynne drawled.
Grayson cleared his throat. "Ellen?" he said quietly. Ellen looked up, forcing what she prayed was a pleasant smile onto her face. She offered him a light shrug. "If you don't want to," he said, looking nervous for the first and only time that she could remember.
"They're not going to let us move unless we do," she said.
"I'm not going to force you into anything," he said, aiming a brief scowl at the rest of the family.
"It's fine, honest."
He eyed her for a second and then stepped forward, aiming to kiss her gently on the cheek. She shut her eyes, half willing herself to disappear. He got halfway there, paused and then changed his aim, slipping an arm partially around her waist even as he kissed her on the mouth.
In response, she let out a little gasp and put her hand on his arm. She returned the kiss without hesitation, almost too eagerly, but after a moment she gently broke it and pushed him away. She did not want to, but she was much too aware of the eyes watching them-and then, she thought miserably, the fact that he had not even wanted to kiss her in the first place.
Grayson's face was red but he stared at her with an indecipherable expression, eyes bright but serious. Ellen felt as though she ought to say something, but the moment was lost to a sharp whistle and scattered clapping. She smiled faintly and hurried away to greet her brother.
"Hey, kid," Drew said.
"Hey, Drew, Merry Christmas." She sat down next to him and leaned against him companionably.
"Merry Christmas. I feel like I haven't seen you in ages!"
"Yeah, me too. How've you been?"
"Good. Busy with the kids and work, as usual," he said. "How's the subbing going at Grayson's school?"
"I like it," she said, smiling genuinely for the brief seconds before she realized that she could not escape Grayson simply by moving out if she decided to keep her job. "The kids are great, not always well-behaved, but mostly fun."
"Sounds about right," he said with a grin. Then his eyes sharpened. "Still living in Grayson's spare room?"
Ellen squirmed. "Yes, but...maybe not too much longer. I think I want to get my own place."
"Really? What's Nate got to say about that?" he asked lightly.
"He won't like it, but he'll live."
"Mm, well, it's your decision and I'm sure you'll make the right one."
"Yeah, I hope so," she said quietly, glancing across the room at Grayson.
"You okay, kid?"
She did not answer for a moment. "Yeah. I think I'm going to excuse myself to the restroom for a minute, though. It was a long drive." Patting Drew's arm, she got up and hurried out of the room. Once she cleared the opening, she bypassed the restrooms entirely and walked back out the front door as fast as she could go.
***
Mariah quickly claimed Grayson’s attention after Ellen walked away to speak to Drew, saying nothing about the frequent looks he shot his housemate or his distracted replies to her questions. He knew that she understood why, and was grateful for it.
When he noticed Ellen quietly slip back towards the front door, he frowned. "Mariah," he started.
"Oh thank god, please go after her!" she said, shooing him towards the door.
"I'll watch Nate," Lynne added. She had been standing nearby, keeping one ear on their conversation and one eye on Ellen.
Grayson aimed a scowl at both of them. "It'd be wonderful if you two didn't know everything before the rest of us," he told them before turning and heading out after her. Lynne's laughter followed him into the hall.
By the time he reached Ellen, she had almost reached the end of the walk and the "Do Not Walk On Grass" sign stuck into the front lawn. "Ellen," he called, hurrying to catch up.
She looked back at him, surprise and mortification blossoming over her features. "Grayson. Oh, goodness, I didn't mean to come out here, what are you..."
"Ellen," he said again. "Don't try and bullshit me, please."
"What are you talking about? I meant to go to the restroom, I don't know how I ended up out here."
Grayson gave her a patient look, not buying it for an instant. Ellen crossed her arms. "Okay, fine, I needed some air. There're too many people in that room."
"I...think we need to talk," he said.
"What about?"
"The...that kiss." He wanted to step closer and not talk about it but repeat it, but he refrained for the moment. Even as he did, he was not sure if that was a good idea or not.
She frowned in frustration at a spot over his shoulder. "I know you didn't want to. You don't need to apologize."
"What?" he sputtered. "No, that wasn't it at all!"
"It wasn't?"
"No, I just...I would never want to make you do something you didn't want and...I was caught off guard."
Ellen's jaw set in a deep frown, and he realized that that had been the wrong reply. "You didn't force me into anything."
He sighed. "I...I thought..." he trailed off, unexpectedly at a loss for words.
"Thought what?"
He half shook his head, almost reflexively and smiled faintly. "You know me, not often unable to come up with a smart remark, but...I can't. I can't about this. It's too important."
"What's important, Grayson?" she snapped. "Be clear or forget it."
He bit his lip, not sure what to say in the face of her anger. He knew why, he thought, she was angry, but did not know how to defuse it in this situation.
"Well?" She waited expectantly, arms clenching tighter around her middle in defense.
"Ellen, it..." Grayson was distracted by a lock of her hair waving in the slight wind, and he had to resist the urge to reach up and push it out of her face. "Ellen," he started again, more seriously than he had ever been. "Oh hell. Ellen, I was afraid to kiss you, because I was afraid, because I," he paused and took a deep breath, "somewhere in the teasing to annoy Drew, it became real. It's not teasing any more."
Her face lost all its color in one swift breath. "It's not?"
He swallowed hard. "No."
Two fat tears began to roll down Ellen's cheeks. She covered her face, but not fast enough. Grayson’s eyes went wide. "Ellen? I...if I said something I shouldn't have, I'm sorry, you can just forget it, honestly. It's not that important."
"No, no," she said, grasping his wrist as if she were afraid he would leave. "No, I thought you didn't. I've felt ill for weeks, I was going to move out."
"What?" he said, momentarily confused before the words sank in. "Really? I...wait, move out! No way!"
"I didn't want to stay and be hurt again." She brushed the tears out of her eyes furiously.
He stepped up with his free hand to help. "Don't move out. Nate's not the only one who would be devestated." He smiled a little. "In fact, if you're moving anywhere, I kinda hope it'd just be on the other side of a wall."
Ellen exhaled a disbelieving laugh. "Let's not jump that far just yet."
He now grinned. "Just saying. Look, I-" Instead of finishing the sentence, he used his closer proximity to lean in and kiss her. It took her a moment to respond, but once she did it was with enthusiasm and a tight grip on his shoulders. Grayson had absolutely no problem with that, slipping his arms around her waist in turn.
Another whistle rent the night, followed by a loud shushing noise from the porch. He let go with one arm just long enough to give them all the finger, which led to laughter, led by Mariah, and a groan, which had to be Drew.
Ellen broke away with a giggle. "No one invited you!" she called to the masses.
"You know you love us!" Lynne yelled back.
"It's about damn time," Rand added.
Grayson grinned, glancing over at the crowd on the porch and then reeled slightly as a small intruder tackled him around the knees. "Ellen!" Nate crowed, letting go of his grip around Grayson to jump Ellen instead.
"Careful, Nate!" Ellen gripped Grayson's arm to keep from losing her balance. "I know you're happy but you don't want me to fall!"
"Kissin'," he said, holding up his arms to both of them.
Ellen swung him up happily. "More kissing? Okay!"
"Kissin'," he beamed, kissing her on the cheek before grabbing his father's shoulder insistently and tugging him towards them.
"All right, people, move along," Oriana announced loudly, gesturing the rest back inside. "Let's leave them to it. You two, dinner's in ten minutes."
"Ten minutes, right," Grayson said, waving at her absently.
"Do we have to?" Mariah could be heard loudly.
"Yes, you do." Oriana herded her mischievous daughter away with a final sentimentally amused glance at the group on the walk.
"Kissin'," Nate ordered now, grinning at both, an expression he had learned from his father.
Ellen flushed, looking up at Grayson. "Well," she said, "you heard the boy."
"Mm, and I hate to disappoint my son," he said, happy to lean in again and take advantage of this new found discovery.
Story: Shifts universe (post-Shifts)
Challenge: Gingerbread 30 (true love’s kiss), Strawberry 8 (signpost) [Marina]; Guava 15 (life is but a dream), Trail Mix 26 (upwind/downwind) [Casey]
Toppings/Extras: Caramel, Sprinkles, Smoothie [both]; Malt (pfah - signpost : Ellen : dancing in the dark) [Marina]; Malt (Trick-or-Treat: There’s thirty people in the kitchen and there’s always room for more - GBS, Going Up) [Casey]
Word Count: 2,485
Rating: PG
Summary: Ellen and Grayson run into unexpected mischief at the yearly Christmas party. Luckily, it ends well.
Notes: Follows this and this. Holiday stories ahoy!
Grayson pulled the car up outside Isabelle and Michael's mansion. "I'll get Nate if you grab the food," he said, grinning at Ellen.
"Fine with me," she returned. The green bean casserole she had prepared was her specialty, housed by her most treasured holiday pot, and she did not trust Grayson not to drop it.
He hopped out of the car and opened the back door to let his son out of his car seat. "Ready to see everyone, Nate?"
"Addy!" the toddler crowed, beaming.
"Yeah, I bet Addy's already here waiting for you," Ellen agreed, with a smile for him.
"Good," Nate said, shimmying out of his car seat and into Grayson's arms. "Ellen carry Nate?"
Her smile faltered a little at hearing that, but she bravely hoisted it back up, along with the pot. When Nate said things like that, she felt torn in two. She had to move out soon if she meant to avoid another broken heart, but Nate was making it as hard as possible for her to get up the nerve to tell Grayson-almost as though he were doing it on purpose.
"Maybe later, kiddo,” Grayson said easily, “but she has to carry the food you helped her make for now."
"Food!" Nate said happily and allowed Grayson to carry him in. His dad shifted him to his hip so he could open the front door, holding it for Ellen as she passed through.
"Thanks, Grayson," she said quietly.
"Welcome," he said, as chipper as ever, pulling it shut behind them.
Oriana met them in the hall, smiling brightly, and took the pot from Ellen. "Merry Christmas, you two," she said. "I'll take this to the kitchen. Everyone else is in the game room."
"Be careful with it," Ellen warned.
"Ori!" Nate said, beaming at her.
"We all fit in one room? That's rather impressive," Grayson said.
"Not everyone's here yet," Oriana replied, with a beatific smile for Nate. "Go on, have fun."
"Addy," Nate reminded his father, tugging on his jacket.
Oriana chuckled and walked off with the pot, and Ellen suppressed a grin. "You heard the boy," she said to Grayson.
"Yes, sir, Master Nate," he said, winking at Ellen and bouncing off towards the game room. She followed, trying to ignore her accelerated heart rate.
They arrived at the game room to find it mostly full, even though not all the "family" had arrived. The Harpers had come, though Catherine was missing, likely because she was helping in the kitchen. Bill chatted with Eleazar while Mariah and Josh lovingly harassed their little half-sister. Drew and Lynne were also there, with their three, and Rand had brought his wife and daughter, too. "Hello everyone!" Ellen greeted them, with a smile.
Immediately, Mariah snickered, but attempted to cover it up by slapping a hand over her mouth and turning away. Lynne was the picture of innocence.
Grayson looked at both of them but then shrugged as his son wiggled quickly out of his arms and all but sprinted towards Drew, who was holding their youngest. "Addy!" Nate said happily, ignoring the three older children.
"Nate!" she beamed. "Dada, down, p'ease!"
Ellen smiled at the two toddlers. She then turned to greet her brother and his wife, but stopped when she saw the majority of the group eyeing her. Drew, in particular, looked caught between amusement and brotherly concern. "What?" she asked, mystified.
"I'd look up," Mariah said, pointing above them.
Ellen glanced up above the doorway and blanched. Every year, someone hung a sprig of mistletoe somewhere in Isabelle's house, and one of Ellen's more immediate missions when coming to Christmas parties was to find and avoid the instigator so she would not have to kiss anyone. This year, it was pinned in the one place she could not escape it.
Feeling her face grow red, she lowered her gaze-casually, she hoped-to Grayson's face.
He was still staring up at the mistletoe. "Well, damn, you guys hung it rather early this year..." Slowly, he brought his gaze back down, but uncharacteristically avoided looking at her. "Nate, c'mere, kiddo, we need someone to kiss."
Nate turned to look at his dad. "But Addy," he said with a pout, even as he turned and trundled back towards them.
"That's the rule of mistletoe," Ellen said, scooping him up and planting a noisy smooch on his cheek. "You got caught with us, so kisses it is."
Nate giggled, making a show of wiping it off. "You silly, Ellen!" he said but obligingly gave her a kiss back.
"So are they, for putting it there," she said, handing him to Grayson. Lynne was practically rolling on the floor by that point, damn her.
"I think that's cheating," Mariah said loudly even as Grayson kissed the toddler on the nose. Ellen spared her a frown.
"So do I," agreed Josh, crossing his arms.
"No one asked you, shrimps," Grayson said, now allowing Nate to go back to his friend.
"They're right," Lynne informed him, with false sadness. "Hop to it."
"You are kidding, right, Lynne?"
"Not at all, I assure you."
"Drew?" he said, appealing to both Drew and Rand with a look of slight terror.
"Rules are rules," Drew said, looking a little uncomfortable. "No one's been allowed to get out of it before." Rand nodded his agreement. Ellen looked at the floor, feeling hurt.
"It's not that I..." Grayson trailed off, now looking at Ellen.
"Just do it," Lynne drawled.
Grayson cleared his throat. "Ellen?" he said quietly. Ellen looked up, forcing what she prayed was a pleasant smile onto her face. She offered him a light shrug. "If you don't want to," he said, looking nervous for the first and only time that she could remember.
"They're not going to let us move unless we do," she said.
"I'm not going to force you into anything," he said, aiming a brief scowl at the rest of the family.
"It's fine, honest."
He eyed her for a second and then stepped forward, aiming to kiss her gently on the cheek. She shut her eyes, half willing herself to disappear. He got halfway there, paused and then changed his aim, slipping an arm partially around her waist even as he kissed her on the mouth.
In response, she let out a little gasp and put her hand on his arm. She returned the kiss without hesitation, almost too eagerly, but after a moment she gently broke it and pushed him away. She did not want to, but she was much too aware of the eyes watching them-and then, she thought miserably, the fact that he had not even wanted to kiss her in the first place.
Grayson's face was red but he stared at her with an indecipherable expression, eyes bright but serious. Ellen felt as though she ought to say something, but the moment was lost to a sharp whistle and scattered clapping. She smiled faintly and hurried away to greet her brother.
"Hey, kid," Drew said.
"Hey, Drew, Merry Christmas." She sat down next to him and leaned against him companionably.
"Merry Christmas. I feel like I haven't seen you in ages!"
"Yeah, me too. How've you been?"
"Good. Busy with the kids and work, as usual," he said. "How's the subbing going at Grayson's school?"
"I like it," she said, smiling genuinely for the brief seconds before she realized that she could not escape Grayson simply by moving out if she decided to keep her job. "The kids are great, not always well-behaved, but mostly fun."
"Sounds about right," he said with a grin. Then his eyes sharpened. "Still living in Grayson's spare room?"
Ellen squirmed. "Yes, but...maybe not too much longer. I think I want to get my own place."
"Really? What's Nate got to say about that?" he asked lightly.
"He won't like it, but he'll live."
"Mm, well, it's your decision and I'm sure you'll make the right one."
"Yeah, I hope so," she said quietly, glancing across the room at Grayson.
"You okay, kid?"
She did not answer for a moment. "Yeah. I think I'm going to excuse myself to the restroom for a minute, though. It was a long drive." Patting Drew's arm, she got up and hurried out of the room. Once she cleared the opening, she bypassed the restrooms entirely and walked back out the front door as fast as she could go.
***
Mariah quickly claimed Grayson’s attention after Ellen walked away to speak to Drew, saying nothing about the frequent looks he shot his housemate or his distracted replies to her questions. He knew that she understood why, and was grateful for it.
When he noticed Ellen quietly slip back towards the front door, he frowned. "Mariah," he started.
"Oh thank god, please go after her!" she said, shooing him towards the door.
"I'll watch Nate," Lynne added. She had been standing nearby, keeping one ear on their conversation and one eye on Ellen.
Grayson aimed a scowl at both of them. "It'd be wonderful if you two didn't know everything before the rest of us," he told them before turning and heading out after her. Lynne's laughter followed him into the hall.
By the time he reached Ellen, she had almost reached the end of the walk and the "Do Not Walk On Grass" sign stuck into the front lawn. "Ellen," he called, hurrying to catch up.
She looked back at him, surprise and mortification blossoming over her features. "Grayson. Oh, goodness, I didn't mean to come out here, what are you..."
"Ellen," he said again. "Don't try and bullshit me, please."
"What are you talking about? I meant to go to the restroom, I don't know how I ended up out here."
Grayson gave her a patient look, not buying it for an instant. Ellen crossed her arms. "Okay, fine, I needed some air. There're too many people in that room."
"I...think we need to talk," he said.
"What about?"
"The...that kiss." He wanted to step closer and not talk about it but repeat it, but he refrained for the moment. Even as he did, he was not sure if that was a good idea or not.
She frowned in frustration at a spot over his shoulder. "I know you didn't want to. You don't need to apologize."
"What?" he sputtered. "No, that wasn't it at all!"
"It wasn't?"
"No, I just...I would never want to make you do something you didn't want and...I was caught off guard."
Ellen's jaw set in a deep frown, and he realized that that had been the wrong reply. "You didn't force me into anything."
He sighed. "I...I thought..." he trailed off, unexpectedly at a loss for words.
"Thought what?"
He half shook his head, almost reflexively and smiled faintly. "You know me, not often unable to come up with a smart remark, but...I can't. I can't about this. It's too important."
"What's important, Grayson?" she snapped. "Be clear or forget it."
He bit his lip, not sure what to say in the face of her anger. He knew why, he thought, she was angry, but did not know how to defuse it in this situation.
"Well?" She waited expectantly, arms clenching tighter around her middle in defense.
"Ellen, it..." Grayson was distracted by a lock of her hair waving in the slight wind, and he had to resist the urge to reach up and push it out of her face. "Ellen," he started again, more seriously than he had ever been. "Oh hell. Ellen, I was afraid to kiss you, because I was afraid, because I," he paused and took a deep breath, "somewhere in the teasing to annoy Drew, it became real. It's not teasing any more."
Her face lost all its color in one swift breath. "It's not?"
He swallowed hard. "No."
Two fat tears began to roll down Ellen's cheeks. She covered her face, but not fast enough. Grayson’s eyes went wide. "Ellen? I...if I said something I shouldn't have, I'm sorry, you can just forget it, honestly. It's not that important."
"No, no," she said, grasping his wrist as if she were afraid he would leave. "No, I thought you didn't. I've felt ill for weeks, I was going to move out."
"What?" he said, momentarily confused before the words sank in. "Really? I...wait, move out! No way!"
"I didn't want to stay and be hurt again." She brushed the tears out of her eyes furiously.
He stepped up with his free hand to help. "Don't move out. Nate's not the only one who would be devestated." He smiled a little. "In fact, if you're moving anywhere, I kinda hope it'd just be on the other side of a wall."
Ellen exhaled a disbelieving laugh. "Let's not jump that far just yet."
He now grinned. "Just saying. Look, I-" Instead of finishing the sentence, he used his closer proximity to lean in and kiss her. It took her a moment to respond, but once she did it was with enthusiasm and a tight grip on his shoulders. Grayson had absolutely no problem with that, slipping his arms around her waist in turn.
Another whistle rent the night, followed by a loud shushing noise from the porch. He let go with one arm just long enough to give them all the finger, which led to laughter, led by Mariah, and a groan, which had to be Drew.
Ellen broke away with a giggle. "No one invited you!" she called to the masses.
"You know you love us!" Lynne yelled back.
"It's about damn time," Rand added.
Grayson grinned, glancing over at the crowd on the porch and then reeled slightly as a small intruder tackled him around the knees. "Ellen!" Nate crowed, letting go of his grip around Grayson to jump Ellen instead.
"Careful, Nate!" Ellen gripped Grayson's arm to keep from losing her balance. "I know you're happy but you don't want me to fall!"
"Kissin'," he said, holding up his arms to both of them.
Ellen swung him up happily. "More kissing? Okay!"
"Kissin'," he beamed, kissing her on the cheek before grabbing his father's shoulder insistently and tugging him towards them.
"All right, people, move along," Oriana announced loudly, gesturing the rest back inside. "Let's leave them to it. You two, dinner's in ten minutes."
"Ten minutes, right," Grayson said, waving at her absently.
"Do we have to?" Mariah could be heard loudly.
"Yes, you do." Oriana herded her mischievous daughter away with a final sentimentally amused glance at the group on the walk.
"Kissin'," Nate ordered now, grinning at both, an expression he had learned from his father.
Ellen flushed, looking up at Grayson. "Well," she said, "you heard the boy."
"Mm, and I hate to disappoint my son," he said, happy to lean in again and take advantage of this new found discovery.