The Girl He Marked by Laila Callaway novel Chapter 3

Axel's POV.

Mum and Dad place piles of food on the table. Plates filled with fried eggs, bacon, pancakes, toast, you name it.

The four of us dig in whilst my parents sit at the end of the table, watching with amusement.

'So, what else happened last night' Dad asks.

'I asked Grace to be my girlfriend,' I tell them casually.

Grace blushes next to me and smiles shyly at my parents. 'And I said yes.'

Mum grins at her. 'That's wonderful news. And I must say, it's lovely to finally meet you, Grace. Axel has told us so much about you.'

I don't even complain or try to deny it. She is what I talk about most of the time.

Grace's blush deepens, but she looks happy. 'It's lovely to meet you both, too.'

After eating, Rory's Mum comes and picks her up, taking Xaden with her.

Grace and I go up to my room for a bit. She calls her Mum and lets her know that she'll be stopping by in a bit to change her clothes, but then she's going out for a late lunch.

I change into a t—shirt and jeans, whilst Grace keeps her eyes locked on her phone, blushing intensely.

'You know I was joking earlier, Strawberries,' I explain. 'You can ogle my body any time you want, I am your boyfriend, after all.'

That makes her smile.

There's a knock on the bedroom door and after calling out, Mum pops her head around it.

Grace hurriedly jumps off of my bed, making my mum laugh.

'Oh, darling, you don't need to be worried about that with me. I am well aware that you two shared a bed last night and it's quite alright,' my mum reassures her. She looks at me with a knowing smile. 'I know you how important you are to Axel, so it's not a problem.'

Grace looks relieved and slowly sits down on the bed.

'Anyways, I just wanted to ask if you're staying for dinner, Grace'

My mate shakes her head, looking disappointed that she can't.

'I'm sorry, I told Mum that I'd be home for dinner, I think she wants to see me,' she replies despondently.

'How about tomorrow' I ask and she brightens up.

'Sure, I could do tomorrow.'

Mum grins. 'Perfect.'

I drive over to Grace's street and wait in the car whilst she runs around the corner to her house and changes out of last night's dress.

She comes back wearing a cropped t—shirt and a pair of dungarees. I didn't think it was possible for her to get any cuter, but apparently, I was wrong.

We get smoothies from the shake shack and walk down the high street, drinking them and holding hands.

We go to the park and walk around the lake, enjoying the sunshine. With Grace, we don't need to do lots of things for us to have a good time. I enjoy her company just as it is.

After buying us some sandwiches from one of the van vendors, we find our bench from our first date and eat them together.

When she's done, Grace lies down on the bench and rests her head on my lap. I lean back and close my eyes, running my fingers through her hair absentmindedly.

'I enjoyed last night. Your friends are nice,' Grace says casually.

'I'm glad you like them. They can be dicks at times, but they're alright.'

'I didn't much like Delaney or Harriet, though,' Grace adds, scrunching up her nose. 'Delaney was rude and Harriet, well, she kept looking at you when you wouldn't notice.'

I automatically stiffen up and Grace looks at me suspiciously.

'Do you two have a history She was looking at you like she wanted a piece; I'll be honest. She looked away each time I caught her, but it didn't stop her from looking back when she thought I'd looked away again.'

I swallow hard. I swore I'd never lie to her, and I won't start now.

'We um, slept together last year. A long time ago. It was only twice, and it was nothing. But she always expressed an interest in…revisiting the situation.'

'Ah,' she replies thoughtfully. 'That makes sense.'

'I don't think she wanted a relationship or anything,' I add quickly, hoping that it helps the situation.

Grace snorts. 'No, she just wanted your D again. Apparently, it was good enough to go back to.'

I look down at my mate, to find her smirking coyly.

'Could we please talk about something else'

Grace grins. 'Why I quite enjoy talking about your dick.'

I roll my eyes at her. 'Fine, we can talk about my dick, just not the mistakes I have made that include it, deal'

Grace giggles and nods her head. 'Deal.'