He glanced down at it and simply gave her a head pop.
Heather cleared her throat and said, “Gunner, Ellie, this is Grant, Alison’s husband.”
Grant reached his hand out to shake Gunner’s then took Ellie’s hand and kissed the back of it. “What beautiful eyes you have, Ellie. The way they compete with the sky is amazing. Breathtaking.”
Oh. My. God. He did not just flirt with her out in the open like that.
“Um … thank you?” Ellie replied, making it sound like a question. I couldn’t help but notice how Gunner looked like he was ready to pounce on Grant.
I turned back to Alison to see her reaction and she stood there with a smile. Heather on the other hand looked shocked as hell. I wonder if it is too soon to say I told you so?
“All right. Are we ready to get this party started?” Josh asked.
“Hell yes. This is going to be one hell of an adventure, right baby?” Grant said as he grabbed Alison’s ass and they started walking.
Jeff and I stayed back with Gunner and Ellie.
Taking a few steps forward, Jeff turned to us. “Anyone else get the feeling we need to walk in the opposite direction of them?”
“What in the hell was that?” Gunner asked with a dumbfounded expression.
“Did he flirt with me? Like seriously right there in front of his wife?” Ellie asked.
“Yeah, well at least he didn’t eye fuck the hell out of you like he did Ari,” Jeff replied.
I shook my head. “Y’a
ll … I’ve got a weird feeling about these two.”
Gunner took Ellie’s hand. “I think maybe we’re all overreacting here. Let’s go on the hike, make the best of Heather bringing her new friends along, and enjoy the time together.”
Heather had stopped and called back. “Are y’all coming?”
“Yep!” Ellie exclaimed as the four of us reluctantly started walking toward the trailhead.
I slowed my pace down and walked next to Josh as the others pulled slightly ahead. He said his ankle was feeling better, but I knew by his slowing pace, it was bothering him. “Okay, so I might have been wrong about something.”
Josh grinned. “About what? Ellie doesn’t seem to be angry and neither does Ari.”
“No, it’s nothing about what happened between us. It’s not the first time we’ve gotten into a tiff.”
Josh gave me an inquisitive look. “Then what were you wrong about?”
“Ari mentioned Alison looking at Gunner like she was interested in him. I told her she was crazy, but the way Alison reacted when Gunner walked up, and now she keeps slightly touching him every time she talks to him. I think Ari was right. Alison has the hots for Gunner!”
Josh chuckled. “Heather, come on. The girl seems really friendly. Didn’t you notice how she was doing the same thing to me? I thought it was kind of strange how openly she flirted with me, but I think that’s just her. She’s doing it with Jeff as well, and Grant doesn’t seem to mind.”
A sick feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. I had noticed how she was flirting with Josh and it immediately bothered me. When I mentioned us having to leave to go on a hike, I was stunned they invited themselves to come along. “That’s the other thing, Josh. Grant made an off-the-wall comment about Ari being pregnant and how this would be a new adventure. I was thinking he meant the hike, but why would going on a hike with two pregnant women be an adventure? If anything, it would be trying if they were to slow him down. Then when he flirted with Ellie, I thought Gunner was going to grab Grant and throw him to the ground.”
“What did he say? How did I miss that?” Josh asked.
I chewed on lip. Something wasn’t right. “You were messing with Gus and didn’t hear him. He told her how beautiful her eyes were. That they were breathtaking or something like that and he kissed the back of her hand.”
Rolling his eyes, Josh started walking. “Okay, it sounds to me like the both of them are just really open talkers. They say what’s on their minds. Maybe innocent flirting doesn’t bother them any.”
Even as I attempted to push the strange vibes away, they grew larger. I watched as Gus kept running up to Grant and barking at him. Gunner finally put Gus on a leash and kept him away from Grant.
Even the dog got a weird vibe.