Authors: Christine Zolendz
"He shows up and what seems like a five minute conversation between us turns into seven hours of my life missing. The night that I was supposed to go to dinner with Ryan and Shane ran out, remember?" I turned off the water and dried off with a towel that Lea had thrown at me. "When I went into my bedroom and told you I just wanted to change
and I'd be out in a minute, he was in my bedroom. It didn't even seem like five minutes passed and then you knocked on the door and it was all of a sudden midnight
, I missed out on seven hours
."
I wrapped myself in my robe and walked back into my bedroom. Lea followed me. "And Tuesday night?"
"Same
thing. He was just
the
re
, but this time I couldn't
breathe
or move."
Dressing in a comfy pair of
flannel pajama bottoms and a tank top
,
I held Lea's gaze. She wanted the truth, answers, but I didn't want to scare her.
But I definitely needed to get her ready if I had one more week here,
didn't
I?
"Gabriel
says
he's in love with me and he wants me to go with him," I whispered.
"As in go with him and not be HERE ANYMORE?" she started breathing faster, eyes popping out of her head. "What the hell? TELL HIM NO! You're not leaving me
Grace!
"
Running to her I grabbed her shoulders, "
Shh
. Lea stop. Of course I keep telling him no.
I don't want to be with him, I want to be here
. This is my last chance to live a normal human existence and I want it. Please believe me, okay? I know I've drilled it in your head that I wanted something and someone else, but he's gone
. Maybe he left to save
me,
maybe he just didn't love me, I don't know. But I get it now." I twisted my wet hair up into a messy knot and smiled at her.
"What do you get now?" she asked.
"I've spent my entire existence trying to a create this perfect fairytale happily ever after future; bending fate to the way I thought it should be, or living in a past that I was never supposed to have. I've never lived in the present, and cherished the moments I'm in," I explained.
The floorboa
rds creaked near my door. "That
sounds like a pretty enlightened view of life," Shane's voice interrupted. He offered me an innocent smile, "Sorry, I didn't mean to cut in, but I wanted to see if you were okay. And, I uh, seem to remember you screaming you uh, wanted pizza."
My cheeks flamed at his words, "Shut up," I whispered smiling. "I'm not enlightened, more like grounded now."
Lea folded her arms over her head, probably trying to keep it from
physically
exploding. I knew my best friend like she was part of me and I knew she was going insane with worry. She was one of those people who could needle something to death if it bothered her. "Grace is being harassed and WE think that this is the same guy who has been trying to hurt her!" she blurted out. "His name is Gabriel and he just shows up here and threatens her!"
Shane's eyes never left mine, yet they twinkled with mischief and h
e gave us a little snort.
Yes,
he
snor
ted
, like Gabriel was a joke to him.
"Well, then I guess that it's a good thing that I'm stuck staying here tonight, huh?" He walked closer to me and shoved his hands in the side pockets of his jeans. "So, Gabriel, huh? Why's he harassing you?"
I watched m
y big-mouthed best friend sneak out of my room with a
self-gratified
smug-ass smile on her face.
My gosh
, that woman would do anything to get
Shane and me
together! These are the things that I love about
her;
I'm not going to lie.
I swallowed hard. "He's nobody. Just someone I tho
ught was a friend, but he isn't. It's nothing to worry about,
" I said simply.
Shane stepped closer. "Well, let's see
,
Grace.
About six weeks
ago,
someone attacked you in a bar
and
I got stabbed. Then there was the fire in your apartment someone set on purpose. Oh, yeah
,
and don't forget the part where some guy stabs you and tears your insides up and you're in a coma for four weeks
. And your best friend thinks
Gabriel
has something to do with it, and you think it's nothing?" He touched my cheek with his hand rubbing his thumb along my skin.
My body involuntarily leaned into his touch.
Holy crap, do I have
it bad for this guy.
"I really wish you could
believe in me
enough to let me know what's really going on so I could protect you," he sighed.
KNEES WEAK! Mayday! Mayday! Girl about to fall even farther in love with Shane!
Crap he is so going to hurt me!
"He was my ex's best friend. And he thinks he's in love with me. And well, to make a long story short, he thinks if he can't have me no one else should either."
Muscles and veins strained against the skin of his neck
like he was restraining himself and his hands were clenched tightly into white knuckled fists. "That's what this is all about? He
loves you?
" he hissed
through
clenched teeth.
The way he said it made my skin crawl, like the thought of someone in love with me would be unbelievable. I shrugged as the pain in my chest from his words almost sent me flying across the room. "This has nothing to do with you anyway, so you don't have to bother yourself with it. Anyway, why did you say you're stuck here tonight?"
His brows furrowed and he moved slowly closer to me, pressing his lips together.
Lifting his other hand to my face, he cupped my cheeks in his palms. His touch made my muscles weak and I hated it. "I'm not letting anyone hurt you, got it?" He moved closer and slowly brought his lips to mine, "But, I do understand him loving you so much he doesn't want anyone else to have you."
I think I whimpered. I may have melted to the floor at that point to
o.
His lips slid over mine effortlessly like they were made to kiss me. I brought my hands to his
neck;
his pulsed thudded wildly under my fingertips.
"Hey! Pizza! Let's go! She's needs to eat, Shane!" Lea yelled next to us.
Still cupping my face
,
he brought his forehead
against mine and laughed, "You
know
,
with Lea
aroun
d,
I can understand why there hasn't been many guys in your life," he teased.
"Shut up," I laughed and playfully smacked him in the arm. "God, though, you're probably right!"
"Come on, you really do need to eat," he said pulling me by the waist into the hallway. He nuzzled his face into my neck as he walked behind me, "By the way,
everyone
is stuck staying here tonight. Our entire apartment
building is having a cleaning service, uh, disinfect what Vixen4 did while they stayed there. Then it will be
decorated for Vixen4's after show party tomorrow
so they can mess it up again
."
The thought of Vixen4 being in his apartment snapped me back to reality and seeing Shane and Bliss
together
. I needed to remember
Shane wasn't a relationship kind of guy.
I just have to live each moment to the fullest, don't think of the stupid mistakes he's made. Don't ruin
thi
s,
Grace,
you don't kno
w how much or how little time you have
left
.
Everyone
sat
in the living room, all in pajamas, eating pizza while
The Exorcist
played on the television. A stack of our favorite horror movies stood on the coffee table next to the pizza boxes, huge bowl of popcorn and sodas. It eerily looked like one of
Lea's teenage slumber parties
.
I plopped myself on one of the chairs and grabbed a slice of pizza, curling my feet underneath me.
Shane sat across the room from me on the other
chair, grabbed a handful of popcorn,
and popped a few pieces in his mouth.
Alex leaned over the couch and onto the arm of my chair smiling at me. "I can't stop myself from thinking about where I might get to sleep tonight. Any chance that you may need some company later?" he whispered low.
My eyes widened and I laughed at the absurdity of the comment. "No thank you Alex, you slut," I teased rolling my eyes.
I tucked
my chin in and laughed harder as
Alex's stupid smile
widened
.
"
I'll just let you think about it for a while," he laughed back.
I looked up to see Shane watching me.
His eyes shifted to Alex and his lips tightened. This, for some reason, made me bite down on my bottom lip and when Shane looked
back at me
,
he
noticed. He
gave me one of his slow sexy smiles.
I couldn't stop my body from responding to his stare and a flush of heat ignited along my cheeks. All across my
chest,
my skin puckered into tiny goose bumps that traveled down and tightened my nipples against the lace of my bra.
Dear Lord, I thought only crap like that happened in romance novels.
The flexing and twisting of his tan muscles, the hardness under the lines of his tattoos was impossible to tear my gaze away from. This man made me hyper-aware of all my girl parts, and they ached, for the first time ever,
I ached for someone
.
Someone real
and sitting right across from me
.
After
The
Exorcist,
we put on
The Shinning
and I went into the kitchen to make some more popcorn. Tucker was grabbing some more bottles of soda out of the refrigerator and hip
bumped me as I passed
. I almost flew clear across the room as he laughed. I laughed a fake laugh along with him; mentally I was clawing his eyes out of his face.
I shoved the popcorn bag into the microwave and pressed the little popcorn button that
NEVER
seemed to pop a
ll the popcorn in the bag. I did
n't even know why I used it.
He placed the soda
s
on the countertop and leaned his long fra
me against it, "So, have you done
anything about that little problem of yours?"
I stopped moving and sta
red at him, "What problem would that be Tucker?"
The popcorn started popping; the sound
was honestly more interesting to listen to than Tucker
's voice
.
"You being a
virgin
," he whispered trying to talk in a sexy voice.
Pop, pop, pop
.
"See, Tucker that's where me and you have a difference of opinion. I don't see that as a problem. My problem is that I have arrogant assholes who think they are good enough for me to hand it to them in exchange for a stupid dinner of disgusting sushi and expensive champagne."
He moved closer, obviously not hearing anything I had just said. "
If you're looking for Mr. Right, Grace, I'm
right
here."
This popcorn was taking way too long
.
"Are your parents siblings?"
I
asked.
I mean, really,
they had to be
.
"You're so adorable when you act all
tough
like that. Have you given any thought to working for me? I know your medical bills must be crazy with you not working, let me help you out and come work with me as my personal assistant." He wagged his eyebro
ws like classic Tucker.
"We can have lunch breaks together,
alone
, in my office
every day
.
" He slithered closer,
"
I know how to
please
a woman
,
Grace."
I think I'm hearing the pops popping farther apart now, almost done
.
"Then
please
leave me alone."
"Okay, okay. No naked
times during lunch breaks, but seriously come work for me, get
to know me better. You won't regret it."
I wanted his head to pop like one of those little kernels, maybe that would stop him from talking
.