Boycotts and Barflies (30 page)

“It always worked like a charm when I was a kid trying to get out of school.” “And did Jack know you were going to fake an illness to stay behind?” Meg  asked suspiciously.

“It was all his idea. I wasn’t going to go to Spokane at all; we were going to  spend Christmas together. It was always the plan for me to fake being sick, and  Jack was going to pretend to get a call from work saying they needed someone  last minute to stay  and work the holiday before he left with Michael. Then his  mom’s pipes broke, and he had to go up early to help them. The call he got from ‘work’ while he was up there was actually me.”

“How did we miss all this?” Meg said to Grace with a bewildered look on her  face.

“It was easy, actually. You were distracted by your flight getting canceled, and  Grace was … well, in love. It made this much easier than I ever expected.” Bianca laughed, relieved to finally come clean.

“So,” Grace said, giggling. “What have you two been up to?”

“Honestly, we haven’t left bed except to eat and shower for the last two days.  And he has the sexiest tattoo across his back and another one on his hip that’s  amazing.”

“A man with tattoos and facial hair?” Meg giggled. “Who are you and what have  you done with Bianca?”

“I’m sold. I was wrong. Everything about the man just screams sexy.” The purr

of her voice when she talked about Jack told Meg and Grace just how important

he was to her. So many things had changed for them, for the better.

“Well, it certainly sounded like you were having fun before,” Meg teased.

“Did Jack realize he didn’t hang up the phone when he was talking to Ryan?

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Because we got to listen in on your latest sexcapade, you know.” They both burst out laughing.

“He did what? What did you hear?” she screamed. They heard a loud noise that sounded like a door crashing into the wall.

She must have flipped the light on because then Jack yelled, “Hey, I can’t see!  I’m blind, Bianca. What the hell are you doing?”

“Where’s your phone?” she hissed at him.

“Um, I don’t know. I had it, but I kinda dropped it when you did that thing with your tongue,” he said in a very husky voice. Grace and Meg giggled as they continued to listen in on the others’ c onversation.

“Jack, Meg and Grace are on the phone, so please shut up. You didn’t hang up your phone before, and our sexually repressed friends were listening to us having sex,” she yelled.

“Good, maybe Mike and Ryan learned a thing or two. You girls better thank me when you see me again!” Jack yelled in the background. Grace had tears running down her face from laughing as Jack carried on.

“Here it is, you idiot.”

They heard a crash, and Jack started yelling. “OK, girls, I’m gonna go,”

Bianca said with a giggle. “Tell Michael and Ryan they’re assholes for listening, and I plan on smacking them the next time I see them. I love you two. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”

“From what I heard before, there isn’t much on that list,” Meg squealed into the phone. Ju st before she snapped it shut, she added, “We love you too, have fun!  Bye, Jack, you hot, sexy, beast!”

They rolled off the bed and laughed on the floor until they were gasping for breath. Finally, when their sides hurt so badly they couldn’t stand up, they were ready for bed. Grace hugged Meg, and they made an agreement that whoever woke up first would wake up the other person. It was Christmas morning, after all, and there were presents to be opened.

Grace went into her bathroom and found Michael’s underwear still sitting on her sink with her silk panties on top of them. She brushed her teeth and got

dressed for bed. Having spent the whole evening being daring and going

commando, her more conservative side was ready to put some underwear

back on. She glanced back down at Michael’s and decided to wear them instead

of a pair of shorts to bed along with a T-shirt. She slipped under her thick

comforter and grabbed her phone to send a message to Michael.

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I’m going to bed. Just wanted to say good night.

I love you.

Grace

PS: I’m wearing your underwear. I look pretty cute in them, if I do say so myself.

Too bad you’re not here to see it. Oh well.

Grace chuckled as she closed the phone, imagining his face whe n he read the

message. That will teach him to go home, she laughed to herself. Reaching over,  she flipped off the light beside her bed and snuggled down under the covers,  waiting for the bed to warm up.

It was impossible to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, Grace saw Michael’s  face, or she would remember the deliciously rich scent of his cologne or the

feel of his lips on hers and it was just too much. Luckily, she didn’t know his  mom’s address or she probably would have made a fool of herself and driven  over there in the middle of the night and crawled in his bedroom window just  to see him.

God, I’m pathetic, Grace was thinking when she heard the familiar jingle of her phone receiving a message.

Are you trying to kill me tonight?

First you ask me to stay with you, and then you tell me you’re lying in bed, wearing my underwear.

I’m only human.

I would say good night, but I’m getting out of bed to take a nice cold shower.

I love you, too.

Michael

Grace was still giggling at his reply when the phone started ringing.

“Hey, there. How was the shower?” she laughed quietly into the phone.

“Lonely,” he murmured.

“I’m sorry. Only one hundred sixty-seven hours, if that makes you feel any better.”

“It doesn’t.” He laughed. “Hey, I forgot to ask you something tonight.”

“What?”

“I wanted to see if you would be my date for New Year’s Day,” he said sweetly.

“Why, I would love to be your New Year’s Day date. What time will you be

picking me up?” Grace said coyly, playing along with his game.

“Well, I’d like to get an early start to our date, so I’ll get you at the stroke of

midnight. How does that sound?”

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“Sounds like a plan. Of course, I’ll be out with my girlfriends celebrating New  Year’s Eve, so it might not be a bad idea to go to the same place so we can meet  up and leave from there.” Grace was grinning from ear to ear at the thought of  actually going on a date with Michael, alone, without any crazy bets hanging  over their heads.

“Great idea. OK, I’m going to try and get some sleep, but I’m finding myself a bit  distracted this evening.”

“Me too,” Grace said quietly. “Good night, Michael.”

“Good night, sweetheart. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

y

The next morning, the first thing Grace remembered hearing was the creaking

sound of her bedroom door opening then quiet footsteps moving across the

floor. She was facing the window and Grace opened one eye to peek at the

clock. It was 7:00 a.m. and the sun was just starting to rise outside her window.

She buried her head under the pillow and groaned.

“Meg, we are not eight years old. Don’t you think seven o’clock is a bit early?”

She said something, but with the pillow over Grace’s head, Meg’s words were

muffled and lost.

“Just get in bed and lay down for a little bit. I’m not ready to go downstairs and

face Susan and her questions about Michael again.” Meg lifted the covers next

to Grace, pausing before she climbed into bed and began gently rubbing her

back.

As Grace tried to fall back to sleep, she rolled all the way onto her stomach and her bare leg brushed against Meg’s flannel pajama bottoms.Wait, Meg doesn’t wear flannel—ever. “This isn’t Meg in bed with me is it?” Grace said,

mortified.

The bed was shaking from laughter, confirming her suspicions. “Michael!” she shrieked as quietly as she could, flipping over to find his beautiful face propped up on the pillow beside her. His hair was still messy, like he had just rolled out of bed himself.

“Merry Christmas!” he said happily as Grace bolted upright in the bed, holding

the sheet to her chest.

“What the hell are you doing here? How did you get in? Who told you to come

up here?” Grace paused for a second then growled, “Susan …” She muttered her

mother’s name like it was a dirty word.

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“Actually, she’s the answer to all those questions. She and my mom decided last  night that you all were going to come to my house for breakfast. She and your  dad are off getting ready, and  Ryan is waking up Meg.” He pointed his thumb in  the direction of Meg’s room when they heard her scream. “See? Now Meg’s  awake too.” His smile made her melt completely into his arms and savor the  feel of his body against hers. Everything was perfect until there was a knock on  the door, and Susan stuck her head in.

“Merry Christmas, you two love birds!! Hurry up, we need to go.” She stood in  the doorway in her green flannel Christmas tree pajamas.

“Um, hi, Mom. This isn’t what it looks like, and are you going to put on some  real clothes before we go to the Andrises’?” Grace asked as she tucked the

cover around herself to hide Michael’s underwear she was currently wearing. “No, we’re supposed to come over in our pajamas. Liz’s orders. Come on, get

up! And don’t worry, I didn’t see anything,” she said in a sing song voice as she  closed the door.

Grace glanced over at Michael, who was highly amused by the whole exchange.  “Don’t encourage her. I’m tel ing you, don’t encourage her,” she warned as she put her elbow on the pillow and propped her head up in her hand next to him.  He mirrored Grace’s body position and gave her a sexy smile that sent her heart flying. “Michael, whatever you’re thinking, stop it.”

“What?” he asked innocently as he leaned over and she felt his lips not-so -innocently running along the side of her neck. He gently pulled the collar of  Grace’s T-shirt to the side so he could kiss her collarbone. Grace’s head fell

back as she enjoyed the sensation as he nipped at her skin. His free hand  wrapped around her side and rested on the small of her back so he could hold  her close.

“I missed you last night,” he whispered as his lips moved across her cheek.

“You have no idea how much.”

Grace, this is trouble. You are getting close to the point of no return h ere.

But then again, would that really be such a bad thing?

Her internal argument raged on until she heard Susan yell from downstairs,

“Grace!” In her attempt to hurry, Grace stumbled backwards out of the bed.

Michael flung himself across the mattress, trying to catch her before she hit the

floor, but missed.

His arms dangled over the side of the bed as his cobalt eyes ran themselves all

over her exposed body. She didn’t realize what he was staring at until he 235

muttered, “You really do look unbelievable in my underwear.” His voice was

thick with desire as he started to advance toward her.

Her skin began to tingle as his eyes lingered, devouring the sight of her long, bare legs. When he tried to reach out and touch her, she snapped. “Freeze,  Andris! I need to throw some pants on. Don’t you take another step.” Grace held up a shaking finger in warning to him. He sat up on the bed and sulked, but Grace could feel his keen eyes still examining her body as she went to the dresser in search of more appropriate clothes.

From the top drawer she pulled out a pair of red and black plaid pajama pants, and slipped them on over what she was currently wearing. He fell back onto the bed and groaned, “You’re going to keep them on?”

His body was completely sprawled out across the bed as Grace leaned down to kiss his cheek. “Yes, I am. And you know you love it.” Before she could scoot away, his arms grabbed her and pulled her over onto the bed beside him.

“You know we could always just stay here.” His tongue began running along her jaw as he slowly worked his way to her mouth.

“Grace Marie Park!” Susan hollered from the bottom of the stairs. “Michael

Alexander Andris! Get down here!”

She pointed at Michael and laughed. “Ooh, you’re in trouble.” She jumped off the bed and ran to the door.

“I’m coming, Mom, sorry. It’s all Michael’s fault.” Grace glanced back and  stuck her tongue out at him, but he had sprung to his feet and started chasing her down the stairs amidst her squeals of laughter.

Susan stood at the bottom of the stairs, tapping her foot, trying to look intimidating, but a faint smile came over her face  when Michael wrapped his arm around Grace’s shoulders.

“Sorry, Mom,” they said together. She rolled her eyes and headed out the door with Henry.