For the Love of Gracie (5 page)

He nodded. “That’s not uncommon for someone your age.”

Now it was my turn to get some clarification. “Someone my age? How old are you, grandpa?” He choked on the mouthful of beer he was currently attempting to swallow. I patted his back, “Need me to grab Cameron for the Heimlich?” 

He shook his head. “I’m good,” he chuckled between coughs.
  I grabbed another beer from a cooler and popped the top. “I’m twenty-six, thanks for making me feel old, though. You really know how to make a man feel good with that mouth.”

I was mid
-drink this time and spit the beer all over his shirt. His face burned with embarrassment as he said, “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.” I doubled over in laughter and after his humiliation wore off, he joined me. 

The door creaked behind us. Hudson stepped onto the deck.
“Looks like you two are having fun.”  He smiled when our eyes met. 

Ashton stood up. “I think I’ll go try and get some of the beer and spit out of my shirt.”
 

I covered my mouth to stifle the laughter. “Sorry about that
, Ash.” 

He waved his hand nonchalantly. “No
worries."

"
Gracie, I'm going to get out of here. You wanna stay at my place tonight?" Hudson asked. 

I thought about it for a moment. "I think I'm going to stay home tonight.  I'll see you tomorrow though.  You haven’t had too much to drink have you?" 

Hudson shook his head. "Just two beers, I'll be fine." 

We walked through the house. Ashton was in the kitchen again. "I'm going to walk Hudson out, be right back. Keep those beers entertained."  I winked at him.

The moment we stepped outside, Hudson's demeanor changed. "You're really going to stay here when we could repeat the fun we had earlier?"  He pressed me against his car, firmly pressing his lips to mine. His thumbs tugged at the waistband of my pants.  His mouth moved to my neck as I protested a little. 

I pushed him back. "Not tonight. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, ya know." 

He scoffed. "Absence, not abstinence," he said as he moved to kiss me again.  

I pushed him lightly, "Sorry, not tonight." 

He scowled, "Whatever.  It's your loss." 

I sighed, "You were in such a good mood, what happened?" 

He opened the car door and said, "Goodnight, Gracie."

"Goodnight, let me know that you make it home safe."

Hudson drove off, tires squealing. When I walked back inside, everyone stared at me. 

"His good mood lasted all of two seconds.  He's a poor loser I guess," Angel commented.  

"It's all good, he's just tired." I left them and went back to Ashton. "Hey, I'm back." 

He grinned up at me. "Good, I was getting bored out here and I think the beers were, too."  I plopped down beside him. 

“So tell me…Who is Gracie Walker?” Ash asked me, out of the blue.

I nudged him with my elbow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He chuckled. “It means I want to know more about you.”

Confused, I asked, “Why?”

He chuckled again. “What a strange question. We’re becoming friends, right?”

I nodded.

“Well, I like to get to know my friends.” 

I shrugged. “Sorry, that was a silly question. It’s been a long time since someone wanted to get to know me.  Most of my friends have been my friends for years.  I’m not used to talking about myself.”

His brow creased. “You and Hudson haven’t been together long. Surely, he’s asked you about yourself.”

I shook my
head. “We don’t talk much about me.  And don’t call me Shirley,” I said as I stuck out my tongue.

He snorted with laughter. There was something so comfortable about talking to Ashton. It was different from my relationship with Cameron, yet the same because there was no flirting or need to impress.  “So, what do you want to know?” I finally asked.

“What’s your family like? Do you have siblings? Are you close with your parents?”

I laughed at his barrage of questions; he really did want to get to know me. “I have two sisters, much younger than me. My dad died when I was three…car accident. My mom remarried when I was ten and had two children with my stepfather. They're nine and five, Alana and Yasmine. Cameron calls us the gay sisters, it's one of his favorite jokes." 

Ashton thought about it for a moment, then laughed, "Ah, because of the first letters of your name.  That's pretty funny actually, considering the majority of your friends." 

I nodded. "Cameron's face, when he put it together, was priceless.  I'm sure you'll hear the story from him sometime. As for my mom, we've never really been very close. Throughout my childhood she was depressed a lot, due to losing my dad. I don’t remember him, except from pictures. My stepdad and I have been close ever since he met my mom. He
has never treated me any different than his own children. He brought my mom out of her slump, and that made me happy, but she and I still have never really bonded.  That's pretty much my story.  What about you?”

He grabbed at his chest in shock. “What? Why would you want to know about me?”

I laughed and punched his arm playfully. 

His index finger tapped
against his lips. “Hmm, let’s see. I have a younger brother, Derrick.  He’s around your age, he’s twenty.”

Before he continued I said, “I should be hanging with him instead of your geriatric ass.”  I winked and he smiled, softening his features.

"My parents are great. They've been married thirty years.  I have a niece named Katelyn, whom I adore."

He was very handsome. I liked watching him speak because he loved to run his fingers over his beard as if he was worried it was sticking up in crazy directions, even though it was
shaved pretty close to his skin. He licked his lips and I mimicked the movement as I stared at him. He lifted the beer bottle to his mouth and took a gulp, not noticing me repeating his movements.

“You’d like my brother, he’s a good kid.”

I snorted. “You trying to hook me up?”

He was midway through another drink when he choked a bit on it and I patted his back. Apparently I was trying to kill him by asphyxiation.

He shook his head. “No, not at all.” Ashton sounded so offended at the thought, that it hurt my feelings a little.

“I was just teasing.”

He smiled. “I know. What were we talking about again?”

I shrugged. “I think it’s time to go to bed.”

He frowned. "Did I say something wrong?" "No, not at all. I'm tired, that's all." As I stood, he followed and we both swayed a bit.  We grasped on to each other for support, laughing at our drunkenness.

His palm pressed against his head. "I think I had more to drink than I realized. Can I crash on your couch?" 

I nodded. "Absolutely. There's no way I'd let you drive like this.  Come on, I'll get you set up nicely."  I led him to the living room where we found Cameron passed out on the couch and Gavin in the only comfy chair in the room.  

Ashton sighed. "I guess the floor will do." 

I grabbed his hand. "No way, come with me." 

He followed me upstairs to my room.  My bed was queen sized, so there was plenty of room for two people.  Ashton glanced at me
, unsure of what was happening. 

Pulling back the blue down comforter, I got in the bed.  "Sleep with me," I said. 

He stuttered, "What? Um, Gracie." 

I giggled at his insecurity. "We're adults Ashton.
Lie down and share the bed with me." 

Awkwardly, he kicked his shoes off.  He glanced down at himself and back at me.  "Um, is it okay if I sleep in my boxers? This shirt is still pretty wet from the beer."

I nodded. "You won't offend me."  He still seemed awkward; it was so adorable on him.  I rolled over to set the alarm, so I wouldn't miss class the next day. When I turned back, he had his shirt off and his jeans unbuttoned. I bit my bottom lip while I stared at his muscular chest which had a very light smattering of dark hair across his pectorals.   I sucked in a breath as he turned to lay his jeans over the desk chair. He was wearing navy blue boxer briefs. They were riding low on his hips, so that when he faced me, I could see the cut that lead to his…

Wow.
Gracie, you need to get your mind out of the gutter
.
This man likes men and you have a man of your own
.

Ashton slid under the covers with me and I turned on my side, facing the opposite direction.  In a husky voice, he whispered, "Goodnight, Gracie-bug." 

I smiled at the cute nickname he gave me and whispered back, "Goodnight."

The next morning, the alarm went off and I hit the snooze button. I rolled over to a muscular body and thought I was at Hudson's, as I had been every morning lately.  My hands roamed until I found his morning happiness, I ran my hand over the outside of his shorts. He groaned with pleasure as I palmed him for moment.  My hand moved to the waistband and slid inside, as I opened my eyes, ready to please him. 

My surprise equaled the surprise in Ashton's eyes when we realized what had happened. We both jumped up on opposite sides of the bed. My hand covered my mouth as I said, "I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to molest you! That should
not
have happened!"

Unconsciously, my gaze dropped to his morning wood, I bit my lip again. He glanced down and covered himself.  I gasped again. "Oh, sorry!  I'm going to give you some privacy." I bounced around the room nervously.  I slipped out, ran downstairs, and smacked into Cameron's chest.

"Good Morning, Gracie. Can we not do the body slam thing so early? My head is pounding. I need coffee." 

I kissed him. "Sorry, Cam. Come with me." I dragged him to the kitchen, poured him a cup of coffee and
pulled him outside.

"What the hell, Gracie?" I pushed him down on the swing and sat next to him with my legs crossed. 

"I pretty much molested Ashton just now."  He had taken a sip of coffee and he spit it in my face in shock.

I closed my eyes, thankful that it was lukewarm instead of scalding.

He gasped, "Sorry, Gracie. Don't shock me when I'm drinking!" He smacked me, playfully, as I lifted my shirt to wipe my face. 

"I deserved that, did the same thing with beer to Ashton last night."

"Ok, I need details. Are you dumping Hudson?" he asked, excited. 

"Ugh, thanks Cameron.  No, I'm not dumping Hudson. I'm not exactly Ashton's type." 

His face scrunched in confusion as he said, "Um, ok. I still think you should dump Hudson." 

We were interrupted by Ashton stepping out on the porch. My face reddened when I saw him, fully dressed this time.  "I'm sorry, Ash," I started. 

He interrupted, "No harm, Gracie-bug. Wasn’t the worst thing in the world to wake up with a beautiful woman's hand in my shorts." 

Cameron gaped at me and gasped. "You're such a tramp!" I hit him,
and he laughed. Cameron kissed my cheek, "I'm heading inside, Gracie-bug.  I like that name." 

Ash smiled and took Cam's place beside me.  For the first time, I felt awkward with him.  Sex does change everything.  We didn’t even have s
ex, but it was still awkward. 

"What's up?" he asked. 

"Hmm?" I asked, coming out of my thought bubble.

"You're acting strange."

Out of my mouth came the strangest cackling laugh. "Sorry, I don’t know what that noise was," I said. "It's a bit weird sitting next to someone you touched inappropriately." 

He snorted. "It wasn’t really
that
inappropriate."

My right brow rose questioning his statement. 

"Ok, so maybe a bit.  Your bed's comfy, by the way."  He nudged me with his elbow and grinned at me. "Come on Gracie, don’t be weird now. I like where we were going with our friendship." 

I shrugged. "No, I'm fine. Come on, I'll cook breakfast for everyone. We'll find you a different shirt, too, so you don't smell like beer." 

He jumped up excited. "Good, I'm starving. Being molested takes a lot out of a guy."  I raised my fist to punch his arm, but he jumped out of the way laughing. 

Chapter Five

My classes ran from nine to two today, and I was scheduled to be at work at three. Fortunately, I worked only a mile from school. Classes were three days a week, so I worked at the bookstore café part-time in the afternoons.

I stepped out of the car and straightened my blouse. My stylish uniform consisted of a white blouse and khaki pants. Once inside, I grabbed my hunter green apron and slid it over my head, then tied it in the back.

One of the great things about this job was that I got to talk about books with people. They came and asked my advice, while they waited on their drinks. This was when I got most of my reading time in as well. My supervisor encouraged us to read when times were slow, and preferred we use books from the store so we could recommend them to customers.