Imaginary Grace (13 page)

Chapter 17

Grace

“I
slept with him!” I blurted out the minute Beth walked into our room. I couldn’t wait to tell Beth everything that happened, but I wanted to tell her in person, not over the phone so I could see her reaction.

“No effing way!” she said, eyes as wide as saucers. “Spill it, slut,” she added jokingly.

“Okay, but before I tell you everything that led up to me sleeping with him, you should know that nothing actually happened. When I say I slept with him I meant it literally, like I fell asleep next to him.”

“Oh…well, that’s a let-down,” she said as she plopped down onto her bed. “Well, go ahead, let’s hear it anyway.”

I then proceeded to tell her all about what had happened and how I’d ended up in bed with Tanner.

“So,” she said when I finished. “It was you who made the first move.” She reached over to give me a high-five.

“Yeah, I guess I did,” I said, smacking my palm against hers, “but I didn’t plan it. All I wanted to do was touch his hair, and the next thing I knew he grabbed me and pulled me down.”

“So it sounds like maybe he’s been waiting for you to make another move,” she drawled suggestively.

I pondered that thought for a moment. “Do you think? Wow, all this time he’s been waiting for me to make a move. Now what?”

“Now, nothing,” she said. “Next time you’re alone with him, he’ll probably make a move since now he knows you’re into it. So you better decide if you’re ready for this.”

“I
think
I’m ready,” I said.
Was I?
“Hey,” I said, changing the subject, “I thought Thomas was driving you back to school. Where is he? I was looking forward to meeting him.”

“He had to stay a few more days to help his dad out with some things, so I took the train back, but he’s coming this weekend so you’ll meet him then. Hey, maybe we can meet up with Tanner somewhere, hang out.”

Just two couples, hanging out, I thought with a grin. “Sounds good to me!”

On Monday, Beth and I decided to meet up at the gym after class since neither of us had done much in the way of working out while we were home. I got there before her so I decided to run on the treadmill until she arrived.

When she finally made it, she waved me into the weight room, but by the time I finished up on the treadmill, she was talking to Gary.

“Hi Gary,” I said as I walked over.

“Hey stranger,” he said, smiling, “where’ve you been hiding?”

“Oh, I went home for a few days.”

“Grace,” Beth said, “Gary was just telling me about a huge party this weekend. What do you think?”

“Sounds great!” I said, turning to Gary. “Beth’s boyfriend is coming to visit this weekend.”

“Oh, cool,” he said. “We should all go together.”

“Good idea,” Beth said. “We can all meet at our place.” She looked at me and said, “Check with Tanner, but if he’s working it might be better if he just meets us there.” Then she left and walked over to one of the benches.

“Tanner?” Gary suddenly looked like he smelled something sour. “Are you seeing him, or something?”

I didn’t know why Gary cared, but there was no point in denying it. But since I wasn’t entirely sure what
it
was, I just said, “Maybe…sort of…”

Gary put his hands on his hips and his head down. “No comment,” he said as his raised his eyes to mine. Then he walked off, slowly shaking his head.

Just then Beth came over to me. “Where’d Gary go?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “He seemed kind of annoyed when he heard that Tanner might be going. I don’t think they like each other.”

Beth had that smirk on her face, the one she got when she knew something I didn’t, which was most of the time. “I don’t think it’s that they don’t like each other. I think that maybe Gary might like you.”

“You think?”

“Yeah, I’ve thought that for a while.”

I gave her a skeptical shrug. Maybe Gary did like me, but I still got the feeling that there was friction between him and Tanner that went way back.

The next week went by in a blur of packed libraries and all-night study groups as everyone crammed for finals. Behind the tension, though, was the anticipation of winter break, just around the corner. It was all everyone could talk about—well, everyone except me. Winter break meant that I wouldn’t be seeing Tanner for nearly
six
weeks. He hadn’t mentioned helping out the band so there wasn’t even a chance he’d be stopping by.

There was nothing I could do about it, so I just had to grin and bear it. At least there was the party to look forward to this weekend. When I texted Tanner about it he said that he planned on going.

I had heard from Tanner via text a few other times during the week, but I hadn’t seen him. On Wednesday, we were supposed to meet at the gym, but something came up and he had to cancel.

That meant that Friday was the first time I would be seeing him since the motel incident. Needless to say, I was a little nervous about it, and my anxiety only grew when ten minutes after class had started he still hadn’t shown. Finally, he slunk in fifteen past the hour; his usual seat behind me was taken, so he had to sit on the other side of the room. I spent the next forty-five minutes with a knot in my stomach, wondering if things were going to be weird between us.

When class finished, I stood and began packing my things, and although I wasn’t looking his way I could swear I felt him crossing the room toward me.

“Do you have a minute? I need to ask you something,” he said.

“Sure,” I said brightly, as if I didn’t have a care in the world, then followed him out into the hall.

When we got out into the courtyard, he turned to me and said, “Listen, I was just wondering if maybe you would want to go with me to my cousin’s wedding next month. No pressure, it’s not a big deal if you can’t make it, but I’d really like you to come.”

I heard the words, but it took a minute for them to register in my brain. He was asking me to a
family wedding
? This was huge!

Suddenly I realized that he was waiting for a reply and I was blinking like an idiot. “Sure, I’d love to go!” I said, hoping I didn’t sound too anxious.

“Great,” he said as he grabbed my hand and bent down to kiss me, “I gotta run, but I’ll give you the details when I see you on Saturday.”

I stood there dumbfounded. Holy crap! My mind was spinning. This was
unbelievably
huge. It meant I’d be meeting his whole family.
Beth, I had to talk to Beth.
I waited until Tanner was out of sight, then practically ran back to the dorm.

Beth was lying on her bed studying when I flung the door open, slammed it behind me, and leaned against it. Her head whipped up from her textbook.

“What’s up, Grace? You looked spooked. ”

“Tanner just asked me to go with him to his cousin’s wedding!” I gasped.

“Man, Grace,” she said, “it just keeps coming! Couch kisses, almost sex, and now wedding invites. What’s next, a weekend getaway?

I laughed. “Beth, I’m so happy. I’m just so crazy about him. He’s so different from what I thought he was when I first met him. Not only is he drop-dead gorgeous, but he’s just the sweetest, nicest, most gentle guy I’ve ever met.”

She walked over and gave me a hug. “I’m so happy for you.” Then she pulled away and said jokingly, “But enough about you already. Thomas should be arriving soon and I want to tidy up before he gets here.”

We cleaned our room and then Beth jumped into the shower. Just as she was finishing blow-drying her hair, her phone chirped with a text from Thomas saying that he was downstairs. Beth’s face lit up as she read it, and we both went down to greet him. She opened the door, then flung herself into his arms as if she hadn’t seen him in months.

With her arms still entwined around his neck, she asked, “How was your drive?” then, “You must be tired. Come upstairs.”

When she let go of him, he saw me standing there and said, “Hi, you must be Grace.” He put out his hand for me to shake. “Nice to finally meet you.”

I shook his hand and said, “Nice to meet you, too, Thomas. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“All good, I hope,” he said good-naturedly as we went back up the stairs. When we got back to our room he lay down on Beth’s bed. He was quite handsome—about five-ten, with light brown hair and big, round, steel-gray eyes. He wore dark jeans and a long-sleeve, light-blue t-shirt. He was on the thinner side, but still quite fit.

“Thomas, would you like something to drink?” I asked.

“I’d love a drink, Grace, but can you do me a favor – can you please not call me Thomas? Beth here is the only one who for some reason insists on calling me Thomas.”

Just then Beth came over, put her arms around him, and squeezed him. “Thomas sounds so much more sophisticated,” she said, smiling as she kissed his cheek.

“My family calls me Tommy, and my friends call me Tom – take your pick,” he said. I laughed at his banter and said, “Okay, Tom it is then…So,
Tom
, what can I get you to drink?”

“Water’s fine, thanks. So, Beth tells me you guys are taking me to a big party tomorrow night.”

“Yeah, and we’re meeting Grace’s ‘boyfriend’ there,” Beth chimed in, curling her pointer fingers.

“What’s with the air quotes, this guy’s not actually your boyfriend?”

“Well,
I
think he is, but Grace isn’t totally sure,” she said. “Hey, Thomas, you’re a guy; you scope him out tomorrow night and tell us what you think.”

“Will do, ladies,” he said as he got up to use the bathroom.

I decided to make myself scarce for a few hours. “Beth, I think I’ll go for a run and then grab something to eat.” I told myself I was giving them some time alone, but mostly I wanted some time to engage in my favorite pastime--trying to figure out what was going on between me and Tanner.

The next night we grabbed a pizza for dinner, then had a few beers in our room before heading over to the party. Thomas had brought a couple of six-packs with him and we had them chilling in the fridge.

I wasn’t a big drinker, but I really felt like letting loose tonight. I was still on a high about the wedding invitation. We decided to leave around nine o’clock for the party, and by that time I had a bit of a buzz going, but I figured the walk over would straighten me out a bit. When we arrived, Tanner wasn’t there yet, but Gary and his posse were, and they were manning the keg.

“Hey, Grace,” he yelled from across the room. “You want a beer?”

“Sure,” I said, and the three of us walked over and waited as Gary expertly poured three cups.

Beth introduced him to Thomas, and they shook hands. Thomas, being from Philadelphia, commented on the Eagles t-shirt that Gary was wearing. Apparently they were both big fans of the team and they hit it off instantly, which Beth thought was a good thing.

“Hey, Grace,” Gary yelled over the crowd to me. “They’ve got some awesome tasting punch in the kitchen; you and Beth should try some.”

I thought that sounded like a great idea. “Okay,” I yelled back, “when I finish my beer I’ll give it a try.”

Since Gary seemed to be occupying Thomas, Beth and I decided to scope out the scene. We took a walk out into the backyard, and that’s when I spotted Adam, the guy Beth had met at the tailgate party and hung out with a few times.

I grabbed her arm. “Beth, don’t look now, but I think that’s Adam over there.”

“Where?” she said, looking around.

“Over by the hedges at the far end of the yard. Maybe we should leave before he sees you,” I suggested.

“Leave? What do you mean leave? Grace, it’s not a big deal. Adam knows I have a boyfriend; he won’t make any trouble.”

I just didn’t get how she could be so cool with the both of them here. “Beth, I would be freakin’ out if I were you.”

“Yes, I know you would, but you’re not me, so please stop worrying about it, okay?”

“Okay,” I said downing the last of my beer. “How about we go inside and try some of that punch?”

“Sounds good,” she said as we headed for the kitchen, each filling our cups to the top with the fruity concoction. I took a sip and couldn’t believe how delicious it tasted. I’d never had anything like it. It tasted like strawberries and cream, and I questioned whether there was any alcohol in it at all.

“Don’t be fooled,” Beth said. “There’s plenty of alcohol in this. You just can’t taste it. Let’s go find Thomas.”

“Okay,” I said as I sipped at my beverage. We found Thomas, who was hanging with Gary and some of Gary’s friends. The punch had started to hit me hard, so I put it aside and thought it best if I switched back to beer.

Just then I noticed Tanner and Scott across the room. They had their backs to us, so I didn’t think they knew we were there. I was feeling a surge of confidence (from the punch, no doubt) so I nudged Beth and whispered that I was going over. She just nodded, then went back to her conversation.

I felt like I was walking in slow motion, and I felt all fuzzy as I made my way over. They were intently watching some sporting event on the television. When I got close enough to Tanner, I reached out and lightly tapped his back.

He turned, smiling when he saw it was me. “Hi, Grace. Scott, look who’s here.”

“Hey, Grace,” he said, then he looked into my cup. “What’re you drinking?”

“Beer, but there’s some fruity punch in the kitchen,” I told him.

“Oooh, I’ll have to try some. Lead the way,” he said. We headed to the kitchen, where Scott poured himself a large cup of punch. Tanner declined, saying he was sticking to beer because he had worked all day.

Then he said, “I can’t hang out too long; the band is putting on a late show tonight, and they need me.”

“Oh,” I said, disappointed, “that’s too bad.”

Scott seemed to be preoccupied with an argument that was ensuing in the kitchen.

Tanner took me aside and said, “Oh, before I forget, I wanted to let you know that the wedding I mentioned to you the other day is on the last Saturday in January. That’s just after we get back from winter break.”

My ears immediately perked up when he mentioned the wedding.

“I’m not sure how we’re going to work it since I’m working at the gas station that day, but I’ll let you know when I figure it out. I just wanted to make sure you had the date.”