by Anne Holster
“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.”
“Oh, okay, that’s fine. I’m looking forward to it,” I said, trying not to sound too eager-slash-desperate. Just past him I saw Beth waving us over. “Come with me for a minute. I think Beth wants something.”
“Sure.”
“Hey,” Beth said when we walked over, “We’re gonna play a game of Quarters. Are you guys in?”
Tanner looked at me and shrugged. I said, “Sure, I’ll play.”
The game had already started when we got to the table. I had never actually played before, but Beth quickly explained the rules to me; basically, when it’s your turn you had to try to bounce the quarter into the teacup sitting in the middle of the table. If you got the quarter in the teacup then you got to choose one of the other players and they had to drink a beer. It sounded pretty easy. There was a group of about ten playing, including a very drunk Gary. I could see he was uneasy when Tanner and I joined the game. When Scott got wind of the game, he was over in a flash – apparently he was the resident Quarters expert – and he immediately took over the reins. “The master is here!” he yelled, pulling up a chair. “Let the game commence!”
The quarter slowly made its way around to me, but not before I had to drink several times. When it was my turn, I missed, big time. I was starting to feel very lightheaded and thought it best if I slowed down with the drinking. I wanted to keep my wits about me for the duration of the night. Scott’s turn came and he systematically sunk eight quarters in a row before he finally missed.
Next up was Gary, who was an even better shooter than Scott. He sunk five in a row and then, when he sunk the sixth one, he pointed to me to drink. I happily complied. He sunk four more and pointed to me every time, and each time he pointed to me, he glanced over at Tanner. After sinking the next one and pointing to me, he turned to Tanner and said, “Hey, Tanner, isn’t it about time for you to head to the club? The band’s playing tonight, right?”
Tanner didn’t answer him. He just stared at him, although with all the ruckus going on in the game I don’t think anyone else noticed.
Gary said, “Don’t worry, I’ll look after Grace for you.” Then he laughed and nudged his friend sitting next to him. “I’ll make sure she gets home okay.”
Tanner was visibly annoyed at the exchange, but he kept his cool and said nothing. I was starting to feel really drunk, and I knew that I should probably stop drinking, but once again quarters were being sunk and my name was being yelled.
The game was getting louder and louder and a crowd was beginning to gather around and watch. Just then Tanner excused himself, saying that he’d be right back.
“Okay,” I said, smiling at him, then he grabbed Scott and went into the other room.
As if on cue, Gary moved closer and grabbed my thigh under the table. I sucked in a breath and my eyes widened. Then just as suddenly his hand was gone, and he was back at his original spot at the table. I looked up, and Tanner was walking back towards me.
chapter 18
Tanner
When I got back to the table, I put my arm around Grace and started lightly running my hand up and down her arm, possessively – you know - like the dutiful boyfriend, to let Gary know that he better not mess with her. I could tell he was trashed, but if he didn’t watch himself, there was going to be trouble.
I had to get out of there. It was less than an hour until the show. I asked Scott to do me a favor and hang back to keep an eye on Grace, and surprisingly, he agreed – no questions asked. He even offered me his truck, saying that he would get a ride home or just walk.
Grace had drunk way too much
, and I couldn’t risk Gary getting her alone. In the state he was in, who knew what he would do or say?
I leaned over and whispered in Grace’s ear. “Babe, I’ve got to get going.”
She turned toward me, disappointment in her eyes. “Oh, do you really have to go?” she said, grabbing both my hands.
“Yeah,” I said, “but Scott’s going to hang here. He’ll make sure you get home okay.”
“Oh, he doesn’t have to do that. I’ll walk home with Beth and Tom,” she said.
“I’d feel better if Scott stayed. He’s having a good time anyway, so he doesn’t mind.” There was no reason to tell her that my main concern was keeping her away from Gary.
“Oh, okay,” she said, “at least let me walk you out.”
“Nah,” I said as I stood up, “stay here with Beth. Enjoy yourself.” Then I bent down and kissed her before heading out. As I passed Scott, I gave him a quick nod and was on my way. I was uneasy about leaving Grace there with Gary, but there was nothing I could do, and I trusted Scott to monitor the situation.
There was a band playing earlier at J.D.’s and our set was really just a practice. Cole said he wanted to work out some kinks. When I got there, the other band was just finishing up. It was an all-girl band and they seemed to have a decent crowd – nothing like the crowd Hudson-Nash drew, but respectable nonetheless.
When I found Cole, he said he wanted to get started right away because we didn’t have much time, so the guys and I helped take down the other band’s equipment, then quickly set up our own.
When we were done I grabbed a quick beer from the bar. There was a girl at the other end of the bar I recognized –we’d hung out late last summer. If I recalled, she had been quite talented with her tongue, and I thought about how I wouldn’t mind a repeat performance. I waited and watched for a while to make sure that she wasn’t with anyone, and then I strolled over. I didn’t remember her name so I just said, “Hey, don’t I know you?”
She flashed me a coy smile before saying, “I don’t know. Do you?”
“Yeah, I think I do – what’s your name?”