Imaginary Grace

by Anne Holster

  “Well, for a while we were just sitting there, watching T.V., so I decided I was going to make the first move…”

  I paused for effect, enjoying the way Beth’s eyes widened in surprise.

  Chapter 22

  Tanner

  I pulled the car into the driveway and sat there for a moment, contemplating what had happened earlier. I didn’t know what had come over me. That was not supposed to happen. I hadn’t had sex in so long it was clouding my judgment – yeah, that was it, but it all was going to change now that Grace was going home for nearly six weeks.

  So Scott had been right all along. He’d known something was up from the first time Grace “popped in” with Beth. I thought he was nuts, but when she did it again a few days later I realized he was onto something. Grace had been checking up on me! I had to give the skinny bitch credit—hell, I even respected her for it. I’m not sure who planted that seed in her head, but my guess would be one of three people – Gary, Beth or Beth’s boyfriend – Tom, was it?--- because she wouldn’t have thought that up on her own. It didn’t matter, anyway. She was gone, and by the time she got back it would be time for the wedding and I’d be that much closer to getting that money from my parents.

  I got out of my car and started walking across the small patch of grass that served as our front lawn. Other than a few extra shifts at the gas station and Hudson-Nash gigs on weekends, I didn’t have much in the way of plans for the next few weeks.

  Cole had said something about fitting in a few rehearsals, which was cool. Not that I thought we needed it, but I loved playing, and besides, it would give me plenty of opportunities to meet the groupies that always seemed to be hanging around.

  When I got inside, Scott was finishing up a phone call. After he hung up he said, “Hey, man, sorry it took me so long with the pizza. I went as soon as I got your text, but the place was packed. What was the big rush anyway?”

  I didn’t feel like explaining to him what the big rush was, because he never seemed to get it. I didn’t want to be alone with Grace for any length of time. I knew that if we were alone that she’d expect me to try something, and if I didn’t I knew that she would. Sure enough, she had proven me right, although I had been a bit surprised by her enthusiasm.

  I smiled to myself and then shook the thought from my head. “The big rush was that I was hungry.”

  “Hungry!” he said. “Bullshit. You’re just afraid to be alone with Grace, and you know it.”

  “Yeah, right, you guessed it, I’m afraid to be alone with Grace,” I answered sarcastically, then quickly changed the subject. “What’s on the agenda for the weekend?”

  Scott grabbed a piece of cold pizza from the box and took a bite. “I just talked to Dean. The guys wanna hit J.D.’s tomorrow night. The band’s not playing so we can get totally trashed.” He gestured to the last slice, but I shook my head.

  “J.D.’s sounds good. I think this is the only weekend we’re not playing somewhere.”

  Stifling a yawn, I said goodnight to Scott and headed to my room. I told myself I was turning in early because I had to be at work by seven o’clock the next morning, but the truth was, I didn’t want to deal with any more of his questions about Grace.

  The next day was crazy busy at the gas station, and I didn’t get off work until almost six o’clock. When I got home, I slept for a few hours and woke up primed and ready to party. After a quick shower, I got dressed and popped open my first beer of the night. Scott joined me a few minutes later, wearing new jeans and the smile he always had before a night on the prowl.

  I was going to try a little experiment tonight. Depending on who I brought home, I was thinking about maybe breaking my rule and letting her spend the night. I’d slept so good when Grace spent the night and I wanted to see whether it was just a fluke or I really did sleep better when someone else was there.

  At around ten o’clock, our posse showed up, which was unusual since lately it had just been Scott and I hitting the campus parties and the clubs. But tonight it seemed that everyone was around and ready to party. We stayed at the apartment just long enough to pound back a few drinks, then headed out. My buddy Dean had taken his truck, so Scott and I scammed a ride with him. When we got to J.D.’s the line was down the block, but since I was ‘with the band’ we got to go in the side entrance and didn’t have to pay the cover.

  We took our usual spot at the bar and immediately ordered a round of shots. I recognized some of the regulars, but there were a lot of new faces too. More locals always came during school breaks-- they didn’t like to bother with the college crowd. Didn’t seem to affect me, though; within an hour a bunch of different girls had approached me. Some of them recognized me from the band, which was pretty cool. As the night wore on, more and more girls were hanging around our group.

  We were all trashed, and by last call there were at least half a dozen girls who wanted to leave with me. At some point I noticed Scott at the end of the bar sucking face with Kristen (from the tag-team of Amber and Kristen), and before too long he was at my side with that pleading look on his face.

  “T,” he whispered, “you gotta do me a favor. Kristen said she’ll go home with me, but she can’t leave without Amber, ’cause they came together. Can you come home with us, hang with Amber tonight? You owe me, buddy.” He actually winked as he added, “She said she wanted to show me a few tricks she knew.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. Yep, I knew all about those tricks, and they were definitely worth seeing. And I did owe him big-time for helping me out with Grace. “Sure, anything you want, buddy. Where is Amber, anyway?”

  He pointed to the end of the bar, where I saw her talking to some dude.

  I downed another shot, then sauntered over, “Hey there, Amber,” I said with one of my most charming smiles. “Long time no see.” Then I glanced briefly at the guy she was with and said, “Who’s your friend?”

  “Oh, hi, Tanner,” she slurred, clearly bombed out of her skull. This guy had been plying her with liquor all night. Thanks, buddy! “This is Danny. Danny, this is my friend, Tanner.”

  He shook my hand and I could tell he recognized me, most likely from the band. I knew it wouldn’t take long to get this guy out of the picture, and I was right. By closing time, Amber was in my lap and “Danny Boy” was nowhere to be found.

  Kristen had her car so the four of us piled in for the short drive to our apartment. She parked on the street since there was no room in the driveway, then we all half-walked, half-staggered to the front door. Scott was whispering something to Kristen, and I could have sworn I heard him trying to guess what “tricks” she was going to show him. Judging from her laughter, he wasn’t even close. When we got inside, he practically dragged her into his room and slammed the door shut.

  I grabbed myself a bottle of water from the fridge, and when I turned around Amber was nowhere to be found. I looked in my room and found her stretched out on my bed, already stripped down to her trademark matching bra and thong. Here we go, I thought as I closed the door behind me. I took a long sip from my bottle of water, then placed it on the nightstand and began removing my work boots. Amber silently watched as I slipped off my shirt, unzipped my jeans, and walked over to the edge of the bed. One thing’s for sure—no one could ever accuse her of playing hard to get.

  “What are you waiting for?” she asked in a sexy, slurred voice. I thought about her simple question and decided I really didn’t know what I was waiting for. Still, I couldn’t seem to move, so after a another moment, she did it for me, getting up on all fours and making her way over to edge of the bed. She looked up at me again, then put her head back down and started lightly kissing my stomach.

  I still couldn’t move. My feet felt like they were glued to the floor, even as she slowly began to kiss lower. She pulled at my jeans until they fell to the floor and then slipped her fingers into the waistband of my boxers, pulling them s
lightly lower, all the while continuing to kiss my bare skin. She reached inside with her other hand, pulling me free as she kissed still lower and then slowly began to run her tongue along the length of me.

  I closed my eyes and found myself grabbing the back of her hair tightly in my fist. She seemed to like the fact that I had her by the hair, so I grabbed it tighter and then guided her head until she was right in front of me. Before I knew it, she had me practically balls-deep in her mouth –which, not to brag, was quite an impressive feat. Oh, yeah, Amber could definitely give Tara a run for the money in the talented tongue department. I had to stop her or this was going to be over way too fast, so I pulled her head back, then pushed her backwards onto the bed.

  I kicked my jeans and boxers, which were still around my ankles, to the side and climbed onto the bed. I made short work of her purple bra and thong and then grabbed a condom from the nightstand drawer.

  “Can I do it?” she asked, reaching for the condom. I handed it to her and she tore open the wrapper with her teeth and expertly slid it on.

  As I hovered above her, I whispered, “Stay with me tonight.” I knew it was the alcohol talking and that she would think it meant more than it really did, but I didn’t care. I wanted to see if having her here would help me sleep better.

  “Oh, Tanner,” she said, putting her hands on either side of my face. “Of course I’ll stay with you tonight.”

  Oh, brother.

  I had no doubt I would live to regret the invitation, but right now I really didn’t care. I grabbed her hips and rocked into her full force, keeping at it until I thought she’d wake the neighbors. Finally, I gave it one last thrust, then collapsed on top of her.

  “That was great, Tanner,” she murmured, eyes closed, smiling dreamily.

  I grunted in agreement, then rolled off her onto my back, removed the condom and closed my eyes. I was ready for sleep.

  Within seconds Amber was wrapped around me like an octopus. I tried to settle into her embrace, but I couldn’t get comfortable. Maybe a shower would help.

  “I’ll be right back,” I said as I slid out of her arms, slipped back into my boxers and headed to the bathroom. After a quick shower, I was heading back to my room with my towel around my waist when I ran into Kristen. She was coming out of Scott’s room wearing only underwear and a thin tank top.

  “Hi,” I mumbled and kept walking, but she grabbed my arm and pushed my back up against the wall. “Next time,” she whispered as she reached under my towel, “I want to take on the both of you.”

  Before I could even react, she had gone into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. It took a second for the shock to wear off, then I shook my head and laughed to myself. A three-way with her and Scott--now that was something I definitely was not into. Wait until I told Scott that one!

  Not wanting to wake Amber, I was quiet as I opened the door to my room and grabbed a pair of sweats from my drawer. Then I tossed my towel to the floor, pulled on the sweats and got into bed. Before my head even hit the pillow, the octopus was all over me again. I tried to settle into it and give it some time, but it just wasn’t working. I peeled her off me, turned her onto her side and pulled her back into me the way I had done with Grace. I lay there for a while, but it still just wasn’t working. Her hair smelled weird and was all sticky, like she had a lot of that styling gel crap in it, and her skin smelled all perfumey, which of course I hadn’t noticed when I was fucking her.

  As hard as I tried, I just couldn’t fall asleep. I finally had to push her away from me to the other side of the bed, which she did not appreciate. I turned, facing away from her, but sleep still didn’t come for me, although she was soon out like a light.

  Before long, I decided I hated having her in my bed, and wound up grabbing my pillow and heading for the couch. I put the TV on, turning the volume way down so it was almost at mute, and flipped through the stations, finally settling on a rerun of a basketball game from the previous afternoon.

  I watched for a while without really watching, then I looked at the clock. 5:33. It would be daylight soon, so I went back to my room to try again. I lay down and finally, just as the sun was creeping over the horizon, I fell asleep.

  I woke a few hours later with Amber’s lips wrapped around my dick. Sleepover bonus!

  As much as I was enjoying it, I wanted her out of there, so I did what I could to speed things along, grasping the sides of her head with both hands and sliding deeper. She didn’t try to pull away—damn, this girl was talented!—so I released my grasp, folded my arms behind my head, and enjoyed the ride.

  Just before I was about to finish, I grabbed the back of her head again and pushed even deeper, then let loose against the back of her throat. Like a pro, she didn’t even flinch. I let go of her and relaxed back against the pillow as she brought her head up and smiled. “Good morning, sweetie!” she said in a sugary sweet voice that literally made me sick. “Are you going to take me to breakfast?”

  Think fast!

  “Well, as much as I’d love to, I can’t,” I replied, trying to sound disappointed. “I promised my parents I’d help them with some yard work and I have to get going early.”

  “Oh, okay, maybe next time,” she said.

  Next time?!

  I half-smiled as I got up and threw my sweats on, then headed for the shower. As I scrubbed her off of me, I thought maybe I would actually take a ride to my parents’; I hadn’t seen them in a while, and I could go for a decent meal. When I got back to my room Amber was dressed but still lounging on my bed like she didn’t plan on leaving any time soon. I didn’t want to leave her there, and who knew when Scott and Kristen would emerge, so I offered to drive her home.

  It wasn’t a long drive, but it seemed endless because she chattered non-stop the whole way. This was a mistake; I never should have asked her to stay. Now I’m never going to get rid of her. When we got to her place I practically pushed her out of the car.

  “Sorry I can’t come up,” I said, “but I really have to get going.”

  “Okay,” she said, then leaned in to kiss me. I got a whiff of that perfumey smell but didn’t turn away. No need to be a total dick.

  She shut the car door and bent down to say something through the open window, but before she could, I said, “Okay, I’ll see you around,” and started to pull away. Okay, so I am a total dick.

  When I got to my parents’, my dad was out, but Mom came right to the door; it was as if she had been waiting for me, even though I hadn’t planned on coming. “Tanner, honey,” she said excitedly. “You should have called -- I could have made something special for dinner. Are you even staying for dinner?”

  “Sure,” I said, wrapping her in a tight hug.

  My dad came home soon after, and we spent most of the day lounging around in front of the T.V. before Mom put dinner on the table. All in all, it was one of our more pleasant visits, probably because I knew I was gonna get them to give me the money for the tour.

  As I was leaving, I made sure to tell my Mom that Grace was definitely coming to the wedding.

  “Oh, that’s great, honey; I can’t wait to meet her,” she said.

  I can’t wait for you to meet her either, I thought, and then it hit me. What if my parents didn’t even like her?

  Shrugging off the thought, I explained that Grace and I would be coming Friday night and staying until Sunday.

  “…and make sure you have the guest room ready,” I added, then waited for her inevitable reaction.

  “The guest room,” she said, “Oh, okay, I guess I just assumed she’d be staying in your room.”

  “No, Ma,” I said, pretending to be annoyed. “I told you, she’s not like that. This girl’s different.” And then I turned away so she couldn’t see my face. “Oh, by the way, I’m working for a few hours that Saturday morning, so if you don’t mind, can you keep her company until I get b
ack?”

  “Of course, honey,” she said. “I’d love to.”

  “Okay, great. Thanks, Mom.” I kissed her on the cheek and said goodbye.

  On the drive home, my thoughts returned to the previous night. Amber was certainly talented, but I knew I’d have to ditch her before she became too clingy. Maybe I’d try having another girl sleep over, and see how that went. Finally, I settled on the conversation I’d just had with my mom. Things were looking good. The guest room. Jeez, I really surprised her with that request.

  When I got home a little while later, I found Scott planted in front of the TV with some cartons of Chinese food.

  He looked up when I came in. “Hey, where’ve you been, man?”

  “I wanted to get rid of Amber this morning so I decided to go to my parents’. I dropped her off on the way.”

  “Oh, it sounded like she was enjoying herself last night,” he said, chuckling.

  I smiled to myself, but ignored his comment as I sat down on the couch. Then, unable to resist, I looked over at him and smiled slyly. “Oh and by the way,” I said, “late last night I ran into Kristen as I was coming out of the bathroom, and do you know what she told me?”

  “What?” he asked, genuinely curious.

  “Well, she told me that she wanted to have a threesome with you, her…” I watched his eyes nearly pop out of his head as he looked on with eager anticipation. “…and me!”

  “Oh man,” he said, shaking his head, “I just went limp.”

  I threw my head back and laughed. “Yeah, I’ll take a pass on that one too.” I sank down onto the couch, picked up the remote and began flipping through the channels.

  “Speaking of surprises,” he said, “what was up with Amber spending the night?”

  “Yeah, that was a big mistake,” I told him. “I’m not letting it happen again.”

  “What would your girl Grace think about your little sleepover?” he said with a mouthful of lo mein.