by Anne Holster
The next night, I picked her up at six, right after I got off work. Grace was more talkative than usual on the car ride there, but I was only half-listening. I was too busy patting myself on the back for my well-orchestrated plan.
Dinner also went as planned. As expected, Mom talked Grace’s ear off about everything from the weather to the latest episode of Dateline while I made small talk with my father. But it was when we moved into the living room for apple pie and cookies that things really began to fall into place.
“So,” Mom said, “Do you kids have plans for the summer? It’ll be here before you know it.”
It couldn’t have been a more perfect opportunity. “Nope, I know I won’t be doing anything,” I said, then I turned to Grace. “How about you?”
It was like she was reading from a script or something when she said, “No, I’ll probably just be hanging out in Jersey. I’ve got nothing special planned.”
I instantly saw unease creep into my mom’s eyes. I could just imagine what was going through her mind. If Tanner isn’t with Grace all summer, who will he be with? What if he slips back to his old ways? He’ll lose this nice girl for sure!
I let the idea sink in for a few minutes before I changed the subject. Not long after dessert, I announced that we had to get going. Mom insisted on packing food for me and cookies for Grace and asked me to help her. I followed her into the kitchen, where she asked me to get a plate that I’m sure she didn’t need down from on top of the fridge.
“Tanner,” she said in that way that she thought sounded nonchalant. Like the uneasy expression I’d seen earlier, it was anything but subtle to those who knew her. “Were you planning on taking Grace on the road with your band this summer?”
Bingo!
I acted confused at first, like I had no idea what she was talking about. “Oh, you mean the tour? Well, I’m not going, but if I was going, of course I would bring Grace with me.” I even managed to sound slightly offended that she’d even suggest I’d go without Grace.
“Oh,” was all she said, but I knew the wheels in her mind were spinning. I’d planted the seed in her head, and it was already starting to take root.
“Do you need anything else?” I asked, handing her the plate.
“Oh…uh…no, dear. That’s all. Just let me get you a bag to put the leftovers in.”
I went back out to the family room, where my dad had Grace engaged in a conversation about fishing.
“Ready, babe?”
Before she could stop it, a shit-eating grin split her face. Then she nodded and stood up just as my mom came out of the kitchen with the bag of leftovers. “Here you go, honey,” she said as she handed me the bag, adding, “and make sure Grace gets the cookies.”
My dad stood too, and we all started making our way to the door to say our goodbyes. “Tanner,” my dad said, “you have to bring Grace up to the lake house some time. We could give her a fishing lesson.”
“Oh, Tanner, that’s a wonderful idea,” my mom gushed. “Grace would love the lake house.”
“Yeah, sure, maybe over spring break,” I said, but even as I said it, I knew that by then I’d probably have cut her loose.
“Thanks so much for dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Reed,” Grace said, slightly taken aback when my mother grabbed her into a tight hug.
“Any time, Grace. You’re welcome here any time.”
I was riding high on the way back to school. The money was all but mine, and I was in the mood to celebrate. I had had enough of playing the part of the dutiful son/boyfriend, so I dropped Grace off at her dorm, saying that I was exhausted from working all day. Then I headed back to my apartment to see what Scott and the guys were up to.
When I turned onto my block I saw a lot of cars parked on the street in front of my place, which meant that Scott had company. Sure enough, all the guys were there, each with a beer in his hand.
No one noticed me come in at first, but when I closed the front door Scott jumped up and yelled, “Tanner, my man! You got some catching up to do. Grab a beer!”
Hearing that, everyone turned around and started yelling for me to start drinking. The next thing I knew, someone slapped me on the back and put a cold beer in my hand. I loved walking into a party that’s already started. Everyone’s already drunk and they treat you like you’re some kind of celebrity or something with all the hooting and hollering and the “woo hoos.”
Above all the howling, I heard Scott shout, “Hey, T, where’s Gracie baby?”
Shut the fuck up, Scott.
“Who’s Grace?” I heard someone yell, then another guy bellowed, “Yeah, who’s Grace?”
“Probably some hot piece of ass he’s fucking,” someone else shouted.
“She’s a hot piece of ass, but he ain’t fucking her,” Scott yelled above the other voices. That comment elicited a response of jeers and questioning looks from everyone, so I was forced to respond.
“She’s just a friend who Scott apparently has the hots for,” I said as I shot him a challenging look.
He stared back at me as everyone waited for his response, but he just busted out laughing. “Whatever, dude.” He then turned back to the crowd, Grace already forgotten. “Who’s up for shots before we go?”
Grateful that I was off the hook, I put my stuff in my room, then headed to the kitchen where Scott was lining up shots. I put the leftovers in the fridge then downed two quick ones because I knew everyone would be leaving for the bar soon.
I felt Scott’s eyes on me. “You know, Amber and Kristen are going to be at J.D.’s tonight.”
“No fucking way, Scott. I’m not starting up with her again after I finally got rid of her.”
He held up his hands in surrender. “I’m just saying she’s going to be there if you were looking to hook up.”
“I think I’ll pass,” I said, but the idea grew more appealing as I felt the effects of the warm liquor slowly course through me. Of course there was also the fact that I was horny as hell.
Not long after our conversation, we all got ready to head out. Scott and I caught a ride with Mickey, who happened to live a couple doors down from us but didn’t usually come out, as he spent most of his time with his girlfriend.
There was the usual line outside J.D.’s, so we slipped in through the side entrance and made our way to the end of the bar. I ordered a few beers and a round of shots for Scott, Mickey and myself, and as soon as we downed them Scott took off to scope out the scene.
He came back about twenty minutes later with Kristen and Amber. Amber stood there silently glaring at me, but I just ignored her. It was funny how the more I purposely ignored her, the more she didn’t want to be ignored.
I knew it drove her crazy when two girls approached me and Mick, saying they recognized me from the band. Her eye twitched angrily as we spoke to them, until, unable to take it any longer, Amber sidled up between me and the girl I was talking to, wrapping her arm around my waist like she owned me or something. The girl – Jess was her name – glared at her, but Amber didn’t budge. Slipping out of her grasp, I took a seat on the barstool and watched the showdown with amusement.
Mickey sort of nudged my elbow with his, then raised his eyebrows at me as if to say, “What the fuck?“ I just shrugged and shook my head.
Scott must have seen the daggers flying between them because he turned to me and Mickey and mouthed, “Cat fight?” Mickey laughed. We ignored the girls and kept drinking and talking amongst ourselves, until eventually Jess gave up and left.
Now that she had me all to herself, Amber wouldn’t leave me alone. By then I had a good buzz going and was thinking that maybe leaving with her wouldn’t be such a bad idea since, like I said, I was horny as hell. After Jess’s exit she had moved closer until she once again had an arm around my waist; her other hand was just under the edge of my shirt, resting on my bare stomach. I was replaying in m
y mind the last time we’d slept together when I felt my phone vibrate.
It was late and I wondered who it could be, so I reached down and slid it out of my pocket to take a look. It was a text from Grace with just one word – goodnite-- with one of those little smiley faces.
In that moment, everything seemed to shift. I was suddenly aware of the smell and feel of Amber’s hair – all perfumey and sticky—and I was skeeved by the feel of her hands on me. As nonchalantly as I could, I shifted on my barstool, forcing her to move them.
I realized then how tired I was, and I just wanted to get out of there. There were just two problems-- Scott would give me shit about leaving, and Amber would try to follow me out.
Then Kristen showed back up and started to occupy Scott. One down, one to go. I leaned over and whispered to Mickey that I was leaving.
He nodded. “I’m outta here, too.”
I turned to Amber, all smiles. “We’ll be right back.”
“Okay, don’t be too long.” She brought her hands up to my chest and rested them there. Still smiling, I slowly stepped back, letting her hands slip back to her sides. It was then that I looked at her, I mean really looked at her, and I knew I never wanted to be with her again.
Mick and I made our way through the crowd as if headed for the restroom, then hung a right and slipped out the side door.
“She’s gonna be pissed,” Mick sing-songed as we walked through the parking lot.
“Who? Amber?” I rolled my eyes at him. “Who gives a shit?”
“That was nuts with those two girls in there. Does that stuff happen often?” There was a hint of admiration in Mick’s tone.
“I don’t know. I guess sometimes,” I replied matter-of-factly. I’d always found that kind of thing flattering; now I just found it annoying.
“Thanks for the ride, man,” I said, when Mick pulled up in front of my place. I couldn’t wait to crawl into bed.
“No problem,” he said, still sounding slightly in awe of me. “I’ll see you around.”
After taking a quick shower to wash the funk of the bar off me, I slid between the sheets with my skin still damp. Of course, I wasn’t able to sleep, despite my exhaustion. Another night of tossing and turning ended around four o’clock when I finally passed out.
Working out usually helped wake me, and that morning was no different. After a half-hour in the weight room and another forty-five minutes on the treadmill, I was actually starting to feel halfway human. As I drove home I found my thoughts running to Grace, and just then my phone began to buzz. I felt a strange excitement as I pulled it out of my pocket, then frowned when I saw it my brother. Odd, he never called me out of the blue.
“Hey, Mike, what’s up?”
“Hey—glad I caught you before I head into a meeting. Gavin called last night—he’s having all the cousins over next weekend and wanted to know if you and Grace would come. I guess he doesn’t have your number. Anyway, I told him you probably couldn’t make it, but I said I’d ask anyway. He seemed like he really wanted you to come.”
Without even thinking, I said, “Sure, we’ll go.”
“Oh, great. I’ll give you a call during the week with the details.”
As I hung up, I wondered why I had said yes. The person I needed to convince – my mom – was pretty much convinced already, and she wouldn’t be there anyway. I just wanted to go. I’d had a lot of fun seeing everyone at the wedding, and it couldn’t hurt to be seen with Grace again.
When I got home I texted Grace and asked if she wanted to go. I’d barely hit send when she replied with a very emphatic YES!! J. I found myself smiling at the phone as I told her I’d give her the details when I saw her in class.
With that settled, I got ready for a busy few days. The band was practicing on Wednesday night, and we had two gigs that weekend, one on Friday at a little club just outside of D.C., then back to J.D.’s on Saturday. By the time Sunday rolled around, I’d be ready for a nice relaxing afternoon with the little woman.
Chapter 33
Grace
I got Tanner’s text on the way home from the gym, and my grin was still in place when I ran into Beth just outside our dorm.
“Guess what?”
“Hmm, let’s see…” she said, tapping her pointer finger to her chin, “don’t tell me…let me guess…uh…you got engaged?”
I laughed. “You’re such a comedian, Beth! No I didn’t get engaged, but he did invite me to another family function!”
“Another one? Wow Grace, this is really getting serious. What kind of function is it?”
I explained that it was at Tanner’s cousin’s house—the same one whose wedding we had just gone to. They were just back from their honeymoon and wanted to have us and a few others over.
“Ooh, it sounds intimate…just the cousins. What are you going to wear?”
I immediately felt a pang of anxiety. “Uh…I don’t know…I don’t think it’s a dressy occasion…”
“Okay, I’m thinking skinny jeans with my black boots,” she suggested, “and leave your hair loose – no ponytail.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” I said, relieved. “I’m going to be so nervous. At least at the wedding there were so many people and so much going on. This time I won’t be able to get lost in the crowd.”
“Grace,” Beth said, “don’t worry about it. Remember how nervous you were about going to the wedding, and you ended up doing fine. Just be yourself – and I hate to push the alcohol, but if all else fails, have a drink or two and that’ll calm you down.
“True,” I said, laughing at her logic.
I wasn’t laughing when I woke up early Sunday morning. It had come around before I knew it, and I felt completely unprepared for a day with Tanner’s family. I also didn’t have a lot of time to dwell on it, as I had a ton of homework to finish before Tanner came to get me.
I forced myself out of bed and went to look out the window. There was a fresh blanket of snow on the lawn in front of our building, the result of an overnight shower, and the sky was gray and gloomy. I looked with envy at Beth, still asleep on the other side of the room, then turned to the stack of books on my desk.
Before I knew it two o’clock had rolled around and it was time to start getting ready. I still wasn’t quite done with the homework; I had, however, done a lot of staring out the window and rethinking what I was going to wear. I wished Beth was there to advise me, but she had headed out to the gym an hour before. Besides, I reminded myself, we’d already put together the perfect outfit. She’d let me borrow her black boots, which went perfectly with my jeans, tight gray tank and black wraparound sweater—casual but not too casual. I had blown my hair out the night before, so I only had to flat iron it. I was beginning to really get the hang of it, and it was much easier to work with since I had gotten it cut. Beth came in as I was tucking the last hair into place, and she clucked approvingly.
A few minutes after three Tanner texted me that he was downstairs. “Wish me luck,” I said to Beth.
“You’ll do fine.”
Tanner was waiting for me right outside the door of the building. He looked as handsome as ever and I thought to myself, Does this guy ever have a bad day?
Along with his usual jeans and work boots, he was wearing an off-white, long-sleeved, thermal shirt that perfectly outlined his lean, muscular physique. His hair, which hung just at his shoulders, was gently blowing around in the light winter breeze and his eyes shown like brilliant sapphires against the freshly fallen snow. “Ready?” he asked as his mouth kicked up into sort of a half-grin. I shook my head yes.
“You’re not wearing a jacket,” I said. “Aren’t you cold?”
“It’s in the car. I don’t like to drive with it on,” he replied, then, as he led me to his car he added, “They live about a half-hour from here, but there shouldn’t be too much traffic on a Su
nday.”
On the drive over, he named each person that would be there and gave me a quick low-down on each one. I remembered his brother and sister-in-law, Mike and Abby, and of course I remembered the bride and groom, Gavin and Julia, but I wasn’t sure about the others. I knew most of them had been sitting at our table at the reception, but I was confused about who was who.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, hanging a right. “When you get there and see everyone, you’ll remember.”
“I hope so,” I said, staring out the window at the neat little development of townhouses where Gavin and Julia lived. They all looked the same. We had gotten there quicker than I expected, but judging by all the cars in the driveway, it looked like we were the last ones to arrive.
The door swung open almost before we rang the bell. Julia stood in the doorway, with Gavin standing just behind her. “Tanner, Grace, we’re so glad you could make it,” Julia said as Gavin stuck his hand out to shake Tanner’s.
“Hey, buddy, glad you made it. Nice to see you again, Grace.”
“Nice to see you too,” I said, “It was a really great wedding.”
“Yeah, we had a good time, too,” Gavin said, wrapping his arm around his wife’s waist.
Julia rolled her eyes at him, but I could tell she was eating it up. “Come on in and grab yourselves a drink from the kitchen. Everyone’s either in the living room or the kitchen.”
She took our coats and put them in the guest bedroom, while Tanner, Gavin and I headed for the kitchen. Tanner hugged and kissed his way through the room, placing a reassuring hand on my lower back as he introduced me to this cousin or that. I was relieved to find that like he’d said, I did remember most of them. Then he grabbed us two beers and we meandered into the living room. The townhouse was very tastefully decorated, and I wondered if Julia and Gavin had done it all themselves. The floors were all hardwood and looked like they had just been refinished. There was a big stone fireplace blazing in the corner. The large wooden mantel held pictures of them on various vacations.