Imaginary Grace

by Anne Holster

  “So you won’t have to climb through the window next time.” Then he winked at me before turning and heading back to his car.

  I looked back down at the little silver key attached to a dirty old Camaro keychain that looked like it had seen better days. I smiled and squeezed my hand shut tight around it. I had to be the luckiest girl in the world.

  Chapter 44

  Tanner

  As I drove toward J.D.’s I kept thinking about the fact that Gary had been at that party on Saturday night. Shit. Anything could have happened, especially since Grace had been drinking. At first all I worried about was him shooting off his mouth, but now…now the thought of him getting anywhere near Grace made me sick to my stomach. If he ever laid a hand on her, well, let’s just say I couldn’t be held responsible for what I did to him.

  I knew there was going to be another big party this weekend, and I was considering asking Scott to go and keep an eye on her. I decided I’d check with him as soon as I got home.

  Cole wanted everyone to meet up at the bar for a quick jam session to go over a few things for Saturday’s show. We were done within an hour, but afterwards Cole asked me to stick around. Once the others had gone, I went up to him. “What’s up, Cole?”

  Cole looked up from the stack of papers he was leafing through. “Oh, yeah, Tanner. I want you to do your song as one of the encores Saturday night.”

  My eyes lit up. The encore – that was huge. “No way! That’s fucking awesome, Cole! Thanks!”

  “Yeah, I thought you’d think so,” he said, smiling as he went back to his paperwork. “I’ll see you Saturday then.”

  “Yeah, see you Saturday, and thanks again, Cole.” I walked out to my car, flying high. My mood was still soaring when I pulled into my driveway. I wanted to call Grace and tell her, but of course I couldn’t.

  I knew I was going to have to tell her about my role in the band at some point, just not yet. I was still unsure of what her reaction would be.

  Scott was sitting on the couch when I walked in. “Hey, what’s up?” he said, looking at me expectantly.

  “Uhh, not much…” I replied, unsure of why he was looking at me that way.

  “So?” he said.

  “So, what?” I shrugged.

  A huge grin spread across his face. “Uh, I saw Grace leaving Sunday morning.”

  Damn. I thought I’d gotten away with it. He could tell right away by my expression that he’d caught me.

  “You bagged her, didn’t you?” he said, staring at me with squinted eyes and a wry grin on his face. I was caught completely off guard, but I refused to come clean. It didn’t matter anyway; my silence was all the confirmation he needed. “You dog, you!” he shrilled, then slapped his hands against his thighs, tossed his head back and howled like a deranged wolf.

  I breezed past him into the kitchen, but he got up to follow me. “So,” he began, “how was it? Probably not so great, eh? Don’t think our Grace has been around the block too many times…if at all. Well, at least it’ll be fun breaking her in. Don’t worry, man. Your secret’s safe with me.” He just stood there, hands in his pockets, shaking his head with this stupid grin on his face.

  “Are you done?” I asked matter-of-factly, still admitting nothing to him as I leaned back against the counter with my arms folded.

  “For now,” he mused.

  “Listen, I need a favor,” I said, changing the subject.

  “Sure. Shoot.”

  “I need you to keep an eye on Grace for me this weekend. I heard there’s a big frat party Saturday night, and I guarantee Gary’ll be there. I don’t want him anywhere near Grace.”

  “Oh, so you need me to Grace-sit. That’s cool.” The wry grin made another appearance, but I ignored it.

  “Great. Thanks, man, I owe you one. Cole wants us there early, so I won’t even be able to go for a little while.”

  “No problem,” he said, smiling, “Gary won’t get within ten feet of your girl.”

  I just rolled my eyes at him as I pushed off the counter and walked out of the kitchen, but I felt better knowing that Scott would keep an eye on the situation. Scott had his faults, but I knew I could always count on him.

  The next day in class, Grace mentioned that she and Beth were going to the party, but afterward, if I didn’t mind, she’d try out her new key.

  “Uh, no, I definitely don’t mind,” I said, smiling as I slid my arm around her, “I’ll be looking forward to it all night.”

  Chapter 45

  Grace

  When we arrived at the party Saturday night it was already packed. It encompassed several frat houses, each with its own theme, but as always, the focus was on the booze. It had started early, and was supposed to go all night, but I had my doubts. At the rate these people were drinking it would probably peter out early.

  We were supposed to meet a few friends at the “pink house”, which was situated at the end of the row and was actually painted pink. Beth and I weren’t sure of the name of the frat that ran it and apparently no one else did either, which was why everyone referred to it by the color.

  After everyone got there we planned to make our way from house to house, having a drink or two at each one, but we only made it as far as the third house because that’s where we ran into Adam. Beth shot me a look to let me know she wanted to stay, which was fine with me. The highlight of my night would come much later.

  We’d been there for about an hour when a very drunk Gary showed up. He made a beeline for me, but I didn’t care; nothing he could say would ruin my anticipation of seeing Tanner later. Swaying slightly, he joined us just as we were about to do another shot of Tequila.

  “Hey there, Grace,” he slurred after he slammed down his shot.

  “Hi Gary,” I said politely, as if nothing had happened last week. He didn’t mention Tanner or ask where he was, which was a relief. In fact, it was almost as if he’d forgotten the whole thing as well.

  The party got rowdier and rowdier as the night went on, and we were having a great time. At some point in the night, much to my surprise, Scott showed up. He acted as though he’d run into us by accident, but I suspected otherwise. I also suspected, even through my buzz, that Gary wasn’t very fond of Scott either. Unlike Tanner, Scott didn’t seem to care; in fact, he just ignored him.

  I introduced him to all the girls, and he hung out with us the rest of the night, much to Gary’s dismay. At one point Gary invited us all down to the basement to play Blackwell.

  We were almost to the door that led to the basement when from the corner of my eye I saw Gary grab Scott’s shoulder. I thought I heard him whisper, “Sorry, no dirtbag stoners allowed,” then Gary headed down the stairs. The others followed, but I waited behind for Scott.

  “Hey, Grace,” Scott said, “I’m going to cut out. Why don’t you come with me?”

  I hesitated. It was too early to go back to Tanner’s; I might fall asleep before he even got home. Besides, I was having a pretty good time at the party. I was about to shake my head no when I caught the expression on Scott’s face—he actually looked concerned. I was about to ask him what was wrong when he suddenly broke out into a grin.

  “Come on, I’ll take you over to J.D.’s to see the band play.”

  “Really?” I said with eyes wide. “But wait a minute. I can’t get into a bar.”

  “Don’t worry.” He smiled suavely and put his arm around me. “I go there all the time, and I know the owners. I’ll just say you’re with me.”

  “Wow, okay, but do you think Tanner would mind? I mean, he’s working and I don’t want to distract him.”

  “Working? Well, I think I’d use that term loosely, but nah, he won’t mind. We’ll stay in the back. He won’t even notice us.”

  “Okay,” I said, “Let me just tell my roommate we’re leaving.” I didn’t tell him I really wanted to se
e if Beth would swap boots with me—hers were high-heeled and much cooler.

  “Whatever,” he said, “I’ll wait for you here.”

  “Be right back.” I shot down the stairs to find Beth, her fist clenched and shaking in the air as she prepared to roll the dice.

  “Beth!” I called out, and when she turned around I signaled for her to come over.

  She put the dice down and came over. “What’s up?”

  “I need a favor,” I whispered breathlessly, “Scott said he’d take me to see the band Tanner works with, but it’s at a bar, so do you think we can switch boots? Your heels will make me look older.”

  She looked at me incredulously. “Grace, they’re not magic boots you know. It’s just a little heel…but if you think they’ll age you three years, knock yourself out.” She sat down on the bottom basement step, unzipped each boot and handed them to me. “Here you go.”

  I quickly took the ones I was wearing off, put Beth’s on, and zipped them up. “How do I look?”

  “Wow,” she said, “maybe they are magic boots. They make you look at least, I don’t know, eighteen-and-a-half.”

  “Very funny,” I said, laughing as I tried to fluff up my hair. I thought that might make me look older too.

  “Just go,” Beth said. “Have fun. If they don’t let you in, just go back to Tanner’s, wait until he gets home, and then jump his bones.”

  We both laughed. “That sounds like a plan,” I said, “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Then I ran back up the stairs. Scott was waiting right where I’d left him.

  “Let’s go,” he said, grabbing my hand as he whisked me through the crowd and out the front door. “I need to stop home and change and get my truck, but I’ll be quick.” It was a quick ten-minute walk to their apartment, and when we got there he told me to grab a beer while he changed and got his keys.

  I went into the kitchen, took a beer out of the fridge, then sat down on one of the stools to wait for Scott. As I drank it I continued to admire the way the boots looked on me. Eighteen-and a-half? No way, I must look at least twenty-one in these.

  What the heck was taking Scott so long? Finally he emerged from his room with a change of clothes. Apparently his definition of “change” consisted of a neater looking t-shirt and work boots instead of sneakers, but he seemed quite pleased with himself so I said, “Oooh, swanky. Do you have a date or something?”

  “Yep,” he said, flashing me that killer smile as he put his arm out. “Shall we go?” I got up from the stool and walked over to him, putting my arm through his, and together we walked out to his truck.

  “So,” he said, glancing sideways at me as he pulled out of the driveway, “…you and T.”

  I smiled back at him. “Yep, me and ‘T’…” I let my voice trail off, not knowing what else to say.

  “I told Tanner you were a keeper way back,” he said as he looked straight ahead.

  “You did?”

  “Oh, yeah. After we visited you in Jersey, I told him that.”

  Interesting, I thought. “Do you have a girlfriend, Scott?”

  “Me? Nah,” he said, then smoothly changed the subject. “When we get there, we’ll go in the side entrance. Just follow my lead.”

  We pulled into the gravelly parking lot and found a spot in the back. From the look of the lot, it was crowded inside. As we got out of the car and started toward the side entrance, I could see two men standing outside. “Remember,” Scott said as he put his arm around my shoulder, “just follow my lead.”

  When we got to the door, one of the men turned to Scott and high-fived him. “Hey, dude, you’re late. The guys just left the stage.”

  “No shit, it’s over?” Scott said, sounding disappointed.

  “Just about, but you’ll be able to catch the encore if you hurry.”

  “Cool.” Scott said, then the two of us just waltzed inside.

  The place was packed wall to wall with people, and from all the waves and smiles Scott was getting I figured he knew most of them.

  “Hey, Scotty-boy, it’s about time you showed,” a large, kinda scary-looking man said.

  “Better late than never,” Scott replied, “Hey, Cole, this is Tanner’s girl, Grace.”

  Tanner’s girl!

  “Oh, nice to meet you,” Cole said. “You two should grab a spot at the bar. We’ll be going back on in a few minutes.” He slapped Scott on the back and then disappeared down a long hallway.

  I clutched Scott’s arm as we slowly wormed our way through the crowd. Once at the bar we found ourselves an open spot, and Scott found some more of his friends. He was like the mayor. Two beers mysteriously appeared on the bar in front of us, and before too long there was a whole group surrounding our stools. I was beginning to relax and enjoy myself.

  That’s when the lights dimmed and I heard someone yell into a microphone, “Are you guys ready for more!”

  The crowd answered with a resounding cheer. I settled back on the barstool, ready to hear this band that Tanner spent so much time with, when I heard the start of what’s always been my (and apparently everyone else’s) favorite Journey song.

  I couldn’t believe what I saw. There, under the bright lights of the club, was Tanner playing his guitar. What the . . . ?

  I grabbed Scott’s arm and pulled him back towards me. “Scott, what’s going on? I thought Tanner was the sound guy?”

  He looked at me strangely. “He is, but he doesn’t just do the sound. Is that what you thought?”

  “Uh, I don’t know…” I let go of him and slid back onto my stool, my eyes glued to the stage. Tanner’s fingers were moving flawlessly across the strings. He had a look of pure concentration on his face and his sweaty hair swayed as he moved in time to the music.

  Before I knew it, the song was over and the lights dimmed, but only for a few seconds. What happened next could only be described as pure poetry in motion. The crowd got quiet, then a spotlight shined down on Tanner as he moved to the front of the stage and stood in front of the microphone, and that’s when I heard it – the opening chords of Magic Power. Judging from the wild screams of the crowd, it wasn’t just my favorite.

  “Something’s at the edge of your mind

  You don’t know what it is

  Something you were hoping to find

  You’re not sure what it is

  Then you hear the music and it all comes crystal clear

  The music does the talking, says the things you wanna hear

  I’m young, I’m wild, I’m free

  Got the magic power of the music in me . . .

  As I watched Tanner play, I thought back to all the times I had been mesmerized by the mere sight of him--in class, at the gym. They seemed so insignificant now, compared with the pure intensity etched on his sweat-drenched face, the emotion in his voice as he belted out the song, the passion with which his fingers flew on the guitar. His sweat-soaked shirt clung tightly to his muscular body as he moved with the music. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. There was a fierceness in his eyes that became even more intense with each passing moment, and it was mesmerizing to watch. This was insane!

  By the time he brought the song to a close the crowd was in a complete frenzy. He looked up and out over all the people and then, with his guitar still strapped around him, he put his fists way up and pumped them once in the air before the lights cut out. Oh my God…my boyfriend’s a rock star?!

  Chapter 46

  Tanner

  I walked off the stage high as a kite and headed straight for the back room. When I walked in the other guys started clapping and moved in for the high-five.

  “Tanner, awesome finish,” Cole said as he slapped my back.

  We all agreed that this had been our best show yet. The energy of the crowd had been fuckin’ electric—I was still on a high from it and I knew the other guys were too
. Word must have been spreading about us, ‘cause the place was packed. I heard they were even turning people away at the door!

  Cole had one of the waitresses bring in beers for all of us, and I downed my first one as soon as the bottle hit my lips. I pulled off my sweaty t-shirt and went to the tiny bathroom at the back of the room to change. I splashed some cold water on my face, then raked my fingers through my hair to get it out of my face.

  When I walked back into the room, the guys were sitting around the table. I spun a chair around and straddled it as Cole held up his bottle. “Here’s to a slew of shows like this one!”

  “Yeah!” we all shouted in unison, clanking our beers together.

  This was about the time of the night when I’d strut out to the bar to claim my pick of any one of a number of hot, willing girls; now the idea just seemed depressing. I smiled, putting the bottle to my lips as I thought about Grace waiting at home for me. I didn’t want to bail on the guys so soon after the show, so I figured I’d hang for a respectable amount of time and then slip out.

  Just then the waitress came in with a round of shots for everyone. “Hey Tanner,” she said, “you got a bunch of fans waiting out in the hallway. What should I tell them?”

  “Oooh, Tanner,” one of the guys mocked me in a high-pitched voice. The others joined in, making me laugh.

  The waitress was standing there with her hand on her hip, waiting for a reply. But before I could answer, Cole piped up with, “Tell them he’s taken.” Then he looked at me and added, chuckling, “Better be careful. Your girlfriend’s here.”

  “My girlfriend?” I said. “What are you talking about?”

  He raised an eyebrow at me. “Your buddy Scott’s out there with a girl who he says is with you.”

  I assumed that he was confused and was referring to Amber, since she’d claimed we were together more than once. “She’s full of shit if she says she’s with me,” I said, shaking my head with a look of amusement on my face.