Grace began to relax as she let Justin take the lead. She let him guide her face closer to his as he leaned in and brushed his lips lightly over hers. Her eyes fluttered shut as she surrendered to him. The kiss was so light that she almost didn’t feel it. He stayed there, lightly grazing her lips in an almost nonexistent kiss. When he pulled away, he shifted to bring her head into contact with his chest once again.
Grace was so lost in the sensations he’d created; she hadn’t realized he’d ended the kiss. It had come and gone, and she felt like she’d missed it. Instead of the passion that she thought she was going to get, it was sweet and innocent. Almost like he was testing the waters to see what she would do.
“I’ve been waiting all night to do that,” he whispered in her ear as she settled against him.
Grace smiled and Justin could feel her mouth turn up as it was pressed against his chest. He knew she enjoyed it as much as he had. He only now wondered how long he’d have to wait for the next one. He was taking his time with this girl. This one…she was special. She was someone he could see a future with. She was someone he could easily fall in love with.
As Grace leaned against his chest, she could feel the rapid beat of his heart. The heart of the guy who seemed to be rescuing her. The man who would put her back together piece by piece.
Chapter 11
3 weeks later…
“So what are your plans for the day?” Hannah glanced up from a catalogue at Grace as she packed her back pack.
“I’m not sure. Justin’s been pretty busy lately, but we might come back here later,” she shrugged.
“You two seem to be getting pretty close, huh?” Hannah smiled.
“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” Grace nodded and then frowned slightly.
“What’s wrong?” Hannah placed the catalogue on the coffee table and stood to walk over to where Grace was standing.
“I don’t know,” Grace twisted her mouth as she bit her lip. “Something’s different. When we went out to the movies, he kissed me.”
“And?” Hannah grinned.
“And I liked it,” Grace blushed.
“Why does that bother you?” Hannah cocked her head to the side.
“Because he hasn’t tried to do it again. I mean…we’ve been out since then, and he always seems to hold back,” Grace shook her head and sighed.
“Maybe he thinks you don’t want him to,” Hannah shrugged. “You should ask him,” she teased.
“What? No!” Grace gasped.
“Grace, I’m teasing, but maybe try flirting a little more. Maybe he thinks you’re just not that into him. Maybe you’re not putting out enough of a signal,” Hannah turned to walk back and flop down on the couch. She released a huff as she grabbed the catalogue and began flipping through it once again.
“What are you doing?” Grace tried to change the subject.
“Looking at wedding invitations. Nice try though,” Hannah smirked.
“Huh?” Grace picked up her bag and gave Hannah a confused look.
“Nice try on changing the subject. You’re almost a pro at that now. Now…go get your man, bring him back here, and kiss him senseless,” she giggled.
“You’re hopeless,” Grace sighed as she pulled the door open and disappeared into the hallway.
ooooooooo
“So what’s on the agenda for tonight?” Justin smiled as he looked over at Grace.
They were walking back to her apartment from campus. They’d spent most of the afternoon studying in the library, and Grace had offered to cook him dinner. Justin had been working such crazy hours and late nights on his most recent case that he jumped at the idea of a home cooked meal.
“I was thinking that I might make some stir fry, are you ok with that?” she glanced up at him shyly.
“Sounds great,” Justin grinned.
“Maybe hang out and watch TV?” she added.
“A nice relaxing night with no one asking me for something sounds awesome,” he nodded as he shifted his bag.
They were nearing her building, and she kept replaying her conversation with Hannah from the morning…kiss him senseless. When they reached the door, Justin reached in front of them to pull it open for Grace. She smiled at him and blushed slightly.
“What?” Justin furrowed his brow.
“Nothing,” Grace mumbled.
“Are you sure?” he asked again as the made their way to the elevator.
He placed his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into him. As Grace’s body leaned into his, she tensed, and went stiff like a board. It didn’t go unnoticed by Justin, or the fact that she refused to make eye contact with him.
“What’s wrong?” he bent his knees and shifted so he was looking directly in her eyes.
Grace shook her head slightly and mumbled, “It’s nothing.”
“Do you think I’m going to hurt you?” he asked with genuine concern. “Because if that’s the case…I assure you I would never ever do anything to hurt you. My dad used to beat on my mom. I could never do that,” he frowned as he watched her face.
“It’s not that…” she trailed off.
“Then what? Every time I come near you, you freeze or tense up like you’re getting ready to fight me off,” he cupped her cheek and forced her to look at him. “Please tell me…”
“It’s not you, I promise…it’s not you,” Grace whispered as a tear began to form in the corner of her eye.
Before the conversation could go any further, the elevator dinged announcing that they had reached their floor. Justin grabbed Grace’s hand, entwining their fingers as he pulled her down to her door. Once Grace got the door open, Justin tossed his bag on a nearby chair, and began pulling Grace down the hall. Hannah watched from the couch with a confused look on her face as the couple disappeared from sight.
“Ok,” Justin glanced around and shut the door once he had pulled Grace into her room. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Grace pulled away from him and crossed her hands over her chest in a defensive stance.
“You said it wasn’t me. What exactly does that mean?” he huffed. “Is there someone else? Are you seeing someone else?”
“What? No!” she moved to sit down on her bed and began pulling off her shoes. “There’s no one else. I haven’t dated anyone in years. You hear me? Years!” her anger began to rise.
“What is it then…you say you’re not afraid of me, but that’s obviously a lie. I see it in your eyes whenever we do anything. I see the way you pull away from me. What are you so afraid of?” Justin lowered his voice as he sat down beside her.
Grace swallowed as she glanced from her lap to Justin. Just do it, she told herself. Before she could talk herself out of it, she turned, and pressed her lips firmly to his.
Justin was taken off guard at first, but quickly recovered. He was hoping that she would talk to him. Something was going on in that head of hers, and she did not want to tell him. He needed to know though. He could tell it was eating her alive.
As she pressed her mouth to his and began to move her lips, Justin began to reciprocate. Their first kiss had been so light that it almost wouldn’t be considered a kiss. This one definitely was a kiss. Grace’s mouth opened slightly in a gasp as Justin pulled her onto his lap and slanted his head to deepen the kiss. When his right hand slipped around her waist and pushed against her lower back, Grace gasped. Justin took advantage of this and lightly stroked his tongue along her bottom lip. A groan made its way up Grace’s throat as she pressed her chest closer to Justin’s. She moved her hands that had been stationary up to tangle in his hair. She could feel her heart rate sky rocketing...but fear began to creep in as the kiss continued. Even though Justin had kept his hands in the safe zone, only touching her waist and arms, it had set Grace on edge. The little voice in her head was telling her she was dirty, she was telling him to take advantage of her that she wanted him.
Suddenly overwhelmed, she brought her han
ds to his chest and gave him a hard shove. Gasping, she climbed off his lap and scrambled across the room. She huddled in a ball in the corner and buried her face in her hands. As the tears rose to the surface and began to spill down her cheeks, she couldn’t help but release an anguished cry.
As Justin watched in horror, he scrambled to make some semblance out of the situation. What had just happened? He’d never seen a girl react like this before. He heard about it happening, but only to abuse victims. Oh no... He stood up and sighed as he scrubbed his face with his palms, and then slowly walked over to where Grace was curled up. He reached out tentatively.
“Grace…” he whispered. “Did somebody hurt you?”
Grace didn’t react at first. She kept her head down and fought to control her breathing. She hadn’t talked about this in so long she had no idea where to start. How could she tell him? What would he think about her?
“You know you can tell me anything, right?” Justin pleaded. “Please tell me what happened to you.”
Grace looked up at him with red puffy eyes, “I can’t. You’re gonna hate me.”
“What?” Justin gasped.
“I’m not the person you think I am. You’re gonna see me different,” Grace wiped at her eyes and turned so her back was to him. She knew she’d never be able to tell him what happened if he was looking right at her. She also knew that she’d never be able to watch him walk away when she was finished.
“Please…tell me?” Justin reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder. She flinched when he made contact so he pulled it away and sat on his heels patiently waiting.
After a few moments, she began to mumble so quietly that Justin could barely hear her. He sat perfectly still, waiting for her to finish. As he listened to her open up for the first time in over a year, he was amazed at the strong woman before him. How could she have kept it in for so long, and seem so put together? His heart slowly broke as he listened to her tell him about Greg, about how she liked him, how she thought he liked her, how she trusted him, and how he’d broken that trust. As she began talking about the frat party and all the activities of the evening, Justin began to figure out where the story was going. He shut his eyes and cringed as she related the details of the attack. He listened as she told him about how her life spun out of control, how she’d given up her dream of playing soccer professionally, how she’d lost her scholarship because her grades fell so low, how she’d almost flunked out of school, how if it wasn’t for Hannah she didn’t know where she’d be right now.
Anger began to build in him as she finished telling him all the sordid details. Every bone in his body began to crave justice. He wanted nothing more than to find this Greg Neely and beat the ever-living life out him. Before his thoughts could grow any darker, Grace brought him back to the present.
“I understand if you don’t want to be with me now,” she whispered.
“Oh baby, no…don’t say that,” he reached to pull her into his arms, cradling her head against his chest. “That’s not at all what I’m thinking about right now.”
Grace nodded her head against him as her tears began to soak into his shirt. She tightened her grip as sobs poured out of her.
“Shhhh,” Justin soothed. “I’m here, and I’m going help you. That bastard’s gonna pay if it’s the last thing I do.”
Grace nodded again as her cries were muffled by his chest. Justin fought to get his balance as he moved to place Grace on her bed.
“I’ll be right back. I’m going to get you a glass of water,” he kissed her temple as he went to slide her off his lap.
“Don’t go!” Grace tightened her grip on his shirt causing her knuckles to turn white.
“I’ll be right back, I promise, I’ll stay as long as you want me to. I’m not going to leave you,” he reassured her as he tried to pry her hands loose.
Grace’s grip loosened, and she shifted onto the bed as she watched Justin slip through the door.
ooooooooo
As Justin was filling a glass with water from the kitchen sink, Hannah rounded the corner.
“She told you, didn’t she?” Hannah stated matter of factly.
“Told me?” Justin wrinkled his forehead and sighed. He wasn’t sure if he and Hannah were talking about the same thing.
“About Greg,” Hannah grimaced.
Justin only nodded in conformation. He was still seething with anger and wasn’t quite sure how to deal with it at the moment.
Hannah sighed, “I’m glad.”
“Me too,” Justin nodded quickly before turning to head back in the direction of Grace’s room. “I’m going to stay here tonight if she wants me to. Are you ok with that?”
“Yeah, sure,” Hannah nodded. “Just don’t hurt her…she’s had enough hurt to last a lifetime.”
“The only person that I plan on hurting is that dick that hurt her,” Justin ground out as he disappeared down the hall.
ooooooooo
Back in Grace’s room, Justin toed his shoes off as he sat back down on her bed. She was curled into a ball whimpering in her sleep. He placed the glass of water on her nightstand and climbed up on the bed behind her. As he stretched out behind her, he tugged her by the waist until she was flush to his chest.
She flinched slightly and Justin whispered into her ear, “Its ok, it’s only me.”
Grace relaxed and turned in his arms, nuzzling her nose into the crook of his neck. Justin was still tense with anger as he felt her settle into him. He wrapped her tightly in his arms as he fought with himself to relax. He knew he’d be no good to her if he was tired and frazzled. He knew he needed sleep as much as she did. He knew that right then he was doing the best thing he could for her…he was there.
As he began to drift off into a fitful sleep, he vowed right there that he would be her life vest. He would save her from drowning…
Chapter 12
As her eyes fluttered open, and she began to glance around her room, Grace felt a warm hard body pressed against her back. It took her a minute to remember the events of the previous night, but as her head began to throb…all the memories came flooding back. She rubbed her eyes and yawned as she took in the amount of darkness that cloaked the room. Before she could ponder it any more, a loud clash of thunder echoed through the air.
“Ahhh,” she groaned as she reached up and squeezed her temples.
The raging storm was fitting for her darkened mood. She silently wondered how long Justin would stick around before he decided that he didn’t want to have anything to do with her. How long would it take before he moved on? As lightning flashed again, Justin shifted on the bed and tightened his embrace.
“Morning,” he mumbled as he pulled her closer.
His hand began to run in soft strokes up and down her arm.
“How are you feeling this morning?” he whispered as he pushed himself up on his elbow.
Grace didn’t respond at first. She was ashamed and embarrassed of the way she’d handled herself.
“I’m fine,” she mumbled as she tried to sit up and climb off the bed.
“Wait! Where are you going?” Justin popped up into a sitting position.
“To the bathroom,” Grace murmured. “You don’t have to stay, I know you must have a ton of things to do today.”
After Grace left the room, Justin moved to sit on the edge of the bed. He couldn’t believe the way she was acting. After begging him to stay the night before, now she was pushing him away. He knew she needed him, and he planned on being there for her.
ooooooooo
As he sat on the couch of his apartment, Justin thumbed through one of the many law books on the coffee table. When Grace had returned from the bathroom, she had all but pushed him out the door. He’d tried to convince her that he wanted to help, that what she told him wasn’t going to change the way he felt about her, but she didn’t seem to want to hear it. After finally convincing her to call him later, he grabbed his things and went home.
Now here he was,
pouring over his books, looking for any information he could find on acquaintance rape. Whether Grace was going to let him back in or not, he knew that he needed to find this guy and stop him from doing this to someone else.
“What’s up?” Riley, Justin’s roommate and best friend, called as he came rushing through the door brushing rain from his jacket.
“Nothing,” Justin sighed.
“Doesn’t sound like nothing,” Riley smirked. “Is this about a chick?”
“Riley…could you grow up and at least talk to me like you’re twenty three and not fourteen for once?” Justin rolled his eyes.
“Sorry man…It’s just…I met this babe, I mean girl, last night and she was just…Mmmm. We were up all night if you know what I mean,” he grinned and wagged his brow.
“Riley…what you do with your frat brothers is something that I don’t care to know about,” Justin shook his head.
“You’re missing out man. You shoulda joined when I did…lots of hot chicks there every night,” Riley closed his eyes and sighed as he was reliving a moment from the night before.
“I swear…if we didn’t know each other growing up, we would never have become such good friends. You are so obsessed with boobs and getting laid,” Justin groaned as he watched Riley toss a wet shirt on the floor “and a slob.”
“Sorry man really…what’s going on with you? Is this about library girl?” Riley flopped down on the couch beside Justin.
“Library girl?” Justin snorted.
“Yeah…that’s what I named her. You won’t tell me her name, so I had to make one up. Would you rather me call her something like…Bambi…or Candy?” Riley grinned. “We’ve had some strippers at the house with those names.”
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