Saving Grace

  We walked into the house and I just knew my cheeks had to have been flaming bright red because of the questioning look from Lea I was getting. I bit my bottom lip and looked away from her quickly.

  "There's the comatose kid! How are you feeling, Gracie?" Lea's father, Anthony asked, opened his arms out wide and grabbed me in a giant hug. "Ah, Jesus, Caroline! You're right, she's all skin and bones." He shoved me in front of one of the plastic covered dining room chairs and pushed my shoulders down until I sat. He kept one hand on my shoulder and the other he held out for Shane to shake. "Hey, and the rock star is here too! How you doing, son?"

  Shane shook his hand and offered him one of those killer smiles of his, "Hey, Mr. Rossi. Thanks for having me today. I'm doing great. How have you been?"

  Anthony Rossi, who has acted as my father for the last ten years, stepped up closer to Shane. "Good, good, son. I'm sure glad that everything was settled and you didn't have anything to do with hurting our Gracie. Lea told me that you were the one to help her when that son of a bitch got his hands on her. We're forever in your debt, Shane. I knew you couldn't have hurt her." He slid in front of the dining room chair at the head of the table and sat down leaning back with his arms folded across his chest. A serious expression crossed his features, "So did anybody get the son of a bitch, yet? Or am I going to have to make some calls..."

  "Shut up, dear." Caroline cut him off while placing an enormous platter full of spaghetti and meatballs on the table. She waved her hands at him to settle him down. "Let's have a nice delicious Sunday lunch and not talk about all this horror, please." She fanned her hands over her face dramatically, "You men can talk about all this Law and Order, CSI crime stuff after eating, Grace has been through enough already. She doesn't want to hear anymore." She walked back into the kitchen only to re-emerge with more food; salad, Italian bread, garlic knots and a huge pitcher of water with slices of fruit floating in it. Holy crap, she wasn't kidding about fattening me up!

  Lea and Conner sat down next to each other in the two seats across from me, leaving Shane to sit in the chair next to me. My body shook with anticipation. Not only because I was sitting so close to him, but because I knew what Sundays were like at the Rossi house. Crap was about to fly and it was Lea's favorite game and mine.

  Every Sunday we had ever spent eating with her parents we secretly played what Lea and I called Oh Dear. It's really easy and quite funny if played correctly. You begin the game with two unsuspecting parents that ask the most inappropriate questions to their children. The game starts when one parent player asks another player an inappropriate question while eating dinner. That player has to come up with a funny verbal comeback to the said question without offering up any truthful answers. The winner is the first person to make a parent say Oh Dear.

  Caroline served everyone a heaping plate of food while Lea and I acted like two thirteen year olds giggling and waiting for the game to start.

  Caroline dumped three gigantic mounds of spaghetti on my plate and topped it with four meatballs, three garlic knots and a half of a loaf of Italian bread. I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing. "Gracie, dear. When was the last time you ate any food?" And the game begins.

  "Um, I had a handful of Tic- tacs on Thursday," I answered. Lea looked down into her food so she wouldn't start laughing already. I slurped up a long strand of spaghetti.

  "I can tel l, dear. Don't you girls ever cook for yourselves? You do know how to make nutritious foods, don't you?" She leveled her glare at Lea.

  Lea looked thoughtful while she chewed on her food. She took her time swallowing and then answered. "Well, we did make some Spam with Oreo Cookie glaze last Wednesday. That was yummy, right guys?"

  Shane and Conner looked at her like she just popped her head off.

  "I see," Caroline grumbled. "Well does anyone have any good news or surprises to tell us?"

  "I won a whole dollar in a scratch off game!" I sang.

  "Have you been drinking, dear?" she reprimanded me.

  "No more than usual," I smiled.

  She gave me a little knowing smirk and put her attention on Lea. "Well, Lea, I just can't understand why you're not married yet," she baited.

  "I'm just lucky, I guess. No really, I mean, I love Conner and all but I'm holding out for Johnny Depp," Lea answered batting her eyes.

  "And you, Grace? What's your excuse?"

  "I'm waiting for the zombie apocalypse, that's the theme of the wedding I want. I figured all the guests could just eat each other and I could really save a few bucks on food, you know?"

  "No, n o, Caroline. Why should these girls buy the cow when you could get all the milk for free?" Anthony added joining in the game with us.

  "Oh my. Well, I just want to know if either of you will be giving me grandchildren anytime soon?"

  "I'm allergic," I laughed.

  "Conner's family eats their young, so that's a no go for us," she smiled.

  "Oh dear," she mumbled.

  Chapter 18

  After eating, we all sat around the living room too stuffed to move. Shane sat next to me on one of the smaller couches and every so often he'd move and brush the back of his hand against mine sending jolts of electricity up my arm. Then when everyone else was in a heated discussion about who to name the grandchildren after, he slowly slid his pinky along the side of my hand and up to the tip of my elbow. My breath caught. He must have heard it because his eyes instantly locked on mine and one side of that beautiful mouth lifted up in one of his sexy grins.

  "Want to take a walk?" he asked in a husky whisper that I could feel softly fall against my neck.

  I couldn't help but smile at that beautiful face. "I have a better idea. Want to go for a bike ride?"

  Disappointment settled over his face, but he still agreed, " Yea h, sure, but I was kind of hoping I could hold your hand while we walked."

  I laughed knowing full well he had no idea what I was really asking him for. "Come on, the garage is out back, and I'll let you hold my hand." I looked over to Lea and smiled, "Shane and I are going for a ride. We won't be too long."

  Lea smiled wide, eyes twinkling, "Sure when you guys get back we can get ready and go somewhere on the beach to dance tonight." She gave me a wink. "Have fun."

  I grabbed our jackets and we threw them on. Leading him through the backyard I warned, "You might want to zip up; it gets pretty cold by the ocean if we ride fast."

  Opening the garage door, I let out a low sigh. One of my most prized treasures sat before me.

  "Oh, fuck me. Grace, I thought you said bike! That's a..."

  I handed him a helmet from off one of the shelves and placed one on top of my head. My matte black Harley Davidson Super Low 883 sat in the middle of the room, Shane's mouth hanging open wide next to it.

  "A Super Low 883?" I laughed. "You still up for a ride, Shane?"

  "Crap, Grace! Every single day I spend with you...you have managed to shock me and turn my world upside down..."

  I raised my leg, slung it over the bike, and pushed it out of the garage and backyard into the front of the house. Shane walked alongside me stunned.

  "Grace, there's no freaking way I'm riding bitch behind you."

  I slid myself over the gas tank and patted the seat behind me. Then you drive I said throwing him the keys.

  "God, you're so damn beautiful."

  He threw his leg over the bike and placed the key in the ignition turning it. The engine roared to life and the vibrations sent shivers through my body. I always felt so powerful with a motorcycle beneath me, between my legs, but now I had Shane behind me and I felt whole, breathless, and insane with want. He expertly kicked it into gear and eased off the clutch. Then he kicked his feet up and I placed my feet on top of his. He wrapped one hand around my waist while the other steered. I leaned back into him and smiled as we cruised down the streets alongside the sandy beaches of the Atlantic Ocean. He wrapped one arm around me and held my hand. I prayed the cops didn't stop us for riding like
this.

  The salty cold air stung our faces and bit at our ungloved knuckles. The powerful hum and heat of the engine under my legs did nothing but add to the intense desire that burned through me to just spin around and wrap my legs around him. We drove along the side of the crashing waters for a good two hours until he drove up onto the boardwalk and kicked the kickstand down with his foot. Leaning the bike to one side, he climbed off and helped me get down. Wordlessly, he took my hand and pulled me onto the beach, over the sand and right to the cold waves that crashed themselves against the shore. We both shivered from the cold of the air and the ride, but I never felt hotter in my entire life.

  He sat down on the sand and pulled me down sitting me beside him. Our hands lingered in each other's and neither of us said anything. We just quietly stared out over the shimmering waters of the Atlantic savoring the warmth that had sparked an inferno in our hands. Butterflies with wings afire danced along my skin.

  Shane pulled me closer to him and sat me over his lap with my legs draped over his. The ease of his movements was so fluid, as if he'd pulled millions of girls onto his lap daily, for years. The thought crushed me, and I desperately tried to claw it out of my brain, but I couldn't. The sudden urge to throw myself, and my stupid sabotaging of a perfect moment, into the ice-cold water was suddenly very tempting.

  My thoughts wrestled with themselves in my head until he softly cupped my chin in one of his hands and pulled my face to look at him. My heart felt like it was trying to lurch out of my chest and jump right into his hands. He studied my face and a mix of emotions darkened his features, our faces moved closer.

  Desperatel y, I tried to calm my breathing, but he slowly slid his hand from my chin across my jaw, over my neck and into my hair and I'm practically panting. He pulled my head towards him, his lips gently pressed against mine, and then he slowly pulled away. And, I swear my lips ached from the loss of contact with his skin.

  He leaned back on his arms and a sexy smile played on his lips, "So what the heck was all that crazy talk with Lea's parents?" Oh, my God. He wants to talk right now? When we go out later, I am ordering a Sex on the Beach, right in front of him, just so he knows what was on my mind when we were here!

  I moved a bit off his lap and lay down on my side in front of him leaning my head against my hand. "It's just a funny game we play when her mother asks us inappropriate questions, Caroline knows we were just teasing her."

  "They've been like parents to you, huh?"

  My eyes wandered out across the ocean. "Yea, they took Jacob and me in after my parent's accident and after my release from the hospital."

  I looked back at him studying his features, trying to pick out any flaw, or imperfection. Nothing. I would have sworn, once long ago, that angels were only made to look like that.

  He watched me watching him. Clearing his throat, he took a deep breath. "So what did happen with that ex-boyfriend of yours?"

  Our eyes measured each other's for a few moments, lingering on our thoughts before the words could mar our feelings.

  I weighed my options in the moment and decided that I wasn't going to run, I wasn't going to fight Shane like I'd always done. I had spent the first weeks of knowing him just judging him for all the girls he's been with. He never did anything to hurt me or lie to me. He saved my life three times and even went to jail for me. I owed this man anything he wanted. And I wanted desperately to give it to him. I had nothing holding me back now.

  "I was an idiot," I whispered looking away. "I just loved him so completely that everything and everyone dulled in comparison to him. But it wasn't in his nature to love me the same way. When he had the chance to take me with him, or stay with me, he just left."

  He looked at me incredulously. "It's kind of hard to believe that someone would leave yo u, Grace. Do you still love him?"

  The strong shore winds blew at my wild disheveled hair creating a black gossamer veil over my face. It made it easier to deal with Shane watching my heartbreak. "Always and forever, and then an eternity after. A girl will never forget her first perfect innocent kiss."

  Shane's blue eyes turned even icier. "The man was a bigger jackoff than I thought."

  I smiled at his words, "No, we just weren't supposed to be together. It was a real Romeo and Juliet type of relationship."

  Shane sat forward smiling like a Cheshire cat and whispered, "There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable."

  "Mark Twain? Shane, how do you know all those quotes that pop out of your mouth?'

  His eyes twinkled and something beautiful and dangerous danced behind them. "How do you know all the people the words belong too?"

  "Touche," I smiled.

  "Hear my soul speak. Of the very instant that I saw you, Did my heart fly at your service," he whispered.

  "Shakespeare. The Tempest." I looked away again wanting to throw myself at him. "Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality. Poe."

  "You know, Grac e, you are the only girl that can go toe to toe with me without batting an eye."

  I batted my eyes.

  He cocked his head and gave me a sideways smile that left me breathless. "Want to head back now? I heard something about taking a little hottie out dancing tonight..." Grabbing my hand, he helped me up and we walked through the sand back to my bike.

  "Lucky girl," I laughed as I climbed on the back seat.

  "Yea, well, it's pretty much a lost cause. Last time I talked to her, she just wanted me to treat her like one of the guys. It's a damn shame, because I think she's freaking amazing."

  "Wow. So what are you going to do about that?"

  His ice blue eyes met with mine and then they slowly traveled down to my lips. A low raspy growl, yes I said growl (HOT!) echoed from the back of his throat. He brought his eyes back up to mine, "I'm going to do everything I can fucking think of to change her mind."

  His words ripped through my heart and every single butterfly that had ever rented space in that old broken down dusty organ burst out flapping their wings in applause. I gasped from the pressure of it.

  Shane smirked and straddled the bike showing his back to me, end of discussion.

  I was speechless anyway. I couldn't even think right. Well...mentally he was about eight inches deep in me and I was screaming his name raking my nails down his back.

  Chapter 19

  For the life of me I couldn't get the water in the shower to run hot enough, and I was barely finished rinsing myself before Lea yanked me out of the shower screaming that I had taken too long and it was her turn. She then continued to yell about the lack of hot water.

  We dried and straightened our hair next to each other like we did when we were teenagers. As always, Lea did my makeup and gave me that smoky eyed look that I always thought was too dangerous for me to wear. When she was finished, she gave me a wicked grin, "So, how was your ride with Shane?"

  I giggled like a little girl. "Very...nice," I beamed.

  "That's it? Nice?" She pouted. "Do you not understand that I need to live vicariously through you to sleep with Shane? I need him to make you scream so loud that I can feel it, got it? Just throw the Who-ha at him!" As she spoke she rummaged through my bag trying to, no doubt, find some sexy underwear, "Grace, did you not bring any...oh, never mind, I bought some...lacy things."

  She walked over to her overnight bag and threw me a sexy deep purple pair of bra and undies; tags still on. I had to hand it to her, she was always prepared for an, um...sleepover.

  "So, do you like him?"

  I slipped the purple set on and shimmied into a small denim skirt. She threw me a deep burgundy low cut shirt I had packed for going out and I caught it when it almost went sailing two feet above my head. "Way more than I should for a one night stand."

  "What?" She gawked at me.

  "What do you mean what?"

  "Why would it be only a one night stand?"

  I shrugged the shirt on and pulled my hair
out of it. "Lea, come on. Shane's history is laid right out there. He's never had a serious girlfriend. I'd be a fool, like every other girl he's ever met to think I'd be different, or that I could change him."

  She stood still staring at me, mouth open wide. "Holy heartbreak! That angel of yours did one hell of a number on you didn't he? Gray, you are probably the only girl in the world that could change Shane. And girl, I think he wants you to."

  "A woman shouldn't go into something thinking they could change anyone. Just to accept them."

  She jabbed her hands on her hips and I knew I was in trouble. "Look, Gray...a decent guy doesn't just get born and grow up to be Mr. Perfect. They need to be created by a woman. They're like a dumb blank lump of clay and you have to mold them into what you want them to be, while erasing everything their mothers ever taught them and all the horrible internet porn they've watched growing up."

  I laughed.

  "I am so serious. Do not laugh. Do you realize that men actually think that porn is real? Like a girl is going to scream and thrash around like that for thirty minutes and all you have to do is be the pizza guy! The pizza guy, Grace...and they don't ever eat the pizza first! And let's not even talk about the fact that NO real girls look THAT good! It's like they all come from the planet No-cellulite-us."

  I laughed harder.

  Slipping our feet into our heels, we made our way down the stairs. Caroline whistled a catcall at us, "Those boys of yours are going to drop their jaws when they see the pair of you. Please, one of yo u, come back with a proposal!"

  Laughing we walked out of the house, we planned to meet the guys at a small bar named Sunsets right off the beach. Apparently, we were taking way too long to get ready so they left before us. I honestly think it was just to get away from Lea's parents , and I didn't blame them one bit.

  When we got into the doorway of the bar, Lea spun me around and fluffed my hair. Then she yanked at the front of my shirt so more of what she called my large assets could be demonstrated. "Come o n, Grace, you got your nasty girl panties on tonight, go inside there and get your badass." Then she smacked me on the ass. Hard. Twice. I think she has issues.