Boycotts and Barflies (12 page)

living until after our date. The next day I went to Wal-Mart and he was the one  who handed me my cart. I changed my phone number that aftern oon,”

Grace admitted sheepishly. The boisterous laughter of the guys turned a few  heads from the surrounding tables.

“Don’t forget the slew of insurance salesmen and the accountants. Dull, dull,  dull—especially the one accountant that made you split the bill for the entire  date with him down to the penny, including sales tax and gas money.”

Bianca howled, wiping her eyes with her napkin.

“I almost forgot about the mortician. Grace, do you remember that one?

After dinner he took her back to his place and it was a funeral home. Grace had  nightmares for a month about that guy.”

Of course Meg would mention Dead Fred.

Jack actually left the table, he was laughing so hard, while Michael leaned back  in his chair, with tears streaming down his face. Ryan’s whole body, shaking  with laughter, was draped across the table.

“My personal favorite was that poet guy, remember him? The earthy one who  was so ‘natural’ he wouldn’t wear deodorant, eat meat, or bathe every day, all  in an effort to supposedly save the environment. He gave us a lecture one time  about how we should all be concerned with the ozone layer and our part in

depleting it. Tell Michael what kind of car Stinky Pete picked you up in for your  date.” Bianca sat back in her chair and waited for Grace to finish the story

“A big ass Hummer,” Grace giggled quietly. “And for the record, his poetry  sucked. Most of it was about a stupid goldfish.”

As Meg opened her mouth to start into another story about her friend’s pitiful  dating experiences, Grace decided to change the topic to one that was  guaranteed to shut Meg up. “Do you want me to ask if Hector is working  tonight?”

Meg spit her margarita out of her mouth at just the mention of his name. Bianca’s eyes bugged out of her head and immediately took the hint that Grace  was done being the butt of the jokes, quickly changing the subject. Meg,  however, nervously scanned the restaurant for any sign of Hector.

They hardly even paused to touch their food, which wasn’t surprising  considering how much they were laughing and all the junk food they had eaten  at the movies. The server brought over a bunch of boxes and the leftovers were  saved, giving everyone lunch for the following day. It was getting late; the  restaurant was nearly empty by the time they decided to call it an evening.

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“We should get a move on, ladies,” Grace said quietly as she paid the girls’ half of the bill even with the boys’ vigorous protests.

“Wait,” she heard Michael say as he rummaged in his pocket for something. He pulled out his cell phone and placed it in her hand. “Can I get your phone  number?”

Grace grabbed his cell phone and tossed him hers in return. She quickly programmed her home and cell numbers and then, while Mi chael was arguing with Meg about how it wasn’t against the rules at all to exchange phone numbers with a ‘friend’ in case of emergencies or a flat tire, Grace quickly programmed the perfect ringtone to go with her number, one she hoped would make him laugh when he heard it.

She snapped the phone shut and handed it back. “Here you go.” As Michael dropped her phone back into her purse, Grace eyed him suspiciously. “No pizza places, right?”

“Depends if I’m interested in you or not. I only give my real number to women  I’m interested in. I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.” He smirked and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

Grace looked across the table and saw Jack fixing his hair and slipping on his shades for a picture with Bianca on her phone, no doubt to go with his phone number. Meg and Ryan had their heads huddled together again, whispering. She couldn’t help but notice what a perfect couple they made. He was more on the quiet and reserved side and she was as flamboyant and artsy as they come. Oppos ites who were definitely attracted to one another.

“Ladies, we are out of here!” Grace stood up and went to grab all the leftovers, but Michael beat her to it, insisting he carry them to the car for her.

He politely held open the door to the restaurant as  they stepped out into the crisp evening air which made Grace shiver.

They piled the leftovers in the trunk before Grace made her way to the driver’s side door. “Thanks for tagging along on our dinner. It was a lot of fun.”

There was no way to stop her growing smile as Michael slowly slipped his arms around her waist, pul ing her closer to him. Grace’s stomach fil ed with butterflies like she was a teenager again.

“I had fun, too. Will you do me a favor and call me when you get home so I know you made it in  safely?”

When she opened her mouth to protest, he placed a finger over her lips and whispered, “Please?”

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All rational thought went out the window and Grace was left staring at him all glassy eyed. Like an idiot, all she could do was look up at him through her thick lashes and nod her head yes. She didn’t even notice that Meg and Bianca were at the car until she heard “Let’s roll, Grace!” from Meg as she slammed the back door of the car.

“Bye,” she mumbled to Michael as she left the warmth of his arms and climbed into the driver’s seat. Before Grace closed the door, he stuck his head in. “Drive safely please.”  With a wink he shut the door and headed to where he had parked his car.

Her face still flushed from being in Michael’s arms, Grace peeked over at Bianca before she put the key into the ignition. “Oh. My. God!”

Bianca clapped her hands together. “See, Grace, isn’t it fun to hang out with a guy that isn’t as dull as dishwater?”

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“Drive safely please.” The words echoed through Michael’s head as he replayed  the last thirty seconds in his mind, again. Grace’s face had been inches away  from his and it took all his strength not to kiss her right then and there. He

knew she had her ridiculous boycott rules, not to mention two hundred dollars

on the line. As Michael walked over to the car where Jack and Ryan were

waiting, he decided he was going to have to find a way to get around some of

those sil y rules.

“Dude, we’re freezing! Are you done cozying up to Grace?” Jack growled as

Michael unlocked the doors.

“You’re just mad because you found out tonight that you can’t impress Bianca

with your legendary kissing skills like you were planning on doing. Guess

you’re going to have to get her attention the old fashioned way: earn it.”

Ryan patted Jack on the back. “Just be yourself. Wait, let me rephrase that, be

on your best behavior until you can kiss her.”

“I can be just as charming as you, Ryan, so shut it! You and Meg looked pretty

cozy over at your end of the table. One more margarita and she probably would

have crawled into your lap man! Ouch!”

“Watch it,” Ryan growled after smacking the back of Jack’s head.

Michael glanced over at Jack and the two exchanged a surprised look over

Ryan’s overreaction to a simple joke, which of course made Jack annoy him

even more.

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“Ryan loves Meg, Ryan loves Meg …” he chanted. This time, Ryan reached

forward and messed up Jack’s beloved hair.

“There’s an easy way to see how much you like her, Ryan. Out of curiosity,  what did you set as your ringtone on Meg’s phone?” Michael asked, glancing  back at him in the rear view mirror. Ryan looked very embarrasse d and  refused to speak. They all knew his soft spot for music would give them a hint  of how deeply he felt about this woman he just met.

Jack picked up on it and whipped around in his seat. “Yeah, what’s the song,  man?” he demanded, but still Ryan kept his mouth shut, unwilling to share. “You know we’ll find out,” Michael laughed, “and then it will be ten times  worse.”

“Fine, I’ll wait then. Consider it my stay of execution!” Ryan joked.

It must be good for him to be so stubborn and not give it up, Michael  thought. Jack was thinking the same thing, judging by the raised eyebrow being cast in  his direction.

Michael pulled in front of their apartment. “Last chance to confess, Ryan.” “None of your business, Mike.” He slammed the door behind him without a goodbye.

Jack ducked his head in the window. “If you find out from Grace, you have to tell me, and if I find out, I’ll give you a call. What do you think it could be?”

“I’m a little afraid to guess. You know him, probably something sappy. See you tomorrow!”

Jack gave the roof of the car a tap as Michael drove back to his apartment.

On the trip home, he glanced at the cell phone on the seat beside him at least five times to make sure he hadn’t missed Grace’s call.

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The girls made it home in record time. Before the door was even all the way

open, Meg barked, “Couch—ten minutes!” and then took off in a mad dash for

her room.

Grace happily slipped out of her extra tight jeans, then washed her face and

changed into pajamas. She managed to be the first one to reach the couch. As

she waited for the girls, she remembered that she had promised to call Michael

when she got home.

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She ran over to the counter where she had left her cell phone. Scrolling through the contacts, she found the entry for ‘Michael Andris.’ He listed his cell phone, home phone, work phone, and somehow threw in the number for Mama  Rosa’s under ‘other’ which made Grace laugh out loud.

Not knowing if he was home yet, she  decided it would probably be safest to call his cell phone first. It rang three times, and then she heard Michael laughing. “Hello? Nice ringtone by the way.”

“Do you like it?” Grace asked, assuming that was the source of his laughter.

He chuckled. “Yeah,  it’s perfect, thanks! I’m a big Pink fan you know.”

“I thought it was appropriate with your bet and all,” she teased. Meg had walked into the family room now and was staring at the blushing Grace on the phone, grinning from ear to ear.

“I take it you made  it home in one piece?”

“Yes, we did.”

“Good. So what are you doing right now?”

“Meg has called a meeting on the couch, so I assume we’ll be gossiping about these three hotties we had dinner with tonight.”

Meg yelled from her corner of the couch, “Hi, Micha el!”

“Tell Meg hello. You girls have fun; gossip away.”

“OK, thanks. Sweet dreams.”

“I’m sure they will be tonight. Good night, Grace. I’ll talk to you soon.”

Pulling her long black hair into a ponytail, she didn’t want to look up at either of her friends  who were both staring at her, anxiously awaiting the juicy details. The grin on her face gave away who Grace had been talking to. With bright red cheeks, she mumbled, “Michael said hi, Meg.”

“And?” Bianca waited for the play-by-play of their brief phone conversation.

“And, nothing. He asked me to call him so he knew we made it home in one piece. That’s it.” Grace answered the question quickly as she set her phone back on the counter, hoping they’d drop the subject.

“So, what did you make your ringtone on his phone?” Meg asked with a sly smile.

“‘U + UR hand’ by Pink.” The room filled with giggles. Grace turned to Bianca

who had been messing extensively with Jack’s phone. “What did you make

yours on Jack’s phone? I saw you smiling.”

“‘I Touch Myself’ by the D ivinyls.” She grinned wickedly.

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Grace almost fell off the couch laughing and wished she could be there to see  Jack have a heart attack when she eventually called.

“Did you tell him?” Grace gasped out between laughs.

“Nope. Meg, did you put one in Ryan’s?”

“‘You Drive me Crazy’ by Britney Spears,” Meg said, still giggling. “I can’t wait to see what they put in our phones. Promise me that no one will peek. Let’s wait until they call, deal?”

Grace and Bianca nodded their heads in agreement in between fits of laughter. “OK, girls, we need to have a conference. I want to take a scientific poll.

Cover your eyes, please.” Meg waved her hand at both of them when neither complied with her request. “Just trust me.”

Grace and Bianca were confused, but covered their eyes nonetheless. Meg, they both assumed, covered her eyes as well.

“Who’s considering bailing out of the bet right now? Raise your hand and keep it up until I say drop it.”

Grace went back to her debate from earlier—shoes or dating Michael, shoes or kissing Michael, and then finally, shoes or the remotest chance of sex with  Michael. There really wasn’t any question; her hand went up immediately. She actually was planning on telling them she was forfeiting the bet tonight. Curious to see what the others were thinking, Grace peeked between her fingers only to find Meg and Bianca both with their hands high in the air. They too were peeking to see the results of the poll.