Imaginary Grace (4 page)

As usual, he was with Scott.
I
observed Scott say something to Tanner, making him laugh as his eyes lit up.

“Grace,” I heard Beth whisper, “Isn’t that lover-boy over there? Why don’t you go over and say hi?”

“Shhh,” I hissed as I turned to her, “in a minute.”

“Well, don’t look now,” Beth said with a smirk, “but here he comes.”

I stared straight ahead, eyes wide as my heart thudded in my chest. I felt him approaching from behind and then suddenly felt his hand touch the sleeve of my sweatshirt, giving it a slight tug. “Hey, Grace, what’s up?”

“Oh, hi, Tanner.”

Just then Beth turned and, barely containing her amusement, said “Oh, Grace, aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?”

I must have blushed to my hairline. “Oh, yeah, sure, Beth this is Tanner; Tanner, this is my roommate, Beth.” They exchanged nice-to-meet-yous, then she smiled at me and turned back to Gary and his friends.

Just then, Gary turned around and gave Tanner a curt nod. “Hey, Tanner.”

Tanner replied with a simple, “What up, Gary.” Maybe it was my imagination, but I detected a slight animosity between the two. They held a stare for a few seconds, then Gary turned back to the group.

Scott, who had been standing behind Tanner, stepped forward. “Hi Grace,” he said as if he’d known me forever. “Tanner mentioned he was meeting you here.”

Hmm . . . he mentioned me?

“Come on,” Tanner said. “Come with us to get some beers.”

“Um…okay, sure,” I said, even though my cup was still half full. I started to follow them inside, but not before I caught Beth’s eye and raised my eyebrows at her. She winked and I laughed, quickly covering my mouth before following them inside.

We snaked our way through the crowd and into the kitchen. While they filled up their cups, I had a brief flashback of the last time I ran into them at the keg and inwardly cringed.

We went out to the front porch, where Scott monopolized the conversation for a while before a tall blonde caught his eye and he excused himself.

“I got here later than I wanted to,” Tanner said. “I got held up at work and then fell asleep for a couple of hours; I didn’t wake up till almost ten.”

“Oh, where do you work?” I asked.

“At the gas station over on Essex Street. I do oil changes, sometimes pump gas. I only work there on Saturdays and they let me work on my car when it’s real slow.”

“Oh.” Then, not knowing what else to say, I just kind of nodded and smiled.

“So, Grace, where do you hail from, or are you a local?”

“No, I’m not a local. I’m from New Jersey.”

“Aah, a ‘Jersey Girl,’” he said, curling his fingers into air quotes, “and do you hang at the Jersey Shore?”

“Well, I’m from North Jersey. It’s right on the border of New York State, so I only go down the Shore for vacations.” We continued making small talk for a while, but then Scott came back and once again took over. I didn’t know if I was annoyed by this or relieved that some of the pressure was off.

It didn’t matter, though, because before I knew it Beth came looking for me, ready to go. I reluctantly said goodbye to Tanner, wondering whether I had imagined the look in his eye. Was he disappointed that I was leaving?

Chapter 6

Tanner

O
nce I was sure they were out of earshot, I turned to Scott. “Where the fuck did you go? I told you I didn’t want to be stuck with her alone!”

“Oh, relax,” he said, “you were fine, and oh, that hot piece of ass I followed into the house is coming to J.D.’s with us.”

“Shit,” I said ignoring his comment about the hottie, “this is going to be a lot harder than I thought. And what the fuck was she doing here with Gary? Damn, he better not fuck this up for me; I fucking hate that guy.”

Just then Scott’s blonde came over and announced that she was ready to go. Scott shot me a don’t-fuck-up-my-night look, so I adopted the role of friendly wingman and the three of us headed off to the bar.

Inwardly, though, I was still stewing about how I was going to pull this off. I’d never encountered a girl like this; getting her to say
anything
was like a major effort. I’d have to kick it up a notch, especially if Gary was on the scene. That was all I needed, for him to start trash-talking me to Grace. That tool had enough dirt on me to sink my whole plan.

Once we arrived, I took a seat at the bar and ordered a beer while Scott cozied up to his blond. I glanced over at the small raised area in the corner that served as Hudson-Nash’s stage and reminisced about the last time I’d played with them—the energy in the room, syncing up with guys who loved the music as much as I did… I’m not into the drug scene, but, man, if there was a drug that made you higher than playing in front of a live crowd – well, that’s a drug I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on. And that didn’t even include the girls that came with being a musician.

I didn’t know whether it was my longing to play with the band or the endless mind-numbing chatter with Grace, but I was suddenly exhausted. I was ready to go home, but not alone. I raised my beer bottle to my lips and my eyes to the mirror behind the bar, scanning the reflection for an easy score. Amber was on the other side of the room, playing a game of pool.
Can’t get any easier than that
. With a renewed sense of purpose, I hopped off the stool, sauntered over to the pool table, and casually leaned against the wall where the cues were lined up. There I stood, nursing my beer as I waited for her to look up from her game.

She came over as soon as she saw me, a sly smile spreading across her face. I was mildly surprised—not even a hint of hard to get, even after I’d kicked her out of my place. “Well, well, look who’s here.” She put her hand on her hip. “Where’ve you been all night?”

“Looking for you,” I answered teasingly as I reached over, sliding my fingers into the belt loop of her jeans and pulling her over. “I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind since the last time we hung out.”

“You’re full of shit,” she said, but she was still smiling and I could tell she was falling for it hook, line and sinker.

“Come on, now,” I said, adopting a pleading expression. “You’re not gonna deny the awesome time we had, are you?” I leaned over and whispered in her ear. “What do you say we get out of here?”

She hesitated. “Buy me a drink and I’ll think about it.”

“You drive a hard bargain,” I said, pulling my hand back. “I’ll be right back.” I got her a beer at the bar, brought it back to the pool table, and handed it to her. She smiled with that look girls get when they think they’re making you work for it. Her pool game forgotten, she grabbed my hand and pulled me over to a table in the back.

“So…” she began, “you really had a good time the last time we hung out? ’Cause when I didn’t hear from you, I didn’t know what to think.”

“Come on, baby,” I whispered across the table as I ran my hand slowly up her arm, “you know I had a good time… and it only gets better from there.” I could tell I was wearing her down—not that she took much convincing. “So…what do you say…you want to blow this place or what?”

She pretended to debate it for a moment, then said, “Okay, but how about we go to my place this time? Nobody’s home tonight.” There was no need to answer; I just smiled as I stood up and put my hand out to her.

It was a short drive from the bar to where she lived, but apparently long enough for Amber to shed whatever self-respect she had left. She was all over me in the car, pausing just enough to mumble directions. When she pointed out her building, I parallel parked, grabbed a condom out of the glove box and slipped it into my pocket. Then the two of us stumbled up the stairs to her apartment.

As we reached her front door, she pulled her keys out of her jacket and jingled them, giggling. I realized she was pretty drunk. Then she pounced, sticking her tongue down my throat and tearing at my shirt. Finally, I took the keys from her and turned to the door. The second the lock clicked, I pushed her backwards through the open door, slamming it shut with my foot.

We didn’t make it to the bedroom, instead tumbling on to the living room couch. I grabbed the bottom of her tank top and in one swift motion slipped it up and over her head, leaving her in just a black lace bra, which I quickly discarded and tossed to the floor. I got to my knees and pulled my t-shirt off, then she reached up and undid the button of my jeans, slowly unzipping them and reaching inside as she smiled wickedly.

She was making this
real
easy. I slowly peeled off her jeans until she was down to just a black lace thong. Still smiling, she slowly slid it down on one side until I pulled it the rest of the way off. Suddenly realizing I still had my work boots on, I kicked them off, closely followed by my jeans but not before remembering to grab the condom out of the pocket.

She took the packet from me and tore it open with her teeth, then reached up toward me. She maneuvered like a pro –quick and efficient—and I didn’t know whether to be impressed or put off. She hesitated just long enough to look me up and down appreciatively; then, she took a long, deep breath and pulled me down on top of her. As she snaked her arms around my neck, I decided I was definitely impressed and then…well, I think you get the drift.

After we were done, she turned over onto her stomach and stretched out, and that’s when I noticed for the first time that she was inked with an intricate-looking tramp stamp. I shook my head and smiled – typical - before fishing around for my discarded clothes.

I dressed quickly, then sat back down on the couch and pulled on my unlaced work boots. As soon as I had them back on, I stood up and gave her some lame-ass excuse about having to get up early the next day. When she didn’t question my abrupt departure, I made a mental note that she was definitely worth another repeat performance.

“I’ll give you a call,” I said, flashing her one of my killer smiles. She looked up at me with an expression that said she knew the deal. I would not call her, but I would go home with her the next time we bumped into each other at J.D.’s. I gave her a minute to slip her tank top back on, then gave her a light peck on the forehead and headed out the door without a second glance. I got into my car and sat for a minute before starting it up. It had been a long night, and on the drive home I wondered absently if random sex without commitment would ever get old. I smiled wryly to myself –
I doubt it.

I should have slept like a baby that night, but I didn’t. Finally, at 6 a.m. I got out of bed and hit the gym. I wasn’t there five minutes before Gary cornered me. “What’s the deal with you and Grace?” he asked.

I gave him my most intimidating stare, then folded my arms across my chest. “Well,
Gary
, not that it’s any of your business, but Grace and I are just hanging out – for now. You gotta problem with that?”

“Watch yourself, Tanner,” he challenged.

“
Watch
myself?” I replied with a humorless laugh. “Gary, you’re hardly in a position to swoop in and save Grace from me, so don’t even try.” I moved in closer to him. “Maybe Grace would be interested in hearing about your little incident last spring,” I said quietly, “and from what I hear it wasn’t the first time. What do you think she’d say about that juicy little nugget?”

“You can’t prove anything.”

I knew he had a point. “Gary, let me make myself crystal clear by saying that you’d be wise to stay
the fuck
outta my business.”

“What’s up with you, Tanner? Grace isn’t even your type.”

“Well, if I remember correctly, and I think I do, she’s not exactly
your
type either.” But even as I said it, I knew it wasn’t true; I knew Grace was
exactly
Gary’s type, which made me all the more determined to keep him out of the way. “You’d be wise to keep your distance – ¿
comprende
? Now if you don’t mind,” I said, already turning my back to him, “I’ll get back to my workout.”

I’d been hoping to come to the gym to work off my shitty mood, but the encounter with Gary had only made it worse. There was little doubt that I’d have to put a lot more time into “Project Grace” than I’d previously thought, especially with Gary lurking around. Somehow, I’d have to make sure she had minimal contact with him until this was over.

In between bench presses, I considered my options. Maybe after class on Friday I’d walk her home or something.
Oh God, shoot me now!

After my workout I went home and showered, then spent the rest of the day playing my guitar in my room and watching the baseball playoffs. Finally, mercifully, I passed out, exhausted.

On my way to class on Friday, I mentally rehearsed what I was going to say to Grace. I didn’t want to come on too strong and scare her off. I had to take it slow and lure her in. I walked into class and took the seat right next to her. “Hey there,” I smiled, “long time no see.”

She smiled and said hi.

“Did you have a good time the other night?” I asked.

“Um, yeah.” She turned and faced the front of the room.

God
damn
, this was like pulling teeth. I watched her out of the corner of my eye during class, but she didn’t once look my way. When class was over, we walked out together and I asked her if she wanted to stop in the cafeteria. She didn’t say anything, but she nodded, almost eagerly, it seemed.

She was predictably quiet on the way there, then said she didn’t want anything. Shrugging off my annoyance, I grabbed a coffee. “Which dorm are you in?” I asked when we got outside.

“We’re in Dorm C, on the north end.”

“Oh, great,” I said, “I’m heading that way” -
not really
– “we can walk together.”

“Oh, okay,” was all she said. We walked silently for a while and then I finally asked, “So, how do you know Gary?”

She hesitated for a moment before she replied, “Um…I know him from the gym.”

“The gym?” I questioned. “I didn’t know you went to the gym. I work out there too.”

“I know. I’ve seen you there,” she said.

Uh oh, what did she see?
“You have?”

“Yeah,” she said, “I saw you there once when we first signed up. It was early in the morning, but Beth and I usually work out in the afternoon.”

“Oh, I guess that’s why I’ve never seen you there – I usually go in the mornings.” Then I had an idea. “Hey, maybe sometime we can do the treadmill or the bikes together-- after I finish my workout.”

She hesitated a beat, then said, “Um…sure.”

“Okay,” I said, pulling out my phone, “why don’t you give me your number and we can work something out.”

She said the numbers slowly, then repeated them to make sure I got it right. Was she blushing?

“Great, I’ll text you or give you a call next week.” By then I could see her dorm up ahead. “Okay, I’ll guess I’ll see you around then…” Shit, even I felt nervous. She was so awkward!

“Yeah, okay,” she said, then she turned and went inside without a backward look.

I walked back to my car feeling like my head was going to explode. Were there really guys out there who actually put in this kind of effort with girls? It was exhausting. But at least I had solved the mystery of where she knew Gary from. Meeting her at the gym actually killed two birds with one stone—I could talk her up and keep her away from him. I’d text her next week and ask her to meet me there.
Oh, brother.