| Chapter Fourteen |
| "How long are you going to be gone?" Grace sat on Justin's bed, surrounded by clothes, some clean and some not. The boy was living in a pig sty. He mumbled something, lost in the chaos that was his closet. He was looking for something, but Grace wasn't sure what. She glanced at the bare walls, wondering what kind of pictures he'd put up if he was ever here long enough to decorate. Her eyes fell to the mess around her; the floor was barely visible. She should make some smart-aleck comment about it. Yes, witty banter. In every romance novel there was witty banter. "Found it," Justin exclaimed, emerging from his closet with a duffle bag, "I knew it was here somewhere." The perfect opening. "It's a miracle you can find anything in all this." The corners of his lips twitched slightly. "Are you volunteering to clean it?" "Nope." "Then it's fine the way it is." Grace sighed dramatically and returned to her notepad, jotting down toothpaste, "How long are you going to be gone?" He shrugged, "I'm not sure. No more than a week." Glancing at the duffle bag he still held, Grace shook her head, "You're going to need something bigger to hold all your clothes." "I don't pack any clothes," he replied, throwing the bag onto the bed. An image popped into her head. "Are you a nudist?" Justin quirked an eyebrow, "You have such a dirty mind. Are you picturing me naked right now?" He seemed thrilled at the possibility; his ego was taking up most of the room. She was beet red now; she could feel it. "Umm?uh?no?" "Well, that's a shame." Clearing her throat a few times, she had to admit he was much better at this banter thing than her. "So why don't you pack any clothes?" "As soon as I get there, I'll end up shopping and buying enough to last the week, so there's no need to pack clothes." "Oh," she couldn't think of a snappy comeback. Throwing the duffle bag onto the bed, he rubbed his hands together, "What first?" She checked her list, "Toiletries. Toothpaste, deodorant and all that." He disappeared into the bathroom and returned with a large bag. "Everything's in here. I packed it yesterday." "What's in there?" Her father traveled often, but he only took the necessities; everything always fit into the side pocket of his bag. Justin went through a list. Some algae face something, other beauty products. "And my toothbrush," he finished. "Wow, you have more stuff than my roommate and me combined." He was blushing. "I?uh, it's one of the drawbacks of the job." Grace felt guilty about embarrassing him. "You got to take the good with the bad, I supposed," she said offhand and changed the subject, "I never did ask. Where are you going? That is if you don't mind telling me." "New York. A friend of mine is having a Valentine's day party." He carried his 'toiletry' bag to the corner of the room. "But what are you going to do the rest of the week?" She was really being nosy now. He didn't seem to mind. "There's always something to do in New York. If nothing else, I'll stop by TRL. My ego could use a good stroking." "I think your ego's taken all the stroking it needs for the next fifty years." Grace didn't really believe he had a huge ego, maybe just a little larger than the normal person's. "You're probably right. So, what else does your handy checklist say?" She listed a few more items. Once again, he disappeared and returned with an armful of socks and a pair of shoes. Tossing everything onto the bed, he motioned for her to put them in the duffle bag. She did as he'd requested while he grabbed a few more things. He laid the new items on the bed. She put them in the bag also. "Everything's not going to fit like that. Shoes should be on the bottom, socks to the side. Stack them lying down." Grace let out a disgruntled groan. This was the first time she'd ever packed a bag. When she'd moved out of family's house, her mom had packed everything. Lynn didn't let her pack anything either; Grace usually just checked things off the list. According to Lynn, she'd had enough practice over the years and could pack a bag in the dark. A though occurred to Grace. "You could do this in the dark." "Huh?" He took the duffle away from her and emptied it. Grace watched for a moment as he put everything back in their proper place. He was right; there was a lot more room now that he'd done it. "You have a lot of experience with this." "Yeah, I guess," he said, packing the socks tighter, "Just one of my many talents." "So, I guess, you really didn't need my help with this." Justin gave her a quick smile. He went to one his drawers and pulled out a blanket, "Hotel blankets make me itch," he explained. After putting the blanket in his bag, he zipped it up and carried it to the corner. "I think that's everything. The funny thing is I'll leave with just a few things and come back with a crap load of stuff." She had a horrible feeling that he was hanging out with her out of pity; not that she could blame him, she had been pretty pitiful downstairs. "You probably could have done this without me." "Probably," he responded, picking up some of the discarded clothing on the floor, "but it's nice to have company, and besides it would have been rude to leave you all alone." Grace eyed him skeptically. She doubted he would admit that he had felt sorry for her, but it did feel nice to have him at least deny it. "Well, if we're all done, I should head home. My roommate's probably worried." He threw the clothes he'd collected back onto the floor, "I'll walk you to the door." "Oh, you don't have to. I know where it is." He was already in the hallway. They walked down the stairs together; he thanked her for the help and said he'd see her when he got back. "Have a nice trip," Grace said when they'd reached the front door, "See you in a few days." Opening the door for her, Justin responded, "Happy Valentine's day." He leaned in a quickly kissed her cheek, "See ya." Stunned, Grace nodded and somehow found the strength to walk to her car. Checking to see that Justin had closed the door, she let out a squeal of delight. |