| Chapter Two |
| “Is everything booked for tomorrow?” Grace sat on the floor of Lynn’s home gym, numerous papers spread around her. Even during her morning workout, Lynn couldn’t think about anything other than Justin’s party. “I called the club, and everything’s set. The manager said he’d even set up a back entrance for all the guests if the paparazzi show up.” “Great,” Lynn said as she pedaled harder on her exercise bicycle, “What about the food and music?” “All taken care of,” Grace replied before listing off all the details. She felt a sort of pride that everything was ready; she’d been working her tail off for the past two weeks to make it the best birthday party ever. Well, maybe second behind one of P. Diddy’s big bashes. Lynn nodded to signal that she approved of everything. “We’re all set then. I don’t think Justin suspects.” Grace didn’t think he suspected either. The birthday boy had been dropping reminders of his upcoming birthday all week. Yesterday, she’d come across a Teen Beat magazine opened to a fact page about him. Mr. Subtlety had highlighted his birthday and left it on the coffee table. Every time she ran across another one of his reminders, Grace swore she fell even more in love with him. “You know,” Lynn said, “I think Justin believes I’ve forgotten his birthday. This morning he was wearing the robe I bought him last year, and he kept on asking me if I remembered where he’d gotten it.” Suppressing a sigh, Grace busied herself with finding her pen cap. Justin was too adorable for words. Lynn stopped pedaling suddenly, “How long have I been doing this?” Checking her watch, Grace pulled a face, “You’ve still got about forty minutes.” ”Should I come back then?” Like it always did when Justin appeared in a doorway, which seemed to be a lot, Grace’s heart started pounding. A towel casually slung over one shoulder, Justin leaned against the doorframe and watched as his mother descend from the exercise bike. “It’s all yours,” Lynn laughed, grabbing a towel. “You sure? I could always come back later. I’m in no rush.” Lynn, bless her heart, looked deflated. “Oh. I guess I should finish. Maybe. If you don’t mind.” Deciding to be the best personal assistant, Grace cut in before Justin could respond. “We should get going though,” she said casually, “you have to get ready for your appointment.” A brief look of a confusion crossed Lynn’s face, but she quickly nodded, “I almost forgot. I guess I’ll have to finish my workout later.” She didn’t sound at all disappointed, but she was rushing out of the room before Justin could comment. It took Grace all of five seconds to realize she was alone with Justin. She suddenly forgot how to breathe. Frowning down at her wildly scattered papers, she said in an uneasy tone, “I’ll be out of here in a second.” “It’s fine,” he replied, “here, let me help you.” She would have protested, but Justin was already bending down, gathering scattered sheets of paper. He was so close. Grace suppressed the urge to ‘accidentally’ brush his arm. God, he smelled good. What cologne was that? Something really expensive probably. Would he notice if she inhaled deeply? “Are you okay?” Grace’s head snapped up. She really should stop getting lost in her thoughts; people would start to think she had a few screws loose. “Ummm…yes. Did you say something?” “I was just saying that you shouldn’t have helped my mom get out of her workout.” “Oh, sorry.” She wanted to say more, but her mind wasn’t working. He’d actually spoken a real sentence to her. A long one at that. He shrugged. “It’s fine. Just don’t want her to get fat you know.” Grace could almost pinpoint the second he realized what he’d said. His eyes, which she thought were as blue as the ocean, widened to almost comical proportions. “Not that that’d be a bad thing,” he quickly amended, “there’s nothing wrong with being fat…I mean overw…here's your stuff.” Taking her papers from his outstretched hands, Grace nodded her thanks. She hoped her emotions didn’t show on her face. On some level, she’d always hoped Justin didn’t think of her as fat. It was disappointing to know that he saw her like everyone else did. “I think your mom’s calling me.” It was a lie; they both knew it. It was obvious he was relieved. “Yeah. Can’t keep her waiting.” “Yeah.” Grace didn’t know where they’d gone wrong. For a moment there, it had seemed like they were going to have an actual conversation, but no, here they were not even speaking complete sentences. “I’ll see you later.” “Yeah.” She probably sounded like an idiot. With an awkward, half wave, she made her way out of the room. She'd always imagined what it would be like to be left alone with Justin. The real thing had gone a lot differently. A lot. |