| Chapter Twenty-two |
| When Grace left home that morning, she was nervous. More nervous that she’d ever been in her life. What would he say? What should she say? She was trying to figure out if her car could make it to Canada. As she turned into Lynn’s driveway, she decided that even Justin wasn’t worth it. No matter what happened, she just couldn’t picture herself using the word ‘eh’ in every sentence. That is until she saw him waiting for her. He was leaning against his car, watching the entrance. There was no escape. “This doesn’t look good, eh,” she mumbled. Seeing no other choice, she parked her car right next to his. Mindy’s voice was in her head. Chanting over and over, “Don’t give up.” If only her roommate was here; she had a feeling she was going to need the support. With a deep breath, Grace got out of her car. She shut the door and walked around to the other side so that she was face to face with Justin. A little of her confidence returned. “What are you doing out here so early?” “Just hanging out.” His eyes shifted nervously as though he was afraid of being caught in a lie. Not wanting to get into a discussion on his real reason for being outside, Grace simply responded with, “Oh.” She shuffled her feet. “Umm…I should get inside. I can’t keep your mother waiting.” She turned and started to walk away, but he stopped her. “She’s not home. Paul’s wanted to spend more time together, so they went to breakfast before work. They left a few minutes ago.” It wasn’t like Lynn to leave knowing that Grace would show up for work, but she realized that even a hardworking woman like Lynn Harless wouldn’t pass up a chance to spend time with her husband. Besides, Grace had left yesterday without so much as a note to explain her absence. “Am I supposed to wait?” He nodded. His eyes met hers only briefly before he turned away to study the bright red color of his car. If it were anyone else, Grace would have sworn he was nervous. But not Justin. Justin was always confident. Almost too confident. Like he owned the world and knew it. Grace was nothing like that. She was always on edge, and everyone could see it. “Nice car,” she blurted out. He drew back, shocked by the sudden sound. “Huh?” “I like your car. Is it new?” Justin tapped the hood of his Mercedes, “Nah, I picked this up when I was 17.” “I drove an ’87 Jeep when I was 17. It made clunking noises when I turned it off.” She giggled lightly, “I think I actually miss it.” He laughed in response. Grace really did like his laugh. It was deep and throaty; especially, when he really thought something was funny. She’d never actually made him laugh that hard, but she’d heard it. He was watching her now. “What are you thinking about?” You, she wanted to say. It was the truth, and Mindy had told her that truth was the only way to go. But she couldn’t do it. Not yet. “My roommate. I was thinking about my roommate.” “Oh,” he sounded disappointed as though he knew she was lying, “Mindy, right?” “Yeah.” Of course, he remembered Mindy! Nobody could forget a beautiful blond. She thought of the night of his birthday party. They’d talked and danced that night, but when it came down to it, he still had trouble remembering who she was. “Is something wrong?” It was then she realized he was watching her closely, waiting for any indication of her mood. She’d let him know when she figured it out. “No, everything’s fine.” They both fell silent. Grace stared at her feet while Justin busied himself with fiddling with his keys. “So…um,” he began, but trailed off. “Yeah.” “Huh?” “Nothing." “Oh.” He shook his head and laughed. When she gave him a quizzical look, he responded, “I’ve never realized how eloquent we are. Somewhere, Byron and Wordsworth are turning over in their graves.” “You read poetry?” She knew it was getting off topic, but she didn’t want to pass up the chance to get know him better; especially, if he shared her love of poetry. She almost knew Byron’s She Walks in Beauty by heart. Besides, it was obvious that neither one of them was ready to discuss “more serious” matters. His response was a swift roll of his eyes, “Not if I can help it. To tell you the truth, I think I’ve only read the stuff once in my life, and that was to impress an English major.” Grace frowned. So much for shared interest. “That was nice.” “She was hot.” “Oh.” “You should see your face,” he laughed, lightly pushing her shoulder, “I was just joking with you.” Never a fan of being made fun of, Grace replied, “You annoy me.” “Oh that hurts,” he laughed, clutching a hand to his heart, “And here I thought you loved me.” It took only a split second for all traces of laughter to leave his face. “Uh, um, “he struggled for words, but nothing came to him. She wanted to help him out, but she couldn’t think of anything to say either. ‘You figured me out,’ although true probably wasn’t appropriate. She laughed, pretending that she found the situation funny instead of uncomfortable. He stopped fumbling for words and laughed too. They both sounded incredibly fake. The laughter died down, and they were left in uncomfortable silence. “Is this how it’s going to be from now on?” “What?” He motioned between them, “Us. The awkwardness. I don’t like it.” “Me either.” “I want us to be friends. I like talking to you, and I hope you feel the same. I’d hate it if we lost that because…of something like this.” By ‘something like this’ he meant her crush. “Okay.” She did want to be his friend. She also wanted him to fall madly in love with her, but since she didn’t see that happening anytime soon, she’d take what he offered. He looked surprised, “Okay?” “Okay, we won’t let something like this get in the way of being friends. I like being your friend.” “Okay, good.” He didn’t look at all appeased, “I’m glad you feel that way.” “Yeah.” He tapped the hood of his car again. “Yeah, friends,” he murmured. Justin glanced at her briefly before clearing his throat and looking away. It didn’t feel right. |