| Chapter Twenty-four |
| It was going to rain. In the window behind Lynn, Grace could see the sky beginning to darken. Lynn sat at her desk, writing letters; when she was done, she would give them to Grace to type. Until then, Grace was mostly there in case Lynn had questions about spelling. They hadn't spoken very much in the last few weeks when Lynn had warned her about Justin. She hadn't talked to Justin very much either. It was like everything was at a standstill, waiting for something to happen. The room grew darker as the sky did. Reading the last paragraph to herself, Lynn absentmindedly turned on her desk lamp. Since Lynn's lamp had been purchased more for decoration than actual use, Grace moved to flip the light switch. Surprised, Lynn looked up at the light fixture above her head and then out the window. "Is it that late already?" She looked down at her watch and then again out of the window. "It's only 2," Grace replied, "It's going to rain." "Oh, thank God. I thought I was losing my mind," Lynn laughed. She started writing again but paused, "Grace, honey, you don't have to sit here. This is going to take a lot long than I thought. I'm having a little trouble wording this correctly." "Are you sure?" "Yeah, I'll find you when I finish. Don't go to far." Nodding, Grace left the room. She headed towards the living room, deciding to rot her brain with television, but when she heard the sound of raindrops, she switched courses and headed towards the library. The library was on the other side of the house and was the largest room in the house as far as she could tell. And the least used. Not that Lynn and her family didn't read; it was just that they were all such busy people that reading usually lost out to taking a much needed nap. Grace only been to the library twice, once on her first day of work when she'd been given the tour and then once to find a book for Lynn to read on her cruise. However, it had only taken those two times for Grace to realized that if she could, she'd live there. Not just because there were enough books to keep her busy until the end of time, but because it had so many windows. It was easily the brightest room when the sun was shining, almost too bright, but right now, when the sky was cloudy and the rain was falling, it was the only place Grace wanted to be. She snuck in the room, feeling as though she was doing something wrong. Lynn had always told her to make herself at home, but this was the first time she was taking it to heart. She was right. It was beautiful. Giddy, she rushed around pulling back any curtains and moved the biggest chair she could move closer to the window. Taking a blanket off one of the sofas, she sat down and curled up. It was quiet except for the rain beating against the windows. There was no lightning or thunder to disturb the calm. This was what she loved. It reminded her of being a kid, and all the times she would turn off all the lights and just watch it rain. She sat there for a long time, drifting off to sleep (she'd stayed up the night before watching The Princess Bride). Suddenly, a large clap sounded throughout the room. Frightened beyond belief, Grace gasped and jumped from her seat. She looked out at the rain and was surprised to see that there was no lighting. In fact, it had slowed down to a light sprinkle. Behind her there was muffled laughing, followed by squeaky footsteps on the wooden floors. "I've never seen anyone jump like that." Justin, dripping wet from head to toe, was trying very hard not to laugh at her. Even when he looked like a drowned puppy, he was very nice to look at. Grace wasn't sure if she was very embarrassed or very, very angry. "That wasn't very nice." She frowned at his wet clothes and then at the mess he was leaving on the floor. "What happened to you?" "I'll give you one guess," he said, not sounding very amused anymore, "I was playing basketball out back when it started raining. I just made it back in" He wiped his face with his soaked t-shirt. She'd never seen the courts out in back, but she knew they were somewhere near the edge of the property, past the tennis court and swimming pool. It must be nice to have an extremely large backyard. Except on rainy days that is. "Here," she handed her blanket to him. Her first instinct had been to wrap it around him herself, but she wasn't sure if that would be right. "Thanks. Do you think you could get me some clothes?" At her confused look, he clarified, "I'd rather not have a discussion with my mother about why we don't drip on the carpet." "Oh, I understand. I'll be right back." She practically ran to the laundry room, not wanting to go all the way to his room while he was soaking. Shuffling through the laundry basket, she found a pair of sweats and a t-shirt she was sure was his. When she returned, he was standing in front of the fireplace, warming his hands. "How'd you get that lit so fast?" "It's automatic," he said, accepting the clothes she offered, "Thanks." He stood there for a moment in all his drenched glory before clearing his throat, "I should change." "Uh huh." "Would you mind waiting in the hall?" "Oh! Yes! Of course. I'm sorry." She hurried out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her. A few minutes later, Justin opened the door, looking much drier. "Much better now." He motioned her in. She went immediately to gather all the dirty clothes, which he had dumped on the floor, and used the blanket to clean the puddles on the floor. He, being a typical male, just watched. When she was almost done, he asked, "Need any help?" She stuck her tongue at him. He laughed. "I haven't seen you in a while." So, he'd noticed. She had been sure he hadn't thought anything of it. She liked that he had. "I've been busy. Sorry." "It's fine. I was just wondering what happened to you." "Oh, thank you." "No problem, buddy." The last word sounded forced, like he was saying it just to say it. She took the wet clothes to the laundry room to be washed and when she returned, he was back in front of the fireplace. She said nothing and went back to her chair, this time without a blanket. It was starting to raining again, harder than before and growing darker by the second. The room was almost pitch black now except for the flames from the fireplace. "What an ugly day." She hadn't heard his approaching footsteps. He was leaning against the window, peering outside. "I like it." "Is that why you're sitting here?" "Yes." He gave her a rather odd smile, and she wasn't sure if it was because he thought her crazy or because of something else. "I guess we all have our quirks." "What's yours?" He turned towards her, smiling. "I don't watch the weather report." Grace returned his smile. It felt nice, almost intimate being with him here. With the rain falling and the fireplace roaring, it was magical. She wanted to talk to him; she liked talking to him a lot. They had fun together, or at least she did. "I could have guessed that. Is that all?" "You really want to know?" "If you don't mind." He pursed his lips and squinted down at her, "You're not a spy for a teenybopper magazine, are you?" "And what if I was?" "You'd have to torture me for that kind of information." She pinched his leg. It was the first thing she could grab, and she was feeling incredible at ease with him. In a few minutes, when he was gone and she was upstairs with Lynn, she'd hate herself, but right now, it was fun. He made the weirdest sound, part yelp and part scream. "I can't believe you did that." Grace shrugged. Justin walked away, shaking his head. He returned, dragging a chair behind him. He put it right next to hers and plopped down. Staring out at the still dark sky, he was silent. "I eat French fries with mustard," he said finally. "Really?" "Sometimes ketchup, but mostly mustard. I don't know when I started or why, but I like it." "I've never tried that." "You should. I highly recommend it." He let out a deep breath, like he'd just revealed a big secret, "I'm so glad to finally get that of my shoulders." "I'm sure that's been weighing you down for years." "You're very sarcastic, did you know that? I never would have thought that about you." That was a nice way to say fat girls were supposed to be polite, sweet and innocent. "There's a lot people don't know about me." He leaned forward, "Like what?" She had a whole list of things she wanted him to know about her; she loved laughing, she loved music and so many other things. She wanted him to know her; the real Grace. "I'm…," she started, but quickly turned away. She was afraid that he wouldn't care. That he'd listen to her, nod and say 'that's nice', but really be thinking 'what a sad, pathetic girl'. She heard Lynn's voice in her head: 'don't let him break your heart'. Why did she do this to herself? Why did she have to care so much about him? "Grace?" "I'm sorry." His hand touched her shoulder, but she shrugged it away. "I'm just being a nerd." God, she was turning into an emotional basketcase. She stood up, trying not to think of anything that wouldn't bring tears. Care Bears. Care Bears were good. They'd helped her out when she was a kid having nightmares about a certain guy on Elm Street, so why not now? "I have work to do." She wasn't going to do this to herself. Forget all the romantic movies, and stupid, cheesy romance novels. This wasn't a movie, and it wasn't going to have a happy ending; she needed to accept that before she drove herself crazy. She walked around her chair, so she didn't have to pass by him. "Grace?" She was almost to the door when she felt his hands on her shoulders. He turned her in his hands so they were face to face. "What's wrong? Talk to me." She wouldn't look at him. "It's nothing. Really." "I don't believe you. I thought we were having a nice talk. What happened?" Stubborn to the end, she repeated, "It's nothing." "You can talk to me," he whispered, "I want to be your friend." She finally looked into his beautiful blue eyes. He was so perfect; she almost hated him for it. Why couldn't he just be like every other boy she'd ever had a crush on. Ronny Morgan in high school (and most of junior high) had never acknowledged her (they'd been in all the same classes), and she was starting to think she liked that better. She didn't want to have her heart broken. "Please, I have to go." She pulled against him, trying to work herself free of his grasp. "Grace, I-" He kissed her. Really and truly kissed her. She didn't know what was happening. His lips were on hers in a flash, and she forgot everything. This was the kiss she'd waited all her life for. It's amazing how an inexperienced kisser knows exactly what to do when the moment presents itself. Her hands moved from her side and wrapped around his neck. She pulled him closer, deepening their kiss. She wanted him closer. He seemed to have the same feeling because his arms around her waist were pushing her closer too. She decided then that she really, really liked kissing him. |