Chapter 10
The taxi journey home was spent with Grace holding her head in her hands and cussing at her own stupidity.
She knew if she drank any more than two glasses of alcohol she was asking for trouble but still she insisted on making a fool of herself on a regular basis.
Her phone beeped signalling a text message; flicking her thumb over the icon she opened the message from Alex.
Great, now she would have to endure yet more embarrassment tomorrow.
Did this guy not know when to give in? Grace toyed with the idea of replying to the message but thought better of it.
With the alcohol still buoyant in her system she figured it was probably best to wait until the morning before responding.
That way she would be sober and in complete control of her mouth.
Besides, she needed to talk to Sasha first.
The car pulled up forty minutes later outside her flat.
Grace let herself in. Bypassing the lounge and kitchen, she threw herself onto the bed, burying her head in the pillows.
She let out a loud frustrated shout as she pounded her fists and feet into the mattress like a toddler who had just been denied chocolate.
Ten minutes later she was tucked up in bed, make-up removed, and exhausted after her outburst. Pulling the duvet up over her shoulders, sleep began to drag her under.
Eyes flitting she snuggled deeper into the enveloping bed letting the warmth wash over her, comforting her.
She was vaguely aware of a phone ringing somewhere in the distance as she pulled the covers higher up to cover her ears, drowning out the offending noise.
The persistent ringing dragged her from her dream like state, rousing her into realising it was in fact her own phone.
Grabbing it from the nightstand she grunted some kind of greeting and waited to hear what was so important they had to ring in the middle of the night.
“Hey, it’s technically tomorrow, and I promised to call so....” Alex’s gravelly voice drifted down the phone. “...I just wanted to check you got home safe and well, I wish you hadn’t run out on me like that.”
He knew the situation was fragile but he really didn’t understand this woman. He hadn’t had to chase anyone this hard since high school but strangely enough, the harder she made him work, the more he wanted it.
“Alex, could this have not waited until the morning? I mean, really, you had to call me at midnight?”
“If I left it until tomorrow you would have had time to think too much. I’m not sure if I could salvage this thing then.
You’re very...temperamental. Shit, sorry.
See, you’ve got me so tightly wound...Grace, I don’t usually have to do this much work; I mean, I haven’t had to chase a girl since I was a fifteen and boy, that was painful.
Oh man...I don’t know my ass from my elbow when I’m around you. Can I see you again?”
Grace sat up in bed now wide awake, grinning like an idiot to herself; she wasn’t offended that he thought she was volatile, quite the opposite in fact. “I can’t imagine you had to do much chasing in school either. Why don’t I call you tomorrow? ”
“But will you though? Do you promise? I mean I could drop by if that’s easier...”
“Do not come to my work, Alex! People will talk about me. Please. I promise I’ll ring you at lunchtime, okay?” Grace tried to appease him now, not needing him to cause yet another scene at work.
“Well, alright, but if you haven’t rung me by one thirty I am coming to see you.” He meant it. There was something pulling him towards this girl. He had no idea what but he intended to find out.
Alex hung up with a stupidly large grin spreading across his face, almost splitting it in two. Result - she asked if she could call him. Had he not been trying to get her to do the exact same thing for the past week?
The soft morning sun broke through the flimsy curtains that covered the large picture window, stirring Grace from a deep slumber.
Checking the alarm she groaned before turning over, clenching her eyes closed again.
Just a few more minutes. It only seemed like she had finished her phone call with Alex a few moments earlier but to be fair it had taken her ages to get back to sleep.
She had kept running their conversation over and over in her head, replaying his words.
She didn’t think she was making him work for anything; they’d just had dinner a couple of times.
Although Grace couldn’t get over the fuzzy feeling his voice created in the pit of her stomach or the stupid grin that was plastered across her face as her thoughts drifted back to the fish finger sandwich date.
She was still unable to understand why he wanted to spend time with her.
Well, no time to ponder that one now, she had to be at work in an hour.
Alex paced the decking outside the lighthouse, unable to sit still.
He wasn’t used to downtime in the first place but now he was waiting on a phone call from the one girl he desperately wanted to hear from.
He had given her a deadline of one thirty; that gave her another hour to call him or he would stick to his word and drive over there, whether she was embarrassed by him or not.
Secretly he loved that she was uncomfortable being seen with him.
Usually girls fell over themselves to make sure everyone and his brother knew they were out with him.
The last relationship he had been in ended for just that reason.
Rhea was the less than popular one in a squeaky clean girl group.
Chris, his manager, had introduced them at some awards ceremony where Uni-Fi had been nominated in the Best Single category, which they had won.
Rhea had flirted with him all night and they ended up going back to his hotel room.
That one night stand had turned into almost a year.
The press, not to mention his PR team, were ecstatic at the coupling.
Alex had fallen hook, line and sinker for her until he realised that she had a hotline to the paparazzi, allowing them to orchestrate various photo opportunities or give away little snippets of information about him or his family.
He had been distraught at her betrayal because she had known just how much he hated being in the limelight.
She had witnessed first-hand his utter meltdowns at the beginning of every live show they did.
It was because of Rhea that he refused to take any chemicals; he had witnessed all too clearly the absolute devastation that rubbish caused as he watched her destroy her career because she couldn’t function without a line of coke.
That had been nearly two years ago. He had been in no rush to get involved with anyone after that. That was until now.
The buzz in his pocket resonated down his thigh, jolting him back to reality.
“Hey, you just made it. I have my car keys in my hand and I was heading out the door.” He chuckled as he listened to her beg him not to just turn up unannounced when she was at work.
“Yeah, yeah I heard you. You’re mortified at the thought of being seen with me.
You could give a guy a complex. What time should I pick you up?
I can order take out or book somewhere.”
“I thought you could come to mine. I’ll cook for you but don’t come to the studio just come over to the flat at about eight?” Grace hadn’t meant it to sound like a question but she was still curious as to what he saw in her.
Sliding his phone back into his pocket he felt like a teenager again. Giddy and lightheaded. How he was going to pass the next few hours he had no idea.
As the doorbell rang loud and shrill Grace began to hyperventilate.
She had left work shortly after their phone conversation earlier in the day so she could shop for food and start cooking.
God knows it wasn’t her strong point. Now he was on her doorstep it didn’t seem like such a good idea; what if she gave him food poisoning?
Taking a deep steadying breath she opened the door to let him in, accepting the carrier bag he thrust at her as he entered the flat.
Guiding him into the kitchen she peered inside to find a bottle of wine and a toddler cup with a lid.
“What’s this for?” She raised her eyebrows quizzically at the man who was now leaning against the countertop, arms folded across his impressive chest.
“Well, the wine is for drinking and given your history of knocking your drink over me I thought the cup would be useful.” Alex grinned wickedly as he reached for the bottle to open it.
“I don’t know whether I am insulted or grateful.” She scowled at him as he tried his best to look contrite but failed miserably. “I think you should pour that and sit while I dish up the meal I have slaved over for the past three hours! I can’t believe you bought the cup!”
Alex lowered his eyes, peering at her through long dark lashes. “I’m sorry, Ms Harris. Can you forgive me?”
She couldn’t answer him for the giggle that was now bubbling up in her throat, signalling for him to sit instead with the wooden spoon she brandished in her hand.
Staring at the plate of food she had placed in front of him, Alex struggled to differentiate what was meat or vegetable or whether there was actually any of either in front of him.
Picking up his cutlery from the beautifully laid table he poked around at the offering, spearing what he hoped was a piece of beef.
“This looks lovely, Grace, thank you.” His mother had always insisted on good table manners. Sliding the fork out of his mouth, beginning to chew, he realised it was a charred carrot and not beef. Jeez, he was going to need that wine if he was ever going to finish this.
“What’s wrong? Don’t you like carrots? It’s just chicken and veggies. Sasha gave me the recipe.” Grace eyed him suspiciously as he forced down the barely chewed vegetable. He was scared if he chewed it he may have to visit a dentist in the morning.
“Well, they’re not my favourite thing, no.
But I like chicken. Shall I get us some water too?
Don’t want to drink too much wine.” Excusing himself from the table he grabbed two glasses from the drainer, filling them with tap water before returning to what he now recognised as a sacrificed carcass that sat on his plate.
At least now he knew it was chicken. He just had to find a bit that wasn’t blackened.
Not wanting to offend her he attacked the plate with gusto, sawing away at what he presumed was the breast before popping it in his mouth enthusiastically.
Taking a large gulp of water he hoped to soften the meat enough to allow him to chew it.
He watched smiling as Grace put a forkful in her mouth before almost gagging on her food.
“Okay, the take out menus are in the drawer. Go pick what you want while I clear this.” The giggle soon turned into an almighty laughing fit as she threw her head back in hysterics.
“Whoa! Careful, did you swallow that? Spit it out, Grace, you’re gonna choke laughing with that lump of chicken or whatever it is in your mouth!” His comment only fuelled their amusement leaving them both falling about laughing.
“If you ever speak of this again I swear I will hunt you down and poke your eyes out with a spoon, Alex!” She was horrified that he had even tried to eat her burnt offerings.
“I can see it now in black and white, my next meaningless interview: So, Alex tell us about the last date you went on: Well it was memorable to say the least. I had to have three teeth repaired and the poor girl choked to death on a charred vegetable.” With lightning reflexes Alex caught the napkin that she threw across the table at him with renewed vigour before they both laughed uncontrollably again.
They sat on the lounge floor surrounded by Chinese takeout boxes from the veritable feast they had ordered in.
Music drifted out from the little speakers positioned next to the old stereo situated in the corner of the room.
“Shall I make some coffee?” Grace asked as she began collecting the rubbish.
“Why don’t I make it? It’s the least I can do after all the trouble you went to.” Alex leapt to his feet almost racing Grace to the kitchen, remembering the last one she made him. At least if he made it he knew he could drink it.