Chapter 24 – Dean
Carmen and Isaac had no qualms about throwing popcorn around my media room. It was already all over the floor where it had hit the screen and fallen, and we were only halfway through the movie. They were on the far end of the long sectional we’d dragged in front of the projector screen. Usually, I had two large movie-theater chairs in front, one for me and one for Henry when he’d come over to watch sports with me, but we’d rearranged for tonight. Molly and Miles were in the middle of the couch with their footrests popped out, and Grace and I were lounging on the left side.
I was half watching the movie and half watching her, hoping this couples thing wasn’t weirding her out. She’d dressed up kind of date-night-esque, with dark wide-leg jeans and a light blue button-down blouse that cut down just enough in the front for her to show off a couple of delicate gold necklaces against the olive tone of her skin. She’d left the wedge shoes she’d worn here by the front door.
“Come on!” Carmen called out when the dragon in human form continued to sleep while his love interest watched over him. They were stuck in a cave, waiting for the dragon hunters to leave so they could fly away to safety. “Wake up and kiss her already.”
“I think it’s kind of cool that his snoring causes smoke to drift out of his nose,” Molly said.
“That’s the first time ‘kind of cool’ and ‘snoring’ have ever been used in the same sentence.” Miles bumped shoulders with his wife. “When I snore, all I get is a pillow to the face.”
“It was one time, and I was going on two hours of sleep. Lucy was teething.”
“Shh,” Grace whispered. “Something’s about to happen.”
“It’s about time,” Carmen grumbled. “I’m with Miles. It’s gross that she keeps playing with the smoke coming out of his nose.”
Isaac laughed. “And yet you want them to kiss.”
“Yes. I want them to do normal couple things.”
Grace shushed everyone again. Someone was creeping into the cave to kill them. Finally.
“Please let them die,” I whispered in Grace’s ear.
She clutched my wrist, her eyes never leaving the screen. “You wish. They’re not going to die. We haven’t seen the kiss with all the flames bursting around them yet.”
The bad guy on screen pulled out a knife and crept closer. The pressure on my wrist increased. Grace talked a good game, but she was a scaredy cat. Interesting.
I stayed awake for the knife fight and the injured flight out of the cave. The dragon guy passed out after landing them on a beach and turning back into his shirtless self with perfect abs and a small knife wound in his side. And then I passed out, too. From boredom.
I woke up when someone shook my shoulder sometime later. Grace was curled up against my other side, warm and soft, and very much asleep.
“Hey, thanks for inviting us. We’re gonna go.” I looked up at Molly and Miles and the blank screen behind them and started to sit up .
Molly put out a hand. “You’re fine. Carmen and Isaac just left. We cleaned up the mess the girls made in the other room. Piper’s out. She conked out in a chair.”
“I should walk you guys out.”
“Stay here with your lady friend.”
“I’m not his lady friend,” Grace murmured, using my arm as leverage to sit up. “And I’m awake now.” She uncurled her leg from over mine and wiped the corner of her mouth, glancing back at my chest to see if she’d drooled on me. I smiled and wiped my fingers against an imaginary spot on my shirt just to tease her.
She narrowed her eyes at me, but it turned into a smile. I wouldn’t care if she drooled on me. And I loved that she’d grown comfortable enough to make it a possibility.
Molly reached down and hugged Grace. “Just so you know, it was your brother and sister-in-law’s idea to sneak out without waking you two up. And they left their popcorn explosion. I don’t know why, maybe to keep you here longer helping Dean clean. I’d disown them.”
Grace stood. “They know me too well. I’ll stay and help clean up, I’m just gonna check on Piper first.”
After she left, I pulled out the vacuum and took care of the popcorn. Maybe she could help me with the dishes. She came back a few minutes later to a clean room, looking around in amazement. “How did you do that?”
“Central vacuum system. It’s whisper quiet.”
“I wanna see.”
I should have known Grace would actually want to see the inner workings of my vacuum system. Of all the things to impress her with, this was it. I showed her the panel in the wall that opened, hiding the vacuum hose unless it was in use. She pulled it back out and flipped the button, testing out the suction on my carpet for a few seconds before putting it back. “So, this is how the rich live.”
“With our fancy vacuums.”
“Exactly. ”
“When did you fall asleep?” I asked. “Did you miss the epic movie kiss?”
“No. You did, though. You missed all of them. There was this one kiss where Bastien was in dragon form with his wings out, about to land, and Malisia runs at him and they meet in the middle right when he shifts, and she wraps herself around him like an eager starfish.” She fanned her face. “I’ll admit. It was pretty hot.”
“You better show me what you mean. So, he starts like this…” I climbed up and stood on the couch putting my arms out like wings.
Grace raised an eyebrow. “Nice try, Dean. You can dare me into a lot of things, but kissing you while reenacting a scene from a dragon shifter movie isn’t one of them.” When I continued to slowly fan my arms and stare her down, she dropped her head and laughed. “Holy heck, do you save this side of yourself only for me?”
“Yes.”
She glanced up at me. I was serious, and she knew I was serious. Yes, I would do just about anything for her attention, but I also felt safe doing it. There was something pretty magical about having a secret friend. Isaac and Carmen knew we were comfortable hanging out together now, but they had no idea what that actually meant for us. And they probably never would.
My risk paid off. Grace couldn’t stand to leave me standing on the couch being the only one looking like an idiot. She walked to the other end of the sectional and climbed up. “One of us is going to end up with a broken nose.”
“We won’t actually kiss. I just kinda want to investigate this eager starfish move.”
“I hate you right now.” She shook out her shoulders and stretched her neck from side to side, warming up for whatever this was. “Don’t drop me.”
“So, I’m catching you?”
“Yes, right after you shift, when your wings become arms. ”
“Okay, on the count of three.” I gave us a countdown and then jumped off the couch, running at her, and she did the same. But there was so little space, she didn’t get time to leap, and instead ran into my chest. Her arms came around my waist after the fact, along with one leg.
She looked up at me with her chin resting on my chest. “That didn’t quite work.”
“We need more room.” I separated my part of the sectional and slid it against the wall, and then I did the same with her section, moving it to the opposite wall, giving us a lot more space.
Without talking about it, we both climbed up on our couch cushions to try it again. I wasn’t sure if this was the dumbest or the smartest thing I’d ever done, but I couldn’t back down now. That was the problem with dares. Once you had a partner in crime, you were committed.
“Ready?” I asked.
She nodded, and I gave us the countdown.
More prepared this time, I hunched down a little bit right before she got to me and caught her up, supporting her weight when she wrapped her legs around me. Her hands clung to my shoulders. This was less eager starfish and more like a starfish hanging on for dear life. She laughed, and I gave us a little spin.
“This feels more like a country dancing move rather than epic movie reenactment.”
She nodded. “I agree. Put me down. I’m thinking you need to run all the way to me, and I’ll leap from the couch straight into your arms. That way we’re not fighting gravity.”
“Good thinking.”
I didn’t bother getting up on the couch this time. I planted my feet right in front of it in a hero stance and stared her down the way Bastien might.
“You look like you’re ready to murder me, Dean.”
“It’s called a smolder. But also, Bastien is totally a murderer. He roasted a whole village before I fell asleep.”
“On accident. ”
“Sure. Okay, one, two, three.” I ran at Grace and she leaped at exactly the right time, launching from the couch and wrapping her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist. The perfect cradle. I had her securely in my arms, and when our eyes met, she was the one with the smolder.
My heartbeat kicked up and time seemed to stop. Her hands slid from the back of my neck until they were on the sides of my face, and she studied me, like a decision was warring inside of her. I couldn’t make it for her. I wouldn’t. And then she was kissing me, and I was kissing her back. Her mouth on mine moved like it belonged there, like she owned me. My arms were locked in place, but I pulled her in even closer while her lips claimed mine over and over again, and she angled me in for more. The scent of almond extract and honey butter came from her hair, teasing me, locking this in as a core memory. I wanted my hands in her hair. I’d have to move us to the couch.
A small gasp from the doorway startled us both, and I turned with Grace still in my arms to see Molly standing there like a startled mouse. Only less terrified. She managed to look both repentant and gleeful.
“I’m sorry. I forgot my YETI cup.” She darted forward and grabbed it, holding it up as evidence.
“This is not what you think.” Grace said.
Molly took a step back. “You wouldn’t believe the weird stuff Miles and I try. And for the record, I didn’t see anything. Carry on. Piper’s still asleep.” She ducked out and ran. A few seconds later, the front door opened and closed with a click. If we hadn’t been so preoccupied, we would have heard her when she came in.
I released Grace and she slid to the floor, resting her forehead against my chest, less in a cuddly way and more in a refusing-to-lift-her-head sort of way. She groaned. “This is so embarrassing.”
“Agreed. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It was fun.” She ran her hands across my forearms before dropping her hands back to her sides and taking a step back. Her words wouldn’t have worried me if there wasn’t the sound of defeat in them, and if she could meet my eyes.
“Grace, I’m not here to have fun. And I don’t think you are either.”
She retreated from me and plopped back onto the couch, wrapping her arms around her knees. “You don’t get it, Dean.”
“What don’t I get?” I sat down on the middle section of the couch, giving her plenty of space.
“The last guy I kissed? It was right after my divorce finalized. My mom had Piper for the night, and I ran into a guy I knew from high school at the grocery store. His life wasn’t going any better than mine. He’d married his high school sweetheart and it hadn’t worked out. She left him for someone else. I’d already heard about it through mutual friends. So, after talking for a few minutes, we ditched our carts and went to the movies and held hands. And then he dropped me off and we made out on my porch. He said he’d call me. He never did.”
“What a jerk.”
“I knew he wouldn’t. And I was glad.”
“Why?”
“Because we’d both loved someone and had our hearts ripped out. We weren’t falling in love. We were… I don’t know, finding solace in each other. For some people, that’s enough. But I don’t want to be with someone who doesn’t love me. I already lived through that.” She rubbed her hand over her mouth. “And then you come along, and you’re so… easy to care about. And I know I shouldn’t, but I just can’t keep resisting you.” At that, she looked up at me and sighed.
I leaned forward. “Then don’t resist me anymore.” Even now, I could see her fighting the connection between us. That pain didn’t have to continue. She didn’t have to keep carrying it with her.
She finally looked away, shivering. “I need to. You have to see that. ”
“You don’t think I can love you?” I thought about all my stupid flirty comments. I’d led her to that conclusion. I hadn’t given her a reason to think I was serious about her.
“I think you’d want to because you’re so good. But it’s not just that.” She put a hand to her chest. “I don’t know if I’m capable of loving someone anymore. Holding nothing back. And yet, just having fun feels wrong. So where does that leave me? I’m stuck, and that’s not your problem. So, let’s just be friends.”
“Let’s be both.”
“Dean.”
When she said my name like that, I wanted to sigh. It was so familiar, this affectionate frustration she held. I wanted to pick her up and hold her until she stopped clutching all these half-truths in her hands like trophies she’d won. Yes, she’d been hurt, but she was so capable of love. And now that I knew why she’d been putting me off for so long, I’d stop tiptoeing around what we had. Then maybe she could, too.
I got to my feet, making her eyes go wide. “You’re right, you do deserve someone who will love you forever. But you’re wrong if you think you can’t love them back. And you’re wrong if you think it couldn’t be me.”
“You can’t know that. About me or about you.” She shook her head, and I could see the stubbornness setting in. I’d never tried to out-stubborn her when she got like this, but I’d have to. I’d just have to.