Page 19 of Dark Encounter
Chapter 8
Grace
"So tell me again why we have to make all of these paper mache things? You know they sell this kind of shit at the store." Jenna scooted over and stretched out her legs.
"Because we decided at the library that we wanted everything to be organic this year. You know... made from us." I reached out and grabbed another piece of paper before contorting it around a balloon. "It's going to be great."
"Yeah. When we get it all done." She smiled, and everything seemed okay for a moment. Her smile faded a little. "Hey. You okay?"
"As good as I can be." I shrugged. I wanted to tell her how badly I wanted Erik to want me, but it seemed so lame. He was way too much man for me to handle. I should have been lucky that he hadn't called all weekend. Not that we'd made that arrangement anyway. We shared an hour of passion, and he left me to lock up and see myself out.
He was an asshole, and I was an idiot.
"You know that you can have any man in this whole damn city, right?" Jenna reached out and squeezed my knee.
"But what if I only want one?" I forced my voice into a normal calm sound. She'd pick me apart in minutes if I showed my true feelings. There was no way I was ready for that.
"Grace." She took a deep breath and let it out. "I was in the wrong for encouraging things with Erik. He's a dangerous man. I shouldn't have let Nate help me get him there for you. I'm an idiot, but you're not. You're way beyond him."
"Okay." I nodded and glanced down at the paper in my hands. Fuck. I was going to cry again. How many times could I cry over something so stupid? I hated myself as I turned and got up. "Be right back."
"Grace," she called after me, but I jogged down the hall and closed myself up in my bathroom. "Grace. Let me in. I understand what you're feeling."
"I know you do." I pressed a rag to my face and dropped down on the toilet. "I'm okay. Just give me a minute to pull myself together. It's silly."
"No, it's not. If Nate hadn't forced himself on me, we wouldn't be together." She let out a frustrated huff. "But Erik isn't Nate. I know he's interested in you, but him not getting involved in your life is a really good thing. I was there when he shot Ashely."
"He did that to save you, Jenna." I wiped at my eyes roughly. "I'm okay. Just leave me be. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"
"Grace. No. Come on. We were going to spend the day together."
"I know. I'm sorry. I'm trying to work through all of this, but I just feel stupid and childish. I want something I can't have, and that's okay, but I have to still work through the feelings of being denied."
"He didn't den-"
"Yes, he did. Please leave, okay? I'll call you later. I'm not doing this right now." I got up and turned on the shower, forcing the conversation to end. We'd been friends most of my life, but in all of those years, I'd talked about one or two guys, and she'd talked about a million. This wasn't my forte. I didn't know how to act, what to say, how to seduce them. I was an idiot, and it was obvious by the sound of my voice in my head, the replay of me begging Erik to fuck me playing on a broken reel.
He was dangerous. I knew that, and yet it didn't seem to matter.
I paced for a little while, walking around the bathroom until I knew Jenna was gone for sure. After splashing cold water on my face, I walked out into the apartment and made my way to the kitchen. I rarely drank alone, but the moment felt too right to pass up the opportunity.
"Guess I'm too much of a good girl for you, hmmm?" I poured the first shot of Everclear and lifted it to my lips, quivering at the horrible smell of it. "Here goes nothing."
I threw it back and yelled loudly as it burned all the way down my chest to my stomach. One would never be enough though.
Four shots later, I stumbled down the hallway into my bedroom and turned on the nineties station before stripping into my panties and bra. I danced around the room, my thoughts entirely on the music blaring from the speakers. No problems for me. I didn't need 'em.
A hiccup burst from my lips, and I dropped down on the bed, laughing at my ignorance. How stupid was I? Thinking a hot bastard like Erik Bertinelli wanted an ugly duckling like me. I laughed louder, the movement shaking me as I lay half-naked in my bed.
He was a man, and I was nothing more than a little girl, trying to figure out how the fuck to grow up.
I grabbed my phone and pulled up Nate's number, texting him to get Erik's number. Time to break it off completely and tell him. I'm not interested in anything you have to offer, Mister.
"That'll do him right." Hiccup.
My phone buzzed beside me, and I scooped it up, expecting it to be Nate, but it wasn't. Unknown caller. It could be fun.
"This is Grace Adams. How can I make your day?" I whispered seductively into the phone, half-expecting it to be a call center from the Middle East.
