Embrace (5 page)

             
“I was just wondering if you would would like to hang out sometime?” He asks, his confidence sliding back into place.

             
“Oh... I'm not sure... It's just, well things are kind of in a weird place for me right now.......” I break off.

             
“Relax Grace Morgan. I'm not asking you to be my wife.” He says, his sweet lopsided smile falling into place.

             
“I wasn't trying to imply..... I just meant....” He cuts me off again.

             
“There's someone else......” He says, a statement not a question.

             
“There is.” I confirm. “But we aren't together and it's extremely complicated.” I say, apologetic.

             
“I can't say I'm not disappointed. But I get it.” He says.

             
“I should probably get inside.” I say, gesturing towards the door.

             
“Yeah, it's late. Maybe we could grab a cup of coffee or something sometime.” He says, his smile once again lighting up his face.

             
“But.....” I start to interject, prepared to repeat my previous statement that I am not interested right now.

             
“I can still be your friend Grace. You aren't interested in more right now, I can respect that. So coffee?” He drags out, his lower lip pouting out in the most adorable way.

             
I can't contain the laugh that escapes my throat. “Yes, coffee sounds great sometime. You know where to find me.” I say, turning towards the steps.

             
“Goodnight Grace Morgan.” Thad calls from behind me.

             
“Goodnight.” My words get a little lost in the air as I reach the door to my building.

             
I turn, watching Thad walk away and disappear around the corner before finally pushing my way inside. I would be lying if I said that I felt nothing for Thad. The truth is, if it wasn't for Zayne and my obvious issues with being in a relationship, I very well could see myself dating him.

             
He's extremely talented, funny, sweet, and very attractive. Not to mention he has the sexiest accent I have ever heard.

             
But at the end of the day it all boils down to one thing. He's not Zayne.

Chapter Five

              “So how was last night?” Becca asks as she makes her way around the bar stacking chairs while I wipe down tables.

             
“He walked me home. It wasn't a big deal.” I say, brushing off her attempt to make something out of nothing.

             
“Uh huh.” She laughs, making her way behind the bar to grab the broom.

             
“Don't 'uh huh' me. You know my current situation. It doesn't matter how attractive or charming he is....”

             
“He's not who you want.” She interrupts, finishing my sentence for me, a sour look plastered across her pretty pierced face.

             
“Believe me, if I could change it, I would. It's not like I can just flip a switch and then magically forget about Zayne. I wish I could.” I say, clearing off the last table and making my way behind the bar to throw away a couple of empty beer bottles.

             
“I know. It just sucks. Here you have this amazingly hot musician who is pining after you and yet you're completely in love with a ridiculously hot asshole who clearly can't decide what the fuck he wants and has no problem dragging you through the mud in the process.” She says, stopping a couple of feet in front of me, her hands planting firmly on her hips.

             
“It's not like he's purposely hurting me. I walked away from him remember?” I remind her.

             
“Yeah after he fucked some woman in China.” Her voice goes up an octave. While Becca would never say it, I know deep down she has a serious issue with Zayne.

             
“We've already been through this Bec. We weren't together. He had every right to sleep with her.” I say, tossing my towel on the counter.

             
“Keep telling yourself that Grace. Either way, it doesn't change the fact that he is the one who screwed this up, not you. I think you pushed him away because deep down you know that he is only going to break you and that the whole China thing is just one of many indiscretions that would likely happen in the future if you were to keep the relationship going.”

             
“I don't think so. Zayne could never hurt me like that.” I say, not sure if I am trying to convince her or myself. Besides, hasn't that been my reservation all along? That I would lose him one way or another? That he would end up hurting me beyond repair, even if that was never his intention?

             
“Are you kidding me? He's already hurt you like that. Look at yourself Grace. You mope around, sing the saddest songs on the planet, and don't think I haven't noticed the way you have watched the door for the last two nights just hoping that he decides to show. It shouldn't be like that and you know it.”

             
While I know that Becca has a point, I also know that the point is mute. Zayne made his choice and I've made mine. We are where we are because we've chosen to be.

             
“I'm not getting into this right now. We aren't together, we aren't going to be together, so there's no point in discussing it further.” I say, turning and walking away from Becca towards the stage.

             
“I'm sorry Grace. I didn't mean to overstep.” She calls from behind the bar.

             
I turn to face her once I reach the stage, shoving my guitar into its case. “You didn't. You're being my friend.” I reassure her with a smile.

             
“Besides, I have a question for you.” I say, waiting for her eyebrows to shoot up in question before continuing. “My brother bought me
Raining Strange
tickets for Friday night, you interested in going with?” I ask, watching her face light up and then fall into a frown.

             
“Shit. Are you kidding me? Of all the nights, it has to be Friday.....” She groans, leaning against the bar.

             
“I take it Friday isn't a good day for you?” I ask, setting my guitar to the side of the stage and making my way back towards the bar.

             
“I have to pick my baby sister up from the airport Friday morning. She's only here for the weekend. There's no way that I can bail on her the first night she's here to go to a concert.” She whines, clearly disappointed.

             
“Well that sucks.” I say, genuinely disappointed that she won't be able to go with me. I was kind of counting on her being able to go, considering she's the only person I know who likes the band as much as I do, not to mention Emma has to work that night so she can't go.

             
“Tell me about it.” She crosses the bar and flips the main light switch which kills every light in the bar except for a dim overhead light by the main entrance.

             
“Well let me know if anything changes. Guess I'll just have to see if Carv will go with me, though I can't see him being to overly excited about it. Neither him nor Em understand my choice in music.” I laugh when a look of disgust crosses Becca's face.

             
“Losers.” She says, holding the door open for me.

             
“Yeah, tell me about it.” I laugh, a small chill running through me as I step out into the night air.

             
“See you tomorrow Grace.” She laughs, pulling the door closed as I begin making my way down the sidewalk towards my apartment building.

             
A light breeze whips through my hair and I close my eyes, inhaling deeply before opening them again. The weather is absolutely perfect at this time of night, especially considering that during the day the temperatures are bordering around ninety degrees. While Colorado sees similar weather, it's so much more humid on the east coast.

             
I make it home in the matter of minutes and can't be more relieved when my body finally collapses on the couch, too tired to even make it to my bed at the moment.

             
Normally the late nights don't bother me, but I have had so much trouble sleeping here recently, by the time I make it home I feel like a zombie and can't help but wonder how I am still functioning.

****

              “Gracie. Grace.” Carver's voice pulls me from my restless sleep. I peel one eye open to peer up at him and am greeted by a wide smile. “Mornin.” He chuckles, watching me try to pull myself into a sitting position.

             
“Morning.” I manage to croak out, trying to stretch out my tight back muscles from sleeping on the couch.

             
“Why are you out here?” He asks, plopping down next to me and pulling my feet into his lap.

             
Slouching back down into the couch cushions, I prop myself up with one of the sofa pillows and try to make myself semi-comfortable, not yet feeling the energy to get up and go to my room.

             
“I laid down thinking I would watch a little television before bed. Guess I fell asleep before I even turned the T.V. on.” I get out on a yawn.

             
“You're going to have the worst back ache if you spend anymore time on this lumpy old thing. Trust me, I fell asleep out here one night and felt like I couldn't stand up straight for two days.” He says on a laugh.

             
“Yeah, I think I'll go to my room now.” I say, grabbing his hands and pulling myself into a sitting position before throwing my legs over the side of the couch.

             
“Before I forget, Alec got me tickets to see
Raining Strange
at the
Mercury Lounge
on Friday. I wanted to see if maybe you would want to go with me.” I say, plastering on a begging smile.

             
Based on the way his face drops, I already know the answer. “Shit Gracie, I wish I could but I actually have a date Friday night.” He says, his forehead scrunching together in apology.

             
“A date huh? Who's the special lady?” I ask, nudging him with my shoulder.

             
“Just some girl from the office.” He says, bumping his shoulder back into mine. “I could always reschedule.” He says, reaching out to push my tangled hair behind my shoulder.

             
“Don't be ridiculous, I'm sure I can find someone else to go. You go on your hot date and then come home and tell me all about this mystery woman from the office.” I say, giving him a wink before peeling myself off the couch.

             
Leaning down, I place a quick kiss to his forehead. “Have a good day at work.” I say, making my way around the couch towards my bedroom.

             
“Love you Gracie.” Carver calls from the couch just as I push my way inside of my room.

             
“Love you.” I say back, loud enough that I am sure he hears me, before closing the door.

             
I strip down into my underwear and throw on an old t-shirt before pulling back my covers and crawling into bed. My mattress feels like a cloud compared to the couch and I am very thankful that Carver woke me. I have no doubt that I would have felt like death had I slept there much longer.

             
As much as I would love to go back to sleep, considering it's just past seven in the morning, I am suddenly a little panicked that I'm not going to be able to find anyone to go to the show with me.

             
I briefly consider inviting Thad but then quickly decide against it. I'm sure he has a gig that night, considering his band always plays on the weekends.

              Deciding to see if Alec can go, I peel myself back out of bed and dig my cell out of the pocket of my jeans that I discarded on the floor. I type a quick text and then lock the phone, collapsing back into my bed.

             
Closing my eyes, I do my best to relax but just as I feel myself dozing, my phone signals a new text message. I blindly feel around the bed for my phone and don't open my eyes until I am holding it right in front of my face.

Sounds like fun.

             
Breathing a sigh of relief, I type out a quick response.

Thank you! I was starting to think I was going to have to go alone :(

             
His reply is almost immediate.

Not a chance. I'll meet you at the venue at seven.

             
I can't help but smile at my brothers thoughtfulness. Not only did he buy me the tickets but he's also agreeing to go with me. While he may not hate my choice of music quite as much as Emma, I know he doesn't exactly love it either.

You're the best!

              I hit send and then lock my phone, tossing it on my night stand before snuggling deeper into the covers. While I love my brother dearly, he's certainly not my first choice to take to a rock concert. Now if Ian were here, that would be a different story.

             
Ian is the type to dance around like a fool, join the mosh pit, and would probably even manage to crowd surf his way to the stage. Alec on the other hand, will most likely stand off to the side and watch me like a hawk all night to make sure no one messes with me, not exactly what I would call a super fun time.

             
Oddly enough, I can't help but feel like Zayne would be the very same way. I can't see him letting loose and really having fun. He seems to always have a guard up and to this day, I have yet to see it falter. Well, besides the few little peeks I got into the person he really is during our few days together at his apartment.

             
I try to shake off the thoughts of Zayne and focus on my excitement about my upcoming outing with Alec. Anything is better than going alone so I accept my fate and decide to be grateful that in less than four days, I will be seeing one of my favorite bands live for the very first time.