Imaginary Grace (45 page)

“You can change upstairs in my room,” she said. Then she unfortunately slipped a t-shirt on over the turquoise bikini as she led me up the stairs. I’ll admit I was dying to get my hands on her, but I had to keep my cool. Really now, I couldn’t just dive on her like some kind of animal – what would she think?

Once we got into her room, I didn’t have much time to mull over my next move because no sooner had she closed the door behind us than she kind of bit her lower lip, and gave me a sort of half-smile.

“What?” I asked, smiling back at her, but I knew that she was thinking the same thing I was. She moved closer until she was standing right in front of me. Then she said, smiling with her eyes cast down, “So…what do you want to do?” As she spoke, she slowly raised her gaze to meet mine.

Still smiling, I wrapped my hands around her slim waist. “Um…I think you can probably guess.”

She giggled, pushed me back onto her bed, and said, “Okay, but we have to be quick. I don’t want Ryder or Jagger to know we were up here.”

“Quick? Yeah, that shouldn’t be a problem,” I laughed, then I pulled her down next to me and made short work of the t-shirt covering up the sexy bikini. Once I had her down next to me - minus the t-shirt - I moved myself on top of her, put my hands on either side of her face, and just stared down at her.

It was corny, I knew, but I didn’t care. I didn’t want to forget this moment – the moment she was mine again – and then I kissed her, slow at first, but then more urgently until we were both again completely consumed by that incredibly overwhelming passion that we’d once shared.

I reached behind her neck and slowly untied her bathing suit top, causing it to easily slide right off and then…
and then…Well,
to tell the truth, I’ve kind of matured over the past few months and I no longer kiss and tell, so I guess you’ll just have to use your imagination.

The End.

Epilogue

Grace

One year later . . .

E
ver since the night of the concert at the lake, Tanner and I were practically inseparable. He only had two other shows until the tour ended, and after that we were free to do whatever we wanted.

I approached my mom about him coming to visit for a few days, which of course prompted her to start questioning the nature of our “relationship”. I skimmed the surface, basically just telling her that we went out a few times during school after the infamous wedding, but that he had been busy with his band all summer so we hadn’t been able to see each other. She agreed to the visit, and by the time he left it was obvious to both my parents that we were head-over-heels in love. They seemed to be genuinely happy for me.

Tanner also confessed that he’d never gotten around to telling his parents that we’d broken up. “My mom would have been crushed,” was his excuse. I wondered where they thought I’d been all this time, but it seemed that Tanner had told them that I was working a lot when I wasn’t on the tour with him, and apparently they didn’t question him.

We finally made it up to the lake house the weekend before we were to return for the fall semester. His whole family was there, even the kids, and we all had a great time.

Ryder kept her promise the night of the concert and kept her hands off Scott so I worked my hardest at convincing my mom to let her come visit me at school. She
finally
relented and let her come the weekend after Thanksgiving, but with a list of rules even longer than the one I’d taken to Philly.

Beth and I roomed in the dorms again, but we decided that for our junior year, we’d get an off-campus apartment, much to my mom’s dismay. I explained to her that it’s mostly freshmen in the dorm and that
everybody
has an apartment by junior year, so after much coaxing on my part, she finally agreed.

Tanner had wanted me to move in with him, but I knew my mom would
never
have gone for that and besides I stayed there most weekends anyway. Heck, if I lived there full time, I’d never get any schoolwork done, so it was best we kept things the way they were. Still, it was great that he asked, and in the future, who knows?

Beth and Tom’s relationship was getting more serious, and I got the feeling that he was pressing her for more of a commitment since he would be graduating next year. Things had kind of cooled with her and Adam after the whole Gary incident, and I think she was starting to realize how special Tom really was.

When I jokingly asked her if there’d be wedding bells any time in the near future she just smiled and shrugged.

Oh yeah, and I guess you must be wondering whatever happened to Gary. Well, to tell you the truth, nobody seems to know. I mean, he obviously dropped out of school or transferred somewhere else, because no one saw hide nor hair of him the entire year.

The incident with me wasn’t the first time he’d done something like that, and I think the heat was on, so my guess was that he probably figured it best to move on before he became a
total
pariah.

Tanner stayed with the band. They did another tour this summer, ending it with another concert at Willow Lake. It wasn’t a class reunion or anything like that. It was just a concert, but they still had a huge turnout.

Tanner will be a senior this year, graduating in the spring, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens with us. I know he’ll want to pursue his music, and who knows where that will take him? Us?

So, for the time being, we’re just enjoying spending our days together and trying not to think that far ahead. Who knows what the future has in store for us, but all I know is that whatever it is, we’ll definitely be in it together because together…well…together is my favorite place to be.

Tanner

One year later . . .

I
’ve been on a high ever since the night Grace and I got back together – no really, I have. The whole year was great. We spent just about every weekend together, and she came to almost all of our shows.

I was a little disappointed when Grace announced that she’d be living with Beth. I was also a little shocked that I’d asked her in the first place. Anyway, she seemed to think that she’d never get any school work done what with all the hot sex I’d be distracting her with. I guess she had a point.

I never did tell my parents about our break-up, and even though I think they may have suspected it, they never said anything. They were as crazy about Grace as I was, and my nephews – well, what can I say? – the little guys have great taste.

I’m headed into my senior year this fall, which means graduation is just around the corner – hard to believe, right? Cole approached me about an internship for the summer after graduation…it’s with some music industry guys he knows in California. It sounds like a great opportunity, but I don’t know –
California?

It’s hard to believe the changes I’ve been through the last few years. If anyone had told me a few years ago that I’d be settled down with a girlfriend that I loved and getting ready to graduate college, I never would have believed them, but it’s true. I know I’ve said it before, but it’s the truth - Grace coming into my life was by far the
best
thing that ever happened to me.

So, there you have it in the nutshell; the whole story of my journey from classic asshole to decent guy –
what a trip!
And speaking of decent guys, Scott turned out to be one of the best of them. That guy’s got more layers to him than a Spanish onion. Every time I think I’ve got him figured out, he surprises me with something new, so after a while I decided to just give up trying to figure him out. I always thought between the two of us that I was the more complicated one, but as it turns out it’s not even close. For now, though, I’m going to just let that rest, because Scott’s life…
man…
that’s a story for a
whole
other day.

Acknowledgements:

Special thanks to the following gals for their endless help in critiquing each and every chapter of Imaginary Grace. Their patience and support gave me the confidence I needed to bring this novel to completion:

Jennifer Cerminaro

Regina DeStefano

Cathy Leva

Liz Stober

Jean Travaglini

The line “…..together is my favorite place to be,” comes courtesy of Jim McMullen.

I’d also like to thank my husband and two children for their support and encouragement along the way during this wonderful journey.

My sincerest gratitude goes out to my editors, Dana and Debra, who along with their expert input and guidance helped bring Imaginary Grace to fruition. I am eternally grateful to you both.

I’d like to give a shout-out and an extra special thank-you to the legendary band Triumph for graciously allowing me to use the lyrics from their song ‘Magic Power.’ Rock on boys!

And last but not least I would especially like to thank the readers for taking a chance on a first time author and reading this novel. I’d love to hear from you!

Anne Holster

[email protected]