Sticks and Stones (34 page)

            “What
the hell are you doing?” she hissed, glancing around.

            “We’ve
gotta talk.”

            “No,
we don’t. Excuse me,” she mumbled, pushing past him.

            He
grabbed her arm. “Admit it Grace, you were jealous when you saw me and Taylor
dancing.”

            She
glanced down at his hand on her arm, then met his eyes. “
That
wasn’t
dancing, Rick.
That
was fucking with your clothes on. I suggest you do
that shit in privacy. Photos like that could ruin your career.”

            He
gaped at her. “You really aren’t jealous?”

            “No,”
she snipped, glancing at his hand still on her arm.

            “So,
what? Are you in love with him?”

            Grace
rolled her eyes, exasperated. “Do yourself a favor, Rick. Have Zee remove your
feelings for me.”

            Her
words were like a punch in the stomach. He released his grip on her arm and
swallowed hard. “Love me or hate me Grace. Either way, we both know I’m on your
mind,” he choked out and walked away.

*          *          *

            Grace
stood in the coatroom for several minutes, to compose herself, thus giving
Justice plenty of time to return to the table.

            “Flynn,
you okay man?” Greg asked.

            “Aye,”
Justice grinned. “I’m grand.” Feeling relieved at what he’d overheard, he
poured himself a victory shot and drank it slowly, savoring the flavor.

*          *          *

            Rick’s
sullen mood could be felt by everyone at the table. Kanga patted him on the
back and poured him a shot of Patron. Rick quickly downed it and poured himself
another one. Then another and yet another. He held up the final shot glass and
muttered, “I’m not going to be in love with her anymore.”

*          *          *

            Grace
returned to the table slightly drunk and very melancholy.  Justice gripped her
hand, “Ya okay, love?”

            She
couldn’t help but smile at him. When he said ‘love’ it sounded like ‘loov’. It
was fucking charming and adorable!
Damn
my fucking luck!

            “Wanna
get outta here?” she breathily replied.

*          *          *

            Rick
watched as Grace walked towards the exit, the Irish guy had his arm wrapped
around her protectively. She turned, feeling his gaze, and frowned.

            He
nodded to her and reached for another shot of Patron.

*          *          *

            The
cool breeze felt refreshing against Grace’s hot skin. “Where’s your car,” she
murmured.

            “Me
apartment is only two blocks away so I walked,” Justice replied, wrapping his
arm around her tighter.

            “C’mon,
I’ll drive ya home.”

            On
the short ride to his house Justice turned to stare at her.

            She
felt his gaze and glanced away from the road. “What?”

            “What
did he say to you?”

            “Who?”

            Justice
rolled his eyes. “Rick, when he whispered in your ear.”

            Grace
sighed. “He said I looked beautiful.”

*          *          *

            “Ricky?
Ya want me to drive you home?” Taylor asked softly.

            Rick’s
jaws tightened and he nodded. “Yeah, that’d be great.”

            He
said hasty goodbyes to his teammates and let Taylor lead him from the bar. His
legs were a bit wobbly so she wrapped her arm around his waist to steady him
and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

            When
Grace backed out of the parking space the headlights spotlighted them on the
sidewalk. They looked awfully cozy together, she noted and sped away.

*          *          *

            “How’re
you gonna get home?’ Rick slurred.

            Taylor
rocked on her heels. “I can sleep on the couch.”

            He
shrugged, “Suit yourself. There are blankets in the closet over there. He
motioned towards a closet near the kitchen. “I’m gonna take a shower.”

            While
he made his way into the bathroom, Taylor kicked off her heels and checked out
the condo. The view was spectacular, but she wasn’t interested in a view of the
city. Not tonight anyway.

            She
entered the steam-filled bathroom and gaped at the sight before her.

            Rick’s
shower door was glass and showed his very ample assets clearly. She quickly
undressed and opened the shower door.

            He
turned when he felt a draft and began to protest when she kneeled in front of
him and took him in her mouth.

*          *          *

            Justice
walked up the steps to his apartment, alone and somber.

            He
couldna understand it. He heard her tell Ricochet to get lost. What’d changed?

            When
he walked into his apartment, he headed straight for the junk drawer and pulled
out a half pack of smokes and a lighter.

*          *          *

            Grace
walked into her house and kicked off her three inch heels. She threw her cape
on the back of the kitchen chair and headed into her office.

            Chewy
meowed at her feet and rubbed her face against Grace’s leg.

            “I
know, Chewy. I thought I banished these damn stones for good, but shit’s a mess
right now and I need some guidance,” she muttered, pulling the green velvet bag
from the desk drawer.

            She
sat on the blue chair and took a deep breath and cleared her mind. Reaching in,
she withdrew a stone and snorted. “Great, the Isa stone.” She glanced at Chewy.
“It means everything’s on hold and I’m blocked by my emotions. No shit!”

            Suddenly,
she remembered Rick’s phone message. She ran into the kitchen and dug her phone
from her purse. She bit her thumb nail as she listened to the message. After
listening to the message ten times, her nail was a nub.

*          *          *

            Groggy
from a hang-over the size of Texas, Rick rolled over and flinched when he saw
Taylor next to him. “What the fuck?” he muttered, rubbing his forehead.

            He
stumbled from the bed and snatched a pair of shorts from the dresser. “Taylor!”
he barked. When she didn’t stir, he went to the side of the bed and shook her
shoulder. “Taylor! Get up!”

            She
rolled onto her back and smiled at him. “Morning sexy.”

            The
muscles in his jaw tightened. “What the fuck happened last night?”

            Taylor
giggled. “We rocked each other’s world.”

            “Get
dressed and get the fuck out!” he yelled.

            “What?”
she squeaked. “What did I do wrong?”

            Rick
rubbed the back of his neck. “Are you fucking kidding me? Taylor, I
love
Grace! I want to spend the rest of my life with her! What don’t you understand
about that?”

            Taylor
pursed her lips and crawled out of bed. “What don’t
you
understand,
Rick? She
doesn’t
want you and the sooner you finally get that through
your thick skull, the better off you’ll be!”

*          *          *

            Thursday
afternoon Grace was busily putting the finishing touches on a design she’d been
itching to finish for a bedroom.  Zee poked her head into Grace’s office door.
“You have a visitor!”

            Grace
looked up and saw Camryn Corrigan. “Cam! It’s great to see you!”

            Camryn
smiled. “Sorry for barging in, but I wanted to say goodbye. Dec and I are going
home tomorrow.”

            “But
we never got to finish our interview!” Grace pouted.

            Camryn
waved a hand. “Don’t fash yourself. Here’s my e-mail address and phone number.
We can video chat!”

            Grace
took the sheet of paper and hugged her new friend. “It was so great to meet you
and Declan,” she frowned. “This is gonna sound weird, but damn, I’m going to
miss you.”

            “I
feel the same way. But doncha worry! We’ll keep in touch!”

            Grace
smiled sadly. “Have a safe journey home.”

            “Take
care Grace.” Camryn turned to leave and stopped in the doorway. “Justice is
crazy about you.”

            “I’m
pretty smitten with him, too.”

*          *          *

            Justice
grabbed the edges of the newspaper, cursing. A whole page was dedicated to an
upcoming bachelor-bachelorette auction. His eyes narrowed when he spotted
Grace’s name as one of the bachelorette’s for auction.

            Over
his bloody dead body!

*          *          *

            Rick
was practically pushing Taylor over the threshold when Chase stepped off the
elevator. He lifted an eyebrow at them. “Coming or going?”

            Taylor
snorted, walking towards the elevator. “I came earlier.”

            Rick
growled, “Well at least
you
remember it!”

            Chase
picked up the newspaper outside of Rick’s door and shuffled into the condo. He
placed his hands on his hips. “Another fine mess you got yourself into!”

            “I
don’t need a lecture,” Rick mumbled, rubbing his temple.

            “Did
you wear a fucking condom at least?”

            Rick
slammed his palms on the kitchen nook. “I don’t even fucking
remember
last night! How the fuck am I supposed to know if I used a pecker poncho?”

            Chase
mouthed the words
pecker poncho
and shook his head. “Do you fucking
remember that you got a hat trick not to mention a Gordie Howe hat trick?”

            Rick
poured a glass of orange juice and nodded. “Yeah. I also remember seeing Grace
at Murphy’s wearing a fuck me dress for that Irish douche nozzle.”

            Chase
sat on the stool by the nook. “Do tell…”

*          *          *

            Grace
didn’t even have a chance to knock on the door when Justice pulled it open. She
waved her hand in the air. “Whew! You smoke?”

            He
lifted a black brow. “Aye, when I’m stressed or pissed. Right now I’m both!”

            She
took off her denim jacket and threw it on a nearby blue velour chair. “What’s
up Flynn?”

            “So
now it’s Flynn?” he snapped, eyeing her outfit. It wasna showy, but she looked
sexy as hell! Her black cotton skirt touched the tops of her black thong
sandals and the grey cotton shirt showed her midriff.

            Grace
cocked her head and watched as his eyes raked over her thoroughly. It made her
insides tingle. “Would Mr. Flynn suit you?” she teased, walking closer to him.

            He
moved towards the kitchen table and snatched the newspaper up, holding it open
for her to see. “Care to explain this?”

            She
cringed at the full page ad. “Fuck!”

            “Aye!
Fuck indeed! When did you plan on telling me aboot this?”

            “I
wasn’t hiding it from you. In fact, I was trying to forget about it. Long story
short, I got roped into this. Not like I want to humiliate myself in front of a
shit load of people. It’s for charity and every year I help the fund raiser
out. Usually I auction my designing services. When I agreed this year, I
assumed it was the same deal as last year. Turns out I was wrong.”

            Justice
rubbed his jaw in contemplation. “You canno’ get out of it?”

            “Nope,”
she sighed.

            “Do
they conduct background checks on the people who bid?”

            Grace
nodded. “That’s why you have to pre-register to bid. Becky, the fund raiser,
got the Chicago PD to agree to do all the background checks and weed out the
freaks.”

            “I
still doona like it,” Justice muttered mulishly.

            “You’re
hot when you’re mad,” Grace purred, running her fingers through his hair.

            The
newspaper fell to the floor when he took her face into his hands. His tongue
grazed her lips, then he bit gently on her lower lip. “Feck Grace! I’m afraid
to lose you and you aren’t even mine,” he murmured.

            Grace
swallowed hard. “Make me yours, Justice.”

*          *          *

            “Dude!
She turned to look back at you! That’s fucking huge!” Chase clapped.

            “It
means shit,
dude
. She left with him!”

            “And
you leaving with Taylor meant what? That you want to date her?”

            “Pfft,
no.”

            “Exactly!”
Chase beamed, pulling an apple from the fruit bowl.

            Rick
arched an eyebrow. “Well, I was trying to get Grace jealous when I danced with
Taylor. Do you think she was trying to get me jealous by leaving with him?”

            Chase
shook his head. “You’re a pathetic, fucking mess. Let’s stop all this girl
talk. I’m starting to feel pre-menstrual. When do you leave for the road?”

            “Tonight.
I gotta get my shit packed for ten days. It really fucking sucks that I won’t
be able to see her until I get back.”

*          *          *

            Justice
licked his lips nervously. “Gel, I doona even know where to start.”