Sticks and Stones (38 page)
Authors: Kerrie Dubrock
She took a deep
breath and nodded. “One kiss.”
He cradled her
head into his palm, hovering his lips above hers. Her pulse quickened when he
tenderly brushed his lips against hers.
They kissed
with their eyes open and what was supposed to be a short, tongue-less kiss
became much more than either of them bargained for.
* * *
Grace stood in
the foyer of the hotel with her cell phone up to her ear. Rick approached and
wrapped her coat around her.
“Is he here?”
he muttered, looking out the window.
“No and he’s
not answering his phone,” Grace grumbled.
Rick smiled,
“I’ll take you home.”
“No, I’ll take
a cab to his house. Something’s wrong. I can feel it.”
“C’mon, I’ll
take you,” Rick murmured, pulling her out the door.
“I can’t ask
you to drive me to his house!” Grace fidgeted.
“You didn’t
ask, I offered. Besides, I’m not letting you get into a cab this time of
morning.”
* * *
“This feels so
fucking uncomfortable,” Grace muttered.
“What does?”
She snorted,
“You. Taking me to my boyfriend’s house.”
Rick shrugged,
“That’s what friends are for, right?”
“We’re back to
being friends?”
“I hope so,
Grace. I still find you to be an amazing woman. You know, you’re not an
air-head and all that stuff I’ve told you before,” he grinned.
“This is his
place,” Grace mumbled. When Rick pulled over she turned to him. “Thanks for a
lovely evening. I had a really good time.”
Rick turned off
the ignition and stepped out of the car. She shot him a puzzled look when he
opened her car door. “A gentleman always walks a lady to her door.”
“Technically,
this isn’t my door, but thanks. I can get it from here.”
Glancing around
Rick shook his head. “I’m not going to let you walk into an apartment building
alone. Come on.”
“Talk about
uncomfortable,” she groaned.
* * *
When he didn’t
answer the door immediately, Grace fished her keys from her purse. Rick lifted
an eyebrow and swallowed the lump in his throat. She already had keys to his
apartment?
They
hadn’t gotten that far.
She turned the
knob and pushed the door open. “Justice?” she called.
Rick followed
her inside and closed the door. He heard her in the next room.
“Justice! Wake
up!”
Rick couldn’t
help but smirk. Ol’ Justice was passed out with an empty bottle of Jameson
lying next to him.
“He’s fucking
drunk!” Grace hissed, slapping Justice’s face gently.
Rick took off
his overcoat and placed it on the armchair. “Whaddya doing?” Grace asked.
“If you leave
him slumped over like that he’s going to have a hell of a backache tomorrow,
not to mention a headache.” He bent over and hoisted Justice over his shoulder.
“Where’s the bedroom?”
* * *
As Rick stood
in the doorway, Grace stammered. “Thanks, for everything.”
He ran his
fingertips down her cheek and kissed her lightly on the lips. “Good night
Grace.”
She stood in
the doorway and watched him leave. Afterwards, she closed the door and let the
tears that she held back for the past several hours, fall freely.
* * *
Justice awoke
the next day with a hell of a headache and Grace lying next to him in bed.
He rubbed his
temple. He didna remember picking her up. He ran a hand along her arm.
She slowly
opened her eyes and jumped, gripping her chest. “Whoa!”
He jumped in
response. “What?”
Grace sat up
and held her head between her hands. “I was dreaming and you startled me.”
He sat up and
squinted from the pain in his eyes. “You’re here.”
“No thanks to
you,” she snipped, getting out of bed.
“Whaddya mean?”
“You didn’t
pick me up last night! Instead you drank yourself into a fucking coma!”
“Gel! Stop
yellin’! I’ve got a splittin’ headache!”
“Too feckin’
bad! Get dressed so you can take me home.”
He glanced down
at his clothes and smirked. “I’m already dressed, aye?”
Her nose
wrinkled in disgust and she poured herself back into the black dress she wore
eight hours earlier. He watched her carefully and when he worked up the nerve,
he asked, “How did you get here?”
“Rick dropped
me off because I was worried about you when you didn’t pick me up
and
when
you didn’t answer your phone.”
“How gallant of
him,” he replied sarcastically.
She narrowed her eyes at
him and stomped out of the room.
* * *
Even though the
temperature was in the low forties outside, it felt subzero inside Justice’s
car. He adjusted the temperature on the dashboard and chuckled to himself when
he turned the vents towards Grace, hoping to defrost her.
“How was
your…date?” he asked.
“Fine.”
Justice rubbed
his jaw. “Gel, I’m gettin’ tired of one word answers from ya.”
“Hmph…” she
muttered in response.
He pulled into
her driveway and she quickly got out and sped towards the front door.
Shaking his
head, he got out of the car and followed her into the house. “Would ya rather I
wasna here?” he yelled upstairs to her.
She stood near
the railing and tightened the sash around her robe. “You’re a colossal jerk,
you know that?”
“What did I
feckin’ do to piss you off?” he yelled.
She ticked the
offenses off on her fingers. “One, you didn’t pick me up after the event like
you said you would. Two, you didn’t pick me up because
you
decided to
have a pity party. Three,” she stammered, “I’m sure there’s a three in there, I
just can’t think of it right now.”
He placed his
hands on his hips. “So, that’s it then? We’re done, aye?”
Grace’s lips
formed a circle and she stomped down the stairs. “Stop being so fucking
insecure, Justice! I came home to
you
!”
Justice’s eyes
blazed in anger. “Don’t feck with my feelings just because you’re unsure of
your own!”
“What the hell
are you talking about?” she hissed.
“You and him.
He’s never gonna give up on you and I think a small part of you enjoys knowing
that.”
It’d been three
weeks since Grace heard from Justice. As quickly as he entered her life, he
left. She’d left numerous phone messages, but he didn’t return one.
As for Rick,
she hadn’t heard from him either. The only difference is that she didn’t call
him.
So, she did
what came natural to her. She threw herself into her work, except for Justice’s
redesign. He’d called and left a message that her services were no longer
required.
“Grace! Wanna
go to Murphy’s with me after work?” Zee yelled from the reception area.
She threw down
her pencil and checked the clock on the computer. “Why not go now? It’s a slow
Friday.”
“Now you’re
talkin’!” Zee giggled.
Grace threw the sketches
she’d been working on into her briefcase and shut down her computer. It’d be
good to go out and have a few drinks. Get her life back to normal.
* * *
Justice sat at
the bar, nursing an Arrogant Bastard ale. He glanced at the table that he
shared not even a month ago with Grace and his friends, Declan and Camryn. How
much had changed in several weeks.
He took a long
pull from his beer and shook his head. He missed her…so much so that he thought
he saw her enter the bar.
* * *
Zee went to get
drinks while Grace scanned the bar. Her eyes rested on the table that she
shared with Justice just a mere few weeks ago. She sighed sadly and looked
away.
How did things get so fucked up so fast?
“Here baby,
drink up and take that sad look off your face,” Zee said softly.
Grace took a
long pull on the straw, sucking up as much margarita as she could in one
swallow. “Dear Goddess! That tastes good!”
Zee patted her
hand. “Grace, you’ve been so down lately. Ya wanna talk about it?”
She rested her
forehead onto her hand. “Is it possible to be in love with two people at the
same time?”
“Well, yeah. I
love my sisters, hell I love Dmitri…” Zee traveled off.
“You know what
I mean, smart ass,” Grace grinned.
Zee giggled, “I
know. Just trying to add levity. When you’re far away in your thoughts, who
does your mind go?”
Grace snorted,
“To both of them.”
“Okay,” Zee
frowned, shifting on the bar stool. “What about your dreams? Are you still
having them?”
Grace nodded,
sullenly. “And I feel guilty as hell!”
“Why? Who are
you dreaming about?”
“Grace?”
Justice gasped as he walked by.
She blinked in
surprise. “Justice!”
His gaze
traveled passed over her slowly. He nodded in approval. No short dress today. A
wee bit too cool for such nonsense. Instead, she wore a long denim skirt with a
deep scooped white t-shirt.
Grace cleared
her throat. “How ya been?”
Justice
shrugged, “Fair, I guess. You?”
“Same,” she
frowned. His hair had grown longer and he now sported a full beard.
He tucked his
hands into his pockets. “Ya meetin’ anyone or just havin’ girl time?”
“Just girl time,”
Grace commented. “How about you?”
“Just here for
a quick drink before headin’ home.”
Zee watched the
conversation and yawned loudly. “My bad, sorry,” she blushed.
“Would you…”
Justice began.
“Dmitri!” Zee
shouted and waved her hand when he walked through the door. Rick wasn’t far
behind him.
Justice rolled
his eyes and shook his head. “Never mind. Bye, Grace. ‘Twas good to see you.”
* * *
A pleasant
smile filled Ricks face when he spotted Grace sitting next to Zee. His smile
grew bigger when he saw Justice sulk away.
“Grace! What a
surprise to see you!” he grinned, hugging her.
She shot Zee a
sneer and murmured, “It’s good to see you, too. Excuse me for a minute.”
* * *
Justice threw
money on the bar and stood to leave when he felt a small hand on his back.
“What were you
going to ask me?” Grace asked softly.
“Doesna
matter,” he shrugged.
She gripped his
forearm. “It matters to me.”
“Would you like
to have dinner? Soon?”
“Yeah, I
would,” she smiled.
He kissed her
lightly on the cheek. “I’ll call you.”
* * *
“They’re still
together, huh?” Rick mumbled as he watched the exchange between Grace and the
dick.
“Nope. This is
the first time she’s seen him since the auction,” Zee whispered. “Just be
patient, Rick.”
When Grace
walked back to the table, two blonde women hovered near Rick and Dmitri,
giggling. “Aw, c’mon, Ricochet!” they blushed, pulling their shirts back into
place.
“Sorry ladies.
I only sign paper these days,” he mumbled, scribbling on a napkin.
Grace sidled
next to him on the stool and took a swig of her drink, giving the giggling,
jiggling puck bunnies a hard stare. Rick glanced at Grace’s near empty
glass. “Shall I get you another?”
“Nah. I’m good,
besides I have to drive home.”
“You’re leaving
already?” he pouted.
“Not when the
dance floor is empty,” she smiled. “Dance with me?”
* * *
“Well, it’s a
start, Rick,” Emily said into the phone.
“Two hours of
straight dancing and flirting is a hell of a start!” Rick preened. “I wanted so
bad to follow her home though.”
“Be patient,
Rick. I think by the end of the year things will fall into place.”
“God, Em, I
hope you’re right.”
* * *
The following
week Grace pulled the Ingwaz stone from her bag. She sighed deeply, knowing it
was the right stone for her to choose since it meant she needed to tie up loose
strings. After work she stopped by Justice’s apartment. She knocked twice on
the door before he answered.
“Grace!” he
smiled. “What brings you here?”
“Well, I waited
for your phone call to have dinner…”
“Come in, aye?”
he replied, sheepishly.
He helped her
with her coat and pulled her into the living room.
“I need to know
why you walked out on me the day after the auction,” Grace asked.
“Because I’m
realist,” he shrugged. “Please, have a seat.”
Grace sat on
the couch and rested her head against the cushion. “I’m not gonna lie, Justice.
I love you and I love him. It’s shitty and I feel horrible.”
Justice nodded.
“’Tis why I walked away. I couldna compete with him. I also couldna compete
with your dream. Stop lyin’ to yourself Grace. He’s the man you’re meant to be
with.”
“Justice…”
His gaze
softened. “I know you love both of us. The difference is your love for him is
mightier.”
* * *
On Christmas
Eve night Grace went to Blake and Max’s holiday party in their swank new condo.
She had the opportunity to meet Rick and Blake’s parents, Holly and Howard, and
spent most of the evening talking with them.
Blake passed by
them with a tray of empty glasses. “I just got a call from Ricky. His flight’s
been delayed due to the snowstorm hitting the Dakota’s. He doesn’t think he’ll
be home tonight, let alone tomorrow.”
Grace frowned.
She hoped to see him and even wore a little sparkly red dress for the event.
Sitting with his parents made her scowl at her clothing choice.
After chatting
for several hours, Grace bid a Merry Christmas to all and left.
When she got
into her car her cell phone rang.
“This is Grace
Ryan,” she muttered into the phone.
“Aye, ‘tis
Justice Flynn, here.”
She grinned.
“Hi! Happy Christmas!”
“Back at ya,
gel. Are ya in the neighborhood this fine ee’n?”
“I’m just
leaving the city now. What’s up?”
“Well, I
thought we could share a drink, if you’re so inclined.”
She glanced at
the clock on the dash and frowned. “I’d love too, but it’s been a long day and
I’ve just spent the past four hours at Blake and Max’s house.”
“Ah, I’m sorry,
you’re probably with Rick,” Justice mumbled.
Grace rolled
her eyes. “No ya silly gobshite, I’m no’. I’m solo tonight.”
“How ‘bout we
make plans to share a New Years Eve drink then?”
“Deal! Just
don’t back out on me,” she warned.
* * *
When Grace got
home she called Rick. When he didn’t answer she left a message. “Hi. Heard you
might not make it home for Christmas because of the snow storm.” She sat on the
couch and sighed. “I really wanted to tell you this in person, but…I miss you.”
* * *
Christmas
morning, while Grace waited for the egg casserole to finish baking, she pulled
out her rune stones. Chewy mewled and leapt onto Graces lap.
Grace took a
deep breath and cleared her thoughts. After several moments she reached into
the velvet bag and withdrew a stone.
She held the
little stone between her fingertips and cocked her head. “Well, that’s not so
bad, is it, Chewy? Now, c’mon, we gotta get to Aunt Tilda’s before she gets
cranky!”
* * *
“Oh that was
delicious, Poppet!” Tilda mumbled, wiping the corners of her mouth. “But I
noticed you hardly touched your plate.”
Grace shrugged,
“I’ve not had much of an appetite lately.”
“Well, let’s
see if opening presents improve your humors,” Tilda giggled, pulling Grace into
the living room.
Grace pulled
several presents from under the tree and placed them in front of Tilda and shot
Reginald a grin. “Open yours first,” Grace murmured.
Tilda giddily
removed the paper wrapping and pulled the white box open and shrieked. “I love
them!” She held up a pair of big bell hipsters with peace symbols and a white
peasant blouse for Reginald to see.
Grace grinned.
“I’m glad you like them. Dee made them especially for you!”
“I can’t wait
to put them on!” Tilda crooned. “Okay, you next.” She handed Grace a large flat
box and winked at Reginald.
Grace tore the
paper from the box slowly, savoring the moment. Aunt Tilda always gave her the
best gifts. After she removed the cover from the box a gasp caught in her
throat. She glanced up at Tilda with wide eyes. “How?”
“Well, I came
up with the idea a few weeks ago and called Chase Storm. Such a nice man he is!
He used photos that he took of you at the hockey game that one night and well,
he already had a bunch of pictures of Rick…”
Grace held up
the pastel drawing of her and Rick in each other’s arms and smiled sadly. “Oh
Aunt Tilda, you’re such a romantic. And an optimist!” she growled. “I haven’t
heard a word from Rick in weeks. He’s probably given up on me.”
“Not a chance,”
a deep, husky voice said behind her. Grace gaped at Tilda. “Aren’t ya gonna
turn around, gel?” he murmured softly.
She cocked her
head and turned slightly. Rick stood in the doorway and smiled at her. She
leapt from the couch and ran into his arms. “Merry Christmas, lass.”
* * *
Later, in the
evening, Grace snuggled on the couch with Rick and gazed up at him and giggled.
“What’s so funny?” he grinned.
“I chose the
Uruz stone this morning. Just goes to show those stones know their stuff.”