âEverything appears to be finally coming together. Your grandfatherâs dream will soon be our reality and those do-gooders on the Council wonât even know what hit them.â
Chapter Five: An Unexpected Kiss
Grace stood in her bedroom, examining this eveningâs shoe choice in her full-length mirror, and had to pinch herself to make sure she was not dreaming. With tonight being the fourth night in a row that she was seeing Gregory, she believed she could honestly now say she and Gregory Reich were dating. Exclusively. The gorgeous, blonde-haired, emerald-eyed, muscular guy who made all the ladies at the club swoon was actually, totally, fully and without question
hers
. At least thatâs what Annie had told her and Annie was usually right when it came to guys.
Grace had not believed it in the beginning when they had their official first date. How could she? He was so beautiful and totally out of her league. She had not really considered their tennis match a date at all. But, when Gregory actually called and asked her to go to dinner a few days later, she was so stunned she just about dropped the phone. Of course, it had been a double date with Annie and Andrew, but the brothers had actually come to their front door to pick them up and had paid for everything, so, according to Graceâs standards, that was an official first date.
And to top it off, Gregory had actually picked her over Annie. What were the odds of that?
But tonight was going to be different. Tonight was
the
night. She and Gregory were actually going out by themselves. They had been spending so much time with Annie and Andrew, they had not been alone once. Not that she minded that. She loved Annie. But not having any alone time with Gregory meant there had not been any kissing time either.
However, tonight would change that.
Tonight Grace was getting her first kiss from Gregory. She just knew, deep down in her heart she knew, she was going to be kissed tonight.
âHey.â Annie bounded into the room and sprawled across Graceâs bed, leaving black combat boot prints all over the flowered lavender comforter. âIs that what youâre wearing tonight?â
Graceâs eyebrows knitted together as she continued to study herself in her full-length mirror. Just today, she had purchased a new blue sundress and ballet flats for tonight and she thought she looked pretty good. At least she thought she did until Annie came into her room. âYeah. I just got this dress. Whatâs wrong with it?â
âNothing. If youâre going to church. You are going on a date. With Gregory. The man of your dreams, remember? Maybe we should be going for sexy. Not saintly.â
âAnnie, you know Iâm not a âsexyâ kind of girl. Iâd rather be ⦠comfortable.â Grace tilted her head and continued to look at herself in the mirror.
âWell, comfortable isnât going to cut it tonight,â Annie asserted. âCome on to my room.â
Grace followed her down their small apartmentâs hallway and plopped down on Annieâs bed. Looking around her roommateâs bedroom, Grace was reminded how different the two girls were in style and taste. Annieâs painted black ceiling and red walls contrasted against the lavender and mint green motif in Graceâs room down the hall and the red dragons painted on the black ceiling above Annieâs bed looked more disturbing than mythical.
âHow do you sleep with those things staring at you each night?â Grace asked, pointing to the ceiling.
âYou donât like my dragons?â Annie did not sound interested in Graceâs response. âI love them. Their voyeuristic qualities make it a little more exciting when I entertain in here if you know what I mean.â
âYouâre gross,â smirked Grace.
âOh, you love me and you know it.â Annie rummaged through her messy closet and eventually pulled out a
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