Fallen From Grace

by Heather D'Agostino

  “No!” Grace almost shouted. “Not a date…just dinner.”

  “Well, I have to be in court most of the day, but yeah I can do dinner if it’s after six,” he nodded and began to flip through the file in front of him again.

  “Sure, I’ll tell her. I can text you the details when I know them, and you can meet us there,” Grace added.

  “Sounds good. I look forward to it,” he nodded and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

  Grace had pulled her biochemistry book out this point and was trying valiantly to look busy. From the outside, you would never know how excited and nervous she was on the inside. Her stomach was flipping around like a tornado. This was it, she told herself. She was going to go do something that she thought she’d never be able to do again. She was going to put herself out there for Justin.

  ooooooooo

  When Friday came, Grace was a ball of nerves. Hannah had spent most of the morning trying to convince her to not wear the baggy clothes she was usually swimming in.

  “You have a great figure. Stop hiding it,” Hannah whined.

  “But what if he gets the wrong message?” Grace began to tear up with nerves.

  “He won’t Grace. Not every guy is like that. Please…trust me. I’m coming with you, remember?” Hannah sighed as she held up a pair of skinny jeans.

  Grace nodded resolutely, “Alright fine.”

  She grabbed the jeans from Hannah and began digging through her closet for a top. When she came across the pink silk blouse, she smiled. She hadn’t worn that in ages, and it complemented her fair complexion perfectly. After dressing, Grace turned to examine her reflection in the mirror on the back of her door. The girl looking back at her looked nothing like the version of herself that Justin had been accustomed to seeing. She chewed her lower lip nervously as she began to brush out her hair. After tying it back in a loose ponytail, she applied some pale pink gloss to her lips and a little mascara to highlight her eyes. Before she could talk herself out of going, she grabbed her purse and made her way out to the living space to wait for Hannah.

  When she walked out to the living room, she saw Matt sitting in the recliner watching TV. She smiled and moved to sit on the couch as she fought for control over her nerves.

  “You ok?” Matt turned toward her in concern.

  “Yeah…I’ll be fine as soon as we get out of here,” she mumbled as she wiped her palms down her thighs.

  “That might be awhile,” he chuckled as he shifted in the chair again. “Hannah can take a long time when she’s not pressured to hurry.”

  “Don’t I know it? You’re forgetting that I’ve lived with her for three years,” Grace smiled as she settled back on the couch.

  Before they could continue, Hannah came waltzing into the room. Matt’s mouth opened slightly as he took in her form. She was wearing a pair of black knit leggings with a large sweater over them. It came down to the middle of her thighs, and she had placed a belt around her waist to accentuate how tiny it was. A pair of high heeled boots finished the look.

  “You like?” she giggled as she glanced over at Matt.

  “Nah,” he shook his head. “I’ve seen better,” he teased as he stood to wrap her in a tight hug. “It’s a good thing we’re not going out alone tonight,” he whispered in her ear. “We might never get out of the car.”

  “I was thinking that we’d take the subway,” Hannah shrugged. “It’s faster than driving, and the place where we’re going is right near a station.”

  “That works for me,” Grace nodded as she grabbed her coat and slid it on.

  “Let’s do this!” Matt shouted as he lunged for the door to open it for the girls.

  ooooooooo

  Once they arrived at The Boar’s Head, a small pub on the Upper East Side, Grace began to look for Justin. He had told her he was going to be in court most of the day but he’d meet her there. The group of three were seated in a small corner booth, and began looking at the drink menu.

  “I think I’m just going to have a water,” Grace groaned as she set the menu down on the table.

  “Same for me,” Hannah chimed in.

  “You guys are weak,” Matt shook his head. “You come to a pub and you don’t want a beer?”

  “If you do,” Hannah placed her hand on his thigh, “go ahead. I don’t mind.”

  “Yeah, I do actually,” Matt glanced up at the server. “I’ll have a Sam Adams Boston Lager.”

  Once the server left their table, Grace glanced around again looking for Justin. It was six fifteen and he still wasn’t there. It wasn’t like him to be late.

  “Sorry,” came a soft voice from behind her.

  When she glanced up, she saw him standing there grinning at her. Her eyes flashed as she took in his appearance. He didn’t look anything like he usually did. His khakis had been replaced by a pair of dark jeans, and his usual button down was now a black Henley. He grinned as he took a seat beside her.

  “I wanted to go home and change. I didn’t mean to be late,” he shrugged as he waited for Grace to respond.

  The fact that she was still staring at him didn’t go unnoticed by anyone at the table. Hannah darted her eyes between the two of them and grinned at Grace.

  “It’s ok,” Grace mumbled. “I wasn’t worried.”

  “Hey man,” Matt reached across the table to shake Justin’s hand. “I’m Matt…this one’s better half,” he pointed at Hannah with his thumb.

  Hannah shook her head, “You are so full of yourself.”

  “You know you love me,” he teased.

  Before the joking could continue, the server reappeared with their drinks. Justin ordered a beer and the server disappeared once again.

  “So…how was court today?” Grace glanced over at him as she began to twirl her straw in her drink.

  “It was fine, but if you don’t mind…I really don’t want to talk about work,” he smiled at her.

  “Sure,” Grace blushed. “What do you want to talk about?”

  “How about why you keep staring at me? Do I have something on my face?” he grinned.

  Grace’s face flushed with embarrassment. She didn’t realize that she’d been watching his every move.

  She turned away from him, “I didn’t realize I was staring. It’s just…you seem so different.”

  “What do mean? This is me,” he scrunched his brow.

  “This,” Grace waved her hand up and down in front of him. “The clothes, the hair, even your glasses are different. I wouldn’t have recognized you if I was out somewhere.”

  “I have to dress for court and work. This is my weekend attire, so to speak,” he shrugged and moved to take a sip of the beer that was now in front of him. “You’ve never hung out with me except to study. Do you like this version?”

  “Yes,” she whispered so quietly he almost missed it.

  Grace couldn’t believe that she was being so forward with him. What was he doing to her? She never acted like this. She smiled to herself over the fact that she seemed to be getting part of herself back. She’d missed this person, who she used to be.

  “So…I could say the same about you,” Justin nudged her in the side. “I’ve never seen you in anything other than sweats. I was wondering what the real you looked like.”

  Grace’s face flushed as she rubbed her eyes. Was he flirting? It sounded like it, but she wasn’t sure.

  “It’s nothing to be ashamed about,” he moved closer to her ear so only she could hear him. “I must say…I’m impressed.”

  “Please stop,” she muttered.

  “Ok,” he backed up. “What’s good here?” he grabbed the menu and began scanning it.

  “Um…” Grace stammered. She couldn’t believe how fast he had turned the conversation.

  “The burgers,” Hannah jumped in. “They’re known for their burgers.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Justin nodded as he continued to scan the menu.

  When the server came back moments later, the grou
p ordered their food, and slipped back into comfortable conversation.

  “So...” Matt looked over at Justin. “You’re a lawyer?”

  Justin chuckled, “Kind of. I’m a law student. I work in the DA’s office, though, as an intern.”

  “Sounds important,” Hannah joined in.

  “Well…yeah, it can be,” Justin nodded as he glanced over at Grace. “I’ve always wanted to be a prosecutor, this was my chance. Not many law students come across jobs like this. I mean…you have to be in your final year to even be considered.”

  “What all do you get to do? Do you have a supervisor?” Hannah leaned against Matt and darted her eyes over to see Grace staring off in the distance.

  “Yeah,” Justin nodded. “I have a supervisor, but it’s not like your typical internship. I pretty much have the same responsibilities as a full-fledged attorney, but not the pay grade. I go to court, have my own case load, but the life style of an intern. I’m hoping to turn this internship into a full time position once I graduate in May, though.”

  “Sounds interesting…don’t you think?” Hannah nudged Grace in the leg under the table.

  “Mmm,” Grace nodded absently.

  “I’ll be right back,” Hannah looked over at Matt. “I need to use the ladies’ room. Grace will you join me?” Hannah slid out of the booth and waited for Grace to follow.

  “Sure,” Grace glanced over at Justin and waited for him to stand and let her out of the booth.

  Once they rounded the corner to the restrooms and were out of earshot, Hannah paused, “I think Matt and I are going to go do something else tonight. You should hang out with Justin alone.”

  “Alone?” Grace swallowed. “I don’t know if I’m ready for that.”

  “Grace, he’s a lawyer. He puts the bad guys in jail,” Hannah sighed. “Other than a cop, he’s one of the safest people to hang out with.” She huffed, “Please???”

  Grace nodded, “Alright. Fine.”

  She knew she needed to take the plunge sooner or later. Why not now? She was feeling safer and more relaxed around Justin, and she knew he was one of the good guys.

  “How late do you plan to stay out?” she looked over and scanned Hannah’s face.

  “Not long…just long enough for Justin to walk you home,” she shrugged. “When we get back to the table, just play along…ok?”

  “What are you planning?” Grace narrowed her eyes.

  “Just trust me…you’ll be thanking me later,” Hannah smirked as she turned to head back to the table.

  “Wait…you didn’t even use the bathroom,” Grace called after her.

  “They don’t know that,” Hannah giggled.

  When the girls got back to the table, the guys were deep in conversation. When they slid back into their seats, Hannah began listening. She sighed a deep sigh, they were talking hockey.

  “The Bruins might go all the way this year,” Matt nodded confidently. “They’ve got a couple of rookies that seem to be on their game.”

  “I don’t know about that…the Rangers aren’t playing too bad themselves,” Justin smirked and then slid over to give Grace the outside seat in the booth.

  “I didn’t know you were a hockey fan,” Grace’s eyes widened as she watched Justin spar with Matt.

  “Uh, yeah…I am. You’ve never asked,” he smiled, and then glanced over at Hannah. “I didn’t know you were the Montgomery on the soccer team, either.”

  Hannah blushed, “Yeah, that’s me. Grace plays too.” She added.

  “You do?” Justin turned and wrinkled his forehead. “Wait…you’re that Matthews?”

  Grace’s face reddened further as she slid down in her seat, “Uh huh.”

  Justin shook his head, “Why have you never said anything?”

  “Because I don’t play anymore,” Grace mumbled. “I’m not that girl anymore,” her lip began to quiver, which didn’t go unnoticed by Justin.

  “Ok,” he leaned up next to her ear, “You don’t have to talk about it.”

  Grace nodded and took a deep breath. Before the conversation could go any further, Hannah leaned against Matt, “There’s something I need to do before I go home. We need to get going.”

  A look of confusion crossed his face, “Huh?”

  “I’ll tell you on the way,” Hannah nudged his side, pushed on his leg, and jerked her head in the direction of the other couple.

  “What about Grace?” Matt’s face continued to twist in confusion.

  “I can take her home,” Justin piped in.

  “Ok,” Matt shrugged. “See you guys later…I guess.”

  “It was good meeting you,” Matt offered, reaching to shake Justin’s hand.

  “Yeah, likewise,” Justin returned.

  Hannah smiled at Justin as she got up, and leaned in next to Grace where only she could hear, “Relax…he’s a good guy.”

  Grace nodded and offered a weak smile as she watched Hannah and Matt walk through the door and disappear onto the street.

  Chapter 9

  As the sun began to rise, Grace stretched, and groaned. She’d stayed up late after Justin had walked her home. She had been so relaxed and happy over how the night went that she hadn’t been able to fall asleep. She was surprised that she was able to let go the night before. Justin had been the perfect gentleman. As they had walked down the street to her apartment, Justin had kept the conversation flowing. He’d made her feel like they were the best of friends. He seemed to read her cues perfectly, and didn’t try to put his arm around her or grasp her hand like she thought he would. It eased her fear, but also put a slight disappointment in the air. She silently wondered if Justin even thought of her like that. Before she could think on it anymore, she heard a squeal come from the kitchen.

  “Ahhhhh! Help,” Hannah screamed.

  Grace jumped out of bed and raced down the hall. “What’s going on?” she panted as she rounded the corner out of breath.

  Hannah was squatting on the kitchen floor. Grace couldn’t tell what was going on, but Hannah was sure distressed about something.

  “Crap, crap, double crap,” she groaned as she jumped up and raced around in a soaking wet shirt.

  Water was rushing out from under the sink, and quickly puddling in the floor. The roar of the sink was covering their voices so much that they were having to shout at one another.

  “What’d you do?” Grace screamed over the noise.

  “Help me! I’ll tell you later,” Hannah scrambled to grab a towel.

  “What can I do?” Grace looked around at the torrent that was quickly moving from the kitchen floor into the living space. “This is going to ruin the floors,” she shook her head as she ran to grab towels out of the hall linen closet.

  “Do you have Justin’s number?” Hannah called after her.

  “Yeah, somewhere, why?” Grace tossed the towels at Hannah when she came back into the kitchen.

  “Call him and tell him to get his ass here as fast as he can,” Hannah began piling towels on the floor trying to sop up as much water as she could.

  “Why can’t Matt come over instead?” Grace pleaded.

  “Matt went home last night. Call him please? I’ll owe you,” she piled another towel in the lake forming in the kitchen.

  After calling Justin and telling him, as Hannah put it, to get his ass over there this very instant, Grace ran to pull a sweatshirt on over the tank she was wearing. She had no idea what Hannah had up her sleeve, but they had a real mess to figure out.

  Within ten minutes there was a knock at the door. Hannah raced around the corner, still soaking wet, and threw it open.

  “Oh thank god you’re here,” she yanked Justin’s arm and pulled him in to the kitchen. “Make it stop!” she pointed at the water gushing from under the sink.

  Justin smirked and got down on his hands and knees. He opened the cabinet under the sink, turned the knob for the water supply, and effectively stopped the flood that was occurring in the kitchen. Once the water stopped, Ju
stin turned and grinned at the two girls standing there all disheveled.

  “What the hell happened in here?” he shook his head.

  “I had a clog in the sink and I was trying to get it out. I undid the drain pipe,” Hannah shrugged as if that was common knowledge.

  “And you didn’t think to turn the water supply off?” Justin’s eyes flashed wide.

  “You do realize that you’re talking to a girl here, right?” she placed her hands on her hips and popped them to the side.

  “Yeah…I just…never mind,” he shook his head and chuckled.

  “Thanks for coming so quick,” Grace mumbled from behind them.

  “It’s no problem, really,” Justin shrugged as he looked around at the mess. “If you get some more towels out, I’ll help you clean this up. All this water is going to warp your wood floors.”

  Grace jogged down the hall again and grabbed every towel they had. When she returned to the kitchen, she noticed Hannah had disappeared into her room. Sensing that Grace wondered where she went, Justin offered, “She changing,” and went right back to mopping the water up.

  “You’re all wet, too,” Grace blushed. “I don’t have anything to give you to put on.”

  “It’s ok. It’s just water,” Justin smiled.

  “Well, maybe Hannah has some of Matt’s things here you could borrow,” Grace offered.

  “You have a dryer, right?” Justin glanced around.

  “Yeah,” Grace cocked her head to the side.

  “So…I’ll wrap a towel around myself and you can put my things in the dryer,” Justin grimaced. He didn’t realize how that sounded until he said it aloud.

  “Um, ok,” Grace swallowed.

  As Justin bent down to wipe the floor again, Grace began to really look at him. She was no longer afraid like she once was. Now she was merely curious. Curious as to what Justin truly looked like. She’d never really observed him before. His dress clothes covered so much of his body. Even during their night out, he had covered his entire body. Now in the daytime with spring in the air, he seemed to be a completely different person as he crouched there in the most casual attire she’d seen yet.