Grace dropped her bag, walked over to the doors, flung them open, and stepped out onto the balcony. As the warm ocean breeze caressed her face, she closed her eyes, and inhaled the salty sea air. She felt happy and at peace, and it had been a long time since she’d felt that way. She knew that Justin’ strength, stability, and love had a great deal to do with it.
Just as the thought entered her mind, she felt two strong arms wrap around her from behind. He squeezed her gently as he placed his chin on her shoulder, “It’s beautiful, huh?”
Grace only nodded as she turned her head slightly and placed a soft kiss to his cheek. She had been able to be more and more affectionate with Justin lately. It was almost like her past was truly her past. Every once in a while, Justin would say or do something, and he would notice her tense up, but it seemed to be happening less and less.
As they stood admiring the vista before them, Hannah came and knocked on the door, “You better pick a room Justin. We can go swim if you want, once you guys get settled.”
“Swim?” Grace glanced over her shoulder at Hannah.
“Yeah…isn’t that what you’re looking at?” Hannah wrinkled her forehead.
Justin chuckled as he pointed down from where they were standing. A beautiful kidney shaped pool filled most of the space between the house and the ocean. Grace giggled and shook her head. She’d totally missed the pool she had been so busy looking at the ocean.
“Swimming sounds nice,” she giggled as she blushed.
“What’s this for?” Justin gently rubbed a finger over the apple of her cheek as it turned from a pink to a red right before his eyes.
“Nothing,” she shook her head. She’d yet to wear a bathing suit in front of him, and wasn’t sure if she could. Shorts and a tank top was as bare as she’d ever been in front of him.
“Well, hurry up,” Hannah called as she headed back to her room to change.
ooooooooo
As the trio made their way out to the pool, Grace couldn’t help the smile that was stretching across her face. They walked out the back of the house, the side facing the ocean where the pool was located, and moved over to some of the chairs. There were several tables with umbrellas, loungers, and a small waterfall feature at one end of the pool. As they tossed their towels to the side, laughter was heard coming from under the house. They turned around, to see Katie walking toward them, followed by Matt and Patrick.
“Mom said they aren’t coming until tomorrow,” Katie shouted as they walked closer.
Matt and Patrick had a large cooler between them as they walked up to the gate at the pool and began to move closer.
“I’m thinking we can get this party started a little sooner,” Matt chuckled as Hannah ran up to him and threw her arms around his neck.
“Party?” Grace cocked her head to the side.
“Yeah…I’m going to be a married man in a few short days. I need to live it up while I still can,” he grunted when Hannah slugged him in the gut.
“What do you mean short days?” she scowled. “Don’t you want to marry me?”
“Yes…I want to marry you…” he trailed off as he watched her darting her eyes around. “What?”
“Where’s Charlie?” she wrinkled her brow.
“With your parents,” he shrugged. “Joey wanted to ride with him, so your dad offered. Besides…” he continued, “he’s getting settled. They are keeping him while we are on our honeymoon.”
“Right,” Hannah nodded as she turned away from him.
“What? I don’t even get a hello kiss?” he feigned hurt.
“You said you only had a few short days of freedom. I wouldn’t want to take any of that time away,” she narrowed her eyes at him.
Before she could come up with a response, Matt let go of the cooler, grabbed her around the waist, and jumped into the pool still fully clothed.
Grace’s mouth dropped open as she watched them. She’d never really been around them when they acted like this, and she was seeing that she truly had some good friends that knew how to have a good time. They treated her and Justin like they were part of the family.
As Grace heard Justin snicker behind her, she glanced at him to see what he was laughing about. When she caught his gaze, she noticed that he was watching Patrick try to sneak up on Katie. Katie was animatedly talking to Hannah and giggling over the fact that Matt had pulled a fast one on her. Katie was completely unaware that Patrick was standing right behind her stripping off his shoes, socks, and shirt. He placed his finger up to his mouth to signal them to be quiet before he wrapped his arms around her. Katie released a high pitched squeal as Patrick lifted her into his arms. Justin snickered again as he watched Patrick take a flying leap into the pool. When Katie sputtered to the surface, she smacked him playfully.
“This is a dry clean only dress. You just ruined it,” she scowled.
“I’ll buy you a new one,” he winked. “That was totally worth it.”
As Justin moved to the side, he peeled his shirt off and tossed it on the lounger closest to him. He pulled at the tie that held Grace’s sarong in place and kissed the side of her neck.
“What are you doing?” she glanced at him as understanding began to dawn on her. “Oh no you don’t…don’t you dare!” she tried to sound stern. “Justin…” she warned as she watched a grin spread across his face.
Grace began walking backward away from him as she began to hear shouting from Patrick and Matt to “get her”. Justin lifted his arms out to the side as if to signal “what are you going to do about it.” Grace shook her head and smiled as she got ready to turn and run. Before she could turn completely, Justin grabbed her wrist and spun her into his chest. When she crashed into the toned muscle, she sighed and swallowed as she felt his rapidly beating heart.
“Where are you going?” he whispered as he leaned in and placed a light kiss to the side of her neck right below her ear.
“Um…” Grace tried to clear the lustful thoughts from her brain, but was having trouble with the heat of Justin’s body pressed to hers.
“I’m not going to hurt you, you know that right?” he murmured as he trailed kisses up her neck before stopping at the corner of her mouth.
“Get a room,” Matt called from the pool.
“You’re ruining my game,” Justin called over his shoulder.
Grace started to pull away using the distraction from the pool to her advantage, but Justin felt her wiggle and tightened his hold.
“Don’t think so,” he laughed as he pulled her closer and pecked her lips before swiftly reaching down to pick up her legs.
Once she was cradled in his arms, he took a flying leap in the direction of pool. After hitting the water, he released his hold on her letting her break the surface on her own. Justin swam to the side, waiting for Grace to come to him. He didn’t want her to be mad at him, and he was still learning all the boundaries with her. Like this one for instance, he wasn’t sure how far he could push her. Was she going to be mad over what just happened? He hoped not.
When Grace surfaced, she tried to hold a frown on her face, but she failed miserably. As the smile spread further and further, she turned, and swam over to Justin, “I can’t believe you just did that.”
“What? Dunked you?” he cocked his head to the side. “There’s a lot I can do that you don’t know about,” he whispered into her ear as he pulled her closer. Grace’s eyes dipped to stare at his mouth before she returned them to his eyes. Her tongue darted out to lick her lips as she swallowed nervously. Seeing Justin in trunks, in the pool, in his element was sending her hormones into overdrive. She wondered how often he swam in order to keep himself in shape.
As he watched her pink tongue poke out and sweep across her lips, Justin groaned. He knew she didn’t do it consciously. He saw the look on her face and wondered what she was thinking. Deciding that would be the best way to change his thinking he asked, “Whatcha thinkin’ about?”
Grace answered without even thinking about
it, “Do you own a speedo?” As soon as it slipped past her lips, she turned away from him in embarrassment.
Justin chuckled as he watched her blush, “Um actually…yeah, I do.” He reached for her and spun her to face him, “Why? Do you want me to wear that instead?”
Grace’s eyes flashed as she swallowed, “No!” she almost shouted it. “I just… I mean…well you said you were a swimmer in high school, and I thought…well I mean…ugh!!!” she stomped her foot under the water as she watched the amusement of her discomfort spread across Justin’s face.
“Yes… we had to wear them when I was on the team in high school, and as an undergrad. I haven’t worn it since. I prefer the trunks,” he pointed under the water to the blue trunks that he was wearing. “There’s a lot that we had to do when I swam competitively that I don’t do now, like,” he pointed to the brown curls on his chest, “I had to shave this.”
Grace licked her lips again as she glanced down at his chest.
“Grace?” Justin tried to get her attention. When her head popped up, he grinned, “You gotta stop that. There’s people around, and I’m not feeling very gentlemanly right now.”
Grace blushed and bit her lip as she nodded. Deciding that he didn’t care if they had an audience, he turned her where she was against the side of the pool. He positioned himself in front of her so no one could see them, before leaning in to cover her mouth with his. As his lips pressed against hers, Grace wrapped her arms around his neck, and tangled her fingers in his wet hair. A slight groan made its way up Justin’s throat as he reached down and pulled her hips into his. Grace stiffened slightly, but after reminding herself that it was Justin and he’d stop if she wanted him too, she relaxed. As she parted her lips slightly, she felt him slip his tongue in and begin to tangle it with hers. Grace tightened her grip on his hair as she pressed her chest into his.
As the kiss began to go deeper, Justin pulled back panting, “We have to stop.” He released her and reached up to wipe his face with his palms. “I’m sorry,” he gasped “I didn’t mean for it to go that far. I just…I love you so much Grace. I feel like I can’t get enough of you.”
“I love you, too,” Grace gave him a soft smile as she watched the conflict settle across his face. He was fighting his own battles. A war seemed to be waging in his brain between what was right, and what he wanted.
Chapter 19
As the morning sun began to stream through her window, Grace stretched and yawned. It had been a late night the night before. Justin and she had stayed up into the wee hours of the morning talking. Grace reached up and rubbed her lips lightly with her fingers. Justin had taken his time last night giving her a goodnight kiss. As she thought back to it, she realized that she was no longer worried about where the kissing would lead. Even though she questioned her ability to take it further, Justin seemed content with the speed their relationship was progressing. She had no idea if he wanted a future with her, but she hoped he did.
When she moved to a sitting position, and tossed her legs over the bed, she glanced in the full length mirror across from her. The woman staring back at her looked nothing like the woman she’d been a year ago. This version that she was seeing, and truly looking at, looked like the old Gracelynn. The Gracelynn she’d been since that night was fading into the distance, thanks to Justin. He’d shown her how to be whole again, how to be free.
She smiled as she stood, and made her way over to the mirror. As she stood in front of it in only a pair of boxer shorts and a cami, she twisted from side-to-side scanning her form. The sharp angles that she’d had from not eating right seemed to be disappearing daily. Her hip bones were not as visible, and she couldn’t trace each rib like she used to be able to. As she tilted her head to the side, she noticed a small barely visible mark on her collarbone. She grinned as she thought about how it got there. Justin and she had gotten pretty intense the night before. She hadn’t remembered him doing that, but she assumed that it had something to do with why he had ended the evening when he did. She blushed as she reached up and ran her finger over the mark. It was so faint that no one would even notice it if she didn’t point it out, but she knew it was there and that was enough.
As she began to hear voices coming from downstairs, she turned to grab a sweatshirt to slip on. Not that anyone would say anything, but she didn’t want to answer questions about the embarrassing mark. Her stomach growled, telling her it needed nourishment, so she turned to head out the door and seek some out.
ooooooooo
“Mom! Cora says she’s coming with us,” Joey screamed in the direction of the kitchen.
“I am!” a four-year-old Cora demanded.
“No, you’re not! It’s a guy’s trip. You’re not invited,” Joey stomped his foot and made a mad dash into the kitchen.
“Joe, I’ll take care of it,” Melanie sighed as she pushed eggs around in a skillet.
“It’s not fair. I wanna go, too,” Cora whined as she scampered into the room.
“You’re too little sweetie,” Melanie sighed as she turned to kneel down in front of Cora. “Maybe we can do something with the girls today.”
Cora’s lip began to protrude, signaling a meltdown was on its way, just as Austin rounded the corner. As he glanced at his wife kneeling in front of their daughter, he silently made his way over to the stove to take over the cooking. He knew that Cora and Melanie had a special bond. For some reason, she was the only one who could talk Cora down from the ledge. Joey, as a seven-year-old, was easier, but Cora had always been a handful.
“How are my girls this morning?” he asked as he watched Melanie return to her full height.
“Wonderful,” Melanie smiled as she stretched up on her tiptoes to place a kiss to his cheek.
“So, are you girls going to be able to hold down the fort while we’re out fishing?” Austin grinned at her as he poured some batter on the griddle to start the pancakes.
“I’m sure we’ll survive,” she grinned at him, “now that I’ve got that one under control,” she nodded her head in Cora’s direction.
“No girls allowed,” Joey smirked as he looked over at where Cora was sitting at the table coloring and awaiting her breakfast.
“Joe,” Melanie warned. “If you get her going again, she’s gonna be going with you.”
“Yes Mom,” Joey huffed and then crossed his arms in satisfaction when Cora glanced at him. “I’m going to go see if Charlie’s up,” he smiled and then turned to make a mad dash in the direction of the room they were sharing.
“So what’s on the agenda for the ladies today?” Austin flipped the pancakes as Melanie moved to grab plates out of the cabinet.
“I’m not sure…I’m kinda tired after last night,” she grinned.
“Oh really?” he quipped. “Why would you be tired?”
Melanie turned and blushed, “Oh I don’t know…it might have something to do with the activities that occurred after the kiddos went to sleep.”
“Activities? Is that what I’ve been reduced to?” he teased.
“When your daughter is in the room…yes,” Melanie smiled as she moved to stand right beside him. As she pressed herself into his hip, she reached around, and discretely squeezed his backside. “If I get a nap in today, I’ll pencil you in for tonight, too.”
“I guess I better plan something later with all the kids so you can get some rest, huh?” Austin smirked. “I want my wife fully rested.”
“Do you two ever stop?” came a groan from behind them.
Melanie spun around to see Katie grinning at her.
“You’re a married woman now. You should know the answer to that,” Melanie shrugged.
“Yeah well…I don’t like to think about my mom and dad doing the same things that I do,” Katie shuddered.
Before Melanie could respond, Grace walked into the room. She glanced around and smiled at the sight before her. She’d grown up in a single parent household where she had played the second mom to her younger sister. She’d n
ever experienced mornings like the one she was in the middle of. The friendly banter and camaraderie of this family made her heart yearn to be a part of it.
“What can I do to help?” she glanced at Melanie.
“Not a thing…we’ve got it under control, I think,” she laughed as she scanned the room and noticed that Hannah had yet to make an appearance. “Coffee’s ready if you want a cup, and breakfast is about ten minutes away from being finished.”
Grace nodded as she made her way over to the coffee pot and poured herself a cup. After pulling out a chair at the table, she relaxed, and just watched the family interact.
“Where’s Hannah?” Katie yawned as she sipped her own coffee.
“Still sleeping, I guess,” Austin shrugged. “I’ve gotta get Matt and Patrick out here if we’re going to leave anytime soon.”
“Good luck with that,” Katie giggled. “Patrick was dead to the world the last time I checked.”
“Busy night?” Melanie grinned in understanding.
“Mom!” Katie exclaimed “I’m not talking about that with you.”
Melanie giggled as she watched Katie blush and move over to sit with Grace and Cora.
As Katie sat down beside Grace, Cora glanced over and grinned at her. Cora had a habit of blurting things out at the weirdest times, and Katie figured that something was about to spill out of her mouth that she didn’t really want to hear.
“What’s so funny,” she cocked her head to the side as Cora giggled.
Cora shook her head and snickered again as she leaned forward to continue the drawing that she’d been immersed in for the last fifteen minutes. Katie shook her head and rolled her eyes as she sipped her coffee again, only to hear Cora giggle once again.
“Ok, what?” Katie placed the mug on the table and sighed.
Fallen From Grace Page 14
