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Give Me One Good Reason

Chapter 14

Grace had trouble falling asleep that night, her conversation with Cody on her mind. She didn't know what the hell was going on. The moment Cody had stopped communicating with her six years ago, she had promised herself she was done with him; she never wanted to see him again. Then Tucker had come along and she compromised to co-parent with him. But this was all very new to her. She was actually starting to feel her feelings for him from six years ago coming back again. But it wasn't just her now; she had Liam. How could she feel the way she did about her boyfriend and then also have the feelings she did for Cody? It just didn't make sense.

Grace couldn't help but think back to when she'd first met Cody. He'd been such a charmer but in a cute way, not in the man whore way he is now- or no, not recently, recently he seemed like the man she first met.

Flashback

"What can I get you?" Grace asked with her head down as she wiped down the bartop.

"Your number," Was the reply she got.

She looked up and couldn't help but smile when she was looking at a very attractive male: tall, short, cropped brown hair, blue eyes, angular jaw and a wide smile showing his straight white teeth. "Well that's not on the menu, try again." This was probably the worst part of the job. She was pretty used to getting hit on as a bartender, but turning down the cute ones took a lot of willpower. It wasn't that she couldn't accept a date, she just chose not to; they may seem sane talking to her in the bar but get them alone and they might be psychopaths picking out their next victim.

His smile grew wider. "Scotch on the rocks," He answered. She nodded and in an instant set his drink in front of him. "Could I at least get your name?" He asked her before she could find something to keep her busy.

"I don't know, I've got customers," She told him what she told every guy who hit on her.

He looked to his right and then to his left. Nothing but a couple bikers drinking beers to his left and a girl and her boyfriend making out to his right. "Looks pretty empty to me,"

Crap, of course, Wednesday's were usually a slow night. She sighed and looked back at him. "Grace," She told him.

He smiled. "Grace," He repeated before taking a sip of his drink and studying her. "I like it, it suits you,"

"Thank you. And your name?" She asked because, hell, if she was going to tell him hers then she wanted to know his.

"Cody, it's a pleasure to meet you," He said, extending his hand to her. The minute she placed her hand in his he turned it and brought it up to his lips where he placed a chaste kiss.

She hated that she blushed at such an obvious and cliché move. "You here by yourself Cody? Or do you always bar hop alone trying to pick up chicks?"

He chuckled and let her hand go. "Two questions in one huh? I never bar hop alone; I'm with a couple of my buddies." He said gesturing behind him where three rather large men sat in a booth sipping from beer mugs, occasionally looking over to see how their friend was doing with the cute bartender.

"You guys live around here? I've never seen you come by," And remember seeing them at the bar she would. All four of them were majorly attractive, tall, and muscular to the max.

He nodded. "Yeah we do and we've stopped here a few times. Never seen you though, I certainly wouldn't have waited this long to approach you if I had." His grin only grew with each word he said.

She chuckled. "You're a little sweet talker, aren't you?" She saw he was about to say something but before he could a customer walked through the door and she welcomed him in. She tossed Cody a reluctant smile that told him she had to get back to work before she made her way to the other side of the bar to get a drink for her customer. After that a few more customers came in and there was some cleaning she had to do. She saw Cody hang around the bar for a few minutes after she left him before he went back to the table with his friends. She came back to his spot later that night to grab the bill he set down to pay her. Under the bill was a small piece of paper that, after she turned it over and surveyed it, she saw he had wrote his phone number on. She made the move to put the number in her jeans pocket but last minute her brain took over and her hand dropped it in the trash. She got numbers that she trashed all the time, why was this guy any different?

End Flashback

Grace smiled at the memory. Sure she had thrown his number away but she kicked herself every day afterwards. He was on her mind a lot after that. There was just something about Cody that had stuck with her that she couldn't forget about, no matter how hard she tried. And lucky for her she didn't have to live with that regret forever because just two weeks later he showed back up at the bar.

Flashback

"Hey Tim, sorry I'm late, my car wouldn't start," Grace said as she walked through the bar's entrance.

"No problem, it happens," Tim, her coworker, told her as he wiped down the bar. "It's pretty slow right now anyway,"

"I've got it from here then," She said as she walked into the back room, stowing her purse away before coming back, ready to relieve Tim and take over her shift. "Thanks for understanding,"

"You got it," He said giving her shoulder a light squeeze before clocking out and leaving.

Grace was only behind the bar for a few seconds before she heard someone sit down in front of where she was clocking in. "What can I get you?" She asked.

"Your number," A familiar voice replied.

She slowly looked up and grinned when she saw Cody grinning back. "I walk right into it every time, don't I?" She looked around him to locate his friends but didn't see them. "Here alone?"

He shrugged. "When you got a woman on the mind, it is best to go find her without having to wait for your friends,"

She raised a brow. "Oh yeah, whose this woman? Is she here?" She played along.

"The only woman I see here is you," He said though there were a few other women there. "I don't ask every woman for her number you know, despite what you may think of me,"

"Really?" She asked, even though she had enjoyed their flirting, she found it hard to believe he came here to see her, specifically.

"Really. I've been here for a while too; it kind of sucked to come here expecting to see your beautiful face behind the bar and instead I was stuck staring at that guys ugly mug for an hour,"

She smiled. "Tim does not have an ugly mug,"

He raised a brow this time. "Compared to you Grace, it's ugly,"

"You remembered my name," She couldn't help but remark.

"Of course I did," He said simply. Grace looked around to see if any customers needed anything but everyone seemed pretty content. She looked back at Cody and he smiled. "So how about that number?"

She sighed and slouched a little. "Look, Cody" She started and he cut her off.

"You remembered my name," He said with a grin.

She smiled back at that. "Look, Cody…I like you but I don't go around giving my number to strangers that I meet at the bar."

"I respect that," He said honestly, actually really happy she didn't give her number to random men. "So how about a date?"

"I don't date weirdos I meet at the bar either,"She told him.

"Weirdo?" He questioned. "Babe, I hate to break this to you but I'm the least weird person in this bar,"

She laughed. "Despite the fact that you may be right, I still can't go out with you,"

"Why not? Weren't all the people you know at one time a stranger? You had to get to know them to be friends." Cody pointed out. "I'm harmless, I promise,"

She pursed her lips together, unsure. "I don't know,"

He stared into her eyes for what felt like hours though she was sure it was only seconds. His eyes were beyond hypnotizing and if he asked her again, she knew her answer this time would be yes. "Alright, I can't force you." He said, standing up, throwing a bill on the bar. He was much taller than she had thought he was, at least six foot, whereas she was only five foot seven. "But how about you give me a call some time and we can chat, get to know each other," He suggested. He saw the cringing look on her face and he grinned. "I knew you wouldn't give me your number but now you won't even accept mine?" He chuckled and pulled a scrap of paper out of his pocket, taking a moment to scribble something down on it before handing it to her. "Promise me you will keep this one?" He asked. She nodded and when she went to grab it, Cody grasped her hand and pressed a kiss to it like he had the last time they'd met. "Hear from you soon then," He said before walking out of the bar, Grace's eyes following him the whole time. Once he was out of eyesight, she looked down at the paper in her hands and before she could start thinking rationally, she pushed the paper down into her jeans pocket and got back to work.

End of Flashback

Grace's hand reached down to pull open the bottom drawer of her nightstand. After a moment of rummaging she pulled out the very piece of paper that Cody wrote his number on that day. She knew she should have thrown it away years ago but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She told herself that she was keeping it for emergencies, just in case she ever lost his number in her phone but she knew the truth. She'd promised him she'd keep it.

Still, even that memory wasn't enough for her. She'd never put his number to good use, never garnering enough courage to make the call. For a few weeks she went into work with bated breath, hoping to find Cody there waiting for her, but he never was. So she'd figured he moved on or gave up on her. That hadn't been the case though, which she learned a couple weeks after she'd given up.

Flashback

Grace was at work and it was actually pretty busy, the bar was crowded with people demanding drinks for themselves and their table. Luckily she had Tim there to help with the crowds. When there was a slight lull she went outside for a little ten minute break. Most of her fellow bartenders popped out there for a smoke but she usually ate a snack as she people watched and looked up at the stars, just taking in the silence.

"Do you know how hard it is to want to call someone but you can't because you don't have their number?" A voice called out to her. She turned her head and inwardly gasped as she saw Cody walking toward her. Damn, each time she saw him she saw more of him: the first night she only saw him sitting down, the next night she saw him sitting and then walking away and now tonight she saw all of him and he got better looking every time she saw him. "It's also pretty damn frustrating when you don't have someone's number but they have yours and aren't putting it to good use." He said as he got closer, just a few feet from her.

"I've been busy," She replied so meekly that even she didn't believe herself.

He grinned, reaching a hand out to touch her waist, slowly bring her closer to him. "I've been patient," He told her, leaning his head closer to inhale her scent. "And I'm not sure I can do it any more,"

She gulped as she felt his lips slide across the skin of her neck but inwardly whined when he didn't press any kisses. "8…1…3…6…5…4-" She began but was cut off.

"What?" Cody asked, confused as she pulled away slightly. He was trying to seduce her and she was reciting numbers?

She offered a small smile as she tentatively rested her hands on his pecs. "My phone number…you wanted it?"

A wide smirk cross Cody's lips as he felt a sense of accomplishment. "Yes, please go on," While he listened to her he placed kisses on her neck and ear, though never making a move to write the number down, knowing it would be burned in his memory the way Grace herself was.

There was some silence between them as they enjoyed being close to each other before Grace spoke again. "And the answer is yes," She whispered in his ear.

"Yes?" He questioned in her ear, loving the closeness he felt to this woman.

"Yes, let's go on a date," She told him.

He pulled back slightly and before she knew what was going on, his lips were on hers. The kiss was a simple, no-tongue, I-like-you-and-want-to-know-more-about-you, yet incredible kiss. "You really make a man work for it, don't you?" He joked causing her to burst into laughter.

End Flashback

It was hardly the most romantic way she'd been asked out but damn if she hadn't been put under his spell immediately. After first meeting him, she regretted throwing away his number. After their second meeting, she regretted not calling him. When he'd shown up that day, immediately upon seeing him she knew she didn't want to regret anything when it came to him ever again so she'd immediately reminded him of his offer.

It was sad to remember how they'd met and then think about how the past six years had been between them; it was hard for Grace to believe, really. They'd had such an instantaneous connection and he had everything she looked for in a man. Then he'd ended things just as suddenly as they'd begun and now she knew her feelings for him were coming back. And even though he'd told her he had cared about her back then, she had no clue how he felt for her now or what had changed between then and now.

A/N: I am alive. Sorry guys, this has been a really stressful semester and I have barely had any downtime. Just wanted to get you guys an update so you know I'm still writing this story, hopefully you guys are still interested! Let me know what you think of this chapter!