Ack. I'm still getting use to fan fiction and had to go back and edit my
first chapter. I hope it worked out well. Anyway, input would be great -
how do you all feel about this?
Chapter Two
It was almost a quarter till six when Eli knocked on her door yet again. She was rushing around her room in frenzy, trying to find her black grommet belt. He peaked in, saw that she was decent, and entered the room. The floor was covered with clothes, books, and magazines and Jim Morrison's voice could be heard blasting on the CD player.
"I didn't take you to be a Doors fan," Eli commented.
Grace spun around and almost knocked into him. "What?" she shouted, and then turned down her stereo.
"I said I didn't take you to be a Doors fan."
"Oh. Heather's doing," she said.
"Heather?"
"Yeah. my roommate."
"I see. Look. we have to leave now in order to get to Book Lovers by six o'clock," Eli said, checking his watch.
"Ok, let me just grab my backpack," Grace said, spinning around and reaching for it. Right underneath it was her belt. She grabbed that, too, and followed Eli to his Jeep.
"You know, I doubt we'll be fired if we're a few minutes late," Grace said once they were on the road.
Eli kept his eyes on the road, but had his mind on other things. He finally realized how much Grace has changed over the years. He didn't understand why he never took an interest in it until now, but his step-sister had become a totally different person. This girl beside him wasn't a girl anymore. She had become a mature woman who knew what she wanted in life. Earlier, when she said she hadn't found anyone at school who held her interest for long, he had believed her. He knew he hadn't held her interest that long, as it seemed like they had run out of things to say.
Eli also noticed how much Grace had changed physically. Her hair had a more defined style, cut just below her shoulders and flipped at the ends. Her big, brown eyes didn't look so bewildered or innocent. In fact, it seemed her eyes had more of a sexy glint to them. Her body had changed the most. She had grown at least three more inches with the nicest legs Eli had seen in a while. He glanced from her feet up to her face. Her body was much softer now, curvier.
She was definitely not a girl anymore. Grace Manning was definitely a woman.
**Grace - looks quizzical. "Was he just checking me out?" She looks to the left and then to the right. "I swear I think he was checking me out!" She gave a small smile which quickly turned into a frown.**
**Eli - shaking his head. "What am I doing, man? I shouldn't be thinking these thoughts. Must concentrate on other things."**
As they pulled into Book Lovers employee parking, Grace opened her purse and applied some wine colored lipstick. Eli watched as she applied it with expertise. She felt his eyes on her and turned her head.
"What?"
"You never cared about make-up before," he said.
"Well, who knows. Maybe tonight I will find that interesting man!" she said, giving him a wink. With that, she grabbed her stuff and got out of the Jeep. "Thanks for the ride, E!"
Eli had spent his first hour at work in his new office. It was a very small room that once held a bathroom. If the temperature rose high enough, he swore you could still smell the aftermath of it. Judy had the place painted a soothing sage green and his Dad had given him his old mahogany desk and leather executive chair. Jake grumbled when he first saw the new furniture, as he was still using a very old desk that had once lived in My Sister's Bookstore and a cheap vinyl computer chair. Eli had purchased some picture frames with Jessie while she was home on Spring Break. Together, they had picked through the photo albums until they found some pictures for them. His favorite was his whole family together, sitting on the deck shortly after his half-brother, Drew, had been born. Even his Mom and Henry had come to the festivities that night.
His main project this evening was to keep the wait staff running efficiently, but he also needed to take some time out and look through the applications to fill the summer positions. It seemed that all the paperwork had been filled out with high schoolers wanting to buy the newest Abercrombie and Fitch outfit and, while he admitted to once being like them, he wanted more out of his first batch of new recruits. He decided he would ask Judy and Jake about running an advertisement in the daily newspaper next week for the new positions, this time asking for experienced help.
Meanwhile, Grace was busy seating people. Unlike other restaurants, patrons didn't mind waiting at Book Lovers because they could spend the time browsing the books. She liked that she never had to deal with the snippy customer who couldn't believe the wait was thirty minutes on a weekend evening!
Grace was keeping busy, straightening the menus when she heard someone ask, "Grace? Grace Manning?"
She looked up and saw a familiar person in front of her. A huge smile crossed her face.
Chapter Two
It was almost a quarter till six when Eli knocked on her door yet again. She was rushing around her room in frenzy, trying to find her black grommet belt. He peaked in, saw that she was decent, and entered the room. The floor was covered with clothes, books, and magazines and Jim Morrison's voice could be heard blasting on the CD player.
"I didn't take you to be a Doors fan," Eli commented.
Grace spun around and almost knocked into him. "What?" she shouted, and then turned down her stereo.
"I said I didn't take you to be a Doors fan."
"Oh. Heather's doing," she said.
"Heather?"
"Yeah. my roommate."
"I see. Look. we have to leave now in order to get to Book Lovers by six o'clock," Eli said, checking his watch.
"Ok, let me just grab my backpack," Grace said, spinning around and reaching for it. Right underneath it was her belt. She grabbed that, too, and followed Eli to his Jeep.
"You know, I doubt we'll be fired if we're a few minutes late," Grace said once they were on the road.
Eli kept his eyes on the road, but had his mind on other things. He finally realized how much Grace has changed over the years. He didn't understand why he never took an interest in it until now, but his step-sister had become a totally different person. This girl beside him wasn't a girl anymore. She had become a mature woman who knew what she wanted in life. Earlier, when she said she hadn't found anyone at school who held her interest for long, he had believed her. He knew he hadn't held her interest that long, as it seemed like they had run out of things to say.
Eli also noticed how much Grace had changed physically. Her hair had a more defined style, cut just below her shoulders and flipped at the ends. Her big, brown eyes didn't look so bewildered or innocent. In fact, it seemed her eyes had more of a sexy glint to them. Her body had changed the most. She had grown at least three more inches with the nicest legs Eli had seen in a while. He glanced from her feet up to her face. Her body was much softer now, curvier.
She was definitely not a girl anymore. Grace Manning was definitely a woman.
**Grace - looks quizzical. "Was he just checking me out?" She looks to the left and then to the right. "I swear I think he was checking me out!" She gave a small smile which quickly turned into a frown.**
**Eli - shaking his head. "What am I doing, man? I shouldn't be thinking these thoughts. Must concentrate on other things."**
As they pulled into Book Lovers employee parking, Grace opened her purse and applied some wine colored lipstick. Eli watched as she applied it with expertise. She felt his eyes on her and turned her head.
"What?"
"You never cared about make-up before," he said.
"Well, who knows. Maybe tonight I will find that interesting man!" she said, giving him a wink. With that, she grabbed her stuff and got out of the Jeep. "Thanks for the ride, E!"
Eli had spent his first hour at work in his new office. It was a very small room that once held a bathroom. If the temperature rose high enough, he swore you could still smell the aftermath of it. Judy had the place painted a soothing sage green and his Dad had given him his old mahogany desk and leather executive chair. Jake grumbled when he first saw the new furniture, as he was still using a very old desk that had once lived in My Sister's Bookstore and a cheap vinyl computer chair. Eli had purchased some picture frames with Jessie while she was home on Spring Break. Together, they had picked through the photo albums until they found some pictures for them. His favorite was his whole family together, sitting on the deck shortly after his half-brother, Drew, had been born. Even his Mom and Henry had come to the festivities that night.
His main project this evening was to keep the wait staff running efficiently, but he also needed to take some time out and look through the applications to fill the summer positions. It seemed that all the paperwork had been filled out with high schoolers wanting to buy the newest Abercrombie and Fitch outfit and, while he admitted to once being like them, he wanted more out of his first batch of new recruits. He decided he would ask Judy and Jake about running an advertisement in the daily newspaper next week for the new positions, this time asking for experienced help.
Meanwhile, Grace was busy seating people. Unlike other restaurants, patrons didn't mind waiting at Book Lovers because they could spend the time browsing the books. She liked that she never had to deal with the snippy customer who couldn't believe the wait was thirty minutes on a weekend evening!
Grace was keeping busy, straightening the menus when she heard someone ask, "Grace? Grace Manning?"
She looked up and saw a familiar person in front of her. A huge smile crossed her face.