Chapter Thirteen

Grace - "My hands are shaking. This is crazy. It can't work, can it? Could this work? This could totally work."

Saying that working the next few hours of her shift was hard is an understatement. Especially when every time she would look up, Eli was looking at her, smiling at her. It didn't make her self-conscience though. No, it made her feel warm. She welcomed his looks. And she couldn't help looking at him. He was gorgeous. There was no denying that.

Meanwhile, Eli was struggling, wanting to peck Grace's neck and hold her. More than once he had to give himself some private time to get his body in check. He couldn't walk around the restaurant like that! Regardless of all of his hormones acting up, Eli couldn't believe his good fortune. Grace could be his. She wanted to be his.

Finally, the clock read nine and the last customers were heading out. Grace cleaned off some tables and tidied up some of the bookshelves. When she was done, Grace walked into Eli's office, "I'm headed home... so..."

"I'll see you in a little bit, I have a little more to do here."

"Well... here is a spare key," she handed it to him and he gently rubbed this thumb on the back of her hand for a few seconds before he let go. "I guess I'll see you at home."

Working the evening shift under Eli's watchful eye had been difficult. Driving home afterwards, knowing that he would soon be following, was nerve wracking. Grace was giddy like a school girl with a crush except she knew what she felt towards Eli was much deeper than that. The few times that they had kissed, she didn't feel butterflies, she felt bulldozers. She was anxious to see what was going to happen once he got home.

She parked in the garage and made her way to her apartment. Her and Eli's apartment. The thought put a smile on her face. She unlocked the door, checked the machine for messages (her mom and Jessie had called), and decided to take a relaxing bath. She always felt nasty after working at the restaurant and felt she needed to de-stress before seeing Eli.

"Grace?" Eli called out about a half an hour later. Grace's eyes blinked wide open, having dozed off in the warm bubble bath.

Grace, bolting off the chair - "I fell asleep? How could I have fallen asleep. I need to get my robe..."

"Um, I'm in here... I must have fallen asleep while I took a bath," she responded, sheepishly.

He knocked on the door and asked, "Are you decent?"

"Just let me get a towel on..." she drained the water and grabbed a towel in the linen closet. She was curing herself for not bringing her robe into the bathroom.

She opened the door and looked right at Eli. His eyes were wide open when he saw her.

"This was not intentional, E!"

Grace - "This is mortifying! How am I going to share a bathroom with him?"

Eli - "Oh my God!"

"This is the making of a really cheesy teen movie," he laughed. "I want to get out of my work clothes, too. How about we each go into our own rooms and change into our pajamas and then meet out here to talk."

She just nodded her head then quickly (yet discreetly) shuffled to her bedroom. This was awkward. What does one wear when having a very important talk with her step-brother who she lives with yet kisses? She dug through her drawers and finally decided on the purple and blue striped lounge pants and the matching blue tank top. She combed her hair before pulling a fabric headband through it. At the last minute, she popped a breath mint in her mouth.

When she returned to the living room, he had pulled the plastic off of the new olive green sofa and was sitting on it. Eli had changed into a ratty pair of old gray sweatpants and a old band t-shirt that he had cut the sleeves off. He looked amazing. She walked over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of white wine. "Do you want some?" she asked, holding up the bottle. Eli shook his head. He wanted his head to be clear during this conversation. She decided against it, too. Deep down, she knew she was stalling.

She finally sat down on the sofa. Eli had been sitting one end and she, naturally, sat on the other. He rolled his eyes and scooted to be closer to her.

"So..." she started.

He draped his arm around her. This wasn't helping. Having him so close, with his warm breath on her shoulder (she should have worn an old t-shirt!) was not making this easy.

Eli, sitting down, adjusted himself -- "Why did she wear that tank top? She looks amazing!! Her skin is just so... bare."

"Maybe we should each list what we want," he finally said. She gave him a quizzical glance. "I'll go first. I wanted to move out of the garage."

"Ok... I want a roommate."

"I want to finish painting my bedroom," he laughed.

"I want to help you – but will stay away from the paint tray!" she responded.

Eli kissed her shoulder, "I want to be with you, Grace."

She looked deeply into his eyes and whispered, "I want to be with you."

Grace - "Those words were so hard to say. Why were they so hard to say? Maybe because, for the first time, in a long time, I was putting myself out there. Wanting to be vulnerable. Not caring if I was rejected, because I was going to go for something that I wanted. I wanted Eli."

He kissed her shoulder again. "Then let's do this, Grace. Let's try it. At least for the summer. If it doesn't work out, you can find a roommate for the fall and I would be able to find my own place. Let's do this!"

He looked, pleadingly, into her eyes and her heart soared. She wanted this. She knew it. Unsure what she was completely agreeing to, she nodded her head. "Let's do this."

And then, they kissed again.

Eli, stands up, dancing - "Woohoo!"

Grace, stands up, dancing – "Woohoo!"

A few minutes later, Grace pulled away, gasping for air. "This is weird."

Hurt, Eli asked, "Weird?"

"Well... this. Us. It doesn't seem real."

"Real?? Like this is bad?" he asked.

"No. Not at all. I just feel like..." she twisted a piece of hair. "I'm not saying this is too soon... but," she pointed to the area around her, "adding this into the mix, it all seems so soon. But then, I think, 'Grace, it's Eli.' We've lived together, albeit with our families, for over seven years."

"But, we," he started, then pointed to both of them, "have not lived together for seven years, Grace. This is new. It's okay to be weird because of that. Tell you what, why don't we make a deal.

"A deal?" she asked.

"To make us feel more like a couple," he flashed her a big smile at the possibility of being with her, "we will go out on dates and do couple things. But, when we come home, we're just Eli and Grace, roommates."

She smiled, liking the idea. "This could work. So, we have two sides of us. We could even wear masks to show each side," she kidded. "But seriously, I like your idea."

"Listen, let's go to sleep," he stopped her. "But tomorrow, I don't have to work. And you said that you were free. So, Grace, would you like to go on a date with me?"

She grinned. She had been unsure to explain how she didn't feel right, making out with anyone that she hadn't even dated, even if it was Eli. "Sure. What time would you like to pick me up?" she teased.

He kissed her softly one last time and whispered, "The sooner the better." He stood up and pulled her off the sofa. "Goodnight, Gracie."

"Goodnight, E."