Chapter Fourteen

Grace awoke early and glanced at her alarm clock. It read 8:30. She didn't have class today and was thankful. Her college career was almost finished. Well, her undergrad career at least was. She dreaded going to school for two more years, but knew she would need to in order to get the education she needed.

She quickly got out of bed, remembering Eli's date proposal last night. Before going to the bathroom, she made sure she grabbed her robe this time. Once out in the hallway, however, she realized that her new roommate was already in the shower. And singing, nonetheless. His song choice, "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" by James Taylor did surprise her. Grace considered her day and thought maybe this would be the first of many surprises in store for her. She grabbed a cup of coffee and sat on one of the barstools, waiting for Eli to finish.

A few minutes later, he emerged from the steamy bathroom wearing a towel around his waist. He was surprised to see Grace looking at him. Especially when she saw what he was wearing.

Grace, looking shocked - "This man is an Adonis!"

"Good morning, roomie," he said, placing much emphasis on the roomie part. He walked over and grabbed a cup of coffee also. "Did I take too long in the shower?"

"Um... no. I was just waiting patiently," she finally spoke.

He started towards his room, then quickly turned and faced her. "Do you think you could clean your long hair out of the drain once you're done? It's kind of gross." Then, he flashed his gorgeous smile and walked into his bedroom, leaving Grace alone and mortified.

She quickly showered and became annoyed that Eli had used so much hot water. He had spent too much time in the shower, leaving her to rinse her conditioner out with what felt like ice water. She emerged from the bathroom, wearing her robe, and looked around the apartment, but Eli was not in the living areas. She walked into her bedroom and started doing her hair and makeup.

Five minutes later, her cell phone rang. She answered it before looking at the caller ID. "Hello?"

"Good morning, Grace! I thought about you all night long," Eli whispered into her ear. She blushed immediately and looked at her door, hoping he hadn't entered. He hadn't.

"Where are you?" she asked.

"Oh, I'm at home. Anyway, do you think you could be ready for our date in ten minutes?" he asked.

She looked at the clock and then at herself. If she hurried, she could be ready. She did want to try and look more presentable than usual. This was her first date with Eli, after all. Maybe that was why her shower was so cold – she spent extra time shaving her legs.

"Ten minutes is fine."

"Great. I'll pick you up soon!" he finished.

She closed her phone and quickly finished drying her hair. She pulled her straight iron through a few disobeying pieces and then went to her closet. What was she going to wear? What were they going to do? She decided, since this was a first date, she would wear her usual first date outfit – a sundress. She decided on a mint green one that she bought a few years ago when her mom and Rick still lived in Australia. She pulled on her favorite sandals and a green fabric headband. She heard a knock on the front door but, before she answered it, she looked one more time in the mirror. She looked good.

She looked around the apartment and still didn't see Eli. Who could possibly be at the door? She looked through the peephole and Eli was smiling right at her. She quickly threw open the door and was presented with a beautiful bouquet of daisies. He had known those were her favorite flower. "Good morning, Grace. You look beautiful," he said.

Eli, nodding quickly - "Why have I wasted so much time? Grace is gorgeous and I should have told her that a long time ago. Just look at her! She's beautiful!"

She blushed as she turned around and walked to the kitchen, "Thanks." She quickly dug out a silver vase and filled it with water before placing the daisies inside. "They are beautiful. Thank you, Eli," she said as she turned and faced him.

"Wow – your apartment looks different. Did you get new furniture?" he asked, smiling like a Cheshire cat.

Grace rolled her eyes - "So this is how it's gonna be, huh?"

"Yes. My new roommate bought some new stuff from Ikea. Do you like it?" she asked, sitting on the new sofa.

"It looks nice. Is it comfortable?" he asked, turning towards her.

She looked seductively at him, "Very."

Eli - "Gulp."

His heart started racing. She had never showed that side of her. The wild side that he knew was hidden beneath the book smarts and shy girl. Grace was downright sexy at this very moment and it took all of his restraint to not jump on top of her and start making out. He swallowed hard and took a few deep breaths.

Grace, smiling - "Ha! He looks totally nervous now!"

Clearing his throat, Eli asked, "Well, we have a long day ahead of us. Are you ready?"

Grace got up from the sofa and smoothed out her dress. "Yes. Let me just go and get a sweater."

She ran into her bedroom and grabbed a cardigan from her closet. She didn't know what was in store for her, but she wanted to make sure that she didn't get cold. Especially when Eli's breath sent shivers down her spine and gave her goosebumps.

She emerged from her room, holding her sweater. "Ready!"

She quickly locked the door (Eli, of course, didn't even reach for his keys) and they walked to the elevator. When it opened, her next door neighbor, Mrs. Jenkins, came out. "Good morning, dear."

"Good morning, Mrs. Jenkins. This is my friend, Eli," she introduced.

Grace, giving a quizzical look - "Step-brother? Friend? Roommate? Boyfriend?"

Eli, looking surprised - "FRIEND?"

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Jenkins," he smiled at her as they entered the empty elevator.

"Have a good day, Mrs. Jenkins!" Grace called as the doors shut.

"Neighbor?" Eli asked her.

"Yes, she lives next door to us. I mean... to me," Grace responded.

Outside, it was a clear, beautiful day. Eli grabbed her hand immediately and she followed him to his Jeep. He opened the door for her before getting in on his side. He had not taken off the roof. He didn't want Grace to get windblown.

Soon, they were racing down the highway. Being in the Jeep was always so hard to carry on a conversation because it was so noisy. Grace took this time to sneak little glances at Eli. He looked amazing. He was wearing khaki shorts and an orange golf shirt.

Grace, surprised - "When did Eli grow up? When did he get rid of all of his leather and ripped denim and turn into this man? Is he happy like this?"

He turned and noticed her looking at him. He flashed her his wonderful smile that made her heart flipflop before he grabbed her hand. He rubbed his thumb on the back of her hand like he had done the night before.

Finally, they pulled off the highway and were driving down a secluded street. Grace had no idea where they were. Eli pulled into a parking lot, walked over and opened Grace's door.

"Where are we, Eli?" she asked, looking around.

"Come with me," he grabbed her hand again and started jogging up a hill. She could barely keep up with him, fearing that her spaghetti straps of the sundress would fall down at any moment. Finally, they cleared the hill and Grace gasped. They were at an empty park that overlooked Lake Michigan.

"It's beautiful!" she exclaimed, letting go of Eli's hand and spinning around to get a good view. "Where are we?"

"This," he began, looking around him, "is a park that my parents used to bring me to when Jessie and I were little. We would picnic and play all day long. This is my favorite place to be."

Eli - "Until I moved in with Grace..."

"I stopped coming here when they divorced. It held too many bad memories, I guess. Or memories that I wanted to forget because things were never going to be the same. I didn't return until my senior year of high school. When I decided I needed to change my life." He looked at Grace, "When I started falling in love with you."

Grace swallowed, not knowing what to say. He knew the words that he just spoke were the truth. She could tell it in his eyes. He was in love with her and had been for some time. In her mind, she knew that he had feelings for her, but she never imagined how serious those feelings exactly were. She walked over to a park bench and sat down, still taking in the beautiful scenery of the park and the lake, and also taking in the last words from Eli.

Eli, looking worried - "I scared her, didn't I? I did. I hope I didn't blow it. She looks scared to death."

He didn't know what to do. Should he go to her or leave her alone for a few minutes? He decided on the latter and headed towards the lake. He sat down on the shore and looked out into the vastness.

Eli loved water. He had always dreamed of living on the ocean. When his Dad and Lily lived in Australia for a few years, he had stayed in the States and attended college, still living in the garage, but keeping watch over their house.

He was deep in thought and hadn't heard Grace approach him until she sat beside him, her hair blowing in the wind. She shivered and he quickly put his arm around her.

"Eli," she began, quietly, "this is all moving so fast..."

"I know," he interrupted. "I'm sorry. I'll ease up."

"No! I want you to shut up for a second, though. Eli, I wanted you before I even knew you. When I was a fourteen year old freshman with a school-age crush on the star basketball player. But, I knew you never saw me as anything..."

"I did. At the wedding. When my Dad married your Mom. I wanted to kiss you so badly in your bedroom, Grace," he said, turning toward her.

"I know. And I wished you had then. But now, I know I wasn't ready to be with you then. But I'm ready to be with you now, Eli. Fully. I want to be with you. Now and at home."

He smiled and then her lips were lightly pressing on to his. He enveloped her, feeling her skin through the lightweight material. They continued kissing. He fell back in the sand and pulled her on top of him. Her body felt so good to him, he thought.

Finally, realizing that they were in a public park that soon could be filled with young children, Grace broke away from him. He frowned like a puppy dog at her, but she just laughed and shook her head. She stood up and reached for his hand. He grabbed it and tried to pull her back down. She shook her head again and he finally stood up. She pulled her arms around him, tightly, crushing her body into his, and whispered, "I love you, Eli Sammler."

Eli, leaping off his chair - "Wow! Holy cow! Did you hear that?"

He started to lean in to kiss her again, but she held her index finger up to his lips. "I am not going to allow you to grope me in a public park, Eli. So... what else did you have planned on this date?"

They sat on nearby swings and started talking. Grace talked about her future plans and Eli discussed how it had been to get clean and sober. They talked for over two hours until Grace's stomach let out a loud growl.

"I guess now is time to move on to our second part of our date, huh?" Eli asked, getting off the swing and offering Grace his hand.

Soon, they pulled into a parking lot of a diner in downtown Chicago that Grace knew well. "I used to eat here with my grandfather before Cubs games!" she exclaimed at Eli's choice of eatery. "I loved it when Grandpa Phil would bring me here!"

They were soon seated and ordered their food. Grace kept looking around the diner, remembering all of the good times she used to have here. Eli could feel her melancholy and reached out for her hand. "I remember when he passed away. You were devastated. I'm sorry for bringing you here, Grace," he apologized.

Grace shook her head. "No, this is perfect! I haven't eaten here in so long and I'd like to think that part of Grandpa is here with us." He gave her a funny look. "Ok, maybe not with us right now, but watching over me when I'm happy," she beamed. "Thank you for bringing me here, Eli!"

They sat in the diner for over an hour, eating and drinking cherry phosphates like Grace used to as a child. Eli was happy to see her so animated, telling stories of going to baseball games. Finally, they decided they had been in the booth too long (both working in the food industry, they knew how annoying it was to the staff for people to dawdle after their meals!) and left the diner. Eli made it a point to tell Grace that they would be back soon.

"What next?" she asked him, skipping to the car like a little girl. He laughed at her eagerness.

"Well, that is up to you. What do you want to do now?"he asked.

"But... this was your date to plan. Did you not have anything else planned?" she looked disappointed.

"Not at all. I have plans later this evening. I just wanted to give you some time in the day."

"Well... how about we go to a movie?" she finally decided.

"If that is what you would like to do, then let's go. There is a theater a block away."

Eli made Grace choose the movie and the concessions. Having been stuffed from lunch, they still were able to fit in popcorn. Grace chose seats in the very back of the theater. Being a Thursday afternoon, the place was empty except for the couple. Still, they whispered before the movie began.

"I can't believe you chose a chick flick!" Eli exclaimed.

Grace laughed, "You said I could choose the movie! I've been wanting to see this for weeks now!"

"And apparently," he looked around the otherwise empty theater," you are completely alone in that sentiment!" They laughed and then quieted down as the movie began.

Once the opening credits were over, Grace pulled up the arm rest separating their seats and scooted closer to Eli. He placed his arm over her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. She rested her head on his shoulder and put her free hand on his thigh, lightly rubbing circles around it nonchalantly.

Eli, looking excited - "I can't contain myself when I'm near this girl!"

Ten minutes into the movie, Grace turned to him, surprised that he was actually watching the movie. He had started tracing the curves of her neck and shoulder, giving her goosebumps.

Grace, looking excited - "We are alone in the theater..."

Before he could even respond, Grace had swung herself on to his lap. Eli looked more than shocked at this sudden change of events. He pulled her head closer to his and then started kissing her. His hands felt electric on her cool skin and he explored. She realized that her spaghetti straps had come down as he kissed her neck and shoulders. She let out a soft moan that only made him kiss her faster and harder.

Grace could feel her lips bruising and she continued kissing Eli. It wasn't quite fair that she had worn such a light dress and he was so fully clothed. However, she could feel Eli's excitement pressing against her thigh and she slowly started rubbing against it, making Eli moan in delight. Finally, he pulled away and said, "Grace... I can't... we can't... I mean..."

She giggled and slid off his lap. "Listen, I'm not really in the mood to see this movie right now. And actually, I feel like I have sand all over my body from the park. Would you mind taking me home so that I can change?" she asked, looking innocently at him.

Eli, sweating and panting - "I couldn't get her home soon enough!"