"Rizzlas - check. Scandalous amount of weed – check. Lovely people to get wasted with – check!" Alo gestured with his stash."Let's get this love-in underway."
Alo barged past Liv into the living room and proceeded to roll a joint the size of a carrot.
"Hi Rich." Grace smiled brightly."How are you feeling?"
"Alright." He lied
Grace raised an eyebrow
"Ok ok, I'm a bit shaky. How come you're so perky?"
"I don't really get hangovers – lucky I guess."
"So you remember everything about last night?" He asked
"Yeah. I asked you to stay didn't I?" Grace grimaced slightly. "And I guess you must have said no."
"No, I...you fell." Rich stuttered. "And when I'd helped you up the moment had passed. It didn't seem right anymore."
"Oh I wondered how I'd hurt my hand!" She looked down at her grazed palm
Rich took her hand and looked at it, running his thumb lightly over the graze.
"Garden gnome." He said
"Stupid bloody gnomes." Grace replied. "My mum loves them but I find them quite creepy."
"That one was pretty lethal." He agreed, never taking his eyes off her.
Grace looked into his eyes; she could feel there was something he really wanted to say that wasn't about garden gnomes.
"I really wanted to stay." He said, finally
"You did?" Grace smiled, looking up at him, her hand still in his.
"Yeah, I was kicking myself when I got home. I was going to ring you, but it was after two. I thought you'd be asleep."
"I wasn't asleep." Grace grinned. "I couldn't stop thinking about you."
Rich flushed. Did she mean what he thought she meant? Do girls do that?
Grace had a glint in her eye and Rich felt like someone had released a swarm of insects into his belly. She closed her hand round his and led him onto the balcony, sliding the door shut behind her.
"So what would you have done if you had stayed?" Grace said mischievously
"Been very very quiet obviously!" Rich grinned "I doubt your parents would have been pleased to find a strange drunken man in their daughter's bedroom."
"So you would have come to my room?" Grace asked
"Yeah."
"Then what."
"I would have got into bed with you"
Yeah?" Grace whispered, edging closer to him
"Yeah, I would have got under the covers next to you."
"Mmm." Grace pressed her body up against him. Rich slipped an arm round her waist and pulled her in close.
"Then I would have put my arms around you." Rich held her close, looking deep into her eyes, they kept darting back and forth and he could feel her heart pounding against his chest. He was terrified too, he wasn't sure how far they were going to take things tonight but he had a feeling that something new was going to happen. He was starting to feel that his clothes had shrunk in the wash; they felt suddenly uncomfortable.
"So then what would you have done?" Grace's voice quivered slightly as she spoke
"I would have kissed you" Rich murmured bending his head towards hers.
Grace tilted her head up and met his lips with her own. She slipped her tongue in his mouth relishing the sweet smoky taste of him and moaned softly in the back of her throat as he pulled her even closer in to him. His hands were round her waist but they slowly travelled down to her backside, pulling her hips towards his. Grace gasped at the contact and bucked slightly into him. She couldn't help herself; she could feel herself giving in to her body. Though her mind instinctively told her that things were happening too fast, its urgent protests were becoming quieter and less noticeable.
When he pulled away, she was breathless and her head was swimming with thoughts of what could be. She was dying to take him somewhere quiet but she was still a little worried she might be rushing things; she couldn't believe that she wanted him so badly. She looked up at him, he looked conflicted too and she wondered whether he had the same worries that she did. She knew it would be really lame to ask him what he was thinking but she really wanted to know.
Rich tucked a stray curl behind her ear, his hand lingering on her face.
"I had a dream about you last night." He blurted out.
"Yeah?" Grace tilted her face up to look at him again. "Was it a good dream?"
"Yeah, pretty good." Rich smiled, his cheeks flushing with the memory of dream-Grace.
"Oh that kind of dream?" Grace grinned."So what happened? Did we...?"
"I woke up. But I think we would have."
"What makes you think that?" Grace teased
"Well," Rich cleared his throat and stared up at the sky before looking back into Grace's eyes "Well, we had no clothes on...and I really wanted to."
Grace couldn't move. Her throat was closing up and the inside of her chest felt like it was on fire.
"I really want to." She said finally
"You do?"
"Yeah, it's all I can think about."
"Me too." He said. "I was so close to coming round and climbing in your window last night."
"Weirdo!" Grace dug her fingers in his side
"Hey!" Rich bent and kissed her again, gently and softly at first and then more urgently as their conversation over the last few seconds started to wash over him. He couldn't believe how horny she was making him. He thought he would be the one who wanted sex and he would have to wait for her to come around to the idea. He always thought girls weren't as interested in the physical side of things and they just wanted love and romance. Grace didn't seem like that at all and he was starting to wonder whether he was totally misinformed about women in general or whether she was just fucking amazing.
"Hey porn stars!" said Alo sliding open the balcony door. "Do you want some of this or what?"
"Yeah, sure." Grace took the spliff he was holding out and took a drag."Want some?" She passed it to Rich.
"I dunno." The smell of weed was making him feel queasy.
"Come on mate, don't let the side down!"
Rich took the spliff from Grace's outstretched fingers, took a long drag and held his breath.
"Good shit." he spluttered approvingly
"See!" Alo raised his hands triumphantly. "What doesn't make you puke makes you stronger. Now who's for punch?"
Alo stomped back through to the kitchen for glasses leaving Grace and Rich alone for the moment. Grace laced her fingers with his and smiled.
"Talk later?"
"Yeah."
Rich and Grace followed Alo through to the kitchen grabbing glasses from the cupboard. Franky was already filling her glass with stagnant-looking brown liquid from a large glass bowl on the kitchen bench. Grace bounced over to it excitedly, Rich was more hesitant.
"What the fuck is in that?"
"What isn't?" Franky grinned taking a sip. "Mmm just right!"
"Shit that's strong." Grace gasped, taking a mouthful
Alo handed Rich a glass of punch and signalled for him to drink. Rich looked around at them all and shrugged.
If I puke, I puke!
Rich took a large gulp of the punch and immediately regretted it; it tasted like pure whisky and seared the back of his throat bringing tears to his eyes. He coughed.
"Fuck me, that tastes like pure evil!" Rich paused for effect "Nice!"
Rich knocked back the rest of his drink and slammed the glass on the bench, wiping his mouth roughly with the back of his hand. He looked up at Franky, Alo and Grace and they all grinned and followed suit. Three glasses slammed down on the bench in quick succession and they were all left gasping and giggling.
"Fuck!" Alo panted. "Few more of them and I'll be anyone's!"
"You're anyone's anyway you big tart." Rich quipped
"Yeah, but you might even have a chance tonight big boy!" Alo smacked his lips
"Fuck off!" Rich laughed punching Alo in the shoulder playfully
Rich looked up, smiling, the girls were giggling and whispering to one another. He raised an eyebrow, Grace winked back at him. His stomach flip-flopped as he thought about their conversation on the balcony. Was Grace telling Franky about it? He didn't really care, they were both being so flirty with each other, Grace had her arm draped around Franky's shoulder and was whispering in her ear. Franky's eyes snapped open and she grinned mischievously looking first at Alo and then at Rich.
Alo leaned into him with a suggestive smirk. Rich raised his eyebrows and grinned anticipating something good.
Franky poured another glass of punch and took a swig. She sidled over to Alo, draping her arm around his shoulder and standing on tip-toe to whisper in his ear. Alo bent down slightly and inclined his head toward her.
"What do you want little un?" Alo grinned looking over at Rich and Grace
Alo's eyes widened slightly as Franky spoke.
"You're kidding?" Alo breathed, turning to look at her.
Franky grinned at him licking her lips and placing her hands in the front of her hair.
"Your turn Alo."Grace giggled, wondering what Franky had just revealed.
"What we doing?" Rich asked, laughing at Alo's bemused face
"We're telling each other something sexy. Winner is the one who gets the best reaction."
Alo grinned and leant into Franky, he whispered in her ear and wrapped his arm around her tiny waist as he did so. Franky's eyes slowly slid shut as his lips softly grazed her ear. Grace and Rich looked at each other incredulously.
"So, does Franky like boys, or girls?" Rich whispered
"Both, I think."Grace said
"At once?"
"Are you suggesting something?" Grace giggled
"Your turn Gracy." Franky said huskily as Alo's hand disappeared into her trouser pocket.
Grace grinned, this was an interesting turn up for the books and she was feeling quite turned on watching Alo and Franky heatedly whispering to each other. Maybe the Shari thing wasn't a total blip after all. She looked sideways at Rich pondering what she should reveal to him and whether starting this little game had been a mistake but she couldn't help herself, she had a burning feeling in the pit of her stomach and she was aching to be with him. Grace beckoned to Rich with her finger and he bent towards her, grinning goofily. Grace licked her lips nervously and, wrapping her arm around his neck, she wound her fingers gently in his hair.
"Last night in bed, I was thinking about you and I was...touching myself."
The last words were a husky croak as Grace could barely contain herself, her lips were grazing the soft skin of his ear and the smell of his spicy shampoo was in her nostrils making her head spin. She couldn't believe she'd confessed her bedroom antics to him and she wondered what he'd think of her now; she hoped he thought it was sexy and not weird. She looked round at his face, his eyes were closed and he had a dazed half smile crossing his lips.
"Your turn." Grace whispered shakily.
Rich's head was swimming with thoughts of naked Grace, in bed, thinking of him. Her hands, god those little hands, what would she do with them? He shook himself out of his reverie and made up his mind. It was time.
He pressed his lips against her ear, nibbled the lobe slightly and took a breath.
"I want you, right now."
Grace moaned audibly and leaned heavily against him, her legs were shaky and her brain flooded with alcohol and lust.
"Rich wins!" Franky grinned judging Grace's reaction appreciatively.
Alo and Franky clinked glasses and downed their drinks.
"Well played little un." Alo gasped. "So what you were saying...was that for real?"
Franky grinned as Rich and Grace disappeared upstairs
