Here's chapter 23! I hope you like it! Please R&R! I do not own anything from The Secret Life Of The American Teenager! Thank you! I really appreciate everyone's reviews! :)
Italics=Grace
Bold=Ricky
Plain=Other characters
"I don't know Grace...What does being baptized even mean?" Ricky asked confused as he started to back out of his parking spot.
"It means that you want to follow Jesus for the rest of your life and all of your past hurts and sins are washed away when you get baptized. I can show you examples of people getting baptized in the Bible...Reverend Stone can tell you more about it too if you want." Grace said sweetly.
"Hmm...I don't know how Jesus can wash away my past hurts and sins...I still did them so it's not like, they'll be gone." Ricky said concerned.
"You have a good point Ricky but...you'll be forgiven for what you did in the past...I'm not trying to pressure you but...I think if you do get closer to God, then that will help our relationship." Grace said sincerely.
"All right...Don't worry about pressuring me...You have inspired to want to be closer to God...I just don't know how." Ricky said smiling.
"Aww! It means a lot to hear you say that! I'll help you Ricky!" Grace said happily as they pulled into the restaurant.
Meanwhile inside the restaurant Ethan and Chloe were having lunch.
"I'm really glad that you agreed to come here Chloe." Ethan said smiling.
"Me too. It's really nice...You can afford this?" Chloe asked surprised.
"You didn't bring any money?" Ethan grinned.
"I have a credit card actually...Are you joking?" Chloe asked as she lifted an eyebrow.
"Yeah I am...I'll pay for everything babe. Don't worry about it." Ethan said happily.
"Chloe? What are you doing here?" Grace asked surprised as she walked into the restaurant with Ricky.
"Hey Grace! I'm just having lunch with Ethan. How are you two?" Chloe asked as she stood up and gave Grace a hug.
"We're doing fine Chloe...So you decided to give Ethan a chance huh?" Ricky asked surprised.
"Yeah I did...You two can join us if you want." Chloe said sweetly.
"You don't have to though...We'll be fine on our own." Ethan said seriously.
"All right...Whatever you want Ricky." Grace said awkwardly as she looked at Ricky.
"Uh...We'll just go sit over there...The hostess told us to anyway." Ricky said as he smiled slowly at Ethan.
"I need to use the bathroom real quick..." Grace said as she looked at Chloe.
"Oh...I do too. We'll be right back." Chloe said as she stood up with her purse.
"Heh...What is it with girls going to the bathroom together?" Ethan said as Ricky sat in Chloe's seat.
"They're probably going to talk about you...What happened to Kathy?" Ricky asked concerned.
"Uh...I haven't told her anything about Chloe yet...We're not exclusive right now anyway so...it's not like I have to tell her right now." Ethan said confidently.
"All right...Whatever happens, I hope it's for the better. And if you're gonna have sex, don't do it." Ricky said stubbornly as he looked at Ethan.
"Woah! I didn't say anything about sex. Did things not go well with Grace last night?" Ethan asked seriously.
"No...Things are great with her...I just don't want you to do something that you're going to regret later." Ricky said calmly.
"She took you to church, didn't she? You would always be a little grumpy after we went to church with Margret and Shaker...Heh...I'm sorry dude." Ethan smirked.
"I'm not grumpy because we went to church this morning. I love going to church. It's a very nice place with a lot of nice people that both of us could benefit from. I know you went once with Kathy but maybe you should try it again. I'm sorry if I seem a little upset...I'm just worried about John...I called Amy earlier and she didn't answer. I hope they're all right." Ricky said concerned.
"It's all right Ricky...Sorry for accusing you...I'm sure they're fine." Ethan said nicely.
Meanwhile in the bathroom...
"What happened to Daniel? Ricky told me you two broke up?!" Grace said surprised as she retouched her make up.
"Yeah we did...I ran into him with his ex girlfriend Raven at the bar that Mickey and Griffin were in..." Chloe said sadly.
"That jerk! He acted like he was so much more mature than everyone and then he gets back with his ex? Whatever...You can do better than him anyway." Grace said annoyed as she put her make up in her purse.
"Heh...Thanks Grace...I really liked him too but...Aren't you kind of the same way?" Chloe asked concerned.
"You're welcome...Just because I was on and off with Jack does not mean that I'm the same as Daniel. He acted like he knew everything and he didn't...Grant was like that too." Grace said seriously.
"Oh...I'm sorry about that...Guys who think they know everything are annoying...Ethan seems really nice though." Chloe said sweetly.
"Grant thought he was academically smarter than me and Daniel thought he was emotionally smarter than me...Ethan's a little young, don't you think?" Grace asked sincerely.
"That's true about Daniel...Grant sounds annoying too...Ethan's just a year younger than me and he seems more mature than over half of the guys that I've been with..." Chloe said confidently.
"Hmm...If you like him, I guess that's all that matters. I'm sorry about Daniel...I really liked him too but then stupid Jack interfered..." Grace said as they walked out of the bathroom.
"Yeah I know...You've told me before...Is it just me or does it seem like Jack interferes with all your relationships?" Chloe asked confused.
"I don't mean to sound like a broken record...but he kind of did...And his sermon was interesting today...He told me that I inspired him to become a minister." Grace said sweetly as her cheeks turned red.
"Um hmm...And you don't think he's going to interfere with your relationship with Ricky? You still have the hots for him don't you?" Chloe asked as she smiled slowly.
"Uh...No way Chloe! How could you say that? Jack knows I love Ricky!" Grace said a little irritated.
"Who are you trying to convince? Me or you? We should get back to our tables." Chloe said seriously as she started to walk back over to her table with Grace behind her.
Wow...Chloe's smarter than I thought she was...Do I really love Ricky or...am I using him to make Jack...No...I can't be having these thoughts again...I do love him...Don't I? Grace looked at Ricky as he got out of Chloe's seat and she sat back down.
"I hope you two enjoy the rest of your meal...Let's get some food." Ricky said smiling as he grabbed Grace's hand and walked over to their table.
"Thanks Ricky! Later!" Ethan said happily.
"Ethan?! Is that you?" A familiar voice said from behind Chloe.
"Kathy? What are you doing here?" Ethan said shocked.
"I'm having lunch with my grandma. What are you doing here with Chloe?" Kathy asked surprised.
"Oh...Hey Kathy...It's nice to see you again..." Chloe said nervously.
"We're just chilling...You and your grandma can join us if you want." Ethan said smiling.
"Just chilling huh? I thought you wanted to get back with me?" Kathy asked annoyed as she crossed her arms.
"Um...I'm a little confused here...I thought you wanted to give me a chance Ethan." Chloe said a little irritated.
"Oh...I...Here's the thing...We're all friends right? Why don't we just have a good time and...we can figure out all this other stuff later." Ethan said awkwardly.
"What's there to figure out? We made out just last night." Chloe said seriously.
"You what?! Ethan! Why would you do that?" Kathy said angrily as she raised her voice.
"He wanted to kiss me...So I let him..." Chloe said honestly.
"Ugh...I'm surprised you two didn't do more than that...Especially since she used to be...a hooker." Kathy said coldly.
"Seriously Kathy? Are you trying to insult me? You know that I hate that word." Chloe said stubbornly as she stood up.
"All right you two...Maybe we should go outside before we make a scene..." Ethan said nervously.
"No...I'm going back over to my grandma's table...I hope you two enjoy your food...And Ethan, don't ever call me again." Kathy said irritated as she left their table.
"Well, Ethan? Do you want to get back with her or not? If you do, I totally understand." Chloe said as she sat down.
"I don't know what I want Chloe...I used to love Kathy but...She kind of drove me crazy...Oh man...I'm just like Ricky! Amy drove him nuts too..." Ethan said sadly.
"You're not like Ricky Ethan...You didn't have a kid with someone that you don't love. A lot of people do that which is sad...I think you should spend some time to figure out what you do want in a relationship...I need to do that too...For now, we can be friends." Chloe said confidently.
"Thanks Chloe...I would like that a lot." Ethan said as he smiled slowly.
Later that night in New York...
"Thank you for dinner Jimmy! I've never been to that place before." Amy said happily as they walked out of an Italian restaurant.
"You're welcome Amy! I enjoyed it a lot! I know you wanted to go to a movie too but...it is a school night and I have class at nine in the morning..." Jimmy said sadly.
"Oh...That's not fun...I don't have class until eleven tomorrow...We could go back to my place for a while if you want." Amy smirked.
"Hmm...It is only eight thirty...I guess we could do that." Jimmy said happily as they walked to Jimmy's car.
Twenty minutes later...
"Here it is...It's not the nicest apartment but I like it." Amy said as she opened her door and walked in with Jimmy.
"I like it...It's very homey for an apartment." Jimmy said sweetly.
"Thanks...Lauren and Madison gave me a lot of this stuff...My parents did too." Amy said as she put her purse on the kitchen table.
"Cool...So Ben lives downstairs?" Jimmy asked concerned.
"Yeah he does. It's kind of awkward...but it's no big deal. I'm happy Leo let us live here for free. Do you want a drink or anything?" Amy asked as she sat next to Jimmy on the couch.
"No I'm fine...I was hoping we could do a little bit of this..." Jimmy said as he leaned in closer to Amy with one of his hands on one of her legs.
"Mmm...I like the sound of that..." Amy smiled as her cheeks got redder.
Jimmy slowly brushed his lips against Amy's and kissed her for a few minutes.
"Aaaah...I forgot how good you were at this..." Amy said nicely.
"Thank you...You're really good too..." Jimmy licked his lips and Amy pulled him closer to her and kissed him passionately for a few minutes.
"Woah...Slow down Amy...We don't need to go that far..." Jimmy said relieved as he let go of Amy's mouth.
"Why not? You don't like it?" Amy asked concerned.
"No...I do...It's just I don't want to get too physical with you unless we're in a committed relationship." Jimmy said calmly.
"Oh...That sounds like a good idea to me. But we can still make out right?" Amy asked intrigued.
"Of course we can. I would love to." Jimmy smiled and he kissed Amy slowly again.
Meanwhile at Adrian's and Omar's house...
"I'm glad my car's repainted...You excited to go back to school tomorrow?" Omar said happily as he cleaned the dishes.
"Not really but...I'm sure it will be fine. I wish we could know who keyed your car." Adrian said after sipping some hot tea.
"Yeah...It's not that big of a deal Adrian...Whoever did it will probably get what they deserve anyway." Omar said seriously.
"You're probably right..." Adrian said after she took another sip and her phone rang.
"Hello?" Adrian asked without checking the caller ID.
"Hey Adrian. It's Ricky. Have you heard from Amy at all today?" Ricky said concerned.
"No I haven't. Is there a problem Ricky?" Adrian asked worried.
"I called her a few times today and she never picked up. I hope she's all right." Ricky said worried.
"I'm sure she's fine. I bet she's been spending all day with Ben. How are things with Grace?" Adrian asked nicely.
"You're probably right. Grace is doing really well. We went to church this morning. She asked if I wanted to get baptized." Ricky said seriously.
"Heh! You're kidding right? Are you really going to do it? I know before you said you would just so you could sleep with her but..." Adrian said surprised.
"That doesn't matter Adrian! If she wants me to do it, then I will." Ricky said confidently.
"Um...I don't know how Christians do it but Catholics get baptized when they're babies so...I can't really help you with that one Ricky...However, I think you should do it because you want to do it. Not because Grace wants you to. I think it will mean more to you if you want to be born again. What happened to you? You used to take charge of your own life and now it seems like you're doing whatever everyone wants you to do. Jack asked me about the scholarship thing too. Are you going to do it?" Adrian explained concerned.
"I don't really know much about being born again so I hope Grace can help me with it...I do want to do it so I can be closer to her. That's what happens when you fall in love Adrian, you want to do everything you can to be closer to the person you love. I thought you would know that by now after getting married. I don't know if I'm going to do the scholarship thing...I need to talk to my parents about it." Ricky said surely.
"Boy, she's got you wiped. I don't know what it is, but something about that girl has guys going crazy for her. You're really lucky to be with Grace, Ricky. I know all about love from being married of course and I couldn't be happier. Good luck with the scholarship thing." Adrian said honestly.
"I know I'm really lucky to be with Grace. Hopefully, I'll be the last guy that goes crazy for her. Heh...I'm glad you're happy with Omar, Adrian. You've really inspired me to become a better person. Thanks for the good luck." Ricky said kindly.
"Aww! Thanks Ricky! I think that's one of the nicest things you've said to me...And you're welcome. I hope you have a good night." Adrian smiled slowly.
"Heh...No problem! I hope you have a good night too. I'll talk to you later." Ricky said happily and hung up.
"What did Ricky say that made you all happy?" Omar asked concerned as he hugged Adrian from behind.
"He just said that I inspired him to become a better person...I think we both inspired each other actually...We went through a lot together and...I think we're both stronger because of it." Adrian said nicely.
"That's really nice of him...I think you are very strong Adrian and I'm really proud of you...However, I am a little jealous that Ricky was your first love but...at least I'm your last." Omar said sweetly as he hugged Adrian tightly and kissed her on the head.
"Heh...You're sweet hun...I'm glad you're my last too..." Adrian smiled slowly as she turned around and gave Omar a long kiss.
Meanwhile in California...
Grace was finishing her homework when her phone rang.
"Ben? What's up?" Grace asked surprised as she answered her phone.
"Hey Grace...Sorry to bother you but you haven't heard from Amy have you? I've been shopping all night getting her some birthday presents. I called a few times earlier today and she didn't pick up." Ben said as he got in his car.
"Oh...You're fine Ben...I haven't heard from Amy today...That's sweet you're getting her birthday presents! When is her birthday? I would love to send her something!" Grace said excited.
"Her birthday is next Saturday. You don't have to send her anything. I could buy her something and say it was from you, if you want." Ben said nicely as he started his car.
"No, you don't have to do that...I can just give her something when Ricky and I come to New York for Bob's trial next month." Grace said sweetly.
"Oh, yeah...I forgot about that...It would be my pleasure to do that Grace. You can pay me back later...Just let me know what you want to get it her and I'll give it to her." Ben said happily.
"All right...If you insist...I would like to get her a type of perfume called Pink Ice...I love it and it smells really good." Grace said nicely.
"Sounds good...Anything else?" Ben asked as he started to back out his car.
"Hmm...Maybe some chocolate chip cookies? I love to bake them so...I like to give them to people." Grace said happily.
"Heh...You do make awesome cookies...I'll get her some and you can send her an e-card. I bet she would like that." Ben said excited.
"Thanks Ben...I will do that for Amy! Do you think Ricky should get her anything for her birthday?" Grace asked sincerely.
"You're welcome...Um...I don't know...You should ask him...I could buy stuff for Amy that Ricky wants to get her too..." Ben said honestly.
"All right...I will...So you two have been doing ok?" Grace asked concerned.
"Yeah we're fine...I don't know if you heard about my pill overdose..." Ben said sadly.
"Unfortunately, I did...Adrian told me...How are you feeling?" Grace said sweetly.
"A lot better after I got back from the hospital...It's amazing what doctors can do...There's no way I'll ever do that again...It was really scary." Ben said as he stopped at a stop sign
"I'm glad you're better...That's why I want to be a doctor...To help people in amazing ways...Heh...I hope you have a safe drive back Ben...I gotta get back to my paper." Grace said honestly.
"All right...Thanks Grace. Talk to you later." Ben said as he kept driving.
"You're welcome...Bye." Grace hung up.
There you have it! Is Grace having second thoughts about Ricky again? Is she going to help him be born again? Ethan's in quite a dilemma too! Does he like Chloe or Kathy? What is Amy doing? Poor Ben has no idea that she's seeing Jimmy...And he got her birthday presents...Oh dear...Is Adrian feeling all right or is she faking it for Omar? Stay tuned to find out! Let me know what you think! Thank you! :)