Chapter 4

Grace

"He had a cucumber tied to his dick."

Three things happened simultaneously. Ty dropped her phone on her poached eggs, I chocked on my coffee and a passing by waitress of about fifteen dropped her-thankfully empty-tray on the ground.

"What?" Ken gave a wide-eyed innocent look as the waitress scrambled to pick up the tray and ran for her dear life.

"Honey," Ty said, wiping the dripping yoke off her iPhone with a bundle of tissues. "Next time you decide to say something inappropriate in front of children, a prior warning would be congruous."

"What did I say?" Another unimpeachable look.

"What didn't you?" I cleared my throat and took another drag of the scalding liquid. "You were saying?"

"Yes, as I was saying," a pointed look at Ty. “The guy I thought was a hunk with a nice junk was actually an extra large sized cucumber. Thank you Mr. Douchebag for ruining my liking for the vegetable!” Ken huffed.

“Yeah, ours too.” Ty groaned.

“Could you guys be any louder? The waitress just brought her entire class to tune in on the gossip.” I motioned my cup behind Ken where now three waitresses had the sudden urge to clean the same table right beside ours.

“Oh Shuu already! Go dress your Barbies!” Ken waved her hand over her head in a shooing motion as the three girls scrambled away from the table, cheeks pink with embarrassment.

“Hey! That was rude!” I complained.

“What? Ty was just complaining about discretion in front of children.” Ken stated as she gulped down her carrot and cranberry juice.

“True.” Ty answered with her nose in her phone.

“So….how was your Mr. Naughty?” Ken asked, wiggling her eyebrows at me suggestively and instantly, Ty lost her interest in her phone.

“Um…well…” If it wasn’t humanly possible, I would’ve preferred to dissolve into the pavement right at this moment.

“Welllll?” Both Ty and Ken drawled out.

“He was good.” I admitted, blushing beetroot red.

“Awesome! Care to share?”

“Go to Hell!” The answer came out even before Ken had finished her sentence and it caused both girls to smile widely.

“Ooooh! Look at her being all defensive Ken! She’s soooo in lov-“

“Okay, now that’s going a bit too far!” I snapped at Ty which only caused her to giggle. “Guys, stop it!”

“Well, at least tell us if it helped get your work done?” Ken chirped in.

“Yeah, it’s over.” I told them grudgingly.

I hate to admit it, but sex really is a stress buster, at least it turned out to be one for me. Yesterday after Daniel had caught me in the task of scavenging for my clothes, I’d gotten into his shiny Sedan and he’d driven me to this tiny Bread and Breakfast café in Metropolitan south, just before the start of South Park, downtown L.A. I hadn’t even known that this café existed even though I’d travelled down this same road for years.

Breakfast had been simple yet delicious. I had the best blueberry pancakes ever while Daniel sipped his black coffee with two spoons of sugar. We didn’t talk much throughout the rest of our time together but the silence hadn’t been awkward. He did raise a brow when he dropped me off in my neighborhood, but I know I would’ve done the same if I were him. The only plus signs are that the rent is cheap and the neighbors mind their own business. After a hasty goodbye, I’d dashed home, taken a much needed hot shower and dived straight into work so I could erase the previous night off of my mind.

But as fate would have it, my previously empty mind was now filled with brand new ideas and I was able to finish all my projects within 12 hours and then I had all the time in the world to think about Daniel and his exotic scent and the way his body had felt on top of mine.

“Earth to Grace!”

Startled, I looked at my two best friends to find them staring at me with big smiles on their faces.

“That good, eh?” Ken grinned.

“Ugh!” I groaned. “Would you guys stop teasing me? I’m going out of my mind about what could happen if we ever meet again or if he starts stalking me or if my mom-“

“Whoa! Hold up!” Ty held up her hand. “You’re a responsible adult, twenty four years of age, your mother should not have a say in whom you date. And secondly, last night was the only time you met him. How can he start stalking you if he has no idea who you are?”

“Well, that’s the problem,” I told them. “He does know who I am. He knew my name even before I told him and the way he was treating me, it was as if he knew exactly what to expect with me. He even made me drink ginger and lime juice before taking me upstairs.”

“Wow! The guy sure knows how to treat a lady…” Ken mused on a sigh.

“That’s not the point Ken!” Ty scolded her before turning to me. “You’re right. That does sound troublesome. He must be a regular if he knew your name or he must have overheard us sometime?”

“Ty, if a hunk like that was standing anywhere near us at any point of time…I’m pretty sure I would’ve known.”

“Of course you would.” Ty rolled her eyes.

“Okay, so maybe he is a regular.” I told them. “But if that’s the case, then we can never go back to Hell Hole again. What if I bump into him again?”

“Whoa! Chill Grace!” Ken held out her hands in front of me. “Hell Hole has the cheapest beer in town and no one’s gonna make me stop going there! And are you nuts? Stop going to a bar just because you might bump into someone? That’s just plain paranoid! I mean, he’s a bar regular, not a serial killer!”

“I have to admit Grace, Ken’s right.” Ty told me sadly. “We can’t just stop going somewhere because you think this guy might find you again. Besides, it’s not like he forced himself on you or mistreated you. In fact, it seems he’s a nice guy. If he keeps bothering you then we’re there to help and Connor would be more than happy to kick his ass if you’re uncomfortable. So chill and let’s enjoy breakfast.”

As Ty and Ken went back to eating their meal, I still sat there thinking of all the worst possible outcomes. But Ty was right on one thing, Daniel was a nice guy, at least he seemed to be. But then, why am I being so paranoid?

I agree, I don’t usually go for one night stands. I’m more into long term relationships. After breaking up with Sean, my boyfriend of two years from college, I haven’t been with anyone else, which also means I’ve been celibate for nearly two years. Maybe it was the fact that Daniel was just so addictive that I couldn’t get him out of my head? I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him since Friday night and still I could feel a shiver run down my spine as I remember his bottomless blue eyes scorching me from the inside out as they travelled over my naked body. How right it felt when he entered me and how, even now, I could feel tingles where his hands had touched.

It was scared that this has the potential of becoming something more and then finding out that he wasn’t the right guy for me. Daniel is overpowering in every way and I know for sure that if we do meet again, I would fall right into him without a second thought and by doing that I’ll lose myself in him. Honestly, I’ve never met a man who would make me want to run as far away from him as humanly possible, yet at the same time, make me want to never let go.

Yes, I found him intriguing, but I was scared that it just might turn into addiction.