Hooked

Chapter 6

Grace

Nolan closed his eyes slowly as he pulled his phone from his pocket and silenced his ringer. He stared at it for several minutes, and I wondered what was going on. Then I reminded myself that I didn't know this Nolan, so it could be anything. It could be something simple or something complicated. We'd barely scratched the surface of the last few years.

"Sorry," he muttered as he put his phone on the table. He flagged Annette over and dropped some money on the table. "I have to go."

I dug into my purse, grabbing my current book before finding my wallet. "I can pay my own—"

"Gracie, just let me, okay?" His voice was soft, and he stared at me like he'd never seen me before. Or he'd never me see again.

I nodded slowly, and he relaxed a bit.

"I don't want..." He trailed off as he slid out of the booth and gave Annette a little hug. She muttered something to him that made him genuinely smile again. Then she turned to me.

"Grace, it was such a pleasure to meet you. Come back and see me again, okay?" She patted my forearm, then bent to clean the table, deftly slipping the money in her apron.

"If I can ever find this place again," I said, trying to make a joke. Nolan drove, and I was too busy stressing about him than paying attention to where I was going.

"Oh, honey, let Nolan bring you back. He's here so much anyway. I'm sure he'd love the company." She stared into my eyes, and I had the distinct feeling of being told something very important. "Just don't distract him from his studies. He's a good boy. Needs that degree."

I stepped back in shock and into Nolan's chest. He steadied me with a hand on my hip. That was more of a shock than Annette's mini-lecture. But I didn't move. I couldn't. It felt too good, too right, too much like I'd finally come home. His fingers spread wide, then squeezed gently before his hand fell away.

We didn't talk as we walked to the car. He held my door for me, which was nice and odd. I wasn't sure if I liked it because it felt more like a date or if I didn't like it because Nolan never did that before.

He got in the driver's side and started the engine. As he pulled out of the parking lot, he set his phone on my leg. "I don't want to lose you again, Gracie. If you don't mind, will you put your number in?"

My hand shook as I picked it up. It shouldn't have been this difficult. I swiped the screen, and it prompted a passcode.

"It's 0610," he said, then glanced at me.

"That's my birthday," I whispered, stating the obvious. Maybe it meant something else to him. Maybe it was the factory setting passcode. Maybe it meant nothing at all.

He sighed and stared out the window. "I know. I celebrated it every year since ..."

The disappeared was implied and not necessary to say. I punched in the code and saw a reminder pop up. Curfew in 30. That explained why we had to leave. I typed in my number. We stopped at a red light, and I put my phone on his leg. He glanced at me, confused, then picked it up. He showed me the phone when the screen asked for a passcode.

"1025."

His smile brightened the dark night. Like me, he recognized his own birthday.

Nolan

We chatted about nothing as I drove to her apartment. She lived in student housing on the opposite side of the campus from our complex. The athletes pretty much had their own Olympic Village, and it was rare any of us lived elsewhere. The only exception was Evan who lived above Coach's garage. He needed his space more than any of us. It was a coveted place, too. Usually the team captain got that honor. Lucas hadn't wanted it, and most of us knew why.

After thoroughly discussing the weather, it was mid-September and summer had dug its heels in. The heat wasn't bad, but the humidity threatened to give everyone sinus infections if it didn't break.

"Gracie?" I asked as I pulled into a spot. "You're not...." I couldn't bring myself to say it. "Sorry, I just don't want to lose you again. I feel like we still have so much to talk about."

She glanced at me and grimaced. "Yeah, I think we do. It...." She trailed off, and I didn't want to push her.

I wanted to kiss her thick, luscious lips. No matter how much I wanted it to, that wasn't a line I could push. I opened my mouth to say something else when my phone went off again. My chin fell to my chest.

"You have to go?" Her voice was small, tentative.

I nodded. She didn't ask why, and I didn't tell her. "Can I call you tomorrow?"

"I have class in the morning and work in the library from three until nine." She opened the door. "Maybe just text?"

"Okay. I can do that." I reached over but let my hand fall onto the console. Grace climbed out of the car, and damn it, I knew I was going to get in trouble, but I didn't care. I unbuckled and got out, catching up with her at the front of the car. "Wait. Let me walk you up."

Gracie half-smiled. "You don't have to."

"Yeah, I kinda do."

We didn't say anything as we went up the stairs to her door. She lived on the third floor, and she preferred the stairs to the elevator she'd said. There was a reason. It was one of the things she'd tell me when she was ready. The underlying hurt and anger she carried flashed in her eyes as she said that. When we got to her door, I didn't know what to do. We stood there, staring at one another.

"Hey, Nolan," a sultry voice said behind me. I knew that voice. Too well. My eyes closed to block it out. "Oh, hey, Gwen, right?"

"Grace."

"Right," Shannon said as she came to stand too close to me. I glanced at her, but I was more focused on Grace's reaction. Her dyed red hair was so well done it looked natural. She stared up at me with a gaze that wanted more than I was willing to give her.

"Good to see you, Shannon," I said, keeping my eyes fixed on Grace and her reaction. It was blank. So very blank.

"You, too." Shannon put her hand on my forearm and leaned up to kiss me on the cheek. "Call me. We have some unfinished business."

Shit. We had no business with each other. I never should've dated her at all, but I was trying to move on from Cara. That was two years ago. Shannon popped up in between boyfriends every now and then. I wasn't going down that road again. She slid her hand over my ass, and I flinched.

"Bye, Gwen," she said to Grace before walking away.

Grace had the good sense to wait until Shannon was out of sight to even raise her eyebrow at me.

"We dated. It... didn't end well." I grimaced because I was an asshole when I broke it off. My only defense was that Shannon wouldn't listen to me. I'd told her multiple times over two weeks that we were done, but she kept thinking she could convince me otherwise. So I made it clear in a less than gentlemanly way.

"It's none of my business." Grace unlocked her door and opened it. "I'll see you around, I guess."

That didn't sound good, and I wasn't going to let her go again. Even if we could only be friends, I needed Grace in my life. I put my hand across the door frame to keep her from going inside. "Don't say that, Gracie. Don't make is sound like you don't want to ... You don't, do you? You'd rather we stayed the old friends who only recognized each other across campus?"

Her face fell, and she turned toward me. "No, I ... I don't know where I fit anymore. With anything. I'm trying to figure out so many things, and it's... not easy." Then she jumped and wrapped her arms around me. Tears choked her voice. "I missed you so much."

I buried my nose in her hair. God, she still smelled like vanilla ice cream and strawberry toppings. I inhaled like she was some illusion I'd never see again after tonight. Her body pressed against mine, reminding me that she was as real as I dreamed she was. I tightened my arms around her. For the first time since she disappeared, I felt alive again. I felt whole.