On Solid Ground: Sequel to in Too Deep (39 page)

“Jake, can we just go home? You can show me whatever it is you are trying to show me another time.”

Just then, the latch gave way and the knob turned. Jake pushed the door open. He turned with a gleam in his eye that clenched a spot low in my belly. He grabbed my hand and pulled me in. I hadn’t noticed while we were outside that there were no windows, so when he closed the door behind him, it was like I went blind. I reached for him in sheer panic, and he chuckled a little, knowing my irrational fear of the dark.

“Hold on, baby girl, I got you.” He held me against him with one hand, and I assumed was feeling around the wall for a light switch. I heard the click of the switch, but nothing happened.

“Jake!” My voice was panicked. I had no idea where we were, and I hated the dark. Hated it.

He leaned down and whispered, “Trust me.”

He led me toward the center of the space, which apparently was empty, because I hadn’t tripped once on the way there. He turned to me, and in one swift movement, he grasped my waist and lifted me, but just as quickly set me down on a surface that made us the same height. We were face to face.

“Jake, I hate this. Please find a light that works.”

“I did. Now, kiss me.”

I had no idea why he thought the switch he’d flipped was working, because, unless I’d gone completely blind since leaving Sylvia’s office, there was no light coming from anywhere. I felt his body move between my legs, and he took my head in his hands. I figured closing my eyes to kiss him would make me forget that it was just as dark with my eyes open. So, I lost myself in the moment. His kiss was deep, and the way his hands traveled down my back and underneath my shirt clued me in to the reason behind his devilish smirk prior to us getting in the building.

“Jake, I can’t—Oh, Jake.” My breath escaped me when I opened my eyes to tell him we couldn’t make love in this broken down building. The dome that covered the circular structure was illuminated with a galaxy of stars. Twinkling, beautiful stars. We were in the planetarium. He was going to make love to me in broad daylight. Daylight for everyone else, but under the stars for us.

My hands flew to the back of his head, and I forgot all about my fear of the dark. The soft light from the stars shone down on us, and I could see and feel the smile on his face as I invaded his mouth with my tongue. He followed suit.

He slid my jean skirt up around my hips and pulled me into him. I grabbed his shirt from the bottom and ripped it over his head. I kicked off my boots and wrapped my legs around his hips. The heat coming from his body made me want him even more. Our breaths were ragged, our hands desperate to touch every inch of each other. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I reached for the button on his shorts and he gasped when I released it. I moaned quietly when I reached down and felt how ready he was for me. I took him in my hands and squeezed gently, mimicking the pulsing inside me.

“Oh, God, Gracie. I need to feel you. Now. I need to be inside you.” He stepped back and I heard his zipper. I could see his silhouette as his shorts dropped and left him gloriously naked. He stepped closer, reached up under my skirt, and pulled down the only thing keeping us separated. He grasped my hips and pulled me to the edge of the counter. The force of me hitting his bare stomach while completely open to him made me cry out. He leaned into me and nuzzled his face into my neck and shoulder while saying my name over and over again, “Gracie. Oh God, Gracie.”

When he pulled his head away, he slid his hands under my bottom. He lifted me slightly and then let my center drag down his happy trail to where he was hard and throbbing and waiting for me. Our chests met with each deep breath. I felt his hips tip up and he began filling me slowly, then pulled his hands from under me. I couldn’t stand it any longer, I needed all of him. With a quick thrust of my own, he stretched me full and I had all of him. I called out his name and grabbed his hard biceps as our rhythm increased and the building tension fast forwarded to a level I wasn’t sure I was ready for. Jake and I had a history of explosive orgasms, but I already knew this one would far surpass any we’d had thus far.

He thrust in and out as though he couldn’t get enough of me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and tilted my hips into his over and over. We rode out to waves of passion and called out to each other. We held on as the sensation that made its way through each of our cores met in the one place we were physically connected. As the climax was upon us, Jake pulled his face back so we were nose-to-nose.

“Open your eyes, Gracie.”

“Jake!” My eyes flew open, and it was no longer dark. The amount of stars in our mock sky lit up the room, and I could see their reflection in his eyes.

My gaze locked on his, and we came together, mouths agape but silent. It was a moment, a feeling, an experience that took all coherent thought away. As we came down from our simultaneous high, he stayed inside me, but our bodies went lax against each other.

“Gracie.” His voice was hoarse and he still gasped for air. “It’s not possible to get
this
from anyone else. We do
this
together.”

I smiled and nodded; no words could follow that and do it justice.

Fifty-one

Jake

Sam decided to come back into town for Summer Fest Weekend. He brought Ashley with him. I knew Gracie would be stoked because she and Ashley had hit it off really well the last time she was here.

The four of us headed out to Café Best for lunch as soon as Sam lugged all of Ashley’s stuff in from his car. It appeared as though they were both back for good. I was glad to have Sam back and even more thrilled that Stacy wouldn’t be back for two more weeks, which gave Gracie and me plenty of time to make new memories in her apartment as per Sylvia’s suggestion.

“So, what’s on the schedule today?” Sam was all about having a packed schedule, especially when there was no studying to be done.

“Calon and the guys are playing on the Allen Street stage at seven, so as long as we are there by then, we can do whatever your heart desires.” Gracie voice couldn’t hide her excitement to see the guys play without her as their opening act. She could chill and just have fun instead of being a ball of nerves.

“Gracie, you’re not singing with them?” Ashley snagged some fries off Sam’s plate and shielded her eyes from the sun.

“Nah, it’s a battle-of-the-bands kind-of-thing. Bands sign up for a time slot and how they use their time is part of the contest. You can win on talent alone or creativity in the performance. I didn’t want them winning or losing depending on me, so I talked them out of having an opening act.”

“I was really excited to hear you sing.” Ashley’s smile was sincere. I wondered if she felt a connection with Gracie because of their shared past with Sigma Chi. “When are you playing at
Mitchell’s
again?”

“Every Friday night, apparently.” A look of pride spread across Gracie’s face, followed by a big smile.

“So in essence, Gracie, you’ve been hiding this talent from me all this time? I feel duped.” Sam put on a fake frown, hoping for some sympathy.

“Dude, I’ve only heard her play a handful of times. She’s kept this superpower hidden from all of us.” I squeezed her leg under the table.

“Shit. I wanted to be the only one with the superpowers. Dammit, Gracie, can’t I just have one thing that’s all mine?”

“I’m pretty sure you’re the only one here that has a
squirmy worm
.” Gracie squeezed her eyes shut when she said it, like it was actually painful to say.

“What the hell is this
squirmy worm
thing? Sounds nasty.” Ashley just about fell off her chair laughing. Sam looked pained by her reaction.

“Jake, did you tell them about the DVDs?” Gracie wasn’t even hesitant in asking.

“No, I wasn’t sure how you wanted to handle that.” I reached for her hand and pulled it into my lap. I rubbed it with my thumb as though it would help her relax enough to be open and honest about something I knew was painful for her.

“So, we found out that Noah had secretly shot footage of us having...well, of us.” She looked at me as though she needed to apologize for almost saying what she was about to say.

I smiled and squeezed her hand. God, I loved her.

“Jake and Maverick got into Noah’s room a couple weeks ago and found ten copies of that DVD in one of his desk drawers. They stole them.”

“Gracie, that house, it’s bad news.” Ashley grabbed Gracie’s other hand across the table and squeezed.

“That fucker! How the fuck did we not know he was doing this shit? Fuck! Gracie, I am so sorry we couldn’t protect you.” Sam’s eyes glistened. He got up and walked over to Gracie’s chair, then knelt down so he was eye-to-eye with her. “Gracie, if we had any idea, I promise, we would have helped you. We would never have just stood by and let him do what he did to you. I am so sorry.”

Gracie lunged toward Sam and wrapped her arms around his neck. They hugged and Ashley looked up at me, both of us trying to rein in the emotion so we weren’t all a mess.

“Gracie, have you thought of pressing charges? Are you going to destroy the videos?” Ashley leaned in toward Gracie after Sam sat back down.

“Well, I did a little research online, and, unfortunately, because what was recorded was consensual, there’s really nothing I can do. But a girl we just met, Chelsea, told us she knows three girls who have similar stories to yours. They just never reported it. I’m wondering if the DVDs could be used as evidence if those girls were called to testify in your case.”

Ashley’s eyes were wide as she took in what Gracie was saying. She shook her head a little and blew out a big breath. “Hey, let’s dial back the serious here. There’s a festival today, right? This conversation can be saved for a day we don’t have packed full of fun.”

Gracie reached across the table and squeezed Ashley’s hand. It was clear to me they would bond even more over the next year we were still at UTK. It was fate that had brought them together.

Sam and I spent most of the afternoon handing over way too much money, trying to win the girls huge stuffed animals. Each time we won a bigger one, the girls would gift the previous prize to an unsuspecting little person. Talk about superpowers, I think they were famous by the time it started to get dark. Every time we passed those same children, they would squeal and wave. There are no words for the sheer joy on Gracie’s face. She was so relaxed, so happy, and she was glowing.

When it got closer to the time the guys were to be on stage, we gradually migrated toward Allen Street. Gracie scored a space big enough for the four of us right at the front. She was giddy with excitement.

Alternate Tragedy was the first act in the battle, so her excitement turned to nervousness when it was thirty minutes to show time and they were nowhere in sight.

“Jake, something’s wrong. They’re usually warming up by now and they’ll be disqualified if they’re not here when they call for them. Calon will freak.” She wrung her hands and looked around like a mom who’d lost her kid.

“Gracie, it’s fine. It’s not like they forgot. Stop worrying. They’ll be here.” I rubbed her back, but she paid no attention to my attempt.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Alternate Tragedy is up first. Guys, wherever you are, you have ten minutes to report to the stage. Ten minutes.”

Gracie jumped up out of her seat, walked to the rail, and called the emcee over. They spoke for a quick second then she came back, a little less stressed, but not much.

“Farley said their instruments are on stage, so they’ve been here, but he hasn’t seen them in a while. Shit, Jake!”

There was nothing I could say to make her feel better. For all I knew, they bailed and just never let anyone know. It seemed odd for them to leave their instruments, though. But it wasn’t the end of the world as far as I was concerned. It was just a little contest. No big deal. But my shaking-with-unsettled-nerves girlfriend felt otherwise.

“Sam, let’s go get the girls something to drink. The
Mitchell’s
tent is back there on the corner. Girls, we’ll be right back.” Sam and I got in line as soon as we got to the tent. I could see Gracie still panicking. Ashley stood with her and seemingly helped her look around.

“Five minutes, Cal! Five minutes!” The emcee was obviously almost as freaked out as Gracie. Sam and I grabbed the beers and turned to fight the crowd for our front row spot. That’s when I saw him.

Noah faced Gracie and stood so close, I could only see a thin glow of the lights from the stage between them.

Fifty-two

Gracie

“Gracie.” His voice instantly made my legs feel like noodles. I knew who I would see when I turned around. My lungs felt like they were filled with cement, and my chest was tight. This was a trigger.
Dammit.
I needed to take hold of this situation and lead it in the direction
I
needed it to go, but I was momentarily paralyzed.

“Two minutes, guys. Alternate Tragedy, you have two minutes to report to the stage.” I glanced up at the emcee and wished I was on the stage instead of standing here facing the person I hated the most. I tried to catch my breath so I could tell him to walk away, but my breathing was so shallow, I couldn’t speak.

“Gracie, don’t say anything. Just hear me out. I need you to know I still love you. I need you to know I regret everything that happened over the last two years. I was an asshole, and you put up with it, over and over. I don’t know if there’s any chance for us but...” He looked down at his hands, and for the five seconds his eyes weren’t on me, I saw flashes of our past in my mind. Everything he’d done to me, said to me, or about me in front of his brothers. Bile rose in my throat, and I knew what I needed to do. But it was only going to happen if I could will my feet to move from that spot. I said nothing but turned and willed my legs to walk me straight to the stage.

When I got to Farley, a guy I knew from one of my classes, I could barely breathe, both from my panic in being in such close proximity to Noah, but also because I was about to step so far out of my comfort zone, I felt I was nearing an out-of-body experience.