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"True that," Alec o anyway"
Trick chuckled, heading for the shower as Silva called after hiot this new Brazilian dancer, and I could settle doith her like a motherfucker"
For all his bravado, Trick had never even seen Silva talk to a woman, so a lot of this had to be a front He al to be alone and wishing you could find one person you could spend your life with didn’t make you less of a man In fact, it became clearer to Trick every day he spent with Grace that it ed off his sweat-soaked workout clothes and cranked the shower up high and hot before stepping under the spray Too bad Grace hadn’t noticed how ed That he was a different person because of her But she was paying attention now
To Catman, not to you
He clenched his jaw, annoyed at the irrational anger he felt toward the alter-ego of his own creation Just one et her to see what it could be like between them, and then he’d tell her the truth
…
Twenty-five hours and eleven long minutes later, Grace stood at the ticket booth She loved her job, but this particular Monday had been interminable She couldn’t wait for this exactshe had another hour Or five
She stared at the ht dollars to see La Bon Petit Foreign Old Discount Score Hopefully no one else would be there so they could…what?
Her hand shook as she took her stub from the attendant
"Theater number seven," the pimply kid said with a flash of braces
She s every bit the dirty, old woman, and hurried across the lobby to the theater Briefly, she glanced at the concessions stand and wondered if she should get a soda or some Raisinets and then realized how ridiculous that would be They weren’t going to actually watch the s nearly buckling with relief when she saw that she was literally the only person in the theater Okay, she could do this She looked around at the empty seats and selected the one in the farthest back corner It was tucked away so that, even if someone else did come in, they wouldn’t be able to see her froan to roll, and she took off her coat She laid it in the seat beside her before settling in her own chair, the nubby fabric scraping the backs of her bare thighs
Wear a skirt
Reo hard beneath her sweater Bold She was so daone a step further and left the bra and underwear ho need, and she wondered if that had been atoo forward? Would he be annoyed that she’d taken the initiative? Short of leaving and scrapping the whole evening, there wasn’t anything she could do about it now
And she wasn’t going to do either of those things
She’d spent the past two hours wondering what they would do in those tiny seats Hoould touch her If they would tease and stroke until the lights came on and then run out to his car or if they would soht there in the theater She hs The last of the trailers ended, and the roo credits lit the screen
She pulled out her cell phone to check the time Quarter after nine He should be here by now, no? But there were no missed calls, and surely he wouldn’t have made the effort to call her, set up a date, and then not show
The door creaked loudly, and she tensed, staring at the sliver of light anxiously Would she be able to see his face? Or would she have to wait until the movie was over? She found herself torn She wanted to see hihtiness of it made her feel so hot inside Like she’d sed the sun
A tall figure stepped into the room, and her hands went slick with sweat She opened her mouth to whisper to hiure followed behind A woman The pair made their way down aisle hand in hand and Grace could barely stomach her disappointment It wasn’t hier alone She watched, an e her, as the couple chose their seats toward thewhere they ended up, she jumped when a low voice murmured in her ear
"You came"
She jerked in surprise and looked up to see hi over her His face was obscured by the black hooded sweatshirt he wore, but she’d know that voice anywhere Unless, of course, Christian Bale happened to enjoy French filhts immediately went to Trick
Only Trick wasn’t here And besides, he’d been happy for her just like he hen he found out that she’d hooked up at Chaz’s party Exactly the way a friend should be Which was exactly how she’d wanted it fro herself over it noas nothing but selfish and silly She shoved aside the disappointment and focused on the man in front of her
"I did," she whispered softly The relief was overwhel, and for the moment, she didn’t care that they wouldn’t be able to do whatever it was he’d had planned The fact that he’d shown up and had wanted to was enough for her
"I’ht?"
She hesitated, not sure what he was getting at "I guess so"
He settled into the chair behind her, and she attempted to stay calm It was no easy task The movie played on, and she tried to pay attention, but with every squeak of the chair behind her, she grewback there?
About tenin frustration, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and nearly jumped out of her chair
"Relax I just want to touch you"
His mouth was close to her ear, and the heat of his breath sent a bolt of need through her
His hands were gentle, but they held that restrained power, a power she was all too faht as he traced the line of her collar bone
"Coainst the cushioned seat His hands stayed safely above her neckline, which was at once cal It took a full five ertips, he wascloser and closer to the curve of her breast Her breath hitched as his thu of one slope, a whisper of a touch that made her stomach ache
"Grace?" His breath tickled her ear, and she quivered