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. Anyway, you relucky I didn t blow it right then and there. So why didn t you? Her answer meant more to him than it should have.Almost like he needed toknow he wasn t the only one who thought he and Grace belonged together.Serena stared at him hard before shrugging a slim shoulder. Because I think you could be good forher.If you truly want to. Her approval settled him some, and he nodded. I do.I don t think she s ready to hear it, though. She got burned pretty bad.Vic lied on a daily basis and spent the better part of their relationshippretending to be something he wasn t.Not a good strategy out of you to repeat that pattern, buddy. She let out a low, sympathetic whistle through her teeth but then laughed, presumably at the dread onhis face. I get why you did it, and I think if you tell her the truth, she ll come around.She s going tobe pissed at first though, you can bet that.Better to get it over with before things go too far.She salready hoping he& I mean you, will call her. Trick shifted from foot to foot and scratched his head.To tell or not to tell, that was the question. Well, about that, he began.Serena pushed off the couch to her feet, shock etched on her face. Tell me you didn t call heralready. He d done a shitload more than call her.He called her, and met her, and touched her, and made her come I was wondering why she looked so guilty earlier at the office! Her eyes narrowed with fury. God, you are an asshole.It s one thing to have slept with her at the party.Then you could ve comeforward and been like, I wanted to show you what it could be like between us or some crap.Butinstead you had to make it a thing.Now she s going to feel humiliated that you tricked her over andover.Not to mention all the new lies you ve had to tell to keep this all going. She shoved him on theshoulder, hard. Promise me this is the end.Swear to me that you won t see her again or call her.Notas Catman. He wanted to promise.He really did, but what if she still wasn t ready to accept the fact that theywere perfect together? The thought of never touching her again made him sick inside.Just a little moretime&His face clearly told the story because she hit him again, this time with a closed fist. Shit, Trick.You are fucking this all up.I know you love her, but I can t help you if you The door swung open and Grace stepped in, cheeks pink from the cold. Hey, what are you guysyelling about? There was no censure in her tone, only curiosity.Serena was typically loud and adrama-queen, so anything from an episode of The Bachelor to a discussion about who the sexiestfrontman of all time was could have raised the decibel level of the conversation. Nothing.Trick was telling me about this thing he has to do at work.He inadvertently hurt his co-workers feelings, and I was letting him know that he needs to rectify that ASAP so it doesn t fester,you know? Like within the next day or so.At.The.Latest. The last was aimed at him, complete with a scowl that would ve made Cruella Deville wince. Yeah, I think you re right.I ll take care of that as soon as I m able, he assured her, hedging alittle.If he felt like he needed more time with Grace as Catman, he was going to take it.He wasn tabout to undo all the progress he d made by coming clean before she realized that they were made foreach other.He d just have to hope that she d see how happy her friend was and give him the space heneeded. Oh.Well, if it matters at all, I agree with Serena.Honesty is the best policy.After being lied to fornearly a year, I can promise you that it s no fun at all, and even if the truth hurts, it s best for everyonein the long run. Trick only hoped his poker face was better than Serena s because Grace s little speech made himeven queasier.Serena gave him an I told you so brow raise and he looked away.Bottom line, he was clearly on borrowed time.He needed to raise the ante and bring this thinghome because it couldn t go on for much longer. I m on it, he said to them both with a reassuring smile. Anyone want a beer? he asked and thenmade his way to the kitchen.He needed a minute to himself.Just a few seconds to think.Aside from acouple attacks of conscience, he d been pretty satisfied with the way things had been going so farand from what he could tell, so had Grace but now everything felt shitty again.It would be okay, though.Once he told her, everything would be okay. Wouldn t it?He shook off the impending sense of dread and decided to enjoy their evening.Once he was alonewith his thoughts in bed that night, he could work through this mess and come up with a plan toexplain things to Grace in a way that would make her understand. Grab me one, too. She d come up behind him and was standing right over his shoulder.She dtaken off her coat, and her body was close enough that he could feel the chill coming off her.Hewanted so badly to turn around and pull her close to warm her up.But that would freak her right thefuck out.He swallowed a laugh and grabbed two beers. Serena want one? He straightened and closed the fridge door before setting the bottles on thecounter, Sam Adams for him, Nantucket Ale for her.He poured hers into a glass and handed it over. Nope, she left.She only came by to drop off the sweater I let her borrow last winter.She neverreturns anything she borrows, so I m not sure why the new leaf, but it s a nice sweater, so I m happy. She took a long pull off her beer and smacked her lips. Thanks. He nodded but was preoccupied by Serena s tactics.Grace might not have realized, but he knewexactly why Serena had stopped by.She d wanted to corner him alone, and she had.Now he wasquestioning everything.Still, even with the stress, being alone with Grace again after last night sent amillion thoughts up to bum-rush him at once.They d been alone hundreds of times before, and to be fair, every one of those times had resulted inat least a few minutes of mental what if that read more like the screenplay to a porno.A classy one,but a porno nonetheless, and now it was even worse.What if Grace lifted her hair off her neck andasked if he was hot and then decided to strip her shirt off to cool down? What if they got into a waterfight when she was wearing that threadbare Lady Gaga T-shirt she loved so much, and he could seeher nipples through the cotton? What if he was a pizza delivery guy and she was a lonely Is that okay? she asked. You look weird.Is something going on with you guys? You ve bothbeen acting strange lately. Her forehead pinched into a frown, and his pulsed kicked up a notch as he put the pieces together.Whether she saw him as a possibility or not, she definitely didn t like the idea of him and Serenatogether.Another little thing, maybe, but they were adding up.He tried not to let the elation show on his face. Nothing that I know of.We re fine. Well, she and I are meeting at the Brewhouse to eat after I change, if you want to come with, shesaid rubbing Skeeter s head gently.Trick briefly thought of the chicken pot pie in his microwave then nodded. Yeah, sure
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