Chapter 6:

• Daniel
• I watched with muted amusement as Grace nearly dropped the beer bottle from her hands and then to hide her nervousness, took a huge swig which had her chocking and coughing.
• “Heads up.” I told her as I lifted her head towards the ceiling with my fingers under her chin. It felt like satin under my fingertips. Her skin so soft and creamy. It made me want to lick her up from head to toe.
• She gasped a few times to regain normal breathing and when she was able to breathe normally again, I let go of her chin slowly, reluctantly. “Are you alright?” I asked when she placed the beer bottle on to the table next to me, careful not to mistakenly make contact with my body.
• “Yes.” She cleared the hoarseness from her voice before answering again. “Yes, I’m fine. You wanted to talk?”
• “Indeed.” I took a sip of my whiskey and watched her follow the movement with her eyes. “But first, I want you to go over that list of ideas about why you think we should forget that Friday night ever happened.”
• “Because I don’t-“
• “-do one night stands, you’re not that kind of a person.” I finished her sentence. “I never said you were. So tell me, why are you fighting this attraction so hard?”
• “You don’t get it!” She said helplessly. “I just-I don’t-“
• “Grace.” I stopped her from having a panic attack. “Sleeping with someone doesn’t make you a slut. We met, we found each other attractive and things escalated from there onwards. It’s not a crime. You’re a responsible adult who is capable of making her own decisions.” I could see the change in her body, the softening of her stature, the defeat in her eyes and I decided to push harder.
• “I want to give us a shot Grace. Would you like to give it a try?” What I didn’t tell her was that I wasn’t giving up even if she said no. I’ve spent a lot of time getting to know her from the shadows, but now I wanted to come out of hiding. Grace was the kind of woman who made an impression. You wouldn’t be able to forget her so easily once you’ve met her; she’d make people do a double take as she walked down the road and the best part was; she was blissfully unaware of the affect she had on people.
• Grace
• Daniel’s argument made me think back to what my friends had said at brunch yesterday. I wasn’t drugged or forced to sleep with him Friday night, I’d made a conscious decision. It’s a different story that if my mother found out about it, she’d immediately disown me or throw a tantrum and my father just might come after Daniel with a gun, but Daniel now wanted to make it a more permanent arrangement. It was getting really hard for me to deny him and my own needs that wanted to touch him, feel him, kiss him…and having him at such close proximity was clouding my judgment.
• So I got off the couch and started pacing the living cum dining room. Daniel didn’t say anything but I could feel his eyes follow me around the room as he took slow sips of his whiskey.
• “I barely know you.” I finally turned towards him. “If we want an arrangement, we should at least know each other.”
• Daniel chocked on his whiskey. He put down his glass and coughed a few times and then he was laughing, his voice making me shudder. It was deep and throaty and deliciously masculine. “Jesus, Grace!” he said once his laughter died down. “Do I look like Christian Grey to you? I don’t just want an arrangement with you, I want to…how do I put it…date you? Which mean we’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other.”
• He came forward and put his hands on my waist, tugging me closer to his body. “If this doesn’t work out, it doesn’t. No regrets, no hard feelings. But I don’t want to let you go unless we’ve give this a shot. Don’t you want to know if we work together or not? Don’t you want to find out? I know this is all sudden for you, but won’t you be my girlfriend? Like I said, you can always back-”
• “Yes.” The words just slipped out before I could stop myself. And Daniel’s eyes shore with an unknown emotion, bright and blue as he engulfed me in his arms and his lips came crashing down on mine.
• I hated that I seemed so desperate to get into a relationship but I wanted to give it a shot too. There was something about Daniel that kept pulling me towards him and whenever I’m near him, I just can’t help but drown myself in him. I could be discreet with my parents about this relationship. I wasn’t just being paranoid about this, I had valid reason. But those reasons I couldn’t share with Daniel just yet. I have to know him a little better to be able to open up to him.
• “So, you want takeout or do you want me to cook?” He asked as we sat back on the sofa, this time with Daniel beside me.
• “Well, as much as I’d love to watch you toss around pasta in a pan, I should get home today. It’s a weekday and I have office tomorrow morning.” I told him, placing my empty beer bottle on the table in front of me.
• “I could always drop you off.” He offered, his lips tilting upward on the sides, and I knew exactly why he wanted me to stay here tonight.
• “I-I don’t have any change of clothes…” I said, unsurely. But I knew I couldn’t weaken my resolve. I had work tomorrow and although I didn’t want to leave, I had to get to HQ early to get my presentation ready.
• “Well, I guess that’s a minus.” He sighed. “I don’t want to be a pushover, so Friday it is then.”
• “Deal.”