On Solid Ground: Sequel to in Too Deep (23 page)

“Fuck you, man! Shut the hell up!”

“Whoa. Just messing with ya.”

“I know, but Gracie’s the one. And thinking of her with someone else kills me.”

“The one, huh?”

“Yeah, it’s like we’re truly soul mates.”

“Dude, you’re kind of a pussy right now.”

I flashed him a look, because I knew he wasn’t serious. It’s just the way Mav responded to things. He always had a comeback, but he was a good guy and would give you the shirt off his back. He’s who I would call if I was ever in trouble. Not because Sam wouldn’t help me out, but Maverick had this “don’t fuck with me” attitude that was loud and clear. We ran until we could barely take another step. It felt amazing. I loved pushing myself farther each time I ran. We reached College Avenue along the edge of campus and ducked into the corner market to grab a couple bottles of water.

“You know Noah’s back, right?” The earth tilted, and I stopped dead. “Oh, man, I thought you knew. I saw him this morning, moving back into Sigma Chi.”

I didn’t say a word, simply grabbed some water and paid. I hurried out of the store as I felt its walls closing in on me. Of course, he would come back, just as Gracie was starting to grab life by the balls. How would I tell her? Should I even tell her at all? I decided to keep his return to myself a little longer. The campus was huge, and chances of them crossing paths were slim.

“Maverick, I’m not sure you have any idea what a sick bastard he is.” We slowly walked back onto campus and headed toward the dining halls. Maverick always had a ton of money on his meal card, so I knew him treating me to the all-you-can-eat style lunch wouldn’t set him back too much.

“I remember what he used to be like. But he seemed to change once he started dating Gracie. I remember talking about it with you guys the weekend we all met her.”

“He fooled us all. He was emotionally abusing Gracie the whole time. He had her so wrapped up in his lies, she lost herself.”

“Want me to ice him for you?”

We both laughed.

“I got in a couple good right hooks last semester. Knocked him on his ass. I don’t need him dead, but I’d sure like to hit him a couple more times now that I know even more than before.”

“Jake Rockwell, I had you pegged as a lover, not a fighter.” Maverick punched me in the arm, which knocked me off balance and right into Jessica’s arms.

“Wow. Hey, Jake.” She smiled and gave me a huge hug. “Ew. You are really sweaty!”

“Sorry. Maverick and I just finished a run.”

“Hey, Maverick.”

“Jess.” Maverick wasn’t Jess’s biggest fan. She’d slapped him hard once when he got a little too drunk and a little too touchy. He said he didn’t like her because she couldn’t take a joke, but we all knew it was because she was one of the only girls to put him in his place.

“Did you have a nice birthday?” I smiled at her and all the girls who’d walked up behind her.

“What I remember of it, yes.” She giggled and rolled her eyes. “We’re headed home. Extended our stay a little. I was going to call you but didn’t want to make any waves with Gracie. You guys good?”

“We are.” There was no way I was going to get into all the ugliness I’d just been sharing with Maverick.

“I’m happy for you, Jake.” Her smile was sincere, and I was glad everything was cool between us.

An arm slid in and looped around the crook of mine and a familiar scent brought a flutter in my stomach.

“Hi, Jess. Happy birthday.” Gracie smiled just as sincerely as Jessica had smiled at me.

“Thanks, Gracie. You look great; summer’s agreeing with you.”

Gracie squeezed my arm and snuggled into my side. I was so happy at that moment that all of Gracie’s insecurities from the other night were dissipating. I guess, in a way, our heated discussions about Jess and Calon had helped to make us both more comfortable in where we each stood. And our morning activities proved to her there was no one else on my mind but her.

Twenty-nine

Gracie

Jake and I spent the afternoon walking around town. My stomach had dropped when I first saw Jess with Maverick and Jake, but it was more because I wasn’t sure how she felt about me. I did sort of steal Jake’s heart away from her. It was so freeing to just walk up and hope for the best. If she was a bitch, it wouldn’t make me look bad; her reaction to me was on her. Thankfully, it was a comfortable reunion for all of us.

Every time Jake and I caught a glimpse of each other across the shelf in the bookstore or while in line at the Café, we would grin like we had a huge secret. I could feel my cheeks heat whenever I thought about how beautiful it was to be that sure of myself and transparent with him. I had made another leap toward the strength I was longing for. I could feel it just around the corner.

We went to my apartment and grabbed my loaner guitar, which I’d affectionately named Josephine after my grandmother, who also played. Jake walked me to The Garage on his way to
Mitchell’s
for another bartending lesson. He kissed me on my nose and squeezed my hand.

“Have a good lesson, baby girl. I’ll see you later at home.”

I winked and headed into The Garage. I could feel gravity pulling Jake and I back together at a natural pace. I didn’t feel pressured to jump back into our relationship. Slow was good. It was almost like reliving all our firsts again. What happened that morning still had me weak in the knees. I replayed those few moments in my mind all morning and continued with my own imagination as to where I wished it would have gone.

Van walked out from the back of the store, and, for a split second, I was very aware of what I was thinking about in the presence of someone else. A guy. I shook my head and smiled.

“Hey. I thought you had a lesson with Yaz.” He rubbed his scruffy chin with one hand, the other stuffed in his pocket.

“That’s why I’m here.” I looked at him like he had three heads. Where else would I be if I had a lesson with Yaz?

“He told me you were meeting him at
Mitchell’s
.”

“
Mitchell’s
?”

“Affirmative. I don’t know what to tell you, girl dude.”

I checked my phone. I didn’t have any messages from Yaz, but there was one new text from Calon.

Calon: Yaz wants to do your lesson in Mitchell’s basement tonight. 7:00 instead of 6:30.

Well, that was odd. Why in the world would Yaz have Calon pass along that message? Whatever the reason, I now had a half hour to kill. I went to Café Best to get another macchiato before heading to
Mitchell’s
. The dinnertime rush had me standing in line for a while. I zoned out and watched the cars pass outside when an all too familiar figure walked into my line of sight. Noah. My heart raced and the muscles in my legs trembled. Joesphine felt like she weighed three hundred pounds. My mouth went dry and I was frozen to the floor. I watched him talk to a group of guys then continue on his way, away from the café. Seeing him for the first time since last semester pulled the oxygen from the room. I closed my eyes and tried to steady my breath and slow my heart rate.

“Gracie?” A familiar voice brought me back from my thoughts and a kind hand ushered me forward toward the barista who waited for my order.

“Pete. How are you?” Still stunned from my Noah sighting, I tried to keep my voice from shaking. Pete’s smile was comforting. I hadn’t seen him since last semester when he’d pulled me to safety from Noah’s grip. He placed his order right after me and paid for both of us.

“Can’t complain. How are
you
?” He tilted his head and looked me right in the eyes. I knew what he was asking.

“I’m good, Pete. I guess you know I’m not back with Noah. That’s why I haven’t seen you. I don’t make it out to your house anymore.” I smiled through a deep breath in an attempt to calm my nerves.

“Oh, I de-pledged. I don’t make it out to the house anymore, either.” He laughed.

“Good for you. I always knew you were better than those guys. I’m happy for you.” I rubbed his arm and thought about the night he pulled me around the side of the building so Noah couldn’t drag me any farther.

“Pete, I never thanked you for what you did. You saved me from whatever Noah was going to do. That was really brave. Thank you.”

“Aw, Gracie, anybody would have done the same thing.”

“Get real. We both know people who wouldn’t.”

“True. Well, you’re welcome.”

I switched Josephine to the other hand. We grabbed our cups and headed out onto the sidewalk. I glanced around for Noah and didn’t see him. I was glad Pete was with me. We chatted while I walked to practice. Who knew the two of us would end up back at
Mitchell’s
together? We laughed at the irony, said our goodbyes, and he went on his way. I was so happy I’d had a chance to thank him. Wednesday nights, the basement of
Mitchell’s
didn’t open until late. When I got to the top of the stairs, I could hear a full band playing, which was weird because they weren’t even open yet.

When I got to the bottom, I realized it was Alternate Tragedy, but just the band, no Calon. I looked over at the bar just as Jake looked up. My handsome bartender trainee smiled at the surprise just as Buzz told him to practice something on his own while he took an important phone call.

I walked up to the bar and leaned over as far as I could. Jake leaned in the rest of the way until our lips met. My belly rolled as though it was our first public kiss.

“What are you doing here? I thought you had a lesson.”

“Van told me I was supposed to meet Yaz here, don’t know why.”

“Well, Yaz is in the back booth.” He motioned with his chin toward the back of the bar then grabbed some bottles from the shelf and started a new mixture in a rocks glass.

“You look adorable doing this.” I winked and turned to go see Yaz, who’d just leaned out into the aisle and caught a glimpse of me. He held up a finger to whoever he was talking to. That was the only bad thing about the basement at
Mitchell’s
; the high-back booths. You couldn’t see into them unless someone was leaning out or you were directly next to it. I didn’t know how the wait staff kept track of their customers when they couldn’t even see if anyone was occupying the booths in their section.

Just as I got to the booth, Calon stood from the bench across from Yaz to let me slide in. He smiled then headed over to the band to practice, I assumed.

“So, Gracie J, you’re going to start opening for AT?” Yaz nodded even after he’d asked the question, as though that would talk me into it. He played with the collection of odd bracelets on his wrist while he waited for my answer.

“Well, we’ll see.” I carefully set Josephine on the seat, leaned up against the wall. “I’ve agreed to think about it. That’s it.”

“Gracie, you ready?” Calon stood at the edge of our table.

“Huh?” Panic seized my chest as I looked back and forth between Calon and Yaz in confusion.

“You’re playing with Calon tonight. Wednesdays are rehearsals for the weekend bands. You’re going to practice with them in place of your regular guitar lesson.”

“Oh, I can’t—”

“Oh, but you can. Grab your guitar and follow me.” Yaz winked and Calon nodded in the direction of the stage where the rest of the guys sat with their instruments, just waiting for me. No pressure. Shit.

I could barely breathe. Why had I said yes to this, and why did Calon tell Yaz about my joining them when they play? This was ridiculous. I searched behind the bar for Jake, but his bartending class must have gone to the back room. The dimly lit bar was empty except for us. Me, the guys of Alternate Tragedy, and Yaz.

“Guys, this is Gracie. Gracie, this is Spider, Manny, and Bones.” All the guys said hi in unison. They smiled as though they were trying to comfort me. I was positive there was no way I could hide how terrified I was.

“Can’t I just watch tonight? I’m not sure I’m ready—”

“Gracie,” Calon took me by the shoulders and spun me so I faced him. He tilted his head down to catch my gaze. “Have you ever seen the videos of the people who put babies in pools and they instinctively swim?”

I nodded.

“What’s the reason for that?”

“Because if ...oh, wait, I know what you’re doing! Come on, guys!” I wiggled away from Calon and hugged Josephine’s case close.

“Finish what you were going to say.” Calon smirked.

“You are infuriating.” I tried to look my angriest.

“Baby, you’re not the first person to tell me that. Now finish.”

He was lucky he was drop dead gorgeous or I’d probably be mad at him.
I sighed with a frustrated growl.
“They throw them in so it’s a sink or swim kind of thing. Anyone can be taught through lessons, but the sink or swim technique makes swimming instinctual.”

“Right on, G!” Spider called from his stool at the drums as he tapped his sticks together. I should have assumed a band made up mostly of men with nicknames would grant me my very own nickname. G? It could be worse.

I saw the group of bartenders move out from the back room and take their spots behind the bar. Jake looked up, smiled, and winked.

Calon ushered me to a stool at center stage with a mic stand directly in front of it. I sat. He took Josephine out of her case and gently placed her across my legs. He stood there and held her as I continued to protest by not reaching for her.

“Now, if you decide you want to be our opening act, you will be playing acoustic. Just you and her on stage. But we thought we’d mix it up a bit tonight. The guys have offered to be back up for you for a couple songs. They’re going to play along tonight just to take the pressure off a little.”

“Calon. I didn’t prepare anything. I can’t—”

“Sink or swim, Gracie.”

And with that, he stepped off the stage and sat down in a chair directly in front of me. He leaned back and started tapping one of his boots loud enough for the band to hear. On cue, Bones came in with the bass guitar, then Manny on lead and Spider on drums. “Rearview Mirror.” I had a flashback of the night Jake had to come get me after Becki, Calon, and I left Sid’s. At some point on our drunken walk, I told Calon I’d learned how to play some Pearl Jam songs, and that “Rearview Mirror” was my favorite. I didn’t tell him, why but there was no doubt in my mind he understood. The references to abuse and the theme of needing to only see someone from the rearview mirror was quite symbolic for me. And the way he empathized with me the day on the park bench, I assumed the song resonated with him, as well.