For the Love of Gracie by Amy K. Mcclung Read Free Book Online Page A

mine. I felt his hand brush against my hip. This was the moment I'd been waiting for since I met him. I closed my eyes waiting to taste his sweet lips. He opened the car door and said, "You need to get in here and warm up, Gracie-bug."
    Well, that was disappointing.  His face was so close to mine, if I just moved a few inches I could pretend to 'accidentally' kiss him. His lips were so full and delectable looking.  His tongue darted out to wet his lips and it made my breath quicken.
    I pushed myself up and kissed his cheek instead. "Sit with me for a bit?" I asked.
    He moved to let me slide in behind the wheel. He ran around the car and climbed in next to me. I turned the heat on to warm us up. "You said you needed a fun night, is something bothering you?" 
    Ashton's face turned away to stare out the window. "I'm sorry, you probably don't want me in your business." 
    He placed his hand on mine. "No, it's not that. It's something I don’t have an easy time talking about.  Occasionally I have rough days, today was one.  Gavin spent the day with me because he knew it was an anniversary for me. Actually it's an anniversary for both of us, and we were trying desperately to stay cheerful. The thing that finally made me smile was this really sweet barista at the bookstore I went to." 
    My heart warmed, as did my face, when he spoke the sweet compliment.  He patted my hand. "You really are a lot of fun to hang out with, and we should do it more often."  The inner teenage girl in me grew nervous hearing, 'we should do it' because I was thinking the same thing…only different. 
    We were interrupted by his phone beeping, I looked at the clock and it was after one in the morning. "Booty call?" I asked, teasingly , secretly hoping that it wasn't.
    He smirked. "Not exactly. Gavin and Cameron are both drunk, and they need a ride home. Not sure how he thinks the three of us will fit on my bike."
    I laughed. "I'll go get them." 
    He shook his head. "No, I'll have them get a cab and I'll pay for it when they get to the house. You shouldn’t go downtown by yourself this late."  This was a perfect excuse to spend more time with Ashton.
    "How about you drop your bike at my house and ride with me?"
     
    It took us about an hour to get downtown to Cameron and Gavin. Angel had left with some guy she met and the two guys were both wasted. When we pulled up, they were sitting on the bench outside making out. 
    "Well, looks like they're getting along," Ashton said.
    I yelled out the window, "Get it girl!" 
    Cameron's hand popped up long enough to flip me off. 
    "That's not very nice, considering I'm your ride."
    Ashton and I had to load them into the car.  We all went back to my house so that it would be easier. I placed Cameron on the couch and Ashton put Gavin in the chair. "You can sleep in my room again, if you'd like." I said, then added, "I'll keep my hands to myself, promise!" 
    He laughed. "I'm not drunk, so I can make it home."
    I walked him out, reluctantly. I knew he hadn’t been drinking. Selfishly , I wanted him to stay with me tonight so we could talk more. 
    "Thanks again for protecting me tonight." 
    He straddled his bike and started it up.  "Thank you for cheering me up."  He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. Guys didn’t understand how incredibly romantic a kiss to the forehead was for a girl. 
    "We should do this again," I added, hopeful. 
    "Definitely. I'll see you this weekend, too." 
     
    My night with Ashton had me in a fantastic mood. I hated to see the night end and wasn’t sure I'd be able to sleep.  At first, I thought about going to see Hudson, but changed my mind. I went to curl up with a good book instead. 
     
    Cameron jumped on my bed in the morning. "What up, girl!" 
    I sat up, rubbing my eyes and yawning. "Dial it down a notch, Cam." 
    He snickered. "Sorry.  I woke up in your house and remembered that you showed up to rescue me with Ashton. How'd that happen? Dish!" 
    I covered