Chapter 22: Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Suspicious

Grace’s P.O.V:

“You know, I could just hire people to do this work, right?” Daniel grumbled as he placed the dirty dishes inside the dishwasher.

“Yes, I know that,” I said. “But then it won’t feel so...domestic.” That just felt like the right thing to say.

“Domestic?” Daniel’s eyebrows disappeared into his hairline before an evil grin spread on his lips. “Alright, then let’s do something else domestic.”

“Like whaaaa-“my comment ended in a yelp as Daniel scooped me up in his arms and headed straight for the bedroom before diving on the bed with me still in his arms, effectively landing on top of me. “Owww! Daniel, get off me, you’re too heavy!”

“Really?” Daniel asked as he straddled my waist and raised himself up on his elbows with his hands on either side of my head “I thought you liked my weight on top of you.” For better effect, he undulated his hips slightly so I could feel the start of an erection against my stomach.

I gasped and Daniel took the opportunity to place his lips on mine. But before we could go any further, my phone began to ring with the special ringtone that I’d set for my mother and Daniel and I broke apart, groaning in despair.

I reached for the phone while Daniel rolled over to lie on his back next to me. “Hi mom!” I answered once I’d collected my breath.

“Honey, can you come over to our suit? I just want to talk to you.” She said.

“Sure mom, be right there.” I groaned as soon as the call ended.

“What?” Daniel asked as he wrapped his arm around my waist.

“My mom wants to have a chat,” I explained. “In short, she just wants to summarize everything she finds annoying about you and remind me about every wrong decision I’ve ever made.” I sighed, already dreading the encounter.

“You could be wrong though,” Daniel threaded his fingers through my hair. “They’ve been really supportive so far.”

“That’s because you’ve been around me every time,” I told him. “Alright, let’s get this thing over with.”

I got up from the bed reluctantly and went straight for the dresser. I straightened my dress and ran a comb through my hair as Daniel watched me from the bed. But halfway through I noticed that Daniel’s eyes were unfocused and he seemed to be in deep thought. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Hmmm?” He asked absentmindedly.

“You seem lost in thought,” I said, battling with the tangles in my hair. “Something happened at the bar?”

“No, it’s not about the bar,” he said before adding, “it’s about your brother and Kendra.”

I turned to face him in surprise before my comb met with a fierce tangle, making me wince. “Tory and Ken?”

“Yes,” he nodded.

“What about them?”I asked, giving up with my hair. The only way to untangle them now would be a good dollop of conditioner. Why did I even keep my hair down for so long?

“How long have they known each other for?” He asked as he sat up on the bed and held out his hand for the comb.

I gave it to him willingly and sat on the bed with my back towards him. Daniel began to comb gently comb through my hair as I narrated Tory and Kendra’s brief encounter. “They met after I graduated from college. Ty and Ken had come over at my house to celebrate and to pack my things since we were moving to LA for our jobs and Tory was home for the summer. They got on really well at first, you know. They became friends instantly and Ken began hanging out with him more often. But then, just before we departed, things went south. They stopped talking completely and wouldn’t even look at each other without snarling. I don’t know what exactly happened between the two of them, because every time I bring it up, Tory gets mad and Ken gets all hyped up, so I stopped asking.”

“Really? That’s funny.” Daniel commented, handing me back the comb and I realized that during the course of my short story-telling session, Daniel has somehow managed to untangle my hair neatly.

“Thanks,” I gave him a light peck on the cheek before getting p. “But what’s funny?”

“The fact that it felt like Victor and Kendra still have a lot of things unfinished between them and also that the undertone of tension between the two almost felt...sexual.” Daniel commented.

“What!” I whipped around to face him. “No way! Daniel, Tory is four years younger than me, four years younger than Kendra. It’s impossible for her to like him in that way, Ken likes dating older guys.”

“Grace, relax, it was just an assumption,” Daniel held up his hands in surrender. “It might as well have been an undertone of discomfort or something and I totally misread it?” He offered, but he didn’t sound convinced. And frankly, neither did I.

But we can deal with whatever has been going on between my little brother and my best friend later; right now, I had to go face my parents, who apparently have come out of the shock that their daughter was not only engaged, but had moved in with a man.

“Alright,” I told Daniel before leaving. “I’ll get going now. And don’t forget to take the dishes out of the dishwasher after they’re done.”

Kendra’s P.O.V:

It was around eleven that night when I realized that I still had several of my clothes and underwear at Grace’s old apartment, which now belonged to Tory and I’d already handed her the keys this morning.

Thinking about victor made me feel hot and dirty all at the same time. I can’t stop cursing myself for acting so lewdly in his arms. How can I not have control over my own body? But every time he’s around, all my common sense goes down the drain.

I was already fuming when my phone started ringing so when I answered with a curt ‘hello’, without looking at the caller identity, Grace replied with just as much curtness. “Oh, I’m sorry, if you’re busy, I’ll call you later.”

“No! Wait! Graceee...” I whined. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

“Fine.” She grumbled as another voice chimed in. “If you two are done bickering, mind telling me why you are calling us at such an ungodly hour?”

“Ty, it’s only eleven,” I rolled my eyes.

“Oh don’t you roll your eyes at me, Kendra Millar! Not everyone can just own a bloody successful business! Some of us have to go to work!” Ty huffed, clearly knowing me well enough to judge my reaction.

“On a Sunday?” Grace piped in. “What is wrong with your Princi?”

“Cramp school.” She answered. “I have to take extra classes for five consecutive Sunday’s. I hate my life right now!”

“Honey, if I had to teach horny High Schoolers all week, I’d hate myself too.” I told her. “Now, who made the call and what on Earth for?”

“I did,” Grace answered. “I just got the talk from my mom.”

I winced. “And?”

“And I’m pretty sure they’re not my parents.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Asked Ty.

“It means, she kept on gushing on and on about Daniel!” Grace sounded astounded. “The people who made a police complaint when I was with my High school boyfriend, claiming that he forced himself on me; they’re now telling me about how nice Daniel is and how well he treats me.”

“Grace,” I asked her. “Are you sad because they’re praising Daniel or that they framed your school crush?”

“Neither!” She said. “I’m confused.”

Ty and I both let out a sigh of relief.

“Look,” Ty said. “In the end, everything turned out alright, didn’t it? Then why are you confused? Just go with the flow babe! Now, go to sleep and let me do the same.”

With that, Ty ended the call and left the conversation to me and Grace.

“Well...” Grace said awkwardly and I knew she’d be scratching the back of her head right now.

“Grace, I need a favor.” I told her instead, diverting the topic from Daniel and her family. “I forgot to get my clothes at your old apartment and I just returned my key to you. Can we go there tomorrow to get my clothes?”

“Sure, but why don’t you go by yourself?” she asked. “You can always ring the doorbell.”

“Do I need to drag you away from Daniel physically?” I tried to avert the question. “Come on, it’s Sunday! We usually have brunch together. And since Ty has early morning classes, we can all have lunch together!”

“Alright,” Grace answered. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow.”

As I hung up, I realized that Grace had come really close to getting an inkling about what was really going on between me and her brother. But even as that thought passed my mind, I asked myself, what is going on between me and Victor?