Saving Grace

“People are
going to think we’re a couple or something if I keep holding your hand like
this, Sands.” The elevator doors opened
and she helped him out.

Sands
pulled his hand away, but he was smiling.
“Fine, then. Let go.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> I told you that I don’t need to be coddled.”

“So, you’ll
be fine with the set of steps here then?”

Sands
paused. “Where?”

Grace
laughed. “Eh, about a hundred feet to
your left…and they go up.”

“You’re
cruel.”

“You need
coddling.”

“You do
know how much I want to…”

“Watch it.”

“I believe
that statement was going to be about sticking a different body part someplace
else, but I’ll let it go.”

“You’re a
peach, Gracie.”

She
smiled. “Come on, Mr. Tally Man.”

“Tally
Man?”

“Yeah, you
know, bananas? Your trunks?”style="mso-spacerun: yes"> She grew embarrassed.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> “Huh…must be the heat here…”

“You know,
I usually don’t go for the cute ones, but,” he reached around and playfully
slapped Grace’s rear, “I’ll make an exception.”

“You just
touched my ass!” Grace said as thalkealked out the large glass doors that led
to the pools and the beach.

“I
did. And now I can safely call you
‘sugarbutt.’ I bet I could bounce
a…” Retaliating, Grace repeated the
action on S. “Mm…she’s rough.”

“You
weren’t supposed to like it, but I suppose I should’ve known betterp>
p>

“You have
the biggest smile on your face right now, don’t you.”

“No,” Grace
lied.

“You don’t
play poker, do you? Even your voice
gives you away.”

“Fine, I’ll
admit that you have a very touchable ass, happy?”

an>“an>“Very.”

They walked
outside and Sands was thankful to feel the sun beat down on him.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> This heat was much different than the “I’m
wearing a horrible disguise and I’m sweating my ass off” heat.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Had the cirtanctances been slightly
different, this would have been like vacation heat – where you want to be out
in it as much as you can be. He heard
the sounds of the Latin music coming from the speakers around the pool, the
lauof tof the families that were there, the gulls, the surf…He could almost
picture it.

“You’re too
quiet,” Grace said. “What’s up?”

“Huh?style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Nothing…”
He quickly recovered. “Just
thinking about the moment when you’ll cave in to me, that’s all.”

“On that
note, I’m going to go and get myself a nice, alcohol filled margarita.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> And you can’t have any.”style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Sands’ pouted, sticking out his lower lip
and Grace couldn’t help herself. “I
know you’re doing that on purpose.” She
caught his lip between her own and gently suckled it for a moment.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> She pulled away and said, “For the record
Sands, I can assure you that my body wants to do far more than that with you,
but that damn mind of mine is getting in the way.” She went over to the bar and ordered her drink, leaving Sands
standing alone.

“O.K….I’m
going to freak right out if I can’t get into that woman’s bed.”

Grace
reed wed with two drinks in her hand.
She handed one of the glasses to Sands, who still seemed slightly
frazzled. “You can pretend there’s
alcohol in it.”

“Huh?”

“Hello?”
she said playfully. “Anyone in there?”style="mso-spacerun: yes"> She put her ice cold drink against his
chest, causing him to jump back.

“Jesus,
woman!”

an>“an>“Is someone
stuck on something I did?”

Sands
smiled. “Gracie, you’re far worse than
a tease, you know that? Hell, you
admitted that you want me and…”<
<

“And still,”
she interrupted, “I don’t act on it in more than a way that’s driving you
completely out of your mind.”

“You’re not
the same woman that picked me up off of the street two days ago.”

“I most
certainly am, Sands. It’s just that I
sort of…had to adapt to my new surroundings.
If you’re going to say the things that you do, I have to protect myself by
staying a few steps ahead of you…Don’t I?”

His smiled
widened. “So much like me that it’s
unreal. If I would have met you last
week, you wouldn’t have lasted five minutes without giving in…”

“Aren’t we
cocky?”

“Can you
dig it?”

Grace
lau and and sipped her margarita. She
played with her straw a moment before saying, “Why don’t I hate you?”

“Been
trying to figure that one out myself. I
was sure you would have tried to push me down a set of stairs by now.”

“Makes you
wonder doesn’t it?”

“Nope.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Remember that speech you gave me about sand
and how it never seems to go away…how it always sticks in places?”

“Stop right
there – I’ve a feeling you’re going to go into some odd analogy that I really
don’t wanna hear.”

“O.K., then
– what do you want to hear?”

Grace
seemed to lose all ability to distinguish right from wrong around Sands.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> She been making innuendos that never would
have crossed her lips around any other man, but she couldn’t control
herself. She had fun trading the words
back and forth; she enjoyed teasing him.
She knew he enjoyed it just as much, which made it seem all right,
despite his newfound handicap. All this
in mind, she chose her next few words very carefully.

“I want to
hear you scream out my name in a bout of carnal, animal lust.”

“I can do
that,” he quickly replied.

“Sorry, Mr.
I Don’t Share Things – you know my stipulations. No talky, no nookie.”

“So…maybe I’ll
talk.”