Saving Grace

Using a much nicer wheelchair,
provided by the new hotel, Grace wheeled Sands into their suite.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> She looked around and the first word from
her mouth was, “Plush.”

“Nice
setup, huh?” Sands asked.

“Oh yeah,”
Grace replied, smiling. “Definitely a
plus side to this whole thing.”

Sands
chuckled. “Like you needed any more of
a plus than me?”

“Honestly,
how does someone become…”

“Ah ah ah,
Gracie. We had a deal.”

“But you
just…”

“I’m
allowed to think highly of myself – that’s not fighting with you.”

Grace
groaned. “Fine…but I certainly don’t
have to agree with your opinions.”

“Come on,
Gracie, gimme a chance to prove I’m right.”

Grace put
her mouth next to Sands’ ear and blew in it – just for a second – before
saying, “No.” Hm, did I just break
any rules? She watched as Sands’
mouth twitched. Who cares?

“Someone’s
a bit of a tease,” he replied.

“You know,
I can’t help but wonder what your outlook on life’s going to be once those
little blue pills are gone.”

“They left
my most important body part in tact, Gracie.
I’ll be just fine.”

Had the guy
not gone through so much physically, she would have slapped him in the face,
but at the moment, that was just far too cruel. Instead, she went for a verbal attack. “I suppose it wouldn’t have been fair for them to take away your
best friend, huh?”

Sands was
silent for a moment, then said, “Well, any friend of mine is a friend of yours
too.”

That was
it. If she didn’t put him in his place
now, the entire week was going to be full of one sexual innuendo after
another. She stood directly in front of
Sands and, even though there was no point, put herself at eye level with
him. “O.K. Sands, before I decide to
castrate you myself – which I don’t believe the government could actually
object to – I have to tell you that…”
Her speech was cut off when Sands managed to grab her hand.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> “Hey!”

“Shh…”style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Sands lifted her hand to his lips and kissed
the back of it. Grace was silent.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> That’s right, sugarbutt…style="mso-spacerun: yes"> He turned her hand over and let his lips
feel their way to her wrist. He felt
her shiver before she pulled away and stood up.

“Huh uh…No
way, buddy!”

“What’s the
matter, Gracie?” he asked, smiling.

“There’s no
way in hell you are even going to think about attempting to charm me,
got it? You are not some
debonair, Casanova-ish guy – and if you think that for one moment I’d
believe you were, then you’re just as psychotic as I originally assumed.”

“You
assumed I was psychotic?”

“Duh.”

“Very
mature response,” he said, shaking his head.

“Shut up!”

His voice
taking the tone he’d used in the town car, Sands said, “You jumped on the
defensive pretty fast. What brought
that on?” He smiled.

“You’re one
of those fuckmooks that goes into a bar and picks up the first semi-attractive
breathing piece of flesh he sees, heads off to a sleazy motel, has his romp,
and sends her packing…”

“Um…yeah,
that’s about it, basically. I must say
I admire – and use – your word choice.
You’re not exactly as innocent as you make yourself out to be.”

“I’m not
making myself out to be anything!
You’re a…”

“Face it,
Gracie, I’ve got you hot and bothered.”

“What you
have gotten me is annoyed and frustrated!”

In one swift
movement, Sands stood and placed his hands firmly on Grace’s shoulders.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> To say she was shocked would have been a
terrible understatement. After a second
of stabilizing himself, he put his mouth dangerously close to hers.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> “You have to live with me for the next week
if you want your payoff. So, one of two
things is keeping you here, and, at the moment, it’s not me.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> I could change your mind about that in a
heartbeat, Gracie.”

“Funny how
that was the first thing that came into your mind, isn’t it?”style="mso-spacerun: yes"> He very slightly pressed his body against
hers. He heard her breath hitch.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> “I’m not so sure I’m the only one here with
a disadvantage.”

“Stop it,”
she whispered.

“Is that
what you really want, Gracie?” He did
his best to judge how far away his lips were from hers and moved so that they
deliberately, but barely, brushed together.
He then pulled back, smiling.
“O.K. then.” Could he have seen
her trying to fight off her disappointment, his victory would have been greater
than it already was.

Grace
swallowed. “I…you are such a…”style="mso-spacerun: yes"> She walked to the door of the room, then
turned around. “Your ass is still
hanging out, Sands. Have fun trying to
find your stuff.”

“You’re
leaving?” There was a trace of panic in
his voice.

“I’ll be
back…eventually.”

Sands heard the door close.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> True, he had no idea what his surroundings
held, but he let those tiny fears wane and thought about Grace.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> “So turned on, she had to leave,” he chuckled
to himself. “We will have to
take care of that eventually.”