BEN
Gracie feels guilty about the fall out with Calum and I don’t know how to cheer her up. I don’t care about Calum but I care about her.
She is still as quiet as she was when we walked into the cafeteria. I flash her a smile, she carries her tray and heads for the table. We hesitate before sitting with the crew. Leah and Mira are not a problem. Calum shouldn’t be a problem but I am not sure Gracie can handle sitting at the same table with him.
My worry dissolves when she settles down on the other bench. Mira, Leah and Calum are on the opposite side. I sit beside her, trying not to feel bad for Calum who shares eye contact with her. He shouldn’t have tried to replace me.
Gracie and I are meant to be. Always and forever.
“Soo, are you guys like a couple now?” Leah asks. She’s eating something funny from a plastic cup.
“Yeah,” Gracie answers. She smiles at me and leans over to kiss my nose. “He’s my Benny.”
Calum clears his throat and Gracie grimaces. Subtly, she pulls away from me. Mira saves us from the impending awkwardness. “Get over it already.” Using her fingers as horns, she sticks out her tongue. “He’s her Benny, did you hear that?” Leah smacks her and she shrugs. Her girlfriend continues glaring at her and she sighs in defeat. “Fine. Sorry, Calum. I just don’t want this to ruin our friendship.”
“It won’t,” he says without looking up.
The rest of our meal is weird. It feels like we are on different teams. Me and Gracie versus Leah and Mira versus Calum. I finish my food and start on Gracie’s fries. She ordered an unusually large lunch today.
“What’s the occasion?” I ask her. She doesn’t try to stop me from taking some of her fries but she sneers. “Can you finish all of that?”
Gracie laughs. “Of course not. I ordered it because of you, foodie.” Giving me no chance to process her sweetness, she drops a wet kiss on my lips. Calum will be fine. “I know you will steal from her plate.”
“I am doing you a favour,” I say in my defence and she laughs harder. I don’t think she knows when she rests her head on my shoulder or sticks her finger into her mouth after wiping the ketchup on my lips. I whisper into her ear, “I love you very much, Gracie.”
Maybe it’s because of Calum she doesn’t respond but she gives my hand a squeeze. Leah and Mira excuse themselves once they are done eating. Calum mutters something and nearly tumbles over himself in his haste to get out of the cafeteria.
“I feel bad,” Gracie says when he’s gone.
“Don’t.” I tuck her hair behind her ear and she slips her hand with mine. She is wearing the memory bracelet. I am yet to return her combat boots or the notes we exchanged. “It has nothing to do with you. It would have been worse if you led him on.”
“Okay, Benny.”
“Okay, Gracie.”
She stands before me and offers me a hand. I grab her bag but she doesn’t lead the way. Students file out of the cafeteria, leaving us two staring at each other. Her eyes bore into mine, I’m not sure what she has to say but she opens and closes her mouth without a word.
“What is it?” I ask.
Her hand splays on my chest, slowly going up to my collar. She fiddles with the top button. “I think it’s okay for you to help Olivia. I mean, for this case,” she quickly adds. Olivia already stopped asking. “I’ll not be mad as long as you come back to me.”
“Always and forever, remember?” I remind her. There’s no place I’ll rather be than with her. Tucking my hand into the crook of her elbow, we step outside. We are the only ones in the hallway but the bell hasn’t rung. “What changed your mind?”
“I don’t know.” Her steps falter, she shrugs. It is a big deal for her and I am proud of her for wanting me to help. She is too perfect. “I don’t like her but he deserves jail time. So if you can help, you should help.”
Her next class is geography. I don’t offer that subject so we stop in front of the class without opening the door. “I’ll do my best.”
“You better,” she says with a laugh.
My eyes run over her body and I trace the patch on her stomach that’s visible to everyone. Something happened to her after she left San Francisco. I don’t know what that is but it’s something good. Gracie is not shy or afraid to speak her mind anymore.
It makes me happy as much as it frightens me. I am worried because a part of me feels like she won’t always need me like before. She won’t call me to rant about her choice of dressing. I liked hearing her rant even though I never provided any solid advice.
“Do you like my outfit?” she asks. “I wasn’t so sure about this one.” Her head tilts back and she bites her lip. She does a little spin and her jacket lifts gently. My silence must have made her fasten the last two buttons to hide her stomach. “What do you think?”
I undo the buttons and palm her belly. “Perfect.”
“Hmm. Benny the liar.”
I snicker. “I’m not lying, babe.”
The playfulness in her eyes vanishes. She accepts her bag from me and throws her arms around my neck. I love her hugs so the tightness of her arms doesn’t bother me.
“This is the first time you’re calling me babe since you moved here,” Gracie explains when she steps away from me. “I missed it, babe.”
The butterflies in my stomach revolt. It’s one word but it makes everything so right. When you’re with the right person, everything is bright and colourful. I believe that phrase now. Gracie makes everything bright. I pucker my lips for a kiss and she pecks me.
“Babe, not fair.”
“Everything is fair in love and war,” she replies. Ruffling my hair, she chuckles at my frown. “I love you.” I love her too, so very much. She offers me a smile like she can hear my thoughts. “I have to go now, see you later.”
Throwing herself on me for another hug, she kisses me properly. Being grounded means we can’t spend as much time together, so every second we have counts. I am smiling sheepishly when she opens the door to her class, she blows me a kiss and I wink.
We will have that conversation about Theresa and everything will be alright. Gracie won’t judge me.
I begin the silent walk to my class after she is gone. My phone vibrates with a text from Maria, followed by a video of her giving me a thumbs up. She’s so dramatic, yet her and Gracie work well together. I stop a few doors to my class and lean on the wall to reply to her incessant texts. One thing to note about Maria is her stubbornness. She must get what she wants. She is lucky she is my letter girl and Gracie’s bestie. It makes it easier to tolerate her theatrics.
The name of the hotel she will be spending the rest of the week in sounds strange. I haven’t had much time to explore this city. Maybe Gracie and I can do that. It will be our first official date in New York.
A picture appears on my screen and laughter catches in my throat. If that’s the gift she has for Gracie, she would have been better off coming empty-handed. I groan again as pictures continue pouring into my phone. She wants me to select the best gift for her best friend. She has become kind of a mini-celebrity with her newfound fame from her time on the American Got Talent show. She has funds to spare.
I don’t know what to do with our prize money. The $100,000 is still intact. That and all the other cash I ever saved to pay Josef back. Josef suggested some investments. He will sponsor NYU, so I don’t have to worry about that. My present worries are almost laughable. I am worried about how to spend money.
Maria and I fix a time to meet at Gracie’s house. It’s Maria’s duty to get her house address from Mrs Mower while I handle the cake like she did for me.
A ball of uncertainty unfurls in my belly as I slide the phone into my back pocket. What if she doesn’t like our surprise? Mr Mower is still a tad bit upset with me and it took more than three phone calls to her mother to earn a listening audience from her. Mrs Mower didn’t have any plans for her daughter so it was easy to convince her to let us take over.
I look up at the sound of approaching footsteps. Calum. I don’t want to fight with him so I quicken my steps. He blocks my path, the corners of his lips lifting in a derisive smile. We might never get along and that’s completely okay. As long as I have my girl, I am fine with anything life throws at me.
In an accusing tone, he says, “So you love her.”
We don’t need a soothsayer to know who he is referring to. I shrug. “I do. I love Gracie.”
More than he will ever be able to understand. He thinks he loves her but he doesn’t. I am the one for her. The second half of her soul. He can’t get that.
“But you broke her heart,” he says with his voice losing some of its sharpness. I am in the process of mending her heart. This time, I won’t make any silly mistakes. We will go to NYU together, we will settle down and have kids. We might even tell our kids about the blue-eyed guy who tried to come between us. “Who’s to say you won’t do it again?”
“I won’t,” I answer. The certainty coating my words is unrivalled. I was a fool once, I won’t be a fool again. “I was dumb then, now I know better. You shouldn’t try to come between us. And you are only hurting her with your attitude. She loves me too.”
Calum says nothing for a few seconds. We are both late for class but this conversation must hold. I don’t owe him an explanation but if he’s convinced I can treat Gracie better, he might try to stay friends with her. She pretends to be fine but she misses their friendship. Left to me, I don’t want them to be friends, not until he has gotten over his infatuation for her but I trust Gracie. She will always put me first.
His chest sags, he runs his hand over his face and fixes me with an annoyed glare.
“I spoke to Hera.” My partner for Mrs Miller’s class project. Hera talks too much. It’s why I haven’t met her to discuss the project. If I have to deal with her for much longer, I’ll snap. His lips twitch when I raise my brows. What is he getting at? Shoving his hands into his pockets, he says, “She agreed to trade places with me.” He looks away briefly to his feet. “You can work with Tessa for the project.”
Stunned into silence, I can only grin. I pat his arm in a friendly gesture. “Thanks, man.”
He scowls. “I didn’t do it for you.”
Maybe when he gets over this phase, we can try to be friends. “Still appreciated.” He says something inaudible and walks away. I call him when he has gone a few metres. Calum pauses without turning, back rigid and bag hanging over his shoulder. “We are planning a surprise for her.” That gets his attention. “Maybe you can come. She would love that.”
“What surprise?”