Roommates & Soulmates

Ch193: Jace's Grace

Jace wasn't quite sure why he was here. It felt strangely wrong sitting in this fancy restaurant across from a woman he'd just meet. The concept of a blind date felt very odd to him.

When he thought about it, this was all really Annika's fault. At their most recent video game hang out session, she'd been teasing him endlessly about how he hadn't been on a date since before Clary. He'd tried to point out that they'd dated, but that had only prompted her to give him a very pointed look and a lecture.

"We didn't date, you idiot," Annika had said. "We just used each other to mend our broken hearts, and no changing the subject. You, my friend, need to get back on the horse."

"Doesn't that apply to you too?" he'd shot back, hoping to stop the whole conversation in its tracks. The results of his remark were quite the opposite of what he'd hoped as it prompted her to tell him about all the dates she'd been going on. By the time she was done listing all the guys on a scale of attractiveness vs intelligence, Jace had had enough.

"Alright fine," he'd said. "You win. You are back on the horse, and I'm stuck in the mud. Happy now?"

Even looking back on it now, Jace wasn't quite sure how he'd been roped into this. After all, he didn't remember agreeing to go on a blind date, and yet here he was sitting in this fancy restaurant. Definitely Annika's fault.

"Have you decided what you want to eat yet?" the lady across from him asked. Jace knew she'd told him her name when he'd first sat down, but he was having a hard time remembering it.

"Oh no, sorry," Jace said, picking up the menu.

She smiled at him. "Spacing out I see," she said.

"It's been a long time since I was on a date," Jace admitted.

"Fair enough," the woman smiled at him before picking up her menu. Jace followed suit, and by the time the waiter appeared they were both ready to order.

Jace really wasn't sure how to start. The kinda dates he used to go on had been about getting laid and that was it. He'd lay on the charm and see what happened, then move on if it didn't work. With Clary they'd become a couple without ever going on a date, and Annika had come on to him at a gym, which meant he'd never actually been on a normal first date before. A date where you try to get to know the other person to see if you are a good love match was something he'd never experienced before and he'd technically lied just now. Jace just wasn't quite ready to tell this lady - who's name he should remember - how very much of a novice he was.

"Why don't I start then," the lady smiled at him. Jace so wished he could remember her name. He felt like an idiot. "Got any siblings?"

"Only child," Jace replied. "What about you?"

"One sister," she answered.

Jace wasn't sure what to say after that. How did people keep a conversation going in this kind of situation? All he really wanted to ask was for her name again, but that felt very rude somehow.

"This is the part where you ask me a question," she said. Jace couldn't tell why she was smiling. He hoped she wasn't holding back laughter at his total failure to make conversation.

"How do you get along with your sister?" Jace tried his hand at a question.

"Once she stopped calling me Gracy Wacey just to piss me off we got along great." And just like that Jace remembered her name. "We are good friends now."

"I can't imagine what it's like to have a sibling," Jace continued.

"It's like having a classmate who lives with you, and tries to steal your clothes," Grace said with a hint of laughter. "Oh, and steals all the attention of your parents for being the baby."