Grace.

Chapter 40.

Holding on tightly to my hand, Ethan walked with me to the boys locker room. By then, I had removed my heels. The boys were thrilled and so happy that they'd won. I wasn't feeling exactly comfortable with the whole idea of being in the boys locker room with the boys there!
"I- I could wait by the car," I hesitated.
"I'm just getting my bag, Buttercup. We'll be in and out," he insisted, holding on tighter.
At the door he turned to look at me with a reassuring smile: "They won't touch you. You're with me."
As we entered, Ethan kept me by the door to check if any of the boys were naked. "We're all decent, Byers! Coach will kill ya!" One called out.
"Fuck off! I'm just getting my bag," Ethan replied.
"Thanks to you, we won tonight!" One boy named Rick, said.
"Thanks to all of us," Ethan clarified.
He was still holding on to my hand. He only let go to gently guide me through the sweaty boys and straight to his locker.
"The stench in here is really...bad," I gagged, quietly.
"I forgot about that. I'm so sorry. We'll be out in no time," he apologized, grabbing his bag and packing in the rest of his stuff.
Luke strode towards us, completely naked! I saw him first and quickly faced the other way. I cleared my throat for Ethan to look up and when he did, he was greeted by a hard slap on his back. I winced.
"Great game, bro. See, I knew we'd make it. With you on our side? Definitely a win!" He gratified, his eyes burning through me.
"Thanks, bro. You did well too. Your passes? Excellent."
"Mh. So, how are you, Grace?"
I closed my eyes. I was hoping he wouldn't talk to me, but there he was, the asshole! I opened my eyes again and calmly spoke, "I'm okay, Luke. Thanks."
He gave a soft chuckle, still standing there with his junk staring at me right in the face.
I tried so hard to lock eyes with him. Carefully, I moved my hand and grabbed Ethan's waist, giving it a gentle squeeze. Luckily, he caught on. "Bro? Your - could you cover up?" He asked, his eyes motioning to Luke's penis.
"Oh! My apologies! I forgot that Miss Hills still isn't well - acquainted with a dick. Or is she?" He turned to look at Ethan.
All the boys laughed. That was the dumbest thing I had ever heard.
"Fuck off, Rogers. You can be an ass to everyone else including me and that's fine! But don't you ever... give Grace that shitty behavior. I mean it!
Luke smirked but I stepped forward and quickly wiped it off his face. "If I were you, I wouldn't be too confident with that," I gibed, looking down at his penis. "I've seen better and can I just say...it looks like the field isn't the only place Ethan beats you in."
I grabbed Ethan's hand and we walked out. The rest of the boys laughed at Luke. Still holding my hand, Ethan pulled me in front of him.
"Buttercup...you just ended Luke!" He chuckled. "Did I really just witness that?"
"He had it coming," I shrugged it off. "But enough about him, congrats to you! You should've seen yourself play. You were seriously on another level. That scholarship? It's yours."
"When I was out on that field, all I kept thinking about was you. I wouldn't have done it without you. You believed in me. More than I believed in myself. And for that I thank you, Grace. I thank you so, so much."
He lifted my hands up and gave them a trillion kisses. I giggled.
"You're welcome," I cooed.
"Come on, let's go. Are we leaving together or we'll meet at Joe's?"
"Can we meet at Joe's? Naomi is riding with me, so."
"No problem. I'm just quickly going to freshen up and change. Then I'll join you guys."
"Cool."
"Cool."
He sort of hesitated for a second, but he stepped forward anyway and planted a kiss on my forehead. We smiled at each other before he walked away, me rushing towards the other direction to the parking lot. I changed at the backseat of my car while Mimi took the wheel.
It seemed like the celebration was in and out of Joe's.
Cars were packed by the parking area and most kids were there drinking and smoking, blasting music from their stereos. We wondered if we would find a spot, there was only one way to find out. After Mimi and I stepped out of the car, we heard someone call us.
"Mimi! Grace!"
Wheeling around, we saw Edgar. I gave a light gasp.
"Hey, brother. What are you doing here?" Naomi asked
"Hanging out. Hi, Grace. It's so, so good to see you," he looked at me.
He stared at me and the look in his eyes was so warm, so loving.
I cleared my throat and replied, "Hi, Edgar." I muttered lowly.
Naomi left to give us space.
"Please don't walk away. Please. I can see it in your eyes. It's written all over your face...you don't want to be here, next to me. I just want to talk, Grace."
"I-you..."
"I'm sorry. I should've told you the truth, but then what? What happened between your sister and I happened a long time ago and it was a mistake."
"Yeah, but not to her! She gave herself to you because she loved you!"
"Loved me? Gloria and I were friends! She knew that!"
"Did you tell her that?! No."
"Okay, but please believe me when I tell you that I never wanted to sleep with her. We were friends. I loved her as a friend," he explained.
"That doesn't change the fact that you hurt her, Edgar. You broke her! I just don't know how I - we can...you and I, Edgar."
"You and I can still be what we've always wanted to be, Grace."
"And what about my sister? She doesn't want me anywhere near you. I - I opened old wounds for her, just by being with you. I knew this wasn't going to be easy. I knew it! That's why I chose to stay away from you."
"You did so because you didn't want to hurt Lucy."
"Lucy! Ria! Like...I can't be with you without hurting people that I love, Edgar. This is what I was afraid of. I was afraid of falling for you because a part of me kept telling me that something might happen! Now here we are."
"Relationships aren't easy, Grace. We're going through a rough patch right now but we'll be fine. We'll get through this. I- I don't want to lose you. I can't."
"Did you even like me before I kissed you? Did you feel anything for me? Or was I just there? Did you choose to be with me out of guilt? Out of fear? Were you scared you'll break my heart and be the bad guy? Was I was just one of your girls?"
"What? No, that's not it!"
"I feel so shitty right now. So shitty! I'm embarrassed. I'm hurt. I'm disappointed. I'm angry at myself! This isn't how I imagined my first relationship would be like. This was a big deal for me, Edgar. You were a big deal to me. You were supposed to be my first. It was supposed to be real. No bullshit. No regrets. But I've kissed you so many times to even convince myself that you were a mistake, one I could get over. I'm hurt, Eddy. So, so hurt."
"I'm so sorry, Grace. I really am. I didn't want to love you like this either. I wanted to give you the world. If there was a way to open me up so that you could see how I feel about you, I'd do it in a flash! I never ever wanted to hurt you. I just- I'm fighting for us but I know it's going to be a long shot. I know it will, but I'm never going to give up. What we have is special and you know it."
"Edgar, Gloria is my sister. I can't."
"I understand. Maybe we should take a break? I could give you space. As much as you like. I'm not going anywhere. I'm yours, Grace. Don't ever forget that."
As much as I tried to hide it and deny, I was head over heels for Edgar. I thought I was okay but that conversation proved me wrong. I wished my sister and him never had a nasty history. That way I could be with him, I still wanted to be with him, but not like that. Maybe a break would be good, just until everything and everyone cooled off. Then maybe we could get together again. But...I had another problem.
"A break sounds like a good idea," I agreed.
"I'll miss you so much. Can I still call?"
"Twice a week sounds safe."
"Three?"
"Okay," I whispered.
"Can I get one last hug? Please?"
I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him. He wrapped his arms around me, burying his head into my neck. After a while,  we let go of each other. He gave me one last bleak look and then walked away into the darkness. I stood outside for a bit, trying to pull myself together. It wasn't until I felt a gentle touch on my shoulder. "Waiting for me?" Ethan asked. I spun around and was met by his burning gaze. He looked so happy and so damn handsome. I smiled at him and together, we walked into Joe's.
Of course we had a blast. Everyone was just so happy that night. Our school won and the following day was Homecoming!