Damaged Memories

Part 9

Grace woke with a jolt in the morning, the vibration from her cell phone on the side table startling her from her slumber, like a jackhammer rudely invading a weekend sleep in. Her mouth was parched, desperate for some moisture and there was a dull ache in her temples, but not as bad as what she'd thought it was going to be, considering how many wines she'd consumed the night before. She rubbed her jaded eyes and yawned as she reached over to her phone, surprised to see a text message from her mum:

"Morning Grace, hope I didn't wake you? Can't sleep myself, was just thinking of you. Your sister tells me you might have some exciting news for me? Call me. Love Mum. Xx"

Grace rolled her eyes as she flopped back onto her pillow, groaning. She'd been wondering how long her sister would be able to keep her mouth shut for and it was obviously not as long as she'd promised to. She tapped a reply to her mum into the phone and pressed send, watching the blue line inch across the screen as it sent her message, thousands of kilometres across the Pacific Ocean.

"Hi mum, why on earth are you awake at 3am?! I'll call you in a few hours. Get some sleep. Love Grace. Xx"

She tossed her phone back onto the side table then rolled over, pulling her pillow over her head so that she could replay each and every kiss with Patrick repeatedly in her mind, her insides tightening with trepidation each time she remembered the feeling of his supple lips on hers. When he'd accompanied her home in the car with Gus, he'd promised to call her before he'd kissed her tenderly once more on the footpath in the darkness, leaving her with one last taste of him to savour until she saw him again.

Suddenly her sister's voice pierced her intimate thoughts. "Is it safe to come in – are you alone?!"

Grace sat bolt upright and giggled before she picked up the spare pillow and tossed it at the doorway. "Of course I'm alone! Who do you think I am?!" she said, trying her hardest to sound offended.

Emma laughed too as she jumped onto Grace's bed, lying down beside her and getting comfortable. "Sooooo?!"

"Well, it was ok," Grace said, as calmly as she could manage. "Could have been better."

"Are you serious?" Emma asked, looking highly disappointed as she repositioned herself on her side.

But Grace could contain her smirk no longer. "Kidding! It was A-MAY-ZING!"

Emma rolled her eyes and shoved her sister playfully before Grace began to recount the evening, revealing all of the finer details including the kiss in his theatre room as well as on the footpath just a few hours ago. Of course Emma had already prepared her standard list of questions, just in case Grace had failed to divulge any minor details.

"Holy shit Grace! I can't believe it! You hooked up with a movie star!"

Grace reeled back ever so slightly. "Gee thanks. You make it sound like I'm not worthy of him or something."

"That's not what I meant and you know it. Really, how many people in their lives can say that they've kissed someone famous? Not many that's for sure. And now you're one of them, you lucky duck!"

Grace smiled at her sister's enthusiasm and had to agree. Never in her craziest dreams had she ever imagined that she'd meet someone like Patrick, let alone be invited out on a date with someone of his calibre. "Yeah but please don't go telling everyone will you? I don't know what this is just yet and I certainly don't want to be the front page story next week. I don't even know if he'll call me."

"Well did he say he'd call you?"

"Yes..."

"OK, was he like, hey, I'll give you a call sometime or was it more like I'll call you tomorrow?"