Oh, hell no!

Chapter 9

Chapter 9.

After they worked out all the details for the back story, Anne still had a few instructions for them left. "Okay, now that that is sorted we still need you to move your clothes to Grace's. Before you ask, yes Grace, Jake needs to stay from tonight, because you two need to be comfortable with each other in the same living space by tomorrow morning." Anne cut Grace's protests short. "Jake I don't care how you do it, but that ring needs to be on her finger by tomorrow morning. No, Grace it has to be that one, because the history to the ring will make the engagement more believable." Anne stopped her again. "Tomorrow night you will have supper over here, so we can meet the parents. No Jake, not like the movie. Now go pack, it's late and we need to sleep. The twins will be up by sunrise."

When they reached the door Grace nervously cleaned her throat. "Uhm, guys we sort of forgot something." They all turned to her and gave her a questioning look. "As you know I work with kids daily and my mom loves kids just as much as I do. The thing is we forgot about the twins. They could bust our story wide open without even knowing." She continued hesitantly.

Anne was deep in thought, chewing her lip. She knew what Grace said was true, kids has no filters and only believed what they saw and they never saw Grace and Jake together. As if a lightbulb appeared on top of Anne's head, she light up and said: "I have a plan. Join us for breakfast tomorrow morning and be ready to act like a couple." Grace frowned at Anne and Anne just sent her a wink.
"Oh, hell no! Anne you better tell me what you are planning." Grace said threatening. She knew that look Anne gave her. It's the same one she gets when she decides to send her on a blind date. Grace knew she was screwed when Anne just gave her a big toothy smile and waved goodbye as Jim closed the door.
"I'm so glad I did not unpack my suitcases yet." Jake said as they started to walk to Grace's apartment.
"You go get them and I'll go make coffee. I guess we will need it." Grace offered, her mind already running with what will happen later that night when they had to go to sleep.

*_*

After they drank their coffee Jake and Grace worked together to get space for Jakes clothes. Jake only bought a few days clothes and left his suits at his apartment, if he needed them he would just have to go next door. They were almost done when Grace decided to bring up the topic of sleeping arrangements.
"Jake, where um... um... where...?" Grace looked over to the bed and then back to Jake and then to the bed again, as to tell him with her eyes what she was too shy to say. "Where are you going to sleep?" Grace rambled off, shyly looking at the floor as a blush crept up her neck again.
"Grace, look at me?" Jake said softly, moving in front of her he lifted her head with his hand; rubbing small circles on her chin. Lifting her eyes to meet his, she bit her lip nervously. "Are you uncomfortable with me being here, Grace?" Jake asked pulling her lip with his thumb from between her teeth.
"No." Grace softly replied her eyes flickered to his lips and back to his eyes. He was so close to her she could feel his warm breath on her face. She smelled the coffee they drank a few minutes ago, still hot on his breath.
"Prove it." He stated and she knew what would come next but, she asked anyway.
"How?" She whispered. From then on she knew that that would be their thing, their okay.
"Sleep with me."

This time she did not get mad or stormed of. She stood on the tip of her toes and placed her hands on the nape of Jake's neck, pulling him closer; she kissed Jake out of her own for the second time that day. Jake broke their kiss and started to trail soft caressing kisses from her jaw down to her collar bone. Grace tilted her head back to give Jake more access. When Jake trailed kisses all the way back to her ear he softly whispered to her, while he traced the rim her ear with the tip of his nose; she noted that this was something Jake always did when he whispered something to her: "Before you sleep with me..." Jake kissed her softly on her ear lobe. "Will..." He placed a kiss on her jaw bone. "You..." He placed a kiss on her chin. "Keep..." He placed a kiss on her collar bone. "This..." He placed a kiss on her shoulder. Jake teasingly ran his fingertips a long length of her arm barely touching her. He gently took her left hand in his. "Safe..." He placed the ring his brother he gave to him on her finger and gently placed a kiss on her finger just above the ring. He then took her hand and placed it on top of his heart beat. His eyes bore in to hers and she could see his soul again. "Until I need it again?" Jim told him years ago that his grandfather asked Grandma Sue to keep this same ring safe, then their father asked their mother the exact same thing, then Jim asked Anne and now he asked Grace. The only difference was that Jake had not yet put a name to the feelings he had for Grace. All three of his predecessors knew at first sight that they found their one and only true love.

Grace was mesmerized, oh, how she wished this could be real. 'The woman he would ask to marry him one day would be one lucky female dog.' She thought. Slowly she nodded her head looking down to her hand that he still held to his chest. Grace could not help, but to think that maybe he meant a little more than just the ring that needed to be kept save. "For as long as you want me to." She promised in a barely audible whisper.
"It's time to go to bed. It's past twelve already." Jake said pressing his lips to her forehead. He then slowly took a step away so she could go get ready for bed.

*_*

"Left side is mine." Jake said as they stood on front of Grace's bed; Grace was dressed in a tank top and cotton shorts again her hair was in a braid just like she had it every night.
"Oh, hell no!" She said to Jake. "It's my bed so it's my choice." Her hands on her hips, she gave him a disbelieving look.
"Oh, really?" Jake turned to Grace and picked her up, he then playfully threw her on the bed slowly he crawled all the way up to her, supporting himself on his arms he lowered his body to cover hers. He levelled their eyes and he pressed the tip of his nose to hers. "I'll kiss you for it." He said in a husky voice. The butterflies turned into fire again and Grace could only describe it as desire that ignited the electric pulses she felt flowing through her. Jake did not wait for an answer and claimed her lips in a hungry kiss, but this time Grace decided to dominate the kiss and softly bit his bottom and gave it a light tug; Jake shuddered, giving Grace great satisfaction. After a while Jake reluctantly broke the kiss. "Go to sleep, baby." He said as he kissed the tip of her nose and lifted himself from the bed so he could get ready to sleep himself.

Grace sat up a surprised look on her face. "You said it before." She looked at Jake with big eyes her mouth slightly open.
"Um, Yeah." Jake said, giving her a sheepish smile.
"I remember it. Every night since that night it felt like I relived it every time before I fell asleep. It's all I could remember besides the 'prove it' and 'sleep with me part'. It felt like you said those exact words to me every night, even the kiss felt real each time." Grace kept her eyes on him to see if he would think she went totally bonkers, hell she thought she did the first time it happened, but after almost seven years she became accustomed to it.
Jake gave her a smirk and cockily asked: "You dreamt about me every night?"
"Oh shut up!" She yelled as she threw a pillow at him, a bright red blush raised up her neck to tint her cheeks. To hide her embarrassment Grace turned her back on Jake, as he left the room to get ready for bed, his chuckle ran through her mind again just like the night before. When he returned Grace was asleep on no other than the left side of the bed. Jake shook his head, while a big grim took over his face. Sliding in to bed he pulled her close to him nestling his face into her hair. She smelled of strawberries he noted. Then just before he fell asleep he remembered his brother's words.
"When I saw her I knew she was my forever. I wanted to get to know her and protect her and be with her. The first time I held her in my arms I knew I never wanted to let her go."
Could it be that he loved Grace?