grace woke hours before gus. not surprising considering that gus had barley averaged 3 or 4 hours of sleep a night when he was outside on the cold ground. she took the time to straighten her blonde hair and put on some light makeup, nothing more than some eyeliner, mascara and clear lipgloss. grace didn't plan on going anywhere today so she dressed casually in some black skinny jeans with holes in the knees and a light blue crew neck sweatshirt. although it was still september the weather was oddly cold and rainy lately. grace began to cook some breakfast for her and gus, just some bacon, eggs and pancakes. nothing over the top. it took grace about 45 minutes to prepare the whole ordeal, she carried two plates into the living room where gus was still asleep, sprawled out on the couch, mouth hanging open. grace smiled at his strange sleeping position and placed the plates on the coffee table. she walked towards gus and shook his shoulder lightly, he didn't respond so she did it a little harder "gus" she spoke softly attempting to wake him. moments later his eyes fluttered open "i made us breakfast" grace gestured towards the plate of food in front of him, he smiled and sat up, grabbing the plate. grace returned to the chair across from him. "thank you, beautiful" gus spoke up. grace instantly blushed at his words, he thinks im beautiful? she thought to herself "it's no problem" grace said, unable to contain the smile spreading across her face. "hey grace, weird question but do you have a dryer i could use? i have my backpack of clothes here but it got soaked last night and i want to change" gus asked, laughing nervously, grace sprung up out of her chair, grabbing the two plates on her way up "yeah of course, follow me" she grabbing gus' hand to lead him to the small laundry room, more like a laundry closet, placing the dishes in the kitchen on her way past. gus enjoyed the small amount of physical contact between the two of them for the moments that it took to walk through the small apartment. grace opened the dryer door and gus tossed the limited clothing he had into it, grace set the timer for 30 minutes assuming it wouldn't take too long to dry the few t shirts, hoodies and jeans he managed to fit in his backpack. "grace i really can't thank you enough for letting me stay, it means the world" gus said unable to show the girl how thankful he really was "you're welcome here anytime" grace said "anytime shiloh isn't around that is" she added, gus didn't ask why about shiloh but grace explained anyways "she really doesn't like when i have guys over, she's only a year older but she acts like my mom you know? plus she really wouldn't like the drugs and the cigarettes and the tattoos. not to be rude or anything, i totally don't care but she would. she said she'd be coming home around 7 tonight so you're totally welcome to stay until then" grace said, she had a bad habit of rambling when no one asked for it but gus found it sort of cute "everyone's afraid of my lifestyle, im used to it don't worry. i guess i might have to stay, i must say i enjoy your company grace" gus said, sounding happier as the sentence went on. the pair spent the day just hanging out, grace showed gus around her room, telling him the stories about some of the random keepsakes she had around, like the collection of cardboard burger king crowns grace had kept from all of her and shiloh's trips there. grace learned that gus had a love for singing and music. she asked the gus to sing her something so he did, "wait right here, i'll be back in the morning i know that im not that important to you but to me girl you're so much more than gorgeous, so much more than perfect..." gus continued to sing to grace he said the song was called star shopping, and that he wrote it. grace was very impressed, she thought he had a beautiful voice and an incredible way with words "you're really talented, that was beautiful" grace complimented her newfound friend "it's nothing really, but thank you" gus said, grace's compliments meant a lot to him. although they just met he found something trustworthy about her, he valued her opinions and outlooks a lot. grace and gus spent the next few hours talking, learning about each other. like grace's favourite animals are dogs and gus would rather eat a toenail than lick peanut butter completely off of donald trump's naked body. there was an obvious attraction between the two of them but neither of them were ready to mention it. grace glanced causally at her phone realizing that it was 6:30, "shit" grace cursed under her breath "what's wrong?" gus questioned "it's 6:30, shiloh will be home soon you should probably get going sadly" grace frowned realizing gus had to leave, who knows if she would ever see him after today "well if i have to leave, can i at least get your number so i could come see you again at some point" gus asked grace, pulling out his phone. she took his phone and saved her number into his contacts. gus collected his bag and him and grace stood by the door to say their goodbyes. gus couldn't help but embrace her in a tight hug, she was much shorter than him, he was able to rest his chin right on top of her head. grace hugged him back tightly, she really didn't want him to leave. a few more seconds past and the two finally pulled away from each other, grace still kept her arms loosely around his neck, gus shifted his grip to hold her hips, grace looked up at him, his brown eyes looking right at her. gus finally gave in after a few seconds and leaned down to kiss her. grace's stomach filled with butterflies the second their lips met. gus felt something he hadn't felt in a while kissing a girl, he couldn't quite describe it, it just felt real. gus deepened the kiss a little, grace didn't mind at all, her hand moving to caress the side of his face. they broke away from each other, each smiling brightly "i guess i should get going before you're roommate gets back" gus spoke sadly "goodbye gus, i hope i see you again soon" grace said hopefully "you will, i promise" gus told her, he winked at her as he disappeared out the door, grace watched him leave until he was out of sight and then went back inside. grace was filling with happiness after seeing gus, not even 20 minutes later shiloh returned back home, grace greeted her and the two friends discussed the details of shiloh's trip, grace struggled not to mention gus but she knew she had to keep quiet. meanwhile gus wandered the streets of the detroit area aimlessly. he sat down in an old doorway to a shop that had since shut down and rolled a joint and lit it, he took long drags blowing the smoke into the cold air. he thought about grace, did he want to drag her into his unpredictable, dangerous life? he wanted her around but he also didn't want her to get hurt. he was also scared of what she would do when she found out the deeper truth about him, he wasn't meant to be loved by such a girl as grace but oh did he want her to be his. gus took out his phone to text grace goodnight as he made a makeshift bed on a bench, using his backpack as a pillow.
gus
goodnight beautiful. i hope i can see you soon?
grace saw the text and blushed at him calling her beautiful again, shiloh asked what she was blushing for, she said nothing and blew the questioned off as she got into bed
grace
goodnight gus, i hope you have somewhere decent to sleep tonight :( shiloh is at college during the days, if im not working you can always come over!
gus
im making due i guess :/ where do you work and when? ill take you up on that offer
grace
i work at northside coffee shop, mondays, wednesdays, thursdays 7-5 and sundays 9-5 :)
gus
:) goodnight
grace
gn💓
gus couldn't help but smile at the heart. tomorrow was monday but he planned on visiting grace at her job anyways. grace was already well asleep by the time gus' body finally started to relax into a light sleep. he hoped to figure out his living conditions soon.
