"Where are you off to?" James asked as Grace came down the stairs in 4 inch heels.
This was the first time since she had given birth to Brinley, that James had seen Grace dressed up as though she was ready to go out. She was currently wearing a tight black dress, which was displaying more skin than it was covering. She was also wearing a bright red lipstick while her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail. This scene was one that they were all very used to seeing from Grace before the whole pregnancy incident however, it was a very rare sight now.
"What are you doing here?" Grace threw back with a grin on her face.
"Visiting you all. Now it's your turn." James responded, while waiting expectantly for Grace to fill him in.
"I'm going out. Mum's looking after Brinley."
"Who are you going with?"
"What's with all the questions?"
"I'm just curious." James insisted yet Grace could tell he was more concerned than he was curious.
"I'm going out with my friends, plus Harvey and his friends, if you must know."
"Harvey Lawrence?"
"Yes." Grace nodded, as she attempted to walk past her brother and escape the questions she knew were coming.
"You two have been talking a lot lately, haven't you?" James asked as he followed her into the kitchen, where she began rummaging through the cupboards for some alcohol to take with her.
"What has Hunter been telling you?"
"Nothing."
"Clearly he has."
"He just told me you two had been talking a lot." James finally gave in, knowing he wasn't really the best person at concealing lies.
James had never been a good liar. When he was a little boy, he was always the one his mum knew would spill the truth, just due to feeling pure guilt if he didn't.
"I don't get why it bothers him so much. Harvey's his friend too." Grace bit back, having already been frustrated by Hunter's constant texts checking in on the whole situation. She was fully aware he had been bugging Harvey about it too but she wasn't sure why.
"I think he's just thinking what I'm thinking too."
"Which is?"
With raised brows, Grace awaited for her brother to explain.
"You do about his issues with Lottie, right?"
"Yes. But what does that have to do with me?"
"Nothing, really." James sighed, realising his sister wasn't going to be giving much away, even if she was keeping secrets. "... Hunter just seems to think there is more to it. Like you could like him more than you're letting on or something."
Grace watched as her brother's face flushed a shade of red, clearly finding this whole thing super awkward to talk about. Hunter had been a bit more open about it, not finding it awkward or weird to say at all however, James was a lot more conservative when it came to conversations like this with his younger sister.
"You two are reading into everything so much. You're such a pair of gossipers."
"We're just looking out for you."
"What is there to look out for?!" Grace's voice suddenly raised in frustration. "You're making Harvey seem like some evil guy. He's Hunter's friend."
"We're not, we just know he's a flirt. We don't want him leading you on." James stressed, even though he knew that getting through to his sister was not going to be easy.
"I'm not 16 years old, James. I'm 22 and can look out for myself perfectly fine. Harvey isn't a problem here, he's a friend... a family friend, so chill out."
Not giving her brother anymore chances to say anything to try and stop her, Grace grabbed her bag off the side before heading out of the kitchen. She was now beginning to realise that she needed this night out a lot more than she previously thought she did.
*
"You good?" Harvey asked, as he could already notice the stress radiating off Grace.
He had been within her presence for a matter of minutes yet she was already showing all signs of being on edge.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"You know, this is supposed to be your one night off to not worry about your daughter? Your mum has it covered."
"I know." Grace nodded her head. "I'm trying to just forget about it."
"It's not easy. I get it." Harvey smiled, his warm and reassuring voice making her believe that he really did get it. "But I'll make sure you have the best night."
"Yeah, you better."
"I'll make it my main priority."
Grace wanted to let Harvey's words just be a passing comment however, it wasn't easy to do. She didn't know if it was her hormones currently acting completely crazy after having a baby, or if this was all genuine but either way, she knew it wasn't good.
She had a baby, Harvey had a fiancée; it wasn't like either of them were in any position to do anything. She didn't even know if he was thinking the same, or if this was all down to her own mind. Hunter's and James' comments were constantly running around her head, reminding her that Harvey was just one huge flirt, but she didn't understand why he would pick her out of everyone. Surely he would have more respect than to just see her as someone to flirt with, and why would he waste his time with some single mum anyway? He could find any other girl to satisfy his needs and release whatever stress he was experiencing from his rocky relationship with Lottie. He didn't need to pick her. So what if this was all real?
"You want a drink or can you not..." Harvey trailed off, finding what he was trying to ask slightly awkward to say out loud.
"Bottle feeding. I'm good, I can drink." Grace laughed, enjoying that tiny bit of discomfort shown by Harvey, considering it was very rare.
"Great, then let's get you drunk!"
That excitement and carefree tone to Harvey's voice brought back so many memories for Grace from before Brinley was here. She had been the one going out all the time and carelessly getting so drunk that she never remembered the night before. She had been the one getting to flirt with whoever she wanted and to live life selfishly, only worrying about herself however, that had all changed.
Her reckless ways had been the reason she was in the position she was now. Although she didn't regret Brinley at all, she did regret her stupid drunken mistake with a guy she didn't even know. It had been bad timing, and made what she had always dreamed of being a movie romance with a man she loved, into one huge stress.
"I need to go steady though. I haven't drunk in a long time." Grace warned Harvey, feeling that sensible part of her come to light.
She wasn't going to start making the same mistakes over again. She was a mum now.
"That's cool. Go at your own pace." Harvey agreed, while passing a drink her way. "I'll just drink whatever you don't want."
Taking the glass from Harvey's hand, Grace couldn't help but smile as she knew he wasn't joking. This boy loved a party, and he had been one of the main reasons Hunter had got so sucked up into this life so young too. They had been a pair of nightmares and technically still were.
"Is Lottie coming tonight?" Grace found herself asking before she could stop the words falling from her lips. She didn't know why she had just said that, knowing it would probably ignite all the wrong emotions in Harvey.
He was supposed to be here to have a good night, not to be reminded of his relationship issues.
"Nah, she's with her friends."
"Have you two spoken or?"
"Can we not speak about this now?" Harvey asked, the discomfort evident in his voice yet he was trying to cover it up. "I'm not letting my issues put a downer on your first night out in forever! We have music, drinks, and you're wearing a hot dress. That's plenty of reasons to make this the best night ever."
Harvey's words caused Grace to instantly freeze. She wasn't sure he had even realised what he'd said but her heart was now pounding against her chest.
"Isn't this your favourite song?" He spoke up once again, yet she couldn't even process what was playing in the background, her mind was fixated on his previous comment,.
"Yeah, it is." Grace still agreed anyway, allowing Harvey to grab hold of her hand.
Leading her to their group of friends that were crowding the living room, they then joined in on their drunken dancing to a song she was now beginning to recognise.
Grace wasn't sure what the hell was happening but she definitely didn't want it to stop. This was her first night out in a long time and she knew it would also be her last for a while. Therefore, she was going to forget about the real world and focus on being young and selfish once again. She wanted to have fun, in whatever form that ended up taking.
...
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