After Harvey and Max had persuaded Kiara to buy them a bunch of shots, Grace knew that any chance of having a sober conversation with Harvey tonight was lost. She could tell that the whole Naomi situation had bothered him and with the idea of Lottie still crying herself to sleep on his mind, he was trying everything to numb it.
Harvey was one of those people that although he was great at putting on a front, he did feel a lot. Therefore, the idea of hurting Lottie, even though he was now happier, was something that would never sit well with him.
"You okay?" Grace asked as she ran her hand over his leg. When Harvey looked at her, she could tell by his eyes alone how drunk he was.
"Yeah, baby." He muttered before leaning forward to press his lips to hers. "You want another drink?"
"No, I'm fine... I, er, actually need to get going in a minute."
"What? Why?"
Grace was usually always more than happy to be the last one standing on a night out. However, since having Brinley, sometimes she had to tone it down a little. Although she was still only 22, she was also a mum and had to know when to be mature about a situation. This was one of those times.
"My mum's been watching Brinley most of the day. I told her I'd only be here for a couple of hours." Grace explained and she had already managed to double that time limit. She was always grateful for her mum's help, so didn't want to take advantage. "You stay though. Catch up with everyone."
"It's cool." Harvey slurred, reaching out to down his drink before placing it back on the table. "I'll come with you."
"You really don't need to, Harv. Stay and have fun."
Although Grace would have preferred for Harvey to come back with her, she also knew that the guys may not be quite as impressed. It was only 10.30pm and their flow of drinks were only just getting started.
"Or..." Harvey began before a cheeky grin appeared across his face. "...I could come back with you and have way more fun."
Rolling her eyes, Grace couldn't help but laugh at that awful line. So cupping his chin, she angled his face so he was looking her directly in the eyes.
"You're so drunk. So not only was that the worst pick up line ever, there is also no chance you're getting anything tonight."
A smile spread across Harvey's face until Grace's words processed in his drunken mind and it was replaced with a frown.
"Damn! I'm not that drunk."
"Mm, I think you are." Grace remarked, while leaning in to press several kisses to his lips. "Stay and have fun, I'll see you in the morning."
"You can't ride in a taxi on your own. I'm coming with you." Harvey insisted as he attempted to stand up without tripping on his own feet. He managed it quite successfully actually, yet his balance wasn't quite up to scratch as he couldn't quite prevent himself from stumbling while stood on the flat ground.
"I would be perfectly fine, I'm more worried about you at this point."
Wrapping an arm around Harvey's back, Grace attempted to steady his body. That was quite the challenge though for her petite frame, as she struggled to hold up his weight.
"I just realised that I'm fucking shattered." Harvey muttered as he turned his head to look down at Grace. "...and that you're fucking beautiful."
Grace's mouth immediately dropped open at his drunk comment because although it was a compliment, it was also a bit of an insult.
"Excuse me? You've only just noticed?!"
"No, no, not what I meant."
"That's exactly what you said." Grace bit as she took a step back and watched as Harvey steadied himself without her support.
"I haven't only just realised." Harvey was shaking his head and desperately trying to climb himself out of the hole he had dug. However, it wasn't proving so easy to do when his own mind was a jumbled mess right now. "Or I wouldn't have slept with you the first time."
While Taj and Reece were watching Harvey in amusement, Grace was not so impressed. His drunk mind thought he was saying all of the right things when in actual fact it was the opposite.
"I wouldn't sleep with someone I didn't fancy, you know? So course I've always known that you're beautiful."
"Go on, keep talking Harvey Lawrence!" Grace exasperated, waving her hands in the air. "You're going to need more than a shovel to get yourself out of this one soon."
Harvey quickly shifted his attention away from Grace and over to the guys before flashing the cheekiest grin.
"Boys, get your shovels! I'm gonna need a bit of help."
While Reece and Taj pretended to grab fake shovels, causing Harvey to mimic them, Grace just stood before them in disbelief.
"Are you lot five years old or something?" She asked while trying not to laugh. She was going to blame their odd behaviour on the alcohol however, they were just as bad when they were sober.
"I meant you look beautiful tonight, that dress and everything is hot." Harvey continued to say whatever he could in an attempt to save himself.
"Alright babe..." Grace replied in a mocking tone as she ran her hand up Harvey's chest. "I'm going to call us a taxi while you figure out how to get yourself out of that hole, alright?"
As Grace headed off to find somewhere quiet, TJ came jogging over to join Harvey and the other guys. His timing was perfect for Grace's departure and there was a good reason for that.
"Lawrence! Can I talk to you for a minute?" He asked, before urging that they head off away from the group.
Glimpsing from the guys back to TJ, Harvey then nodded his head and followed him.
"Everything alright?"
TJ looked suspiciously on edge and Harvey couldn't help but think this could be his fault. Naomi was still annoyed at him for the way he spoke to her in front of them all, so he wasn't being let off easy tonight.
"Yeah, I just needed to say something before you head off."
"What's up?"
Shuffling on his feet, TJ looked incredibly uncomfortable for the first time ever.
"T, what's going on?"
"I would have felt like a shit friend if I didn't say anything." TJ began as he glimpsed over in the direction of their friends to ensure nobody was coming over. "But, Max told me something, granted he's pissed, but he was serious and I don't think it's fair not to warn you."
Harvey suddenly felt incredibly on edge. He didn't know where TJ was going with this but it didn't sound great.
"Max wants to tell you but apparently Grace has insisted on doing it, so he hasn't got much choice but to keep quiet." TJ continued and Harvey's heart dropped at the mention of those two names together. He was instantly making assumptions of what could have happened when he was gone.
"What does he want to tell me?" Harvey asked and his tone had switched to something more serious.
"Apparently he is..." TJ began to say before he noticed a figure making her way over to them. Grace was completely unaware of the conversation they were sharing but she had stepped in at a good time to get it stopped. "...never mind. You need to talk to Grace about it. She needs to tell you, so ask her tonight."
"Ask Grace what?" Harvey exasperated, clearly frustrated that he was so in the unknown.
Signalling with his head in the direction of Grace, TJ was trying to get his friend to realise who was making their way over. So when Harvey turned his head and spotted Grace, the realisation finally dawned on him and he turned his attention back to TJ.
"Is it bad?"
"Pretty bad." TJ replied and that was enough to send a chill down Harvey's spine.
...
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