With the news of Harvey travelling very quickly, Grace was already fed up of hearing about it. She didn't want to know that he was spending his time with Lottie in Cambridge. She didn't want to know that she was 4 months pregnant with his baby. She didn't want to hear another word about any of it.
Therefore, she had made what she classed as the perfect decision, to rewind back to the Grace she had always been. Being with Harvey had opened up a side to her that had been vulnerable, and all that had done was made her hurt more. So as a result, old Grace was coming back to bring a bit more fun but also control into her life again.
"You know tonight is going to be amazing, right?!" Francesca sang as they made their way towards the bar.
"Obviously, yeah!" Grace replied with a grin on her face, that just screamed trouble. "You need to say a huge hello to the old me because she is back and she is refusing to leave this time!"
"It's great to see you again, old Grace." Francesca teased as she slipped her arm through her friend's. "We are going to find you some hot guys to hook up with tonight, one of those being Max Rowan."
"Ha! You think you're really funny, don't you?"
As Grace looked at Francesca with a raised brow, she received a similar but more amusing expression in return.
"I sense a shit load of sexual tension between you two and it's bloody annoying, so, you need to do the deed."
"You know I can't do that."
Although Grace wasn't opposed to the idea at all, there were many reasons why that wouldn't be sensible. Herself and Max were now co-parenting and trying incredibly hard to make it work. Therefore, they did not need to complicate things anymore. In addition to that, Grace was more than certain that Lila still had some kind of feelings towards Max and she did not want things to get messy between her and her friend. That wasn't fair either.
"Yes, you can. You just decide not to." Francesca corrected, as though she was just stating pure facts.
"It's better off for everyone."
"It's better off for Lila, who would get over it eventually, and to be honest, you're also saving her from the heartbreak. Max isn't going to settle down anytime soon and that's exactly what she is looking for."
Grace knew that Francesca had a point and she also knew that if she was in this position, she would not hold back. However, Grace had a lot riding on the situation and she wasn't sure if she had a good enough excuse to justify hooking up with him.
"Max isn't the only option here tonight, you know that right?" Grace remarked as her eyes drifted from that familiar group of individuals to where a few other guys were hanging out with them. "I have quite a good selection of choice tonight."
"You do, so I'm not saying jump at it but consider it. He is still an option, even more so now that he's stepped up to be your baby daddy!"
Rolling her eyes, Grace tried to ignore Francesca's comments as she dragged her over to their group of friends. She watched as all eyes darted their way and already knew what they would be thinking.
They were looking for evidence of upset in her face. They were expecting her to be down and distraught over the whole Harvey situation. In reality, maybe she was however, she wasn't going to let anyone see that.
"Instead of sitting there in silence staring at us, maybe one of you should actually get off your arse and get us a drink." Grace announced in a sharp and confident tone.
While Kiara rolled her eyes, a few of the guys immediately stood to their feet and began offering their services. With a smile on her face, Grace waved them off to get an order in while she purposely took a seat next to Max to put an end to his conversation with Kiara.
"Just click your fingers and they wait on you like the fucking Queen!" He remarked with a knowing look across his face.
"You should have been the first to offer really..." Grace retaliated. "...but I'm sure you'll learn."
"In your fucking dreams babe. I'm far from that level of pathetic."
"You claim to be but you're just like all of the others."
Placing her hand on Max's knee, Grace gave it a firm squeeze and watched as his eyes remained on her. He currently looked unfazed but as her hand drifted up a little further to reach his upper thigh, he was doing a very bad job at composing himself.
"There are big differences between me and them." Max responded as he desperately tried to keep his voice steady and ignore her hand.
"Like what?"
"None of those twats have a chance with you and I actually do."
While Max's response was confident, Grace wasn't willing to let him be so sure of himself.
"Just because you're Brinley's dad, does not give you a free pass you know."
"I don't need a free pass. You just know you're guaranteed a good time with me."
Removing her hand from Max's thigh, Grace lifted it to trail along the stubble of his jawline. Then gently running her thumb across his bottom lip, she edged herself a little bit closer as though she was going to kiss him.
"I'd much rather explore my options and find something better. It's not like I'm short of willing volunteers." Grace replied while also pulling back away from him and turning around to see the two guys bringing drinks back over to the table.
"Thank you, Jake. Just put them down here." Grace instructed as she pointed to the spot right in front of her.
She knew full well that Max's eyes were still on her yet she didn't give in and turn around. She wanted him to suffer. She wanted him to be left to wait around and crave her even more.
If old Grace was going to come back to stay, she needed to make sure she had as much fun as physically possible.
"So what's your friends name, Jake?" Grace asked, as she leaned further into the table so she could position herself closer to the 24 year old sat opposite her.
"That's Harry and he's also not interested!" Kiara announced, making her voice loud and clear to get her point across.
With her back to the brunette, Grace smiled over at Francesca, who was clearly amused by Kiara's actions. She didn't like this version of Grace when she was around because she instantly stole the spotlight.
While Grace had been dating Harvey and had calmed down on her erratic behaviour, Kiara had managed to snatch back her well loved position of being center of attention. That would not be happening for much longer though and she hated it.
"Are you dating someone, Harry?" Grace asked, while still focusing her attention on the blonde sat before her.
"No, I don't know why she said I'm not interested." Harry chuckled in response as he barely even looked at Kiara while he spoke. He clearly knew what she was playing at too and was already tired of the games.
"That's what I thought. Why don't you do a shot with me?"
Reaching for the tray of drinks Jake had placed down before her, Grace offered one in Harry's direction and he happily took it. After counting them down, both he and Grace took back the liquid in one and felt the burning sensation slide down their throats.
It didn't take long for that single shot to turn into more, as Grace claimed her fun for the night in Harry and made him her focus. She could tell her was loving every second of it and she knew that he was just after one thing. However, she really couldn't care less because she was after the same thing.
Therefore, when Max reached out to take one of the spare shots laying on the tray, she immediately snatched it out of his hand.
"Nah ah! Not for you." She refused as she passed it in the direction of Harry. "Come on, we need to go and get some more."
Watching as Harry downed yet another shot at her demand, he quickly stood to his feet and began following Grace over to the bar. Max was watching as they left before turning his focus back to Francesca.
"She is a fucking nightmare. You realise that, right?"
"As are you." Francesca replied with a proud smile across her face. This was the version of Grace she knew well and loved, and she was very excited to have her back.
"But she calmed down. Brinley and then dating Harvey made her chill out."
"And now that she got her heart broken, she is so ready to bring back her old self, which I know full well that you love."
Francesca's comment caused Max to pause for a moment before responding.
"It's fucking hot. I won't deny that."
"Mmm, remembering the days before you got her knocked up, hey?" Francesca raised her brows at Max in a questioning manner, only causing a smug grin to appear across his face.
"She makes it very hard to forget." He replied before Francesca began urging him to look over to where she was stood.
"Well once again, you will have a lot of competition, and you won't be the guy she's going home with tonight."
As Max turned around to look behind him, he caught sight of Grace and Harry making out. Their trip to the bar had taken a little bit of a detour on the way and the guy now couldn't keep his hands off of her.
"That's her loss really, not mine." Max responded in the most unfazed manner that he could manage. However, Francesca was already planning on telling Grace how desperate he was to relive their past, and that she had to make it hard for him.
Giving in too easily would only give him want he wanted, causing him to tick it off his check list and move onto the next. However, making him wait in incredible agony, would give her every bit of control and satisfaction.
The old Grace was well and truly back, and while most were very wary of that side of her, Francesca was most definitely her biggest fan.
**
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