What You Don't Know

I slip into a courtroom appropriate dress while Ty showers. We're getting ready for our court hearing against Lani today. She's gone through the medical institution, and they've deemed her sufficient to stand trial. So has three or four other institutions. She has no excuse...well, maybe she does knowing her. I'm still not sure if how long I want Lani to go to jail for or if I want her to go to jail at all. Maybe, just have her locked up in her house for two years would be sufficient enough. Like that would ever be possible.

This will be our first time seeing her since that night. I think that was the night that strengthened our relationship even more. I'm so extremely happy with my life, and I haven't been in a really long time. My grades have been spiking. More people talk to me, and, best of all, I have self-esteem again. I feel good about who and what I am; I'm happy with myself and the life I'm living. I've even decided to join the theatre club at school. I feel so great about things these days, and I hope that I can stay positive throughout this trial. I don't know what bullshit Lani will pull, but I'm not going to worry about that right now, only about things that matter: my family, my friends, Ty, and myself.

I hear Ty turn the shower off and step out of the shower. He walks out with only his towel around his waist as droplets of water cascade off his hair and down his muscular torso. I look his body up and down, then I meet his eyes. He comes over and kisses me. "Mornin'," he says when he breaks the kiss. That's also the word he said to me after our morning romp on his bed. He goes off to his closet to find his suit and dry off before dressing. "Should I wear my black suit or my blue suit?" he yells from his closet and then comes out in his grey boxer briefs. "Um...definitely the blue suit. It's more appealing in court," I reply remembering what Liesa's debate teacher told her the day before her first mock trial.

Ty hangs the black suit in the closet again and comes out to get dressed. "I like that you're showing your legs, but you're definitely going to get me in trouble," he says. I laugh, "Why?" "Because it makes me want you really badly," he admits. His stare never leaves my legs. "Ty..." I try to get his attention, but he has already gotten on his knees. He kisses my right calf then strokes it and kisses it again. "Ty, not before the trial," I grab his face and look into his eyes, "after the trial. Okay?" He sighs but understands. He doesn't want to have to shower again. He gets up and puts the rest of his suit on. "You ready to go, little lady?" he asks with his best southern accent impression. I laugh as he grabs my hand and leads me out.

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In court, Lani tries to deceive the jury multiple times, but I didn't think they'd buy it. When Lani realized they most likely weren't buying what she was selling, she plead guilty, which gave her a lighter sentence. She was charged as an adult, though, so she was given 180 days in jail and then three years of probation. I leaned over and kissed Ty. When I broke the kiss, I realized he was crying. I gave him a concerned look. He whispered to me, "I'm so happy. I can finally keep you a little bit safer now. We also have restraining order against Lani and her friend. They've been kicked out of our high school, and no other district in the area will take them. We finally won.

Now, after the trial, we are at our favorite restaurant, Stanney's, eating supper with our families. We rented the smaller function room to fit everyone. "To our wonderful lives," says Mr. Laurington. We raise our glasses and clink them together before taking a sip. When our food arrives, we're in a more joyful mood than before because we've been able to joke around and enjoy ourselves. For dessert, Ty and I order churros with chocolate sauce and share them happily. He leans over to me, "My parents have a cottage an hour from here. Do you want to go there after this?" I look at him with a smile on my face and nod. He gives me a peck on the lips.

After the bill is paid and the conversations end, Ty tells his parents where we're going, and I tell mine. They both allow it, knowing that we'd go there together eventually. We say our goodbyes and head for Ty's car. He holds me close, his arm gluing me to his side. When we get to the car door, he opens it for me and helps me into the seat. He trots to his side of the car and gets in. "By the way, don't worry. There are extra clothes at the cottage. My family always leaves extra clothes up there just in case," he says. I had forgotten about clothes. "Okay," I say back. I take a quick nap on the ride to the cottage. When I wake up, I see a quaint, white cottage in front of the car. "We're here," he whispers to me. I go to get out, but he exclaims, "Wait!" He gets out and runs to my side, and he opens the door for me. Before I can step on the ground, he picks me up and cradles me in his arms. He slams the car door behind us. He brings me to the door, skillfully unlocks the door with me in his arms, opens the door, and carries me inside. He brings me up the stairs to a small but welcoming bedroom, then he plops me on the bed. I hear him scrounging around for something, the I see a flash of light. A fire place in front of the bed lights up.

He throws his suit coat off away from the fire as well as his dress shirt and tie before getting on top of me. "I need you so bad right now," he murmurs into my right ear. I slip my hands under my dress and slip off my panties. He searches desperately through his pocket for a condom and finds one. He unbuttons and unzips his dress pants. Quickly, he rips open the condom wrapper and slides the condom on. I rapidly pull my dress up to my waist. He grasps my hips tightly and plunges deep into me. We move so fluidly yet roughly together. He finishes faster than he usually does, but I do also. We wanted each other so much.

He collapses onto me, and we lay in a heap of heavy breathing for I don't even know how many minutes. I'm the first one to speak. "That was...amazing," I tell him, still just about breathless. He rolls off of me and chuckles a bit. "I didn't think I had it in me to please you that well...that fast," he chuckles a bit more, "you know? I never thought a math project could lead to this. Who knew?" "Definitely not me," I say, while staring up at the ceiling. "Now that I have you, I'm never going to let you go," he pulls me to his chest. I rest my head on him. "Never."

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After we cleaned up and got into some pajamas, Ty snuffed the fire out, then we made our way to the kitchen. We cooked pasta together. We needed some carbs after that workout. After we ate, we made our way back to the bed, only this time to sleep. "I'm never letting go of you, okay?" Ty turned in the bed and was now facing me. "I'm never letting you go either, Ty. I love you," I admit to him. "I love you so much, Gracie," he whimpers out before kissing me. I'm never letting go. I think to myself before we break the kiss and fall asleep.