Blood for Blood, Hearts Beating

As Grace was walking on her way to go to the gym, she got a glimpse of the outdoor relaxation area and saw Tony sitting on the garden swing chair under the balcony. He looked gloomier than the day. It had been raining for the last three hours and had been darker than the night.

She took her chances of doing something incredibly stupid again and went out to sit with him. It was a perfect temperature outside and was incredibly relaxing.

She took a seat beside him and helped rock the chair back and forth. Tony hadn’t looked at her yet but there was sign of life. He was making all these faces that made Grace want to smile.

“Hey, Mr. Grumpypants.”

“I wouldn’t be so grumpy if we still had some alcohol up in the room.”

“Don’t you see more clearly when you aren’t drinking? Doesn’t it almost feel better being sober?”
Tony let out a little laugh. “That’s good. Good joke.”

It frustrated Grace to see that he was laughing at something that she really meant. “Why don’t you take care of yourself? I think you’re underestimating who you really are.”

“I think you’re underestimating who you really are. Everyone thinks the same too. For me, I have nothing going.”

“Pierce the Veil.”

He folded his arms, slouching back in the chair. “Being in a band means nothing if your real life is going to shit. Now, why did you come to see me?”

“I was thinking about what you told me the other day.”

Finally Grace got Tony’s attention. “What do you mean?” She didn’t need to say another word until he understood. “Oh, no. No, I was drunk and an asshole.”

“Tony, please hear me out. Come to my room and I’ll give you the rest of the alcohol in my fridge.”

It didn’t take much more for him to accept. She stood up and held his hand as he stood up with her and she led him to the room. She quickly opened the door and pushed him inside.

Immediately, he headed to the fridge and grabbed anything that would put him out quickly. He sat on the bed as he opened the drink and started drinking it. Grace sat beside him and looked at him.

“I don’t know what’s going on with you but you have your problems and I have mine. When I’m not worried about the Summer, I’m thinking of you.”

Slowly, Tony put his alcohol on the nightstand. “You think about me?”

“A lot.”

“Gracie, you don’t want this. You don’t want me to take advantage of you as I had tried to do before.”

“But I do want you to. The other night wasn’t a mistake and I knew what you were doing.”

Tony rubbed his head. “And what if Sarah or Marissa or whoever else finds out about this? This could be the end of your time here and I don’t want to be the cause of that.”

Grace just smiled. “They’ll never find out. After all, we won’t be doing it on stage. It’ll be just a little party of you and me.” Her nose touched Tony’s cheek while she put her hand on his other check.

“I’m not looking for a relationship right now. That’s the last thing I’m looking for actually.”

“Ah, I see. We’re both lonely and that’s the problem. That’s exactly why we need to do this.”

He turned over to her with a solemn face and didn’t dare look her in the eyes. “I am not lonely.”

“What do you think makes you so not alone? Do you consider rum to be your friend? Maybe some vodka?”

Tony looked up at her and didn’t say a word. He couldn’t bear knowing that she was right. He felt alone in every way and the only thing that seemed to have been there was his alcohol. “Don’t tell me you have a schoolboy crush on me.”

“No, I just. . . .”

“You just want to stop feeling so alone.”

“Exactly.” Grace took off her tank top to reveal her bra. When she was done teasing Tony, she took it off to show her full chest. “Don’t be afraid to touch me.”

When he didn’t move and just stared at her body, Grace picked up his hand and let it stroke upon her. In a slow movement, he started playing with them in his hands and got on top of her, making her head fall to the bed.

He sucked on her neck gently. Occasionally he nibbled at her as he still massaged her breasts. Grace rubbed her hand around his back and slowly took his shirt off of him.

-------------------------------------------

It was 3 in the morning when Tony woke up in an unknown room. His hair was messy and he was only wearing a pair of boxers. It finally clicked then that it was no dream that he had just got intimate with someone that he didn’t love just hours before.

He was in her room but Grace wasn’t beside him. Tony put on all his clothes and tried to make his hair neat. As he walked to the front door, he heard the shower running and looked at the door. It was slightly open and he heard Grace humming to herself.

The sound of her voice did make him smile but he didn’t want her to know. He would never let her know for as long as he lived. There was a piece of pride sticking out of him. Maybe she was humming because they both ended up with what they wanted and maybe she thought that he did a good job.

He looked into the mirror as he peeked through and saw her silhouette against the fogged up mirror that kept the water from falling out of the shower. Grace’s arms were up in the air, massaging her head and getting the shampoo out of her hair. She had a beautiful and perfect hourglass shape and Tony didn’t want to stop looking.

Alas, the time did come when he decided to leave. He must have been there for half a minute but it felt like only a second to him. He quickly made his way out the door, back to where he belonged. Back to where his band mates were probably waiting for him.

Tony was so sure that they would know what was going on. He couldn’t wipe the smile off his face as hard as he tried. On top of that, he was coming back late. It was certain to him that he would get a ton of shit from the boys.