8 comments/ 57439 views/ 2 favorites Grace Under Pressure Ch. 01 By: Grace Under Pressure Ch. 01 Of course, that had faded gradually. By the time Alex had been introduced to her, she was beginning to move on. Or at least she had thought that was the case. Now, standing in her kitchen with Tom less than three feet away, she wasn't so sure she'd ever moved on at all. By rights, after all this time she should be oblivious to his obvious physical charms, but now she could barely drag her eyes away from him and she was having a hard job remembering who Alex was. She felt guilty as hell, but unbelievably elated. Tom sat down on one of the pine chairs. He looked utterly miserable now that the initial shock of realising his Mother had interfered had faded. "I missed you so badly," he said quietly. "When I didn't hear from you, I began to wonder of any of it was real." He looked up at her sadly. "I thought I was just a casual fling to you." "Oh Tom, you were never that." He watched her, his blue eyes darkening to a deep navy colour and she felt her insides melt into a pool of fire. "Did you miss me?" he asked, the faint trace of a smile curling his lips. "Yes," she replied honestly. "Of course I did." "So who was the bloke I saw yesterday?" Another stab of guilt sent pain through her mid section. "His name's Alex." Tom drank the rest of his wine in one gulp, banging the empty glass down on the table forcefully. Grace jumped at the noise. She could feel the sudden tension in the air and for a moment it scared her. "Is it serious?" "I..." She hesitated. At that moment she didn't trust her own feelings enough to say one way or the other. She knew that in Alex's mind their relationship was serious -- he had been hinting for a few weeks now about the possibility of moving in with her. But she wasn't ready for such a commitment. She wasn't all that convinced she ever would be in truth. The phone rang and Grace ran over to answer it with some relief. "Hello?" "Hi darling, are you feeling better today?" It was Alex. She turned away from Tom, unable to look at him now. The feeling that she was teetering on the edge of an abyss was too strong and she was scared Alex would be able to detect something wrong in her voice. "I'm okay, thanks. My head is much better." She heard the kitchen door bang and as she turned, she saw Tom disappearing round the corner. Disappointment warred with relief and she slumped on a chair, the phone held to her ear as Alex rambled on about his morning spent putting up some shelves. As she half listened, her mind drifted off on to thoughts of Tom again. It was madness to allow him back into her life. The trouble was that he had changed and now that he was older and a great deal more mature, she found him in no way less desirable. The truth was she still wanted him. Badly. * * * The lane was dark as Grace strolled along, lost in thought. Houses and cottages lurked behind hedges and fences, the occasional window a beacon of light in the inky blackness. Clouds had appeared as the afternoon drifted by in a haze of oppressive heat. Now that night had fallen, a strange sense of stillness gripped the sleepy village like a sickness. A faint rumble in the distance hinted a storm was on the way. It would provide a welcome respite from the stagnant days of hot sun. She breathed in the sweet aroma of honeysuckle and thought about Alex. He had asked her to go out for dinner tonight, but she'd made some lame excuse and she knew very well he was wondering what was wrong. Their relationship had run its course, but it was hard to actually tell him. The last thing she wanted was to hurt him. He didn't deserve that. As she walked slowly, she pondered how best to break the news to him - or indeed if that was the best thing to do at all. Perhaps she was being hasty? Perhaps she should give things time and maybe he would grow on her again? She groaned out loud, the sound of frustration echoing off the dry stone wall that ran along the side of Ash Farm. "Damn you!" she muttered crossly. It was all Tom's fault. If he hadn't unexpectedly appeared after all this time, she probably would still be happy with Alex. Or so she tried to convince herself. A figure approached from the shadows and she looked up warily. "Bit late for you to be out, isn't it?" the man said as they crossed paths. "It's not that late," she replied, her heart hammering in her chest so loudly she thought the whole village would hear it. "Well I was off to the pub to drown my sorrows -- what's your excuse?" "I was restless," she shrugged, wondering why Tom was here at all. She thought he had moved into his flat by now. "Not seeing your boyfriend tonight?" There was an edge to his voice. "That's none of your business!" she snapped defensively. Deciding that it was a bad idea to even talk to him feeling the way she did, she turned on her heel and began to walk away. There was no point in tormenting herself with something she could no longer have. "Hey, I'm sorry," he said when he caught her up. "You're right -- it's none of my business." She felt him glancing at her sideways. "Mum told me you were very happy with...what's his name?" "Alex." Grace hid a smile. She didn't doubt that Jennifer had gone to great lengths to persuade Tom that Alex was a permanent fixture. "Yeah, Mum said he was a teacher or something. Very nice man, she said." Grace could hear the disdain in his voice and she sighed inwardly. This really wasn't helping. "He is a very nice man..." She didn't sound convincing even to her own ears. Tom snorted. "'Nice' is a euphemism for 'boring' in my book." He had a point here, conceded Grace. "That's unfair," she said defensively. There was silence as they continued walking, slowly. They reached the top of the lane and the moon appeared briefly from behind a cloud amidst the ominous rumbling that still threatened from far away. Ton stopped opposite the children's play area. "Sit with me a while?" he asked softly. She could see his face in the silvery light that shone down through the whispering trees. For a moment she hesitated. There were a million and one reasons why she should leave right now, but none of them were enough to prevent her from allowing his hand to slip through hers as he led them both to a bench beneath a gnarled oak. A strange calm enveloped her as she sat beside Tom, feeling the heat of his thigh press against her bare leg. She could smell the faint tang of aftershave and she breathed deeply, closing her eyes briefly. He kept hold of her hand tightly, almost as if he were afraid to let her go again. When he spoke, softly, barely making a ripple in the thick, humid air surrounding them, she opened her eyes and turned to look at his familiar features. "You never answered my question the other day." "That's because I don't know the answer." "Do you love him?" Grace thought about this as she gazed into his eyes, aware that her reply had the power to end this now -- once and for all. How could she love Alex when she was sat here with Tom? "No," she whispered eventually, knowing it was the truth. She cared about Alex, but he had never made her feel the way Tom had; nor Peter before him. Oh Peter. She thought about her dead husband and wondered if he watched her, now. Would he tell her to stop being so foolish and walk away? Or would he tell her to follow her heart and live life for the moment. Part of her knew the answer, but still she fought against it. "But that has nothing to do with it," she said as he continued to look at her without saying a word. "Grace, it has EVERYTHING to do with it. If you said you loved him, I would have walked away tonight and never bothered you again." "And now?" "And now I know you don't love him, I'm not going to let you go again." He bent his head and found her lips with his own. When the first spats of rain began to fall, neither of them noticed. They were lost in the kiss; utterly consumed in the heat of the moment. Lightning momentarily streaked the sky with a blaze of light before a loud crash of thunder ripped the heavens open. Within seconds they were caught in a deluge of torrential proportions. They broke apart reluctantly and Tom began to grin as the warm rain ran in rivulets down their faces. "Your tee shirt is now see-through," he noted with a smirk. Grace looked down and realised that he was correct. Her thin cotton top had turned translucent in the rain and her red bra was all too obviously showing. She blushed. "But I'm not complaining," he added. "Come on -- we need to get out of this before lightning strikes the tree and we're flattened. Imagine the headlines in the local rag -- Mum would never forgive me!" Grace winced. She could well imagine that Jennifer would die from the humiliation. Tom grabbed her hand and yanked her towards the road that was now awash with water streaming towards the beck. Another crack of thunder momentarily deafened both of them as they ran down the lane towards the Orchard Mews. By the time they fell in through her kitchen door, both of them were drenched. Water dripped all over the terracotta tiles as Grace turned to face Tom, suddenly aware that she was in a very compromising position. Before she had time to suggest that he ought to go back next door, he pulled her into his arms hungrily. His hands swept down her back and grabbed her backside roughly. As his mouth plundered hers, Grace felt her doubts being firmly crushed by the wave of desire that swept through her body. Alex had never made her feel like this. His touch had been pleasant; nice even. But never had he brought her to the edge of reason, her legs trembling under an onslaught of passion so hot that she could almost imagine the steam rising from her skin. Her body betrayed her and melted into Tom, every inch of her burning up with a need to be caressed, touched, and loved. "I thought about this every God damned night I was away from you," he murmured into her neck when he broke their kiss. "I missed you so fucking much." "I thought about you, too," Grace whispered. And she had. Even when she was with Alex, a part of her still dreamed of Tom. What they'd had before was too good to forget so easily. Even when it had been wrong, it had still felt right. "Did you think of me when you were fucking him?" he asked suddenly. She snapped her head back in surprise. The anger in his eyes frightened her for a moment; she had forgotten he had a jealous streak. "Don't ask me that." Almost as soon as it had flared, the anger faded and he dropped his eyes. "I'm sorry," he said sadly. "That was unfair." He stroked her face gently, rubbing his thumbs across her cheek. "I shouldn't have expected you to be waiting for me to come home," he grinned a little ruefully. "No, you shouldn't have," she agreed. But none of this mattered, she thought suddenly. It seemed irrelevant. All she could think about was being here, with Tom, just like it had been once before. "Kiss me," she asked, pressing her body against him, wanting, needing to feel him touching her again. He groaned faintly and pressed his mouth to hers, deepening the kiss until they were both left panting for something more. The sound of a key turning in the front door caused Grace to jump. "Hello, Grace, are you in?" Alex's voice drifted down the hallway and Grace felt total horror hit her like a sledgehammer. She pulled away from Tom with her head whirling in confusion. What on earth was Alex doing here? Of course he had a key, but he never usually turned up unexpectedly. This was awful! There was no way she wanted him to see her with Tom -- it would be unforgivable. He didn't deserve that. Tom must have seen the conflict written all over her face for he briefly touched her cheek with a gentle fingertip. Before she could say a word, he was gone. The only sign he had ever been there in her kitchen was a lingering sense of thwarted arousal simmering through her frustrated body. "Grace! You ARE in -- I tried ringing you, but I got no answer." Alex breezed in to the large room, seemingly oblivious to her angst. "I went out for a walk," she muttered, turning away from him to flick the kettle on again. "Crazy woman," Alex scolded light heartedly. "It's chucking it down out there now. You'll end up catching a chill." He stepped forward and took her in his arms affectionately. "I know I shouldn't have turned up unannounced," he said, nuzzling her hair. "But there's something I want to ask you and I just couldn't wait any longer." "What's that?" Grace said dully. She closed her eyes and wished she were in bed, asleep. That way none of this would be happening and she wouldn't be feeling guilty. Alex stepped back again and pulled something from his pocket. He smiled at her hopefully and took hold of her hand. "Grace, will you marry me?" * * *