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Savannah Ch. 01

By: frozenhero1



The Spring Gala was considered the first important social event of the summer season by most affluent residents of Savannah; a formal dance where young people, usually high school seniors on the verge of graduation, were formally introduced into society and accepted as young adults. In decades past, such galas served as matchmaking events for wealthy families seeking marriage arrangements between a young lady or distinguished suitor. Though arranged marriages were mostly an antiquated notion, the Spring Gala remained a symbolic rite of passage for the young and wealthy elite of Savannah.

For Grace Kelly Lattimore, the Spring Gala was merely one more social event among a never-ending schedule of similar functions which required her to wear a gown.

"Ah can't believe m'ah parents paired me with Dylan Montgomery," Grace complained in a drawl which was thick even for Georgia. She was tugging at the silken material clinging to her hips in a futile attempt to adjust the fit of her white gown.

Ashlee watched her classmate and best friend fuss over the garment from where they stood at the edge of the ballroom, "Would you stop picking at that thing? You look fine, and you should be happy you're dancing with Dylan; I'm stuck with Connor Wilmington, who I swear hit every branch of the ugly tree..."

Grace continued to wriggle and pluck at her dress as though it didn't fit right, "At least Connor's a sweetheart. Dylan's such a pompous ass... he thinks he's gawd's gift to the damn world just because his daddy owns half of Georgia."

Watching Grace, Ashlee decided she couldn't take it anymore, "What is your problem with that dress? You've been fighting with it for five minutes!"

"It's too tight in the hips," Grace fretted, "ah feel like m'ah ass is sticking out a quarter-mile."

Though Ashlee was certainly an attractive girl herself, she had always been jealous of her taller friend. With blonde hair that always seemed to do whatever she wanted, perfect skin, and a 5'9" body that belonged on a magazine cover, Grace resembled the movie star she was named after.

"Your ass looks perfect," Ashlee assured. "Just like it always does. Dylan will be drooling all over you."

"Gawd, that's the last thing ah need. If Dylan hits on me while we're dancing ah'm going to knee him in the groin."

Ashlee giggled at Grace's melodrama, "It'll all be over soon, then we can sneak out of here and grab a smoke. Now come on, they're about to present us for the first dance."

Grace finally gave up on her gown as Ashlee grabbed her hand. The two teens hurried in their high heels towards a small podium where a line of their fellow classmates was forming.

At the Spring Gala, young people entering society were formally announced to the gathering by a master of ceremonies before pairing with someone of the opposite sex, for the evening's opening dance. Grace was fully aware such a pairing was once an indication of marriage arrangement; she was thankful such arrangements were no longer common practice. She couldn't imagine anything more horrid than being forced to marry Dylan Montgomery, who Grace felt was an egotistical bore. Still, her mother had somehow arranged it with the gala committee that Grace be paired with Dylan and assumed it was because her mother was always mindful of their family's image; Dylan belonged to a very prestigious and wealthy family.

Grace and her peers were slowly announced, one by one, and paired off to the dance floor amidst polite applause from parents and community members in attendance. Grace did her best to smile and appear lady-like, but once the music started she found herself eagerly anticipating the dance's finish.

Dylan was at least a competent dancer, leading them in a two-step, "You look gorgeous, Grace."

"That's very nice of you to say," Grace replied, feigning a smile.

Dylan could sense her cool demeanor, "Is something wrong?"

"No, not especially," Grace answered. "Ah just get tired of dances and galas all the time. Seems like there's one every week."

"Yes, but this one is special."

"Why's that?" Grace sounded disinterested.

"It could be our first official dance as a couple," Dylan replied with a smug grin.

Grace rolled her eyes, "Give it up, Dylan. You and ah will never be a couple."

"Why not? We're a perfect match, Grace."

"How do you figure?" Grace asked, though she feared his answer.

"Well, I'm handsome, good-looking, and heir to one of the wealthiest families in Georgia. And you're the most beautiful girl in Savannah. We were meant for one another."

"Y'all are dumber than a box of tacks," Grace sighed. "'Handsome' and 'good-looking' is the same thing."

Dylan smiled, "At least we agree that I'm attractive."

"Ah agree that you're arrogant?"

Dylan chuckled, seemingly immune to Grace's icy wall, "You'll come around eventually."

"Come around to what?"

"What a fine pair we'll make."

Grace snorted, unladylike, but she couldn't help it. "Ah think you better start looking for the second-most beautiful girl in Savannah."

Dylan seemed oblivious, "Let's go to my parent's beach house this weekend. We can take my convertible."

Grace nearly made good on her promise to Ashlee, but restrained herself from placing her knee firmly between Dylan's legs, "Ah would rather French-kiss a crocodile than go anywhere with you, Dylan. Now stop pestering me."

Finally the song ended, signaling an end to the dance. Grace curtseyed to the crowd, then quickly shimmied off the dance floor to find Ashlee without bothering to look back at Dylan. The cigarette Ashlee mentioned earlier was sounding awfully good to Grace.

=====

Chase hated working the 'high-society' events. The people were snobby and he felt like they were always looking down at him, as though he were some form of lower-class worm. But the catering service he worked for paid well and most of the work was on evenings and weekends, freeing up his days for technical school.

"Hey," one of his coworkers approached. Most of the catering employees were on break before the dinner rush, while the guests danced. Many of them had congregated outside, behind the ballroom at a designated area for smoking.

"What's up, Tommy?" Chase lit a cigarette.

"You going to that party at Gina's tonight?"

"I hadn't planned on it, why?"

"You should," Tommy encouraged. "C'mon, it's Friday night. I heard her parents are out of town and there's going to be two kegs. It should be a blast. Lots of scattered ass."

Chase's reply was non-committal, "I'll think about it."

The truth was, Chase wasn't interested in a party. He had recently been dumped by his girlfriend, whom he had been dating since high school, and wasn't quite ready to move on yet. It was a typical tale: his girlfriend went away for her freshman year of college while Chase stayed home to attend a technical school; she broke up with him less than a month prior, claiming she had met someone else.

"Maybe I'll see you there, then." Tommy stepped out his cigarette, "I better get back to serving the 'trust-funders'."

Chase figured to get back to work as well and took one last drag off his cigarette before stepping it out on the asphalt. Just as he was about to go in, he saw Grace come out.

She was laughing at the girl beside her, walking out of the ballroom's kitchen exit, and her smile lit up the night. Both women were dressed finely in evening gowns, so Chase knew they were part of the trust-fund crowd; most likely slumming out back to sneak a cigarette away from the view of mommy and daddy. Normally, Chase avoided such girls. They were snobby bitches - every one. But for some reason he couldn't take his eyes off Grace. She was taller than her friend, almost statuesque when adding in the height of her heels. Her blue eyes sparkled when she smiled, touched with just enough make-up to become terrifyingly alluring. Her blond hair was coiled and gathered high, revealing the entirety of her slender neck along with two dangling earrings.

"Are you sure you don't have any?" Grace suddenly sounded distressed.

Ashlee was frantically digging in her purse, "I thought I did. I tried to pick up a new pack today, but that prick at the gas station actually carded me and I don't turn eighteen until next month."

"Well ah'm legal," Grace lifted to her toes and looked beyond the parking lot, trying to remember if there was a convenience store nearby where she could buy cigarettes.

Chase watched the whole conversation, noticing that none of his fellow co-workers were paying any attention. It wasn't unusual for the working-class and upper-class to maintain a mutual distance at these types of events. That was the established social order, one Chase normally adhered to, but he couldn't take his eyes off Grace.

"Hey, you girls need a smoke?"

Grace turned to notice Chase holding out a pack of cigarettes, "Oh darlin, y'all are a life saver."

Chase thought his ears were going to melt at the sweet sound of Grace's thick drawl. He wasn't from Georgia originally and found he enjoyed the way girls spoke in the south. Grace's accent seemed unusually heavy and seductive, even for Savannah. After the girls plucked a cigarette from his package, he flicked his lighter and cupped his hands, lighting them both.

Ashlee bumped her elbow against Grace's and quickly waggled her brow, indicating she thought Chase was cute. Grace stifled a smirk, hiding it behind her cigarette. Chase certainly was good-looking, with short brown hair neatly trimmed at the sides. He seemed fit too, though it was difficult to tell beneath his loose-fitting catering uniform.

"Hi, I'm Ashlee. This is my friend Grace."

"I'm Chase."

Grace inhaled delicately from her Marlboro, "Ah don't recognize you, do you go to school near hear?"

"I graduated last year," Chase replied. "From St. Vincent's. I take it you two are seniors?"

"Yeah," Ashlee answered. "Our parents are trotting us out and 'presenting us to society', which is even duller than it sounds."

"At least you didn't have to dance with Dylan. He was all over me again, telling me we're the 'perfect couple' for each other." Grace stuck her tongue out, showing what she thought of Dylan and his advances.

Chase raised his eyebrows, silently praying Grace didn't have a snotty trust-fund boyfriend.

"Yeah, well, Connor stepped on my feet," Ashlee exhaled a plume of smoke. "Twice."

Chase suggested, "You two sound like you need a little excitement."

Ashlee replied dully, "You have no idea."

"I know of a party later tonight," Chase suggested. He had quickly changed his mind about going to the soiree his co-worker had mentioned, as it presented the perfect means to get to know Grace better. He certainly didn't want their chance meeting to be the last time he ever saw her.

"What kind of party?" Grace wondered.

"You know; the standard 'parents-are-out-of-town' kegger. It's at this girl's house who I know from school, not too far from downtown. Might be a lot of fun."

Grace and Ashlee both looked at each other to gauge the other's opinion; both girls were smiling at the prospect of a party downtown. There weren't many kegger parties in Ardsley Park, the affluent neighborhood they both grew up in.

"Ah'm in," Grace suddenly decided.

"Me too," Ashley beamed.

"Yeah?" Chase smiled, attracted to Grace's sense of spontaneous adventure.

Ashlee wondered, "Any chance you could pick us up? We'll have to go home and get out of these clothes."

"Yeah it's no problem," Chase said. "I can change here, so just tell me where to be."

=====

Located at a large two-story house not far from the downtown core of Savannah, in a neighborhood of old homes, the party was already in full swing when Grace, Ashlee, and Chase arrived. The house was packed with high school and college-aged kids drinking beer out of plastic cups. Loud music thudded from the basement while the sound of things breaking could be heard every few minutes.

Grace had never been to such a rough party, as everyone seemed incredibly drunk or stoned. She even saw some people snorting lines of cocaine as she followed Chase and Ashlee towards the keg. Her friends rarely hosted such visceral bashes - they were too stuck up. In fact, the boys at her school actually thought it was cool to sit around drinking brandy and smoking cigars, just like their stuffy fathers.

"This place is wild," Ashlee yelled excitedly as Chase poured from the keg tap, raising her voice in order to be heard.

"Yeah," Chase agreed loudly. "I didn't realize there would be so many people here. This is cool though, right?"

"It's great," Grace replied, accepting a glass from Chase.

Once they had their beers secured, Ashlee grabbed Grace by the wrist. "Come on, let's go mingle. I saw some cute guys as we came in."

Grace looked over her shoulder towards Chase as Ashlee led her away, feeling bad that they were abandoning him so soon after their arrival, even though he was already talking to other people whom he obviously knew.

"Why did you do that?" Grace asked once Ashlee found some space to stand in another room. "Chase was nice enough to invite us to this party, we should hang with him."

Ashlee grinned, "I'm trying to act disinterested, silly."

Grace quickly connected the dots and leveled an amused gaze towards her best friend, "You're into him?"

Ashlee nodded with a bright smile, "He's cute, and he's not a total stuck-up jerk like most of the guys at our school. Do you think he's into me?"

"Ah don't know," Grace answered honestly. "You want me to go find out?"

Ashlee bubbled out a nod, "Would you?"

"Give it a couple minutes." Grace took a swallow of her beer, which wasn't much colder than room-temperature, "Then ah'll go talk to him."

"Make sure you find out if he has a girlfriend."

"Don't worry, ah think ah know how to reconnaissance a boy - ah've been doing it for you since middle school."

"Oh!" Ashlee looked towards the keg over Grace's shoulder, "It looks like he's going outside for a smoke, now's your chance!"

"Okay, okay, simmer down." Grace rolled her eyes at Ashlee's excitement, setting her glass down on a nearby table, "Watch my beer."

"You're just going to leave it? We have to catch up with everyone."

"At least it can't get any warmer," Grace replied dryly. She didn't care for the taste of beer.

Slipping through a crowd of people in the kitchen, where the keg was, Grace moved outside through a sliding glass door and onto the back porch. It was much quieter outside, though the music and crowd of voices could still be heard through the windows.

Chase was standing by himself enjoying a smoke, wearing a light brown leather jacket over his tee shirt; the evening air carried a bit of a chill.

"Mind if ah have another one of those?"

Turning around, Chase smiled at the vision of Grace. She wore a pair of white jeans and heels, with a thin yellow spaghetti-strapped top which clung to her slender torso and revealed her mid-riff. Normally such an outfit would appear slutty to Chase, but Grace somehow appeared as elegant as she did at the dance. Maybe it was because her hair was still coiled up so enticingly, he thought.

"I didn't know girls from Ardsley Park smoked," Chase teased, offering out his pack.

Grace blushed just a little, "Ashlee got me started during our last finals. Ah usually only do it when she and ah are together."

Chase made sure to make eye contact when he lit Grace's cigarette.

Grace exhaled, "So, you got a girlfriend or anything?"

Chase shook his head, "Nah. We broke up recently... actually, I got dumped. You know how it is; she's away at school with a new boyfriend, I'm here at home hundreds of miles away. I guess she couldn't handle the distance."

"Well, ah wouldn't fret too much. There are plenty of other trout in the pond."

"I like your attitude," Chase smiled.

"What's your policy on high school girls?"

"I'm okay with them," Chase joked. "When I went to high school I had to sit next to them all the time."

Grace smiled brightly at his humor, clasping her bare arms close to her chest. She didn't realize how chilly it would get and didn't think to bring a jacket. Grace silently chastised herself for not knowing better; it was only April after all.

"Here," Chase said, taking his jacket off.

"You're a doll," Grace replied thankfully as Chase draped the jacket around her shoulders. "Thank you."

"No problem. So, um... why're you asking me about high school girls?'

Grace ashed her cigarette over the railing of the porch, "Well, ah'm supposed to be more sneaky about this, but Ashlee thinks you're cute."

Chase hadn't seen that one coming, "Ashlee?"

Grace made a slight wince, "Yeah, she kinda sent me out here to find out if you had a girlfriend."

"Ah, I get it now." Chase felt like a complete ass, thinking even for a moment Grace was interested for herself.

Grace breathed out an uneasy laugh, sensing a sudden distance from Chase, "Sorry, ah guess it's kind of juvenile."

"No, it's cool. I'm flattered, actually." Chase tried to think quick and come up with a reason as to why he wasn't interested in Ashlee. He didn't want to admit he was far more curious about Grace, "It's just that... I mean, I just got out of a long-term relationship. You know how it is."

"That's totally understandable," Grace replied. She deposited her cigarette into an empty beer bottle sitting on the porch rail before offering Chase his jacket back, "Don't worry sugah, ah'll break it to her gently."

Chase nodded, indicating that he planned on staying outside a while longer.

Upon reaching the sliding door Grace glanced back over her shoulder, "Thanks for inviting us, by the way. Ah'm having fun."

"Cool, I'm glad. I'll be in soon, we can have another beer."

Grace smiled, "Okay."

Ashlee looked like she was already on her second beer when Grace returned and several guys were standing around the petite brunette. Grace smirked; Ashlee had always been skilled at gaining male attention.

Ashlee quickly noticed Grace's return and unceremoniously parted from the boys she was talking to. She hissed urgently, "Well???"

"Well what?" Grace teased with a smile, sipping from her still-warm beer. She knew what Ashlee wanted to know, but enjoyed getting her friend worked-up.

"C'mon! What did he say?!"

"He said he doesn't have a girlfriend, but he just got out of a relationship. Sounds like it was pretty major; ah'm not sure he's over it, hon."

Ashlee made a pout.

"He's a real gentleman though," Grace added. "He saw that ah was chilly when we were standing on the porch and offered me his coat."

Ashlee grinned brightly, "Aw, that's so sweet! Maybe he's looking for a rebound? I'd be cool with that..."

Grace laughed.

=====

Just over an hour later, Chase was standing outside yet again, talking with some people he worked with, when a frantic looking Grace came out to the porch.

"Chase, have y'all seen Ashlee?"

Chase shook his head, "Not in a while, why?"

"Ah can't find her anywhere and it's not like her to just suddenly up and vanish."

Chase noted the concern in Grace's voice and could tell she was upset. He cast his cigarette butt away, "I'll help you look for her. Where'd you see her last?"

"She was talking to some guys," Grace explained as they moved back into the house. "A couple of them were getting real familiar with her, too. She's had a lot to drink and ah'm scared one of them might try to take advantage of her."

"We better check upstairs," Chase suggested.

Grace followed Chase up a steep stairway to a stretching hallway; the large house had several rooms on the second floor. Chase started opening doors but didn't find Ashlee in any of the rooms they investigated. When he reached a locked door, Chase knocked loudly on it.


Savannah Ch. 01



"Hello? Anyone in there?" Chase rapped his fist against the door again.

Grace bit her lip with worry, standing right behind Chase.

"I don't think anyone's up here," Chase listened.

"Wait, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

Grace lifted a finger to her lips.

A faint voice came from beyond the locked door. "...Grace...?"

Grace panicked, "Chase, she's in there!"

"Hang on..."

Before Grace could even think about what to do next, Chase hurled his shoulder against the door and busted it wide open, revealing a large bedroom.

Ashlee lay on a bed, her buttoned blouse open to expose her bra. One of the boys Grace had seen her talking to already had his shirt off and looked like he was either about to take his pants off, or scrambling to put them back on.

"What are you doing!?!" Grace screamed, rushing into the bedroom.

"Hey!" the guy scowled, buttoning his pants. "Get the fuck out of here! Can't you see we're busy?"

"Like hell you are," Grace growled, moving to Ashlee's side.

Chase recognized the guy from his high school, remembering him to be trouble, "King, you asshole, you're raping girls now? You've really moved up in the world."

"Hey man, fuck you," King sneered. "This girl was begging me for it."

"She's out of it," Grace worried over Ashlee, who seemed barely cognizant of her surroundings. "Ah think he slipped her something."

"I didn't give that bitch nothing," King sounded defensive.

Even though King was two inches taller than Chase, who was six feet tall himself, Chase easily overpowered the skinnier King by grabbing him at the neck and slamming him back against the bedroom wall, "You piece of shit! What did you do?"

King struggled against Chase, but earned a knee to the groin for his efforts and doubled over. "...nothing... didn't touch her..."

Grace noticed that Ashlee still had her pants on, not even the belt was unfastened. It appeared the worst Ashlee might have received was a groping, "Ah don't think he raped her... yet."

Chase moved to help Grace, "We better get her to the Emergency Room, who knows what this son of a bitch gave her."

"No! Chase, if her parents find out she's been out drinking..."

Chase slipped his arms under Ashlee's knees and shoulders, picking up the petite girl easily. "If she's been drugged, we don't know what that could do when mixed with alcohol. Are you sure you want to risk it?"

"Grace..." Ashlee muttered in Chase's arms, "can we go home now? So tired..."

"What did you give her!?" Grace suddenly barked at King, who was still recovering from Chase's well-placed knee.

"...nothing, I promise...!"

"If you're lying, ah swear to gawd a sore set of gonads will be the least of your problems."

"The girl's just wasted," King sneered.

Grace gave King one last glare before turning back to Chase, "Please, ah think she just needs to sleep it off. We can bring her to m'ah house. She sleeps over all the time; her parents won't think twice about it."

Chase nodded, "All right, let's just get her out of here."

=====

Grace sat with Ashlee in the backseat of the car, making sure her best friend was okay, while Chase followed Grace's directions into Ardsley Park. Grace lived with her parents in an old three-story Victorian mansion and indicated for Chase to drive around to the back of the house near a large garage.

"What about your parents?" Chase asked, carrying Ashlee towards a back door amidst the moonlight and chirping crickets.

Grace unlocked the door, "They went to our island house after the dance."

"Your parents have two houses?"

"It's just a cottage in The Landings, near the marina. Daddy likes to go boating on the weekends."

Chase glanced at the elaborate furnishings as Grace led the way upstairs to her bedroom. The wealth was beyond anything he had ever experienced, given his lower-middle class upbringing. Grace's bedroom alone was nearly as big as Chase's whole apartment.

Waiting while Grace got Ashlee settled into a massive canopied bed, Chase took a moment to look around. The bedroom was large enough not only to fit the bed but an entire seating arrangement as well, complete with a couch, loveseat, and breakfast table. Grace had two dressers, a tall armoire, a walk-in closet, and a walk-out balcony. Everything was tastefully decorated and a slight hint of perfume decorated the air.

"Ah don't know what ah would have done without you tonight, Chase."

Chase turned from the balcony window, "If it wasn't for me, you two wouldn't have even been at that party. I feel responsible."

Grace pulled a comforter to cover Ashlee, "It's not your fault. Trust me, hon - this isn't the first time Ashlee needed to sleep one off. She can get a little rambunctious with the booze."

"I'm just glad we found her before anything worse happened with that asshole King."

"Me too." Grace stepped over to her vanity mirror and started pulling the coils of her blonde hair loose, letting the wavy strands fall to her shoulders, "Can ah get you something? There's soda and beer downstairs; ah'll be up for a while if you want to hang out?"

Chase watched as Grace ran a tousling hand through her gorgeous hair, momentarily mesmerized by her natural beauty, "Um, yeah... okay - I could hang out for a while. You think Ashlee will be all right?"

Grace kicked her heeled shoes off and padded across the carpeted room on bare feet, "Ah think so, we can come up and check on her after a while."

Chase followed Grace through the wide halls and down a curving stairway into a massive kitchen, "This house is amazing."

"Thanks," Grace replied, pulling open a refrigerator. "M'ah great-granddaddy built this house right before the second World War. You want a beer?"

"A soda is fine," Chase replied, "I still have to drive home tonight."

Grace pulled out two cans from the fridge, "You could stay here. We have five guest rooms, after all. M'ah parents won't back before Sunday and the staff is off on weekends."

"So it's just you here for the whole weekend?"

Grace handed over one of the sodas, "Just lil' ol' me. And probably Ash - she likes to avoid her parents as much as possible. What about you, do you still live with your parents?"

"It's just my mom," he answered. "We moved here after my dad died. But no, I have my own apartment uptown." Chase snapped open the can of soda and joked, "It's only slightly smaller than this place."

Grace grinned softly, "Ah bet it's nice."

"Not really," Chase was smiling right back.

Grace led Chase into another room and indicated he should sit beside her on a comfortable looking couch, "At least you're on your own, with no one to tell you what to do or what time to be home."

"I don't know, you don't seem to have it so bad around here. You have this incredible house to yourself all weekend, after all."

"Ah don't need all this," Grace said, curling her legs beneath her.

"Easy to say now. Try working five nights a week and still not having enough for rent and school."

Grace blinked at Chase, "Forgive me, ah didn't mean to suggest -"

"You didn't," Chase interrupted. "I'm sorry; it's sometimes hard to let my guard down after work. I encounter a lot of upper-class snobs."

"You think ah'm a snob?" Grace didn't sound as insulted as she did surprised.

"Oh, no... no, I just meant..." Chase made a mental note to kick himself later, "You're not a snob at all. You're one of the nicest people I've met in a long time, actually."

Grace made a flattered smile, "Really?"

Chase nodded easily, "Yeah."

The two teenagers stared at each other silently for several long moments, each one wondering what the other was thinking.

For the first time that night, Grace realized how perfect Chase's brown eyes were. He also had the cutest little dimples that she missed when he wasn't smiling. She was reminded of the ease with which he smashed open that bedroom door earlier in the night, and how easily he carried Ashlee. She suddenly wondered what his arms would feel like around her.

The words caught in Grace's throat as she tried to think of something to say and break the silence, "I-if you want to stay, ah'm sure Ashlee would want to thank you herself in the morning. She really likes you."

Chase continued to look Grace in the eye, "Ashlee seems like a really fun girl, but she's not why I invited you two tonight."

"She's not?"

Chase shook his head slowly, "No, you were."

Grace swallowed, "Ah thought you were still getting over your ex?"

"I was," Chase replied honestly, "until about five hours ago."

"What happened five hours ago?" Grace asked in a soft voice.

"I saw you for the first time."

Grace had no control over herself for the next few seconds as her form leaned towards him.

Their lips found each other like a pair of attracting magnets. The kiss started softly, but before long Grace noticed her arms were around his neck and his were around her torso; the pair fell into a passionate and easy embrace. Grace closed her eyes and pressed her body against his, thrilled by the experience of being held in Chase's gentle but firm grasp. After Chase broke the kiss, Grace's mouth hung open a little wantonly and she nuzzled her nose against his.

"Damn, sugah," she murmured in a heated whisper, "you're a really good kisser."

Chase was reluctant to let Grace out of his arms. Her warm form felt amazing against his and her breasts were like two small pillows against his chest, "Do you want to do it again?"

Grace tucked a stray blonde strand behind her ear and nodded.

The seconds turned into minutes as the pair made out amidst the silence of the late hour. Grace had an amazing method of licking Chase's upper lip before clamping onto it with her own soft mouth, driving him crazy with desire. Before long she had worked her hands under the hem of his tee shirt and Chase could feel her fingers sliding against the bare skin of his back. He did the same, slipping his own hand under the thin material of Grace's top. She didn't discourage him, kissing with hunger when Chase's hand found the back of her bra.

Grace giggled softly against Chase's mouth when he fumbled with the clasp, "How you doing back there darlin?"

Chase grinned, a tint of color appearing on his cheeks. He explained shyly, "It's been a while."

Grace offered him a soft look of encouragement, twisting an arm around so she could help him unhook the bra. "Ah want to feel your touch."

Chase nodded quietly.

Grace lifted a hand to his cheek, "But we can't go too far, if that's okay?"

"We're already way past my best expectations for the night," Chase whispered.

Grace smiled and leaned in to continue kissing. She didn't press too close, allowing Chase enough room to put his hands upon her breasts. She nibbled his lip to let him know she was enjoying his touch and that he wasn't being too familiar.

A soft whimper escaped Grace's throat when Chase gently glided his fingers back and forth across her nipples. She jutted her chest forward into his hands, letting him knead his grip into her soft flesh. Chase loved the way Grace's chest felt. Her breasts were just large enough to fill his hands, pillowy and smooth. He hadn't been with a girl since the last time he saw his ex-girlfriend, so he quickly grew excited. He was embarrassed at first by the erection pressing against his jeans, but Chase quickly got over it as Grace clutched it in her hand through the denim material. Her hand gripped his bulge firmly, causing Chase to wonder what 'too far' meant to Grace.

"This is going to get intense in about another thirty seconds," Chase warned breathlessly, breaking off their kiss.

Grace's blue eyes were full of lust, "Ah guess we're going kind of fast, huh?"

Chase nodded, taking a deep breath and removing his hands from beneath Grace's top.

Grace pushed a hand through her hair and did her best to look composed, even though she was far from it. If Chase hadn't have stopped, she didn't know if she could have.

"Ah should go check on Ashlee," Grace said in an attempt to break the sexual tension.

"Yeah. I should go, it's getting late and I have to work tomorrow."

Grace didn't want Chase to leave but nodded reluctantly, "Can we trade phone numbers?"

Chase smiled, "I was just about to ask."

=====

Ashlee woke the following morning to a murderous headache, slowly rising in Grace's bed. She squinted at the sun coming through the patio door and realized she was still wearing her clothes from the previous night. Without any memory of how she got to Grace's house, Ashlee simply assumed it had been another fun Friday night.

Then she smelled coffee.

Grace lifted a hand to cover her laugh when Ashlee shuffled into the kitchen, "Y'all look like the walking dead."

"Very funny," Ashlee mumbled miserably, her dark hair a mess and sticking out in every direction. "I need some aspirin."

"Already on the counter," Grace said, pouring a cup of coffee.

The large kitchen had a center island counter with two stools; Ashlee claimed one of them and pressed a palm against her forehead, "How did we get home last night?"

Grace placed the coffee in front of Ashlee, "Chase drove us."

"I didn't make a fool out of myself, did I? I really like him."

Grace winced as she turned around to pour her own coffee, "Um, actually, he rescued you."

"What do you mean?"

"You had a lot to drink, hon. You ended up in a bedroom with this scumbag who almost took advantage of you."

Ashlee turned white, "Oh god, seriously?"

Grace turned back around and blew some steam off the top of her cup, "We were at the party and couldn't find you anywhere. Chase and ah were looking when we heard you calling for me from a bedroom. Chase busted the door open; he even hit the guy trying to take advantage of you."

"Seriously?!"

"Right in the jimmy," Grace confirmed.

"Oh my god." Ashlee let her face fall into her palms, "How embarrassing! Grace, I'm so sorry."

"Wasn't your fault, hon. But you really had me scared for a while. How many beers did y'all have?"

"I didn't think I had that many...?"

Grace frowned, "Ah think that lowlife asshole might have slipped you something funny."

"Chase will never go out with me now," Ashlee whined. "He must think I'm a total idiot."

Grace immediately felt guilty. She had forgotten all about Ashlee when she was making out with Chase; afterwards, she assumed Ashlee probably hadn't been that serious about liking him. Boys were like candy to Ashlee, in that every piece looked just as yummy as the previous. Rarely did Ashlee fixate on one guy for longer than a night and usually forgot all about them by the following morning. Normally it wouldn't be a problem, Grace would just walk away, but she really liked Chase and wanted to see him again. She had been thinking about him all morning.

She tested the waters, "You really like him that much?"

Ashlee nodded before swallowing her aspirin and washing them down with a tentative slurp of coffee, "He's so cute, and he seemed so nice. Plus, he's way more mature than all the idiots we go to school with. But I've got no chance with him now, guys aren't exactly attracted to rape victims."

"You didn't get raped, thank gawd."

"Chase really hit him?" Ashlee asked, cradling her cup of coffee in both hands.

"Then carried you out in his arms," Grace added.

A tiny smile broke through the fog of Ashlee's hangover, "That's actually sort of romantic."

When she noticed a small slip of paper on the counter, Ashlee squinted towards it, "What's that?"

Grace glanced, suddenly panicking she had left it out.

Ashlee slid the paper along the counter, "His phone number!?"

"Yeah, ah got it last night," Grace replied. Then she lied, "You know, in case we all want to hang out again some time."

"I love you!" Ashlee beamed excitedly, "Do you think I should call him?"

Grace tried to answer that question honestly, "Ah'd wait. You don't want to seem too desperate." The truth was, Grace was wondering herself how long she should wait before calling him.

=====

Ashlee stayed until noon before going home, but before leaving she had hardly spoken a sentence that didn't involve Chase. Grace felt insanely guilty and had been on the verge of telling her best friend that she and Chase had kissed, but the words had been hard to find. She wanted to see Chase again, she wanted to kiss him again, but Grace knew that if she did Ashlee would eventually find out. Grace worried it would drive a wedge through their friendship.

Once alone, Grace found herself pacing back and forth in her bedroom, trying to think of a good way to tell Ashlee, when her cell phone rang. Picking it up from her vanity, she saw that it was Chase and felt a surge of excitement.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

"Hey," Grace smiled at Chase's deep voice. She had forgotten what he sounded like and was thankful for the reminder.

"What are you up to?" Chase asked.

"Thinking about you, actually."

Grace closed her eyes and winced, worried she had come across as clingy.

"I was just thinking about you, too."

"Really?" Grace's smile stretched across her whole face.

"Yeah, I'm on break at this luncheon we're catering and I wanted to see if you were busy tonight."

"No, not really. Ashlee mentioned a party somewhere on the islands, but ah'm not sure ah want to go."

"Do you want to hang out?" Chase asked.

Grace closed her eyes again, fretting. Of course she wanted to hang out! But she was still feeling guilty about Ashlee. "Ah don't know, Chase. Ah feel terrible."

"What's wrong?"

"It's Ashlee, ah think she really likes you."

"And you feel guilty," Chase surmised.

"Yeah," was all Grace could say.

"It's okay, I get it," Chase replied. "I wouldn't want to come between you two."

"How did you get to be such a sweetheart?" Grace asked.

Chase chuckled, "Uh, I don't know."

Grace could almost hear the blush in his cheeks. Screw it, she thought, "Yes, ah want to hang out tonight."

"What about -?"

"Ah don't care. It's not like we're cheating or anything. Ashlee barely knows you."

"Good enough for me, I'll pick you up at seven?"

"Perfect."

=====

At six o'clock Grace realized she hadn't asked Chase what 'hanging out' meant and had no idea what to wear. Would they be outside? Would she need to dress warm? Grace didn't want to cover up too much, as she wanted to be alluring.

Entering her closet as though on a mission, Grace began a search for clothing that was both all-purpose as well as sexy. She chose a black skirt which fell just past the knee; it hugged her hips and legs tightly. Her favorite black leather boots rose to the calf, exposing just enough leg between the hem of the skirt to draw the eye. Next, Grace scrounged for the right sweater; she wanted something tight, but only heavy enough to keep her warm. A thin brown sweater with long sleeves was her choice; after checking herself in the mirror Grace found that she liked the way the sweater made her chest look. Leaving her blonde hair down, she parted it across the middle which let the wavy strands fall just past her shoulder.

While tweezing her eyebrows, applying some light make-up, and hunting for the right perfume, Grace lost track of time. Before she knew it a honk came from outside. Snatching up her small purse, Grace hurried out the door. Chase was waiting in his car, a classic-looking Mustang covered in dull, flat-black paint. The engine was loud, which turned Grace on more than she'd ever be willing to admit.

Climbing into the passenger seat, Grace smiled brightly, "Hey, sugah."

Chase smiled right back, "You look fantastic."

"Thanks, doll." Grace saw that Chase was wearing a pair of brown denim pants and liked the way his arms looked in a black tee-shirt, "Did ah tell you last night how much ah like your car?"




Savannah Ch. 01



Chase put the stick in gear and pulled away from the house. "Yeah? It needs a paint job, but I rebuilt the engine myself."

"Really?" Grace was impressed. "Y'all are pretty good with cars, then?"

"The old engines like this one are simple to work on. My dad used to teach me all kinds of stuff. I'm actually going to school to become a mechanic."

"You mentioned your dad last night," Grace spoke tentatively. "How'd he die?"

"Cancer, about three years ago."

"Ah'm so sorry."

Chase nodded, "I miss him, but I feel even worse for my mom. She's had it tough since he died, what with money and all. I try to help out as much as I can."

"Was he a mechanic too?" Grace asked.

"Yeah. I inherited his garage and all his tools, back home in Chicago, but I sold the garage to help with the funeral costs. I plan on opening one down here, as soon as I graduate from technical school."

"That's so cool," Grace smiled. "Ah bet he'd be real proud of you."

Chase glanced at Grace fondly as he drove, "Yeah, I hope so. What do your parents do?"

"M'ah daddy owns a large paper company with several mills. It's been in the family for generations. Ah guess you could call mother a socialite."

"Any brothers or sisters?"

"Nope, ah'm an only child. You?"

"Same. Do you get along with your parents?"

"Daddy spoils me," Grace admitted. "Mother likes to make m'ah life a living hell sometimes, but ah guess we get on okay."

"What about you?" Chase wondered. "What are you going to do, after you graduate?"

"College, ah suppose. Ah've applied to several." Grace tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "But if mother has her way she'll have me marry into money and do nothing but host social events for the rest of m'ah life."

"Is that what you want?" Chase sounded doubtful.

Grace looked at Chase; not many people ever asked her what she wanted, "No. Ah guess ah really don't know what ah want to do."

"Sounds fair to me," Chase said. "You're only eighteen, you've got your whole life ahead of you."

"Whatever," Grace grinned. "You sound like an old man; you're only a year older than me."

"I guess I had to grow up pretty quick after dad died."

Grace looked down at her lap, feeling guilty that her situation wasn't anywhere near as difficult as Chase's. She was complaining about social events, while his father had passed.

She changed the subject, "So where y'all taking me, anyway?"

"Bowling."

Grace lifted her brows, "Bowling?"

"Yeah," Chase grinned. "You do know what bowling is, right?"

"Of course, but ah've never -"

"You've never been bowling!?"

Grace shook her head, slightly embarrassed.

"You'll have to take those sexy boots off."

Grace got wide-eyed, "What do you mean?"

"You have to wear bowling shoes."

"But... ah don't have any -"

"Don't worry about it, you can rent some at the bowling alley."

Grace let out a shocked breath, "Chase, ah'm NOT wearing some raddy old shoes that someone else's stinky feet have been in!"

Chase laughed, "I guess they have brand new ones you could buy?"

"Really? Are they cute?"

Chase shrugged, "I suppose that depends."

Grace gave him an incredulous look. She was quiet for a moment before asking, "You really think m'ah boots look sexy?"

=====

The heavy ball landed on the hardwood floor with a thunderous thud and slowly began to roll forward. It wavered, moved to one side, then the other, before finally clanking into the gutter.

Grace stamped her foot down, which was clad in a brand-new pink bowling shoe, and balled her fists in frustration, "Ah cannot believe you brought me to play this damnable game!"

Chase was trying his best not to laugh but couldn't conceal the smirk on his face.

"Don't you dare poke fun at me," Grace warned dangerously.

Chase rose from the scorer's seat, "Here, let me help you." He picked up Grace's ball as it spit out onto the return track.

"Okay," Chase handed the ball back to Grace and moved behind her. "You need to swing your arm more, and release the ball on your forward motion..."

Grace moved into position, enjoying the feel of Chase behind her and the way he touched her with his hands. Maybe bowling wasn't so bad after all, she thought.

"Don't look at the ball or the floor," Chase instructed. "Look at the pins. Turn your wrist like this... there you go. Now try again."

Grace pushed an annoying strand of hair behind her ear, then gave it another try. This time the ball managed to avoid the gutter, slowly rolling down the alley to eventually knock down two pins - though they teetered reluctantly before finally tipping over.

"Ah did it!" Grace exclaimed excitedly.

Chase grinned and applauded, "You'll be on the pro-circuit before you know it."

Grace trotted back to the scorer's seat and bubbled, "How many points did ah get?"

"Uh, two."

"Is that good?"

"It's a start," Chase encouraged.

Grace suddenly pressed her lips against Chase's, giving him a quick but meaningful kiss.

"What was that for?" Chase asked, though he certainly didn't mind.

"Ah've wanted to do that since ah got into your car."

Chase gazed at Grace; it was so easy to get lost in her blue eyes, "You know... I don't even know your last name."

"Lattimore," Grace answered. "Grace Kelly Lattimore."

"Grace Kelly?"

Grace smiled, "Mother said ah looked like a princess when ah was born, so she named me after the actress who became the Princess of Monaco, but ah think she just likes old movies too much."

"A princess, huh? Seems fitting to me."

Grace blushed. "What about you?"

"Chase Adams Andrews."

Grace smiled brightly. "Chase Adams," she repeated. "Ah like that, it sounds nice. Kind of rolls off the tongue real easy-like."

"Speaking of rolling, it's my turn."

Grace moved to sit at the scorer's seat and watched as Chase took up his ball, admiring how nice his butt looked in his brown denim pants. He took three steps and promptly hurled the ball down the alley, knocking every pin over and scoring a strike.

"This ain't fair," Grace complained with a sigh.

=====

A plate of nachos was Grace's consolation prize after losing 181 to 22. The bowling alley had an attached bar which also served a small menu of food, so the pair claimed a small table after finishing their game. They sat and chatted amidst the sounds of thudding balls and falling pins.

"Ah'm having fun," Grace declared, dipping a chip into some gooey cheese.

"You were really starting to catch on there too," Chase added.

"Ah know! If we played another game ah bet ah'd beat you."

Chase grinned, unable to take his eyes off her.

Grace licked some cheese off her lip, "So tell me about your ex."

Chase was surprised by the question. "My ex?"

Grace nodded, "Ah want to know what she was like."

"Okay, sure. What do you want to know?"

"What's her name?"

"Daisy."

That made Grace chuckle for some reason, "Really?"

"Yeah."

"A fine southern name, ah suppose. How long did y'all date?"

Chase replied, "For almost three years. We started dating our sophomore year of high school, right after mom and I moved to Savannah."

Grace took another chip between delicate fingers, "Is she pretty?"

"I always thought so."

"Did you love her?"

Chase opened his mouth to answer, but then took a moment to consider, "Yeah, I suppose I did."

"Did she love you?"

"I don't know, to be honest with you. If she did, it wasn't enough to deal with the whole long-distance thing."

"Would you take her back?"

"No."

Grace lifted an eyebrow, "Never?"

Chase shook his head, "No, definitely not."

"Is that because you're raw at her for taking up with another fella?"

"No, not really. I guess I'm glad we're over with."

"How come?" Grace asked.

"Because if we were still together, I never would have asked you to that party last night, and we wouldn't be sitting together right now."

Grace gave him a warm smile, "You're sweeter than two lumps of sugah, you know that?"

Chase grinned, "I like it when you call me that."

"Sugah?" Grace repeated in her thick drawl.

"Yeah," Chase continued to smile.

Grace let out a deep breath, "Ah don't know what ah'm going to do with you, Chase Adams."

"What do you mean?"

"Somehow, ah have to tell m'ah best friend ah'm falling for you."

=====

Later that night, after Chase parked his car on the long drive in front of Grace's house, he walked with her to the front door. Grace slipped her hand into his, "Ah really had fun tonight."

"Me too," Chase said. "I didn't even have to get into any fights."

Grace smiled as they reached the door, turning to face him. "Are you working tomorrow?"

"Yeah, but not until the afternoon. Some charity benefit at a golf course."

"The Children's Hospital Luncheon," Grace replied.

"Yeah, that's it. How'd you know that?"

"M'ah calendar is full of benefits like that, doll. Normally ah'd have to go, but daddy had it in his mind to go boating this weekend."

"So you're saying last night will probably happen again. I'll be working at one of these stuffy things and you'll be there as a guest."

"Probably," Grace didn't seem as worried as Chase sounded. "But that just means we'll have to find a nice quiet spot to make-out."

"Right," Chase nodded. "Because the princess can't be seen cavorting with the help."

Grace frowned, "Ah didn't mean it like that."

"I know," Chase squeezed Grace's hand. "But that's still how it is."

"You really think ah'd ever be ashamed of you?"

"I don't know," Chase answered honestly. "It has occurred to me that you might be having your fun slumming with the help."

Grace angrily slapped her palm against Chase's cheek.

Chase lifted a hand to his face, "Ow! What was that for?"

"Slumming!?" Grace fumed, "Ah cannot believe you would suggest that ah'm some stuck-up snob who only cares about money!"

"I didn't mean -"

"All night long ah've been thinking about how damn sweet you are, and how ah'm going to tell Ashlee that ah want to be with you, and then you come out and say ah'm 'slumming'?!?"

"Would you calm down?" Chase pleaded. "I didn't say that's what you were doing, I just said it crossed my mind!"

"Well it's good to know you think so highly of me," Grace declared sarcastically. "And to think ah wanted to invite you in and put m'ah lips on yours again."

She turned for the door in a huff, "Good night, Chase Adams!"

Chase reached for Grace's wrist, trying to stop her, "Grace, wait..."

"Let go of me!" Grace warned.

"You really want to know what I think about when it comes to you?"

Grace glared, "Ah think ah got a pretty good idea already, thank you very much."

"Yeah? Well try this on..." Chase let go of her and folded his arms across his chest, "I think you're a spoiled brat."

Grace took in a sharp breath and her jaw fell open in shock.

"I've seen a hundred girls like you at events like last night's - spoiled little snots who don't even acknowledge the guy delivering their food and carrying their drinks. I'm just nervous is all - a little worried that the amazing girl I met might be having her fun with the boy from the other side of the tracks."

Grace couldn't find any words, simply staring back at Chase.

Chase added, "A girl, by the way, who was too spoiled to lower herself and wear a pair of used bowling shoes."

"They smelled like dirty feet!" Grace complained defensively.

"I should have known better," Chase declared. "What the hell was I thinking asking out a girl from Ardsley Park?"

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

"All you rich girls are the same," Chase accused. "Whenever something doesn't go your way you throw a spoiled little fit!"

"Ah am NOT spoiled," Grace growled. "But y'all are stubborn as a mule! Ah'm not 'having m'ah fun' with you! Ah really liked you, but that's all over with!"

Snapping his hand out, Chase grabbed Grace's wrist again as she turned for the door of her house.

"Unhand me!" she turned.

Instead of letting her go, Chase moved forward and placed a firm hand at the back of Grace's head before kissing her.

Squirming, Grace angrily pushed herself away from him, "What do you think you're doing?"

She resisted when Chase kissed her again, but only for a moment. It was as though their argument had been fuel for the fire that was their passion for one another; all the cross words washed away amidst the heated tangle of lips and tongues.

Minutes later, the two teenagers found themselves exactly where they were just 24 hours prior: making out heavily on the couch. Grace had herself curled against Chase's form with his arms around her, though he was keeping his hands modestly at her back.

"Touch me," Grace whispered during a moment of air. "Ah want to feel your hands on m'ah body."

Chase smoothed a hand down her firm bottom, moving it along the clinging fabric of Grace's skirt before gripping her thigh. "Like this?"

Grace nodded breathlessly and moved the leg Chase was touching into his lap encouragingly, "Ah like it when you touch me; it makes me feel sexy."

When Chase put both of his hands on Grace's ass her whole body seemed to slink up against him. Her hand clutched the tee shirt at his chest and Grace took his earlobe between her lips, "You got me all hot n' bothered."

As their lips found each other's again, Grace slowly shifted and crawled until she was straddling Chase's lap on the couch. She took his wrists and guided his hands to the backs of her thighs, prompting Chase to slide his palms up her legs; this caused Grace's skirt to bunch her hips. She began grinding her pelvis against Chase's groin and tugging incessantly at his tee shirt, freeing the lower hem from his jeans.

Their kiss broke when Chase lifted his arms, allowing Grace to slide his shirt up and off. Her lips parted wantonly when she looked at Chase's hairless and toned torso; his body looked incredible and Grace felt a surge of desire in the pit of her stomach and between her legs.

When Chase leaned forward and put his lips to Grace's throat, she let out a soft sigh of desire and curled her arms around his head. He kissed her throat tenderly at first, but Grace gasped when he moved to the side of her neck and licked her skin before sucking on it. She knew his attentions would leave a mark, but Grace didn't care. It felt good and she held her arms around the back of his head even tighter to let him know she was enjoying his touch.

Eventually Grace gently pushed him back against the couch, but only so she was able to peel her sweater off. Chase marveled at how gorgeous her breasts looked encased in a white lacy bra, leaning forward once again. He licked and nibbled her flesh where her breasts bulged out from above the bra and gripped the cups in his hands. Grace watched him, softly running her hands through his brown hair and still pressing her pelvis against his; she could feel his erection through the denim material of Chase's jeans and knew he was as excited as she was.

"Chase," Grace whispered, trying to get his attention. "Darlin, stop for a second."

Chase kissed the top of Grace's breast one more time before gazing upwards, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Grace breathed, trying to calm her inner fire. "Ah mean... you feel wonderful. It's just that ah'm... ah'm a virgin."

Chase nodded as though that fact came as no surprise, "Okay...?"

Grace winced, feeling guilty for leading him on, "And ah want to continue being a virgin for a while longer."

Chase nodded again with gentlemanly resignation, "Okay..."

"But damn, sugah... ah've never been this close to giving my purity up. You got me all full of the shivers, baby."

Chase took a moment to calm his own arousal, "We can stop, it's no big deal."

"Are you kidding? It's a huge deal."

"No, it's fine - I understand. We've only known each other for two days."

Grace rubbed his cheek with the backs of two fingers, "Are you sure it's okay?"

"Of course," Chase assured her. "In fact, I like it. I mean, that you're a virgin, that is."

Grace's expression turned mildly perplexed, "You do?"

"Yeah," Chase answered. "One of the reasons I'm so attracted to you is that you're a girl with some morals. Like last night, when everyone else at that party was getting smashed, you stayed pretty much sober. I'm tired of party girls, Grace. I guess I really like how... wholesome you are."

Grace breathed out a laugh, slipping from Chase's lap and reaching for her sweater, "Wholesome, huh? That's the first time ah've been saddled with that one."

"Grace?"

She looked at Chase, pausing from turning her sweater right-side out.

"I didn't go out with you last night, or tonight, to get laid. I don't even care if you want to wait until you get married."

Grace joked, "Was that a proposal?"

Chase snorted, "No, I mean... since I first saw you, last night at that gala, I haven't been able to think straight. I just want to be with you, Grace, and get to know you. That's all I wanted - to learn more about you. I'm not worried about sex, I'm more worried about where we're going to go for our second date."

Grace smiled, a radiant thing, "Let's not go bowling, okay?"

(to be continued)



Savannah Ch. 02



Grace rubbed her eyes when she reached the bottom of the page she was reading, realizing nothing had sunk in despite reading it three times previously. With a resigned sigh, Grace closed her history book and accepted the fact she wasn't going to accomplish any meaningful study during free period. Stretching her arms out to the side, a tiny smile decorated her lips when she thought of who had become a seemingly-constant mental distraction. Chase was all she could think about, it seemed. Though Grace hadn't seen him since the weekend previous when Chase took her bowling, the pair of them had spoken on the phone every night since. They had a habit of talking until the late hours, each of them blissfully infatuated with the other. It was new love, spring love, and Grace felt a constant tingling of excitement in the pit of her stomach whenever she thought of him.

Ashlee suddenly appeared from between two book stacks, interrupting Grace's thoughts, "Thank god it's Friday. This has been such a long week." Ashlee had the same period free and the two best friends met in the library almost every day to study. Grace watched as Ashlee practically fell into a chair and plopped her stack of textbooks on the table between them.

"Only three weeks to go before summer break, hon. Think you can survive that long?"

"Graduation can't come soon enough," Ashlee groaned, pushing a hand through her straight black hair. "I am so sick of this place. You're never going to believe this -- you know that bitch Simone? She actually asked me to sign her yearbook today during first period."

"So?" Grace wondered confusedly, "What's wrong with Simone? Ah like her; she's nice."

Ashlee made an incredulous look, "How can you say that? I mean, she basically stole my boyfriend right out from under me!"

Grace looked further confused; "What boyfriend? You haven't had a steady fella since junior year."

"Hello? Don't you remember when she stole Henry Young from me?"

Grace made a dry expression, "Ash darlin', that was in the seventh grade. And Henry wasn't your boyfriend; y'all were just sucking face behind the bleachers after school for a couple days."

"That's about as serious you can get in the seventh grade," Ashlee stated in a flat tone. "And there's no statute of limitations on boyfriend-theft."

"M'ah mistake," Grace rolled her eyes and reached for a bottle of water. "What's got you in such a fit, anyhow? Simone can't be the only thing bothering you."

Ashlee let out a disgusted sigh, "I finally got the guts to call Chase last night, that cutie we met at the Spring Gala last week."

Grace nearly choked on her water mid-swallow.

"You okay?" Ashlee asked with concern.

"Went down the wrong pipe," Grace lied in a strained voice. She coughed and wiped the back of a hand across her chin, "You called Chase?"

"Yeah, and he totally shot me down." Ashlee folded her arms across the table and sullenly rested her chin on a wrist, "I really liked him, too."

"You mean you asked him out?"

"Yep, I asked him if he wanted to go out this weekend."

Since Ashlee didn't have any idea of her developing relationship, Grace tried not to sound too curious, "What'd he say?"

Ashlee frowned, "He said he didn't think we had any chemistry. Can you believe that? Like two people can know if they have chemistry if they've never even gone out. He probably thinks I'm ugly. I was standing next to you the night we met him, after all."

"Ah'm sure he doesn't think you're ugly," Grace offered obligatorily. Ashlee was, after all, an extremely attractive girl who rarely lacked male attention.

"Whatever," Ashlee wallowed. "I just know I really liked him."

"Ah'm surprised you're still interested, usually you don't linger on a fella for more than a couple of days."

"Chase seemed worth lingering for, you know? I mean, he's totally gorgeous, slightly mysterious, and he's got a bit of a bad-boy thing going on. It's really sexy."

Grace hid her frown, "He didn't seem like a 'bad-boy' to me..."

"Please," Ashlee scoffed. "Did you see his car? Plus, he's from 'the other side of the tracks'. Those kinds of boys are always bad-boys compared to the brandy-sniffers we go to school with."

"Ah don't know," Grace twirled a strand of her long blonde hair nervously around a finger, "he seemed pretty nice to me." All week long Grace had been wondering how she was going to tell Ashlee about Chase, feeling guiltier by the day. Ashlee's prolonged interest in Chase was nearly unprecedented, since she rarely fixated on one boy for very long, so Grace understood how badly Ashlee must have been crushing on him -- that fact only escalated her guilt.

Continually putting the conversation off, Grace kept telling herself she was waiting for the right moment. But she realized the right moment had probably already passed, and the longer she deceived Ashlee the worse her best friend's reaction would be.

Tucking her wave of blonde hair behind an ear Grace tried to use a gentle tone, "Listen, Ash, ah need to tell you something."

Ashlee took note of Grace's tone, "Uh-oh. That sounds ominous. Is it something about Chase?"

Grace pushed her lips together and nodded.

"Oh god, he's not gay is he? Because I remember the last time -"

"He's not gay," Grace quickly verified.

"Then what is it?"

Grace took a deep breath, trying to find the words.

Ashlee developed a suspicious expression, "Why do you look so guilty all of the sudden?"

"Ah kissed him," Grace blurted out.

Ashlee's mouth hung open, "What?! You kissed him?"

Grace winced, "Ah'm so sorry hon. Ah meant to tell you sooner -"

"H-how, I mean, when?"

"Last Friday. After the party."

Ashlee's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Then again on Saturday night," Grace added with reluctance.

Ashlee gasped, "You were with him on Saturday night and didn't tell me?"

"He took me bowling," Grace admitted.

"Bowling?" Ashlee squeaked with disbelief. "I can't believe you! You knew how much I liked him!"

"Ah didn't know! Ah swear! Not at first -"

"You're so full of shit, Grace," Ashlee hissed. "I told you at the party how much I liked him!"

"You just said you thought he was cute," Grace corrected defensively. "And then you proceeded to flirt with every guy at that party. Ah didn't know you thought Chase was anything special until you woke up and told me the next morning."

"And what did you do with that information?" Ashlee folded her arms across her chest, "You go out with him that very night, behind my back?!"

"Ah can't help what happened," Grace tried to explain. "Ah wasn't even into him at first; we were just talking and stuff, y'know? The next thing ah know we're making out on mother's designer couch."

"Making out?" Ashlee had an expression of betrayal dripping off her face, "Sounds like a lot more happened than just one kiss!"

Grace conceded, "It was several kisses, ah guess."

"You always do this!" Ashlee accused.

"Always do what?"

"As soon as you find out I like a guy, you steal him away from me with a few tosses of your blonde hair and that phony 'southern belle' act of yours."

Grace grew angry, "Ah'm not phony! And ah've never stolen anything from you, much less a boy."

It was a good thing the two girls were near the back of the library, as their voices were growing heated. Still, they attracted more than one curious glance from nearby students.

"Oh no?" Ashlee challenged, "What about Julius Tucker?"

"Ah didn't steal Julius from you. He kissed me out of the blue and earned a kick in the jimmy for his efforts."

Ashlee frowned, "The fact remains he liked me first, but he got over it right-quick after laying eyes on you."

"And how's that m'ah fault?" Grace glared across the table, "Besides, that happened six years ago; we were only twelve!"

"Well, what about Bobby Ross, huh?" Ashlee leveled a smug look at Grace, defying her to argue.

"What are you talking about?" Grace scowled, annoyed. "Ah liked Bobby long before you ever did."

"You did not!"

"Ah did too!"

"Well you couldn't have liked him very much," Ashlee argued. "You only went out with him once before dumping him."

"He kissed like a sucker-fish," Grace declared, justifying the break-up. "His lips were all over the damn place."

"I wouldn't know how Bobby kisses," Ashlee gathered her books angrily, "because you stole him from me!"

"Ash, wait," Grace pleaded, "Ah'm sorry about Chase, ah didn't mean for it to work out like this."

"Whatever." Ashlee pushed her chair in harshly before turning in a huff, "I'll see you around."

Grace let out a heavy breath and let Ashlee go, sick of arguing. Despite the fight, Grace was relieved she had finally been honest. The hard part was over, and Ashlee would eventually get over it; probably as soon as she spotted the next random cute guy.

Actually, Grace thought Ashlee took it rather well.

=====

"Why didn't you tell me Ashlee called you last night?" Grace asked into her cell phone, having called Chase as soon as she arrived home from school.

"She called me after you and I talked, late last night," Chase replied. "I haven't talked to you since then..."

"Ah could have used a heads-up," Grace remarked dryly. "She caught me off-guard and ah ended up telling her about us."

"Sorry," Chase apologized. "So... how bad was it?"

"We've had worse scrapes," Grace answered. "But we definitely violated the school library's noise policy."

"I'm sorry," Chase repeated.

"It's okay, darlin'. We didn't even really fight about you." Grace sat down on her bed with a tired sigh, "She and ah have been best friends since for a long time, so y'all aren't first boy who's come between us. We were fighting over milk spilled long ago."

"Does that mean I can see you tonight?" Chase wondered hopefully.

"Ah don't know, hon. Ah should probably go and try to square things with Ashlee. How about tomorrow night?"

"I have to work tomorrow night."

Grace fretted, "Ah guess squaring things with Ashlee will just have to wait until tomorrow then."

"You're sure?"

Grace couldn't wait another day before seeing Chase again, "Pick me up at six?"

=====

"How bad is it?" Virginia Lattimore asked, distress coloring her voice.

"Simmer down, Virginia," Branford gestured dismissively with his hand as he read the daily paper. "It's only one plant."

"You've never had to close a plant down before," Virginia looked towards her husband, where he sat in his favorite living room chair. "You know how this will look, don't you?"

"Ah do," Branford chuckled knowingly, folding up the paper and setting it aside.

"People will talk," Virginia worried.

"Virginia, darlin', you fret too much." Branford lifted a hand to his moustache; he had a habit of playing with one end of it and turning the hairs in his fingers.

"Do I?" Virginia asked, "I'm worried, Branford. I don't want to lose this house. I won't lose it!"

"We're not going to lose the house," Branford stood up and approached his wife, "It's just tough times right now, is all. Nothin' to get so upset over."

"I hope you're right," Virginia leaned into Branford's hugging arms.

"Of course ah'm right," Branford soothed his wife. "Ah'll be able to re-open the plant come fall, after we get the Montgomery contract."

Just as Virginia was about to say something in reply, the sound of a loud car pulling up the front drive interrupted her.

"What in tarnation?" Branford stepped to the bay window, pulling back a curtain to see a flat-black classic Mustang pull to a stop in front of the house.

Grace came bounding down the steps, dressed in a pair of tight black jeans and a clinging, lacy white top which did little to conceal her torso or the black bra she wore beneath.

Branford asked towards his daughter's sudden appearance, "Grace, honey, why is there a young man with a loud hot-rod parked in front of m'ah house?"

"Ah have a date tonight," Grace informed her parents casually, her thick southern drawl mimicking her father's accent in a way only a child can do.

"Not looking like that you don't," Virginia declared. "My goodness, Grace, the way you dress sometimes!"

Grace rolled her eyes, "Mother..."

"She's right, hon," Branford agreed. "At least put a jacket on."

"Fine," Grace reluctantly moved to a closet by the doorway.

"Who is this boy?" Virginia wondered.

"His name is Chase," Grace said, slipping into a black leather jacket. "Ah met him last week, at the Spring Gala."

"Oh?" Virginia was curious, "I don't remember him. Who was he paired with?"

"He wasn't a guest; he works for the catering company." Grace opened the door, "Ah'll be home by midnight. Love you!"

Branford watched through the window as his daughter hurried outside excitedly, giving Chase a hug before they both got into the car.

"A catering boy?" Virginia wondered aloud, appearing beside her husband to watch the scene outside.

Branford made a dismissive sound with his tongue, "Ah wouldn't worry yourself, dear. He's just another boy. She's interested in a new one every week."

"You better be right," Virginia commented ominously. "Otherwise there will be no living with her."

=====

"You look hot," Chase said as he drove. "Like, seriously hot."

"Yeah?" Grace smiled, pushing a strand of wavy hair behind an ear. She peeled out of her leather jacket and tossed it to the back seat, "Thanks, sugah."

Chase smiled back, "You're welcome."

Grace beamed, happy to finally be with Chase again. Noticing that he was turning onto Parkside she asked, "Where are we going?"

"Grayson," Chase replied, which was a stadium located not far from where Grace lived. "Do you like the Sand Gnats?"

"Are you kidding? Daddy used to take me to their games all the time when ah was a little girl."

"You like baseball?" Chase sounded surprised.

"Of course," Grace replied. Her voice grew proud as she declared, "Ah even played in the All-Girls Savannah Parks & Recreation softball league when ah was ten."

Chase looked impressed, "What position did you play?"

"Ah was the catcher, for two whole innings."

Chase glanced curiously, "Just two?"

"Uh-huh, then Lucy Harris charged me at the plate and put me right on m'ah ass. Ah was crying like a baby. The poor coach didn't know what to do with me."

Chase looked amused, "She hit you pretty hard?"

"Not really. But m'ah nail broke when ah fell down." She added assuredly, "It was very traumatic."

Chase started laughing as he turned into the stadium parking lot.

"It's not funny," Grace tried to pout. "Ah was banished to the outfield. It's boring out there."

"You probably didn't break as many nails, though."

=====

The evening was a perfect one for baseball. The sun hung low in the sky but the air felt warm and comfortable. A slight breeze carried the scents of stale beer and popcorn through the air as Chase and Grace walked through the parking lot towards the ticket-stand, hand-in-hand. Grace didn't think anything could foul her mood, until she heard a voice.

"Grace...?"

Grace turned to see Dylan Montgomery along with three other boys from her high school; Stuart, Chet, and Lyle. The four boys were tail-gating behind a brand new pick-up truck, drinking canned beers and grilling food.

"Hey Grace," Dylan eyed the couple with a jealous aspect. "Who's your date?"

Chase sensed trouble immediately and muttered so only Grace could hear, "Friend of yours?"

"Not exactly," Grace replied quietly.

Dylan stepped towards the pair with a cocky swagger, "I asked you who your friend is?"

Stuart, Chet, and Lyle all fell in behind Dylan as though they were his personal guards.

"Chase, ah'd like to introduce you to Dylan Montgomery," Grace continued to hold Chase's hand. "Those three stooges behind him are Ardsley Park's village idiots."

Chase regarded them all silently, recognizing quickly how Dylan seemed to be the rooster of their pack. Stuart, Chet, and Lyle were obviously the thugs, if skinny rich kids could ever be described as such. Chase was familiar with the social structure of bullies like Dylan and his crew; he began formulating worst-case methods of dealing with them.

Chet seemed to take offense to Grace's insult and stepped forward, but Dylan held him back with an outstretched arm.

"Now that wasn't very nice, Grace." Dylan's words were slurred and deliberate, "I'd hate for this to get ugly before we all get to know one another."

"Y'all are drunker than skunks on whiskey," Grace declared defiantly. "Leave us alone."

"Me and the boys here only want to meet your new boyfriend, if that's what he is." Dylan looked right at Chase, "That's what he is, right? Your new boyfriend?"

"So what if he is?" Grace challenged.

Dylan swallowed down the rest of his beer, casting the empty can into the back of his pick-up truck, "We just want to give him a warm Ardsley Park welcome, that's all. Don't we, guys?"

Stuart, Chet, and Lyle all sneered with amusement and moved towards Chase. 

"Leave him alone!" Grace cried angrily, knowing exactly what kind of 'welcome' the jealous Dylan intended.

Chase moved between Grace and the approaching threesome, staring them down. His worst-case fears were quickly developing.

Stuart was the bravest, so he was within reach first. Chase shot his fist forward, punching Stuart right in the nose with a calculated thrust.

A sharp crack indicated a clean break. "Fuck!" Stuart yelped, clutching his hands to cup instantly-bloodied nostrils.

Chet was next; he maneuvered a clumsy swing towards Chase, but Chase grabbed him by the wrist and twisted Chet's arm around in a way that human arms weren't designed to bend.

"Oww!!!" Chet howled, contorting his body to try and alleviate the pain.

Lyle was done before ever getting close to Chase, backing away after seeing his two friends humbled so quickly. He wanted no part of the suddenly dangerous adversary.

"The girl asked to be left alone," Chase said calmly. He still held a wincing Chet by his wrist, "Is that going to be a problem?"

Grace found herself holding her breath, reminding her lungs to breathe as she watched Chase deal with the four bullies.

"I asked if that was going to be a problem," Chase repeated in a firm voice aimed towards Dylan.

Dylan shook his head, deciding he wanted no part of Chase either. He sounded far more humble when he finally answered, "No, no problem..."

Chet promptly fell to his knees and clutched his sore arm when Chase let go of him.

Chase looked Dylan in the eye for a few more seconds, a silent warning, before turning to collect Grace.

Walking away with him, Chase's arm around her shoulders and hers around his waist, Grace looked back towards Dylan briefly, "That was 'mazing! Ah ain't never seen anyone shut Dylan up so quickly."

"Who is that guy, anyway?" Chase wondered.

"The Montgomery's are the one of the richest family in Savannah; Dylan's their number one son. He's been trying to get in m'ah britches since elementary school, but ah'm not real fond of cockroaches."

Chase let out an amused breath. "Great, so what you're saying is I just made an enemy of the richest brat in Savannah."

Grace shook her head, "You did what you had to, sugah." She looked back once more to see Dylan seething in anger, "But he certainly made an enemy of you."

=====

Grace quickly put the incident with Dylan out of her mind as soon as she and Chase were seated in the bleachers. She cuddled close, often holding his arm and leaning into him. The Sand Gnats lost 4-3, but Grace didn't care about the final score. By the end of the game she hadn't been paying attention to the action on the field, far more interested in talking and flirting with Chase.

"So, where'd you learn to fight like that?"

Chase grinned as he and Grace slowly meandered towards the parking lot after the game, "That wasn't much of a fight."




Savannah Ch. 02



Grace was wearing a new green and burgundy baseball hat, her long hair tied into a pony tail and sticking out through the back of the cap. She clung to Chase's arm as they walked, "It looked like a fight to me. You bloodied Stuart up something awful."

"When I was growing up in Chicago my parents didn't have a lot of money, so we lived in a rough part of the city. There were these three kids from the neighborhood who used to pick on me all the time, and sometimes they'd get a little rough."

Grace listened intently as Chase told his story, wanting to know more about his life. The two of them came from different circumstances and Grace found herself curious about Chase's experiences prior to Savannah.

"One day I came home pretty scuffed up," Chase continued, "and my mom got really upset, so my dad took me out to the garage and taught me how to throw a punch. He taught me bullies are usually all bluster -- they quickly lose their motivation against a target who fights back. He said the best thing to do, when faced with a group like Dylan and his cronies, is to 'pop' one of them in the nose and take the fight out of him."

Grace's eyes twinkled, "Show me?"

Chase glanced at her, "Show you?"

Grace nodded, "Yeah, show me how to punch a bully. That way, the next time Dylan hits on me at school ah can put him on his spoiled back-side."

"Okay," Chase agreed with a laugh. The pair stopped at the edge of the parking lot and Chase held up a palm for Grace to use as a target, "Let's see what you've got."

With her tongue sticking out in concentration, Grace wound-up and threw her elbow back....

"No, no, no," Chase shook his head and waved both his hands, stopping Grace before she could throw her wild haymaker.

"What'd ah do wrong?" Grace whined, disappointed she never even got a chance to try.

"You're broadcasting," Chase remarked.

"Ah'm what?"

"Broadcasting. You can't cock your arm like that - your target will see the punch coming from a mile away. You want your arm at your side and then you shoot your fist straight out. Like this..."

Grace watched him demonstrate and tried mimicking Chase's movement.

"Good," Chase watched. "But don't wrap your fingers around your thumb -- you'll break it. Put your thumb at the side of your fist... there you go. Now, turn your body sideways and lean into the punch with your shoulder."

Grace was enjoying the way Chase kept putting his hands on her, touching her shoulders, her waist, and her elbow, "Like this?"

"I think you've got it." Chase held his palm up once more, "Okay, now give me your best punch."

Grace situated herself like Chase showed her before shooting her fist forward and driving her knuckles into the center of his palm.

"Nice," Chase encouraged. He shook his hand, "Damn, you're stronger than you look..."

Grace beamed a smile, "Ah'm not just about gowns and manicures, you know."

"I'm starting to figure that out," Chase replied, stepping forward and hoisting Grace up. She squealed as Chase lifted her, his hands holding her up by her bottom. Curling her jean-clad legs around his waist, Grace kissed him through laughing lips.

It took only moments for their mirth to become something more heated, each of them tasting the other's tongue and nibbling on one another's lips.

"Ah want to go to your place," Grace breathed, running her hand through Chase's short brown hair at the back of his head.

Chase sounded reluctant, "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

Grace gave him a confused look as Chase set her back down on her feet, "Why?"

"I-I just don't --"

"You're worried we're gonna steam the windows again," Grace assumed, "and that ah'll get you all revved up with nowhere to go?"

"No, it's not that."

Grace grew concerned, wondering if Chase wasn't experiencing the same feelings of excitement she was towards their developing romance, "Ah'll understand if you want to take me home, ah just thought you wanted to be with me..."

"I do," Chase quickly replied, "of course I do." He sighed, "Look, Grace. My place is... it's not what you're accustomed to."

"You're embarrassed," Grace suddenly understood. "You think ah won't want to be with you anymore after ah see where you live?"

"Something like that," Chase admitted softly.

Grace sounded wounded, "You really think ah'm that shallow?"

"No," Chase answered honestly, "It's just that my whole apartment could probably fit into your bedroom. You grew up in a mansion and I can't compete with that. It's a little intimidating."

Grace hooked her thumbs into the belt loops of Chase's khaki cargos, "Ah don't care about none of that. Ah'd just like to see where you live, is all."

"Can we still steam up my windows a little bit?" Chase jokingly wondered.

=====

Chase's apartment was located within Eastside, a neighborhood which wasn't far from Ardsley Park (where Grace lived), though the area was far less affluent. It was a studio, located on the second floor above an empty commercial property. A long rectangular room held a small kitchen, a dining area, as well as the living room where Chase had a couch and flat-screen. He had little else for furniture beyond a small table for dining. The lone bedroom and a connecting bathroom were located through a doorway, near the kitchen area.

Grace looked around after Chase let her in, noting how sparsely the place was furnished. She smirked towards a poster on the refrigerator, which featured a bikini model draped over a red sports car. She teased him, "Ah like your taste in floozies."

Chase chuckled, "Err, yeah... I should probably take that down if I'm going to have a girlfriend over more often."

Grace spun to face him with a playful smile, walking backwards into the living room, "Girlfriend? Ah didn't know you had a girlfriend?"

Chase followed her, "I don't, actually. But I'm working on that."

Taking off her leather jacket, Grace draped it over one of the couch's arms, "What's she like?"

"She's unbelievably beautiful," Chase replied, playing along. He watched Grace sit down on the couch, enjoying the way he could see through her gauzy white top, "But she's not like all the other plastic rich girls. She's got a natural beauty, something almost regal."

Grace smiled shyly, taking off her Sand Gnats cap and loosening her long, blonde hair.

"I haven't been able to stop thinking about her since the first time I saw her. She was wearing this white gown and looked like a princess straight out of Cinderella. I mean, I'm almost afraid of pinching myself in case I'm dreaming."

When Chase knelt at her feet Grace wrapped her arms around his neck, "You got a tongue dipped in honey, you know that?"

Chase leaned in and the pair kissed, "I don't want to play games with you, Grace. I want you to be my girlfriend."

Grace made a showy expression, as though she were considering it, "Like, you want to go steady with me? Does that mean ah wouldn't be able to date any other boys?"

Chase grinned as she teased him, "Yeah, that's pretty much what I was thinking."

"Ah don't know... you get a beautiful girl all to yourself. What do ah get out of it?"

"I'll beat-up all the spoiled rich kids you want?"

"Deal!" Grace smiled brightly, "Can we make-out now?"

Chase was all-too willing, guiding Grace until she was lying on the couch. He moved over her, their mouths locked together through the movements. The pair of them were quickly entwined within a tangle of arms, Grace hooking one of her long legs around the back of his.

Their passion overwhelmed her, catching her emotionally off-guard. Though Grace had never been short of boyfriends, they had all been casual relationships at best. She had kissed boys and held their hands at the movies, but the feelings Chase elicited within her were far more powerful than anything Grace had known prior. She wanted to be with those other boys, at the time, but she needed to be with Chase. He was like the air in her lungs -- something Grace required if she wanted to continue living.

"Chase," Grace whispered as he began kissing along her jaw line, "baby..."

"What is it?" Chase asked distractedly, engrossed with sucking on her earlobe.

"Ah don't want to lose m'ah purity on a couch..."

"I'm sorry," Chase said, straightening his arms to hover above her. He recalled when Grace put the figurative breaks on their making-out the weekend prior, "Are we getting out of hand again?"

Grace shook her head, "No, ah want to be with you. Ah do. But, do you maybe have a bed?"

"Are you sure?" Chase asked, surprised. "I don't want to pressure you."

"You're not," Grace assured him. "Ah want you. Ah've never wanted anything more in m'ah entire life."

"Yeah," Chase quickly nodded. "I have a bed."

Grace asked in a shy tone, "Do you have protection? Ah'm not ready to be with child, just yet."

Chase breathed a laugh through his nose, "Yeah, I think so. Let me go look?"

Grace nodded, trying not to look guilty for spoiling their romantic moment.

Hurrying into the bathroom, Chase prayed he could find a condom. He hadn't been with any girls since his ex-girlfriend, months prior, so he had no idea if any were hidden away somewhere or not. He searched shelves and drawers, growing panicked, until he opened the medicine cabinet and found a chain of them strung together in their packaging.

"We're in luck," Chase declared, walking out of the bathroom. He nearly dropped the condoms when he saw her.

Grace was sitting on the edge of his bed, pulling her jeans off. She had already removed her top, revealing a black lacy bra. Her body was stunning in profile, her long legs bent at the knee and perfectly shaped. Visions of classic sex symbols like Marilyn Monroe and Rita Hayworth danced through Chase's mind as he started to unbutton his own clothing.

Grace looked up at his approach, wondering why Chase was staring the way he was, "What?"

"You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

Kicking her jeans away, Grace stood and helped push Chase's shirt off his shoulders. She slid her palm over his smooth, defined chest, "There you go with that honey-dipped tongue, again. What else can you do with that thing?"

Chase grinned at the innuendo, "You want to find out?"

"Desperately," Grace whispered.

Chase wrapped his arms around her and they began kissing once more. Grace pressed her body against his, pushing Chase's pants down off his hips to fall into a puddle around his feet. The heat between them grew quickly and Chase's fingers began pulling and tugging at the back of her bra, looking for a way to unhook it.

With a giggle, Grace broke their kiss and stepped back. "I wore this one just for you," she teased, reaching up between her breasts to unfasten the bra from the front. Chase watched as she shrugged the garment off her shoulders, revealing a pair of shapely and full breasts which hung at Grace's sternum like a set of pink-tipped globes. He smiled, recalling the first time they made out and the way he had difficulty with the clasp of Grace's bra.

With an arm about her waist, he lowered Grace to the bed and began mouthing one of her breasts. Chase sucked on the nipple, swathing his tongue on the soft, white flesh around it, causing Grace's breath to quicken. He didn't linger however, much to her dismay, and began moving his way downward. Chase kissed and licked her stomach, sucking at her belly button briefly, before moving between Grace's legs.

Her knees lifted and parted when Grace felt the heat of Chase's tongue through the thin material of her panties. Though a virgin, Grace was no stranger to the concept of sex. She knew where Chase wanted to put his mouth and encouraged him by tugging the gusset of her panties aside, revealing her glistening sex. A sharp gasp escaped her when she felt Chase's mouth touch the place only her fingers had ever explored.

Ruining the underwear, Grace practically tore them off to offer Chase better access. His arms curled around her thighs and she felt one of his hands playing in the trimmed bush of her blonde pubic hair. He was doing all the right things with his mouth, touching the right places with his tongue.

"Oh m'ah god," Grace whispered, reaching above to grab the headboard and steady herself. Her other hand went to the back of Chase's head, her fingers mingling in his hair. The already-impending rush of her orgasm surprised her, "Ah'm gonna cum, sugah. You're gonna make me cum..."

Chase felt her soft thighs clamp around the sides of his head as Grace began writhing atop the bed. She let go of his head for fear of yanking his hair out and clutched at Chase's comforter instead, gripping it tightly as an explosion sounded between her legs. Squirming and gasping, Grace thought it would never end. Chase kept relentlessly licking and stimulating her clitoris, causing her orgasm to intensify until she was moaning with pleasure.

Losing all sense of her usual lady-like composure, Grace let the orgasm consume her. She wriggled uncontrollably and made strange noises with her throat. Somewhere in the back of her mind she made the profound realization that Chase's mouth was ten times better than anything she had done while masturbating.

Chase finally stopped. He kissed the inside of Grace's thighs, tasting her smooth skin, while her shivering tremors slowly subsided.

Grace moaned, "Damn, baby. Ah've never felt anything like that before."

Chase slid her panties down Grace's long, sexy legs. He used them to wipe her moisture off his face, eliciting a giggle from Grace.

"Dirty boy," she teased, pressing one of her feet against the bulge growing in Chase's boxer-briefs.

Hooking his thumbs on the elastic waistband of his underwear, Chase stood and pushed them down his legs. Grace stared as his erection came into view, curious to see a man's cock for the first time in person.

"Don't be scared," Chase murmured, mistaking her curiosity for anxiety.

"Ah'm not," Grace assured him. "You just look so damned sexy, is all."

Chase stood before her, fully exposed. His naked body was toned and perfect, slender in the hips with curving muscles in all the places Grace liked. His pubic hair was shaved and his penis was circumcised, a wondrously-sized thing that was neither too big nor too small.

"What's that?" Grace asked. She sat up and smoothed her fingers over a small tattoo decorating Chase's stomach, above his left hip.

"A dragon skull," Chase answered, looking down and watching Grace's fingers as she touched him. "That's my flag."

Grace looked up to his eyes with a curious expression, "Your flag?"

"Like a crest, or a symbol," Chase explained, "for the Southside Dragons. I was in a gang. I was only fourteen when I got it."

Grace kept touching it, "Really?"

Chase nodded, "Most of the guys got one on their arms, but I thought it'd be cooler on my stomach. Kind of stupid, in retrospect - my mom moved us away a year later. She was scared I'd end up in prison or worse, if we stayed in Chicago. Now it's just a bunch of old ink."

"Ah like it," Grace said, leaning forward to place her lips on Chase's tattoo. Her hand grasped his erection, delicate fingers grasping his length. "Ah think your whole body is beautiful. Ah want to feel you inside me."

Chase nodded, lowering himself to the bed beside Grace and reaching for the packages of condoms.

"No," she said, her hand slowly moving up and down Chase's manhood. "Not the first time."

"But..."

Grace shook her head, "No. Ah changed m'ah mind. Ah want to feel you, the real you, and don't want nothin' coming between us the first time we make love."

Chase lifted a hand to cup Grace's cheek and kissed her. "I don't want to get you pregnant," he whispered.

"Then pull out," she replied adamantly. "Ah don't care, Chase. Ah want to know what it feels like to have m'ah man inside me."

"Okay," Chase relented, laying Grace back. "I like that. I like thinking of you as my girl."

"Ah am," Grace said, wrapping her arms around him as he maneuvered over her.

When their kissing resumed, Chase felt his lips tingle. Grace was nibbling on his upper lip, as she often did when they made out, but she also kept licking his lips and pushing her tongue inside his mouth. There was a presence behind their passion, something both of them could feel in their hearts and guts. Though neither of them spoke of it, each of them sensed the importance of it. They didn't know what it was, because neither of them had ever experienced it before. They were madly in love with one another.

Grace took a nervous breath when she felt Chase's erection poking between her legs, "Go easy, sugah. Ah'm gonna be real delicate down there, if you know what ah mean."

Chase smiled at Grace's choice of words to describe her virginity, his face hovering a breath away from hers. "You and your body are an amazing thing," he whispered. "I will forever treat you with respect."

Grace curled a leg around Chase's, her ankle sliding down the back of his thigh. "Make me a woman," she whispered back, "and ah'll always be your 'mazing thing."

Pressing his lips against hers, Chase could feel the entrance of her sex. He slid himself into her gently, wondering if he would feel her hymen. She was tight around the head of his cock and it felt as though her sex was pinching him.

Grace gasped and began breathing heavily, her body tensing beneath his.

"Are you okay?" Chase whispered.

Grace bit her lip and nodded. The penetration was painful, but Chase didn't need to know that. She cupped his cheeks with her palms and kissed him encouragingly. After a moment more of resistance, his intrusion was suddenly complete.

She grunted against Chase's lips, "Uhn... oh, god. Ah can feel you inside me."

Chase was in heaven. She was tight around him, as though her sex were a muscle squeezing his cock. Still, he understood Grace was likely in pain. Chase made sure his subsequent thrusts were slow - agonizingly so for him, as every instinct inside him was screaming to go faster.

"Put your hands on me," Grace pleaded, desperate for their lovemaking to be more passionate and less clinical. "Ah want to feel your hands on m'ah body."

Rising to his knees, Chase took her by the hips and slid Grace's ass up his lap. She gasped at the sensation, a trickle of blood seeping out between their union. Chase didn't move his hips after that, leaving himself imbedded within Grace while he started to feel her form. His hands smoothed over her flat stomach, exploring the contours of her sides and sternum. She closed her eyes when Chase's hands cupped her breasts, his thumbs caressing over Grace's nipples back and forth.

"That feels so good," she murmured, her body moving of its own accord. Grace began humping with her hips, creating a friction against her clitoris while Chase continued fondling her breasts.

Grace put her hands on Chase's arms, sliding her palms up and down the length of his wrists and biceps. The pain of losing her virginity was swiftly being replaced by the pleasures of his hands and the way she was grinding on his cock.

"Take me," she breathed wantonly. "Take me into your arms, lover."

Curling an arm beneath her back, Chase literally scooped Grace up onto his lap, her luxurious legs straddling his. She clung to his neck and began to tentatively bounce herself on his manhood while Chase held her in the castle of his embrace.

"You're a woman now," Chase whispered into her ear. "My woman."

Something about the possessive intent behind his words tickled Grace's libido, lighting a fire between her legs. "Say it again," she breathed out excitedly. "Tell me ah'm yours."

"You belong to me. No one will ever be able to take you from away from me."

Grace began gasping repeatedly, rolling and bouncing her hips over Chase's lap. He could feel her inner constrictions as Grace's orgasm began its fluttering tremors.




Savannah Ch. 02



"Oh god!" Grace yelled, "Ah didn't know it would be this good...!"

Chase felt her explode around him, Grace's hot fluids pouring out of her around his shaft. He had to clench whichever muscle controlled the male orgasm, but he knew he couldn't hold it back for long.

"Grace..." he warned. But she was lost, grinding her sex onto his and gasping in pleasure. Grace's breasts were pressing against Chase's face, their unearthly softness not helping his impending explosion

"Grace!" Chase warned more desperately, feeling his orgasm surging upwards.

Running out of time, Chase pushed her backwards to the bed and yanked himself free of Grace's sex. His semen came surging out, barely giving Chase time to aim. He took himself in hand and masturbated onto Grace's stomach, thick wads of ejaculate landing in pooling puddles on her creamy skin.

Grace watched, the blood of her virginity staining Chase's cock as he stroked himself to completion upon her body. She felt the heat of his fluids against her stomach and thought it a wonderful thing, pleasuring her man into making such an erotic mess.

"M'ah word, sugah." Grace rubbed the pad of her pointer finger into one of Chase's semen pools, smearing it against her tummy, "That sure was a sight to see."

Chase breathed out a staccato laugh as Grace grasped his twitching member, rubbing his own semen against its bloody surface.

"You got m'ah virginity all over you."

Chase glanced down, "Are you...?"

Grace nodded, "Ah'm fine. Better than fine, in fact. That was beautiful. Ah liked watching you shoot your jism all over me."

"You can take a shower if you want," Chase suggested. "I can get some clean towels."

Grace licked her lips, "Only if you join me."

=====

It was after 1:00 am when Chase finally brought her home. Grace was reluctant to leave his presence, kissing him for several long minutes in the car before finally climbing out of the passenger seat. "Call me tomorrow?" she whispered through the open window.

"I will," Chase promised. "I'm working a luncheon at the Country Club, but I'll call you during my break."

She watched him pull around through the looping driveway and waited until his tail lights disappeared into the night before silently walking inside the house.

"Hello, darlin'."

Grace nearly jumped out of her skin at her father's voice. "Daddy...!" she exhaled, turning on a low light to see him seated in his living room chair. "You damn near scared the South right outta me."

Branford smiled at his daughter's expression, one she learned from him, "Y'all were out terribly late. It's an hour past your curfew."

"Ah'm sorry, daddy. Ah guess ah lost track of the time."

"No bother," Branford waved a dismissive hand. "Were you with that boy all night?"

Grace nodded, "Yes."

"Well," Branford stood in his robe and slippers. "Ah hope in the future he shows more respect for the rules."

"It's m'ah fault, daddy. We were just having a lot of fun. Ah hope you weren't waiting up for me?"

"Oh, come now. You know ah can't sleep until ah know m'ah baby-girl is home safe." Branford slid his arm around Grace and gave her a kiss on the forehead, "Ah understand what it's like to be young, sweetheart. Y'all go on up to bed now, and don't you worry none about your mother. This'll be our little secret, okay?"

Grace smiled with relief and kissed her father's cheek, "Thanks, daddy. Ah love you."

Branford smiled and shook his head as Grace hurried up the stairs towards her bedroom, recalling his own youth. He wondered, however, just how close his daughter had become with her new friend.

=====

Once cleaned up and changed for the night, Grace found herself lying in bed unable to sleep. A permanent smile decorated her face as she couldn't stop thinking about the night's events. She was no longer a virgin, which was significant enough, but even more importantly - she was in love. Grace knew it. She was in love, a fact proven by the swirling knot in her stomach that refused to unravel itself. The knot was like the feeling she got when nervous or anxious, except it tingled wildly whenever she thought of Chase.

She wanted to call her best friend and tell her every detail, to proclaim her love, but Grace assumed it was too soon. Ashlee would still be raw, Grace knew, so she bottled it all up and tried to sleep. Dreams of Chase dominated her dreams, until...

"Grace?" her mother's voice echoed through the fog of sleep. "Grace, honey? It's time to wake up."

Grace squinted tightly as her mom pushed aside the balcony curtain and flooded the room with sunlight, "Mother...? What time is it?"

"It's almost eleven," Virginia admonished subtly, in the way only a mother can do. "Do you plan on sleeping the whole day away?"

Grace sat up in bed and arched her back for a stretch, "Ah feel like ah just went to sleep."

"Well, wake up. I need to talk to you about something. Something important."

Grace wiped some sleep from her eyes and gave her mother a curious look. She wasn't sure if she was awake enough for 'something important'.

Virginia sat at the edge of Grace's bed, "Were you aware your father had to close the Atlanta plant?"

"No," Grace shook her head, confused. Her parents rarely discussed the family's business with her. "Is daddy in trouble?"

"Not yet," Virginia answered. "But it's no secret that paper sales have continuously over the last decade. It's a digital age, and the profits aren't what they used to be. Not to mention the recent state of the economy."

"We're going to be okay," Grace wondered curiously, "aren't we?"

Virginia nodded, "Don't worry, dear. Your father has been negotiating a large new contract that will bring in enough business to re-open the Atlanta plant. It's with the Montgomery Company."

Grace's brow dipped with recognition, "Montgomery? You mean the company Dylan's father owns?"

"Yes, there's just one catch."

"Catch?" Grace didn't like the sound of that, assuming the catch involved her. Why else would her mother have come to her with talk of business?

Virginia stood, turning away and balking. "You're not going to like what I'm about to tell you," she said in a tone that almost hid her guilt, "but I hope in time you'll find that it's the best situation for you, and our whole family."

Grace was growing irritated at her mother's subterfuge, "What's going on? What did you do?"

Virginia turned back to her daughter, "It's not me, honey. It's your father. One of the contract terms is a union between our families."

Grace grew pale and opened her mouth, but no words came. Instead, she could only blink in shock at what her mother was about to say.

"You've been promised in an arrangement of marriage with Dylan Montgomery."



Savannah Ch. 03



===============

Author's Note:

Three years. That's a long time to wait for a chapter, especially since I ended the last chapter with a devastating cliffhanger. I'm sure most of my readers assumed I lost interest in this story, or that I'm the laziest writer in the history of Literotica. Neither is the case and I actually have a (legitimate?) excuse for the epic lateness of what you're about to read. The truth is, 'Savannah' is the story I'm most proud of. I know that my profile is known for 'Beauty & the Geek' and that's the story most of my readers enjoy the most, but 'Savannah' is the story I fantasized about publishing. I wanted it to be my finest example of writing. I took a ridiculous amount of time and care in writing the first two chapters, with a firm story arc in mind (something I never had with 'Beauty & the Geek' -- a story I wrote basically off the top of my head as I typed the words).

But then something happened.

Grace is based on a real person who was a very close friend of mine until she passed away long before she deserved. This happened not long after I posted chapter 2 of 'Savannah'. I tried sitting down to write chapter 3 probably fifty times over the last three years, but I just couldn't do it. It hurt, emotionally. I could hear my friend's voice in Grace's pronounced drawl. Eventually I was resigned to the fact that 'Savannah' would go unfinished. Time has a way of healing all wounds, however. A scar remains, but it's finally time to continue this story. I owe it to her, to you, and to myself. This chapter is dedicated to the real Grace and to all my readers who have waited so long to hear her voice again.

===============

Ashlee leaned in close to the surface of a vanity mirror, a strand of her dark shoulder-length tresses clutched between two fingers. She studied the tips of her hair, assessing the split-ends and wondering if she should make an appointment with her stylist before graduation. After careful scrutiny of several more strands Ashlee glanced towards a digital clock beside her bed and realized she had been staring at her hair for nearly forty five minutes.

"I am so bored," she declared to her reflection.

Picking up her cell phone, Ashlee made several swipes against its surface until her contacts list was displayed. She stared at Grace's name and picture, contemplating calling. The girls hadn't spoken in two weeks and Ashlee desperately missed talking to her best friend. Grace had lied about her involvement with Chase and Ashlee felt it was Grace's responsibility to take the first move and make things right between them, but if she didn't call soon Ashlee feared they wouldn't make up in time for graduation -- only a week away.

Just as Ashlee was about to move her thumb and call Grace she heard the doorbell. Setting her phone aside she hurried out of her room and trotted down a long flight of stairs into a massive entryway. Wondering who would be knocking after eight o'clock on a Thursday night, Ashlee looked through the door's peep hole.

He was the last person she expected to see.

After working the deadbolt Ashlee pulled the door open, "Chase?"

"Hey Ashlee," Chase mumbled in a deadened tone.

"Jesus," Ashley intoned, looking over the boy who had come between her and Grace. He looked terrible, as if he hadn't shaved or slept in a week. His jeans and light canvas jacket had dirty scuff marks, as though he had been rolling on the ground, and dried blood caked the left corner of his mouth. Chase's normally-neat brown hair was heavily tousled. "Honey, you look awful. What are you doing here?"

Chase leaned heavily against the door jamb as though he was having trouble supporting his own weight. "Sorry... I didn't know where else to go," he slurred slowly.

"Oh Jesus," Ashley frowned sympathetically, "You're drunk, aren't you?"

Chase smirked without enthusiasm, "I think so."

"Okay," Ashlee offered, moving to help Chase by throwing his arm over her shoulders, "You are so lucky my parents went to Atlanta for the week. Let's get you inside."

Leaning heavily against Ashlee, Chase stumbled into the house beside her. "She won't see me," he mumbled in a voiced soaked with self-pity, "She won't even talk to me."

Ashlee led him towards the closest couch within a sitting room connected to the entry, struggling under Chase's weight, "Who won't talk to you... Grace?"

Chase slumped into the couch with the strength of a ragdoll. "She's gonna marry some spoiled rich kid," he slurred, leaning his head against the back of the couch and closing his eyes.

"What?!" Ashlee's eyes widened, "Grace is getting married?"

Chase nodded, his expression twisting in pain.

"How is that even possible?" Ashlee wondered with disbelief, "Who is she marrying?"

"Dylan," Chase murmured quietly. "Dylan... I forget."

"Montgomery," Ashlee finished for him. "Oh dear. Okay, um, we better get you cleaned up. You stay here and I'll be right back, all right?"

Chase didn't reply but also didn't look as though he was going anywhere. Hurrying back upstairs, Ashley set out to fetch what she'd need. She wanted to call Grace and find out what the hell was going on but sensed Chase needed her attention more urgently. Ashlee collected a washcloth and basin as well as a pillow and some blankets before returning to the sitting room where she left Chase. He remained exactly as she left him.

"I need a drink," Chase complained, barely conscious.

"How about some coffee?" Ashlee suggested, setting her items on the floor and kneeling near Chase's feet. She dipped the washcloth into the water basin before lifting it towards Chase's face. "Were you in a fight? Your lip is swollen and bloody."

"Some asshole at the bar," Chase confirmed.

Ashlee let out a heavy sigh as she dabbed at the corner of his mouth, "You're a wreck, aren't you?"

If Chase noted Ashlee's attentions he didn't show it, "I love her, Ashlee. I'm so in love with her..."

Ashlee winced at Chase's proclamation. All at once she realized whatever frivolous crush she had on Chase paled in comparison to what he felt for Grace.

"How is this even possible?" Ashlee wondered, rinsing the washcloth free of Chase's dried blood. "Grace hates Dylan, she always has. She would never marry him."

No answer came. Chase had passed out.

"Okay," Ashlee breathed, dropping her washcloth into the basin. "This is officially the weirdest night I've had in a while."

Struggling to remove Chase's Jacket, Ashlee also pulled his shoes off and managed to lay him back on the couch. Covering him with a pair of blankets she assumed he'd be fine sleeping it off until morning. Wondering what would possess Chase to drive to her house, Ashlee assumed answers would come in the morning. In the meantime, she needed to talk to Grace.

=======

"Honey," Branford Lattimore was explaining to his daughter, "You have to understand, it's a different economic climate out there. Paper just isn't selling like it used to, what with all these computers and tablets and such."

Grace sat sullenly on her bedroom loveseat wearing a tank top and a pair of flannel boxers, arms curled around her long legs. "Ah understand, daddy," she said, her tone venomous, "Ah understand that you and mom sold me off to the Montgomery family like some kind of prized mare, so they can breed me with their stud."

Branford frowned at the analogy, standing in Grace's room wearing a long smoking jacket and playing with his slender moustache. "It's not like that at all, darlin'. Ah'm doing this for you -- for your future, and the future of your children."

"You know Dylan Montgomery is a vile snake, right?" Grace scowled at the very thought of him, "Ah would rather you marry me to a witless donkey."

Branford chuckled at his daughter's melodrama, "He's just young and foolish, like all boys his age. Y'all will get on just fine, in time."

Grace pushed a wavy strand of her blonde hair behind an ear, "Please don't make me do this, daddy. Ah'm never going to fall in love with Dylan. Ah'm already.... ah'm in love with someone else."

"The catering boy?" Branford lifted a brow.

"He's not a catering boy," Grace growled angrily. She had never viewed her father as a snobbish elitist before that moment, "He's going to school to be a mechanic; he's going to open his own garage. And his name is Chase."

"You're too young to know real love, Grace. Ah know you think you love this boy, but you're not considering your future. He can't provide for you like Dylan can. Just imagine, sweetheart - after you marry Dylan your children will stand to inherit two of Savannah's oldest and richest fortunes. You and yours will be secure for generations. Now, isn't that just a little more important than some fling you're having with a boy in a hot rod?"

Grace sighed, realizing she had little chance of making her father understand. He was right, she knew; if she married Dylan she would be marrying into the richest family in Savannah. Grace's father was simply too pragmatic and money-conscious to see the situation any other way, so he did what any shrewd business man would do - he made a deal to secure the financial future of his business and family. As her parent's only child it was Grace's duty to heed their arrangement. It may have been an antiquated southern custom, but she was honor-bound to marry a boy she loathed for the sake of her family. At least, that's how Savannah's upper society would see it.

"You're wrong," Grace spoke with resignation. "Ah love Chase, and he loves me. Maybe ah'm only eighteen but ah know what love is, daddy." She pushed on the same tousle of hair she had curled behind her ear only a few moments earlier, out of habit. "But... you're also right. If ah marry Dylan we'll get lots of Montgomery money and m'ah children will get to grow up in a big mansion. The only thing is... Dylan ain't simply young and dumb. He's a mean, viscous scoundrel who's had a silver spoon stuck up his rear side for so long he thinks the whole damned world should be kissin' his ass. If ah marry Dylan Montgomery, ah'll never be happy."

Branford sighed. He certainly wasn't immune to his daughter's pleas, "What would you have me do, darlin'? You want me to call off the deal? We won't get the contracts and ah'll be forced to close more mills. Chances are we'll lose everything. The house, all of our belongings..."

"Ah would just be happy with Chase, the money don't matter to me none."

"You say that now," Branford shook his head, "But you've never been poor, Grace. You don't know what kind of struggle that can be. Ah don't think your mother could take it."

"Don't worry, daddy." Grace pulled her legs in tighter and set her chin on a knee, "Ah'm a Lattimore and ah'll do my duty. You won't lose mama or the business."

"That's m'ah girl," Branford reached and squeezed her shoulder affectionately. "Trust me, darlin, and give it some time. It won't be as bad as what you got stuck in your head."

Grace offered a melancholy nod and waited for her father to leave the room before allowing a single tear to leak from her eye, but as soon as her bedroom door closed several of them streamed downward. She wiped a palm across her cheek and sniffled, telling herself that it would all work out somehow. Grace wanted to be strong, she didn't want to cry. Girls cried, she told herself, not women, and Chase had made her a woman.

Rising from the loveseat, Grace began pacing in her room -- a habit she performed whenever something weighed heavily on her. Her bare feet padded back and forth along the plush carpeting as she contemplated her muddy future. Luckily for the floor, her cell phone began ringing to distract Grace from wearing a path into the carpet.

Distracted, she answered without even looking to see who it was, "Hello?"

"Grace? It's me."

"Ash?"

"Yeah. Um, is this a good time?"

Grace pushed a hand through her blonde waves. Her voice wavered from the recent water-works, "It's good to hear your voice. Ah could use a friend right about now."

"So it's true? You're engaged to Dylan?"

Grace closed her eyes and let herself fall into a sitting position on her couch, "Well, no one's decorated m'ah finger with any stones yet, but ah suspect it won't take very long. How'd you know about it, anyway?"

There was a pause before Ashlee replied, "Chase is here."

Grace's eyes popped open and she sat forward, "He's with you right now?"

"He showed up about twenty minutes ago, drunk and depressed, claiming you had dumped him and were marrying Dylan Montgomery."

Grace sounded surprised, "He's drunk?"

"Yeah, he was a mess. He's passed out on my sitting room couch right now. Don't worry, though. My parents are in Atlanta so he can sleep it off until morning. Are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?"

"It's been arranged," Grace sighed. "Ah'm such a fool, Ash. Ah should have seen it coming. We were paired up at the Spring Gala, which should have been the first clue. Then when we were dancing Dylan kept going on about what a perfect couple we would make... ah bet that slippery fink already knew about the arrangement the night of the gala."

"Why would your parents do such a thing? It's... I mean an arranged marriage? That's practically prehistoric. No one does that anymore."

Grace let out a heavy breath, "Daddy's paper company is in trouble but the Montgomery's are willing to give them some big fat contract if ah'll marry Dylan. You have to admit -- a union between our families would be pretty smart, for both sides. The Montgomery's and the Lattimore's are old money in Savannah."

"What are you going to do?" Ashlee sounded doubtful Grace would agree.

"Ah have to marry him. If ah don't, Daddy's company'll probably go under and send him straight to the poor house. If that happened mother would likely divorce him and ah don't know if Daddy could take losing her like that."

"Jesus. So you're going to do it? You're going to marry Dylan?"

"What choice do ah have?"

"Chase is absolutely crushed; I could see it in his eyes. I think he really loves you."

Grace closed her eyes to fight back more tears, "Take good care of him, okay?"

"Is there anything you want me to tell him?"

"Ah've already tried explaining it to him," Grace sniffled. "Just tell him... tell him ah miss him, that ah think about him all the time, but that m'ah mind is made up. Ah have to do right by the family."

=======

Chase woke up with a splitting headache and had no idea where he was. Pushing the blanket off he rose on the couch and looked around the spacious sitting room, but the surroundings didn't become any more familiar. "Where the fuck am I?" he groaned hoarsely, putting a palm on his aching forehead.

Smelling coffee, Chase stood. He realized his shoes were missing. He spotted them by a chair which also contained his folded jacket. Wherever he was, he decided, someone had put him to bed. Following his nose, Chase wandered into a wide hall.

"Good morning," Ashlee greeted him from the kitchen. She was seated at a glass breakfast table situated in front of some tall bay windows, the area bright with morning sun. She had a cup of coffee and was looking at something on her smart phone.

"Ashlee?" Chase finally got a clue, "Is this your house?"

"Yep," she nodded, "Well, technically it's my parent's."

"Where are they?" Chase glanced around nervously.

"Atlanta."

"How did I get here?"

Ashlee's gaze narrowed, "You came here, last night, drunk and bloody. Don't you remember?"

Chase shook his head embarrassedly.

"Jesus, Chase. Are you stupid or something? You could have killed someone driving drunk like that." Ashlee stood and moved towards a cabinet, "And why are you at bars getting into drunken brawls? You're not even old enough to be in a bar."

Chase slumped into a chair as Ashlee prepared him a cup of coffee, "I know... I know..."

"Even if you are crushed because of Grace, there's no excuse!"

"I'm sorry I showed up here like that. It won't happen again, I promise."

"I don't mind that you came here," Ashley sat the coffee in front of him and rejoined Chase at the table, "But take a taxi next time, would you?"

Chase nodded sullenly and tried a sip of the coffee. It was too hot so he blew on it.

"I talked to Grace last night," Ashley's voice softened, "She wanted me to tell you that she misses you."

Chase let out an unamused laugh, "If she missed me so much she wouldn't be marrying that spoiled jerk-off."

"She doesn't want to marry him. She wants to be with you. But her parents arranged it."

"What is this?" Chase growled, "Medieval times? Who arranges marriages anymore?"

"This is Savannah, honey," Ashlee reminded him, "Old money, old customs."

Chase pulled an old flip-phone from his pocket and checked the time, "Shit, I've got to be at work in a couple hours. I'm supposed to be serving at some dinner tonight."

Ashlee asked worriedly, "In Ardsley Park?"

"Yeah," Chase quickly swallowed some coffee, "At the Event Center ballroom."

"It's a banquet for this year's graduating seniors and their families," Ashlee knew, "They do it every year. Which means..."

Chase finished her sentence with no small amount of trepidation, "...Grace will be there."

Ashlee bit her lip nervously, "Yeah. And Dylan Montgomery, too."

=======

"M'ah gawd," Grace tried getting out of her father's Cadillac, "This dress is tighter than a virgin on prom night."

Branford couldn't help but chuckle at his daughter's comment. He didn't criticize her vulgar phrase because he knew Grace had learned it from him.

The two had arrived to the Event Center together; Grace's mother was already there setting up, as she had been on the banquet's planning committee. "You look beautiful," he said after walking around the car and helping her out, "Just like your mother when she was your age."

"Ah bet she never wore anything so slinky," Grace took a moment to tug at her gown. It was a red thing that clung to her body like a second skin, covering her slender frame from ankle to breast. It had a low back and sparkled with silvery glitter; a slit up the left side revealed her leg to mid-thigh. Grace's accessories included a silver pendant necklace with matching bracelets that hung loosely from her wrists, red heels, and a white clutch purse. Her blonde hair was gathered up into a coil at the back of her head revealing the soft, pale skin of her neck.

"You picked the dress out," Branford reminded her, offering his elbow as an escort, "Ah don't know why you fret so much about it."

Grace swapped her purse into her other hand before slipping an arm around her father's, "It looked good on that mannequin in the store..."

Before they reached the entrance of the Event Center Grace spotted a familiar face at the far edge of the parking lot, where Ashlee was stealing a cigarette away from prying eyes. "Look, there's Ash. Ah'll meet you inside, okay daddy?"

"Don't be long," Branford agreed, "Your mother will be waiting for us."

Trotting in her heels, Grace hurried towards her friend. "Ash!" she called with a wide grin.

Ashlee discarded her cigarette, beamed a smile, and closed the distance between them, "Grace!"

The two friends embraced tightly. Even though it had only been two weeks, they hugged as though they hadn't seen each other in years.

"I missed you so much," Ashlee clutched.

"Me too," Grace reciprocated.

"Do you have any more of those smokes?" Grace wondered when they finally separated.

Ashlee nodded eagerly and began fishing in her purse, which was silvery and matched her leggy mini-dress. Her own darker hair was coiled up in a similar fashion to Grace's.




Savannah Ch. 03



Grace nervously played with one of her bracelets, "Ah'm as jittery as a June bug, tonight."

"Why?" Ashlee asked as she found a girlish pack of Virginia Slims, "It's just another dinner banquet. We've been to a thousand of these."

"Ah keep expecting Dylan to slither out of some shadow," Grace glanced around, "and try to put a ring on m'ah finger."

Ashlee offered a cigarette and then cupped hands to work the lighter for Grace, "He hasn't proposed to you yet?"

Grace leaned her head forward until the tip of the cigarette glowed brightly. She clutched the thing between two fingers and exhaled, "Nope."

"I still can't believe you're going through with it," Ashlee lit another one for herself, "I mean, it would be one thing if your parents were hooking you up with a normal guy. But Dylan Montgomery? He's so... vile."

Grace's voice turned sarcastic, "Thanks for the reminder."

"Sorry," Ashlee offered sympathetically. "Listen, there's something you should know. It's about Chase."

Grace looked scared to know, "What is it?"

"He's here," Ashlee warned, "Tonight. Working."

A jolt of nervous excitement ran its course through Grace's body. She desperately wanted to see Chase, to kiss him and tell him she loved him. Knowing he was nearby elevated those feelings, but at the same time she knew it could be a disaster in the making. Dylan would be attending the dinner as well and Grace knew he would be looking for payback after Chase humiliated Dylan and his friends at the Sand Gnats baseball game.

"Hope you're in the mood for some fireworks," Grace dropped her cigarette butt and stepped it out, "Cause tonight could get real interesting."

=======

Hundreds of people filled the Event Center's banquet hall. Not every graduating senior from Grace and Ashlee's high school were there, but certainly all the affluent ones were. They were joined by parents, siblings, grandparents, and even many of the school's teachers and their families. Everywhere Grace looked she saw her classmates being grilled by their elders about their plans after graduation. It was a night to be thinking about the future, Grace knew, but all she could think about was Chase. She wanted him to be her future.

Standing near the entrance Grace scanned the crowd for servers, hoping to spot him, but all she found with her eyes was a table that filled her with dread. Her parents were there, as was Dylan's family. Grace recognized Dylan's younger brother who was two grades below them, as well as his famously rich father. She assumed the older woman next to him was Dylan's mother.

"Find me after dinner?" Ashlee prodded, her family located at a separate table, "We'll have another smoke."

Grace nodded wordlessly, building up the courage to face her futures. But she was interrupted before crossing halfway across the immense table-filled room.

"Grace..."

She turned to see Dylan approaching from behind, dressed in a tailored black suit that fit his slender frame perfectly. Dylan had sandy blonde hair combed straight backwards and a scraggly goatee that was thin from youth. Grace thought he looked handsome but despised the ugliness she knew resided just beneath Dylan's skin.

Dylan had a cocky smile full of white teeth, "You look beautiful, tonight. Just like always."

"Thank you," Grace replied politely, if a little cold. She let Dylan take one of her perfectly manicured hands, abhorring his touch but not wanting to be rude.

"You're going to be the most beautiful bride in the history of Savannah," he said, moving close enough that Grace could feel his breath on her face.

"Dylan..." she resisted, placing a palm on his chest in an attempt to maintain some space, "Have you been drinking?"

"Just a couple of beers with the guys," he put a hand to the small of her back, its placement only inches above inappropriate. "They were helping me celebrate my pending engagement to the most beautiful girl in Georgia."

Grace shuddered and felt as though she were going to be ill as Dylan squeezed and groped her hip, pulling her against his side possessively. She allowed him his familiarity though, as Grace didn't want to cause a scene in front of their families. Resigned to her fate, Grace allowed Dylan to escort her to their families' table.

Conversation was dominated during dinner by talk of the marriage arrangement. Dylan's mother in particular seemed to have the wedding already planned out and fervently compared ideas with Grace's mother. Their fathers seemed heedless of the wedding details and gravitated their talk towards business and the pending partnership between Montgomery Industries and Lattimore Paper. Grace remained polite through it all, nodding and smiling in agreement, though her attention was hardly focused on the table. She continued to look around the hall hoping to catch a glimpse of Chase. Unknowing of what she'd do if she did spot him, Grace simply felt an undeniable urge to see his face.

A very large part of her wanted to find Chase and run away with him, far away from Dylan's family as well as her own. Grace felt suffocated during dinner, as though her future and fate was not her own to choose. Dylan kept putting a hand on her leg beneath the table, his touch a reminder that she was being offered up to a boy she could never love.

When dinner was complete the men all rose, Dylan included, to go outside and share celebratory cigars. Grace too eagerly excused herself, scanning the crowded room for Ashlee. She spotted her best friend standing by a back door as though waiting. Grace hurried in that direction, eager to get away.

Together, they slipped outside to the back of a building near some garbage dumpsters and an employee parking area. Grace was immediately reminded of the night she met Chase as several catering employees were also out smoking. Ashlee instinctively led Grace to a secluded spot away from the servers. Rich kids rarely mingled with poor kids; social segregation was simply a way of life in Savannah.

"How did it go?" Ashlee sounded cautiously curious as she distributed a cigarette towards Grace.

Grace frowned as she lit up, "If Mrs. Montgomery has her say, ah'll be doing nothing but charity events and baby showers for the next five years. Jesus, Ash, ah could hardly breathe in there."

"I thought you wanted to go to college?"

"Ah do," Grace sounded sad, "But it's becoming all too clear ah'm nothing more than a trophy mare meant to look pretty and produce sons."

Ashlee stuck her tongue out in a display of distaste, "I can't believe you're agreeing to an arranged marriage."

"Don't fret too much, ah'm struggling with it, too. Ah don't think ah can go through with this..." Grace scanned over the catering staff that was outside smoking, for the third time, "You haven't seen Chase, have you?"

Ashlee shook her head while inhaling a puff, "Maybe he didn't show? He didn't seem too enthused that you'd be here when I talked to him about it this morning."

Grace was willing to accept that, her heart sinking at the fact. It made sense that Chase wouldn't want to see her. What would be the point, she wondered? Her future, whether Grace liked it or not, was being planned for her and it didn't have room for a mechanic from Chicago. She would become Grace Kelly Montgomery and her children would become heirs to one of the largest fortunes in the South. Most of the girls in her school would give anything to trade places with her, Grace knew, but all she could think about was escaping the fate her father had chosen for her. Her head was spinning and she was panicking on the inside, doing her best to keep her emotions in check.

Then Chase finally appeared.

He walked out of the same back service door dressed in his catering uniform of black slacks, white shirt, and red vest. His short brown hair was rebelliously messy and he already had a smoke between his lips, two lazy fingers around it and ready to exhale. He conjured images of James Dean and the mere sight of him made Grace dizzy with desire.

"Chase!" she exclaimed with breathy excitement, brushing past Ashlee.

Chase had been angry with Grace for leaving him and had planned on ignoring her if they crossed paths, but seeing her rush towards him in her gorgeous red dress made all that go away. He flicked his cigarette aside and helped close the gap.

Grace's threw her arms around his neck and Chase wrapped her waist in his. Everyone who was standing outside watched them kiss, the other catering staff members shocked that one of their own was apparently with one of the 'trust-funders'. Ashlee simply smiled, all thoughts of her prior crush on Chase evaporating in the face of such obvious passion.

"What are you doing?" Chase murmured against Grace's lips, "I thought you wanted to be with Dylan?"

"Ah can't do it," she nuzzled her nose against his, "Ah love you, Chase Andrews. We've only known each other a short while, ah know, but ah've been in love with you since the night we met."

"When did you figure this out?" Chase asked, stunned by Grace's change of mind.

"As soon as ah laid eyes on you walking out that door," Grace kissed him again. "Ah'm sorry, sugah. Deep down ah knew ah couldn't go through with it. Ah thought ah could do it for daddy, that it was the right thing, but there ain't any living without you."

"I love you too," Chase squeezed her tightly, happily.

"Grace..." Ashlee suddenly warned, concern in her voice.

Grace glanced at Ashlee and then turned to see what she was looking at. "Tarnation," she said when she saw Dylan and three of his friends rounding a corner on the far side of the building. Dylan had obviously spotted her embrace with Chase as his expression was seething with jealousy.

"Grace...!" Ashlee warned more urgently.

Grace nodded and turned back to Chase, "You have to get out of here, sugah."

"What? Forget it." Chase shook his head, "I can handle Dylan and his friends, remember?"

"Those scoundrels at the baseball team were drunken cowards," Grace began to explain.

Ashlee elaborated, "Dylan's got three-quarters of our football team's defensive line with him, this time."

"I'm not leaving you," Chase refused stubbornly.

Grace was about to plead with him to leave, but it was too late.

Dylan sneered, "What the fuck do you think you're doing, waiter-boy? Grace belongs to me now!"

The half-dozen other catering employees outside all backed away as Dylan and his three large friends entered the scene. Grace had been right, Chase realized, and he had serious doubts about his ability to physically overcome the three monsters Dylan had at his back. One of them pointed at Chase, "Where the fuck you from? The numbered streets? You got no place in Ardsley Park puttin' your hands all over one of ours."

"Grace is with me," Chase's right hand formed a fist at his side, sensing a fight was inevitable. "If any of you guys have a problem with that, let's do this."

"Yeah," Dylan spoke up, "I've got a big fucking problem with that. Kick this idiot's ass, guys."

Grace rushed forward pleadingly, "Dylan! Don't!"

To his credit Chase got a solid punch off and staggered one of Dylan's thugs, but the other two got a hold of his arms and quickly subdued him. Chase struggled against their grip until Dylan stepped in and punched him in the gut, doubling Chase over and dropping him to his knees.

Grace yelled for them to stop and rushed Dylan, but he grabbed her by the wrists and spun her around in his grasp. Dylan held the squirming Grace back against his chest and forced her to watch his three friends punch Chase until he was lying on the concrete.

No one among the catering employees wanted to step in and receive the same treatment and most of them hurried back inside the building. Ashlee simply stood with her hands covering her mouth, helpless and horrified until she started digging in her purse for her cell phone.

"No!" Grace screamed as the beating continued, Chase curling up defensively as the three boys began kicking him. She tried to wrench herself free from Dylan's grip, "You bastards! Leave him alone!"

Dylan refused to let Grace go and wrapped an arm around her neck. He placed his lips at her ear and threatened, "Don't ever embarrass me like this again. You're going to be my wife and I won't have you slumming with the help like some kind of whore." He lifted a nod towards his friends, "That's enough, boys."

"Ah'll never marry you!" Grace was finally able to pull herself away. She dropped to her knees at Chase's side, tears streaming trails of eye make-up down her cheeks.

Dylan leveled a finger at her, "You're going to marry me, or my father will see to it your family's business goes bankrupt."

"Stay away from me!" Grace yelled, trying to comfort Chase and determine his condition.

Dylan sneered, "You'll come around." He spat on the ground near Chase's feet, "And as for you - stay away from my future fiancé, or next time I'll put you in the hospital."

Still clutching her phone, Ashlee hurried to help Grace once Dylan and his crew began walking away. "Oh my god, how is he?"

"Ah don't know," Grace was crying, cupping Chase's bloody cheeks in her palms, "Chase? Baby? Can you hear me?"

He moaned, "...I...really....showed...them."

Grace choked out a tear-filled laugh at the fact he was still able to joke, "Ah've got you, sugah. You're going to be okay." She dug in his pocket for Chase's car keys and held them out, "Ash? Can you drive stick?"

Ashlee nodded and rose, "I'll go pull it around."

"Hurry," Grace pleaded as Chase began to fade out of consciousness.

Ashlee pulled off her heels and ran.

=======

For the second time that day Chase woke up with a splitting headache. He tried opening his eyes but only one of them seemed to work. "Ow...." He winced and tried to lift a hand to his swollen face.

"Shh," Ashlee tried to calm him, "Relax, hon. You're okay. You're safe."

Chase became aware that he was in his apartment bedroom, lying on his bed. Ashlee was sitting on its edge gently applying something to his face. "Wh-what are you doing?"

"Quit squirming," she murmured, "I'm putting this disinfectant cream on your scrapes."

"My eye..." he complained.

Ashlee nodded, "It's swollen shut, and you've got a couple cuts on your forehead and cheek; nothing that won't heal, but you've got a big bruise on your side too. Do your ribs feel broken?"

Chase tried moving his chest and shook his head, "It hurts, but doesn't feel broken. Where's Grace?"

Ashlee gently dabbed some more cream on his face near Chase's eyebrow, "In the kitchen, on the phone with her father, trying to explain why she bailed on the banquet."

"I should call my boss," Chase looked for his cell phone and saw it on the lampstand.

Ashlee tugged his reaching hand back, "We already took care of it."

"Thanks, Ashlee," Chase murmured, "I appreciate what a good friend you've been."

"I should be pissed," she smiled teasingly, "After all, I had dibs on you."

Chase made a weak grin, "I could introduce you to some of my friends?"

"I hope they're smarter than you are. What were you thinking facing off against four guys?

Chase flinched as Ashlee touched a tender spot, "Where I come from, you never back down."

"Don't be an idiot," Ashlee capped the tube of medicine and wiped her fingers off on a tissue, "You don't have to be a macho tough guy. That's not what Grace wants, or needs. If she wanted someone like that she'd be with Dylan."

"You're awake," Grace suddenly entered the bedroom and hurried to Chase's bedside. She was still in her tight red dress from the banquet, though her face had been cleaned of make-up and her long blonde hair fall past her shoulders, no longer coiled up.

"I'm okay," Chase assured her as Grace ran a hand through his hair and pressed a soft kiss against his lips.

"You're eye..." she winced, "It's swelling up like a damned grapefruit. Ah'll get you some ice, sugah."

"Let me," Ashlee offered.

Grace nodded, "Thanks, hon."

Chase lifted a hand to Grace's face, "Don't worry, my other eye is still working fine because you look as beautiful as ever."

Grace smiled, "You're so full of it. M'ah eyes are all puffy from crying and ah'm not wearing a stitch of make-up. Ah'm a wreck over you, doll. Ah was so worried..."

Chase joked, "You look a helluva lot better than I do, I bet."

"Don't you fret, none." Grace continued to caress a hand through his messy hair, "You'll heal up just fine."

"Please tell me you're not going to marry that jack-ass," Chase sat up, grimacing at the pain in his side. "I can take the pain of a beating, but I don't know if I can survive you breaking my heart again."

Grace leaned forward and kissed him again, letting her lips linger to show their affection. She whispered against his mouth, "Ah'm so sorry, sugah. Ah swear, ah won't ever leave you again. Daddy'll just have to figure something else out because ah'm all yours, forever and ever."

"Oh my god you two are sappy," Ashlee re-entered the room holding a towel wrapped around some ice. "This is why I never let guys get too attached."

"Oh hush," Grace smiled shyly, red coloring her cheeks. She reached for the ice and gently placed it over Chase's eye, wincing as he flinched against the cold contact on his tender swelling.

Ashlee watched them for a moment, noting how tender and loving Grace was behaving and feeling a twinge of jealousy; not for Chase in particular, but Ashlee had never been that close to a boy. "Listen you guys, I'm going to go. I need to get home before my parents send out a search party."

"You want me to drive you?" Grace offered, "We can use Chase's car."

Ashlee shook her head, "I called a taxi. I'm sure you'd rather stay here with him."

"Thanks again, Ashlee," Chase lifted a hand, "For everything."

"Ah'll walk you out." Grace leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on Chase's forehead, "Be right back, sugah."

The two friends walked the length of Chase's studio apartment. "You're really in love with him," Ashlee noted, "Aren't you?"

"Yeah," Grace couldn't contain a shy smile.

"What are you going to do?" Ashlee sounded concerned, "About the arrangement?"

"Daddy may disown me," Grace sighed, "But ah was just joshin' m'ahself to think ah'd ever be able to live with Dylan Montgomery."

"What if he does disown you? What will you do?"

Grace shrugged, "Stay here with Chase and get a job, ah suppose."

Ashlee seemed more concerned than Grace about her future, "What about college? We were supposed to go to Alabama together and marry All-American football stars, remember?"

Grace grinned fondly at the memory of a pledge they made in middle school, "Ah remember."

"Nothing's been the same since the Spring Gala," Ashlee pouted lamentingly, "We're going to graduate in a week and who knows what'll happen after summer. We'll probably drift apart and never see each other again."

"Ash, don't be silly. We're best friends!" Grace hugged her, "Ain't nothing ever gonna change that."

Ashlee squeezed back tightly until a honking sound came from outside, "There's my cab. Call me later?"

"Ah will," Grace assured her.

Once Ashlee had left Grace returned to Chase's room to find him asleep. She smiled at his peaceful expression and pulled the ice pack away from his face. Not wanting to return home and face her parents, Grace reached behind herself to unzip and remove her clinging dress. Down to her white bra and panties, she slipped into bed beside Chase as quietly as she could. She choose his side that wasn't heavily bruised and draped her body along his, gently laying her head on the nook of his shoulder.

"Ah love you, Chase Andrews," she whispered almost silently, "And ah'll give it all up for you."

Grace didn't know what the next day would bring, but she no longer felt trapped. That was good enough.