Post by Lindsey on Jul 4, 2007 17:37:31 GMT -5
Finally posting this chapter. Sorry, girls, that I kept you waiting. I still don't think I'm happy with the way this chapter is written, but I wanted to get it up for you all.
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Grace’s heart beat faster as the limo got closer to the convention center where the charity ball would take place.
There it is, she thought. The convention center, which looked much more like some sort of immense mansion, was surrounded by what looked like hundreds of photographers and reporters—okay, maybe it was 50 or so—swarming the red carpet. I’d really like to be on the other side of this, she thought disdainfully. On the other hand, she felt a little bit excited. Maybe she’d meet some famous celebrities or something.
Grace closed her eyes and shot a prayer up as Jake stopped the limo at the edge of the red carpet. This is unreal. She could see the mob of cameraman pressing close to the limo as the attempted to see who she was through the limo’s tinted windows.
She took a deep breath and stepped out of the limo as Jake opened her door. A few camera bulbs flashed and a murmur traveled through the crowd. Some of the photographers backed away, shaking their heads.
“Who is she?” Grace heard them asking each other.
“Dunno, never seen her before,” someone responded.
“Probably a nobody,” another one chimed in.
At first, Grace couldn’t decide if she was miffed or relieved, but then she realized she was relieved. Without attempting to look around to see if she could find any celebrities, she decided to get inside as soon as she could. The paparazzi swarmed the next arriving limousine, and Grace began to make a quiet escape.
“Grace! Grace! Is that you?”
Grace stopped and turned around. Lisa! What is she doing here?
Lisa bounded over to her, waving her arms excitedly, attracting a few stares from the people around them. But Grace was more concerned with how she would explain to Lisa what she was doing here.
“What are you doing here, all decked out and looking fabulous?”
“Well, I should ask you the same question,” Grace stalled.
“Carol’s sick so I’m covering for her tonight,” Lisa replied hastily, referring to their paper’s entertainment editor. “But what about you? You look gorgeous! Are you some kind of closet celebrity? Some rich heiress who works as a reporter to hide her true identity?”
“Yes, that’s it,” Grace laughed at her.
“No, seriously!”
“I’m just someone’s date,” Grace said.
“Someone’s date? Whose?” Lisa demanded to know.
“Well…” Grace hesitated, glancing around to make sure no one would hear and whispered Apolo’s name in her friend’s ear.
“What?!” Lisa almost shouted. More disapproving looks were sent in their direction and Grace motioned for Lisa to keep her voice down.
“We’ve kinda been hanging out the last week or so—since your accident happened,” Grace tried to explain.
“You’re dating him? And you didn’t tell me?”
“We’re not dating, Lisa. We’re just friends.”
“This totally explains why you’ve been smiling all day at work,” Lisa put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot, giving Grace a semi-peeved look.
Grace laughed again. “He’s waiting for me inside,” she said. “I’d better go.”
“Yeah, you’d better!” Lisa grinned at her. “Go get ‘em, girl!” she called to her as she walked away.
Someone checked her name on the guest list and allowed her inside the convention center. Now that the anxiety of walking the red carpet had left her, Grace’s thoughts turned to the rest of the evening. She caught a glimpse of herself in the lobby mirror. In the dim light that illuminated the lobby, the pearls in her hair glistened—a perfect complement to her dark tresses. She had to admit, Apolo’s taste in evening wear was beyond excellent. The shimmering black dress flattered her figure perfectly, rouched and cinched along her midsection to accent her small waist with a modestly plunging neckline to highlight her lightly tanned skin.
Grace fingered the dress fabric nervously. She hoped Apolo would like how she looked.
A man dressed in a formal black tuxedo held open the door to the ballroom, and another man checked her card and escorted her to her table. Yuki already sat there and smiled in admiration as she approached. But Apolo wasn’t there.
“You look absolutely beautiful,” Yuki told her.
“Thank you,” Grace accepted his compliment. “Where’s Apolo?” she asked, as the man seated her.
“He’s over there.” Yuki pointed him out.
Grace felt her cheeks grow warm. Apolo was just chatting with group of people, but there was something in the way he looked tonight that she couldn’t take her eyes off him. He was dressed in an expensive-looking tuxedo that fit him remarkably well, and the way the lights were playing with the natural highlights in his dark hair made it look more beautiful than Grace had ever cared to notice. She laughed in spite of herself, suddenly noticing how animated he was as he talked with his hands. Even in such formal attire, he was just as enthusiastic and energetic as he always was.
Her laugh caught Apolo’s attention and he looked in their direction. When he noticed her sitting there, he stopped speaking immediately.
“I’ll be right back,” Grace heard him saw to the people who had been listening, enraptured, to him.
She stood to greet him as he came over, suddenly even more nervous than she had been before. Apolo wasn’t even trying to hide the fact that he was looking her up and down.
“Lookin’ good!” he said out loud, simultaneously slipping his arm around her waist in a side-hug. His lips softly brushed her ear for a moment, and then he whispered, “You look amazing,” so quickly and quietly she wasn’t sure if he’d actually said it or not.
Grace couldn’t help but smile, all the while hoping no one had noticed Apolo whispering to her.
“Hi, Dad,” Apolo said to Yuki as he seated Grace again. “I’ve gotta get back, but I’ll be back here for dinner.”
Throughout the meal, people constantly dropped by their table to greet Apolo or have their picture taken with him, and after he was finished, Apolo made more rounds, visiting various people he knew. Grace was much too afraid to move out of her seat, and after a while, Apolo noticed her fidgeting.
“You’re not having very much fun, are you?” he asked her, as he came back to the table. The dinner guests were all sitting down now to listen to some remarks by the MC of the evening.
Grace smiled at him. “Of course I am,” she tried to sound convincing. “I haven’t met anyone famous yet, though,” she added.
“Hey, I’m famous,” Apolo joked. Then he was suddenly serious. “I should have told you this is what I’d be doing most of the time. But they’ll have dancing in a bit. I promise we’ll dance together.”
Grace stared at him. “What?”
“What do you mean, what? You don’t want to? This is a…ball…you know.”
Grace laughed. “Are you for real? I can’t dance, Apolo! I didn’t think people actually danced at balls anymore. I thought it was just the name.”
Apolo raised an eyebrow. “I don’t care if you can’t dance. I spent a lot of money on that dress and I’m not going to let it go to waste if you just sit there.”
“I’m serious, Apolo. Even if I did know how to dance, you’re like…Okay, you won a dancing competition. It’s not fair.”
Apolo laughed at her. “C’mon,” he said, suddenly grabbing her hand under the table. “Nobody will see us if we leave now.” Before Grace could even protest, he was getting her up out of her chair and leading her out one of the side doors and into the inner garden courtyard. There was a soft breeze blowing and Grace struggled to hold back her hair and keep her dress up off the stone walkway as Apolo head in the direction of the center fountain.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she scolded him as soon as they were out of hearing range of the building.
“You’re going to have to prove to me that you can’t dance,” Apolo said to her, laughing, as they stopped in front of the fountain. He turned to face her.
“You can’t be serious.”
“I totally am,” Apolo grinned. “And I’ve got to make sure that you have some fun at least,” he added.
Grace stared at him. Was he really going this out of his way to make sure she was having a good time at his event?
As if on cue, Grace heard the beginnings of soft music coming from inside the conference center. Some Frank Sinatra song, she thought.
“See?” Apolo teased.
Grace had to smile. “This is too much,” she shook her head. A second later, she felt Apolo’s warm hand on her back as he pulled her closer to him, and his other hand slipped over hers. She thought she’d be petrified of dancing with him, but it was actually at lot easier than she thought—that is, if she continued keeping her gaze on his shoulder. She was just thankful the song was a slow number, so she didn’t have to do much.
“You dance just fine,” Apolo said to her after almost a minute of silence between them.
Grace wanted to look up at him, but she just couldn’t. He wasn’t closer to her than propriety allowed or anything, but still—she’d never been this close to him before, and it unnerved her. This is too awkward for people who are just friends, she found herself thinking. Here they were, out in the twilight of the evening in a beautiful garden, alone, dancing…
“You ready to go inside now?” his voice broke her thoughts.
“Inside?” Grace repeated and stopped dancing. Suddenly the thought of being alone with Apolo outside didn’t seem so awkward after all, compared to dancing inside, watched by all those people. “I don’t want to dance inside, Apolo,” she said, looking towards the door they’d come out of. Apolo released his hold on her and stepped back.
“You’re afraid people will get the wrong idea,” he said for her.
Grace nodded, her eyes still downcast. His arm went around her again and he pulled her into the dance. She looked up at him, hopeful. “So I don’t have to go inside?”
“Not if you don’t want to,” Apolo looked down at her and smiled. “Just finish the dance with me,” he said, and twirled her out and back in again. A smile spread across Grace’s face, and it stayed there until the song was over.
People inside were clapping, but Apolo didn’t let go of Grace. She wasn’t sure what was going on, until he tipped her chin up towards him. There was something in his eyes she’d never seen before. What is he doing? Grace wondered. Her heartbeat quickened as the moment seemed to last forever. He’s not going to kiss you, Grace. Just chill out. He’s not—is he? We’re just friends. She hadn’t a clue of what he was thinking, looking at her like that, but she couldn’t make up her mind how she felt about the whole thing. They were just friends, after all…
“Apolo!”
Startled, Grace wrenched herself away from him and looked to see who was coming. She could still see Apolo looking at her out of the corner of her eye, but she concentrated on squinting to see in the dim light.
It was Jake, practically running towards them. She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, and she noticed Apolo looking away.
“What’s up, Jake?” Apolo called out.
“I’ve been looking for you all over!” he called back, obviously out of breath.
Grace frowned. What was so important that Jake would need to talk to Apolo so urgently?
Jake reached them, puffing and looking a little ragged. “Read this. Or maybe, sit down first and then read this.” He thrust an envelope toward Apolo.
Apolo grabbed the envelope, ripping it open and tearing out a piece of paper without bothering to sit down anywhere. “Where did you find this?” he asked, unfolding it.
“I didn’t find it,” Jake said. “It was given to me. At gunpoint.”
“At gunpoint?” Grace wasn’t sure if she’d heard him right, but she already felt a rush of adrenaline in her veins and a shiver running up her spine. Apolo was already reading the letter, but she wanted to hear Jake’s story, too.
“I’m taking a nap in the limo and all of a sudden, I hear this knocking on my window, so I sit up and roll it down and before I know it, this guy’s got a gun in my face, demanding I give this note to Apolo and if I don’t agree he’ll shoot me on the spot.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Grace asked, confused. She could feel fear rising up inside of her, and she struggled to push it away.
“He’s not,” Apolo answered, folding the note back up. “Both of you, come with me.”
“What does it say, Apolo?” Jake wanted to know, as the two of them followed Apolo out of the garden and up the steps to the conference room.
Grace started to tremble again. She almost didn’t want to know what the letter said.
Apolo turned around before they entered the conference room. Grace was shocked at the expression on his face. He was serious. Dead serious. She could see a muscle tightening in his jaw, and a hard, tense look in his eyes. It was so different from the way he’d been looking at her only a moment before.
“Don’t look like anything’s wrong, okay? We’re just going to go in there and act like everything’s fine. Does everyone understand?”
“No, wait,” Jake said. “What does that note say? What’s all the fuss about”
Apolo shook his head. “I need to talk to Dad first. Don’t say anything about this to anyone. Especially you.”
Grace looked at Jake. He would probably blab the story to all his buddies… Then she realized Apolo was looking at her. “Me?”
“Yes, you.”
Grace was speechless, but she obediently followed Apolo into the conference room.
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Grace’s heart beat faster as the limo got closer to the convention center where the charity ball would take place.
There it is, she thought. The convention center, which looked much more like some sort of immense mansion, was surrounded by what looked like hundreds of photographers and reporters—okay, maybe it was 50 or so—swarming the red carpet. I’d really like to be on the other side of this, she thought disdainfully. On the other hand, she felt a little bit excited. Maybe she’d meet some famous celebrities or something.
Grace closed her eyes and shot a prayer up as Jake stopped the limo at the edge of the red carpet. This is unreal. She could see the mob of cameraman pressing close to the limo as the attempted to see who she was through the limo’s tinted windows.
She took a deep breath and stepped out of the limo as Jake opened her door. A few camera bulbs flashed and a murmur traveled through the crowd. Some of the photographers backed away, shaking their heads.
“Who is she?” Grace heard them asking each other.
“Dunno, never seen her before,” someone responded.
“Probably a nobody,” another one chimed in.
At first, Grace couldn’t decide if she was miffed or relieved, but then she realized she was relieved. Without attempting to look around to see if she could find any celebrities, she decided to get inside as soon as she could. The paparazzi swarmed the next arriving limousine, and Grace began to make a quiet escape.
“Grace! Grace! Is that you?”
Grace stopped and turned around. Lisa! What is she doing here?
Lisa bounded over to her, waving her arms excitedly, attracting a few stares from the people around them. But Grace was more concerned with how she would explain to Lisa what she was doing here.
“What are you doing here, all decked out and looking fabulous?”
“Well, I should ask you the same question,” Grace stalled.
“Carol’s sick so I’m covering for her tonight,” Lisa replied hastily, referring to their paper’s entertainment editor. “But what about you? You look gorgeous! Are you some kind of closet celebrity? Some rich heiress who works as a reporter to hide her true identity?”
“Yes, that’s it,” Grace laughed at her.
“No, seriously!”
“I’m just someone’s date,” Grace said.
“Someone’s date? Whose?” Lisa demanded to know.
“Well…” Grace hesitated, glancing around to make sure no one would hear and whispered Apolo’s name in her friend’s ear.
“What?!” Lisa almost shouted. More disapproving looks were sent in their direction and Grace motioned for Lisa to keep her voice down.
“We’ve kinda been hanging out the last week or so—since your accident happened,” Grace tried to explain.
“You’re dating him? And you didn’t tell me?”
“We’re not dating, Lisa. We’re just friends.”
“This totally explains why you’ve been smiling all day at work,” Lisa put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot, giving Grace a semi-peeved look.
Grace laughed again. “He’s waiting for me inside,” she said. “I’d better go.”
“Yeah, you’d better!” Lisa grinned at her. “Go get ‘em, girl!” she called to her as she walked away.
Someone checked her name on the guest list and allowed her inside the convention center. Now that the anxiety of walking the red carpet had left her, Grace’s thoughts turned to the rest of the evening. She caught a glimpse of herself in the lobby mirror. In the dim light that illuminated the lobby, the pearls in her hair glistened—a perfect complement to her dark tresses. She had to admit, Apolo’s taste in evening wear was beyond excellent. The shimmering black dress flattered her figure perfectly, rouched and cinched along her midsection to accent her small waist with a modestly plunging neckline to highlight her lightly tanned skin.
Grace fingered the dress fabric nervously. She hoped Apolo would like how she looked.
A man dressed in a formal black tuxedo held open the door to the ballroom, and another man checked her card and escorted her to her table. Yuki already sat there and smiled in admiration as she approached. But Apolo wasn’t there.
“You look absolutely beautiful,” Yuki told her.
“Thank you,” Grace accepted his compliment. “Where’s Apolo?” she asked, as the man seated her.
“He’s over there.” Yuki pointed him out.
Grace felt her cheeks grow warm. Apolo was just chatting with group of people, but there was something in the way he looked tonight that she couldn’t take her eyes off him. He was dressed in an expensive-looking tuxedo that fit him remarkably well, and the way the lights were playing with the natural highlights in his dark hair made it look more beautiful than Grace had ever cared to notice. She laughed in spite of herself, suddenly noticing how animated he was as he talked with his hands. Even in such formal attire, he was just as enthusiastic and energetic as he always was.
Her laugh caught Apolo’s attention and he looked in their direction. When he noticed her sitting there, he stopped speaking immediately.
“I’ll be right back,” Grace heard him saw to the people who had been listening, enraptured, to him.
She stood to greet him as he came over, suddenly even more nervous than she had been before. Apolo wasn’t even trying to hide the fact that he was looking her up and down.
“Lookin’ good!” he said out loud, simultaneously slipping his arm around her waist in a side-hug. His lips softly brushed her ear for a moment, and then he whispered, “You look amazing,” so quickly and quietly she wasn’t sure if he’d actually said it or not.
Grace couldn’t help but smile, all the while hoping no one had noticed Apolo whispering to her.
“Hi, Dad,” Apolo said to Yuki as he seated Grace again. “I’ve gotta get back, but I’ll be back here for dinner.”
Throughout the meal, people constantly dropped by their table to greet Apolo or have their picture taken with him, and after he was finished, Apolo made more rounds, visiting various people he knew. Grace was much too afraid to move out of her seat, and after a while, Apolo noticed her fidgeting.
“You’re not having very much fun, are you?” he asked her, as he came back to the table. The dinner guests were all sitting down now to listen to some remarks by the MC of the evening.
Grace smiled at him. “Of course I am,” she tried to sound convincing. “I haven’t met anyone famous yet, though,” she added.
“Hey, I’m famous,” Apolo joked. Then he was suddenly serious. “I should have told you this is what I’d be doing most of the time. But they’ll have dancing in a bit. I promise we’ll dance together.”
Grace stared at him. “What?”
“What do you mean, what? You don’t want to? This is a…ball…you know.”
Grace laughed. “Are you for real? I can’t dance, Apolo! I didn’t think people actually danced at balls anymore. I thought it was just the name.”
Apolo raised an eyebrow. “I don’t care if you can’t dance. I spent a lot of money on that dress and I’m not going to let it go to waste if you just sit there.”
“I’m serious, Apolo. Even if I did know how to dance, you’re like…Okay, you won a dancing competition. It’s not fair.”
Apolo laughed at her. “C’mon,” he said, suddenly grabbing her hand under the table. “Nobody will see us if we leave now.” Before Grace could even protest, he was getting her up out of her chair and leading her out one of the side doors and into the inner garden courtyard. There was a soft breeze blowing and Grace struggled to hold back her hair and keep her dress up off the stone walkway as Apolo head in the direction of the center fountain.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she scolded him as soon as they were out of hearing range of the building.
“You’re going to have to prove to me that you can’t dance,” Apolo said to her, laughing, as they stopped in front of the fountain. He turned to face her.
“You can’t be serious.”
“I totally am,” Apolo grinned. “And I’ve got to make sure that you have some fun at least,” he added.
Grace stared at him. Was he really going this out of his way to make sure she was having a good time at his event?
As if on cue, Grace heard the beginnings of soft music coming from inside the conference center. Some Frank Sinatra song, she thought.
“See?” Apolo teased.
Grace had to smile. “This is too much,” she shook her head. A second later, she felt Apolo’s warm hand on her back as he pulled her closer to him, and his other hand slipped over hers. She thought she’d be petrified of dancing with him, but it was actually at lot easier than she thought—that is, if she continued keeping her gaze on his shoulder. She was just thankful the song was a slow number, so she didn’t have to do much.
“You dance just fine,” Apolo said to her after almost a minute of silence between them.
Grace wanted to look up at him, but she just couldn’t. He wasn’t closer to her than propriety allowed or anything, but still—she’d never been this close to him before, and it unnerved her. This is too awkward for people who are just friends, she found herself thinking. Here they were, out in the twilight of the evening in a beautiful garden, alone, dancing…
“You ready to go inside now?” his voice broke her thoughts.
“Inside?” Grace repeated and stopped dancing. Suddenly the thought of being alone with Apolo outside didn’t seem so awkward after all, compared to dancing inside, watched by all those people. “I don’t want to dance inside, Apolo,” she said, looking towards the door they’d come out of. Apolo released his hold on her and stepped back.
“You’re afraid people will get the wrong idea,” he said for her.
Grace nodded, her eyes still downcast. His arm went around her again and he pulled her into the dance. She looked up at him, hopeful. “So I don’t have to go inside?”
“Not if you don’t want to,” Apolo looked down at her and smiled. “Just finish the dance with me,” he said, and twirled her out and back in again. A smile spread across Grace’s face, and it stayed there until the song was over.
People inside were clapping, but Apolo didn’t let go of Grace. She wasn’t sure what was going on, until he tipped her chin up towards him. There was something in his eyes she’d never seen before. What is he doing? Grace wondered. Her heartbeat quickened as the moment seemed to last forever. He’s not going to kiss you, Grace. Just chill out. He’s not—is he? We’re just friends. She hadn’t a clue of what he was thinking, looking at her like that, but she couldn’t make up her mind how she felt about the whole thing. They were just friends, after all…
“Apolo!”
Startled, Grace wrenched herself away from him and looked to see who was coming. She could still see Apolo looking at her out of the corner of her eye, but she concentrated on squinting to see in the dim light.
It was Jake, practically running towards them. She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, and she noticed Apolo looking away.
“What’s up, Jake?” Apolo called out.
“I’ve been looking for you all over!” he called back, obviously out of breath.
Grace frowned. What was so important that Jake would need to talk to Apolo so urgently?
Jake reached them, puffing and looking a little ragged. “Read this. Or maybe, sit down first and then read this.” He thrust an envelope toward Apolo.
Apolo grabbed the envelope, ripping it open and tearing out a piece of paper without bothering to sit down anywhere. “Where did you find this?” he asked, unfolding it.
“I didn’t find it,” Jake said. “It was given to me. At gunpoint.”
“At gunpoint?” Grace wasn’t sure if she’d heard him right, but she already felt a rush of adrenaline in her veins and a shiver running up her spine. Apolo was already reading the letter, but she wanted to hear Jake’s story, too.
“I’m taking a nap in the limo and all of a sudden, I hear this knocking on my window, so I sit up and roll it down and before I know it, this guy’s got a gun in my face, demanding I give this note to Apolo and if I don’t agree he’ll shoot me on the spot.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Grace asked, confused. She could feel fear rising up inside of her, and she struggled to push it away.
“He’s not,” Apolo answered, folding the note back up. “Both of you, come with me.”
“What does it say, Apolo?” Jake wanted to know, as the two of them followed Apolo out of the garden and up the steps to the conference room.
Grace started to tremble again. She almost didn’t want to know what the letter said.
Apolo turned around before they entered the conference room. Grace was shocked at the expression on his face. He was serious. Dead serious. She could see a muscle tightening in his jaw, and a hard, tense look in his eyes. It was so different from the way he’d been looking at her only a moment before.
“Don’t look like anything’s wrong, okay? We’re just going to go in there and act like everything’s fine. Does everyone understand?”
“No, wait,” Jake said. “What does that note say? What’s all the fuss about”
Apolo shook his head. “I need to talk to Dad first. Don’t say anything about this to anyone. Especially you.”
Grace looked at Jake. He would probably blab the story to all his buddies… Then she realized Apolo was looking at her. “Me?”
“Yes, you.”
Grace was speechless, but she obediently followed Apolo into the conference room.
