Imaginary Grace Read Online Free Page A

intoxicating scent of Irish Spring soap and laundry detergent tickled my nostrils. I regained my balance, then looked up to see who it was. Tanner! He didn’t seem to notice that I had gone flying into him. As the students began to merge into the classroom, I quietly trailed behind him and quickly snagged the seat directly behind his.
    He had walked in with another guy, who I heard him call Scott. From eavesdropping on their conversation, I deduced that they were good friends, maybe even roommates. I was hoping to get more information, but then the professor cleared his throat and the room fell silent. For the next forty-five minutes, I stared dreamily at the back of Tanner’s head and pretended to take notes. When class was just about over, I slowly leaned forward, hoping to get close enough for another whiff of that heavenly scent, but just as I did he turned around. Our faces were mere inches apart. Startled, I scooted back in my seat.
    “Can I help you with something?” he said rudely as his friend snickered next to him. Before I could reply, the professor dismissed the class and they both got up to leave. I just sat there for a moment, stunned, embarrassed and thinking, Man, he’s even hotter up close!
    When I met up with Beth later, I told her all about my encounter with Tanner.
    “I understand you think he’s hot, Grace,” Beth said, “but I don’t understand how someone smelling like soap and laundry detergent is sexy.”
    “Soap and laundry detergent are clean smells,” I said, a bit defensive, “and clean is sexy.”
    “Whatever,” she said. “What’s on the agenda for tonight? I heard about another house party – you up for it?”
    “Sure, sounds great!”
    We started getting ready for the party around nine, which gave me plenty of time to try to tame my unmanageable hair. Fortunately, it cooperated enough for me to pull it into perfect ponytail. I carefully slipped a hoodie over my head so as not to mess it up.
    Beth eyed me up and down, then made a clucking noise with her teeth. “Grace, we really need to do something about your wardrobe. Why don’t you borrow something of mine?”
    “I’m comfortable wearing this,” I replied. “If I wear something of yours, I’ll be self-conscious all night and I won’t have a good time.”
    “Okay, but you’re never going to meet anyone buried underneath all those layers,” she said as we walked out the door.
    By the time we arrived, the party was in full swing. The music was blaring, everyone was drinking and there was a thick layer of cigarette smoke wafting above our heads. We managed to weave our way into the dingy kitchen to grab a couple of beers and then headed out to the backyard, where the overflow of people had gathered on the withered lawn.
    Beth spotted some people we’d hung out with at the last party and called them over. After a few minutes of trading freshman horror stories, Beth and I were ready for more beer. We both looked toward the mobbed house reluctantly, then I held out my hand to her.
    “I got this one.”
    Smiling gratefully, she handed me her plastic cup. “Thanks.”
    I was almost to the keg when I noticed Tanner and his friend Scott standing there. Clearly they hung out a lot, but judging from appearances they couldn’t have been more different. Scott was a few inches shorter than Tanner, with crazy-looking dark hair that went in all different directions. It had looked the same way when I saw him in class, and on closer inspection I thought maybe he wore it that way on purpose, like he was going for an artfully messy look. His eyes were a dark grayish color and his skin had a bit of an olive tone, but perhaps he was just tan from the sun.
    He sported a few strange-looking earrings and he had a slight goatee, but it may have just been an abundance of scruff from not shaving. I couldn’t be sure. He was on the thinner side, but it was obvious that he, like Tanner, must work out. He wore jeans and a pair of army-style