Getting By
Unlike every other time he had met Grace in a closet, or any instance where his lips ended up on hers, he was thinking. It wasn’t a spur of the moment decision, it wasn’t something he thought he shouldn’t be doing, that had sort of vanished. Dylan couldn’t stop thinking. How good she tasted, how just the touch of her hand on the back of his neck sent goosebumps up his spine, how stupid he was for not coming to her earlier. They still had a few things to figure out but for him in that moment, it was all background noise. All he cared about was Grace, and touching her in any way she wanted him to. Following her as she stepped backwards, he pressed his body into hers until there was no room left, until he wasn’t sure where her body ended and his began. Both of his hand had traveled to her waist, smoothly gliding over the material of her shirt until he had both of his forearms wrapped around her completely, pressing her stomach into his and making him sigh slightly against her mouth. His pulse was embarrassingly fast and it made him feel light and airy, like living a dream he had wanted over the time they were apart. Fingers pulled at her shirt, trying to touch skin, trying to feel more of her in the tiny space. Their tongues worked over one another a little rushed, both in need of being with each other and it was really all he wanted. Dylan wished it could always be like that, regardless of where they were, but he was willing to work around a few things and keep it a secret if she was interested. Being together, somewhat of a complicated couple, that couldn’t handle not being together. Dylan would be fine with that.
He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, it could have been ten or twenty minutes, but soon enough he was pulling away to catch his breath. His forehead pressed against hers and he quickly breathed more air into his lungs with his eyes closed. One of his hands had slid underneath the back of her shirt and now rested on her bare spine, something he couldn’t remember doing but he was glad he did. That was the kind of reunion they needed. “See… I missed you.” he breathed out, his mouth pulling up at the corners. For him to even smile had become a big deal. It was hard to find joy in anything when he felt so lost and confused, alone and looking for an actual purpose in life other than working, but within a few hours in her company and her was slowly being reminded of all the good things. Pulling his face back a few inches, he was able to see her eyes in the darkened room, able to see one of his favorite things. “I’m sorry I had to leave this morning, I just I knew I would be late if I didn’t.” he said quietly. It’s not like they had many options. They would always have to sneak out early if they were serious about it, and since he cared about her and both of their places at the mansion, he was willing to do anything. Dylan hated to be that guy, especially while they were pressed together and still recovering from making out a few seconds ago, but he knew they had to be more careful than any other couple. He had no choice but to bring it up. “We should probably talk about this at some point, huh?” he licked his lips and gently scratched her spine with his fingertips, trying to restrain himself for diving right back in and kissing her.
It felt like they kissed for years and still Grace couldn’t get enough, still couldn’t stop touching him, running her tongue over his until her brain was swirling in sick circles. She never wanted to let go of him. When Dylan finally pulled back Grace realized she really needed some air, taking a quick breath in relief and looking up to meet his eyes. She couldn’t help but grin up at him when he spoke. They were somewhere between being lost and finding somewhere to land and for once, Grace really had hope for them. But that didn’t make this easy. Especially not when Dylan spoke, leaving Grace shaking her head and leaning up to press a kiss to his chin. “I know.” she assured him, wishing they could have an easy life, an easy relationship. If that was even what it would be. After all, it would be filled with late nights and sneaking out in the morning like teenagers, they couldn’t tell anybody. On the other hand Grace couldn’t think of anyone else she wanted to be with. Frowning a little when Dylan broke their silence, Grace nodded reluctantly and leaned back into his touch, letting out a long sigh. He was right, they needed to talk about things. They needed a game plan if they were gonna try this for real, try being together.
Tracing over his jaw with her fingertips, Grace took a few beats of silence before she tried to say out loud what she was thinking. “Yeah, we should.” she sighed, looking up to meet his gaze. “I don’t know what we’re gonna do.” Grace told him honestly, pursing her lips while she looked over his expression. They were sort of helpless, really, but she couldn’t live without him. She’d already tried and she couldn’t do it. “But.. I wanna be with you. It’s worth it. It is to me.” Grace told him, her whisper practically echoing through the silent closet. Stroking her fingers down his cheek and resting her hand just under his chin, Grace smiled sadly and pressed another kiss to his lips just to remind herself that she couldn’t. “I just don’t know how we do that.” she sighed heavily, dropping both hands to his chest. “I mean, do we just.. sneak around?” she asked. It didn’t sound all that romantic, seeing each other being everyone else’s backs. But what other choice did they have? Grace couldn’t stop being Hef’s girlfriend because he took care of her financially. Sure, she knew there was no way she could stay there forever, once she started to get older Hef would replace her in a heartbeat. But for right now she didn’t have anywhere to go, didn’t have another place to stay. She needed to at least do a few more shoots and save up if she was going to find somewhere, and after that she wasn’t sure. Waitressing for the rest of her life? And Dylan, he needed his job, his family needed his job. They were stuck, and all they could do was keep everything quiet. Even though every time Grace saw him from the other side of the room she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs that she loved him. “What if someone finds out? What if I’m the reason you lose your job? Are you willing to risk that?” Grace asked him, afraid of the answer.