Page 43 of Anchored

Gracie’s diary

(62 years ago)

Dear Diary,

We graduated yesterday. Finally! I’m done with high school and ready to live my life. Mama and Daddy threw a family celebration after the ceremony. I didn’t dare invite Hank, but I desperately wanted to. I missed him, even as my family surrounded me with gifts and celebration. It was a good day, but it would have been better if Hank could be around.

This morning, he and I met up at the lake. He had a clump of dogwood flowers in his hand like usual. We both ran straight into each other’s arms, so excited to be back together. The flowers dropped to the ground. Hank lifted me up and spun me in a circle. When he set me down, he dipped onto one knee and pulled out a simple gold band. I gasped, tears instantly sliding down my cheeks.

“I love you, my Gracie Mae. I don’t have a single thing to offer you except everything that I am. Will you marry me?”

“YES!”

I nearly tackled him to the ground. He was chuckling as he straightened us both. He slid the ring on my finger and we looked down at it with awe.

“Let’s tell our parents today,” he said firmly.

Fear made my stomach clench. Mama and Daddy would not be happy I was marrying so young. Then again, I couldn’t see myself living without Hank. I cupped his handsome face, needing a little time. He was an honorable man. I knew our activities weighed on him. He didn’t like us being a secret.

“Just give me today. Let me be happy with this secret of ours. I promise we’ll tell them tomorrow.”

Hank stared deep into my eyes, then gave a small nod. “Whatever you need, Gracie.”

And then he kissed me and I forgot all about what our parents would say when they found out I’d been sneaking out with Hank behind their backs. They had old-fashioned ideas about a man and woman not even kissing before they tied the knot. Me and Hank? We’d done a whole lot more than kiss…

But everything would be fine.

Tomorrow we’d tell them.

ChapterSixteen

Holt

Pretty sure any innocence that I had left is burning off in the face of Gracie’s romance book. She pushed an entire stack on me when we left after the chili cook-off the other day. I didn’t have the heart to tell her I’m not much of a reader. Quite honestly, reading makes my mind jumpy. I can’t concentrate long enough to read the whole thing. Who am I kidding? I barely read the first chapter of any book, which made college interesting. Honestly, audiobooks while I worked out was the only way I graduated. But this romance book is raunchy enough to make my ears burn and my heart race. I’m also on chapter four already.

The door bangs open and I jump, absorbed in the scene I’m reading. It’s not often you read about an alien life-form double penetrating a virgin queen about to be put to death for not producing an heir to the throne. Apparently immaculate conception is a thing in this realm, though that seems like a really boring way to procreate, if you ask me.

“Need some help?” I ask, eyes still on the words, brain absolutely in the gutter.

“No, thanks! I want to make you dinner for once.” Maple’s throaty voice melds with the words and suddenly the virgin queen is moaning in Maple’s exact tone in my head. Holy shit, that’s hot.

I jump again as Maple touches my shoulder. I look up to see her trying to hold back a laugh. “Don’t tell me Grandma has you into aliens too?”

I let out a sheepish laugh, hoping she doesn’t notice how turned on I am by a smutty novel. “I was skeptical, but check this out.” I turn back to the book and read a passage. “The double-cocked purple monster had his claws around my neck, his hard lengths buried deep inside my holes like he intended to possess me whether I liked it or not. I very much liked it. He muttered something in his native language, something I didn’t understand. But then it happened. The scales on the side of his head began to quiver, and both of his cocks began to vibrate.”

Maple bursts out laughing and I join her, closing the book, but making sure to shove a sticky note in there to save my spot. “Oh my God! Grandma Gracie’s reading that?”

I stand, rubbing the back of my neck. I meant to take a shower when I got back from my run, but I forgot once I cracked open the book. Mookie is passed out in her doggie bed, completely worn out enough to not even lift her head at our laughter. “Yeah, I guess they’ve been passing it around Sunny Shores.”

Maple nearly doubles over laughing. When she comes back up, she has to wipe her eyes. “Wow. Bunch of lusty octogenarians you got there, Holt.”

With the remnants of the book in my head, I put my hands on Maple’s hips and pull her close. I give her a lewd hip swivel. “We should try to recreate the scene after dinner.”

That just makes her peals of laughter louder as she drops her forehead onto my bare chest. When she composes herself, she looks up at me, looking so damn beautiful with her wavy hair a little more wild than usual. “You have a hidden cock you haven’t shown me yet?”

My eyebrows knit. “Modern society has created unrealistic beauty standards that can really hurt a man.”

Maple laughs like I knew she would and pulls out of my hold to take my hand and tug me toward the bar. “Come on, alien overlord. I must feed the beast before we can consummate.”

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