Page 46 of B-Side

"David already gave you the go-ahead," Audrey said.

"I know, but he had peer pressure. He was standing there with Lucy and my mom in tears. What was he supposed to say,don't release it?"

"No offense, Alec, but you should just stop worrying about it. I don't think any of us would be doing you a favor to stop you from releasing that song. It's heartfelt, and it'd be a mistake to keep it hidden."

"I could not agree more with you, Audrey," Grace said from the back seat.

Alec turned and flashed her a smile. She was sitting in the middle of that backseat with the seatbelt across her lap, looking like a teenager. He stared at her for a second and was about to say something to her, but Audrey spoke before he could.

"I've never seen Aunt Jenny crying about church stuff," she said. "I cried, too. That was a touching song, Alec, and you sang it really well."

"Thank you," he said. "I wrote one called Grace," he added.

"Oh yeah?" Audrey said. "Ozzy said he recorded twelve of them for you. I need to hear them all."

Alec didn't bother explaining that the song called Grace wasn't for the worship album. He just looked at her in the back seat, and they shared a knowing grin.

They talked about other things before they made it to Alec's house. Audrey lived with David and Stevie, and she had feelings for another housemate of theirs, a guy named Paul. She told Grace and Alec this story about one of the kids in Paul's Jiu Jitsu class, and then she explained how 'ripped' he was from doing Jiu Jitsu himself.

Alec got out first so that he could open the door for Grace. They leaned over and thanked Audrey for the ride, but she left without getting out of the car or going inside.

Alec put his arm around Grace's shoulder as they made their way inside. She held onto his midsection, leaning into him, molding her body to his.

"Do you know what's going to happen for the next two to three hours?" Alec asked, pulling back to look at her.

"What?" she said. "We're sleeping?" she added hopefully.

"That's exactly what I was thinking," he said.

"Are you serious?" she asked. "I was joking—sort of."

"I'm completely serious," he said, walking with her. "We're going to close the blinds, turn down the air conditioner, silence our phones, turn on the television, and drift off for the rest of the afternoon."

She snuggled up to him, making a contented noise in response to his suggestion. "That is the best idea you have ever had. I'm seriously going to fall asleep."

"Me too," he said.

The next few minutes passed quickly as the two of them got situated. Alec had a sofa in his living room that was large enough for them to lie next to each other. They drew the blinds, adjusted the A/C, and curled up with a luxurious fluffy comforter. They started a movie called The Sandlot because they had both seen it many times before and it was a comforting choice.

They were both asleep within twenty minutes.

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