Saving Grant Ward

Chapter Eighteen

I woke up the next morning and found Grant already gone. I hoped last night wouldn't make him weird around me, but either way I was glad we'd had the conversation. I felt like I understood him better.

I rolled out of bed and ate a banana in the kitchen, then pulled out my phone to call Grant. Hopefully he took his phone with him this time.

It rang a few times and I couldn't hear it in the hotel room, so I hoped that meant Grant had it.

"Hello?" asked Grant, picking up.

"Hey Grant!" I said happily, "Thanks for taking your phone this time."

I could practically hear him rolling his eyes.

"You're welcome. Now what do you need?"

"Where are you?" I asked.

"Coffee run," he answered.

"I hate coffee."

"Yes, I remembered the cream," he said, fake laughing at the end.

"What?" I asked. I thought for a second (like seriously, what conversation was he having?), then I remembered that he had to maintain his cover. "Shoot, never mind, I get it now. Am I gonna have to drink coffee as part of my cover?"

"Yeah."

"Damn. See you when you get back."

"Alright, I'll hurry."

****************

"So, where are we going today?" I asked once Ward got back. Since we were in the privacy of our hotel room, I dumped my coffee and made tea instead.

"Around town. We're just going to wander today and see if we can pick up any conversation bites that might give us a clue as to where the orb is and, more importantly, who's looking for it," he answered.

"Sounds good," I replied. Grant hadn't mentioned anything about last night but he wasn't acting weird either, which I was relieved about. It was a huge leap in our friendship to talk about all that stuff, but it also wasn't easy, so I was glad that there wasn't a period of awkwardness that we had to go through.

After getting dressed, Grant and I strolled out of the hotel together and into the streets. It was beautiful, but the best part was that it was warm.

"It's so warm!" I noted as we walked.

"Yeah. It's a nice change from Greenland."

"No kidding! I mean look! I'm wearing a dress!" I pulled at the hem of my skirt to emphasize my point. "I was wearing winter jackets to bed in Greenland."

Grant just laughed. "I gotta admit, it does feel nice to have the sun on my face."

We walked a little farther, hand in hand, just taking in the warmth of the sun. Then, I saw a moped go speeding by.

"Uh...Mark!" I exclaimed, barely remembering to use Grant's cover name as I pointed excitedly, "We need to rent one of those!"

"What? A moped?"

"Yes!"

Grant looked at me like he expected me to say 'just kidding!' or 'never mind!' but I kept a dead serious expression on my face.