Seasoned with Grace by Nigeria Lockley

backward. Candace swooped down and caught Grace.
    â€œWhat happened to you?” Candace asked, her words dripping with love and care.
    â€œI don’t want to go to the hospital.” Grace moaned. Her brown eyes looked glassy.
    Candace exhaled, relieved that she had not fumbled and dropped Grace. “I’ll tell Ethan no hospitals,” she said, leading Grace into the master bedroom. “I’m going to make you something that will help you out. Okay?”
    Grace nodded, then looked down at the floor, avoiding eye contact with Candace. Maybe Grace was afraid of seeing herself, or maybe she was expecting Candace to spew fire and brimstone and condemn her to the pit. Yet those were the last things that Candace felt Grace deserved.
    Sorry was the feeling that pulsed through Candace’s veins. She was sorry that Grace’s life was so messed up and was so intertwined with the life of her new beau. This much drama could lead only to destruction. But she refused to let the devil have his way in either of their lives. She stood in the doorway of Grace’s bedroom, determined to prevent Grace from sabotaging her own. “Lord, I don’t know why or how I wound up in this place, but, nevertheless, I am here. Please use me to demonstrate your grace.”
    After her prayer, she marched downstairs. Ethan was busy on his hands and knees, attempting to peel the pages of the script off the floor. Apparently, vomit and liquor were excellent adhesives when dry.
    â€œIt would help if you wet the floor first to loosen all that stuff up,” Candace suggested, wrinkling her nose at the gunk all over the floor.
    â€œHow is she?” he asked, looking at Candace from over his shoulder. Just the fraction of his face that she could see sped up her heart rate.
    â€œShe’s all right.”
    Candace opened every cabinet, looking for the ingredients her father used in his hangover soup. Most of her life, Candace had cursed God for sticking her with two alcoholic parents, but now, as she lit a burner on the sleek black electric stove, she recognized that everything in her life had a purpose.
    â€œI didn’t go to law school for this,” Ethan complained, with his arms locked stiffly under the pressure of his weight.
    â€œGird up your loins,” Candace sputtered from the kitchen.
    Ethan’s eyes were full of disgust, and his jaw was clenched tight.
    â€œIt sure smells good over there,” he said in a polished tone, his voice brimming with appreciation, which contrasted with his jaded look.
    This must be his courtroom voice, she thought while she minced garlic. “Ethan, can you get me a pot cover from the cupboard, please?”
    Hopping to his feet, Ethan shuffled into the kitchen. After vigorously scrubbing his hands like he was an extra on Grey’s Anatomy, he rummaged through the cabinets and pulled out a lid.
    He lingered by the cabinets for a moment. Candace could feel him appraising her body with his eyes. His observation and silent admiration began at the nape of her neck, then twisted and turned with every dip and curve. Candace felt slightly awkward and aroused at the same time. She wanted to turn around and accost him with kisses, but she was still a little nervous about touching and kissing him.
    Even though they had seen each other every day since they’d met, and had confirmed that they were officially dating during brunch on Sunday, they had not discussed how to handle physical affection. Candace didn’t want to come off as one of those counterfeit Christians who were decked out in modest apparel and toted a Bible, but were willing to strip out of those clothes as quickly as they quoted scripture. Twisting her head slightly, she peered at Ethan over her shoulder. This moment was a slippery slope they were about to slide down.
    She could tell by the way that Ethan’s shoulders slouched that his spirits were down and that he could use a little physical