Gabriel

 

It’s near impossible to sit here and pretend to not look at her out of the corner of my eye anymore. Plus, I need to get up to adjust my stiffening dick, and I can’t very well do that when she’s so close. It’s not like me to give a shit what a chick thinks of me, but for some reason, I don’t want Cady, with a C and a dy, to think I’m a fuckin’ perv who gets hard-ons from just sitting next to a woman, because I don’t. This shit has only happened with her.

Normally, I need my cock to get a little bit of personal attention before he’s ready for action, but with her, he’s ready to go to battle with just a look.

“You want anything?” I ask before I push up from the couch. We finished one Christmas movie, and another one started right away, which I was thankful for since I wanted her to stay. I don’t want her to leave, and I tell myself it’s because I’m afraid she’s too sick to be on her own. But that’s a damn lie, and I know it. It might make me a dick, but normally, I couldn’t care less about some chick I don’t know who feels like shit. In any other circumstance, I’d have held the door open for her to walk out of, and that would have been that.

And at first, that’s what I was about to do, but when she practically fainted and she looked up at me through pained, dazed eyes, I saw something almost… familiar. Comfortable. Defenseless. I needed to make sure she was okay. I had to ensure her safety and felt this need to wrap her up and just hold her.

She’s got a bottle of cramp pills and ibuprofen on the coffee table and a heating pad on her stomach, which tells me she’s not sick, she’s just on her rag. Which is good, because, honest to Christ, if she wasn’t, I’d probably have sunk my cock into her three times by now.

She’s that fucking beautiful. That goddamned hot.

But through all her outer beauty, I’m drawn to her somehow. There’s something more, something beyond what’s on the outside and what she’s showing me. I don’t want her to leave because I straight up want to be with her so I can find out what it is. And I’ve never had that desire before. It scares the shit out of me but also gives me this strange sense of purpose.

Cady lifts her green eyes to me with a glint of curiosity, and just like the first time, I feel her innocent wonder everywhere, especially in my pants. “No, thanks.”

I’m not even thirsty, but I need a damn beer. What I am, is hungry for some shy, sweet, girl-next-door pussy. But I know she isn’t that kind of girl. She’s gonna make me work for it. And I’ll love every minute of it. She gives her attention back to the movie and is quietly laughing when I yank open Gianna’s fridge door. “Dammit.” No beer.

“What’s wrong?”

“She doesn’t have any beer.”

“Gia doesn’t drink beer.”

My head follows my neck as it aims over my shoulder to find her with raised brows. She used to. “How do you know that?”

“Um, because we hang out sometimes. She only drinks wine. And occasionally a margarita but that’s strictly when she’s eating Mexican.”

“I ain’t drinkin’ fuckin’ wine.”

“I, on the other hand, only drink beer.” She states it proudly as though she’d just won a Grammy.

That makes me chuckle. “My kinda girl.”

And when her eyes widen, I flat-out laugh. I like that she’s into me but trying to hide it. It’s refreshing. Normally, women throw themselves at me, literally. There’s no challenge in getting laid anymore… there really hasn’t been for my entire life, if I’m being honest, so I like this shit with her.

Cat and mouse.

Hunter and hunted.

Predator and prey.

I never was one to play games, but with her, I’ll break the rules, I’ll follow ’em, hell, I’ll even cheat if winning means she’s waiting for me at the finish line.

She starts to sit up. “I’ll go get you one.”

Fuck, she’s sweet. Like candy. Frosting. Honey. “No, sugar. It’s okay.”

She stutters but clears her throat. “No. Really, it’s fine. I’m just next door.”

I suddenly don’t mind anymore and stop protesting because the blanket falls from her body, and I’m reminded that her long, lean legs are practically bare. And the socks that come up to her knees? Despite the fact that they have books on them, they’re hot as hell.

She grabs her keys, and I follow her, making sure to stay far enough behind her so that I can check out her round ass that sits perfectly below her hourglass-shaped hips.

Cady has one of her arms across her stomach and is opening her door with the other. I don’t think she thought I was still behind her because when my hand falls on top of hers on the knob, she flinches. I almost do too.

“Sorry.” But I’m not. I was dying to touch her in any way I could, and I took my shot. It’s not nearly the place I want my hands to be, but it’s better than nothing. And with my skin barely grazing hers, it makes the base of my spine throb with pins and needles.

Her body, already stiff with whatever kind of pain she’s in, gets tighter. “It’s okay.”

Together, we turn the knob, and I love how she feels being this close so much that it’s nearly impossible to step back as I push the door open. She walks through, and I glance around her apartment. It’s identical to Gianna’s floor plan except mirrored.

Open concept from the kitchen to the living room with nothing but a small island between except a corded phone and an answering machine with 99 flashing shoved in the corner. She probably hasn’t checked that thing in forever. To the left of the living room is a hall that leads to a half bath on the right side and the bedroom to the left, which I assumed has the same attached bathroom with a shower and tub like my sister’s did.

Aside from noticing the similarities, it’s the differences that pop out at me. Every light is on, and there are practically no decorations or any life in the place. It’s almost as if she just moved in. “When did you say you moved in?”

“I didn’t.” She closes the fridge and holds up a six-pack of Spotted Cow. “But I’ve been here about three years.”

“What do you do?” It’s not cheap to live here. And I know exactly how much it costs because I pay for my sister to have a safe place to call home. One of the first things I did when we signed our record deal was pay off my parents’ mortgage, but that was strictly for my mom, and then I paid my sister’s rent, which I have been doing ever since. She fought me on it at first but finally gave up.

So that means I know that most of the people in the building are making at least six figures to be able to afford it since the location is so close to downtown and the lake.

She doesn’t answer, and it strikes me as odd, but when she turns and struts toward me, I forget my name, let alone what I just asked her.

I don’t move from where I initially stepped inside, so I simply swivel and pull the door open for her to amble out, purposely not leaving her a lot of room. “You wanna shut the lights off?”

“No!” she yells and then drops her head. What was that? Her shoulders move as she takes a breath. “I mean, no. I, uh… I just don’t.”

“Okay…” I wait in the hall as she locks the door, but notice she’s just standing here. I take the beer from her, thinking she needs the use of both hands, but the one that was holding the beer only goes back to her stomach.

“Ya know, since I’m here and all, I should just stay.”

Panic assaults me, and I put my hand on her hip and feel that same goddamned spark that I did when I handed her my phone earlier. “You should come back with me.”

“Why?”

Instead of giving her an answer, I turn the key for her, yank it out, then grab her hand and tug her down the hallway. And in the time it takes for us to get back in Gianna’s apartment, I have to fight getting hard. Or harder. I’ve fought it since I first saw Cady, but it’s getting worse. Luckily, she goes right back to the couch. With my back to her, I put the bottles in the fridge, and by the time I turn around, I’m almost good. “You sure you don’t want one?”

“Yeah.” She lifts her Gatorade bottle and then cuddles back up on the couch.

I sit at my end and figure if I keep talking, I’ll just keep finding out more and more I like about her. And the more I do that, the harder it’ll be for me to keep my hands off her, so I kick my feet up on the recliner and kind of watch the movie, but mostly watch her.

 

 

I wake up with a cramp in my neck and blink the bright light away. The clock on the microwave reads 3:05, and I look over at Cady to find her curled in a ball in the corner of the couch, fast asleep.

She looks about as uncomfortable as I feel, but I don’t know what to do. It’s not often… ever, that I have a woman asleep next to me who I don’t fuck.

If there is some kind of protocol for dealing with your sister’s hot friend who’s sick and asleep on her couch, I don’t know it, and frankly, I don’t want to. The last time I dated one of my sister’s friends was our senior year of high school, and it didn’t end well. That was actually the last time I dated anyone.

Autumn wanted more, and I didn’t. At the time, it was because I was young. I knew the band was going to be going on the road, and there was no way I was going to try to continue a relationship with a high school girlfriend. Not just because of how tough long-distance relationships are, but because there was no way I was handing over my dick on a chain. Liam did it, but he’s the only man I ever met who was actually successful with it. And the reason he was able to is because his now wife, Meara, is a badass chick who could handle it. Most women can’t.

So when I broke up with Autumn, she took her anger out for me on my sister. And not only her, but she turned a bunch of their little chick posse against Gianna, and it ruined the last half of her senior year. I felt like shit, and I tried to make it better, but nothing I did helped.

Autumn is a bitch. The definition of a mean girl, which, looking back, a lot of Gianna’s friends were, so it’s actually a good thing she cut ties with them before they graduated.

I’m happy to see my sister traded up in the friend department because Cady? She’s precious. She’s timid and really pretty… really, really pretty, even with as sick as she feels. When she gets back to her normal self, she’ll be gorgeous beyond anything I’ve ever seen.

I admit it’s nice that she doesn’t know what I do for a living. Very nice, actually, because I don’t have to be anybody other than me. It’s more than just about the whole rock star thing, too. It’s my reputation as a man-whore or the guy with a temper. She doesn’t look at me like she’s waiting for me to fly off the handle. I’m simply me. And I can’t remember the last time I was free to be just that.

She doesn’t treat me as anybody else, which is something I realized I fuckin’ loved when Cady and I were cracking up together as Clark Griswold flew through a Walmart parking lot on a greased-up saucer.

Her laughter continues to ring through my ears, and even as I doze off, I can still hear the beautiful sound.

But when Cady stirs in her sleep and makes a keening sound that’s way different than the ones she’d made earlier, I nearly panic. This one is fearful, not painful. I scoot down and put my hand on her bare thigh, the blanket she used has bunched up between her legs.

Damn. Her skin is soft.

I give her a very small and very gentle shake, rousing her from what I’m assuming is a nightmare. She doesn’t wake fully, just enough to turn her body and rest her head on my thigh.

I freeze, unsure how to play this. Normally, a chick’s head in my lap meant my dick was being sucked, but that’s not what was happening here. And not that I’d tell her no if she tried, but damn… I like just being what she needs to make her feel safe and give her sweet dreams.

Like… I like that shit a lot.

My arm drops, and my hand lands on her back. I gently twirl the long, silky strands of her ponytail and relax back into the cushions until I fall asleep again. And then I get the best rest of my entire life until I wake the second time, alone.

She’s not on the couch, but I know she’s still here because her soft voice whispers, “Shh. I’m getting it, Peachy girl.” I squint an eye open to find Cady in the kitchen, squishing some nasty ass food onto a plate for Gianna’s cats. I can smell that shit all the way over in the other room. “There you go, pretty girl. Hi handsome,” she continues whispering, scratching behind the black cat’s ears. “Yours is next. Ladies first, remember?”

I can’t help the tilt of my lips at how fuckin’ cute she is. And as I watch her move around in the light of day and listen to the melodic tone of her voice, I realize something is familiar about her. I thought that as soon as I spotted her last night but couldn’t place her. I figure since she’s my sister’s friend, I probably met her or at least have seen her sometime when I was home.

But that can’t be it. Because if I’ve seen her before, I would have remembered.

She opens and closes a drawer, then bends her head and does something I can’t see. “I’ve gotta go, kitties. I’m already late for work. Be good for Gabriel.” Fuck, my name sounds good coming from her mouth. Without a glance in my direction, she puts her purse over her shoulder and quietly pads out of Gianna’s apartment.

At the sound of the door closing, something fucked-up happens. My gut sinks to the floor, and the center of my chest throbs in quick succession.

“What the fuck?” I ask the empty room. Both cats turn to look at me, but as soon as they realize they don’t give a shit about me, they lick their lips and go back to eating.

I get up and stomp over to the island and pick up a note from her. She has girly handwriting with swooshes that are as cute as she is.

 

Gabriel—

Thank you for keeping me company yesterday.

I’m next door if you need anything.

 

Best—Cady

 

“What the fuck?” I repeat. It’s like she’s giving me marching orders or some shit, and the longer I stand here, the more pissed I get.

She is not about to give me all those angelic vibes and then brush me off… oh, no. I’m not used to innocent, and I don’t even know how to handle something so breakable, but she gave it to me, and I want more, so I’m going to figure it out.

I dig through my sister’s fridge and find it mostly empty, which I already knew, but I need something to distract me from chasing after Cady because that would make me late for the interview we have this morning. I grab a yogurt and spoon, then lean against the counter as I choke her low-calorie crap down my gullet.

After a quick shower, I get dressed and am about to go to the grocery store when my cell rings. “Yeah,” I answer as I’m sliding my feet into a pair of black boots.

“Hi. How’s it going?” my sister asks cautiously.

“Good.”

“Did you remember to feed the cats?”

I look at the garbage can where I threw the plates in after the cats licked them clean. “Yeah.”

“Gabriel.”

“What?”

“You really remembered?”

I push my wallet into my back pocket. “Cady did.”

“Why did Cady?”

“Because she was here.”

“Why was she there this morning?” Her words practically run together as she panics.

“’Cause she woke up here and fed them before she went home.”

My sister gasps on the other line. “I swear to God, Gabriel, if you even think about touching her or screwing her over, I will never forgive you.”

“Too late.” I thought about her in my dreams, and I can’t stop thinking about her now.

“You slept with her?” she screeches. “God, you’re an asshole. Why would you do that?”

I laugh to myself at how damn angry she is. “Chill. Damn. I’m just giving you shit. I didn’t touch her.”

“Oh good.”

“But I did think about it.” The truth be told, I thought about a lot more than touching her, but I keep that to myself because I don’t think Gianna would find it the least bit funny.

“Why did she sleep there?”

“We both fell asleep on the couch.”

Under her breath, I hear her swear. “Gabriel, come on. Quit being an ass, you know what I’m asking.”

“She looked like shit, all right? And when she stood, she got all dizzy, so I didn’t want her to be alone. She stayed, and we watched movies, and then we fell asleep. That’s it. I swear.”

She takes a second, and I just know she’s trying to figure out if she believes me or not. “Okay. Okay, that’s good.”

“Why are you so freaked anyway?” I make sure to lock the door behind me and then jog down the stairs to my Tahoe.

Her sigh isn’t annoyed, more like conflicted. “I just don’t want you to hurt her, and before you say anything, I don’t think you would intentionally. She’s really sweet, and she’s so nice but super shy, Gabriel. I try to get her to open up, but she never does, and I just… I don’t… I really don’t think she could handle you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I start my SUV but wait for her to elaborate as it warms up.

“You’re aggressive, Gabriel. You’re a famous musician, and she’s so quiet. If you get her to like you and then hurt her, it won’t just hurt… it would break her.”

My jaw clenches as I listen and realize that even though my sister is looking out for her friend, and regardless if she thought I wouldn’t intentionally do it, she still thinks I would possibly fuck her over. And it pisses me off. But as I take a second to gain control of my temper, I catch my reflection in the rearview mirror. Selfish, angry eyes looked back at me, and I hate the realization that she’s right. Because that’s what I’d do.

All I ever wanted was to be better than my dad, but the way I did that was to make sure I never let a woman get too close. That’s why I’ve never once, not ever, in my life even attempted to let anyone in. And for the first time, I want to not only let someone in but also never let her go. It never crossed my mind that I don’t have to hit them to cause them pain, and the realization that I could hurt Cady without even touching her rocks me to my core.