Chapter Seven

Gabby sighed and stared at the filthy barbeque stand, cleaning brush in hand.

She, Matt and Taka’s family had spent the night and well into the early hours relaxing on the deck and talking, lazing around on the outdoor setting behind her, just spending time together before the big college sendoff. Hence the dirty barbeque.

Well, this was it. Matt’s eighteenth birthday. She should probably be relieved that he’d actually made it this far with all his limbs intact, but all she could think of was that he would be leaving in two days.

Two days and he would be gone.

He was flying to Japan with Taka for a short holiday before continuing on to the States for college. And she would be alone. For the first time in her life, she would have no one.

All her friends were either having babies or getting married. They were all just entering the stage she’d been at eighteen years ago. It seemed so long ago that it was almost as if she were looking at someone else’s life. She couldn’t replace David, and she didn’t want to. But hell, she was too damned young to be an empty nester. They’d tried to have more children, but other than a miscarriage early on in their marriage, fate hadn’t wanted to play fair. They’d stopped using contraception altogether. It simply wasn’t meant to be.

At thirty-two she had accomplished so much more than some twice her age. And she still believed in love. Even though it seemed that Cupid had run out of arrows.

She touched a finger to her lips. If she closed her eyes, she could still feel the heat of Taka’s kiss. It had shocked her to her toes. That he’d done it, and her reaction to him. It couldn’t have meant anything to him, could only have been a bit of a joke on his part, but it had made her realize how much she was missing out on. But what to do now?

Her job was fulfilling, to a point. Her life had centered around her son, his wellbeing, his happiness and his friends.

Which meant that Takeshi had been a huge part of that for the last five years. Other friends had come and gone. But in the middle, there were always the two of them. One or the other had always been around to talk to.

She would miss that, and them, terribly. Things were going to get awfully quiet around there.

But not tonight.

Matt was having his party here, or rather, out in the barn that had never really been used as anything other than a garage. It was a huge area, and almost impossible to damage other than actually burning it down.

Not that she wouldn’t put that past some of the seniors. But she got on well with most of Matt’s friends, and they usually behaved themselves. She trusted them not to do anything too stupid. It was dinner and a movie for her and Taka’s mother tonight, so she might miss most of the noise. Yumi had offered for her to stay the night at their home, and Gabby was thinking about taking her up on the offer once she checked on the party later.

Gabby rubbed her grimy palms on her frayed denim shorts and stood up, wiping sweat from her forehead. She eyed the shorts critically. The color had faded years ago to a pale blue. The material was so soft it clung to every curve. She wore them so often she was surprised they still hung together after each wash.

Gabby eyed the pool to her left. Maybe she should go for a swim.

She shook her head to herself. No, best to check on the boys first. Perhaps they had something for her to do to make her feel useful. She headed toward the barn where Matt and Taka were putting the finishing touches on the scene.

Hay bales lay scattered around the walls and in groups for seating. They had opened some and strewn them across the floor to make it more countrified. In one corner, stacked bales served as a bar, and an old door had been thrown on top to make a table for the drinks and nibbles.

The stereo Matt had filched from inside the house lent a decidedly modern touch, though. Her gaze stayed on her four-foot-tall floor speakers as she walked over and sat on the nearest bales of hay, crossing a leg over her knee.

Matt glanced at her. “Don’t worry. I’ll look after it.”

Gabby looked over at him. “What’s that?”

Matt didn’t turn around. “Your precious stereo.”

Gabby smiled at her son as Taka flopped down on the bale beside her and leaned back, draining his upended cola can.

He swallowed and grinned at her. “Your life wouldn’t be worth living if you didn’t.”

Gabby laughed at them both. “Oh, come on, guys! Surely I’m not that bad? After all, it’s just a stereo.”

Taka stared at her like she’d just sprouted another head. “Who are you and what have you done with Gabby?” He looked at Matt and shook his head vehemently. “Don’t listen to her, Matty. She’ll carve both of us up and serve us for dinner if anything happens to it. So, what do you think? Place look okay?”

“Nice. Real nice. Should be a good night. How many are you expecting to turn up, honey?” Gabby aimed her question at Matt.

Matt turned around from what he was doing. “Around fifty, I think. Not too many. I told everyone to bring a sleeping bag if they wanted to stay the night. There’s plenty of room out here, so you won’t be bothered by anyone. I’ve already told them all that the house is off limits. They’re all cool with that.”

Taka stuck a piece of hay between his teeth to chew. “Not likely. I’m not sleeping out here on the concrete. Not when I have a perfectly good bed waiting for me inside.”

Matt shook his head. “You just wanna get away from Stef. Worried she’ll try and take advantage of you?” he teased.

“Damn right, I am. She’ll probably climb right into my sleeping bag with me. And that, my friend, is not cool. I’m safe up there with Gabby.” He frowned at her. “Just don’t lock me out.”

Gabby laughed hard. “Don’t worry, Yoshi. I’ll keep you safe from the Amazon. You can lock the door behind you if you’re that worried. Then she can’t get to you.”

“Aww, come on. Are you really gonna let him get around her that easily? He’s not exactly a blushing virgin, now is he? You should make him stay out here and face her. Surely there’s not much she could do to him with that many people around?” Matt groused.

Gabby tried to hide her smile behind her hand as Matt ducked the crumpled up soft drink can Taka threw at him.

“Be nice, Matt. You’d be surprised what she might do if she’s really that desperate. Of course he can stay in his room. He’s special.”

Taka sat up and pointed at Matt. “Ha! Hear that, sucker? I’m special.” He turned to Gabby, the grin on his face not quite hiding the relief.

He obviously didn’t want to have a confrontation with Stef. It was as if now that they were close to leaving, she was doing her best to get him into bed before he went. “Thank you,” he said.

Gabby shook her head at them both. “No worries, Taka. You guys need me to help with anything?”

They both shook their heads.

“No. It’s all covered. You still going out?” Taka asked.

Gabby nodded. “We’re having a girls’ night. I’ll be back around midnight sometime to check up on you all. My house had better still be standing.”

Matt grinned at his mother. “We’ll try not to demolish it quite so early in the evening. Maybe around dawn we might get to it. I’ll make sure I get you out first.”

Gabby stood and stretched the kinks from her body, her arms rising high over her head. She looked down to see Taka staring at her.

“Everyone’s a comedian.” She lifted her hand and pushed the hair from his eyes. His smile grew larger. “You really need a haircut.”

He shook his head in contradiction. Gabby shrugged and turned to leave the barn. “I’ll see you both a bit later. I’ll pop in before we go out, then again after I get back, okay?”

 

Taka felt Matt turn to face him once Gabby had gone. He couldn’t take his eyes from the point where she’d disappeared. Matt pointed a finger at him. “You are pathetic.”

“And why is that?” he asked, finally facing Matt.

“You and that damn hair. Don’t think I don’t know why you won’t get it cut.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Taka’s laugh gave him away.

Matt looked at him in amused disgust. “You just want to have a reason for her to touch you. Every time she sees you, she pushes your hair out of your eyes, and that’s all the damn time. If you cut it, she won’t do it, will she? So you don’t cut it. Am I right?”

He couldn’t help but smile. “So sue me. It works, doesn’t it? I don’t think she even realizes how often she does it in a day. I like it. It doesn’t hurt anyone, so what’s it matter?”

Matt sighed and shook his head. “You’re hopeless. Why don’t you just tell her you love her? Then you might get a little more than a hand through your hair. You might be surprised. It’s not like you’re only looking for a tumble in her bed.”

All his good humor disappeared. “How would you know what I’m looking for?”

Matt stared at him, suddenly serious. “Because I know you. If all you were looking for was sex, you wouldn’t have to go too far. Stef has made that very clear. I know it’s real. You would never have said anything if it wasn’t.”

Matt dug in the back pocket of his jeans. A slight crackle of plastic caught Taka’s attention. His gaze dropped to Matt’s hand. A single condom packet sat wedged between the tips of two fingers when he held up his hand. Matt flicked it at him. He caught it by reflex.

Astonishment flooded him. He tried to breathe and stared at the boldly colored pack in his open hand as if it was alive and would bite.

Oh, God. He’s really okay with this.

Taka flexed his hands in his lap, trying to gain control. The condom felt like it was burning a hole in his palm. He couldn’t look up from it. He forced himself to stuff it in his back pocket.

Matt had just given him the green light. It was almost too much to comprehend.

“Tell her,” Matt said.

Shaken by Matt’s suggestion, and the implications, he could barely make the words leave his mouth. “I can’t.”

Matt sat down on the bale beside him. “Why not?”

When he turned away, Matt grabbed his shoulder and forced him to make eye contact. “Why not? You’ve got nothing to lose. We’re leaving tomorrow night. Tomorrow night, man. Even if you make an ass of yourself, you’ll be gone anyway. So what’s the harm in letting her know that someone loves her? After what she’s been through, she needs to hear that someone does. She loves you. Maybe not the way you want, but she does love you. She would never say a word to hurt you if you told her. I think she’d be flattered.”

“Flattered? I don’t want her to be flattered!”

“Then what the hell do you want?” Matt growled.

Taka jumped up and turned on him. “I don’t know, okay! But I do know I’ve got to leave in under two days, and it’s killing me. I don’t know what to do. I want to be near her. But that’s no good, because I can’t touch her. I want to tell her, but I can’t make the words come out of my damned mouth. I don’t know what to say.”

Matt stared at him in mute sympathy.

Shit. This was all he needed.

“I need to…” Taka went to say more, then held up a hand. “Later, okay? I gotta go.”

He turned and strode out of the barn into the afternoon heat.