T hat night the bar was my retreat. Serving beer and burgers made time fly. Everyone in the bar was a regular, yet every hour or so I’d feel someone’s eyes on me, only to turn and not find anyone looking in my direction. Twice I heard what I thought was Matthew’s voice calling me. Each time there was no one there.
Jamie and Gabe were busy at the bar, so I tried to ignore it. Jamie had bought me special medicated gloves that replaced the heavy bandages. They let me work and didn’t look overly odd, though I was sure my hands would hurt by midway through the night from all the flexing.
“Can you grab a pitcher for table seven, Sei?” Gabe asked me in passing. He was on his way to the kitchen, stack of dirty dishes in hand.
“Okay.” I pulled up a clean empty, glanced at the computer order screen to confirm their drink of choice, and filled up the pitcher. After delivering it to the table, I made another round of cleanup, stacking plates and glasses.
I’d just turned back toward the kitchen when someone grabbed my arm. “Hey, baby. How about another brew?” a voice asked.
It sounded so much like Matthew I tripped, sending the platter full of dirty dishes crashing to the floor. Everything shattered. There was a hodgepodge of voices, but that deep drawling voice calling me baby just rang over and over in my head. I couldn’t even look at the table. My vision blurred and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.
Gabe and Jamie appeared to help clean up the mess.
“I got it,” Jamie said.
“Sorry, everyone,” Gabe apologized. “The serving trays are so slippery.” He pulled me up and led me away from the crowd into the empty locker area. His arms folded around me. It wasn’t until then that I realized how badly I was shaking.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled against his chest.
“They’re just dishes. I can buy more. Everything okay?”
I shook my head.
“Want to talk about it?”
“You’ll think I’m crazy.”
“Been seeing Smurfs lately?”
“Huh?”
“Smurfs. Small blue people. That would be the only way I’d think you’re crazy.” He looked thoughtful for a minute or two. “Though I suppose they could exist, especially since vampires, witches, and faeries exist.”
“Faeries aren’t real,” I protested.
“Are so. I’ve met some.”
“Maybe Matthew’s a faerie, then.”
“Highly unlikely. Male faeries are rare and about the size of your thumb. Females are a little smaller but number in the thousands.” Gabe hugged me tightly while he rambled on about faeries. “Reproduction is less than two per lifetime for each female, I think. And with so few males…”
“You’re nuts,” I told him, but just being with him made me feel better.
He laughed. “The two of us are perfect for each other, then, aren’t we?”
I sighed. “Maybe I do need a vacation. Every voice I hear it starting to sound like Matthew’s.” At least Brock’s memory had faded substantially.
“I called Jo. She said she’d cover for you tonight. And Mike is on the way to take over for me. How about we take off? Have a little time to ourselves.” Gabe gave me a suggestive wink. I don’t know why he kept trying, but as long as he was, so would I.
“Okay.” I let him help untie my apron and hand me my coat.
Mike and Jo arrived almost at the same time. Jo gave me an affectionate kiss on the cheek, telling me we had to do a movie night soon. Had it really been almost two months since the last time? Before Frank died. Before Brock had messed me up. I sighed and promised we’d get together soon. She looked good, healthy, and not so world weary. Her lover had been murdered by Brock. I suppose if there was hope for her, there had to be hope for me, right?
In Gabe’s car a few minutes later, I was surprised when he leaned across and kissed me like he really meant it. He always tasted like copper pennies unless he’d been drinking, and it was something I enjoyed. When he pulled away, he looked a little flushed. But he helped snap my seat belt into place and started the car.
“Wow,” I told him.
“Liked that?”
“Why doesn’t everyone kiss like you?”
“Because then what reason would you have to love me?” he asked, pulling the car onto the freeway and driving in the opposite direction from home.
“You’re hot and nice and hot. Where are we going?”
“So I’m two times hot?”
“You know you are. Where are we going?”
He reached across the seat and pulled my hand into his lap, careful to rub the skin above my wrist. “Think of this as an early birthday present.”
“You know I don’t like when you buy me things.”
“I haven’t bought anything for you.” He pulled into the one hotel we had used before. I knew it to be very clean and security tight. It wasn’t a big chain hotel, just some little city place with a bar and restaurant on the first floor, but I knew inside it looked like a five-star hotel.
I swallowed and stared at the big building, so not wanting to fail again.
“You won’t.”
“You’re being creepy.”
“Everything you feel is on your face. You’re not disappointing me. Tonight is for us. Just you and me. No Tri-Mega or Dominion or even Jamie to get in our way.” He smiled that sweet curve of lips and flash of teeth that made me fall for him in the beginning. “I have a plan.”
“I’m at your mercy,” I told him.
“We’ll see about that.” He pulled a bag out of the backseat and led me into the hotel. We didn’t even stop at the front desk. He just took us to the elevator, and up we went. It was late enough that no one other than a hotel employee or two was around. Gabe swiped the cardkey through the door lock, and it clicked open. It felt like a honeymoon suite, the floor a thick dark-green carpet, the bed king-size and wrapped in silky-looking pale-green sheets. The beige of the walls was nondescript, and the artwork just depicted scenes of Minnesota landmarks. Outside the window was a good view of the skyline and a star-filled sky.
Gabe put the bag on the luggage rack and kicked off his shoes before stripping out of his jacket. “Going to stay awhile?” he asked me.
I pulled off my coat and hung it in the closet, then left my shoes by the door and flicked the deadbolt into place. “What’s the plan?”
He stretched himself out in the middle of the bed and patted the spot beside him. “Join me?”
I crawled across the giant bed and lay down next to him, wishing that my hands were better so I could touch him. Being this close to him always made me want to run my hands over his skin. The memory of his skin was vivid—smooth, toned muscles in an artwork of masculine form. Gaea! I wanted to touch him so bad. The gloves made it easier to move, though little things were still almost impossible, like buttons. I couldn’t get a grip on them, and flexing that much hurt. “Why’d you have to wear a button-up and not a T-shirt?” I complained.
He laughed lightly and slowly undid the buttons one by one, starting from the top and working his way down. I followed every one of those buttons with my eyes, until he pulled the end of his shirt out of his pants and let the last one free. The shirt fell open to frame his pale chest. Dark nipples winked at me, and the light spattering of hair made me want to run my hands across those beautiful lines.
Though right now I was beyond hard, I didn’t have much hope it would stay that way. “I want to touch you.”
He spread his arms out above his head. “All yours.”
I waved my gloved hands at him. “Not the same.”
“You’re an inventive guy. Maybe you can use something other than your hands to touch me.” Gabe adjusted his hands beneath his head like he was as relaxed as could be.
One side of the shirt completely slid off, baring a full and pert nipple to me. I couldn’t help leaning across and covering it with my mouth. The little sound that fell from Gabe’s lips made me smile and play with the nipple even more.
“So my plan was to keep talking, but I don’t know if anything I say is going to be all that intelligent,” Gabe told me as I pushed the fabric away from the other happy pebble and began torturing that one too.
“You taste so good.” I shifted to straddle his hips and get a better angle. Planting little nibbles in a line from nipple to mouth, I kissed him, delving deep. Halfway through the kiss, we were grinding our hips together, and he was fighting not to move his hands.
Pulling back, I tugged at the shirt. “Shirt off, please.”
“Well, since you asked so nicely.” He did a half sit-up and threw aside the shirt, then settled back against the bed.
I resumed my torture of his chest, licking the scar that was just below his heart. “What were you going to talk about?”
“Whatever. Anything. I dunno. Seems to calm the cat version of you. I figured maybe it would work on your human anxiety too.” The muscles in his arms bulged as he tried to keep himself in check and not touch me back. I wanted to lick the veins that ran down them, follow that blue line until I found his heart and could taste the beat through his skin.
“It’s all about the tone. When I’m a lynx I can’t understand what you say half the time anyway. I really have to focus on it.” I slid back and dipped my tongue into his belly button.
“Tone, hmm? So I could be reading you tax law so long as the tone is calm?”
“Probably. But I like when you tell me pretty things.” I waved to his pants. “Can you undo these for me?”
One hand slowly eased down to undo the button before going back under his head. I pulled back the fabric and helped him out of his pants. He lifted his hips ever so slightly, and the jeans vanished on the floor somewhere. He wore nice briefs, light blue in color. They looked like a pair I’d bought for him a few months ago. His erection stretched the fabric in a firm outline, curved to the side to contain all of him. I nipped at the head through the fabric.
“Talk,” I commanded.
He groaned. “Coherent thoughts required?”
“No,” I said around his cock, soaking the fabric with my spit.
“After I drove you home that first night we met, I had to jerk off in the car. I kept seeing your cute little ass in that leotard.” He groaned again when I sucked on his heavy sac. “Thought for sure I’d turn around and go pick you up just to have you. I’d nearly convinced myself that if I died for being with you, at least it would be a happy end.”
“Hmm.” He always said such pretty things.
“When I went back at almost dawn, you were just coming in. Didn’t really know what I was seeing at first. Just saw a lynx wandering around an estate in the middle of St. Paul. Then I watched the cat climb a tree outside the house and shift flawlessly to human once up top. You were very naked, but apparently good at tree climbing and window hopping.”
I let go of him long enough to reply. “It was the third crest of the new moon. It was either shift or find someone who could help me bleed off the energy.” I tugged at his underwear until he raised his hips again so I could slide them off. His pretty uncut cock fell against his stomach when I freed it.
Having never considered myself much of a size queen, it was funny to find myself in a solid relationship with one of the larger men I’d ever known. He was no monster, by any means. Just a solid length that fit me perfectly and that I could barely wrap my hand around.
Somehow I didn’t think my medicated gloves would provide the right friction. “Blow job?” I asked him.
“Whatever you want.”
“I want you to fuck me.”
“Such a potty mouth. Are you ready for that?” His voice still had that even tone. “There’s lube in the bag.”
As I searched for the lube, my hands quaked and my erection wilted some. This was so stupid, and it was going to end tonight, if I had any say. After finding the bottle and setting it beside Gabe, I moved to lie beside him again.
“You take over.”
“Sei, I think you should have control. Right now, foreplay is key. Think of this as your first time all over again. Only better because it’s you and me.”
“I do have control. I’m going to tell you what to do. Foreplay and all.”
He looked skeptical but let his hands fall away from his head. “Command away, mio gatto .”
“You have hands that work. Undress me, please.”
He rolled the T-shirt until I had to sit up to get it off, then tossed it aside. The rings through my nipples glinted in the light of the room. Gabe licked his lips, but his hands went to my pants to unbutton them and help me slide out of them. My undies weren’t the kind I would have chosen if I’d known about this excursion, but they were hardly ugly. Red bikini briefs made me feel empowered this morning when I’d put them on.
“Red is very nice. You never wear red for me,” Gabe mumbled, pulling off my socks, then caressing up my legs to reach the undies. “Shame to take them off.”
I laughed again, feeling somewhat carefree for the first time in ages. “Another time. My nipples need some attention.”
“They do, do they? Hmm. Well let me just take care of that.” He freed me from the red bikinis, then dipped his head to play with the rings he’d bought me. Flipping from one to the other, he had me hard again and trembling with desire against him.
“Lower,” I told him.
He licked down my belly, pausing at my belly button like I had with him. “Here?”
“Lower.”
“Hmm.” His mouth found my cock and he didn’t bother being gentle. He swallowed me with practiced skill, all the while keeping his hands in full sight. Watching him bob with his lips pressed against me was like watching the most erotic porn flick. I could have come just from his skilled suction, but that’s not what I wanted.
“Lower, please,” I begged.
He shifted to let go of my cock and attacked my balls, nipping and sucking at them until I thought I’d die from the pleasure. His hot breath tickled my sensitive skin. I pulled my knees up and spread them, giving him better access.
“Lower.”
A look of indecision crossed his face briefly, but he settled himself between my legs, and when I felt the first tentative touch of his tongue, I almost jumped off the bed. I’d expected a kiss, maybe a light touch of his lips, but not the intense rimming he was apparently planning. He moved one of his hands slowly, firmly wrapping it around my cock and giving me gentle tugs. His tongue assaulted me below, pressing deeper until it penetrated that strong outer ring. I fought not to lose the warmth of that feeling as fear filled me. This was Gabe; he would never hurt me, I told my confused body.
Gabe paused, looking up at me.
“Don’t stop,” I hissed at him. My cock was leaking, proof enough I was enjoying his attentions even if my brain was misfiring danger signals.
He closed his eyes and continued his oral adventure while he quickened his strokes on my cock, working in time to the rhythm of his tongue.
I breathed deeply and tried to focus on the feelings and Gabe’s pretty blond head, bent at the most intimate part of me. He worked me hard and I rode the feeling for a bit before giving him further instructions.
“One finger please,” I told him, knowing I’d probably go soft at the first touch.
He continued to press his tongue inside. It wasn’t until he pulled back that I realized he’d used his pinky finger to breach me and slid it gently inside with his tongue. I nearly shouted with joy when the realization didn’t wilt my happy. When he pulled the little finger out and replaced it carefully with his longer middle finger, I felt the fear of coming pain rise. But it worked inside of me, curving up until it hit that willing gland, making me squirm and writhe against him.
“Hmm,” he mumbled while he took my balls in his mouth again and fingered my ass in slow rhythm to the long strokes he was delivering to my cock. It was sensory overload. How long had it been since I’d felt such an incredible high?
I fought the tingle rising in my spine, not wanting it to end yet. “You…” I panted. “Inside please.” Shoving the bottle of lube his way, I stomped down on the flying edge and told my body to wait.
He leaned forward and kissed me long and deep, lips tasting like copper and me. He still stroked me lightly, finger inside working, hitting that sweet spot before vanishing and being replaced with the pressure of something much larger.
I tried not to flinch as he bore down, waiting for the muscle to relax and let him in. When the head finally eased its way inside, Gabe increased the tempo on my cock, tightening his grip and giving me shorter, heavier strokes. I barely noticed his continued press until he was fully sheathed inside me, and the stretch was a comfortable, welcome feeling.
“I love you, Seiran Rou,” he whispered over and over between kisses. His hips didn’t move, just those skilled hands and wonderful lips. He shifted slightly and somehow pressed himself against me so I could feel the length of him inside, pressed against that internal sweet spot.
“Move,” I commanded and begged all at once. “Please.”
He waited only a few seconds more before pulling back and diving in again. This is what I had missed. All those weeks of unreasonable fear and pain, driving me to miss something I loved so much. Shoving down, I met each thrust and clung to him like the oasis he was. He lifted my hips, adjusting the angle. The sound of his body meeting mine was almost as erotic as watching him pound into me.
Pleasure built upon pleasure, and I dug my gloved hands into his arms, gasping for breath while my body flew. He coasted above me happily, as lost in passion as I was. I kissed him again and let everything go.
Warmth poured forward, releasing in an impressive spurt of hot come between us. He moaned at the sight and pushed his hips harder, finally pulled out, gave himself a stroke or two, and his release mixed with mine.
We were both breathing hard, but when he pressed his body to mine and kissed me, having him so close was all that mattered. We’d done it. I’d let him make love to me. I hadn’t lost my erection and had even come with him inside me. My heart beat a mile a minute while I returned all his heated kisses.
He licked the tears from my face. “Hope these are tears of happiness.”
“They are.” I found his lips again. The hope I had expanded a thousand times. Surely I could find normal again now. “Don’t ever leave me,” I whispered.
“Never,” he promised.
“I need you so much.”
He nodded. “And I need you.” He wrapped me up in his arms and tugged the blanket over us, his body a solid weight against me. I closed my eyes and just breathed in his scent, the smell of sex, and us.
We dozed together for a while. Unfortunately, since we weren’t at home, Gabe’s body temp began to drop. No grave dirt here to keep him running at normal temps. The chill of his feet jolted me awake.
“Sorry,” he whispered. He cleaned us up with a few wipes he’d packed, then found another comforter to wrap around us. “We’ll go home in a bit. I just want to stay a little longer.”
“Hmm,” I mumbled against him. Yes, I was one of those horrible men who often fell asleep after sex. Gabe never seemed to mind. “Love you.”
He kissed me lightly on the neck. “Why’d you break your rule for me?”
I glanced at him sleepily. “What rule?”
“You only had sex with a person once, never twice. You told me that when I was driving you home from our first date.” He traced the skin from my hip all the way to my face and back again. “What made you change your mind?”
“You were amazing in bed.”
“I’m sure there were plenty of others who were good fucks.”
None who kissed like Gabe. Or looked at me like he did. “Everything about you was different. You didn’t look at me like you were planning on getting in my pants. Though I knew you wanted to. You never pushed me to do something I didn’t want to, and you kissed me like I was your last breath. Still do, in fact.”
“That’s because you are.”
“Were you really just waiting until the right time to end yourself before you met me?” Having heard the story a few times and knowing the strong vibrant life Gabe lived, it was just hard to believe.
“Two thousand years is a long time to be alone.”
“You had another lover, right? Was he anything like me?”
“Not really. He was a soldier, handsome enough in a rugged sort of way. Though the more years pass, the harder it is to recall his face.” He stared into the distance as if trying to pull up that memory again.
“You loved him?”
“Yes. My first love. We fought together side by side.”
“Soldiers in arms. Like Kelly and I.”
He gave me a mock glare. “Do I have to worry about your friend?”
“No competition.”
“No?”
“None.” I stretched up to kiss him again, and he pressed me harder into the mattress, which made me shiver. “You’re so much warmer at home.”
He sighed and pulled the blanket tighter. “The grave dirt helps. A vampire’s power and strength comes from the blood and the dirt.”
“Both products of the Earth,” I reminded him. Since humans were just fertilizer to Mother Nature, it was all a cycle.
“Guess that’s why we work so well.”
Bam! Bam! The door shook with the force of the pounding. I leapt out of Gabe’s arms, getting tangled in the blankets and falling off the bed. He tugged the blankets up to free me, then got up to go to the door, despite his nudity. Shoulders tight, posture tense—like he was ready for a fight—he glanced through the peephole, then flipped the latch and swung the door open slowly. He even stuck his head out and looked around. No one seemed to be there.
My hands began to quake. Dammit.
My phone rang. Gabe glanced back, closed and locked the door, and went to dig the phone out of the pocket of my pants, which were lying on the floor. He briefly looked at the screen before flipping it open, anger in his voice unmistakable as he demanded, “Who the hell is this?”
He seemed to listen a few seconds before clicking the phone shut. “Coward.”
The realization hit me quite suddenly that we were in a hotel with no wards and not nearly the security of Gabe’s place. Matthew could find me here. He could hurt Gabe. Hell, he’d probably been the one to pound on the door. I jumped off the bed and rushed into my clothes, struggling with them while the tremors grew. I had to pause when my heart beat so hard my chest hurt. Fuck. Was I having a heart attack?
Gabe wrapped his arms around me, helped me with my pants, and tugged the shirt over my head. “It’s okay, Sei. No one is going to hurt you.”
“We need to go home where it’s safe. Please.”
“Sure. Let me just put in a quick call to the front desk and let them know someone is playing pranks in their building.” He dialed his phone while pulling his clothes back on. I only half listened to the conversation. When he hung up with the hotel, he dialed another number. “Hey, is the bar closed?”
Someone must have answered him on the other side.
“Good. We’ll be home in thirty minutes or so. Can you check Sei’s hands again before I put him to bed for the night?”
Jamie. He had to be talking to Jamie.
“Thanks. See you soon.”
When we got down to the lobby, there were security guards waiting to escort us to the car. They mentioned something to Gabe about already checking it for possible problems. I didn’t even want to know what they were considering.
Back in the car and headed for home, the tremble subsided a little. I prayed the night wasn’t a fluke and that we could repeat sex at will. I didn’t know what to say, though the silence bothered me. Was I still fucked up? Yes, but could I still be what Gabe needed? I was going to do everything in my power to try.
“Jamie’s really good with first aid stuff,” I said, staring out the window, watching the world go by.
“That he is. I guess that’s why he’s in school for nursing,” Gabe replied.
I turned back to look at him. “What?”
He glanced my way, brow raised. “You didn’t know? He only works the bar nights that you do. He’s focusing more on his studies now that you’re home more. He should be done around the same time you are.”
“Why?” Jamie wasn’t a twenty-something anymore. It seemed odd for him to make a new start now.
“Why is he studying nursing? I don’t know all the details. Just that he started in sports medicine. Did some work for a while as a personal trainer and a model. And he had a bit of a crusade against steroids before enrolling in nursing school.” Gabe shifted in his seat, letting some of the stiffness out of his back when his building came into sight. Maybe he was just as worried about some random crazy attacking us as I was.
I returned my thoughts to my brother who was so very different from me. “He’s so big.” He could have been the cover model for a muscle magazine.
“And one hundred percent natural. He doesn’t have the problem taking things like you do.”
I wrapped my left arm around Gabe’s right. “I hope he doesn’t push himself too hard. With school or working out. I know he’s obsessed with following me around, but I’m okay. I can take care of myself. And I have you now.”
Gabe gave me his heart-stopping smile.
We pulled into the parking garage, parked in Gabe’s spot, and headed to the elevator. Gabe kept me close enough to use himself as a shield if he needed to. I really hoped no one was going to be shooting in my direction again soon.
Inside Gabe’s place, Jamie sat on one of the barstools, supplies spread out across the counter. The couch had been pulled out, the bed inside erected, and Kelly lay sprawled across it, fast asleep.
“He’s a little iffy about staying on campus right now,” Jamie told us quietly. Gabe just nodded and disappeared into the bedroom with our bag of stuff.
I hopped onto the seat next to Jamie and held my hands out but couldn’t keep the grin off my face. “I know you probably don’t want to hear gross brother stuff, but I’m so happy I could bust.”
Jamie smiled. “It worked, then?”
“We had sex. Real sex.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “As opposed to fake sex?” He gently peeled off the gloves. Some of the creases were bleeding again. “I’m going to put the full bandages back on for the night. Let your hands rest.”
“Okay.” This time I watched carefully as he cleaned the wounds like an old pro and wrapped them better than the hospital had originally. “I think maybe Kelly and I should get an apartment together.” After having thought about it for a few days, it seemed like the right thing to do.
“You don’t want to stay here with Gabe?”
“I love him. But sometimes I just need my space. Everything here is so nice, I feel sort of like a boy toy. Someone he showers with pretty things to keep by his side. And that’s so not me. Is that bad?”
“No. It’s not bad,” Gabe interrupted. “It’s expected. And I’d love to shower you with expensive things. Maybe someday you’ll let me.” He crossed the room and kissed me again, hard enough to make Jamie have to pause in wrapping my hands. When he pulled away, he kissed me lightly on the head. “Kelly will need your guidance to get through school. I’m thinking at least for the rest of your first year in the magical studies program. I remember vividly how bad your first year was.” He shook his head, probably remembering some of my worst mishaps, including being beaten and nearly raped by a football player. “There’s actually a condo available in the courtyard here. Two bedrooms, only one bath, but it’s been remodeled to have a nice kitchen. You know the building is secure.”
“I can’t afford a condo. I’m barely working. And Kelly is just doing work-study,” I protested.
Gabe pulled out a bottle of QuickLife and popped off the cap. “I’ll buy it. I already sold the loft upstairs. The two of you can pay me rent. Once you get real jobs, we can up the amount. It’s worth it for me to know you both are safe.”
The idea of him buying me an apartment bugged me. Mostly ’cause I didn’t want him to throw back in my face later what he’d done for me if he suddenly got mad at me. Not that it happened that often. And he never used his money or status to belittle me, unlike most of the other men I’d met in my life.
My expression must have shown my distaste because Jamie chuckled. “Certainly not a gold digger.”
“That’s for sure,” Gabe replied.
“Huh?” Had I missed a joke somewhere?
Jamie finished wrapping up my hands. “If you won’t let Gabe buy it, I will. The two of you are safer here.”
“But that’s so much money.”
“I’m well invested. Spent years in modeling to create a pretty good savings in case I needed to take you on a wild escape somewhere. Besides, I now own the loft upstairs, so we’ll be neighbors.” Jamie began to tuck away all his supplies.
“You bought the loft?”
“Got a heck of a deal on it too. Knew the owner.”
I looked at Gabe, who did a good job of looking very neutral.
“It’s late, but I can call the night manager and ask to look at it. It’s empty. The current owner moved to Florida,” Gabe told me.
I sighed. “Why not. I guess I’ll have a pretty good salary when I start working for the Dominion, right?”
Jamie shook his head. “You are so not working for the Dominion. They’d treat you like a slug.”
“So it would be business as usual,” I pointed out.
Gabe picked up his phone and spoke briefly to someone. I was tired, but a five-minute look at the condo wouldn’t hurt. I really did want my space, as long as it meant I could still see Gabe whenever I wanted. He hung up the phone and offered me his arm. I shook my head and took his hand instead. Jamie followed us out of the apartment.
The condo was beyond beautiful. A blank canvas, really, and white. I’d need to fix that right away. Gabe chatted about professional painters. Being on the first floor in the courtyard meant I was still close to the Earth and Kelly had instant access to the pool, though it was closed for the winter. Courtyard access meant better security than one of the outer units, and I liked the large windows and sliding door. The kitchen was high-tech, but smaller than Gabe’s. He pointed out the space in the dining room for extra cupboards, and the center island was a dream with both a sink and a cooktop. Both bedrooms were large, one overlooking the courtyard garden, the other the trees that surrounded the property.
“An elevator and twenty feet from my place,” Jamie said. “And an elevator from Gabe’s.” The door to the place was just around the corner from the elevator, though we heard nothing from the hallway or lobby. I’d brushed my hands over the door long enough for it to tell me it was a solid oak. It would make a very sound threshold.
I could imagine feeling safe here. Would the little I had in savings be enough for a down payment?
“So what do you think?” Gabe asked while we headed back to his place. The manager told us to let her know.
“It’s nice. Looks expensive. I have some in my savings. Do you think it will be enough?”
“How about you and Kelly make a budget. Tell me what you can afford, and that’s what we’ll make our offer based on. I’m sure we can get a good deal. No one’s buying anything right now.” Gabe wrapped his arms around me while the elevator descended.
“Except me,” Jamie piped up.
The door popped open, and we went inside. “Do you need help moving?” I asked him.
“Nope. Bought all the furniture. Had pros move the rest. I’m reorganizing it now. So if you want to stop by and help with that, feel free.”
The clock above the stove changed to after 4:00 a.m. I sighed, my body telling me it was time for sleep. Gabe kissed me on the cheek, and I followed him to the bedroom.
“Night, Jamie.”
“Night, little brother.”