by Ivy Clyde
I turned to glance at him. “Do I have to get something?”
“Of course! It’s his birthday after all.” He was grinning, displaying a perfect row of pearl-like teeth. My heart beat faster, making me lose my train of thought. Among the people I’d met at Knightswood, he’d always been the warmest. He suddenly leaned close and swept a thumb over my lips.
“Wha -”
“You have some crumbs,” he said, focusing those sea-green eyes on my lips as his thumb brushed the corner of my mouth.
Warmth bloomed in the pit of my stomach. His skin seared my lips as his thumb gently trailed back and forth. My lips parted. Gabrielle leaned in even closer. My heart thumped in my chest, waiting, anticipating…until a sharp pain shot through the curve of my ear.
I cried out, clapping my right ear.
Gabrielle looked shocked. I rubbed at my ear, turning around in my seat to glare at the boy who sat directly behind me. It was Nikolai, staring at me with icy gray eyes while his mouth frowned. I glared back at him, hating him for ruining the moment between me and Gabrielle. An amused smirk came upon his luscious lips as he seemed to read my exact thought.
“Don’t do that!” I hissed.
“Is he bothering you?” asked Gabrielle.
“No,” I said, turning away from Nikolai to look back at Gabrielle. “He just likes irritating me.”
Ms. Benton started the class next second. However, my mind kept thinking about what Gabrielle said. What could I get Liam for his birthday? He was already rich enough to buy himself whatever he liked. A part of me felt sorry for him. His father was unwell and his mom was away too. Even with the whole school at his party, he had to miss not seeing his parents on his birthday.
At the heel of that thought, I remembered my own mother. All my coming birthdays would be lonely without her waking me up with my favorite chocolate cake.
Swallowing the choke in my throat, I tried to focus on the teacher.
When the bell went off, signaling the end of class, I grabbed hold of Gabrielle’s arm. He looked surprised at my move.
“Could you do me a favor?” I asked just as we were walking out of class.
“What kind of favor?”
“Are you coming or what?” Liam called to him, giving me an annoyed look.
Stepping closer to Gabrielle, I rose on my toes to whisper in his ear. “I want to bake macaroons for Liam.”
The slight widening of his eyes was the only indication of his surprise. “Give me your phone,” he said. I handed it to him and watched him tap away. “I’ve saved my number,” he said, giving it back to me. “Meet me after school. I’ve got to get to design class now.”
“See ya!” I said with a wave and turning away to hurry towards the science section to get to Advanced Math. Lucas had disappeared while I was distracted. With no more classes that afternoon, Zoya was hurrying to get to her car.
Two hours later, I emerged out of the science wing. With September coming to a close, the sun was already setting early. Taking my phone out, I checked it. There were texts from both Zoya and Gabrielle.
Text me when you’re done with classes- Gabrielle
I fired him a reply.
A new problem arose in my mind. While Gabrielle might have found a way to get me into the school kitchen, I would still need some ingredients for the macaroons.
My phone buzzed in my hand. Looking down, I found a new text from Gabrielle.
Meet me at the main entrance gates- Gabrielle.
“Which way are you going, Paris?” Lucas’s voice made me turn around.
“I’m meeting Gabrielle. Where did you disappear after English?”
“You know Lucien is in that class, right?”
“Oh.” I hadn’t thought of that. Since English was a mandatory subject for all juniors, he had to be in there too. Just thinking of Lucien Bettencourt sent an icy chill down my spine. “Are you going to be okay on your own?” I asked, suddenly feeling worried for him.
He chuckled but the sound wasn’t too comforting. He was forcing himself to seem nonchalant. “You don’t have to guard me all the time. I’m leaving for home now.”
“I’ll see you on Monday, then?”
“Yep! Have a good weekend!”
I watched him hurry away. Following him, I headed to the main gates of the academy. There was a crowd at the gates already, all moving onto the street or to the pick-up area. Gabrielle’s voice shouted for me, making a lot of other girls stare at me.
He was waving wildly at me from the window of a shiny black Rolls Royce. Mutterings rose up all around me as I rushed towards the car.
“Where are we going?” I asked, closing the door behind me, noting how many girls were stupidly taking snaps of me.
“I thought you had to shop,” he said, stepping on the gas and zooming away from the school’s gates.
“I did.” As we left the academy behind, I felt my breathing relax. Something about the way the girls were snapping photos of me entering Gabrielle’s car made me uncomfortable.
“Are you okay?” he asked, noting my silence.
“Yeah. Just wondering if I’ll find my photo all over the internet tomorrow.”
He chuckled, loosening the knot of his tie. “Ignore them.”
As the wind rushed in through the open window, I allowed myself to relax further. The highway leading to the city was pretty much empty, allowing him to go at a fast pace. It was freeing. “How did you get the school kitchens to let me use their oven?” I asked after a while.
“School kitchen?” He cocked an eyebrow at me. “I’m taking you home. You can use the kitchen as much as you like and however long you like. If you cause a disaster, at least, I can handle it.”
I laughed. “My mom was a baker. I can handle baking.”
“We’ll see, won’t we?” he said with a wink.
I grinned, noticing how easy it was to smile in his presence. He was dazzlingly beautiful with his dark hair flying about his face as his sea-green eyes focused on the road ahead. No wonder he was popular with the girls.
It grew dark by the time we reached the city.
He stopped at the parking lot of a supermarket. “Do you have a list of things you want? My kitchen isn’t well-stocked.”
I nodded. “It’s all in here,” I said, tapping the side of my head.
“Okay, then,” he said, removing the seat belt. I followed after him and stepped out of the car.
Gabrielle got hold of a shopping cart. “It’s been a while since I went grocery shopping,” he said thoughtfully, wheeling the car through the entrance of the supermarket. He glanced down at me. “I knew being with you would be an adventure.”
I shook my head, hiding a chuckle. “This way,” I said, leading him away from the aisle selling sugary cereal.
“How do you know which way to go? This place is huge.”
“Stuff like flour, sugar and every other essential item is usually stored at the back. Also, the signboards help,” I said, gesturing at the large boards hanging over the aisles.
Over the next half hour, I filled the cart with all the items I would need. People glanced at us and most openly stared at Gabrielle. Being at his side was like being under a constant floodlight. While others made me uncomfortable, it felt amazingly natural to be in Gabrielle’s company. I never felt this happy grocery shopping.
“Why do you need gin, vodka, and whiskey?” asked Gabrielle, staring down at the cart. “I don’t know much about cooking but pretty sure macaroons aren’t doused with hard liquor.”
“Those are for the fillings,” I said, heading to the counter. “You’ll see.”
“Now I am intrigued.”
He was about to pay for the items but I stopped him. “I got it,” I said, taking out the credit card Clara left me.
Gabrielle was a perfect gentleman, taking hold of the cart after I’d paid the bill. He pushed it as we walked out of the supermarket.
It was surreal to load common household grocery stuff into the b
ack of his shiny, luxury car.
“We don’t have much time before the party starts,” said Gabrielle, checking his watch.
“They don’t take long to bake,” I replied, climbing into the car. “It’s getting things ready for the assembly that’s most challenging.”
Gabrielle drove us to one of the poshest neighborhoods of the city, stopping in front of a luxury apartment that rose several floors into the sky.
“Come on,” he said while I was busy counting the floors of the high rise building. He’d gathered the shopping bags by the time I stepped out. Following him through the main entrance, I found myself in a well-lit lobby. Ignoring the guards stationed there, Gabrielle headed to the elevators further down the hall.
Once we slid into the elevator, he hit the number “50”, the highest marked floor on the elevator.
I looked out of the glass-walled elevator as it rose high above the ground, giving me a spectacular view of the neighborhood.
“We’re here,” he said, just as the elevator came to a halt.
The doors slid open to reveal a vast living room decorated in a modern contemporary style. Luxurious leather couches, creamy beige carpets and flower bouquets on every surface welcomed us as we stepped forward.
“Wow,” I breathed, looking all around me.
To the corner, stood an entire wall made of glass. Rushing forward, I looked out into the star-strewn sky stretched before me. The city sounds were muted this far up, giving a notion of peace and silence.
“Where do you want these?” Gabrielle’s voice made me turn around. He looked ridiculous carrying a mound of big shopping bags.
“Sorry,” I muttered, helping him by taking some of the bags away. “Which way is the kitchen?”
“This way.”
Gabrielle’s kitchen was as modern as the living room with polished tiles on both the walls and the floor. Every surface gleamed.
“Your folks keep everything clean and neat,” I said, moving over to the kitchen island and dropping the bags on it.
“I live alone.”
“What?” My gaze went all around the spotless kitchen. “How do you keep this place in such good condition?” I asked incredulously.
“Of course, not me, silly girl,” he said, going to the fridge and taking out two cans of juice. “A cleaning service comes once a day to tidy everything.”
“Why don’t you live with your parents? I mean, you already live in the academy dorms by yourself.”
He suddenly looked tired. “My parents are dead, Paris.”
It took me a moment to process what he’d just said. In all this time I’d known him, he never let a single cloud of grief hang over him. Gabrielle was always so cheerful, he seemed to shine like the sun, making me forget about my own worries. If he didn’t tell me, I’d have never known he was an orphan.
“I’m sorry,” I blurted out quickly.
“It’s fine,” he said, opening a can of juice. “Glad that’s out of the way.”
I nodded, picking up the can he offered me. Taking a swig of the cold, sweet sparkling grape juice, I looked around the kitchen with new eyes. “You never use this place, do you?” I asked, staring at the gleaming equipment and polished surfaces that didn’t have a single scratch on them.
“Nope. If I’m home, I just order for takeaways. This is the first time the kitchen will actually be used for cooking.”
“Double pressure!” I said, giving him a smile. Taking another swig of the juice, I took off my blazer.
“Whoa, whoa! Are we getting hot and heavy right away?”
“What?” Before I could get another word out, Gabrielle was before me, pinning me against the counter. He smelled of cinnamon and fine whiskey as he let his body press against mine. “Wh-what are you doing?” I whispered, feeling my heart race. Heat sang in my veins as my body soaked up his warmth.
“We got interrupted in class.” His voice had taken a husky, purring quality. It rumbled out of his chest and reverberated through my body. His hand came to take off my glasses while the other moved a strand of hair away from my face. “You have beautiful eyes,” he said, staring at me intently.
“Yours are more beautiful,” I whispered dazedly. This close to him where his breath fanned my face, I couldn’t keep a rein over what came out of my mouth.
Gabrielle chuckled softly, leaning in to rest his forehead against mine. It was such an intimate gesture that I felt my body melting against him. “You’re cute, Paris.” Brushing a kiss on my forehead, he stepped away, taking all the warmth with him.
It took me another moment to realize how hard I was breathing. Damn, Paris! Get a hold of yourself! I chided in my head. Even my legs felt wobbly as I walked towards the kitchen island to look into the shopping bags. And he hadn’t even kissed me!
“Need help?” he asked casually.
“Nah. Just go watch TV or something,” I said. There’s no way I’m getting anything done with him around. “You will distract me too much otherwise.”
He chuckled at the pouting expression on my face but sauntered out of the kitchen.
I needed several deep breaths to calm myself before starting on the job. Macaroons weren’t that hard to make but I had to be precise with the ingredients and timing.
It was another hour before Gabrielle came back into the kitchen. “This place smells like a patisserie,” he said, moving to the countertop where I’d just placed a large tray of macaroons to cool. “These actually look pretty good.”
“If you behave, you’ll get to taste them too,” I teased. The strawberry-and-vodka cream icing and the gin-and-tonic filling was ready. It was time to make the chocolate ganache that I would spike with whiskey. Gabrielle’s kitchen had every kind of equipment a baker could dream of, making the task really easy and fast.
“How about we forget about the party and just stay in and eat these,” he said, dipping a finger into the strawberry-and-vodka cream. His face lit up as soon as he tasted it. “Yums!” he added, going in to scoop some more of the cream icing.
I chuckled, moving the bowl away. “Glad I could do justice to your kitchen.”
Gabrielle watched me make the chocolate ganache and then pipe in the fillings for the macaroons. He didn’t say a single word, keeping his distance from me, simply watching me as I went about my job.
“Done!” I announced when the last of the macaroons were ready. The corners of my mouth were stretched wide in a jubilant smile. Mom would have been proud of the perfect little macaroons I’d made.
Gabrielle came to stand beside a tray. “May I?” he asked, motioning at the chocolate-and-whiskey macaroons.
I nodded. “Go ahead.”
He took a bite and closed his eyes, relishing the melting texture of the macaroon. With eager eyes, I watched him enjoy something I’d made.
“You’re really good at this,” he said, coming to stand before me. “You look absolutely beautiful right now, Paris.”
“Beautiful?” I said with a hand at my hip. Strands of my indigo hair was coming out of the rough bun I’d put them in. There were stains on my shirt and my skirt had a layer of fine flour on it. I was pretty sure my face wasn’t clean either. “Look.” Gabrielle gently turned me around so I was facing a glass window.
Mirrored in the dark glass, I saw myself. I was glowing from the exertion and excitement of making perfect macarons. The buttons on my shirt were open pretty low, giving a glimpse of my cleavage. My green eyes went wide as Gabrielle slid his hand around my waist and rested it on my stomach. I watched him lean in close, his nose taking a whiff from the back of my exposed neck.
“You smell like cookies too,” he said, pressing a kiss on the back of my neck.
I moaned at the contact, feeling my whole body responding to his lips on that sensitive area.
“I wish we could really stay here,” he whispered in my ear. Blood thundered in my ears as I became acutely aware of his hard body pressing into mine from behind. “But we can’t.”
He stepped
away from me, still leaving me to stare at the reflection on the darkened windowpane. “Come on. It’s time to take these to the birthday boy.”
16
Paris
Only a dozen macaroons fit in the gift box I’d bought from the supermarket.
Gabrielle hoarded the rest, saying it was his payment for letting me use his kitchen. He acted absolutely casual after the close encounters with me while I struggled to hide the heated redness from my cheeks and the way my body begged to be pressed against him. Even though I tried to clean up in his bathroom, I looked a mess.
Still, I couldn’t deny how much I enjoyed my time with Gabrielle. Those few hours in his apartment almost made me forget about my stressful first week at Knightswood.
We were both in our uniforms as we drove towards Liam’s mansion.
Gabrielle had to slow down the car as we neared the entrance to the Davenport residence. There was a line of luxury cars slowly crawling through the tall gates.
“Just how many people are invited to the party?” I asked, staring in awe at the cars with tinted black windows.
“I am sure everybody who is somebody is at the party,” said Gabrielle, following a pearl-white Bentley. “They are an old family with a lot of reach throughout the community.”
“So it’s not just people from Knightswood.”
“Nope.” A valet rushed forward just as he stopped the car before the main gates of the manor.
We climbed out, letting the valet take care of the car. The usually quiet and peaceful Davenport residence was filled with the sounds of people talking and thuds of music. There was no set theme for the party. Younger people close to my age dressed in sleek, sexy outfits while the older guests were in more reserved gowns and suits.
“Liam should be somewhere around here,” said Gabrielle, leading me through the packed corridors of the house. He seemed to know his way around the place better than me.
I found Ruben instructing a waitress about canapés in one of the halls. I waved at him and received a smile of acknowledgment. Continuing to follow Gabrielle, I found myself in a vast open space with a pool in the corner. The younger crowd had gathered there and the music was at its loudest. There were no grownups around, letting people get crazier.
