by Hart, Rye
“Me too,” I said, smiling. “Okay. I have like fourteen dresses.”
“Well, get your ass in there and try them on then,” she said, pushing me toward the dressing room.
I went through every dress, piece by piece, looking at them from all directions. For once, I actually liked most of the ones I tried on, but I narrowed it down to five and then started taking pictures of all of them on my body. I clicked open my texts and sent them to Gabriel, hoping he would have an opinion. Unfortunately, like every other man out there, his answer was something along the lines of me looking sexy as hell in all of them. I sighed and sat down on the bench, not sure of what to do next. I scanned across the dressing area and spotted a dress in the corner on the floor. It must have fallen when I brought everything in.
I pulled it off the hanger and slipped it on, thinking at first that it would be too tight. I turned around and looked at myself in the mirror, instantly knowing I had found the one. It was high-necked and sleeveless; the top part was black see-through material. It fit tightly, hugging my curves perfectly, going down and stopping right above my midcalf. I turned and looked at the back, shaking my head as I saw that the dress was completely backless and stopped right at my lower back. It was sexy, black, and classy all at the same time. This dress was definitely going to get me laid and respected at the same time. I stepped out of the dressing room and turned in the large three-way mirror. I watched as Gabby walked up behind me, clapping her hands and nodding her head. My cheeks blushed from the excitement and I turned, revealing the intricate webbing of embroidered design on every seam.
“That’s it,” she said. “That is the one!”
“My thoughts exactly,” I said, smiling broadly.
After I got back in my clothes and brought the dress out, Gabby and I snagged some sexy strappy heels and the perfect bracelet as an accessory. I already had a clutch at home that would work perfectly so I paid for the clothes and we headed over to the café to grab some lunch. I was pretty impressed that we managed to get all that done before dark. I pulled out my phone and texted Gabriel, letting him know that I found the perfect dress. When he texted back with a happy face emoji, I thought maybe it was a good time to bring up my dad again. I asked him if he thought he would want to meet my dad before the event on Thursday. I started to get nervous when he didn’t text back right away. He was obviously thinking before replying, which I appreciated but at the same time didn’t really understand. Why did he have such a weird complex about meeting my father?
I watched as Gabby grabbed a refill on her drink, set it on the table, and then went off to use the bathroom. I stared blankly at my phone, waiting for Gabriel to make a decision one way or another. It was actually kind of irritating that he seemed to be ignoring my message. Finally, the phone buzzed, and I picked it up immediately. Part of me didn’t even want to read his response, since I knew that the answer was going to be no. I wasn’t really sure what I had to do to get him to say hello to my father.
Gabriel: I don’t know babe, we probably won’t have time. It’s going to be a crazy busy night.
I read the message and then set down the phone, not wanting to answer back. That didn’t make any sense at all. He had to pick me up for the event, we lived in the same apartment complex, and my father could just walk me down to the lobby. It would take him the same amount of time to pick me up that it would to say hello, shake his hand, and talk for two minutes, tops. My father wasn’t really a social guy, anyway, so I knew we wouldn’t stand there all night.
I sighed and tossed my phone back into my purse. There was no reason for me to respond back to that, it was obvious that, for whatever reason, he wasn’t ready to meet my father. I knew I was being paranoid, but part of me wondered what he was hiding from me that concerned my father.
Chapter Eleven
Gabriel
I was standing in line at the Avalon Café like I did every morning. That Tuesday didn’t feel any different than any of the other days, not even with the rain pouring down outside. I shifted on my feet, feeling tired from not sleeping well the last couple of days. Between the rain and the tiredness, I really wasn’t in the mood to deal with any kind of drama. Penny had been up late working on her software, so I knew she wouldn’t be meeting me down here this morning. It was probably just as well since she’d been acting weird ever since she sent me the text about her father. I sighed and looked around the place, dropping my hand to my side.
As if the bastard could tell I was thinking about him, Penny’s father, Randall, walked up next to me. For several moments we stood in silence, watching the people around us. It was obvious he had something to say to me, but I wasn’t quite sure what it was. Just the fact that he was standing so close made me nervous, especially with the other prominent residents of the complex coming and going through the space. Finally, I turned to him, taking in a deep breath.
“Randall,” I said. “What can I do for you?”
“Does Penny know?” He kept himself faced forward.
“About what?”
Randall sighed, knowing that I was just being an asshole. He knew I was playing dumb, but I wanted to hear it from his mouth. I wanted to know that he knew I could take him down at any second with Penny. I wasn’t going to play his games, but I was definitely going to dish some out. There was nothing more satisfying than making this man sweat a little. Besides, if he had a problem with me dating Penny, he would just have to suck it up. He was the guy with the secrets, not me, and I wasn’t there to make sure he stayed the perfect angel of a father. Maybe if he had been a better man, none of this would have been an issue in the first place.
“I know about you and Penny,” he said, turning toward me. “But that isn’t the issue I am worried about.”
“Okay, what is the issue then?”
Before he could answer, I stepped forward to the counter and ordered my coffee. I paid the girl behind the counter, took my cup and walked over to the sugar station, Randall shuffling along behind me. I knew it was wrong, considering Randall was Penny’s father, but I found a strange satisfaction in knowing that I was able to make him sweat. He was a crook and a liar; there was no getting around that, and he knew it.
“I want my daughter to continue to view me as a good person,” he said with a sigh. “I’m not stupid, I know you know a lot about me. I know you know my personal history, but I don’t want you to tell Penny about it.”
I stood there fixing my coffee. When the lid was secured, I looked over at him and shook my head, a chuckle coming from my throat. He looked mortified as I walked away from him not wanting to entertain any kind of conversation with him that had me hiding things from Penny. At the same time, I also knew he was right, that kind of news would really hurt her and that was the last thing I wanted to happen.
“Gabriel,” he called out, stopping me in my tracks. He hurried over and slid in front of me. “Think about Penny, she has thought of me as a good person her whole life. It was part of the reason she became such an angel of a human being. Her mother left us both when she was in college and that really tore her up. Telling her these things about me are not going to do anything but hurt her. If you care about her as much as you say you do, then please don’t tell her.”
“I haven’t told her anything,” I said, gritting my teeth. “But it wasn’t for your benefit, it was for hers.”
“Thank you,” he said, reaching out and touching my arm. “You know she wants us to meet.”
“I know,” I scoffed. “It’s been difficult trying to get out of that.”
“So, don’t,” he said, shrugging. “Say yes next time she asks. I’ll put on a really good show, act like I’ve never met you. She will be so thrilled that we finally had some face-to-face time with each other. When it’s over she won’t push the issue anymore. Right now, she just feels hurt and suspicious over it.”
“I don’t feel right faking it,” I said, shaking my head. “I am already lying to her enough about you and your bad habits, the l
ast thing I want is to lie to her about knowing you.”
“Well, you got into this knowing exactly who her father was,” he said, withdrawing his hand. “You can’t make a decision to play it off and then just hide when it’s time to face the music.”
“Yeah,” I scoffed. “Taking morality advice from a guy like you sounds like a perfect idea.”
“I’m just trying to protect Penny,” he said. “If she finds out you have been lying to her this whole time she is going to be so heartbroken. Trust me, I would love for her to date some techie who knows nothing about me, but she chose you, and I have to accept that. You and I need to work together to keep this simple for her.”
“I don’t need to work on anything with you,” I said, holding my cup tightly as I turned and started through the lobby.
I couldn’t believe that I had gotten myself into such a mess, and there was no way out of it at that point. If I came clean, she would be angry because I lied and hurt to find out that her perfect father was actually a crook and a liar. If I hid it, she would one day find out, and the lie would be compounded by time. It was a no-win situation, and I was standing in the middle of it all. I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I did know that I really wanted to see Penny, to hug her and kiss her lips. I pulled out my cell phone and texted her, asking if she would like to come over later and have dinner at my apartment.
I jumped in the town car out front and headed for work, knowing Penny was probably still in bed where I wished I was. As we drove along I watched the people out, walking toward their respective jobs, keeping their lives together. I had Penny, now, but I didn’t have the ability to be completely honest with her and that was driving me nuts. I looked down at my buzzing phone, realizing she was actually awake.
Penny: Awe, I would love to see you, but I can’t. I’m pushing through the day and into the night to get this software launch ready.
I sighed, thinking about how I used to be that motivated, giving up time with others to get the product or the service absolutely perfect in every aspect. I didn’t regret a minute of my business life, but I definitely wished I hadn’t passed on things like dinner with the woman I was dating. That’s when it fully hit me that I was actually starting to feel some sort of commitment to Penny. It should have left me scared, but it didn’t. I texted Penny back telling her I really wanted to see her and asked if I could please cook dinner for her tomorrow night. I waited a few moments and looked down. She had replied with a “Yes!” and a smiley face. I couldn’t help but smile myself, thinking about that beautiful woman lying in her bed, excited to come and spend time with me. I couldn’t hurt her; it would be too much. The whole situation was a bunch of shit, but I had to remember that my sacrifices now would put into motion a relationship with Penny that I had never experienced with anyone else.
Chapter Twelve
Penny
I looked in the mirror as I applied some lip gloss and ran my hands through my hair. I had picked out a simple outfit to wear to dinner with Gabriel that night, and I felt like I looked pretty good. My tight jeans were rolled to my ankles, my shirt was form fitting, and my long cardigan gave the illusion that I was planning on staying warm. I knew better, though I knew that it wouldn’t take long before all our clothes would be off. I chuckled to myself and walked out of the room, grabbing my cell phone and shoving it in my back pocket.
“You look absolutely beautiful,” my father said, sitting in the recliner in the living room. “Where are you off to this evening?”
“I’m going to Gabriel’s apartment,” I said smiling. “He’s cooking me dinner tonight.”
“That’s sweet,” my father replied. “You know, I would love to sit down and have a conversation with Gabriel at some point. He is a businessman like me, and I think we would find a great deal of similarities.”
“I know, I think that too,” I replied. “I’ve mentioned it a few times, but he’s turned it down for one reason or another every time. Honestly, not many people know that we’re close, so I think, ‘meeting my father’ might seem like a bigger deal than it is. We’ll see what happens in a couple of weeks.”
“Okay, have a good night, sweetie,” he said as I kissed him on the cheek and headed out to the elevators.
I went up to the sixty-fifth floor and knocked on Gabriel’s door. When he opened the door, I couldn’t help but smile at him. He seemed ecstatic to see me and was just taking off his apron. I never thought I would see him in any kind of domestic setting, but I had to admit that he wore it really well. I sat down at the table as he served the food and clapped at his masterpiece. He took a bow, laughing, sitting down across from me as we began dinner. Our conversation started out light at first, but then it turned more serious.
“Have you ever been married?” We were going back and forth with questions.
“Yes,” he said, to my surprise. “I met Sarah when we were kids. We were seventeen and our lives were both mapped out for us. We had a great time together until she became money hungry and from there it all fell apart.”
“Wow,” I said, shaking my head.
“That’s part of the reason I have trust and commitment issues,” he said. “I thought I could trust her, but she betrayed me at every turn. Now I just take it one day at a time.”
I was impressed by him, by the way he was so candid with me. He came off as such a playboy, I had no idea that lurking under the surface was this sensitive man who had been hurt by a woman. He had been hurt so deeply that it affected everything he did. We finished up dinner and opened another bottle of wine, sipping at the sweet drink and talking about our lives and our pasts. He was open to me, something I wasn’t used to from him, and I really liked that. I wanted him to always have that kind of candor with me, it was refreshing, and it made me feel closer to him than before. When our conversation ended the room became quiet, but not awkward. I looked around his apartment smiling, thinking about the first time I saw my father’s apartment. Gabriel’s was very different in décor and I liked it. He was staring at me, watching my moves like a cat. I looked over at him as he stood up, taking my glass and setting on the table before pulling me up from the couch and leading me toward the bedroom. He was a man of few words, but his actions were capable of streaming through me at full speed.
When we reached his room he pulled me inside, closing the door behind me. He walked over and cupped my face in his hands. His mouth moved down, and his tongue trailed across my lips. My breath wavered, electricity bolting through my chest. Suddenly, he reached down and grabbed me under the arms, tossing me down on the bed. He crawled toward me, hovering over my body while he passionately kissed me for a really long time. His hands moved down to my waist and pushed underneath my shirt, grabbing onto my breasts. I moaned lightly and arched my back, wanting to feel more and more. He sat up and pulled his shirt over his head, pulling me to a sitting position. I pulled off my sweater and put my arms in the air as he pulled my shirt off. I reached back and unclasped my black lace bra and tossed it to the side, cupping my breasts and massaging them for his benefit. He stood up and took the rest of his clothes off as I did the same.
When I was done getting undressed, I looked up to find him standing at the foot of the bed stroking his cock and biting his lip while looking at me. I smiled coyly at him and opened up my legs. I licked two of my fingers and slid them down my body, pushing through my folds and massaging my clit. His eyes stayed fixated on me. His hand moved up and down his shaft. I bit my lip and leaned my head back as I slipped two fingers inside myself and moaned loudly. I could hear a low growl coming from him as I gasped, pushing my fingers in and out of myself.
With my other hand, I quickly started to rub my clit, realizing I was closer to orgasm than I had thought. My body began to react. My hips waved in motion with my fingers, and my muscles began to tense. I opened my eyes and stared up at Gabriel, whose eyes had gone dark, but he was watching me intently. My hand was moving so fast that my breasts were bouncing up and down, and I was scr
eaming loudly.
“I want to feel you,” I moaned, not wanting to orgasm alone.
He immediately crawled forward, grabbed a condom from the bedside table, and rolled it down his shaft. I pulled my hands away as he quickly slid his rock-hard cock inside of me. I gasped and closed my eyes, feeling every inch of him filling me completely. He reached underneath my back and lifted me slightly, leaning forward over the top of me. He began to thrust his hips, his body pushing against my nub and his cock diving deep. The orgasm was still right there on the edge, and as I opened my eyes and stared at him, he started to pound his body against mine. Instantly I exploded, my body arching upward, my mouth opening with no sound, and my hands grabbing onto his shoulders and squeezing.
The pleasure moved through my body like a river and I took a breath, letting myself feel every part of it. As my breath released, and my body began to relax he growled, grabbing my hips and pushing deep over and over again. I could feel my pussy contracting around his cock, and from the look in his eyes, he was not far behind me. I spread my legs wide and let him take control of me. He pulled and pushed my body as his hips thrust forward, meeting me with force. He groaned loudly, letting go of my waist and leaning forward, his body pushing hard and slow. He thrust three times and on the last one, pushed in deep, lowering his body down and grabbing onto mine. I could feel his muscles tensing and relaxing, and his cock throbbing as it released, sending electric waves of pleasure through him.
I wrapped by arms around him, feeling him release his breath, growling as it escaped his chest. When he was relaxed once again he rolled over on his side and collapsed into his pillow. I rolled toward him, leaning my face in and kissing the tip of his nose. He smiled with exhaustion and pulled me close to him, not opening his eyes. He leaned his forehead against mine and relaxed as his heartbeat began to turn to normal. I could feel the strength and warmth in his arms and I leaned my head down on the pillow feeling completely and utterly lost in his sensual embrace.
