by Amity Hope
“Don’t look so glum,” Molly ordered. “It will all work out.”
Ava tried to force a smile. She wanted to believe her but Molly’s optimism was severely misplaced.
“They must be done,” Julia murmured.
Everyone’s eyes darted toward the game room. The guys were headed back to the table.
Molly slid out of the booth.
“Where are you going?” Ava asked.
“Nowhere. But you,” Molly told her, “are going to go have some fun with that bundle of hotness. Now go,” she said, pointing back toward the direction of the game room.
Ava smiled as she slid from the booth.
Gabe gave her a questioning look. “Are we leaving already?”
“No,” Ava told him as she led the way, “we’re going to go play a game of darts.”
Gabe grinned in response, sending Ava’s heart into a fluttery dance it hadn’t followed in a very long time.
They didn’t notice Molly’s smug look as she watched them play. She thought they both looked a whole lot more relaxed than when they arrived. She smiled each time one of them laughed.
“Seems I’ve forgotten how to play darts,” Gabe admitted to Ava when the game was over. He looked a little troubled by his admission.
Ava laughed. “No, it’s just that I’ve always excelled at darts.”
“Was I good at pool? Because I don’t think Oliver knew what hit him.”
“Yeah,” Ava said with a grin, “you were always good at pool. You beat me every time.”
“So let’s play now,” Gabe suggested and Ava followed.
They were only minutes into the game before Gabe started to laugh. “Oh, sweetheart, I’m not sure if it’s that I’m so good or the fact that you’re so incredibly bad.”
She shrugged good-naturedly and laughed along with him. “I won’t disagree.”
“It’s your stance,” Gabe informed her. “It’s off.”
Ava tried to reposition herself as she lined up her stick with the ball.
“You should be more like this,” he said as he stood behind her. His body formed to hers, one arm scooped around her waist, accidentally sliding up her shirt and across her stomach. Before his other hand could reach hers the pool stick tumbled from her fingers, bounced off the edge of the table and clattered noisily across the floor.
Ava’s heart slammed in her chest, having been completely taken by surprise at the feel of Gabe’s body curling around hers. Every nerve ending in her body had ignited at the feel of his hand against her bare skin.
“Sorry,” he said, looking embarrassed and stepping away. “I should never have done that.”
And just like that, the tension was back.
***
What the hell had that been? Gabe wondered.
For the first time, it felt like they were just a normal couple out having fun, doing the kind of things couples might do. She’d been laughing and the worry that had been etched across her face since he’d met her seemed to have melted away. He hadn’t been able to help himself, putting his arms around her suddenly seemed like the natural thing to do. But when he’d touched her and she’d reacted as if someone had dumped ice water over her, he realized that it definitely hadn’t been right. Not for her.
Gabe glanced at her as they drove home. He tried not to look too long, he didn’t want to be caught staring and the truth was, he could watch Ava all day long. Within the first few days he realized he loved the graceful way she moved. He thought she was the most incredibly beautiful thing he had ever seen.
Yet he was confused by all of this as well. At first, it seemed she wanted nothing more than to be with him. Since then, she’d been very carefully steering clear of him.
He was starting to wonder if her feelings for him had changed. Maybe now, she was simply feeling nothing more than guilt over what had happened to him. Not that it was her fault. He had made the choice.
He had demonic blood in him. The thought alone never ceased to feel like someone had dropped a cement block on his gut. How could she want him, knowing that? His father was a demon, hers a pastor. Could there be anything more unnatural than that?
Sure, she’d clung to him that day in the church but was that just because she’d been so upset? Would she have clung to anyone that offered her comfort? Today, with her friends, she’d seemed so lighthearted. Then he’d touched her and he’d ruined it all. He couldn’t miss the look of concern that had crossed over her friends’ faces.
Did she feel obligated to take care of him? As if it was simply her duty to be sure he was okay? Sure, apparently he’d saved her life. But he didn’t think that ought to count for anything because if it weren’t for him, she never would’ve been in danger in the first place.
Maybe now, she’d finally realized that. And he couldn’t blame her for finally coming to her senses. Instead, he was surprised it had taken her so long.
Chapter 11
“Ava,” Gabe said, his voice firm, “I don’t need a damn babysitter. You don’t need to watch over me. I haven’t had a single memory lapse since I’ve been back. I feel fine. My memory is clear,” he paused before adding, “well, the last few weeks are clear.”
A look of pure panic settled across her features. This was going to be one of the longest shifts she’d worked all summer. Maybe if she’d forced herself to leave him during a shorter shift she wouldn’t be so worried about this one. But she hadn’t been willing to do that either. In fact, on Sunday morning she hadn’t dared miss church for the second week in a row because it would alert her parents to something being off. Afraid to leave Gabe alone, she’d talked Julia into coming to stay with him at the cabin. He had been less than appreciative.
Was she smothering him? Yes. Could she stop? She knew she needed to; she was just having a hard time doing it.
“It’s such a long shift,” she pointed out in a shaky voice.
Despite the debacle at Cheaters, things had been going well with them. She’d tried to explain what had happened but he had cut her off so she’d just let it go, not wanting to dwell on her embarrassment. But now, they were getting along peacefully…platonically, she realized.
Gabe sighed. It was her cabin. He didn’t feel like he had the right to stay at her cabin when she clearly wanted him somewhere else. Even if that ‘somewhere’ was simply with her.
“Fine. I’ll go with you today but this is going to be the last time.” Actually, it was an empty threat because he wasn’t sure where he would go if he wasn’t with her. It seemed a little bold of him to insist he get to stay at her place just because he felt like it.
She nodded. At least it would give her just a little more time to brace herself for the inevitable. Really, she should’ve been doing that all along but she’d been in denial.
Gabe was quiet on the way to town. When they walked into The Sugar Shack, he headed for what had become his usual seat at a small table closest to the window. In minutes he had Ava’s laptop up and running as he sat with his chin in his palm, a bored look plastered across his face.
Really, Ava knew, it wasn’t fair to keep him there. It was selfish, actually. She at least had work to keep her busy. He simply had the Internet and after several days, even that had lost its appeal.
The first time she’d dragged him along she’d asked Becky if it was okay that he was there. She’d told Ava that as long as there was a free table she didn’t mind. After Becky noticed how big of a bill he’d racked up she jokingly told Ava she really didn’t mind.
Throughout the morning Ava realized that if her shift was passing excruciatingly slowly for her, it had to be even worse for him. Her guilt grew each time her eyes darted to him. The look on his face had long passed boredom and quite frankly, he was looking a little miserable.
The jingly sound of the bell snapped her out of her evaluation of the situation.
“Hey, Ava,” Dawson said as he strode through the front door of the seemingly empty shop. “So, Oliver told me Gabe’s back. He said th
at you all went out the other night but that things seemed really tense between the two of you. I just wanted to—,” he cut himself off when he noticed the mortified look on Ava’s face, and that she wasn’t looking at him. He glanced over his shoulder to see Gabe, sitting at a table, curiously watching them over the screen of the laptop. “Uh—,” he started to say but Gabe stopped him by jumping up.
“You know what?” he said to Ava. “I’ll let the two of you talk. I’m going for a walk. I’ll see you later.” He pushed a reassuring grin on his face as he rushed to the door.
“Gabe!” Ava cried as she lurched forward, having to dart around Dawson. Because Gabe was at the front of the store and his legs were much longer, he was gone before she could stop him. She had her hand on the doorknob ready to rush after him when Dawson grabbed her wrist and gently swung her back around.
“Ava, what are you doing? You can’t just leave!” he said as he glanced around, noting that Becky was nowhere in sight. There were no other customers at that moment but that did not mean she could just walk out.
“But—,” Ava sputtered as she caught sight of Gabe who had crossed the street. He was talking on his cell phone. Who could he possibly be talking to?! she frantically wondered.
Dawson’s gaze swung from Gabe to Ava and back again. He shook his head. “Since when are you the kind of girl that goes chasing after a guy? What’s going on with you?”
She shook her head. “It’s not how it looks.” She was sure it looked like she was a desperate, pathetic girl not wanting to be alone. The truth was she was terrified he’d end up in another state and not know how he had gotten there. Or have any idea that he needed to go back to where he’d come from.
The rest of her conversation with Dawson was a blur. He had come in to talk to her about something but he told her since she was obviously so upset, he didn’t think it was a good time. Ava couldn’t agree more because she really didn’t feel like talking about anything. He made her promise that if she needed anything, she would call him. The only thing she needed was Gabe but she had agreed to his request just to satisfy him enough to make him go home.
Gabe had walked out with several hours of her shift still left. Each passing minute ticked by with unbelievably agonizing slowness.
She wondered if possibly he was jealous because of Dawson. She shook the thought away. It was doubtful. For him to be jealous he’d actually have to care and she wasn’t so sure that he did. The look on his face wasn’t one of jealousy. It was more like…relief.
And who, she wondered yet again, could he possibly have been calling?
It was fortunate that she knew her job so well. She was able to float through the motions. Each time there was a break in patrons, she would try to call Gabe. He didn’t have his phone on. It went straight to voice mail.
Every. Time.
By the time her shift ended, she was in an absolute panic.
Should she leave? Should she drive around looking for him? Where would she even start? Or should she stay where she was in case he came back? Her heart was hammering and her skin was clammy with a cold sweat when her phone vibrated.
With shaky fingers she checked the text.
Meet me at the cabin.
Relief swept through her in a cold, tingly rush as she raced out to her car. For the first time ever, she broke the speed limit by quite a lot. She forced herself to regain her composure as she pulled into her driveway. She was smothering him. She knew it. She was having a hard time getting her fear under control so she could stop smothering him. But she needed to stop. Her first impulse was to bolt into the cabin and demand to know where he’d been.
She realized this would be a very bad idea.
So, satisfied that he was safe and sound inside—though she couldn’t imagine how he’d gotten there—she pulled herself together, bottled up her emotions, took a deep breath and marched in.
“Gabe?” she called, forcing her tone to remain light.
“Hey!” he called from the living room. He had a huge grin on his face. The kind of grin that was so rare she’d almost thought it extinct.
“Hey,” she forced back. “Um, so where…?”
A guilty look crossed his face, dampening the grin but not blotting it out completely. “Sorry about that,” he said. “It’s just, the last few days while I’ve been at work with you, I’ve been checking out a few websites. Something caught my eye last week and, well, I’d been thinking it over. Today, I just decided to go for it.”
“Go for what?” Ava numbly asked.
“Come on, I’ll show you,” he said. He took off outside with Ava scampering behind. She didn’t have a garage but she did have a small gardening shed. She hustled after him in confusion as he headed toward it. He didn’t go inside, though. He rounded the shed to the lake side and there—
“A motorcycle?” Ava asked, though she wasn’t sure why she was asking because it obviously was. A motorcycle.
“Yeah!” Gabe said, nodding his head and grinning. “Like I said, it caught my eye last week. I was afraid it was going to sell. So today, when it was still available, I thought, why not? I had the money for it. I called the guy and he met me in town.”
Ava was taking it in, her head bobbing methodically up and down.
“Look,” he said, his smile fading a little, “I’m living in your house. I’m eating your food. You have to drive me everywhere. I’ve been going to work with you. I just, I needed something for me.”
“Oh,” Ava said, “I think it’s great. You…you used to have one. You really enjoyed it. I’m just surprised. That’s all. It’s a good kind of surprised,” she assured him. “I just wasn’t expecting it.”
“So you like it?” he asked, his grin returning.
It was a contagious grin and Ava smiled back. “I love it. I really do.”
He stood back to admire his new purchase. He frowned slightly as he pulled a rag out of his back pocket. “Here,” he said to Ava as he plucked up the helmet, which had been hanging off the handlebar. He placed it in her hands as he scrubbed what Ava thought was an imaginary smudge.
She eyed the helmet. “This is way too big for me.” The moment the words left her mouth she realized her error, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. He’d just wanted her to hold it so he’d have a clearer view of the bike. The helmet wasn’t for her. Of course it wasn’t. Why would it be?
Well maybe, a niggling little voice in her head said, because the old Gabe would’ve gotten you a helmet.
And he would’ve refused to wear one.
Gabe groaned. “Ava, I’m sorry. I didn’t even think to—”
A sharp laugh burst from her mouth, cutting off his words. She waved her hand dismissively at him. “Of course not! Why would you? It was an incredibly stupid thing for me to say.”
“I can get you one,” he tentatively suggested. “Do you want me to?”
She shook her head. She didn’t want to have to ask for one. She knew it was childish but, there it was. “No. This is for you, remember?” she asked, not filtering the words or her tone and instantly regretting it.
“Are you mad?” he asked, his face falling. “Because just a minute ago you seemed to think it was a good idea.”
“No,” she said. Her voice was once again too sharp. “I’m not mad,” she said, sounding very mad indeed. She sighed. “It’s just…I wish you would’ve let me know. You said you were going for a walk. You were gone for hours. You didn’t call. I had no idea where you were. You were just gone!” she said in a voice that was clearly accusatory as her fear materialized in the tone of fury.
His smile had completely faded now. “I know, I know. I meant to come right back but it’s just,” his eyes darted lovingly to the machine and Ava’s heart felt like it shriveled just a bit with what she knew was misplaced jealousy, “I thought I’d go for a quick ride. Just a test drive to check it out, ya know? But once I got on, I just went and it felt so good. I headed on over to Granville.” He shrugged. “I lost track of time.”
She made a noncommittal sound.
“You are mad,” Gabe stated in an incredulous tone. He stared at Ava who stared back without saying anything. The weeks of tension swirled between them once more. “I already apologized,” he stated, annoyance making his tone rough.
Ava threw her hands up in the air. “I know! It’s just…” she stopped, pulled her hands though her hair and remained silent. She felt so controlling and possessive and she’d never been that way before. She hated how it was making her feel now. “I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry. I don’t know why I’m acting like this. This isn’t me.”
“I think maybe,” Gabe carefully began after a long drawn out silence, “we just need a little break from each other. We’ve been together almost twenty-four hours a day for a while now. I don’t think that it’s doing either one of us any good.”
It was as if the outside world had sucked all of the air from her lungs.
“You’re leaving me?” she asked with what little breath she had left.
“I think I need some time to clear my head. You probably need to clear yours, too,” he softly suggested.
“Right,” she agreed with a curt little nod. “Okay then,” she said, hoping her voice didn’t sound as hysterical as she felt.
“I think you need some time to figure out what you really want,” he told her.
“I already know what I want,” Ava said in disbelief. “I want you. Haven’t I made that clear?” The look that crossed his face made her wonder if maybe she hadn’t made it clear. She’d told him she loved him. She hadn’t wanted him out of her sight. She had made it perfectly clear that she wanted him to stay at her cabin. Was that not enough? But didn’t guys think differently than girls? Wasn’t Molly quite adamant about that? “If I haven’t made it clear, I’ll do it now. I want to be with you. I want you with me. I love you just as much now as I ever did.”
He raised his eyebrows at her in stunned surprise.
