by Joanna Blake
I rolled my eyes at the middle-aged guy staring at me with unconcealed lust. The idiot was married too. Gross.
I looked up and saw Gabe was sitting at the bar, watching me like a hawk. It made it a lot easier to handle this sort of thing without getting too upset.
Plus, I didn't want him pummeling the customers.
"Anything on the menu."
"Damn girl, that's cold."
The guy didn’t seem too embarrassed about being turned down in front of his friends. His buddy elbowed him and leered at my chest. I ignored them and set the check down on the table.
"Okay, here's your check. Come again."
"We sure will sweet thing."
I shook my head and left, making my rounds through the restaurant. I did my best to be polite, even when the customers weren't. I didn't even care about tips when things got like that.
I just wanted to keep my job.
So I had to resist the urge to dump a drink down their pants.
Gabe was watching me. I could feel his eyes on me. He smiled at me warmly and I blushed. Suddenly, things didn’t seem all that bad.
The rest of the night passed in a blur. I knew when I got off Gabe was coming home with me.
And I knew he was going to keep me up all night.
I definitely didn't mind though.
Like clockwork, round eleven the rowdy crowd came in. I watched as Gabe was surrounded by his old teammates. He even did some shots with them.
I left him alone, bringing him a snack at one point but letting him have his fun. It’s not like he was still on pain killers or anything.
It was getting near closing when things got weird. The place was emptying out, with last call over and done with. Gabe's friends had just left as I headed to the back.
I turned the corner and froze.
Gabe was staring at me with a strange look in his eyes. He leaned in the hallway, his walker blocking my path.
"Almost ready?"
I nodded breathlessly, wondering what he had in mind. He'd blindfolded me the other night. I shivered just thinking about it.
The truth was though, I liked to see his beautiful face when he took me.
I especially liked to watch him as he watched us.
"Let me get my things."
He didn't say a word, just stared at me. His face was strange- almost hard. I felt a tiny pinprick of worry. A feeling that something was off. But it was just Gabe. He loved me.
Nothing was wrong.
Nothing could be.
I gathered my things and said goodnight to the other girls. Gabe was waiting outside by my car. He stared at it, barely looking at me when I unlocked the door for him.
We drove across town without talking. Every time I glanced at him, he was staring out the window in silence. He didn't try and take my hand. He didn't try and kiss me.
He didn't say a single word.
I swallowed, feeling suddenly nervous. Maybe something was wrong. Maybe he was regretting getting me the car.
Or asking me to move in with him.
Or any of it.
I decided I should tell him he didn't need to do anything for me. That it wouldn’t change a thing about how I felt about him.
I wanted to tell him, but I couldn't work up the courage to say anything. And he didn't say a word. Not until we got all the way inside. He locked the door and turned to face me.
"Take your clothes off."
My mouth opened a little. I realized I was nervous but pushed the feeling aside. We'd already done this a bunch of times. He loved me. That’s what mattered. He was just eager to make love.
What was there to be nervous about?
I smiled at him shyly. "Do you want to go into the bedroom?” He just stared at me, his jaw clenched.
“No need."
"Okay."
I watched him sit on the couch and push the walker away. Then he unbuttoned his jeans and leaned back. He didn't even take his coat off. He just stared at me, waiting.
I fidgeted a little. My gut was telling me something was wrong. I just didn’t know what it was.
"Is everything okay?"
"Why wouldn't it be?"
He looked straight at me, almost challenging me to say something. I felt flustered, like I was trying to prove something. I just didn’t know what.
"You're just- you're being..."
"What am I being?"
Gabe’s face was calm. He didn’t look mad. He raised his eyebrows and I forced myself to answer him.
"Different, I guess."
He shrugged, completely indifferent. I would have thought we were strangers, except I could see the fire in his eyes and the growing bulge in his pants. Maybe he didn't feel like talking.
That was it, right?
"What are you waiting for?"
I bit my lip and started pulling my clothes off. My jacket. My scarf. My t-shirt.
"That's good. Keep going."
I stared at him, standing there in my bra and jeans. This felt weird. Wrong somehow.
Like we weren't together. Like I was just- an object.
Like I was a stripper or something.
"You can have the car back."
He stared at me, a muscle ticking in his jaw.
"Keep it. I want you to have it.”
"I'm just saying if that's what’s bothering you-"
He sighed, like he was bored. But he undid his pants and shrugged out of his jacket. Then he leaned back and looked at me again.
"The car is yours. Now take your bra off."
I reached for the clasp and undid it. But I didn't pull it off my shoulders. Instead, I covered myself with my hands.
Suddenly, I was on the verge of tears.
"Come here, Tabby."
"Are you angry with me?"
"Come here and make it up to me."
"Make... what up?"
He smiled at me coldly.
"Come here and I'll tell you."
Gabe
I couldn't stop hearing the words. The sick, twisted words that were ripping and shredding my heart.
‘Had her the other night. Love that little mole on the back of her neck. She has a matching one right above her sweet ass.’
The guy talking was an idiot. I never would have given it a second thought. Except, Tabby did have a mole on her neck. And one on her lower back.
And Pete's buddy Josh had known that.
How the fuck had he known?
And where the fuck was she going on the nights she wasn't with me?
Apparently, I was being made a fool of. She was cheating on me, and not even being discreet about it.
There was absolutely no way for Josh to know any of that. Unless he'd seen it himself.
Tabby was playing me. And playing me hard.
But that didn't mean I didn't want her. I did. I wanted her to tell me the truth. The truth. That was a laugh.
I probably wouldn’t believe a word that came out of her sweet lying little mouth. But first I wanted her to give me what she’d given him. I wanted a pound of flesh, and then some.
I wanted to ride.
All that time I'd been gentle. All that time I'd waited for my chance... I'd been an idiot. Even if she had been a virgin, which I was starting to doubt, she'd definitely been with someone else since.
At least one someone, if not more.
She was a fast worker. And tonight she was going to make it up to me.
Or at least start to try.
She looked so nervous, standing there, with her hands over her gorgeous tits. That perfect body, that I'd thought was all mine. Well, it wasn't.
All the rumors. They’d been true. And I was too stupid to see it.
I never would have believed it but I had proof. The moles. The things he'd said about her riding him all night.
It was all true.
Well, fuck it. I might not trust her anymore, but I was nowhere near satisfied. I still wanted her, more than I cared to admit. If she knew tricks, I wanted to
see them all.
"I said, come here."
And she did. She looked so sweet and nervous, that if I hadn't heard what those guys had said- I would have folded her into my arms and told her she was beautiful. That she had nothing to be shy about. That she drove me crazy.
That I loved her.
Love.
What a joke. I was just the dumbest guy in a town full of guys who'd put their mark on Tabby, way before me.
I reached for her jeans, tugging them down her hips. She stepped out of them and I guided her onto my lap. I wanted to fuck her out of my system, though I doubted I could do that in one night.
I had to get her on the regular for a couple of months at least. But I'd have to make sure she didn't fuck around on me.
I pulled her panties to the side and stared down at her perfect little pussy. She must have been born with superior genes.
I spit on my hand and rubbed my fingers against her. She sighed as I played with her pussy lips, pressing just inside. She was so small and tight and already getting wet for me. I couldn't wait to get inside her.
My cock jumped and I pulled it out, pressing it against her lips. Then I gripped her juicy hips and pressed her down on me. She gasped as I pushed her lower and lower until she was impaled.
I held her down on me, waiting for her body to open. Usually, I’d have waited till she was more ready. But I didn’t feel like waiting tonight.
She felt so fucking good. So perfect and sweet and good. I closed my eyes, wanting to pretend she was the same girl I'd held just a day before.
But she wasn't.
"Take your bra off."
I licked my lips as she slid the plain white bra off her shoulders. She didn't dress like a tramp, or even a girl with a boyfriend, let alone many. I wouldn't let that distract me from the truth though.
Or my own pleasure.
I pulled her forward so that her breasts were hanging in front of my face like ripe fruit. I licked one and then the other as I started to fuck her from beneath. I grunted as her tightness pulled me in further, sucking at me like quicksand.
That's what she was. Dangerous quicksand. She seemed so solid- so real- but take one wrong step and boom- you were done for.
Well, I knew now. So I could take what I wanted and that was it. I wasn't going to drown or get buried alive.
I was just going to get off and desperately try to get her out of my system.
She started circling her hips on mine. She definitely knew what the hell she was doing. It was so hot, watching her work herself on my shaft as her perfect body jiggled in front of my eyes.
I knew I could come soon. I didn't hold back, driving up and into her again and again. At the last minute I pulled out, spraying her belly with my seed.
"Oh!"
She looked surprised as hell, and still horny. Good. I wasn't even close to being finished with her.
"Get yourself cleaned up."
I wouldn't need long before round two. I leaned back and waited for her to come back so we could go again.
She brought me a glass of water, taking a sip after I did. She set it down and let me guide her onto her back. I pulled the rest of my clothes off and climbed on top of her.
She took a deep breath and raised her eyes to me.
"I love you."
I pushed my bare cock inside her with a groan.
And said nothing.
Tabby
I slid my arms around Gabe’s neck, clinging to him as he rode me. He wasn't being gentle like usual but I didn't mind. As long as he held me in his strong arms, I didn't mind anything.
"Fuck, you feel so good. How could you feel so good?"
He grunted and I felt him twitch inside me. I was close to coming, even though something felt weird. Then I figured out what it was.
He wasn't kissing me. Not once. Or telling me I was beautiful. He was barely touching me.
He was just... fucking.
"That's it baby. Come for me."
And I did.
He rode through my orgasm, his sexy groans making me come even harder.
"You like that, don't you?"
I whimpered as he tweaked my nipple.
"Why Tabby? Fuck. Fuck, why pretend? We could have been doing this all along."
I was in a post orgasmic haze but I opened my eyes, forcing myself to look at him. He was fucking me faster now. Harder.
He cursed and I felt him come inside me. I squeezed his shoulders as he shuddered helplessly. He opened his eyes and stared down at me. His eyes were confused.
I realized what had been bothering me.
It was the first emotion he'd shown all night.
"You still make me feel like no one else."
Still? What was he talking about? He didn't pull out. I felt him getting hard again inside me. He moaned and squeezed my breast. Then he started to move.
"How many others have there been? How many this week?"
"What?"
He reached down to play with my body, his fingers on my clit.
"Just tell me. There's no reason to lie anymore. I told you you could keep the car."
"Ah!"
I came again as he strummed my clit faster and faster. But something was wrong- something-
"I don't even care if you fuck them in it. I just want you to be safe."
I was still coming but alarm bells were going off. What was he talking about? Gabe exhaled heavily as he lowered his lips to my breasts.
"Even now I can't resist you. Or this body."
"Wait-"
He growled as he flicked his tongue over my nipples, driving into me. He stared up at me, his eyes blazing.
"You must think I'm an idiot."
Then he came. He lay on top of me, breathing heavily. When he lifted his head he gave me a cold look.
“Gabe?”
"Want to go for round four? I don't have anyplace better to be."
"No." I knew now. I knew that he had changed his mind. I pushed at his shoulders. "Get off of me."
He pulled out with a grunt.
"Jesus, how could you feel so good?”
I bit back a cry. He was talking to me like I was a tramp. Like he'd thought that all along.
"Stop talking to me like that."
He shrugged and pulled his jeans on.
"Like what? Like you've been doing half the guys in this town and lying to me about it?"
I stared at him, my mouth open. My voice was thin, reedy. Like a little girl begging for scraps.
For kindness.
“You’re just drunk Gabe. You should go home.”
“Yeah, I’m drunk. It doesn’t mean you haven’t been playing me.”
"I was a virgin. You know I didn't-"
He grabbed my arm, forcing me to look at him.
"Don't lie to me."
"I'm not!"
He reached out to stroke my face.
"I don't care. I still want you. If you stop seeing the rest of them, we can see how this goes."
He laughed, the sound harsh and bitter.
"How crazy is that? I don't even care. I will keep you too busy to fuck anyone else."
I started crying then. He frowned and reached for me.
"Don't cry, Tabby. I said I would give you another chance. I just wish you hadn't lied."
I pushed his hands away and grabbed my shirt, holding it in front of me. I didn’t want him looking at me anymore.
I didn’t want him to see me.
"Get out."
He stared at me, his jaw ticking. I scrambled for my purse and chucked the keys at him.
"Take your fucking car keys."
He put his boots on, talking the whole time.
"I didn't ask for any of this, you know. You show up, looking like a lost puppy. I didn't ask to be fucking lied to!"
Very slowly, he stood up and put the rest of his clothes on. He dropped the keys on the floor with a thud.
"Keep the fucking car. You earned it."
And then he wa
s gone.
I stood there in the living room naked, wrapped in a baggy t-shirt while the cold air blew into the house. I forced myself to move, to shut the door. To feed the cat.
To take a shower.
No matter what I did though, I couldn’t wash his touch away. I couldn’t wash away his words.
Or the cold look in his eyes.
I crawled into bed and cried myself to sleep.
Gabe
I stared out at the snow that was falling. It was pretty. A picturesque view of our beautiful, postcard seaside town.
I wanted to smash something.
I hadn’t slept at all. Instead I’d pulled out a bottle of whiskey and started in on it, steadily working my way towards the bottom.
It was nearly empty, but not quite.
“Is Tabby coming today?”
My mom’s head appeared at the top of the stairs.
“No. I don’t need an aid anymore.”
“You sure?”
I nodded and pushed the bottle under the couch. Mom didn’t need to see that. I’d throw it out later.
And find a way to get a new one. I planned to be drunk as much as possible going forward. Until I could erase the feel of Tabby’s skin underneath my hands. Her body underneath me.
The look of pain and betrayal in her eyes.
I cursed myself and swigged the last sip of booze. Then I picked up my phone and texted Lyle. If I was going to spend the day drinking, I might as well have company.
Plus, I needed someone to bring me more booze.
I leaned back and closed my eyes, seeing the look of hurt and confusion on her beautiful face. She’d seemed so sincere. She’d even told me she loved me.
After all the times I’d had to drag it out of her, now she tells me.
Now that I knew her for what she really was.
I rubbed my face, trying to rub the thoughts away. I’d been so close to proposing. I’d even looked at rings.
We could have been so happy together. But I would have been married to a lie.
I decided I didn’t care. I would let her move in with me anyway. I still felt protective of her.
I would keep her under lock and key. Then maybe if she proved herself to me, I would reconsider marrying her after all.
Because despite it all, I was still in love with her.
I heard my mom locking the front door and pulled the bottle back out.
