“Of course.” I take a step toward her, and with one swift movement, the zipper is down.
She shimmies out of her skirt, sliding off the nylons as she goes, and is left standing in a white garter belt, panties that are barely covering anything, and that smokin’ hot bra that’s cut lower than usual. My cock grows hard instantly. Holy fuck.
“Gabriel. Gabriel?” I feel a nudge and my eyelids flutter. “Jason and I are hungry.”
“Oh shit. I must’ve dozed off,” I yawn.
“Yes, and I think you were dreaming.”
A huge grin appears on my face. “Yes, I was.”
“Why are you smiling?”
“You were in it.”
“And?”
“You had on a sexy bra, panties, and garter belt,” my voice turns into a whisper.
She runs her hand up my thigh. “Oh, it was that kind of dream,” her eyes grow wide at the realization of the hard-on I’m currently sporting.
“You wanna go in the bedroom?”
“No, Gabriel. I want to eat,” she shakes her head amusingly. “I’m starving.”
My eyes shift down to the lower half of her body, “I wanna eat, too.”
“Food, Gabriel. I want to eat food.”
“Alright, fine,” I groan, “order Indian.”
“Indian, are you sure?”
“Yes, it was in my dream and now I kinda want it, among other things.”
“Well, maybe you can have both,” she winks.
“Now you’re talkin’. Jase!” I yell to him. “We’re ordering Indian. Whatta you want?”
About forty-five minutes later, the three of us are standing around the kitchen counter eating take-out straight out of the containers.
“You should really look into getting a kitchen table,” Salem suggests.
“Yeah, maybe we should. I just never had a reason to. It was just Adrian and me, and neither of us were ever home.”
“Well, you have a reason to now,” Salem’s eyes slide over to Jase.
“Maybe we can go hit up the Salvation Army over the weekend,” Jase adds.
“The Salvation Army?” Salem blurts out.
“Yeah, neither of us have much money, so that’s our only option.”
“I can buy it…”
I don’t even give her a chance to finish before roaring, “Absolutely not!”
“Gabriel, it’s not that big of a deal. We can go to Target or something.”
“Really?” Jase’s face lights up.
“No,” I say adamantly, shooting both of them down. “We don’t need any handouts.”
This time she’s more cautious with her words, “It’s not a handout; it’s a gift. Kind of like a housewarming present.”
“We don’t have to get a top of the line table,” Jase follows Salem’s lead. “I’m sure we can find one for under a hundred bucks.”
“Yeah, and we can probably find one for twenty-five at the Salvation Army,” I argue, throwing Jase a dirty look. “Rich people get rid of perfectly good stuff all the damn time. I think they like wasting their money.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Salem’s hands find her hips and her eyes narrow in on mine.
“I didn’t mean you.”
“So, what did you mean, exactly?”
“You wanna help me out here, brotha?”
“Nope, you’re doin’ just fine on your own,” he chuckles, then takes another bite of his food.
“Thanks for the backup. I appreciate it.”
After our disastrous dinner, the three of us plant ourselves on the couch. Jase is channel surfing while I’m racking my brain on how to smooth things over with Salem. “I think I wanna get a new couch this weekend, too.”
“Yeah, I definitely think we’re due for a new one after Adrian used this one for his personal fucking station,” Jase states loud and clear.
“Ewww,” Salem complains, looking down at the couch.
“Tell me about it. I had to sleep on this thing for a month and a half,” Jase laughs.
“Don’t worry, I bought fabric cleaner and cleaned the shit out of it.”
“Why are men so gross?” she questions with a disgusted look on her face.
“We’re not gross,” I insist. “I guess if we’re in the mood, then we’re in the mood. It doesn’t matter where we are.”
“Ah, yes, I got a glimpse of that last night,” Salem utters softly so that Jase can’t hear her.
“Maybe we can christen the new couch,” I growl in her ear.
“Gabriel!” She slaps my arm lightly and her eyes glance over at Jase.
“Don’t worry, he’s not listening. He’s zoned out. Look at him, he’s like a five-year-old watching cartoons,” I begin to laugh. “The docs put him on some ADD meds. Once he got clean, we noticed he was having a hell of a time focusing. Chris, at the clinic, actually noticed first and approached me. I began watching him and I noticed it as well. Chris called one of his doctor friends and the doctor prescribed him meds.”
“Jase, did you take your meds today?”
“Huh?” Jase looks dazed and his eyes are glossed over.
“Your meds, did you take them?
“Aw, shit! I knew there was something I forgot to do this morning.”
“See,” I say to Salem.
“Do you think the medication helps you, Jason?” Salem asks.
“Oh yeah, I wish I would’ve known about it sooner. It clears my head from being all jumbled up. Before, I couldn’t focus on anything. I’d be mopping the hallway at the clinic, and then something or someone would catch my attention and that would be it; I’d lose it.”
“Well, that’s great to hear.”
“On that note, I think I’m gonna hit the hay,” Jase stands up.
“Are you sure? It’s only eight,” Salem informs him.
“Yeah, I’m sure,” he yawns. “I can finally appreciate a good night’s sleep. If I don’t get at least eight hours, I’m a bear in the morning.”
“Ain’t that the truth?” I tease him.
Salem gets up from the couch and hugs Jase. “It was really great to see you.”
Jase looks bewildered as he pats her back gently and replies, “It was great to see you, too.”
“Night, brotha. See you in the a.m.”
After Jase goes to his room, Salem turns in my direction saying, “I should probably get going, too.”
“You’re leaving?” I blurt out. So much for trying not to sound desperate or disappointed.
The corners of her lips turn down as she pouts, “I have to work tomorrow.”
“Work? Can’t you just stay here with me?” I stand up, taking two steps toward her. “I could ravage your perfect body all day long,” I whisper into her ear as my hands tenderly run up and down her torso.
“Gabriel,” her voice quakes.
“Say yes, Salem,” my eyes sear into hers. I can feel my sexual appetite building; I’m still hanging on to thoughts of my dream from earlier.
“I wish I could, Gabriel, but I can’t. I took today off.”
“You what?” I take a step back, baffled. “You said you had a final.”
“I did. But when my mom told me you were getting out today, I called work and told them I needed more time to study.”
“Really?” I’m flabbergasted. I guess I thought she showed up at the hospital out of pity or something, or that maybe it was just a coincidence that we ran into her in the parking lot, and she felt obligated to take me home. But she really came just for me. Yet again, my stomach does a flip. I wish it would stop doing that shit to me; I place my arm across my abdomen.
Salem notices. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. Will you stop worrying about me?” I insist.
“No, I’m not gonna stop worrying about you. You just had a major motorcycle accident and were hospitalized for forty-eight hours. You’re lucky you weren’t…” she chokes on her words.
“Stop it,” I pull her into a hug and caress h
er hair. “I’m fine, and I’m even better now that you’re here.” My heart is pounding at our closeness; I wonder if she can hear or feel it.
“I guess I better go,” she says reluctantly.
“You can stay, you know.”
“I know,” she smiles, “but I know us, one thing will lead to another and I’ll have gotten no sleep.”
I nod my head. “Okay, you’re probably right.”
“And you should get a good night’s sleep in your own bed.”
“I’m gonna be so lonely,” I whine.
“Oh, you’re going to be just fine,” she teases me as she makes her way to the door.
“Let me walk you out.”
I walk her down the three flights of stairs. I slow my pace so I can spend as much time with her as possible. The thought of her leaving is tearing me up inside. I don’t wanna watch her drive away, like I did three months ago. What if this is it? What if she was just humoring me to get me better? What if I never see her again? I come to a standstill in the stairwell.
“Gabriel?”
“Sorry, I let my mind wander,” I answer dismissively.
“Do you want me to...?”
“No, I don’t want you to call your mother,” laughing, I cut her off.
“How did you know what I was going to say?” She looks up at me, blinking her big, beautiful baby blues at me.
“Because, you must’ve asked me that at least a half a dozen times in the last twenty-four hours.”
“I’m worried about you.” She takes my hand, gently kissing the back of it.
“Don’t do that, Salem.”
“Don’t do what?” she asks innocently. I don’t think she even realizes the hold she has on me, and I’m gonna do my best not to let her know. “So, I guess a goodnight kiss is out of the question?”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” I lift her, catching her by surprise. With her back pressed firmly against the wall, she wraps her legs around my waist and uses her hands to lure me closer to her. I brush the hair out of her eyes. “You’re so fuckin’ beautiful,” I breathe out heavily. My lips touch hers and my entire body ignites. I can’t let her walk away. I want nothing more than to carry her back up to my bed and worship her magnificent body.
She lets out a soft gasp. I lower my head to feast on her neck as she pulls up my shirt. Her fingertips dance over my lower back, sending a chill up my spine. “Stay with me, Salem,” I plead.
“Okay,” her voice is breathless as she gives in to her desires.
Cradling her, I carry her back up the stairs. I feel her chest heaving against mine, and I stop on the landing between floors two and three for a breather. I need to regain my composure. She teases my earlobe with her teeth, lightly nibbling and sucking. I look down at her lustfully, “You’re killing me.”
“I know,” she murmurs softly into my ear.
“Christ almighty,” I groan.
I trudge up the final flight of stairs as she continues with her sweet torture. I bust through my door and make a beeline to my room. “Strip,” I command as I let her down easily.
I roll over to find myself alone. I sit up quickly, searching around my room. “Salem?” I call out. There’s nothing but silence. My heart skips a beat or two at the thought that she’s gone without even a goodbye. I look over to where she’d been sleeping and find a note, then let out a huge sigh of relief.
Gabriel,
I’m sorry I had to slip out so early, but I knew if I stuck around we would’ve ended up where we were last night. I had a great time spending the day and night with you. I’ll see you soon.
Always,
Salem
I walk into the kitchen grumbling to myself. Dude, you need to chill the fuck out and get a fuckin’ grip. She went to work. She’s gonna come back.
“Good morning, sunshine,” Jase greets me pleasantly. “Did you sleep okay?”
“I slept fine,” I gripe as I mope my way to the refrigerator.
“You coulda fooled me. What’s eatin’ you?”
“Nothin’.” I shut the refrigerator door without even taking anything out of it.
“Are you and Salem fightin’ again?”
“No, it’s nothin’ like that.”
“Then what gives?”
“She left without saying goodbye.”
“And?” Jase urges me to finish the story.
“And nothing.”
“So, you’re walkin’ around here like Debbie Downer because she didn’t wake you up to say goodbye?”
I just stare at him in silence, then walk out of the room; I don’t need to explain myself to him.
He calls out, “Dude, she’s got you pussy-whipped already!”
Staring at myself in the bathroom mirror I mumble, “Pussy-whipped? I am not pussy-whipped.” I turn on the water for the shower and begin to undress. As I pull off my shirt, I catch a faint whiff of Salem’s perfume. I roll my shirt into a ball and press it up against my nose, taking in a deep breath, and my eyes roll in euphoria. Jesus, she smells good. Fuck me. I am most definitely pussy-whipped!
After a quick shower, I’m dressed and ready to start my day. Yet, I realize I have nothing to do. Frankie doesn’t want me around, and I haven’t been in contact with Blaine to see what clients I have lined up for training. Although, if I know Frankie, he’s already told Blaine to clear my schedule for God knows how long; I head back into my room to call TKO. As I pick up my phone, I notice I have a voicemail. That’s weird, no one ever leaves me voicemails. I hit the voicemail button on the lower right-hand side of my phone.
“Hey Gabriel, it’s me… Salem.” My head is swimming at just the sound of her voice. “I’m really sorry about leaving this morning. I hope you’re still sleeping. Your body needs all the rest it can get. I did kiss you goodbye before I left,” she lets out a little laugh. “I’ll call you later.” She takes a long pause. “I miss you.”
I stand motionless and hit replay, listening to her message over again, and loving how she says my name. Fuck, she’s ruined me. The tone of her voice is so sweet and angelic. I listen again.
“Gabe, are you just gonna stand there listening to that message over and over again all day, or what?” Jase asks from my doorway.
I swing around in shock and make up some lame excuse, “I couldn’t hear it the first time.”
Raising both of his hands in the air he throws out, “Hey man, you don’t have to justify yourself to me. I’m just bustin’ your balls.”
For some reason, I feel the need to give an explanation anyway. “I was just about to call Blaine and check in on my schedule, but then I noticed I had a voicemail.”
“Uh-huh,” he doesn’t hide his skepticism. “So, are you guys a couple? Because the last time I saw you, you told me you’d fucked things up even more. And now, she’s here with you, snuggled up on our couch.”
“I’ll spare you all the boring details and just tell you that she showed up at the hospital, and we made up.”
“And that makes you boyfriend and girlfriend?”
“What’s with the interrogation?” I bark in irritation.
“Look, I watched you try for three months to get that chick out of your head. Then all of a sudden, she snaps her fingers and you’re back together. If you even wanna call it that.”
“It’s not like that,” I refute.
“Then how is it? Please make me understand.”
I actually can’t explain to him how it happened. And what’s freaking me out even more, is that he’s the rational one here? The one with the arrest record, the ankle bracelet, the community service, and the addiction. So, what, exactly, does that say about me?
“You don’t have to understand it. She’s who I want.”
“And are you who she wants? Is she finally rid of the asshole boyfriend?”
“It’s complicated.”
“I’ll take that as a ‘no.’” I can see the disappointment all over his face. “How did I become the voice of reason here?” he shakes his
head in disbelief.
“You know, I was just asking myself the same exact thing.”
“Look, I’m just lookin’ out for my big brother. I wanna make sure you know what you’re doin’. You did just take a nasty spill on your bike. Maybe it shook your brain around a little.”
“My brain is just fine and you don’t have to worry about me.”
“Alright, man. If you say so,” he turns to leave. “Oh hey, how’s your bike by the way?”
“I haven’t even called anyone to ask. I’m kinda scared to find out.”
“Well, it looks like we’re both hoofin’ it for a while. I’ll see ya later; I gotta go to work.”
“Okay, I’ll see you tonight.”
I hear the door click closed a few seconds later. I look around my room, feeling a little lost and like I have no purpose. It’s not often that I have nothing to do. Even though I was laid up the past few days, there was a steady flow of doctors and nurses in and out of my room, bugging me to do this or that. But now, I’m home alone and have no form of transportation. Frankie doesn’t want me around and both Jase and Salem are at work. Shit.
Looking down at my phone, I finally convince myself to call TKO. Within three rings I hear, “Thank you for calling TKO, where fighters come to win. This is Sherry. How can I help you?” I can’t help but roll my eyes at how they answer the phone. Shit, Frankie doesn’t even say hello. His signature is “Whatta ya want? I’m busy trainin’ here.” A smile appears across my face as I think about Frankie and his lack of telephone etiquette.
“Hello?” I hear again on the other end of the line.
“Oh hey, Sherry. It’s Saint.”
“Hey, Saint. I heard you got in an accident. Are you okay?”
“I’ll live,” I laugh. “Is Blaine around?”
“Um,” she pauses, “I think he’s in a meeting.”
Oh, I’m sure he is. He probably has some gym skank goin’ down on him under his desk. “No problem. Can you just let him know I’m out of the hospital and that I called?”
“Absolutely,” she replies cheerfully.
“Thanks.” I hang up the phone. Well, that took all of three minutes of my day. Now what? My eyes scan the floor, and I see that every piece of clothing I own must be on it. “Laundry,” I sigh.
Going the Distance Page 12
