by Rye Hart
I paid for dinner before Nikki could retrieve her wallet, and I rose from my chair quickly because I wanted to get as far away as possible from the situation. The guilt licking at my insides was enough to chase away my appetite. I hugged Nikki goodbye as Penny climbed into the passenger seat with Alyssa behind her.
“I can never do anything right these days,” Nikki said with a sigh. “I came all the way out here to make amends, to spend some time with her, but she barely even spoke a word to me.”
“I’m not sure, Nikki. It might be something she doesn’t want to talk to you about yet.”
The answer appeased her a little bit as she took ahold of Dylan’s hand. They both nodded at me as a taxi cab arrived to take them back to their hotel.
“I’ll come by tomorrow,” Nikki said. “If that’s all right with you? I’m only here for a few days.”
“That’s fine,” I said, even though a part of me wanted to tell her no. “I’ll be in touch. Have a good night, both of you.”
It wasn’t until we arrived back at the condo that I turned to look at Penny while she hung up her coat on the coatrack next to the door.
“I don’t like that guy,” I said. “What the fuck is his problem?”
“Yeah, he’s creepy,” Alyssa added with a frown. “You never mentioned that to me before, Penny. He kept staring at you.”
“I don’t know,” Penny said, rubbing at her arms. “He’s always been weird toward me, and I’ve made it clear that I don’t like him at all.”
Alyssa turned to look at me, then. “Do they have to come over tomorrow, too?”
“Well I can’t exactly keep Nikki from her daughter, unless Penny tells me that’s what she wants,” I said, sighing. “Where are you going?” I asked, as she was turning to go again.
“To meet up with Scott for an hour,” Alyssa said, tightening her scarf while I slid out of my own coat. “He drove all the way over here to see me. Romantic, huh?”
She opened the front door and disappeared with a cheerful wave in our direction. I looked over at Penny, who chewed on her bottom lip in contemplation as she looked over at me. The discomfort in her eyes faded away slightly, but now that we were alone for at least an hour, I wanted to take the time to talk to Penny alone. I held out a hand for her to take.
“Come with me,” I said. “I want to show you something.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN – PENNY
After that fucking awkward dinner, I didn’t hesitate to take hold of Gabriel’s hand when he offered it to me. He grabbed both our coats from the coatrack and pulled me out through the front door. He led me down the hallway in the direction of the stairwell, pulling me up the cold concrete steps to another door.
I relished in the feeling of Gabriel’s hand in mine. It felt so strong and comforting, which was exactly what I needed. Throughout the entire dinner, I’d been forced to suffer silently while Dylan eye-banged me. The dirty fucker had no shame at all. He stared at me greedily, not even bothering to hide his infatuation with me. And why should he hide it? My mother seemed completely oblivious to her boyfriend’s creepy leering.
For whatever reason, she had a serious blind spot when it came to Dylan’s wandering gaze. Maybe she truly didn’t notice, or maybe she was so deep in denial, no amount of disgusting gawking would register in her brain. I felt kind of sorry for my mother, she was beyond pathetic over with this guy, and she had no idea he was just interested in her for her wealth. If he loved her back, there was no way he’d look at me the way he did, especially when she was sitting right next to him.
Just being around him made me feel dirty. I’d tried so hard to get away from him over this break, but my troubles at home found a way to follow me all the way out here to Chicago. The only consolation I had after a night like that was being here with Gabriel. He was a real man, and when he looked at me, all the horrible feelings melted away, replaced with a warm fuzzy feeling that felt like more than simple attraction.
Gabriel pushed the door open and coaxed me forward, out of the building and into the night. A chilly blast of icy air greeted me, followed by the thick cloud cover and a trickle of snow.
The city lights were hazy in the distance as Gabriel led me along the snowy rooftop to the edge. A wave of vertigo washed over me as I looked down at the world far below us. Gabriel noticed my balance faltering, and he slipped behind me and wrapped his hands around the curve of my waist to hold me steady. It felt good to have his strong arms around me. It felt safe.
We both gazed down at the snow-clad city full of Christmas lights and cheer. The tension that had been circulating through my system faded away with the sensation of Gabriel’s firm body pressed up against mine. I could feel his hot breath against the side of my neck as he rested his chin on the top of my shoulder.
My eyes closed of their own accord as I tried to fight the rest of my emotions. I didn’t know what to think anymore when it came to how I felt about Gabriel. All I knew was that his kiss and his touch felt amazing, and I also loved the comfort and protection I felt in his presence. Despite how right it felt to be with Gabriel, I knew it was wrong. Nothing could ever last between the two of us, even if we wanted it to. Our age difference was too much for other people to accept, and even if that wasn’t an issue, we had completely separate lives. And more importantly, neither one of us wanted to risk losing Alyssa by engaging in a serious, public relationship.
“If we don’t stop doing this,” I said, reaching down to gently touch Gabriel’s hand resting on my right hip. “Then it’s only a matter of time before Alyssa catches us together. Or it might be someone else who sees us and tells her about it. She’d be seriously upset if she ever found out.”
“I know,” Gabriel said. “And I’ve been trying to find some time for us to talk about everything that’s been going on, in private, but it’s been impossible.”
“We’re alone now,” I said. “So, here’s your chance. Tell me, what is it that you want?”
A shiver went up my spine when Gabriel’s warm lips pressed up against the side of my neck suddenly. He kissed his way up lightly to my ear.
“I want you,” he murmured, his voice husky. “I do know that. I want you more than anything I’ve ever wanted in my entire life.”
“I want you too,” I whispered, opening my eyes against the cold wind. “But we both know this isn’t right. I know how Alyssa is going to feel if we keep this going. I know how the rest of the world will look at us, too.”
“None of that matters to me. We can figure out the future later. For now, though…” I felt his hips grind up against my backside, while his hands grasped my hips sensually. “For now, I just want to be with you. Right here. Right now.”
I didn’t argue with his thrilling words. I wanted him, too. All the questions and all the doubts didn’t matter there, on that icy rooftop. All that mattered was how good his warm body felt holding me and how much I ached for more. He lit a fire inside me that warded off the cold.
And after the shitty dinner I’d been forced to sit through, I knew that Gabriel was the one thing in the whole world that could make me feel good right now. I needed a powerful, amazing man like Gabriel to worship my body and make me feel whole again.
Twisting around in his strong arms, I turned to gaze up at him, and I took in the way the hazy cloud cover brought out an almost ethereal quality in his eyes. They nearly glowed with desire as he looked at me. I felt that welcoming touch of lust surge through me, and I tilted my head up to part my lips in invitation for a kiss.
Gabriel’s hot lips pressed against mine in a searing kiss, and the cold wind couldn’t cool the fever brewing underneath my skin. My fingers clenched around the fabric of Gabriel’s coat, and I returned the kiss with a sigh.
It occurred to me then that I would never be able to kiss another man, not after kissing Gabriel. No other man in the world would measure up to the amazing feeling of his lips on mine. Everything about his kisses was paralyzing and hypnotic. His tongue parted my lips, tangling
with mine. My heart hammered in my chest, and my head felt dizzy with lust. We were surrounded by the twinkling lights of the city, as if we were somehow floating above the starry sky. The furious wind whipped around us, as if it reflected the wild passion building between us. And up here, all alone, it felt like we were the only two people who existed in the entire world. Being here with Gabriel felt like a dream.
He tugged me away from the ledge. Our lips continued to clash together with muffled moans while he continued to back us up in a mindless direction. It wasn’t until he twisted me around sharply to push me up against the cold side of the building that I felt his fingers skimming along the back of my thigh. They slipped up beneath the hemline of my dress, teasing the hot skin there. He reached the elastic band of my nylons to yank them down to my knees.
I gasped as lust spiraled through me, making me feel like I was floating. The tips of my fingers were cold from where they gripped the side of the building, but it was a distant sensation, eclipsed by the fire Gabriel awoke inside of me.
His lips nibbled at the side of my neck, and I could feel something hard pushing up against my ass while he ground himself up against me. His skilled fingers slipped between my legs and cupped my burning pussy confidently. The contrast of heat and cold nearly threw me over the edge as he swept a finger across my bundle of nerves. A second later, he pulled my panties down to rub me without anything separating us.
He let out a throaty groan that warmed the back of my neck, but it was nothing compared to the wicked heat blazing between my legs. Every stroke of his hand sent bolts of hot fire rocketing through my body, and all of my nerve endings were aflame with passion. My panting breaths steamed up the air in front of my face as the delicious pressure built up inside me.
His fingers brought me to an earth-shattering release. I cried out into the night, my screams echoing in every corner of the city, while hot fluid dripped down my thighs. My entire body trembled as pleasure pulsed through me in wave after wave. Gabriel’s strong arms held me up as I rode out my orgasm.
As I was starting to come down, adrenaline rushed through me as I glanced over at the door leading back down into the building. At any moment, someone could come walking through it. Someone like Alyssa who would be looking for us shortly, once she returned back to find the condo empty. But for some reason, the danger of it thrilled me, and my body ached for more.
Those thoughts were shooed away, though, when I heard the distinct sound of Gabriel’s belt and zipper being pulled down. His cock, thick and hot, nudged me intimately, drawing a gasp from my lips. He slid into me with one easy thrust. I gripped the wall even harder as pleasure shot through the center of my belly.
“Fuck,” Gabriel groaned, gripping my waist with one hand. His other hand smacked into the wall above my head as his hips rolled again. “You feel so good, Penny. You feel so fucking good, it’s almost painful.”
Desperation filled me, and the pressure in me began to mount when he thrust hard into me again.
“Harder,” I panted. “Please, Gabriel. Please. It feels so good, baby. Fuck me harder.”
I didn’t even cringe at the words coming from the tip of my tongue. All I cared about was the slick sensation of Gabriel’s dick sliding in and out of me at a desperate pace now. He leaned over me as he fucked me. His hand reached in front of me and slipped into the top of my dress. His warm palm cupped my breast, scraping deliciously over my hard nipple.
I moaned at the feeling of it. The sounds of my pleasure seemed to spur him on, and his cock pounded into me faster and harder. Every stroke of him inside me found my most sensitive places, and soon, I was bucking my hips back into him, meeting every thrust of his hips, as he buried his cock into me as deep as it could go.
My body jolted every time he plunged into me, making me pant and moan every time. I could feel the sensations building up inside me again, overwhelming my senses and erasing all rational thought. The only thing in the world that mattered was the feeling of our bodies coming together on that snowy rooftop.
Gabriel carried us both higher and higher, filling me with tension, and together, we exploded in a release that left both of us shuddering in response. The sound of our panting breaths mingled together on the quiet roof, and Gabriel held me tightly as we basked in the pleasure pulsing through our bodies. We stayed that way for a moment longer, until the cold was too much to take.
My fingers were trembling as I turned to look back at Gabriel. He tucked himself back inside of his pants. Sweat glistened at his hairline, and clouds puffed out in front of us while we gazed at one another.
“I don’t know why this keeps happening,” he said, smiling and shaking his head. “I tell myself to stay clear, to keep away from you, but I find myself coming back to you every chance I get.”
“I know the feeling,” I admitted, adjusting my nylons over my legs. “It doesn’t make this any better, you know? We are going to hurt people if we keep going at it like this.”
“I know, but God Penny, I don’t know if I can give you up.”
I smiled as I pulled my skirt down over my legs. I felt the same way, but I was still so conflicted. I knew that I was falling for him, but was his love worth devastating my best friend.
“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” he asked, reaching out to tuck my hair behind my ear.
“No,” I assured him. “I’m fine. I think it’s a good idea to get back downstairs before someone comes looking for us, though.”
“You’re right. It’s cold up here too. Hold on.” He reached out to grasp me by the elbow to gently pull me back into him. “I just want you to know that we—”
The door to the rooftop opened suddenly. We jerked back in surprise to find Alyssa standing there, hurrying over the snowy rooftop with worried eyes landing on where stood.
“There you two are!” she exclaimed, huddled against the cold wind. “Someone mentioned they saw the both of you come up here. What the hell are you two doing?”
My heart raced as I pulled back from Gabriel completely to avoid suspicion. I started across the slick ground in Alyssa’s direction. If we hadn’t finished a few minutes ago… The thought dashed through my mind uneasily while I listened to Gabriel’s footsteps crunch in the snow behind me. I couldn’t keep doing this anymore, not if it meant risking my friendship with Alyssa. “He wanted to show me the view from the rooftop,” I said, breezing by her into the stairwell. “I’m cold. Let’s get back to the room to warm up.”
I felt Alyssa’s gaze resting on my back as I hurried down the stairs. The bright lights of the hallway nearly blinded me when I pushed the door open. I didn’t wait for either one of them as I hung up my coat and ventured down the hallway quickly to the privacy of my guestroom. I kept the door cracked open, though, because I knew closing it shut would only bring more attention.
A few minutes later, Alyssa slipped through the crack in the door. She didn’t close it all the way, a sign that she didn’t intend on staying long. She looked down at me where I sat on the bed, her expression unreadable. I steeled myself for the inevitable accusation that I was fucking her father behind her back. When she spoke, I could barely hear her over the sound of my jackhammering heartbeat.
“Is everything okay with you?” she asked. “I know that dinner was a bit rough with your mom and Dylan.”
I nodded, relieved that she hadn’t asked me about her father. “Yeah, I’m ok. I just don’t like being around either of them.” “Penny,” she said firmly. I stopped to look at Alyssa as she crossed her arms over her chest. “I want to make sure that you’re truly okay, you know? I didn’t like the vibes that Dylan was giving off. My dad even noticed it.”
I turned my back on Alyssa while I swallowed the lump in my throat. Seeing him for the first time in a few months only deepened the weird feeling I got whenever he was around. I didn’t like the way his eyes lingered on me or the comments he directed at me. He was always right on the edge of the line of what was appropriate, but he never crossed it, so I could
never call him out on anything.
I didn’t want him around at all, but my mother was determined to keep him around at all costs. No matter what I said. She had made that clear when I told her about the excessive phone calls and messages coming from her phone when it wasn’t her. It was clearly him, even though she refused to admit it.
“I’m fine,” I said, and turned to look back at Alyssa with a forced smile. “It doesn’t matter anyway, because they are going to be leaving in a few days. Tomorrow will probably be the last time that we even see them.”
I hoped at least. I didn’t want either one of them lingering throughout the rest of my winter break, just because my mother had a blind hope that I would change my mind and come home.
“I just wanted to make sure,” Alyssa said. “Get some rest. We’ll go do something fun tomorrow afternoon. Maybe head to another museum or he mall. Whatever you want to do, once your mom leaves.”
I nodded mutely as Alyssa retreated from of my room. Guilt gnawed at the pit of my stomach. No matter what happened, I couldn’t shake the feeling of Gabriel still clinging to every bit of my being. I could still smell him lingering on my clothes when I shrugged out of them. He was a part of me in every single way now, but having him would come at a cost.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN – GABRIEL
What the hell am I doing to myself?
I ran an exhausted hand over my aching eyes while I paced the confines of my bedroom. I could hear Alyssa and Penny’s voices coming down the hallway from the kitchen while they enjoyed their morning coffee. I couldn’t bring myself to go out just yet. I wasn’t ready to face either one of them.
