A Bridge of Her Own

by Heywood, Carey

  After they were all caught up, Lacey asked Jane to watch a movie with her. About halfway through, Jane was sleep. She awoke to a popcorn kernel bouncing off her forehead with Lacey trying to look as innocent as possible. She rallied and made it the rest of the movie, then went to bed and crashed. The next morning, she was thrilled to see Gabe had texted her sometime last night to firm up plans for today.

  He wanted to know since the weather was supposed to be nice Saturday, if she would like to go on a picnic at his house. She replied sure and laughed to herself that that probably meant the kitchen was still a work in progress. Given the time, though, she would have plenty of time to knock out a couple loads of laundry before she went. She started two loads and headed back to her apartment. Normally, she liked to guard her laundry, but it was still pretty early. She had a theory that anyone who stole other people’s laundry from a machine probably slept in. She then toasted a bagel and opted for a cup of tea instead of her usual coffee and flipped through a fashion magazine.

  Lacey walked in, yawning and stretching.

  “I love having a job lined up for a whole week, but man, those hours sucked. Hey, guess what? I opened up that attachment I mentioned last night after you went to bed, and it sounds like a good gig. It’s a receptionist for an orthodontist with no end date and the potential to go perm.”

  Jane congratulated her and added, “That could mean a pay raise and health benefits, right?”

  Lacey attempted, unsuccessfully, to nod her head and gulp some OJ at the same time. Lacey poured herself a bowl of cereal, and Jane told her about Gabe’s text.

  “Oh, rock on,” Lacey replied. “Now you’ll get to see his house. Try and sneak some pictures so I can see how grownups live”

  With that, Jane ran down to switch her laundry from the washers to the dryers. When she got back, she hopped into the shower then modeled different looks for Lacey. She ended up going with a cute sweater dress, leggings, and boots. Lacey needed no assistance picking out what she was going to wear. She showed Jane a slinky, low-cut plum dress and some killer heels.

  Jane shook her head at her, and Lacey innocently shrugged and said, “If you got it, flaunt it is what I always say…”

  Laughing her off, Jane went to retrieve her laundry. She put it away before heading to Gabe’s.

  Chapter 26

  His place was only twenty minutes from theirs. She was there in no time. It was a cute neighborhood. The homes were older but appeared well maintained. Plus, it seemed like almost every house took really good care of their yards. Many with little garden flags and mums planted for fall. Gabe’s house was a two-story brick colonial with black shutters.

  Gabe met her at the door with his bulldog.

  “Jane, this is Baby. Baby this is Jane,” he said, pulling her into a big hug.

  “You have a very nice place,” Jane said.

  “Want a tour?” Jane nodded, and they were off.

  The first floor of Gabe’s house seemed in decent shape. The foyer opened up into a living room with a comfy looking sectional sofa, ottoman combo, and TV setup. She could tell Gabe had worked on the drywall in some places, but all the room really needed was a coat of paint. Next came what Gabe explained was truly the dining room but seeing as he didn’t see any dinner parties in his near future, he had it set up as his home office. There was a desk and shelves up against one wall and a card table and chairs against another.

  “Poker,” Gabe said as if that was self-explanatory.

  It too needed a coat of paint and was missing a light fixture. The dining room opened into the kitchen, which was clearly a work in progress. There was new tile floor, and there were base cabinets, but they did not appear to be secured to the walls. There was a nice stainless steel refrigerator and a microwave on a cart in the corner.

  “I’m waiting on my buddy, who is a plumber, to help me put in the sink and dishwasher lines.” Gabe shrugged, scratching the back of his neck.

  Next was a small powder room. It was pink. Very, very pink. Pink wallpaper, pink toilet, pink sink, and pink tiled floor.

  Jane giggled.

  “I know, right?” Gabe said. “I have clearly not started on this room. Part of me wants to leave it this way. Half of my friends refuse to use it."

  The stairs leading to the second floor sported some pretty retro gold shag carpet.

  “Haven’t even started up there yet. It’s just mainly changing out carpet and pulling wallpaper,” Gabe explained.

  The last room on the main level was technically an office or den, but Gabe had it set up as his bedroom. There was a queen-sized bed with a blue comforter and a matching bedside table and dresser.

  “Until I can get started on the second floor, I just pretend I own a ranch. Wanna see the upstairs? Be warned. It’s bad, very bad."

  “Sure,” Jane said, curious.

  “Just don’t judge me.”

  All of the rooms, including the bathrooms, shared the same gold shag carpet from the stairway. There were three bedrooms, full bathroom in the hall, and a bathroom off the master. The bathrooms shared the same retro color schemes as the pink bathroom downstairs. The hall bath was power blue and the master harvest gold. All of the rooms had popcorn ceilings and cringe-worthy wallpaper. The worst was in the master. It was a shiny metallic floral print.

  “Wow,” Jane said, taking it all in.

  Gabe went on to explain how when he had first purchased the home, the first floor looked a lot like the second floor before he worked on it. It was bad wallpaper and popcorn ceilings everywhere.

  “Hungry?” Gabe asked as they headed back downstairs.

  Jane followed Gabe through the kitchen and out a door to a backyard brick patio. Baby charged ahead of them and happily romped around the fenced in backyard. There was a blanket and a basket laid out next to the patio.

  “How cute,” Jane said.

  Gabe sat down and began unloading sandwiches, sides, plates, and glasses. Jane sat across from him with her legs curled to her side.

  “Soda, iced tea, or lemonade?” Gabe asked.

  Jane went with lemonade and a turkey sandwich.

  “You make a great sandwich too!” Jane complimented.

  “It’s all in the bread selection."

  Baby investigated a tree a squirrel had recently climbed up as they ate their sandwiches and shared some chips, macaroni salad, and watermelon.

  “We are lucky it is so nice outside today,” Gabe remarked, stretching out after finishing his plate.

  “The weather has been so crazy recently,” Jane returned. “It was pretty cold and gross out earlier this week."

  “Either way, the whole picnic thing would not have happened otherwise,” Gabe returned. “Would you like to watch a movie?”

  They cruised by a video kiosk and agreed on a super hero movie. Once back at Gabe’s, he popped the movie in and went to make some popcorn while the previews were playing. Even though he had a sectional capable of sitting at least six, he handed Jane the bowl of popcorn and sat down right next to her.

  Jane found it hard to concentrate on the movie once Gabe put his arm around her. She could feel body heat radiating from his thigh to hers and from his arm to the back of her neck. She leaned into him and relished the butterflies in her belly. Trying to be as discreet as possible, she snuck peeks at him, doing her best to keep her face forward but using her peripheral vision.

  He had clearly shaved this morning and was missing the stubble she remembered from the sports bars. He had a way of laughing during the funny parts that she liked. He would smile just enough to make crinkles in the corners of his eyes and sort of chuckle, exhaling out of his nose. Very, very cute, she thought. And his killer blue eyes. She could just stare into them all—She was so caught looking at him.

  Even though the movie was still on, she couldn’t hear a word. Everything got very still as one corner of Gabe’s mouth curled up just before he brought his lips to hers. To say the kiss was intense would be putting it lightly. Sh
e put her arms around his neck and he pulled her into his lap. He held her tightly as he moved his lips from her mouth to her neck. At this, Baby jumped on the ottoman and began barking excitedly at them.

  Jane giggled, and Gabe buried his face in her neck.

  “You suck, dog,” he mumbled as Jane scooted off his lap and straightened her dress, blushing.

  He rubbed his hand over his face and said, “Come on, Baby. Time to go outside." He was back in no time and sliding in next to her. “Where were we?”

  Any hope for concentrating on the movie was over.

  “Your hair smells so good,” Gabe said, nuzzling his nose behind her ear. “Like coconut."

  She was super ticklish there, and Gabe grinned at having found a weakness. He kissed her again. He tasted like sweet tea and popcorn, which was a surprisingly yummy combo. His hands were on her back, and she felt herself pressing into him. Her mind was racing between tearing off all of his clothes and not wanting to seem over eager, but to be honest, all of this kissing and body contact was really turning her on.

  He had to be feeling the same way, she thought. She wondered if he would make the next move.

  A loud rattling noise came from the back door.

  “Sorry,” Gabe said, coming up for air. “That’s Baby wanting to come back inside. If I don’t get her soon, she is liable to break the screen door. Again.”

  He detangled himself from her and headed towards the kitchen. Jane took advantage of the breather to use the very pink bathroom. Luckily, her makeup hadn’t rubbed all off. She applied some chap stick and headed back to the living room.

  Gabe was turning the movie off, and when she entered the room, said, “So I’m thinking we should turn this lunch date into a dinner date. That is, if you can stand my company much longer?”

  “I’d like that,” Jane replied.

  “Well, the kitchen is not up for cooking yet so we can go out or maybe…order in.”

  There was some definite inflection on the word “in.”

  “I think we should order in,” Jane said, feeling bold and locking eyes with him.

  He didn’t break eye contact with her as he slowly walked over to her. He took her hands in his and leaned her against the wall. When he kissed her, she felt her toes curl.

  “You are so beautiful,” he whispered into her ear, then playfully nipped it.

  She seriously felt like her knees might buckle. She let go of his hands and wrapped her arms around his neck. His body molded to hers.

  “Whew,” he said taking a step back. “You should come with a warning label."

  He turned, and holding her hand, sat her down at one end of the sofa and jokingly sat himself at the other.

  “Jane, I am really into you,” he began. “And I really don’t want to mess this up. Part of me wants to blow all caution to the wind, but I don’t want to rush you. What are you feeling?”

  Jane moved to sit next to him, and taking his hand in hers said, “I really like you."

  She nestled into him, and they sat there for a few moments, feeling the weight of their words, both spoken and unspoken.

  “Alright,” Gabe said. “Let’s talk more about ourselves. Likes and dislikes." They ordered some Chinese delivery and talked for hours. Favorite books, movies, and colors. You name it. They both liked comedies; Jane preferred the romantic ones to the gross humor ones. Gabe also loved action movies. Jane liked those, too, but mainly the super hero ones versus really suspenseful ones.

  Blue was both of their favorite colors. Jane’s favorite season was spring and Gabe’s summer because of the break. They talked about their families and any travelling they had done.

  Gabe still had living grandparents on his mother’s side. They lived not far from where Gabe’s parents wintered in Florida. Jane had all four of her grandparents still living. Her dad’s parents lived in Ohio, and her mother’s parents lived in Virginia. He was still very close with his grandparents, travelling down to see them most summers. This one he had not because he was working on his house.

  Jane wasn’t as close to her grandparents. She saw her maternal grandparents more often than her paternal ones simply due to distance. He spoke more about his brother and sister-in-law and their kids. It was clear how important family was to him. Jane told him about her dad, and how out of everyone, she never felt pressure from him, not like she got from her mother.

  Gabe was pretty athletic. He enjoyed most summer sports. Loved being in the water, whether it was jet skis, kayaking, surfing, or boating. He loved the ocean or any lake. He was not particular. He was not crazy about winter sports, preferring to be inside where it was warm. Jane was not as athletic. She liked to go for walks and go to the beach, but she had never done anything other than swim.

  She loved to read while he sheepishly admitted he had not read for pleasure in a really long time. They went on to describe what their perfect day or evening would look like. Gabe’s would be a barbeque at the beach with a group of his favorite people. Jane’s dream day would have her handling her favorite pieces of art. Her eyes sparkled as she talked about being able to run her fingers over their brush strokes. Bummer was, even if she was able to handle these pieces, she would never in a million years touch one for fear of damaging it. Gabe laughed out loud at that, imagining the look on her face if she was ever in that position.

  It was so late now that it was morning. They had talked almost all night. Jane just didn’t want to leave. They stretched out side by side on Gabe’s comfy sectional. Gabe playfully kissed her chin, and feeling a second wind, she kissed him back more forcefully. Gabe pulled his head back to look at her in question. She nodded, pulling him towards her. Realizing the direction they were headed, Gabe led her to his room.

  Closing the door behind them, he said, “Are you sure?”

  She had never been more sure of anything, and she lay down on his bed and reached her hand out to him. He placed his hand in hers, and she pulled him onto her. Covering her, kissing her with his hands in her hair, Gabe only pulled back when he realized Jane was trying to pull his shirt off. Sitting up, he pulled it off and threw it somewhere. Jane kicked off her boots and socks off, laughing.

  Searching her eyes for approval, Gabe lifted the hem of her dress. She raised her arms over her head as he slid it off of her. Her hands moved to her waist to take off her leggings. Gabe stopped her, easing her back down onto his pillows. He started kissing the skin exposed from the top of her bra and then moved down, kissing her stomach as he slowly dragged the material down her legs and continued kissing her skin as it became visible.

  She felt like she was going to explode. She wanted him so bad. She sat up, reaching around him to tug on his belt in an effort to loosen it. Gabe groaned and slid off of the bed. He kicked his shoes off and removed his pants and socks. He left his boxer briefs on and lay back on the bed, facing her and pulling her into his arms. Jane could not stop touching him, pulling him against her body and kissing him.

  Gabe explored each inch of her as it was uncovered. He was so thoughtful and gentle, stopping to ask her if everything felt all right multiple times. His body was beautiful, she thought, running her hands over his chest and back. He was only the second person she had ever been with.

  Afterward, lying in his arms, his lips on her forehead, he said, “I am in so much trouble with you."

  At that, she pushed into him, and they started all over again.

  Chapter 27

  Waking up in Gabe’s arms was one of the most peaceful moments Jane could ever remember. He started stirring and tightened his grip around her.

  “Morning, beautiful,” he said with one eye open, giving her a kiss on the neck. “So what are we going to do today? And please say it will not include clothes?” She giggled and then sat up quickly pulling the sheets with her.

  “What time is it?” Jane asked, panicked.

  “Um, like elevenish,” Gabe said, checking his watch.

  “I am so sorry. I have to meet my mom for lunch,” she
said, throwing her clothes on. “I can’t be late."

  "That’s cool,” Gabe said, pulling on some pants. “Do you want me to make you some coffee?”

  “I am so sorry for running out of here like this. I just have to get home and showered,” Jane said, leaning over and giving him a quick kiss and then grabbing her purse. She headed for the door.

  “Can you tell me when I’m going to see you again before I get a complex?” Gabe joked.

  They agreed on seeing a movie they had both talked about earlier the next night. Jane would call him after her lunch to work out the details. She waved through her window as she pulled away. She daydreamed about her night with Gabe the whole ride home. She had never experienced anything that good during her entire relationship with Wyatt.

  Why couldn’t she just email everyone and tell them the truth? That she didn’t want to go and that she didn’t even want to be friends with Wyatt. As much as she wanted to, she did not want to disappoint her mother. Still, she would have to figure out some way for Wyatt to focus his attention elsewhere. She flew into the apartment and slammed the door behind her with a bang.

  “Lacey!” she called out as she ran into the bathroom.

  “Coming home in the clothes you left in yesterday. I knew you had it in you.” Lacey laughed as she walked into the bathroom.

  Jane had already jumped into the shower, so Lacey peppered her with questions as she sat in the sink counter. Turning the shower off and grabbing a towel, Jane went to her room with Lacey trailing behind her.

  “I have no idea what to wear,” she moaned.

  Lacey picked out some tailored gray slacks and a green twinset. Jane, not up for arguing, got dressed while Lacey poured her a cup of coffee. Jane let her hair air dry and threw on the bare minimum of makeup she could get away with and ran out the door. Lacey shook her head as Jane headed to the restaurant. She got there only a moment behind everyone else. It was a beautiful place in the heart of downtown. It had a huge picture window that overlooked the sidewalk. They were seated right in front of it.