by Holly Renee
“What, Gabe? You don’t have anything else you’d like to say?” She was still irritated, and she had every right to be.
“I’m sorry…” I hesitated.
“Good start.” Her brother was still laughing.
I gave him my attention and swallowed my pride. “I’m sorry for what I said about your sister. I like her a lot, and I was pissed off that she was here with another man.”
His laughter faded, but his eyes still held amusement. “I understand that. Why don’t you and your buddy grab a seat so we can get to know each other.”
Erica still looked irritated, but her expression had softened. She still didn’t look too thrilled that her brother had just invited us to sit with them. Reaching down, I gripped her chin in my hand and turned her face in my direction. She stubbornly stared into my eyes with a pout on her lips so I leaned down and kissed it off of her.
She was breathing hard when I pulled away from her, and I left her staring up at me as I went to grab my beer from our table.
When I returned, she was leaning across the table whispering to her brother. It didn’t take a genius to tell that she was coaching him on what he could and couldn’t say, but if the vibe I was getting from him was right, he wouldn’t give a damn.
As soon as my ass hit the seat next to Erica, he proved me right.
“So you’re fucking my sister.”
Erica put her head into her hands, and Cash put his beer bottle to his lips to hide his smile. He was sitting right next to Jon, and he was no help to me. He was having far too good of a time at my expense.
“Well I’m not sure if that’s what you would call it.” I looked down at Erica with her head still bowed then turned to her brother. “We’re getting to know each other better, we’re hanging out, we’re having fun, we make each other laugh, and yes, we fuck.”
Erica groaned at my side, but I could also hear the laughter in her voice.
Jon looked me up and down before he spoke. “I respect your honesty. It takes quite a bit of balls to be able to say that to me, but I will warn you, if she ends up in the same state she was after the last time the two of you did this, I will kick your ass.”
Jon’s build was smaller than mine and I had no doubt that I could take him, but I completely understood his protectiveness and I respected his warning.
“Understood.” I held his eyes.
He watched me for a few more seconds before he reached his hand across the table and shook mine.
“Well if you two are done playing whose dick is bigger,” Erica’s voice interrupted us, “I’m hungry.”
I took her mouth against mine again, and I realized that I couldn’t agree with her more, I was fucking starving.
To say dinner had been awkward was the understatement of the year. Jon and Gabe seemed to completely forget about what had happened when Gabe walked up to our table, but I kept replaying it over in my head, and I wanted to cringe every time.
I was so happy when I saw Gabe walking up to our table, but I was shocked at the words that came out of his mouth. It was something that Gabe had never shown before. I had never seen him act so possessive. It was hot as hell except that he was laying his claim against my brother.
All three of the guys seemed to get along great, and I was thankful for that. They were talking about sports and cars, and while I wasn’t participating much in the conversation, Gabe kept his hand on me at all times. He gripped my neck in his hand before he laid a chaste kiss on my lips. He rubbed one of my curls between his fingers. His hand rubbed small circles on my knee.
He made it hard to concentrate, but the only thing that was running through my mind was him. The Gabe that I had seen in the last few weeks was completely different from the one who left me completely wrecked. I loved how far we had come in such a short time, but I was also scared as hell.
While everything seemed to be going great, we still hadn’t talked about his past, and he hadn’t said a word about where he went when he left. I desperately wanted to bring it up, but I also didn’t want to push him away. The fear far outweighed anything else, but I knew we couldn’t go much further until he finally opened up to me.
“Are you coming to our parents’ anniversary party this weekend?” My brother’s voice broke through my thoughts.
“I didn’t know anything about it.” Gabe looked down at me with an eyebrow raised.
“I was going to mention it,” I quickly answered, “but I didn’t think you would be interested.”
“Is it important to you?” Gabe’s voice was low as he spoke in my ear for only me to hear.
I nodded my head because it was. I didn’t think he would actually be interested in coming, but of course I wanted him to. Meeting my parents’ might be interesting, but I wanted him to meet them.
“I’ll be there,” Gabe said to my brother, and I couldn’t stop the smile on my face.
After dropping the third thing within the last hour, I sat down at my parents’ island and rested my head on my arms. I wasn’t sure what the hell was wrong with me, but I did know I needed to get it together if I wanted to get this party together before everyone got here. My parents’ were celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary, and I wanted everything to be perfect.
Jon was outside loading beer into coolers, and I was in charge of the food. Everything was running pretty smoothly. I had most of the appetizers made and ready to go, but the food wasn’t what was stressing me out. I was scared to death about Gabe coming here tonight. Not only would he be meeting my parents’ for the first time, but he would also be surrounded by my brother, my cousins, and the rest of my family.
I was worried that it would be too much. My family was loud and somewhat in your face, and I didn’t need their help pushing Gabe away. Managing that on my own would be a piece of cake.
Standing from my stool, I walked around the island and finished adding strawberries to the miniature strawberry shortcakes. My hands were covered in whip cream by the time I was finished, and I felt like I resembled the mess that was on my hands.
My mom walked into the kitchen looking beautiful in her light blue dress that brought out her blue eyes that she passed down to me. My mom’s hair was light brown but was the same crazy mass of curls that I had. She had her curls pinned back in a pretty up-do, and she looked like she was insanely happy.
It was one of the biggest things that I loved about my mother. No matter how hard she tried, she could never hide how she was truly feeling. When she was sad, you could see it in her features, but when she was happy, it seemed to pour off of her. It was contagious. She filled our house with smiles and laughter growing up. She never felt like anything we wanted to do was too silly, and she would always put everything she had into making us happy.
“What’s wrong, baby girl?” She tucked a stray curl behind my ear while I washed my hands.
“Nothing’s wrong. Just getting everything done.” I didn’t look up at her as I spoke. It was another thing about my mother, but this one I didn’t love so much. She could see right through me.
“Uh huh. Is that why you are practically washing your skin off?” She reached up and turned off the faucet then handed me a towel to dry my hands. “Tell me what’s going through that pretty head of yours.”
“I don’t know.” I groaned. “I don’t even know where to start.”
“Well that’s simple.” She sat down on the stool I vacated only a moment earlier. “Start by telling me his name.”
I giggled and ran my hand through my curls. I had told her that I invited some friends tonight, but I really didn’t even know how to explain Gabe just yet.
“Gabe. His name is Gabe.”
“And what’s your concern about Gabe? What do you keep replaying over and over in your thoughts?”
“Honestly?” I took a deep breath. “I’m just worried that he’s not going to stick around.”
Even though the thought had been running through my mind, it hurt more when I said it out loud.
&n
bsp; She watched me for a moment before she spoke again. “If Gabe feels for you half of what you feel for him, I don’t think he’ll be going anywhere.”
“That’s the problem.” I grabbed a spoon from the drawer beside me. “I don’t know what he’s feeling. Things have been great between us, but Gabe has run in the past when things got hard. I won’t be able to handle it if he does that again.”
“First of all,” she stood up and leaned across the island toward me, “you can handle anything. It might hurt like crazy, but you would get through it. The question you need to ask yourself is, is he worth it. If he isn’t, let go of him now and save yourself more pain in the future. But if he is, if he causes your heart to flutter every single time he walks in the room, if thoughts of him run through your mind constantly and you can’t help smiling, then you hold on for dear life. If he runs, you run after him and fight for him. Neither one of you will be perfect and life would be so boring if you were. You’re going to fight with each other, but you also have to fight for each other. Love isn’t easy. It never will be, but baby, it is so worth it.”
My chest tightened at her words and the way her eyes sparked to life when she talked. I knew what she said was true, and in that moment, I knew I would fight for Gabe if it came to it. I just hoped that he would fight for me.
My mom pressed a kiss to my cheek. “Go get cleaned up. Everything is almost done in here, and everyone will be here any minute.”
“No. I just need to do a few more things.”
“Erica Leighanne, I am your mother, and I said go.” She pointed toward the hallway that led to my childhood bedroom that looked exactly the same as it did when I left it.
“Thanks, Mom.” I pulled her into a hug.
“You’re welcome, baby. Now go put something on that will drive him crazy when he gets here.”
I laughed then did exactly what my mother told me to do.
Everyone was mingling and having a good time. My dad had his arm wrapped around my mom’s waist as they walked throughout the room and spoke to everyone who came to celebrate their love. It was in no shortage either. You could see how happy and in love they were.
Gabe and my friends hadn’t arrived yet. I wiped my hands on my gray dress as my nerves seemed to get worse with every passing second. Poor Jon. He was getting the brunt of those nerves. He passed by me with a scowl on his face as he sat out another plate of food. He thought he was just going to sit around and drink beer, but I reminded him that the two of us were co-hosting this party and he had to help. He grumbled about not being a server but picked up the tray of food and put it where it belonged.
Our cousin Travis laughed at him, but when I gave him a look, he quickly grabbed his beer and followed Jon out of the kitchen.
I was making sure that all the trays were still full when the front door opened and I heard Kat’s voice saying hi presumably to my mother.
I walked to the door and spotted Gabe right away. He was standing directly behind Kat and Blake with Johnny and Cash, and his eyes were on me. My parents’ were standing in front of them, and Blake was shaking my father’s hand.
My dad wasn’t particularly intimidating, but he did have an air about him that demanded respect. He worked hard his whole life to provide for his family, and his handsome face was starting to show that hard work. His blond hair was peppered with grays that blended in and were almost unnoticeable. He had deep laugh lines around his mouth that showed a lifetime of smiles and happiness. He was about the same height and build as my brother which made him a little bit smaller than Gabe.
“Hey, guys.” I pulled Kat into a hug and smiled at Gabe over her shoulder.
“Mom, Dad, you know Kat and Blake. These two knuckle heads are my friends Johnny and Cash.” I waived my hand toward the brothers and they both shook my father’s hand. Gabe stepped up next to me and put his hand on the small of my back. It was like he realized how nervous I was and was offering me his silent support. My mom smiled at me knowingly.
“This is Gabe.” My dad turned in our direction and it instantly hit me that I had no idea what to introduce him as. Panic hit me. Did I call him my friend? Just the thought of saying it tasted bad on my tongue.
My dad reached his hand out to Gabe.
“He’s my…” I looked up to Kat as if she could telepathically tell me what to say, but she was about as helpful as a pen with no ink. She grinned at me, and I could tell she was waiting to see what I would say. Traitor.
“Hello, sir. I’m Gabe Lawson. I’m Erica’s boyfriend.” Gabe reached out his hand and shook my father’s.
My dad looked over at me because I hadn’t even mentioned Gabe to him. I raised my eyebrows to him and gave him an exaggerated smile that I reserved only for him. As a daddy’s girl, I knew what it took to keep my dad on his best behavior.
My dad smiled back at me then turned back to Gabe whose hand was still in his. “It’s nice to meet you, Gabe. Y’all come on in and get some food.”
My parents’ led the way to the food table, but Gabe kept me firm in place with his hand on my hip. I looked up at him, and he gripped my jaw in his hand before pulling me in for a kiss. His tongue traced my lips, and I instantly opened up for him. My body melted against his, and I momentarily forgot we were standing in my parents’ house filled with my family. It didn’t even register until one of my uncle’s cleared his throat behind us.
I pulled away from Gabe, but he kept my body against his with his hands pressed against my lower back.
“Hey, you.” He ran his nose along my jaw.
“Hey.” I sounded as breathless as I felt.
“You look beautiful,” he said as he twisted one of my curls between his fingers.
“Thank you. You don’t look so bad yourself.” It was a complete lie. He didn’t look bad at all. He looked amazing. His legs were covered in a pair of black trousers, and he had on a light blue button-up shirt with the first two buttons undone. His blond hair was styled back away from his face and his beard hid the sharp jawline that I knew lied beneath. He looked like he belonged on the front of a GQ magazine.
We walked further into the house, and I introduced him to friends and family as we walked by. While I loved all of my family, the only ones whose opinions actually mattered to me were my mom, dad, and Jon’s. Not that their opinion of Gabe would actually affect the way that I felt about him, but I wanted them to like him. We didn’t need any extra obstacles in our way.
We made our way to where my mom and dad stood talking to my brother, Kat, and Blake.
“You should have seen Erica’s face,” Jon was practically bent over in laughter.
“What are you talking about?” The group turned their smiling faces toward me and Gabe.
Jon’s smile turned into a shit-eating grin. “I was telling Mom and Dad about the first time I met Gabe.”
Gabe’s body froze beside mine, and I felt all of my blood drain from my body. Jon and I had plenty of sibling rivalry, but I never thought he would cross that line. I wanted to launch my body at him and strangle him.
“He was just telling them how Gabe interrupted your dinner by asking Jon what he was doing with his girlfriend.” Kat made big eyes at me, and in that moment, I knew that Jon didn’t tell the entire story. Of course, Kat knew the story. We talked on the phone practically every day.
“That kind of possessiveness is sexy.”
We all turned our attention to my sweet, proper mom.
“Mom!” I couldn’t believe she just said that.
“What? It is. Your father was the exact same way with me.”
Everyone laughed around us, but I still couldn’t believe she just said that. Gabe slid his arm around my waist and pulled me against his chest.
“The stories we could tell,” my dad said nuzzling into my mother’s neck and further embarrassing me.
“Oh my God, Dad. You two need to stop.” I was serious. I didn’t need to know any of this.
“I’d like to hear them. I think they’d be fu
nny,” Blake said with humor in his voice.
“Well, this one time,” my father started.
I cut in before he could go any further. “I’m going to give Gabe a tour of the house.” I grabbed Gabe’s hand and dragged him behind me.
I could hear Blake and my father chuckling, and I didn’t stop. There was no way I was sticking around to hear whatever story my dad was about to tell. Unlike my mom, my dad didn’t care who he offended and he always spoke his mind. I shivered just thinking about the words that might leave his mouth in the next few minutes.
“I’m so sorry about that,” I said to Gabe as I pulled him into my dad’s office. “This is my dad’s office.”
Before I knew what was happening, Gabe had me slammed against the wall. He dipped his head down and lightly kissed my neck before peeking his tongue out to touch my skin.
A low moan left my mouth. “Gabe,” I whispered.
“Where’s your bedroom?” His words vibrated against my skin.
“Upstairs.” I could feel myself already getting wet.
“Then give me the rest of the tour.” He pushed off the wall and stood to his full height. His green eyes were boring into me, and I quickly grabbed his hand in mine. We skipped every other room on the main floor and headed straight for the stairs. No one could see us going up the stairs, and I was thankful.
As soon as I opened the door to my childhood bedroom, Gabe and I crashed onto the bed. My bed was small and our heads were practically hanging off one side of it. Gabe’s tongue teased mine as his hands ran down my body causing the same torture. I chased his mouth with mine, and I bit down on his bottom lip when he continued to pull away from me.
He pulled away from me and ran his tongue along the spot I just bit. His eyes were filled with mischief, and I was so turned on that I wasn’t even thinking about being in my parents’ house that was filled with friends and family.
Gabe flipped me over and covered my body with his. I could feel how turned on he was from his erection digging into my ass. He bunched my dress above my waist and his hand slipped underneath me, touching my stomach before he cupped my pussy in his hand.
