Mad for You

by Anna Antonia

  Then the heavy work began.

  I ran over to my apartment. I came to a stop when I saw the neat little blinking box attached to the wall. Gabriel followed me over, poking his head in the door and seeing me standing there in fixation.

  “Good. It’s up and running.”

  “Gabriel, what’s this on my wall?”

  “Your alarm.”

  “Yes, I see that. How did this get installed without me being here?”

  “I let them in.”

  “How?”

  “Details that don’t bear repeating. Needless to say you’re safer than you were before.”

  “Gabriel, when did you get a key to my place?”

  “Ah, well, you see…”

  “I want my key back.” I held my hand out and waited.

  He looked wounded as if I were a mean kid trying to take away his favorite toy. “Why? I already have mine on my keychain. Look how cute it looks on here.” Gabriel held a ring of keys up in the air. “I promise it’s in good hands, Emma.”

  I threw my hands up. “You are so lucky I trust you and am used to your…viewpoint…on life.”

  “Good! Here, Emma. I have one for you too.”

  “I already have a key to my place.”

  “I know, silly. This one is to mine.” Gabriel pressed it into my hand. “Now you can come in anytime you want. You don’t even need to call ahead of time.”

  Although I grumbled, I couldn’t deny the thrill coursing through my veins. Gabriel had a way of making the insane sane. Honestly, if any of this were coming from anyone else I’d lay him out. No doubt. But Gabriel…

  “Hey, if you have the key how’d they get in? I didn’t see anybody over here.”

  “Emma, did you need to grab something?”

  “You’re not going to answer, are you? Do I even want to know?”

  “You can trust me. Honest!”

  I shook my head, wondering if I truly had driven off the deep end. I grabbed my cleaning supplies and vacuum cleaner. Gabriel neatly plucked it from my grip. We locked up my place and went back to his apartment. I zipped through his place, spraying, wiping, and sweeping in fast, sure movements. Gabriel followed me from room to room and watched me work with something close to awe.

  “You make it look effortless. Can you teach me?”

  I didn’t even snipe over Mr. Billionaire getting his hands dirty. Instead, I waved him over and showed him the techniques my mother had taught me. Every task had a system, designed to minimize time and unnecessary movement. Gabriel took the work seriously, showing a meticulousness that my mother and her coworkers would’ve enthusiastically approved of.

  “If being crazy wealthy fails, you can always get a job on a cleaning crew.”

  “Really? That’s good to know!”

  After I was satisfied that the apartment was clean enough, we then set to work on putting away all of his newly purchased things. His unit came with a washer and dryer so I taught him how to use them, assuming he’d never touched the machines in his life.

  He hadn’t.

  “Keep things separate. Lights with lights. Darks with darks. Whites on their own. Towels by themselves. Sheets by themselves.”

  “Got it.”

  “Let’s wash your sheets first. Then the towels.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you don’t want any of the colors to run on you while you sleep.”

  Gabriel looked at the packaged sheets blankly. “Would they really do that?”

  “Yes, sweetie. They would.”

  I couldn’t get over how much he hadn’t experienced and how much joy he took in learning them. If things were like this with Gabriel, what was missing in my life that I was completely ignorant about?

  What’s Gabriel going to teach me about life? Maybe how to enjoy it better?

  Once we got everything washed, put away, or laid out, I took Gabriel to the local grocery store.

  “Do you shop here, Emma?” he asked while looking around him in curiosity.

  “Every week.” I didn’t have to ask him if he shopped for his groceries.

  “Good. Then I’ll shop here every week as well. We should do it together, Emma.”

  I tickled his neck. “You’re really going all out, aren’t you?”

  Gabriel lifted his chin, reminding me of a cat giving access to the sensitive parts. “It’s the only way I want to live—all out.”

  We shopped for well over an hour. I showed Gabriel how to go about picking fruit and vegetables. He listened intently, doing everything short of taking notes. At one point I had to stop and ask him, “Are you sure you’re not putting me on?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “This. Are you sure you don’t already know how to do this?”

  Gabriel clasped his hands behind his back. “No, I don’t. Emma, I usually pay people to do this for me.”

  I guessed correctly then. “All right. Here’s how you shop for canned goods…”

  I put up his groceries while he set up the TVs, but only after Gabriel assured me he was quite familiar with the contents of his refrigerator and pantry. I then popped some popcorn and we settled on the couch to watch one of my DVDs.

  Wrapped up in a blanket, my head resting on his shoulder, I felt content and happy.

  This can be my life. Everyday spent just like this.

  Gabriel ordered a couple of pizzas for dinner. We ate and talked about our lives directly after high school. We both skirted around any mentions of failed relationships, especially our own. I admired how hard he worked to keep his family’s company from going under after his father’s untimely demise. He admired my degree, lamenting that he’d never had time to go back and get his.

  “Can you see forever, Emma? I can.”

  The question had come out of nowhere. I could see forever, yet I feared how fast I was falling for Gabriel. I busied myself with picking off a piece of pepperoni and popping it into my mouth. He continued on without a hitch.

  Still, my lack of answer dug at me. Why was I so afraid to take us at face value?

  Because it’s never that simple with Gabriel. I can’t say yes now when I still don’t know exactly how this is going to work.

  Later, Gabriel walked me to my door like an old-fashioned suitor. “I really enjoyed today, Emma. Thank you for all your help.”

  “You’re welcome. I had fun. Let me know if you need anything. You have my number, right?”

  Gabriel reached out and played with a tendril of my hair. He lingered, silent and thoughtful. “Emma?”

  “Yes?” I hoped he would kiss me. I’d been dying for it since I saw him yesterday. I’d wanted it at Macy’s, I craved it in Aisle 7, and I yearned for it during the whole time we watched “Ocean’s Eleven”. Every time we touched, every slide of his hand against mine, stirred my desire until it fairly boiled. I know I didn’t mistake the lust in his gaze because I recognized it as my own.

  He smiled and took a step back. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Disappointed that I was denied his kiss again, I whispered, “Good night.” As I lay in bed that night, hand between my thighs, I thought of the enigmatic man just on the other side of the wall. I came again and again with his name on my lips.

  Gabriel definitely dangled me from his elegant fingers. I had a feeling he was waiting for me to pass a test he designed, except I didn’t have a study guide. All I had was the hope that his patience with my inability to solve the presented problem wouldn’t end.

  Now with empty bellies, we walked through the glass doors and dodged the steady foot traffic. The limo gleamed ebony dark as it idled by the curb.

  “No Escalade today?”

  “Nope. I’ll save that for later.”

  Waylon greeted us both warmly as he held open the door. Gabriel climbed in after me. He held me in his arms, guiding my head to rest against his chest. His cologne had quickly become my favorite scent in the whole world.

  “How’s your day been, Ms. Adams?”

 
; “Busy. Yours, Mr. Gordon?”

  “Busy. Much better now that I’m with you.”

  “Me too.”

  “I missed you, Emma. Have you missed me?”

  Closing my eyes, I let myself have the luxury of truth. “Yes. It’s hard to think about anything else when all I can think about is you.”

  “I’m sorry that we didn’t get to spend the whole day together yesterday.”

  “It’s okay. Really.”

  Our Sunday trip to the zoo was a first for us both. Gabriel called ahead by about an hour, telling me he would be by my place around 11:00am. Apparently, he didn’t know about the sleeping-in-late-on-Sunday rule.

  Gabriel brought me breakfast again just as I finished getting dressed. Seeing him on my doorstep with aviator glasses, a long sleeved white shirt, jeans, and boots, brought back all the desire I thought I’d exorcised the night before in bed.

  “Hello,” I greeted him, breathless and suddenly shy.

  “Hello, Emma.”

  While eating a light meal of pancakes and fruit, I’d asked, “I thought you were busy today.”

  “Hmm?”

  “You know—the thing with your mom.”

  “No. I cancelled.”

  “Really? Why?”

  Gabriel’s sultry stare answered him far better than “I had the insatiable urge to look at monkeys with you.”

  He drove us down after breakfast, easily finding a parking spot. Gabriel opened my door, like he’d done every single time the day before, and we approached the ticket booth hand in hand.

  I loved it. I loved being able to be with Gabriel in public, without having to worry about others staring and judging us. I loved our anonymity.

  We made our way through the zoo. Walking slowly, stopping to see every exhibit, Gabriel and I weren’t the billionaire and the girl. We were just two people who liked the cheetahs, loved the polar bears, and thought the alligators were just waiting for us to turn our backs.

  He’d asked if I could see forever. I could see it, taste it, and longed for it.

  Spontaneously breaking out in smile, I wondered if life could really be this easy. Could you find love again just like that? Was I really this lucky?

  Gabriel’s phone rang as we approached the last exhibit. He stepped away, apologetic and with a firm promise he’d only be a minute. Standing by the fox habitat, I watched him from the corner of my eye. The easy smile I so adored had disappeared, leaving his mouth tight with tension.

  Whoever was on the other side had made Gabriel furious. It could’ve been anything. Gabriel looked over his shoulder and saw me watching. He ended the call immediately.

  It could be anything so why do I suddenly feel cold?

  When he came back to me I didn’t ask him why he’d been so angry. I didn’t mention anything at all, but our sweet outing had inadvertently soured.

  “I’m sorry, Emma. Something’s come up and I have to go. I’ll be back by tonight.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “I will be when I get back to you. I’ll call you, okay?”

  Gabriel hadn’t shown up by the wee hours of the morning. I lay awake nearly as long. I’d listened for every motor and expected every flash of headlight to be his. I worried, sensing in my gut that something very wrong had happened.

  A few short hours I’d startled awake. My alarm rudely announced shower time. By the time I was dressed in a smart black suit, hair pulled back in a chignon, I’d shoved Gabriel aside as much as I could.

  I couldn’t expect him to be by my side 24/7. I had to trust he hadn’t been able to come back for a good reason.

  You have to get over your insecurities about him some day. Today might as well be the day.

  I opened the door to see Gabriel leaning against the wall. “Baby, I’m so sorry. I just got back a few minutes ago.” He’d brought me flowers, apologetic and tired.

  I loved hearing the pet name on his lips. “Have you slept at all?”

  A faint smile curled his lips. “No.”

  “You didn’t have to come back here, Gabriel. You could’ve gone straight to work and just called me later.”

  “I didn’t want to.” Gabriel tugged me into his arms. His whole body shuddered and melted against mine. “I wanted to see you.”

  I hugged him back. Exhaustion hit me now that I knew he was okay. I shrugged it off and concentrated on just being with him.

  “I’m sorry, Emma. Really I am. I had business to take care of but I’d much rather have been here with you. Here, I brought you these.”

  I pulled away from him to accept the flowers, relieved to hear his words. “I guess it’s not always a glamorous life to be so rich. Money and business don’t always respect normal business hours, do they?”

  He didn’t say anything, but I saw the nervousness hiding behind his pleasant exterior.

  I immediately felt guilty. Did he think me so unforgiving that I’d hold his work against him or be angry because plans change?

  I’m not that kind of girl. I’ll show you.

  I reached out for Gabriel again and kissed him on the cheek. “I’m so glad you made time for me this morning, Gabriel.”

  “Always.” He kissed my forehead, lingering longer than usual. “We better go. Don’t want to be late, do we?”

  Although we drove separately to work, Gabriel met me by the elevators. “Don’t forget we have a lunch date today.”

  “I won’t.”

  Gabriel gestured to the bouquet of lilies in my arms. “Think of me.”

  “Always.”

  I carried his delighted smile with me all the way to my cube.

  Now ensconced in his luxury vehicle, wrapped up tightly in his arms, I wondered how I’d managed to forget Gabriel long enough to be of some service to Med-Tech. Juggling a boyfriend and a career would definitely be a challenge—one I’d never had to do. I eagerly looked forward to the experience.

  Waylon dropped us off at a deli serving 3” thick sandwiches. I knew I’d probably only be able to eat half, but it didn’t stop me from ordering the full sandwich. Gabriel placed our order and then escorted us to the back of the cramped space to wait on our food.

  Gabriel enfolded my hands in his. “I want to talk to you about tonight, Emma.”

  “What is it?”

  “I won’t be home.”

  “You mean the apartment?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh, that’s okay.”

  Gabriel opened his mouth before closing it. “Actually, it’s not.”

  “Why?” I finally noticed the brackets lining his mouth. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. I will be fine that is. I just have to take care of a couple of things before I can fully move next to door to you.”

  Inwardly I struggled to make the proper words come out, but I forced them out anyways. I’d already gotten used to the idea of having Gabriel so close. Still, it wasn’t about what I wanted. It was about what was best for him.

  “Look, Gabriel, you don’t have to if it’s easier for you to stay where you are—”

  “No! I’m not staying there.”

  His vehemence begged me to ask, “Why do you hate it so much?”

  Gabriel inhaled and exhaled several beats. “I hate what it represents in my life.”

  “Which is?”

  “A time when I was willing to settle.”

  “Gabriel, I’m sorry but I don’t understand.”

  He lifted my hands up to his mouth and kissed the knuckles. “I don’t mean to be vague. I just don’t like talking about that time when I’m with you.”

  “You probably will need to one day. I mean, seeing how much it’s affecting you now.”

  “You’re right. I will explain one day…really soon…but not right now. I just want to focus on us, on my future with you.”

  I cleared my throat. “Does this have to do with Embry?”

  A server brought our food before he could answer, forcing us to break our contact. I couldn’t help but fear the
symbolism.

  “No and yes. I’ll explain everything soon, Emma. Let me manage the loose ends and then I’ll tell you everything.”

  Gabriel didn’t seem enthusiastic about the telling. It must’ve been pretty bad.

  I thought about the night before. The question of “Was it business last night or was it personal” bore down on my tongue. I swallowed it, afraid that I was seeing things that didn’t exist, much like I had seven years before.

  I didn’t want to run from him this time. Not based on assumptions, fear, and insecurity.

  So I ignored the fear making itself comfortable in my stomach. I smiled and ate my delicious lunch, made all the more tasty because of the pensive angel at my side.

  Gabriel is crazy for me and I’m crazy for him. It’s going to be okay.

  “Is your food good?”

  “Yes.” I managed a sunny smile for him. “I’ve never been here. I’m so glad you took me.”

  Gabriel leaned forward and kissed my cheek. “Just a few more days, Emma, and then I’m all yours.”

  “I’ll hold you to that, Sir.”

  “My God, Emma. What you do to me! I promise I’ll show you soon in explicit detail.”

  If only all promises were just as sweet as Gabriel.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “Hello? Gabriel? Where are you?”

  It was 8:32pm, almost eight hours since I saw him at lunch. I’d just spent the better part of the last five minutes making my way up the colossal structure of granite and glass just to see Gabriel. The entire building reeked of privilege and exclusivity. I felt seriously underdressed in my yoga pants, jacket, and flip flops.

  Thankfully the front desk (Concierge? Security? I’m not sure what it’d be called) let me up without any issues. All I had to do was show my ID. Apparently Gabriel had left my name as an approved visitor.

  The elevator wasn’t as fast as the one’s in Gabriel’s building but it was fast enough. Alone in the bullet box I wondered what was so important that he needed me to come over.

  Maybe he needs moral support?

  The door had been left unlocked as promised. I entered the silent space, surprised that Gabriel wasn’t there to greet me. I scanned the immaculate interior, looking for any sign of him. Sleek lines of luxury furniture and tasteful décor greeted me from the low-lit living room. Although drawn to the bank of floor to ceiling windows and the enormous outdoor patio beyond, I slowly made my way deeper into the darkened interior.