by Karen Renee
“‘Sullivan?’”
I fought an eye roll. “It is your last name. Pretty sure, DeShawn calls you that too.”
He glanced over his shoulder and back to me. “Can I come in? I don’t want to do this at your front door. And if you really don’t have time, I’ll leave.”
I shook my head but opened the door wider.
As I closed the door, I caught a whiff of his cologne and told myself to ignore it.
I turned to him. “Why didn’t you want to do this at the front door?”
His chin dipped. “I know you got sick after the Waffle House, but surely you remember my brother telling me to check for a Ring camera across the hall?”
I nodded.
“Yeah. There’s not one, but two of ’em over there.”
“Two?”
He nodded. “One’s on the top of the jamb. Probably gives him a great view of either you or Kaylee coming out of the unit.”
My stomach sank as a creepy feeling stole over me. “Okay,” I whispered.
“Okay?” Gabe asked incredulously.
“Well, it’s obviously not okay, but I see now why you didn’t want to talk to me with my door wide open.”
He exhaled, but irritation shone from his eyes.
“Good you understand that. You gonna tell me why you’re bein’... I don’t know, standoffish with me?”
My eyes widened. “You think I’m standoffish?”
He grimaced. “I wanted to say bitchy, but you’re never bitchy with me, even when you’re PMS-ing, so what gives?”
I crossed my arms. “Nothing gives, Gabe. I’m still a little tired. What brings you by?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “Wanted to make sure we’re cool. You hurried off earlier, and it seemed weird. Besides, now that I know where you live, I figure I can hang here instead of you always hanging with me.”
My eyebrow arched skeptically. “Sure you haven’t scorned the wrong woman again?”
He raised his chin at me with defiance. “I’ll have you know I’m turning over a new leaf.”
My other eyebrow arched and Gabe’s eyes widened.
“No, Daughtry. I don’t mean a new woman. I’m done. I’ve had it with the meaningless one-nighters and shit.”
My brows dropped and I nodded.
“So. Can I hang with you for a while?”
His tone sounded so hopeful, and I didn’t have it in me to say no. So much for my efforts to put distance between us. Besides, I could hang with him one last time... like a gift to myself.
“Sure. Um, I assume you’ve eaten dinner already?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you want something to drink?”
He looked at me from the corner of his eye. “Any chance you got beer? Otherwise, I’m thinking, no.”
I grinned. “I suppose you might say the only upside to Kaylee coming to my rescue after Asher barged in here, is that her father wound up here later – which resulted in an obscene number of Miller Lite pints. Will that do?”
“Yes, you nerd. A pint of Miller Lite is fine.”
I poured myself a glass of Shiraz before I pulled out a beer and unscrewed the cap for him. Gabe made himself at home on one side of the suede couch, so I set my wine glass down on an end table before I handed him his beer. Then I curled up in the opposite end.
After he swallowed a long swig of beer, he looked to me. “How did you run into DeShawn today? I thought you only saw him when he and I play basketball here.”
I sipped my wine. I didn’t think it was Gabe’s business who I was tutoring. After a moment, I said, “He was at the library, and I saw him there. I’m not going to ignore him, you know.”
He nodded. Then he leaned his head back on the couch. “Have I told you how much I frickin’ love your couch?”
“It’s the first time you’ve sat in it, isn’t it?”
His head turned without coming off the back of the couch. “Second time, but it’s soft as a baby’s bottom. I like it.”
“You know about a baby’s bottom, do you? Secret baby, I didn’t know about?”
He squinted at me, but smiled. “No, I don’t know about a baby’s bottom.”
His head turned back, and he stared off into space. The stubble around his jaw and lips had grown in some more, and it looked like his beard would be soft.
“Had dinner with my mother last night,” he finally said.
“Oh, I forgot about that. Did it go well?”
His torso jolted with his sharp laugh. “Not... exactly. It was awkward as fuck, even after Brock and Cecilia walked in late. Then we didn’t eat our entrées there because of some drama, and it’s funny you mentioned pre-med students and shit earlier today, because it ended with me helping the manager of the restaurant by applying pressure to his gunshot wound.”
My eyes bulged. “A gunshot wound? You have to be kidding me!”
His head rolled on the back of the couch and he looked at me. “Not kidding, Cassie.”
“How are you not exhausted after a night like that?”
He leaned forward. “That all happened before the sun even set. But, the criminals were arrested.”
Fighting the urge to hug him, I shook my head. “Well, I’m glad the criminals were taken in, but why was it so awkward early on with your mother?”
After he sipped his beer, he replied. “I should want to get to know her, but for the most part, I just don’t. The timing seems weird to me, and I don’t know... twenty-seven years later she wants to get to know me? What the hell?”
“I thought your Dad said—”
“Yeah, he mentioned it again last night. She’s been around since I was ten, but even still. It took her until I was ten years old to get her shit together? Really?”
I wanted to nod, but didn’t. “I wish I could say I understand, but the fact is, I don’t. My mother and I don’t always see eye to eye, but she never outright abandoned me.”
“Outright?”
“I was a surprise baby, and she wasn’t pleased about being saddled with a child again. So, even though she was around, I always sensed she didn’t want to be, or that I was keeping her from something else.”
As luck had it, Gabe didn’t push that subject. The room filled with the sound of applause because the live recording of the Marsalis family playing “At the House, In da Pocket,” had ended.
I leaned forward to put my glass on the coffee table, which moved me closer to Gabe.
The tune changed, and I couldn’t help but smile at the repetitive guitar riff of “Rain Fall Down” by the Rolling Stones.
Gabe shot me an incredulous look. “Really? The Stones?” he asked, his face wrinkled with a sneer.
I leaned toward him to shove his shoulder. “Really? The attitude? They’re rock gods. I don’t care what anyone says!”
The skin next to his eyes crinkled and I knew he fought off a smile. “No, Cassie. Petty’s a rock god. The Beetles were rock gods. Mick and the boys... not so much.”
I gasped. “Take that back! Mick Jagger’s collaborated with the likes of Bowie, MJ, and more. Hell, Keith’s happy to fly under the radar, but he’s done great things solo, too.”
Gabe set his beer on the end table and leaned toward me. “MJ! He was a pedophile.”
I sighed. “Well, Mick isn’t. Besides, this song should be a classic. The guitar and the rain imagery. It’s sexy as hell.”
He looked at me as if I was trying his patience. “Songs by the Stones aren’t sexy.”
My eyes widened and I couldn’t keep myself from reaching out to shove his shoulder again, but he caught my wrist and leaned toward me, pushing me back into the couch. His warm torso weighed heavily on mine, and for a brief moment I thought he might kiss me.
My mind see-sawed between whether I wanted him to kiss me or not, but before I could decide, he let me go and backed off.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, as I sat up.
His face whipped to me, and he whispered, “What the hell for?”
I shrugged. “I shouldn’t have gotten so worked up.”
He laughed. “That’s all right, Cassandra. I better go.”
Typical.
Gabe
TRUTH BE TOLD, I DROPPED by Cassie’s not just to find out how DeShawn knew where she was today, but also to avoid going back to my place. After last night’s ordeal, Brock and Cecilia had been practically glued at the hip. Not that I could blame him; he’d always had a thing for blondes, and Cecilia embodied everything Brock liked.
However, I meant what I said to Cassie. I was going to change my promiscuous ways if it killed me. And, living with Brock and his woman, it just might kill me.
Climbing the stairs to my apartment, I wondered what the hell came over me at Cassie’s. Banter with her was always fun, but never had I let it get physical and never had I moved to kiss her. Had I not kicked myself in the ass figuratively, I probably would’ve kissed her.
The thought of it made me crazy. I wanted to taste her and feel her lips against mine, but that would change our entire friendship. I knew better than that.
The real question was, could I do better than that? When it came to her unique brand of excitement about things – especially music – I wasn’t so sure. It had always turned me on, but for some reason I was just now acknowledging that.
Visions of her excitement entered my mind, and I wondered if she got just as excited in bed. Could I make her that excited? My dick twitched, and I shook my head. To protect my friendship with her, there was no way I could entertain thoughts like that about us.
When I entered the apartment, the lights were out in the kitchen, but a sliver of light shone from under Brock’s bedroom door. I shook my head, not wanting to think about what those two were doing.
After last night’s dinner from hell, I found out Brock wanted Cecilia to move in with us. It took me by surprise, but it reminded me of something else. I would not be dependent on a woman to pay my bills.
I had a gig at a new club coming up, so I booted up my laptop and put on my noise-canceling headset. Working on a new set list would help me ignore my crazy thoughts about Cassie and what might or might not be happening across the apartment.
MY PHONE CHIMED, AND I thought it was the beginning of my alarm, but drowsily realized it was a text.
Flipping my phone over, I saw DeShawn wanted to meet up at the University gym for a run.
I groaned and laid back on my bed. My alarm would go off in five minutes, so I decided it was a good idea. Throwing the covers off, I texted him back saying as much.
An hour later, we were done with our run, and DeShawn had asked me how Cassie was doing.
It hit me strange, and I shot a questioning look his way. “You don’t have a thing for her, do you?”
He chuckled, low and deep. “Not as far as you know.”
“What the fuck?” I just stopped myself from snarling.
He laughed. “No. I thought she might have a thing for me, but she set me straight when I asked her out over a year ago.”
My eyes widened. “Over a year ago? What’re you talking about?”
He shook his head. “You probably don’t remember this, but the first time I met your girl, she was staring at us the whole time we played that three-on-three game. I thought it was because she had a thing for me. Hell if I was gonna pass that up, so I asked her about it.”
“You are shitting me.”
He grinned while shaking a finger at me. “You need to get with it, Sullivan. She turned me down. You and your brother were still across the court. I saw her expression when she tried to sneak a peek at you. That was when I knew she was into you. Why, or how the hell you’ve been oblivious to it, I don’t know.”
“Not oblivious, man,” I muttered.
“The hell you aren’t. She’s cool as hell. You need to open your fuckin’ eyes, man.”
My eyes were already open. The problem was whether I would ruin everything because of what I saw.
6
My Friend
Cassie
TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS were often my favorite days of the week. Not only did I have a lighter course load on those days, but they were also the days when I volunteered at Whiskers and Wags. It wasn’t always playing and cuddling with the dogs and cats, but it was fulfilling no matter what they had me do.
Today, I was helping Nona at the front desk with the bookkeeping. I pulled a report from QuickBooks and my brows furrowed.
“Nona, is the shelter really paying this much for food? I thought people donated food.”
“They do,” she drawled before she sighed. “But it ain’t always enough if we get someone who drops off a cat with a litter of kittens. You get me?”
I nodded. “I do, unfortunately.”
The chime on the door tinkled, and Nona turned away from me to greet whoever came in.
I focused on the accounting program and tried to think of other ways the shelter could cover their biggest expenses.
“Miss Cassandra,” Nona called, and a strange feeling went up my spine.
“Yes, Nona?”
“You got someone here for you.”
When I looked past her, Gabe stood on the other side of the desk smiling at me. Perhaps I should have tried dodging him a long time ago. Now that I wanted to see less of him, he was turning up everywhere.
“What are you doing here, Sullivan?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “Could ask you the same thing, Daughtry. I help out Dr. Z on the twentieth of every month.”
I squinted. “That sounds like a crock if ever I’ve heard one, Gabe.”
Nona shook her head. “You’re right, Cassie. Gabe’s pulling your leg. He volunteers, but on the twentieth of each month he’s signed up for a Day with a Dog.”
Before I could ask Gabe about it, Dr. Z opened the door to the exam rooms. “Gabe! I thought I heard your voice. You’re just in time, because I have just the dog for you.”
He smiled at Dr. Z. “Good to hear. Hey, you think Miss Daughtry over there can join me?”
I stood and leaned forward so Dr. Zaloudek could see me. “That’s okay, Dr. Z. I’m not wearing clothes for playing with a dog, today.”
“You got any extra scrubs, Doc?” Gabe asked.
Dr. Zaloudek nodded.
I continued. “That’s nice, but Nona and I—”
“We’re done, honey. You’re free to go with Gabe. You’ll love it,” Nona piped up.
Dr. Zaloudek said, “I think you’re right, Gabe. Cassandra would definitely benefit from some time with Zeke.”
ALMOST FOUR HOURS LATER, I didn’t know if I wanted to kiss Gabe or kick him. I stood in a pair of scrubs watching him guide Zeke, a hundred-and-thirty-pound English Mastiff, into the largest pen in the shelter.
Whenever I had time to be with the animals, I forced myself to stick with the cats and kittens. It wasn’t that I didn’t like dogs. If I spent time with the dogs, I would desperately want to adopt them all. And I did mean all of them. I felt that way about the kitties, too, but for whatever reason I was better able to keep it in check where the felines were concerned.
All afternoon, Gabe and I had entertained the English Mastiff, which Dr. Z. insisted was a runt for its size. If I thought Gabe growing a beard made him sexier, I was not the least bit prepared for watching him play with a cute, humongous dog. Worse than that, I could guard my heart against Gabe’s physical appearance, but watching him shine his playful personality on a dog who desperately craved attention flooded my heart with warmth.
The click of the cage locking interrupted my thoughts.
“You ready, Daughtry?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Ready for what?”
“To go?”
I shrugged a shoulder. “After I change, sure. We drove here separately, so it’s not like it matters.”
He chuckled. “Nope. Brock dropped me off. My truck wouldn’t start, which is why I couldn’t spend a full day with Zeke. So, you’re my ride back.”
My eyes widene
d. “Did you know I’d be here? How were you planning to get back otherwise?”
“Uber, probably. And I didn’t know you’d be here for sure, but since you were, it all works out, right?” he asked with a charming smile.
Reluctantly, I grinned. “Hard to argue with that. Let me change, and we’ll go.”
“Meet you at your Camry, Cass.”
I bleeped the locks to the car, but as I approached, Gabe moved to the driver’s side.
“Can I drive, Cass?”
My brows furrowed and I shook my head. “We’re headed to the apartment complex. What’s the big deal, Gabe? I’ve driven you places before.”
He shrugged a shoulder. “Yeah, but something tells me I should drive.”
My lips pursed for a moment before I spoke. “That sounds like bullshit, Sullivan.”
He leaned toward me. “Let me drive, Cass. I should consider new wheels; this’ll give me an idea if I want to waste time test driving Toyotas.”
The bell still rang on my bull-shit-o-meter, but something in his eyes made me relent. “Fine. But no funny business.”
He chuckled as I handed him my keys and got in on the passenger side.
When he closed his door, he turned to me. “No funny business, eh? Anybody ever tell you, you’ve got an old soul?”
I sighed. “Yeah. Can we go home now?”
“Absolutely.”
Except, we didn’t go home. He drove us straight to a Sonic and parked in a bay so he could order.
He turned to me. “Tots, am I right?”
I wanted to declare myself a french fry girl out of spite, but that lie went a shade too far. “You are right, but seriously, Gabe. Did you demand to drive my car just so you could get your Sonic fix?”
His grin turned sheepish. “Might have.”
I shook my head. “You’re a nut.”
“No, Daughtry. I’m hungry. Now, figure out what you’re havin’ so I can order.”
Doing my best to keep my face straight, I said, “The SuperSonic Breakfast Burrito and a Diet Coke.”
He looked at me from the corner of his eye. “You’re shittin’ me, right? Take your ass to Waffle House for breakfast, but you order a damned chicken sandwich, which made you sick, by the way. Now you’re orderin’ breakfast food at the end of the day?”
