by Karen Renee
He arched a brow at me, but before he could say anything else, I asked him what he wanted to drink.
“Beer, if you still have any. How long before I get to taste these ribs you’ve abused?”
I handed him a beer. “Another five minutes, and they haven’t been abused. They’ll be better than any you’d get in a restaurant.”
He uncapped the beer and tipped it toward me. “But damn sure not better than what I’d make myself.”
I rolled my eyes. “Gabe. Not all of us have a dab hand in the kitchen like you do.”
He arched a skeptical brow. “Dab hand?”
“You know what I mean. You’ve probably never burned toast in your life. It makes me sick.”
The timer went off before he could say anything, and I plated up our food.
Ten minutes later, we sat at my small table and I glanced at our plates. Gabe had cleaned the bones of his ribs in five minutes, if that. It wasn’t the first time I had seen him eat fast, but it concerned me every time. If I ate that fast, I’d be miserable.
He swallowed some beer and caught my eyes. “I told you about the money my mother’s divvying up between me and my brothers, right?”
I nodded. Wasn’t much chance I’d forget that conversation between us.
“I don’t know what to do, Cassie. It pisses me off to take that money from her, and then it makes me angry at myself to feel that way. Plenty of people would kill for a windfall like that.”
I nodded again. “You’re right.”
“I don’t want her damn money, but I know I’m a dumbass if I turn it down.”
“If it makes you that uncomfortable, Gabe, then tell her to donate it to the Humane Society and ASPCA or something. At least then the money takes care of something, even if it doesn’t take care of you.”
His eyes went serious. “What did you say?”
“I said donate the —”
“The last part, Cass. Repeat that last part.”
I bit the inside of my cheek. Then I whispered, “Even if it doesn’t take care of you.”
Cecilia had mentioned Gabe’s intensity about a woman paying for the roof over his head. I figured he wouldn’t want to use an inheritance from her, even if it would help him financially for a long time.
He gave a curt nod. “I’m going to invest it.”
I shook my head. “Invest it in what?”
He grinned. “In my future.”
“Like in stocks or something?” I asked, hoping he didn’t ask me for investment advice. It wasn’t that I wouldn’t give him advice, it was that I didn’t want to have money advice coming between our friendship. And money advice had a way of coming between family and friends every time.
He shook his head. “No. Like a business. Who says I have to have my degree before I start working toward my goal?”
“Nobody, but —”
“But nothing, Cassie. I’m not going to blow it. Besides, I’m sure there’s paperwork and shit involved with this. So, it’ll be a while before I’m ready to make my moves, but at least I can sleep easier now.”
Gabe
IT NEVER FAILED THAT when I talked things out with Cassie, my mind cleared, and I was able to make better decisions. What was that all about? Brock and I had talked about the money for a little bit, but I couldn’t wrap my head around it until Cassie mentioned it not taking care of me. If I used it to buy into a business, it wouldn’t be Pauline providing for me, so much as me making an investment decision. Almost like a donation to a good cause, but the good cause was my future.
The dinner and the money from my mother wasn’t changing my stance on her, though. Brock was curious enough to want to spend time with her, but I just wasn’t. It rubbed me wrong that Dad kept her away, but even though his reasoning made sense to me, it still stung.
I ate the last of the cole slaw and looked up to see Cassie gawking at me. “What?”
“You just always eat so fast, I get concerned, Sullivan.”
I shook my head. “Don’t be. And what’s with this Sullivan business?”
She shrugged as she licked her finger clean. This might have been a bad idea. It was bad enough when I dropped by this morning to see her in satin short-shorts. Actually, the shorts weren’t the problem. The skimpy tank-top with strings holding it up had been the problem because I could see the distinct outline of her nipples pebbled beneath it. Now, she was fully dressed in shorts and a red t-shirt which accentuated her dark hair and green eyes but watching her lick her finger clean was torture.
I stood and took my plate to the sink. Seeing as she fed me, I figured the least I could do was wash the dishes. When I pulled the stainless-steel pot out to put it in the sink, Cassie asked, “What are you doing, Sullivan? You don’t have to do the dishes.”
Turning from the sink, I narrowed my eyes at her. “You cooked, I’ll clean, but seriously, Daughtry. Stop calling me Sullivan. You know me well enough—”
“What is the big deal, Gabe? You call me Daughtry all the time. What is this, a one-way street?”
I turned back to the sink and squirted soap into the water and got to work. “Not exactly. When I call you by your last name, your eyes tell me you like it. But I’m pretty sure you’re trying to push me away when you call me by my last name.”
“Whatever,” she said, and I heard her fork scraping her plate as she dumped the remnants of food and bones into the trash.
“So, I’m right?”
She put her plate down and leaned into the counter. “No. It’s your last name. You’re the one making a big deal about it.”
I chuckled. “You’re the one arguing with me about it.”
She grabbed a dishtowel and took the rinsed pot from me. “Fine. Gabe.”
The attitude in her voice made me smile, and I almost wished she’d called me Sullivan to prolong the bickering.
She wrapped up the left-over ribs, and put the baking pan next to the sink.
While I washed it, she asked, “So, you’re suddenly down with taking money from your mother? After me making some off-hand comment?”
I rinsed the pan, turned off the water, and snagged the dishtowel off her shoulder. “You never make off-hand comments, Cassie. You weigh all of your words and responses.”
She narrowed her eyes at me, but didn’t speak and I smiled. “See, you’re doing it right now.”
She huffed out a breath. “So be it, but I’ve been known to make off-hand comments before.”
“Maybe with your girlfriends or something, but not with me. And it’s exactly why I don’t like you calling me Sullivan. You’re doing it for some damn reason, and I’m pretty damn sure I don’t like it.”
“If you say so. But, you’re not switching the topic, man. What are you planning to do with the money? I mean, if it’s a business venture or something, I could introduce you to my dad or one of his business partners. He didn’t get where he is without learning some hard lessons, you know.”
I hadn’t thought of that. I didn’t know why she recommended her father, but I would need to talk to someone more knowledgeable about my plans. “You’re right, Cassie. How about you drop by my place tomorrow evening?”
Her lips twisted for a moment. “I have some things to do mid-morning, so I’m going to work late and will end up leaving late because of it. Can I drop by early in the morning instead?”
I smiled. “Absolutely.”
I DIDN’T CLIMB INTO bed until after one in the morning because I was busy putting together a rough business plan. All the shit I told Clint about Club Eclectic had me thinking about opening my own club. But when Cassie talked about donating the money from my mother, I realized, why start my own club from scratch when I could feasibly invest in an existing club and make it better? Pruitt could turn me down, and he may be determined not to have a business partner, but I would never know if I didn’t ask.
I didn’t need Cassie’s approval of my investment idea, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to get her feedback. She wanted me to meet
her father for his input, and I wouldn’t want to run this by him without her seeing it first anyway.
It had been a damn long time since I was excited about something, and I had forgotten how good it felt. Seemed I had Cassie to thank for that too.
16
Move Along, Friend
Cassie
THE NEXT MORNING, I texted Gabe I was on my way, and surprisingly, he met me in between our buildings. He walked me along the breezeway toward his door, but we stopped when a short, dark-haired woman with an olive complexion came right at us.
“It’s about time I ran into you, Gabe,” she sneered.
I heard his sharp inhale, though the woman standing in front of us missed it.
She focused on me. “You can move along, friend. None of this concerns you.”
I did not like how she spoke to me. Gabe sighed, and I knew he was uncomfortable. Well, odds were good I would make him more uncomfortable.
Since I stood right next to him, keeping my eyes on her, I shifted to wrap my arms around Gabe’s narrow waist, forcing him to put an arm around me. “Oh, so sorry, but I think this does concern me.”
Her brown eyes narrowed. “Oh, please. Everyone knows you’re just the dorky friend.”
I smiled, though I didn’t mean it. “Smart people know, things change,” I said, as my hand went up to Gabe’s hard pectoral.
“You’re not fooling me,” she sneered.
Gabe’s free hand tipped my chin up. His eyes held a hint of playfulness, but at the same time they were dead serious. “See if this fools her,” he murmured before he kissed me, hot and heavy.
Good God. It was the drunken kiss, but ten times better since he was sober. I had to enjoy it while I could because it would be the last time I would taste Gabe, seeing as this was one-hundred percent show.
In a recess of my mind I heard stomping. Gabe pulled away from me. I opened my eyes to see his face an inch from mine. His eyes slid back to me and he grinned.
“She’s done. But we’re not.”
The forcefulness of his words hit me at the same time his lips did. His tongue pushed into my mouth and it felt so good my leg started to hike up his thigh. I quickly lowered it, but his hand grabbed my knee midway down and pulled it flush to his hip. His arm around my shoulders reached down to my other thigh and he forced my legs around his waist. He walked three steps and the rough stucco stung into my back through my shirt.
Oh God! What have I done?
This wasn’t show any more. He meant this. Hell, I meant this.
When he finally broke the kiss, we were both breathing heavily, and he slid his nose alongside mine. “Hell, that was some damn kiss, Cass.”
My eyes widened. “No, Gabe. You’re the one who did all the kissing, but we can’t do it again. Now let me down. I gotta get going.”
His lips pressed together. “Wrong, Cassandra. You kissed me back, and it was fuckin’ fantastic. I’m not puttin’ you down. You need to call in sick.”
My eyes widened and I tapped the side of his jaw. “I’m not an undergrad anymore, Gabey-Gabe. The head of the MBA program wants to meet with you, you don’t reschedule. Let me down.”
His eyes widened and he ground his hips into my center. “That isn’t goin’ down anytime soon, Cassie-Cass, so let’s do somethin’ about it.”
I dropped my legs from around him, but since he still had a firm grip on my ass, I couldn’t get away. “No. I got two more semesters, and I’m done. Besides, that was all for show. I’m not your type.”
“I don’t fuckin’ have a type,” he grumbled.
My chin dipped in acknowledgment. “Exactly.”
“Wrong. We’re both wrong. I do have a type. You. I’ve been so shit-scared of being screwed over by women, but you’re exactly the type for me.”
I tried to push him back. “You’re just thinking with your other head.”
“Little bit, but make no mistake. We’re doing this. I’ll let you go, but you better call me tonight.”
I rolled my eyes. “And if I don’t.”
He chuckled. “Darlin’, I know where you live. I’ll hunt your ass down if I have to.”
IT WASN’T UNTIL I LEFT the office after seven that I realized Gabe and I didn’t go inside his apartment that morning. I didn’t even know why he had needed me to drop by his unit, except he seemed insistent that I do it.
That kiss had my mind muddled all day long. He had sent me a crazy Snapchat telling me to call him when I got home, or else. He had used a filter which not only changed his voice but also distorted the bottom of his face, making it look longer and wider than it really was. I had to save it to my phone so he wouldn’t be notified about how many times I replayed the damn thing.
As I drove home, I knew I needed to do whatever I could to keep us as simply friends. Kissing him had been the best feeling, but my gut told me this could end badly. And when it did, I’d be without Gabe forever.
With a sigh, I called him when I parked my car.
“Where you at, Cassie-Cass?”
I shook my head. “I just parked my car. Listen, can we do this over the—”
“Nope. I’ll be at your place in ten minutes, babe.”
I climbed the stairs, feeling overwhelmed and irritated by his pushy nature. It normally didn’t bother me, but he made it impossible to keep him at arm’s length.
By the time he knocked on my door, I had changed into a pair of yoga pants and a tank top.
As I locked the door, butterflies swarmed my stomach. Gabe stood next to my couch and crooked his finger at me.
I shook my head. No way I could get too close to him. Distance was the only thing protecting me from myself and him. “Gabe, we can’t do this.”
His brows furrowed. “Why not?”
My eyes widened. “Because I am not and will not be another notch on your bedpost.”
“I told you I’m not doing that anymore.”
“Yeah. That was what... three weeks ago, right?”
“More like four,” he bit out.
“Yeah,” I whispered.
He ran his hand through his hair. “Damn it, Cassandra, how can you ignore what happened this morning?”
“I don’t know, but I know that I have to.”
“Why?”
I flung my arms out for a moment. “Why? Because I already love you, and if we have sex or try to be more to each other, it’ll kill me when we’re over.”
His eyes widened, and I knew I shouldn’t have mentioned love, but it was the truth. And deep down, I figured love would scare the hell out of him.
“So... you love me like a brother?”
I glared at him. “Don’t be dense. I think you should go.”
He moved toward me. “Cassie. I can’t make any promises, but...” His lips pressed together, and he ran his hand through his hair. “Jesus. I haven’t stopped thinking about kissing you since that damn time I nearly did it with the Stones playing.”
My head tilted a touch. “The Stones playing...” I whispered, and then I remembered the evening he was talking about.
“Yeah. And I’ve been tryin’ to hold myself in check because I don’t want to fuck things up between us. Hell, it was bad enough the last couple of times I thought I’d screwed us up.”
“Couple? The only time it got awkward was after you were drunk.”
His eyebrow arched. “You weren’t exactly nice the morning after—”
I shook my head. “That had more to do with hunger and the smell of bacon.”
A strange warmth flooded his eyes, but they still called bullshit on my statement. “Liar.”
My lips pulled down, but I fought the frown and kept stoic. “We can’t.”
One side of his mouth twitched upward. “We could. But more than that. We could take it slow. I know I went more than a little caveman today. Give us a chance.”
It was my turn to arch a brow. “Gabriel Sullivan, you don’t know the meaning of the word ‘slow’. And you’ve got at least a dozen sp
eeding tickets to prove it.”
In a stealth move, he moved further into my space and wrapped an arm around me to pull me flush with his firm, tall body. “I haven’t had a ticket in over two years. I’ve learned some hard lessons about being in a hurry. So seriously, Daughtry, I’m willing to go slow. Which means, I’m willing to leave since you asked me—” he stopped himself. “No, you told me to. But before I go, I won’t be able to sleep if I don’t get another little taste of you. Pretty please?”
He made it sound like a question, but while he spoke, his face had come closer and closer so in the end, it was anything but a question.
His lips hit mine. I struggled to decide which felt better, his lips or the soft whiskers of his beard. My lips opened when his tongue darted out to tease me. His arm tightened, plastering me to him, and I moaned.
He slid his free hand into my hair, and then he gently ended the kiss. My eyes opened, and I saw him slowly pulling his face away from mine.
His eyes looked like pools of blue. Warm pools, if the warmth in his eyes was an indicator. “In case you missed it, Cassie... You taste really fuckin’ good. Good night, sweetheart.”
“Good night,” I whispered.
He opened the door, but from over his shoulder he shot me a smile before he pulled the door closed. I locked it behind him. As I went to my bedroom, I realized his kiss had left me on jelly-legs.
Gabe
IT HAD BEEN A LONG time since I had to convince a woman to take a chance on me. Hell, it had been a long time since I found a woman I even wanted to take a chance on me.
My mother wasn’t the only woman to do me wrong in my life. As Dad had said at the time, “Sometimes, you got to live in order to learn.” Nevertheless, between Mom and Jessica, I had shied away from serious relationships.
Yet everything about me and Cassie made sense. There weren’t any downsides, and I just had to convince her of it.
However, she wasn’t wrong. I had a habit of driving fast and it would be difficult for me to take things slowly with her. But if that was what it took with her, then that was what I would do.
