“She uh..she has twins actually. Devin and Bella,” I say slowly, watching their expressions.
“What a small...wait a minute. If that boy plays for you, then he must be at least--”
“Eighteen,” my father says cutting her off.
They both look at me and the pieces are falling into place.
“Oh Gabriel,” my mother whispers covering her mouth.
“I'd rather just keep the details in the past, but yeah, y'all are grandparents. You'll meet them tomorrow.”
My parent's expressions don’t change and the weight I've been carrying, drops to my stomach.
“I just don't understand, Gabriel. You never knew? She never told you?” my mother asks.
“It was better that way, Mama. You know the kind of kid I was, she did the right thing, okay? We discussed and moved past a lot of the hurt, let's just, start fresh tomorrow, yeah?” I say, hopeful.
“I can try.”
She shakes her head. I've been hearing that a lot, lately.
“Well, tell us about them,” my father says, leaning closer.
“Where do I start...” I say proudly.
At around 8 o'clock I turn my laptop on and give up on Charlotte coming over for this session with me. It's a lot to process and between my behavior the other night and preparing for Thanksgiving tomorrow, I figured I'd be on my own.
Neils face pops on screen and he nods his head.
“How we doin’ Gabriel?”
“Could be better I guess, otherwise I wouldn't be talkin’ to ya.”
“Charlotte not joinin’ us then?”
“She uh...she's gettin’ ready for Thanksgiving and stuff tomorrow so she-”
A soft knock on my door interrupts me. Savannah told me she was goin’ into town tonight to meet up with some friends. I thought she left but I guess not.
“Hold on a sec, Neil. Come in Sav.”
The door opens slowly and Charlotte walks in. She has her hair piled on top of her head with her black rimmed glasses perched on her nose. She is in tight black leggings and an oversized sweatshirt and I feel like I'm a teenage boy all over again. My heart beats fast as I watch her cross the room and sit on the bed next to me.
“Sorry I'm late,” she whispers, “I just really needed to get some of the food done before tomorrow.”
She gives me a half smile and then looks at the computer screen and waves.
“Hi, I'm Charlotte.”
Neil waves and smiles.
“Nice to meet ya Charlotte, I'm Neil. I'm glad you could join us. It'll definitely help y'all, if that's what you're lookin’ for.”
“That's what we're lookin’ for,” she says looking over at me.
I smile at her and look back to Neil.
“How are ya doin’ today?” he asks.
“Great. Just gettin’ ready for the big day tomorrow,” she says smiling.
“Nervous?” Neil asks.
“A little yeah,” she admits.
“Why are you nervous?” I ask, running a hand down her back.
“I just want it to go okay. Everyone in the house together after everything that happened, could go great but could also be a disaster.”
“So I guess that's a good segway into this session. I have a premise of your relationship with Gabriel but of course there are two sides to every story. What are you lookin' to get from this session?”
“I uh..I guess I just still have a lot of um...fears with startin’ our relationship again.”
I squeeze her waist and she looks down at the bed, pink staining her cheeks.
“That's understandable considerin’ your past. What is your biggest fear with startin’ the relationship?”
“I guess…” she stops for a second, fiddling with her fingers. “That we start a relationship but it's...he’ll want the kids and not me. Which is fine, they need their father, I see that now but...I'm sorry I'm bein’ silly,” she says, nervously laughing and wiping her eyes.
“Charlotte, your fears are not silly. If they make you emotional like you are now, then it's not just fine. Know what you want and don't be afraid to ask for it,” Neil says motioning with his hand at the screen.
She nods and grabs a tissue from the nightstand, dabbing her eyes.
“Gabriel, what comes to your mind when you hear of Charlotte's abandonment fears.”
“I...I don't want her to feel like that. I didn't just leave Louisiana and forget everything. It haunted me, it still haunts me and I need to make it right.”
“Charlotte…” Neil says, motioning his hand for her to respond.
“I guess that's kind of my fear. If it's just that you want to make things right with the kids then when you do, what will happen to us?”
I grab her hands but she stiffens.
“It sounds like y'all need to figure out what you want separately, before you decide on a move together.”
“I know what I want,” I say, an edge to my voice.
“Gabriel what made you go back to drinking?”
“I...I was angry, at myself, at the situation. I guess I knew she would move on but havin’ it right in front of me, I didn't know how to handle it.”
“I didn't move on,” Charlotte says softly.
“So what are some fears you have Gabriel?”
“I don't have fears. I want her and the kids. I'm not scared of that commitment.”
“What about not getting them? Does that scare you.”
“I…”
His words barrel right into me, temporarily paralyzing me. I feel Charlotte's gaze snap to my face and I open my mouth to speak but then shut it.
“That won't happen,” she whispers, putting her soft hand on top of mine.
“How is your relationship physically? There's a lot of emotions between the two of you at the moment, I can sense it.”
Charlotte clears her throat, taking her hand off mine and peeling her gaze away.
“It's um...it's good,” she says quickly.
“Are you intimate?”
“I...is that necessary to know?” Charlotte asks, furrowing her brows.
“Sex is only a bandaid. Don't use it to fix problems.“
“Right, yeah. We're not doin’ that. Sex. We're not havin’ sex,” she stutters.
Neil smiles and I try and hide my own.
“How about y'all take the night to think, alone, and touch base tomorrow. Your communication is a lot better than I thought it would be. You'll be alright,” Neil says smiling.
We both nod and he waves to us as I shut the screen to the laptop.
“You do that a lot?” Charlotte asks, getting up from the bed.
“Not as much anymore. Started four years ago, after the fight incident.”
“Right yeah, the strip club. I read about that,” she says picking at the hem of her sweatshirt
“It wasn't what it-”
She puts up her hand to stop me.
“I don't needa know, Gabriel. It was a different life. I blocked all that out for a reason.”
We're silent for a couple of seconds, neither one of us knowing how to cross over this bridge, leaving the past behind.
“It had to be hard, my life splashed around like that. I mean I went nuts with you and Brantley and I didn't have to see pictures and it was only once,” I say, shaking my head.
She looks up at me wide eyed.
“It was just once, right?”
“Yeah,” she says exhaling. “And yes it was hard. I learned ways to shut it out though, I got good at it.”
I stalk towards her and gently push her against the door. I cup her cheeks in my hand and our noses touch.
“None of them meant anythin’ Charlotte. I thought I'd never see you again, I thought you'd gotten married and got the happily ever after. I had to numb the pain I-”
I kiss her hard, smashing our lips together and pour all of my heartache into this kiss. All of those years, the regret I felt everyday ate me alive. Nothing I did could make it go away, I never
thought I would see the light. I see the light now, it's right in front of me, wearing sexy as sin glasses and I hold onto it, onto her, so she can guide me out of the darkness.
I move my hand up the front of her sweatshirt, her soft skin like silk under the pads of my fingertips.
She moans instinctively and then flinches, as if she just now realized we were making out against the bedroom door.
“Gabriel…”
She gently pushes on my chest and I take a step back, putting my hands up in defense.
“I'm sorry...sorry. Let me walk you out,” I say grabbing for the doorknob of my bedroom.
We walk quietly down the stairs to the foyer and she turns around.
“I...that was good. Thank you for including me in that.”
She smiles and puts a hand on my shoulder, leaning forward to kiss me on the cheek.
“Thank you for comin’. It meant a lot.”
“Goodnight Gabriel.”
“Goodnight Charlie.”
Chapter 13
Gabriel
I arrive at Charlotte's house on Thanksgiving Day at around 12. I know her mama is helping with dinner, but considering I have a lot of time to make up for and my parents and sister are crashing, I decided to come early to help. Judging by her face when she opens the door, she isn't too pleased about it.
“What are you doin’ here so early?”
“I wanted to come and help, spend some time with the kids,” I say, shrugging.
I give her one of my smiles I know she can't resist, hand her the bottle of wine I brought and walk in the house, closing the distance between the two of us. She sucks in a breath and steps back.
“I uh..thanks. I wish you would have texted me, I'm not dressed for company yet,” she stutters.
I take in her appearance and my gaze darkens. She is in a tight, black tank top, that dips low, showing a healthy amount of cleavage and very short workout shorts. They showcase her muscular thighs I used to love having wrapped around my waist for hours.
She clears her throat, crossing her arms over her chest and my gaze snaps back to hers. Her eyes are hooded, and I know I'm not the only one that keeps thinking about our kisses. I wink and walk past her, towards the kitchen.
“Gabriel Gavinwood,” says a deep voice, with an insane southern drawl.
I walk in the kitchen and nod at Charlotte's father, Hank. He gives me a stare, the same stare I remember getting yesterday morning, from a certain hotheaded, eighteen year old.
“Sir. Happy Thanksgiving. How have ya been?” I ask, shaking his hand.
I'm sure he isn't a big fan of mine and I'm not sure how much he knows about what happened in the past.
“Better than you, I assume.”
I look away and I hear a gasp from behind me.
“Hank, behave. What did we say about today?” says a soft voice.
I turn and lock eyes with Jenna Daniels, Charlotte's mother. She looks just as elegant as she did eighteen years ago, although her hair a little greyer. She was so kind to me in the past, I can't help but smile at her.
“Hi, Mrs. Daniels. Happy Thanksgiving. You look lovely.”
I move to kiss her cheek and she smiles back.
“Still the charmer, I see.”
“The kids are down the hall in their room, if you wanna go say hi,” Charlotte says, walking into the kitchen. “I'm just gonna change.”
She slips out of the kitchen and I hurry down the hall after her. I see her door closing and I put my hand on it to stop her. I slip through the door, shut it behind me and she steps back, gasping.
“Gabr-”
I cut her off with a kiss and we stumble back into her dresser.
Her hands go to the back of my neck and I reach around to cup her ass. I lift her, so she is sitting on her dresser and move my body in between her legs. I kiss down her neck, nipping on her collarbone and she yelps.
“Gabe, we have to stop, Neil said...” she trails off, trying to make her voice hard but failing.
It comes out more like a moan and my fingers go to the front of her tank top. I pull it down, realizing she isn't wearing a bra.
“Charlie…” I say, with agony, dripping from my voice.
I drop my head and take a nipple in my mouth, as she bucks against me.
“God Gabriel…”
I lift my head again, licking up her neck to whisper in her ear.
“Get dressed before I drop to my knees and have my Thanksgiving feast, right here,” I say, trailing my finger up to tease her slit.
She sucks in a breath and a sigh of satisfaction, escapes past her lips.
.
“I told you in my office that we can't--”
I put a finger over her lips.
“We can, if I'm serious and I'm fuckin’ serious, Charlotte.”
I kiss her softly and she pushes against my chest to hop down off the dresser.
“The jury is still out on you.”
She moves past me to the dresser to find clothes and leaves the room, without waiting for me to respond. I am here to be a father, but I want her too. Those scars I gave her run so deep, I doubt my ability to heal them. I shake my head and snap out of it. Scars may not disappear, but they do fade. You have your work cut out for you, Gavinwood.
Charlotte
The smell of turkey and stuffing permeates through the kitchen, I smile. It is a beautiful day today; the sun is shining and it's a warm 60 degrees. I had my dad and Devin set up the table out on the patio this morning and I love that we can enjoy this weather, as we all sit together, enjoying our Thanksgiving.
Every Thanksgiving prior to this was usually at my mothers and it was just my parents and the kids. I'm an only child, so our holidays were always pretty small. Today though, having Gabriel, Savannah and their parents, my nervousness trumps excitement a little. Our parents haven't seen or talked to each other for eighteen years and I'm sure they have a few choice words for me, just like my parents have for Gabriel and even them as well. I told my dad to control it, for the kids’ sake, but sometimes, Devin can be just as bad.
“Need help Mama?” asks Bella, coming into the kitchen.
“Make sure your brother don't stab your daddy with our carvin’ knife. You do that, and I'll let you bring all the leftover dessert to school,” I smile, winking at her.
“He’s fine, Mama. They're talkin’ about ball. You know he ain't gonna murder his coach and lose his shot at the big leagues,” she winks back.
I hear the doorbell and the hand that was holding the oven door open flinches and it slams it shut. Bella jumps and looks over to me with wide eyes.
“Okay, they're here. Wanna come and open the door with me?”
She nods, and we walk towards the front door. I take a deep breath before opening the door and smile when I see Savannah. Her eyes are watering already, as she takes Bella in her arms. This moment is so special, I can't help but wipe at my own eyes. Bella reaches around her and squeezes her back, taking off her glasses, to wipe away tears.
I look behind the pair and lock eyes with Mr. and Mrs. Gavinwood. Their gaze is soft, watching the special moment but then they move to me and it hardens.
“Charlotte. Happy Thanksgiving,” Mrs. Gavinwood says, in a clipped tone.
She hands me a pumpkin pie, my favorite of hers when I was growing up and I take it, smiling at her. She doesn't return my smile.
“It's nice to see you again Mrs. Gavinwood, Happy Thanksgiving.”
“I can’t get over how much we look alike. I always thought I looked so much like Mama,” Bella says, breaking the hug.
“I’m so happy to meet you!” Savannah says, wiping the tears off Bella’s cheek.
“Come on in. Devin is on the back porch with Gabe,” I tell them.
“Hello Charlotte,” Mr. Gavinwood says as he enters the house.
“Hello sir. Happy Thanksgiving.”
He nods and walks past me in the house.
Well, let the games begin.
&nb
sp; After very awkward introductions and reintroductions, we all sit down for dinner. I bring the turkey out and place it on the center of the table.
Curveball: A Second Chance Romance (Double Play Series Book 1) Page 14
