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Squeezing my eyes shut to dispel the moisture hanging heavy in them, I nod my head in agreement, although I’m not really sure Casey is going to get over this.
Pulling back slightly, Hunter uses his hand to push my chin up so I look at him. “I swear to you… I did not kiss her. She caught me by surprise, but I pushed her away as soon as I got my bearings. I have no f**king clue what she’s doing here. ”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I shouldn’t have gotten so mad, and now I’ve ruined everything. I’ve embarrassed you, pissed Casey off…”
Leaning down, Hunter kisses me softly, gently holding my head. “Don’t worry about it. It will be fine. ”
Nodding my head, I step back. “Listen, I’m going to head home. You need to go take care of your guests. We can talk more tomorrow. ”
“I’ll take you home,” Hunter says, understanding it would not be a good idea for me to go to his house tonight. A slight surge of jealousy hits me that Sasha will be staying there with her brother—at least, I assume she will be—but Hunter really hasn’t given me any reason to distrust him.
“No,” I tell him as I lay a hand on his chest. “I’ll get a cab. Go inside and check on Casey… and like I said, you have guests who came in to see you. ”
Hunter looks unsure, glancing between the bar and me. Finally, he calls over his shoulder to Brody, who’s still standing by the door. “Can you take her home?”
“Sure,” he says quietly. “Let me go get my keys. ”
Hunter steps back up to me, reaching a hand up to cup me behind me head. He looks at me, pinning me hard with assurance. “It will be fine, Gabs. Trust me. ”
I nod even though I completely disbelieve that this could in any way turn out okay.
14
Well, if one good thing came out of the fiasco of tonight, at least Gabby and I are out in the open.
Assuming I still have Gabby.
After I loaded her in the car with Brody, I went inside to do damage control. I found Casey in the bathroom crying, while Alyssa tried to talk to her. I walked in there, ordering another customer who was primping in the mirror out, and tried to set things right.
“Casey… please don’t be mad at Gabby. She was struggling with what to do, and she was scared. ”
Glaring at me, she blew her nose while Alyssa patted her on the back and said, “How could you both keep that from me? What does that say about the way you trust me?”
“You didn’t react all that well, Case,” I point out. “You told Gabby she had ‘sunk her claws’ in me. Maybe that’s what she was afraid of. ”
“I was madder that she kept it secret, not that she was seeing you. ”
“It didn’t come out that way,” I said gently. “But it’s done. You need to move past it and forgive her for not telling you. We all make mistakes. ”
She huffed at that statement, but I ignored it. I gave her a hug, told her I loved her, and suggested she go home and get some rest. They left not long after that.
The more awkward part of the night came from having to deal with Sasha. By the time I finished talking to Casey, Brody had made it back to cover the bar. I headed home with John and Sasha following me in their rental car. The ride was all too short because I was stewing with what to say when we got there.
After giving them a brief tour of my house, telling Sasha she could have the spare bedroom, and making up the couch for John, I pulled John aside while Sasha was in the bathroom.
“What the hell, man? Why did you bring her?”
“I didn’t, dude. Not intentionally. I told her where I was going, and she showed up at the f**king airport this morning. What was I supposed to do, tell her she couldn’t come?”
“Yeah, John,” I said angrily. “That’s exactly what you should have done. ”
“I’m sorry,” he said with genuine remorse. “Do you want us to head back tomorrow?”
My shoulders sagged, and I felt bad for snapping at him. “No, of course not. You can stay as long as you want. But Sasha needs to understand there is nothing between us. And I’m with someone else. ”
Choosing that moment to join us, Sasha came in wearing a pair of the shortest shorts possible, which could barely still be classified as shorts and not underwear, and a tight t-shirt. She had always been overtly sexual, wearing clothes that showed a lot of skin. I had appreciated it back when we were together… now, not so much.
Turning toward her, I tell her calmly, “That display back at the bar… don’t let it happen again, Sasha. I have a girlfriend, and she doesn’t take well to that stuff. Neither do I for that matter. ”
“Oh, Hunter,” she said in exasperation as she plopped down on my couch, kicking her long, bare legs up on my coffee table. “Stop being such a stick in the mud. I was just greeting an old friend hello. ”
“You don’t greet friends by sticking your tongue down their throat. ”
Sasha laughed then, even as she picked up the remote control to turn the TV on, and it was rich, warm, and sexy. It grated on my nerves.
“I got it. No tongue down your throat, but it’s your loss,” she said with a sexy purr.
“I’m serious, Sasha,” I barked at her. “That shit was not cool. ”
Whatever it was about the tone of my voice finally caused her to turn around to stare at me. At first, her face was hard and her eyes cold. But then it softened and she nodded her head at me. “I’m sorry, Hunter. Really. I promise you have nothing to worry about, and I’m happy for you that you found someone. ”
She sounded sincere, even as I held her gaze to see if she would avert her eyes and prove to me she wasn’t. But she held true, staring straight at me, so I finally gave her a small smile. “Thanks. I appreciate that. ”
I hoped none of this made John feel uncomfortable, but it was a little too late to take any of it back. Turning to him, I said, “Will you be okay here on your own for a bit? I’m going to go see Gabby. ”
“Sure,” John returned genially. “Take your time. We’re good here. ”
I smiled at him in thanks. “Thanks, dude. Wanna catch some waves in the morning?”
“Absolutely,” he said, grinning back at me.
So here I am at Gabby’s apartment, knocking on the door. Within moments, it’s opened by Savannah. She gives me a warm smile.
“Hey,” she says as I walk in. “I thought you might be by. ”
I raise my eyebrows at her perceptiveness, because she hardly knows me. “Is she okay?”
“She’ll be fine, I’m sure. She’s in her bedroom. ”
“Thanks,” I tell her quietly as I walk past.
When I reach Gabby’s bedroom, I turn the knob and open the door, not even bothering to knock. She doesn’t have anything I haven’t seen before, but the sight that greets me is unbelievably stellar. I catch her in the midst of changing her clothes. She stands with her back to me, wearing nothing but her bra and underwear. Her panties are nothing but a scrap of cream-colored lace that appears more thong than anything, revealing both globes of her tight ass. Yeah, my dick stands up and takes notice, and it also doesn’t miss the fact her arms are bent behind her back, unsnapping her bra. Her back is a work of art unto itself, with her dark hair hanging long and wavy over it and smooth skin for miles below that.
She hears the door open and turns toward me, just as the straps of her bra slide down her shoulders. She’s holding the cups over her br**sts as she stares at me in surprise.
Gabby is a f**king vision, holding her bra up to cover herself in an uncharacteristic display of modesty, her golden skin complimenting the cream color of her lingerie. I want to tear them off her with my teeth.
But then I notice that her eyes are slightly red, and it’s at this moment that I realize she’s been crying.
Stepping inside her room, I shut the door and walk over to her dresser, pulling out a t-shirt, and laying it across one of my shoulders to free my hands. She watches me silently, still holding her hands over he
r br**sts, the lace of her bra stuck in between.
Turning toward her, I cup her face with my hands and give her a tender kiss. Then I put my hands over hers and pull them away, the bra falling to the floor at our feet.
She stares at me with wide eyes, blinking slowly over my actions. Her head tilts to the side in curiosity, because I’ve never been able to keep my hands off her when she’s na**d and it must be confusing to her that I am doing so at this moment.
I take the t-shirt and slip it over her head, and she automatically threads her arms through. When it’s settled over her, I reach to the back of her neck and pull her long hair out.
Taking her hand, I lead her to the bed, pulling her covers back.
“Get in,” I tell her.
She follows my orders blindly, crawling onto the sheets, and I pull the covers up over her. As I walk to the other side of the bed, she finally speaks. “What are you doing here?”
I kick off my flip-flops and take off my own t-shirt. “I wanted to come see you. Make sure you’re okay. ”
Quickly shedding my shorts so I’m in nothing but my boxers, I crawl into bed beside her and turn on my side. She does the same, and we just stare at each other a moment.
“You didn’t need to come over, Hunter. ”
“I know,” I tell her simply. “It was a matter of wanting to come over here. ”
“But you have guests… John and Sasha are staying at your house, right?”
“Yup. But I doubt they’ll miss me tonight. I’m sure they’re just looking for a good night’s sleep after traveling all day. ”
“I’m sure Sasha will miss you,” she says in a small voice.
Reaching my hand out, I stroke my fingers down her cheek and to her jaw. When I reach her chin, I pinch it firmly and say, “Hey… there’s nothing between Sasha and me. ”
“But there was,” she points out.
“Yes, there was, but no more. ”
“Tell me what happened. ”
Sighing, I reach out to Gabby and pull her into my arms as I roll onto my back. I situate her so her head is on my chest and her body is pressed up against my side. She moves her leg over mine and drapes her arm over my stomach. The warmth and softness of her body immediately both soothes me and causes my blood to race. A contradiction… just like Gabby.
“We dated… pretty seriously, for a while. She was on the women’s pro tour and traveled with John and me to the competitions. She took a bad spill though and got injured… wasn’t able to compete anymore. Things sort of went south once she moved back home to California. ”
“The long distance?”
“Yeah. She wanted me to retire, move to California, and marry her. I tried to go there to see her as much as possible while we worked on those issues, but we just drifted further and further apart. I broke things off with her a little over a year ago. It wasn’t pleasant. ”
Gabby is quiet but her thumb is stroking over my ribs as she holds on to me, and I let myself get lulled by the sensation.
“Why did she kiss you?” Gabby’s voice floats over the quiet.
“I have no clue. Honestly… our last words were bitter, and I haven’t talked to her since. I figured she’d just as soon slap me as kiss me. ”
“And Casey?”
Gabby’s words are hesitant and fearful all at once. I realize suddenly that she could give a rat’s ass about Sasha and our history. She was leading up to the information she really wanted… whether or not she had a best friend anymore.
“She’s angry we didn’t tell her, but she’ll get over it. ”
“But… she didn’t seem to care for the fact I was with you. Said I had my claws in you. ”
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