Gabe

by Lagomarsino, Giulia

  “Pretty much all of it. I was going to come in earlier, but I needed to hear what he was going to say.”

  “Thanks for being here.”

  “Always.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Gabe

  DRESSED IN MY suit and tie, I was ready to take Isa out on the town. I was planning to take her out to a nice restaurant and I hadn’t really thought out more than that. It’s not like we lived in the city where I could take her to a show. Besides, I knew she didn’t want to be an hour away from the kids tonight. They were staying at Cazzo’s for the night. Since we didn’t want to tell him that she was going on a date with me, she told him that she needed some down time after a hard week. He eagerly took the kids home with him.

  I was just about to put on some cologne when the doorbell rang. It had to be one of the guys. They were always dropping by unannounced and since I was trying to keep tonight a secret, they didn’t know that I had plans. I went to the door and sighed when I saw Chance and Jackson standing on the other side grinning at me.

  “What do you assholes want?”

  “Heard you had a date,” Jackson grinned.

  “How did you hear?”

  “Cap,” Chance said as he shoved past me. “That’s not what you’re wearing, is it?”

  I looked down at my suit and blue tie. It was perfect. “What’s wrong with this?”

  “You look like a douchebag,” Jackson pointed out.

  “This is standard dating attire.”

  Chance walked around me, assessing my suit, flicking something off my shoulder. “This is standard douchebag attire. You’re taking out Isabella, right?” I narrowed my eyes at him, but the bastard just laughed. “Come on, anyone could see that you’re hung up on her. It’s not that big of a stretch to assume you’re going out with her.”

  “Just don’t tell Cazzo. I’d like to keep my balls intact.”

  Chance nodded. “Her husband was an accountant or some bullshit, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Worked for a good company from what I understand. I bet he always wore a suit and tie,” Chance smirked.

  “What’s your point?” I asked in frustration.

  “My point is, you need to be different than her asshole husband. I would imagine what first attracted her to you was that you have a badass vibe to you. Seriously, you’re covering up your muscles and tats. You have to give her a peek at the goods. Show off that sexy body and remind her of what she’s had. I bet her husband has nothing on you.”

  “Do you want me to leave you alone with him?” Jackson asked Chance. Chance glared at him, but Jackson just shrugged. “What? You seem to be talking him up quite a bit. Maybe the wifey didn’t work out with you because you didn’t actually want it to. Now that I think about it, this makes perfect sense. You like men and Gabe likes to watch,” he smirked. “A match made in heaven.”

  “Can we skip this whole he’s gay and you like watching routine?” I asked irritatedly. “If there’s something wrong with what I’m wearing, then tell me what the fuck I should be wearing.”

  “Definitely not a white button down,” Jackson said. “You want black. Black is dangerous. It says that you’re powerful and in control. And lose the fucking tie.”

  I ran a hand down my favorite tie. “But, I like this shade of blue.” Jackson shook his head. “You think a bowtie would be better?”

  “Are you fucking PeeWee Herman?” Jackson asked sarcastically. “No, you shouldn’t wear a bowtie. Not unless you want her to think you’re a pussy.” Sighing, Jackson shoved past me and walked down the hall. “Come on, lover boy. We don’t have all night to get you dressed for the ball.”

  Chance laughed, but one glare from me and he wiped the smirk off his face. We followed Jackson down the hall to my bedroom, where he was already raiding my closet. He threw out a pair of jeans onto my bed and a black button down. Then he dug around the closet floor and pulled out a pair of black boots.

  “There’s no fucking way you’re wearing fucking dress shoes unless you’re on the way to your wedding. Even then, it’s debatable.” He gestured to my clothes. “Come on, Cinderella. We don’t have all day.”

  I pulled off my suit, carefully laying it across my bed while Chance rolled his eyes at how careful I was being.

  “Stop being a jackass. I don’t want my suit all wrinkled.”

  “Yeah, you’re right, because you’re going to need it for your next date, since you’re going to miss this one,” Chance said as he looked at his watch.

  “Shut up, fucker.” I finished stripping down until I was just in my boxers. I went to pull on my jeans, but Jackson stopped me. “Whoa, what the fuck are you doing?”

  “I’m putting my jeans on.”

  He shook his head and took a few steps towards me. “Look, I didn’t want to be the one to have to tell you this, but boxers are out. Don’t you own any boxer briefs?”

  “What’s wrong with boxers?”

  “Nothing, except yours have fucking dogs on them. Is that really what you want her to see when she pulls down your pants? Oh, look at the cute puppies on your boxers,” Jackson said in a girly voice. “You don’t want the word cute anywhere near your dick.”

  “They’ve never been a problem before,” I smirked.

  “And yet you’re still single.”

  That wiped the smile right off my face. I walked over to my dresser and yanked open the top drawer. “Fine. Do you have a color preference? I have black, red, and gray. Or would you like me to run out to the store and grab a different color?”

  “Black, jackass.”

  I frowned down at the briefs for a moment. “What about…” I scratched behind my ear as I tried to think of the right word. “Sweatage?”

  “Sweatage,” Chance repeated.

  “You know.” I motioned down toward my groin.

  “Ah, you mean your sweaty ball sack.” He nodded assentingly. “Use cologne.”

  “You want me to put fucking cologne on my dick? What the hell am I supposed to do when I take her to the fucking hospital because she’s been poisoned?”

  “You don’t fucking spray the whole bottle on you,” Chance said. “It’s just like the ladies do. They put perfume on their pulse points to draw you in. You do the same thing, sort of. Just dab a little on both sides of your dick. If you end up sweating, you have the cologne to block the smell.”

  I shook my head and made my way into the bathroom, Chance following closely behind. I stopped and held up my hand, blocking him from entering the bathroom with me. “I think I can handle this on my own.”

  Chance backed off, hands up to show he wasn’t coming in with me. I shook my head as I let out a long sigh and opened my medicine cabinet. Pulling out the cologne, I uncapped it and smirked at my favorite scent. On the other hand, sometimes when I sweat, it didn’t smell so good. Then, I would smell worse than just sweat. Putting the cap back on, I put it back in the cabinet. I was just about to close the door when I saw a bottle of women’s perfume that someone had left behind. Pulling it off, I sniffed and inhaled a flowery scent. If it was between smelling like sweat or flowers, I’d take flowers.

  Yanking down my boxers, I sprayed a small squirt on each side of my dick. Then I kicked off the boxers and pulled on the briefs. Puffing out my chest, I felt better already. I walked back out into the room and started pulling on my jeans, then my button down.

  “Do I smell flowers?” Jackson asked.

  I shrugged, not answering him. I buttoned my shirt all the way to the top when Chance stopped me.

  “Jesus Christ, it’s like you’ve never dressed yourself before. Undo two buttons. Give her a peek at the tat on your chest.”

  I undid two, but you could just barely see the ink. “Why don’t I undo one more?” I undid the third button, but Chance and Jackson both cringed. “What?”

  “You look like you’re going to The Roxbury. Now, you’re in douche territory again,” Chance grimaced.

  “You said to show her my ta
t. She can’t see any of it with only two buttons undone.”

  “She just needs a glimpse, to leave her wanting to peel your shirt off,” Jackson said.

  “You know, I used to be able to dress myself, but then you assholes came in and suddenly I feel like I’m five years old.”

  “When was the last time you went on a date?” Jackson asked. “Like, a real date, not tagging a woman at a bar and dragging her home.”

  I shrugged. “Not sure I’ve been on one since….shit, I don’t know. It’s been a while.”

  “Then trust us on this. Regular socks and put on your fucking shoes.” Chance grabbed a pair of socks and threw them at me. I huffed as I yanked on my socks and then put on my boots.

  “You know, it would be so much easier if I could just wear my tactical gear on a date. I put on a suit, it’s not good enough. I don’t know how to dress in between. I don’t do this shit.”

  “You look good, princess. Do you have your jewelry and diaphragm?” Jackson mocked.

  “Fuck you. Now that I’ve wasted all this time with you fuckers, I have a date to get to.” I looked down at myself one last time and shook my head. “I look like Knight,” I grumbled.

  “You look sexy,” Chance grinned. “Now go get your woman and show her what a sexy bastard you are.”

  “You’re so fucked up,” Jackson said as he walked out the front door.

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  When Isa opened the door, I about fell on my ass. I swear I didn’t breathe for a full minute as I let my eyes drift over her sexy body. She was wearing a tight, black dress that hugged her beautiful curves. Damn, I was getting a boner already. Thank God I hadn’t worn my boxers. At least between the briefs and the jeans, my growing erection was somewhat contained.

  “You look amazing,” I finally said. Her beautiful face lit up like the 4th of July. She was so damn sexy, but there was also an innocence to her, or maybe it was just that it had been so long since she’d been out on a date.

  “You look very…” She bit her lip as she tried to hold back her smile. “Delicious. We should definitely go to dinner.”

  I grinned as she shut off the lights and locked her door. Ten minutes later, we were pulling up to the fancy new restaurant on the edge of town. I had made reservations a few days ago and hoped that she liked it. I’d never been there. Holding the door open for her, I placed my hand at the small of her back and guided her inside. I didn’t miss the shiver that ran through her or the slight smile that she tried to hide from me.

  “Gabe Moore. Reservations for two,” I said to the hostess. Her eyes flicked over me and then nodded for me to move to the side.

  “Sir, we have a jacket and tie policy for dining here.”

  “A what?”

  “Sir, it’s required that you wear a jacket and tie when you’re here.”

  “You’re serious.” I stared at the woman like she was insane. Why the hell would anyone insist that a man wear a jacket and tie? “Are my shoes okay or do I need to change those also?”

  She flushed bright red, but shook her head. “They’re black, so they’re fine. We do have ties and jackets that we can loan you for the night.”

  “Fine,” I grumbled as I followed her to a small closet. She searched through the jackets, finally settling on the largest one she could find. I laughed as she held it out to me. There was no way it was going to fit. I’d be lucky if I could get my arms in the sleeves. I took it from her and pulled it on as best I could. I heard the seams popping slightly and it strained across my shoulders.

  “Maybe I should just go home and get my own.”

  “Sir, we can’t hold the table for you. If you leave, you’ll lose your reservation.”

  “Fucking perfect,” I mumbled.

  “Gabe, we can go somewhere else,” Isa chuckled.

  “No, I wanted to take you here, so this is where we’re eating. It’ll be fine.”

  I didn’t really know if this was going to work. In fact, I had to take off the jacket, just so I could lift my arms to put on the fucking tie. I struggled to get the jacket back on, clenching my teeth in irritation.

  “Fucking Chance and Jackson,” I mumbled under my breath.

  The hostess led us to our table and the jacket tore just a little as I sat in the seat. Isa did her best not to laugh at me, but it wasn’t working.

  “So, what do Chance and Jackson have to do with this?”

  “I was just about to leave to come get you when they showed up. I was in a suit and they didn’t approve. They said I looked like a douchebag and basically that I needed to be myself. I only wear fucking suits when I have to for work. So, Jackson picked out my outfit down to my underwear and made me change.”

  “And now you’re wearing a jacket that’s about to rip in two,” she smiled. “So, do you always let your friends pick out your underwear?”

  “Fucking hell. That probably should have stayed in my head.”

  “No, I think it’s adorable that you and your friends are so close. I mean, my friends and I go shopping at Victoria’s Secret together. I can only imagine how exciting it must be to pick out underwear with your teammates.”

  There was no getting out of this, so I decided to play along. “Oh, you’d be surprised. We usually all try out a different brand with different designs and then discuss them.”

  She leaned forward, her arms crossed on the table. “Do you put on fashion shows for each other?”

  I scoffed. “Fashion shows? More like a close up inspection. There’s a lot that goes into choosing the perfect pair of underwear for a man.”

  “Really? Tell me more,” she said wiggling her eyebrows.

  “Well, there’s the length. You don’t want them too short because then they slide up your ass, but you don’t want them too long either. Then you just feel like you’re wearing leggings or something.”

  “Know a lot about leggings, do you?”

  “I don’t like to brag, but I can really rock a pair of purple and green leggings.”

  “Of course,” she said seriously.

  “Anyway, then you also have the waistband. You don’t want that rolling around when you’re trying to work. And you also don’t want anything that’s too high-waisted. Believe me, it’s not sexy to have your underwear showing when your jeans start to hang off your hips.”

  “Hmmm. I have to agree with you there. I’d rather see everything leading down to the waistband.”

  And I was hard again. Fuck. I fought against my closing airway and continued.

  “And then there’s the issue of the front panel. Some don’t have one. It makes for a lot of extra work.”

  “I’m sure. Well, I can definitely understand your plight. Women have the same issues.”

  “I think I need to hear these issues. We could get the wives together and you could do a close-up inspection for yourselves.”

  “And would anyone else be there?”

  “Naturally, we would have to come and give our input. “

  “Naturally,” she smirked. “It’s just that there are so many options. High-waisted bikini, regular bikini, boy shorts, hipster, cheeky, brief, tanga, thong, g-string, t-string…And then there’s the material it’s made out of. Cotton, polyester, nylon, silk, satin. Really, cotton is just the best all around because it’s the most comfortable. Then we also have to think about colors. I mean, when you’re wearing white, nude is really best. And underwear lines are a huge no-no. For instance, when I was picking out this dress, because it’s so tight, I really had to dig through my drawer and find the perfect pair so that I looked nice and smooth.”

  I swallowed hard, desperately needing to know what she was wearing. “And what did you choose? Thong?”

  She shook her head as she smiled. “Didn’t have any.”

  “So, what did you go with?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Nothing,” I repeated through a strangled moan.

  She shook her head again. “I couldn’t find anything to wear, so I wore noth
ing.”

  There was a crash next to the table, but I couldn’t peel my eyes away from her. It wasn’t until she finally looked to the side that I looked also. The waiter was cleaning up glasses and a pitcher of ice water that had crashed on the floor.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled. “I didn’t mean to do that, but she started talking about panties and when she said she wasn’t-”

  I glared at him hard and his eyes widened. “S-sorry.” He grabbed his tray of broken items and scampered away. I turned back to Isa and she was bright red, covering her face with one hand.

  “I can’t believe I just did that.”

  “I can’t believe you did either. How the hell am I supposed to leave the restaurant in my condition when I know you aren’t wearing panties?”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Isabella

  WHEN WE LEFT the restaurant, I could tell that he was trying really hard to be a gentleman. He wanted to take me out somewhere and show me a good time, but all I could think about was the fact that I wanted him in my bed. If he was willing to take things slowly with me and let me figure things out, I could date him.

  “Gabe,” I said, placing a hand on his arm once we were in his truck. “I’d really like you to take me home.” He nodded, struggling to remain composed when I knew he wanted to tear my clothes off right now. “There’s something we need to discuss first, though.”

  “Okay.”

  “I really enjoy spending time with you and we have great chemistry…”

  “But,” he sighed.

  I smiled, trying to set him at ease. “I just need to know that you’ll take this slow with me.”

  “We’ve already had sex multiple times. I think we’re past slow,” he grinned.

  “Right. I mean the dating. I would like to get to know you better and see if this could go somewhere, but I also need to know that you won’t push things too fast with us.”

  “So, you want to just have fun.” He actually sounded disappointed by that, which I didn’t really understand. Didn’t all men want a woman to say she wanted a casual relationship?