PMU Boxset 2

by MacMillan, Jerica

  When Gabby pulled away from him, she looked behind him to see Abby. Abby gave a small wave, and Gabby squealed again, bouncing over to give his girlfriend a hug, which Abby returned, surprised laughter escaping her as Gabby squeezed as hard as she could.

  “Oh my god, I’m so glad to be here and not on a plane anymore.” Gabby blew out a dramatic sigh and hefted her case on her shoulder again.

  Lance raised an eyebrow. “Bad flight?”

  “You have no idea. Where’s the luggage claim? Let’s go get my suitcase, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

  Lance laced his fingers through Abby’s and gave her a smile before leading the way to the baggage claim carousels. She smiled back at him, Gabby’s energy infectious, even when she was ranting about flights filled with screaming babies, seat mates with body odor, and TSA agents who thought her extra strings might be wires for a bomb.

  “Seriously. DFW is a major airport. Have they really never seen a stringed instrument in an X-ray machine before?” Gabby rolled her eyes and shook her head, the violin in question now resting on the floor at her feet along with her crossbody bag as they waited for her suitcase. She pushed her hair out of her face. “And that’s not even counting the airline agent who tried to get me to check it. I asked her if she could guarantee that it would make it to my destination safely and in one piece. When she hesitated, I said, ‘That’s what I thought. I’ll carry it on, thanks.’” Another eye roll. “Stupid woman. Like hell I’d check my baby.” She reached down and patted the navy blue canvas of her case. “Violin cases are good, but they’re no match for baggage handlers.” She straightened. “I’m here for an audition. I’d have to be crazy to let anyone else touch this. Although, I sat next to a guy in the terminal in Dallas, and when I told him about the lady hassling me about it, he told me he was flying first class and that he’d wait until I got on the jetway before boarding in case they tried to make me gate check it. He said they’d let him carry on whatever he wanted because there was a closet in first class where they could stash it, and it wouldn’t be in an overhead bin that way. Fortunately, that wasn’t necessary.”

  Lance exchanged another glance with Abby, and she rolled her lips between her teeth to suppress a smile. He didn’t even bother. Gabby was so focused on her rant that she didn’t notice.

  The buzzer indicating that suitcases were coming interrupted whatever Gabby was going to say next, and she made her way to the carousel to keep an eye out for her bag. Abby leaned in close to him. “Is she going to be like this the whole time?”

  Lance chuckled. “She’ll settle down once we get home. She’s tired and wired from traveling, and she’s probably a little nervous about being here. ”

  Abby smiled at that, and they waited in companionable silence while Gabby retrieved her bag. Once she’d dragged it back to them, Lance reached for it, letting Gabby carry her case—her baby—and purse.

  The cold air of late February felt refreshing after being in the stuffy airport. Gabby let out another little squeal, this one of surprise. “Oh my god! It’s freezing here!” She grabbed the edges of her light cardigan and wrapped it tightly around herself.

  “I told you to bring a jacket,” Lance told her, shaking his head.

  “I did!” The indignant look she gave him made him laugh out loud. She held her arms out. “What does this look like?”

  “Um, some kind of shirt?”

  She just rolled her eyes and sped up. “Hurry up. Where’s your car? I’m freezing.”

  Abby shot him an amused look. “If that’s the warmest thing you brought, you can borrow one of my jackets while you’re here.”

  Gabby gave an exaggerated shiver. “Thank god. At least one of you has basic human sympathy.” She shot Lance a dirty look, which made him laugh harder.

  “Good to see you too, Gabby. Welcome to the northwest. It’s cold here this time of year.”

  “No kidding. This place is like the Arctic!”

  Abby’s grin grew wider, matching his. It was chilly, sure, but it wasn’t even freezing. For this time of year, it didn’t feel too bad out, though the temperature had dropped since the sun went down. But his little sister wasn’t used to the definition of cold that people around here used. Forty was cold in Dallas. Below that was practically apocalyptic. His first winter here was eye opening. He should probably have more sympathy for his little sister, but her antics were just too funny.

  Gabby kept up her constant chatter the whole way back to their apartment, filling them in on everything going on at school and with the family. He noticed she hadn’t yet mentioned their dad’s feelings about her audition this weekend. At Christmas he hadn’t seemed thrilled by the idea.

  Lance glanced at his sister in the rear view mirror. “Dad’s not giving you too much crap for auditioning here is he?”

  He caught her wrinkling her nose before she shook her head. “Not really.”

  “So that means he’s giving you the silent treatment about it?” He let out a sigh when she nodded, all too familiar with that. “Don’t let it get to you. He’ll get over it.” Probably. Hopefully faster than he had when Lance decided to go to Marycliff. “You’re his baby, so he has to thaw on the issue eventually.”

  Gabby shrugged. “It’s not like it’s a done deal that I’m coming here or anything. I still need to audition and meet with the violin professor and see if I even get in, much less get a scholarship.”

  “Please. You’ve already gotten acceptance letters and scholarship offers from some great programs in Texas. They’d have to be morons not to do the same.”

  “I could have a crappy audition,” she said nonchalantly. “It happens.”

  “If you say so.” He glanced at her in the mirror again when she didn’t respond. Her eyes were focused down. “You nervous?”

  Another shrug, and she looked out the window. “Yeah. Auditions are nerve wracking.”

  “Yeah. But—”

  Her eyes met his in the mirror. “Can we talk about something else? Please?”

  He was so used to his confident, bubbly little sister that this show of insecurity caught him off guard. “Of course. Sorry. I didn’t—”

  “So Abby, what’s your schedule like this week?” Gabby cut in before he could finish his apology. “Do you have any free time during the day to hang out while I’m here? Or are we stuck with this doofus the whole time?”

  “Hey!” he protested.

  Abby glanced at him, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she turned to look at Gabby in the back seat. “Nah. I have some free time tomorrow morning. Your audition is on Friday, right? I can give you the unofficial campus tour tomorrow, and you can do all your official visit stuff on Friday.”

  Lance parked the car in their assigned spot, happy that his sister was comfortable making plans with Abby without him. They got out of the car more slowly while he grabbed Gabby’s suitcase from the trunk, leading the way to their door.

  Once inside, Abby went to the bathroom, and Gabby came over to where he stood, bumping him with her shoulder. “Thanks for letting me stay with you guys. I could’ve stayed in a dorm, which sounds kind of fun, but I’d probably stay up all night, and I really want to nail this audition, so sleep is important.”

  “Of course. Sorry we don’t have more than the couch for you. It’s pretty comfy, even for sleeping I’m told.”

  She raised an eyebrow at him. “Speaking from experience?”

  He chuckled and shook his head. “Nope. But Abby’s friend Megan stayed here for a little while a few months ago. She didn’t complain. Even when asked.”

  Gabby nodded and glanced toward the door. When she spoke again her voice was hushed. “So no special announcements yet? I keep expecting you to call and tell us you proposed. What’s the hold up?”

  Lance let out a breath, not expecting this question, even though he should’ve. She’d overheard him telling their mom before he left on Christmas. He clenched his jaw. “There’s been a lot going on. I’m waiting until
things settle down.” Like her brother’s unwelcome visits and now Abby lying to him.

  She eyed him, examining his face. “Are you having second thoughts?”

  He shook his head, a quick negative. “No. I’m just waiting. Like I said.” He wasn’t ready to force a confrontation yet. Her lying was so transparent that any persistent questioning would bring it all down. But he still held out hope that she would decide to tell him. Hopefully soon. He didn’t know how much longer he could stand to wait.

  Abby showed Gabby around campus on Thursday morning as promised, and the three of them went out to dinner Friday evening to celebrate Gabby’s audition going well. When Lance asked about it, Gabby wrinkled her nose like she did sometimes. “It wasn’t too bad. I went flat a couple of times in the concerto, but overall it went pretty well.”

  Lance glanced at Abby. “That means she killed it.”

  Gabby tossed the wrapper from her straw at him. “No! It means it wasn’t perfect!”

  Lance rolled his eyes, and Abby laughed at them.

  Gabby flew back to Texas the next day. Abby felt relieved, even though she’d had fun with Lance’s sister. Having an extra person in their space made their little apartment seem cramped instead of cozy. And she’d turned down Lance’s attempts at sex while Gabby stayed with them, knowing that she couldn’t keep quiet enough for Gabby not to hear her. So when they got home from dropping her off at the airport on Saturday afternoon, Lance immediately pulled Abby into his arms, his mouth covering hers. He kissed her hard, his tongue delving into her mouth, seeking out her tongue, tangling them together. His arms wrapped around her, his grip on her ass viselike as he pulled her hard against him.

  He tore himself away, one hand going behind his head to strip off his sweatshirt and T-shirt together. “Off. All of it. Bedroom. Now.” He tossed his clothes to the side, uncaring of where they landed, toeing off his shoes and his hands dropping to his belt. While he did this, he circled around her, backing toward the bedroom, his eyes never leaving her.

  She did the same, her coat coming off and getting tossed toward the living room, pulling her feet out of her shoes while she stripped off her top, following him toward the bedroom. Seconds after getting there, they were both naked, and Lance sat on the bed, scooting up. He held out his arms to her, his fingers making little grabby gestures. “Come here. Hurry.”

  Crawling up his body, she let her breasts slide across his torso, the feel of his skin drawing her already-hard nipples into tight points. She found his mouth with hers, and his arms came around her again, trapping her willing body to his. His hands found her ass again, grinding her against his length.

  He changed his grip, breaking their kiss and urging her legs up his torso. She shuffled forward on her knees, his hands still on her ass, confused for a second but following his unspoken direction. “I want you to ride my face and then my cock.”

  Oh. Oh. He’d gone down on her plenty of times, but they’d never done it this way before. He scooted down the bed a little so she’d have plenty of room, and she carefully crawled up until she straddled his face, her hands braced on the wall for support. She looked down, and his eyes glowed with lust and pleasure. He gripped the outsides of her thighs and pulled her down to his mouth, his tongue circling around, driving her arousal higher before settling on her clit. She moaned, her head tipping back, eyes closed, losing herself in the bliss Lance created with his tongue. Soon her hips were moving of their own accord, her legs trembling as she approached her release. His hands tightened on her legs, fingers digging in, his tongue now focused on her clit, his lazy off-and-on exploration from the beginning long over. Latching onto her clit with his lips and flicking it with his tongue, she exploded, a full-body shudder wracking her, trying hard to continue to support her weight on legs that had gone limp with satisfaction.

  Maneuvering her more easily than she thought he should be able to, Lance pulled Abby down on top of him again, stroking her back, nuzzling her hair, kissing her face and neck until she could move, his attention arousing her all over again. She sat up, rubbing herself against him until he groaned, then rising up and guiding him inside her, the feel of him filling her so good. She sank down slowly, rolling her hips when she made contact with his torso, her hands on his chest for support.

  He ran his hands up her thighs to her hips, running over her skin. She moved slow, so slow, his muscles firm beneath her thighs, adding to the sensations. Soon she sped up, Lance’s hands returning to her hips to help her along until he controlled the motion more than she did, dragging her back and forth as her movements grew jerkier, her orgasm barreling down on her until it rushed over her like a wave, her thighs shaking, abs clenching and pulling her forward until she collapsed on Lance’s chest. His hips still pumped slowly against her, prolonging her orgasm until she lay spent against him. He gave her a moment before he flipped them over, bending her legs back and rising up on his knees to drive into her, chasing his own release. When he came, she pulled his face down to hers, kissing him as he spilled himself inside her.

  They bathed in the afterglow, his weight on her making her feel safe and loved. After cleaning up and pulling on clothes, they made their way out to the kitchen in search of food. While Abby opened the fridge, holding up a container of leftover pasta at Lance with a raised eyebrow, he pulled plates and silverware out and set them on the counter. She covered the dish with a paper towel and popped it in the microwave.

  Lance’s arms came around her from behind, his bare chest pressing against her as he snuggled up to her. “I’ve been meaning to ask, how’s your mom?”

  Abby tried not to stiffen in his arms, but couldn’t stop her initial reaction. She finished pushing the buttons on the microwave before she answered. “Um, as good as can be expected, all things considered.”

  “Hmm.” Lance’s noncommittal hum rumbled in his chest, the vibrations normally soothing to Abby, but right now she wanted space. But he kept her between himself and the stove under the microwave. “What’s wrong with her? You never said.”

  “Oh, um, I didn’t?” Of course she didn’t, because there wasn’t anything wrong with her mom. Nothing new, anyway. “Oh, uh, well, that’s why they’re doing tests. They don’t know exactly what’s wrong.”

  He grunted. “What kind of tests are they doing? And since you gave her the money earlier this week, do you know if they’ve done them yet?”

  Shit. Why was he asking so many questions? Because he was a good guy and the best boyfriend she’d ever had. God, she hated lying to him. For a brief moment Megan’s words echoed in her brain that she should tell Lance the truth. Now was as good a time as any for that kind of confession, both of them blissful and sated. But what if he got mad? Would he understand why she’d lied in the first place? And how would he ever find out anyway? She could just tell him that they didn’t find anything serious with her mom in a week or so and that would be that.

  She took a deep breath. “Um, yeah, I think so. They did a blood draw already, and she’s supposed to get an MRI I think this week. I was planning on calling tomorrow to check in and see if there’s any news.” Any news on whether Aaron had left or not yet.

  Lance gave her a little squeeze and let go, the beeping of the microwave drawing her attention back to the food. She was glad he’d moved away, filling water glasses for both of them. She avoided looking at him, though she could feel his gaze like a physical weight. Lying to him sucked. And it was almost impossible that he believed her, since she was a terrible liar. The only other time she’d lied to him was when she’d tried to get out of spending time with him shortly after they’d met. She hadn’t trusted him at the time, hadn’t trusted his motives—the football player with the player reputation. But he’d called her on it then, so maybe he believed her now.

  She couldn’t justify her lie anymore—not even to herself—but it was too late. She’d lied in a moment of panic, and now she got a twisting, sinking feeling in her gut whenever the topic came up. How was she going to fix
this?

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  After Gabby’s visit, Lance managed to bring up the subject of Abby’s mom a few more times. Whenever he did, Abby wouldn’t meet his eye, confirming each time that she was lying. At first it had been hard to stay calm and not demand the truth. But he got better at it, still wanting her to choose to tell him.

  The last time he’d asked, the week after they’d gone out to dinner to celebrate Chris doing well at the Regional Combines and getting invited to the Super Regionals, she’d fiddled with the hem of her sleeve and said that the tests hadn’t shown anything.

  He wrinkled his brow, opening his mouth to press for more, but stopped himself. “Okay. So she’s okay?” Of course she was okay. Nothing had been wrong with her in the first place. He was sure of it. He wanted to push her into telling him nothing had ever been wrong and the money had really been for her brother for some reason. But he didn’t.

  “Um, yeah. She’s fine.” She looked up from her sleeve, but still wouldn’t meet his eye. “Well, as fine as she ever is, anyway.”

  “Yeah.” He hugged her, keeping up the pretense that he believed her. She held herself stiff against him. He’d noticed that anytime the subject of her mom and the money came up, she didn’t want him to touch her. At least it seemed that she felt guilty about lying to him. Not that that made him feel much better.

  She shrugged him off. “I, uh, have a project due tomorrow, so I need to work on that.”

  He let her go, still standing behind the couch, watching her get out a notebook and papers and settle at the kitchen table. Sitting down on the couch, he turned on the TV and found a rerun of Modern Family to distract him, keeping the volume down so he wouldn’t disturb her.