He offered her one more smile before walking back to his building and disappearing inside.
Rachel stood on the sidewalk and tried not to drop to the ground at the sight of Gabe walking away from her so easily. Instead, she focused on putting one foot in front of the other, and hoping that, with time, she’d be able to move on too.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Gabe walked back to his condo, closed the door, and went directly into his dining room where he kept his alcohol. He poured himself a generous serving of scotch, and downed it in one gulp. The burn felt so good as it worked down his throat that he poured himself another, though he intended to sip this one.
He went into the living room and plopped down on the couch before setting his drink on the table. He shifted so he could work his cell phone out of his pocket and made a call. When he could tell it connected, he didn’t waste time with pleasantries. “A little bit of a warning would have been nice, you fucker.”
“I wasn’t sure you’d man up and go talk to her if I told you it was her.”
“Are you questioning my manliness?”
“Yes,” Jace replied simply.
“Good call. I may have hidden in my house if you’d told me.”
“See how well I know you?” Jace teased. “So how’d it go?” Jace asked after a beat of silence.
“Fine.”
“Gabriel,” Jace warned.
“What? It was fine. It wasn’t at all painful to see the woman who stomped on my heart.”
“What’d she say?”
“That she was sorry. That she was glad to have known me even though it all went to shit. You know, the usual.”
“You don’t have to do this whole nonchalant thing with me. We can have a real conversation.”
“We’ve had too many of those recently. I’m past my quota.”
“You going to see her again?”
Gabe snorted. “Why the hell would I do that? She came here for closure, and I gave it to her. There’s no reason to keep in touch.”
“No reason other than you’re madly in love with her.”
“I’m in love with who I thought she was. I don’t even know the real Rachel.”
“Do you really believe that?” Jace asked as if he truly wanted to know.
Gabe lowered his head to his hand and groaned. “I don’t know, man. There’s no way to know. I can’t deal with that kind of doubt.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?” Gabe was surprised by the easy acquiescence of his best friend.
“Yeah. Okay. You’re the only one who knows what you can and can’t handle. It’s not my place to question your limits.”
“Wow. Cool. Thanks.”
“If I were someone who questioned those things, I might say that you’re probably the strongest guy I know, and that there’s nothing I don’t think you can overcome if you want it badly enough. But I’m not that type of person, so I’ll let it go.”
“You’re as subtle as a tire iron to the face,” Gabe muttered.
Jace laughed. “Seriously though, dude. Look into your crystal ball and see which option seems like it’ll suck less: being with her or without her.”
Throwing his free hand up, Gabe exclaimed, “I don’t know which will suck less! Everything is all messed up in my brain.” Gabe took a second to calm down. “She broke my heart, Jace. I don’t know how to get past that.”
“Then I guess without her it is.”
“Yeah. I guess.”
“You want me to come over? Hang out for a while?”
Gabe rubbed his hand over his face and stood up. “Nah, I need to be alone and… decompress. Thanks for the offer though.”
“Anytime. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Later.” Gabe ended the call and tossed his phone onto the couch. He wandered around his condo, trying to find something that would keep him occupied, but nothing held any kind of appeal. He wanted to be mad at Rachel. He’d been starting to heal until she’d shown up and reopened the wound.
But he couldn’t be. Not really. He hadn’t been mad for a while. Hurt, sure. But his anger… that had faded almost as quickly as it had come. The loss he’d felt after she’d left was greater than any other emotion he could muster, until eventually they all dwindled down to nothing. All that was left now was the profound sadness that came when you no longer had the thing that was most important to you.
Because even though that thing was close—only three blocks away, in fact—the divide between them seemed insurmountable. Gabe had beaten a lot of odds in his life. But he had no idea how to beat this one.
He walked over to the window and thought. For the first time since it first happened, he allowed himself to think about all of it. To let the memories flood through him and decide if he felt they were real or a trick. Then he tried to do what Jace had asked of him: decide which version of the future would suck less.
***
Rachel had taken her time getting back to her hotel. She briefly entertained the idea of stopping and grabbing dinner at the hotel restaurant, but she wasn’t very hungry. If she wanted something later, she’d order room service.
Once up in her room, she changed into workout clothes, not because she was going to work out, but because she wanted to lounge around in something that didn’t have an inflexible waistband. She threw on a pink tank top, sans bra, and grabbed the remote in hopes of finding something mindless to watch. She was on her second rotation of channels when there was a knock on her door.
She narrowed her eyes in confusion before going over to check the peephole. When she looked out, she was only further confused, but she quickly opened the door nonetheless.
The sight that greeted her made her eyes water for the second time that day. She was clearly becoming emotionally unhinged, though she wouldn’t have changed a single thing about it even if she could. “Gabe,” she whispered almost reverently.
He settled his hands on both sides of the doorjamb, his eyes boring into her. “Which would suck less: life with me or without me?”
“Is that really a question? Life without you is unbearable.” The tears streaked down her cheeks. She didn’t even try to wipe them away.
“I thought so, too,” he said.
“I don’t—”
Her thought was cut off by Gabe stepping into her space and burying his hand in the hair at the back of her neck. “I don’t know what I’m doing here, Rach. But I do know that there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. I can’t imagine living the rest of my life without you in it.” He caressed her cheek with his thumb. “I already gave up one thing I wasn’t ready to lose. I don’t want to make the same mistake again.”
With that, he tilted her chin toward him and kissed her. It was a slow, sensual, meaningful kiss that warmed her all the way to her toes. Filled her to the brim with so many good emotions, she was worried she’d float away on the lightness of it all. If she was ever to have a perfect moment, she knew that this was it.
She allowed herself to get lost in this experience that she never thought she’d have again. Clutching at him, she pulled him into the room. She barely registered the door closing behind him as she lost herself in the kiss, the feel of his hands on her, and press of his solid body. It was euphoric.
He steered her backwards, and she broke the kiss to say, “So this is real then? You’re sure? You have to be sure. I couldn’t take it if you changed your mind.”
“I’m sure,” he said as he nibbled her neck. “I want you. This. Us. Forever.”
Her hands found both sides of his face as she pressed her lips back to his. When the backs of her legs hit the bed, she laid back on it. Gabe followed closely behind, pausing only to remove his shirt before he settled between her thighs. She tilted her pelvis up so she could rub against the hard ridge in his jeans.
“Somebody missed me bad,” Gabe said with a laugh.
“You have no idea.”
He let his fingers caress her cheek. “I think I do.” He dipped to kiss her ag
ain, pulling away only long enough to take off her tank top. His hands immediately found her breasts and toyed with the nipples. “No bra. It’s like you were expecting me.”
His tone was light. Joking. But she wondered if on some level she hadn’t been hoping this would be the direction this night would go—no matter how unlikely the possibility was to her. “If I’d have known that’s all it took to get you here, I would’ve gone without for the past three months.”
He laughed softly before looking deeply into her eyes. “I missed you,” he said quietly.
“I missed you, too.”
And then the time for words was over. Gabe stood to pull off her pants and panties before pulling a condom out of his wallet and stripping off the rest of his clothes. He didn’t waste time rolling the condom down his hard length and positioning himself on top of her.
He reached down with one hand and caressed her clit, then shifted his fingers back farther and pushed them inside of her. Bringing his fingers up to his mouth, he licked them clean. It was filthy and erotic and the hottest thing she’d ever seen—aside from Gabe himself.
A long, breathy moan escaped her when he pushed inside, stretching her in delicious ways. She felt every groove of him as he slid along her inner walls. He pumped into her with an urgency that demonstrated the frenzy of emotions that were swirling between them.
What existed in that room was both too much and not enough.
She arched her back in ecstasy as his fingers dipped back down to her clit and rubbed soft, steady circles that drove her to the brink of madness but not quite tipping her over the edge.
His thrusts moved faster as his pants became harsher. They were both balancing on a precipice. Together. Hopefully, always together.
He lowered his head to her nipple and sucked. That combined with the ministrations of his fingers and the pounding of his cock caused her to tumble into her orgasm, her entire body seizing as if a lightning bolt had shot down her spine.
Gabe continued to pump into her, his strokes becoming choppy and stilted until he stalled completely, throwing back his head, and pulsed inside of her. Then he made a few more shallow thrusts that caused his body to quake. When he stilled, he lowered his body so that the full expanse of their skin was touching.
“I love you,” he said with a sweet smile.
“Love you back. Always.” The words were more than a declaration.
They were a promise.
Chapter Thirty
“I feel like this is a mistake,” Gabe said as he held the door open for Rachel. He felt the sweat on his palms against the metal door handle.
“Why? It’s all you’ve talked about for the last two weeks.”
“Yeah, but it’s one thing to talk about it. It’s another to have to actually go through with it.”
Rachel rubbed his arm as they approached the front desk. The woman sitting there had them sign in and, after asking a few questions, directed them to a small waiting room while she went to retrieve the person who would help them.
Gabe and Rachel took a seat as they waited. It wasn’t until Rachel put a hand on his knee that he realized his leg was jumping.
“You’re being ridiculous,” she said with a slight laugh.
“This is a big moment for me,” Gabe defended.
Rachel gave him a placating tap. “I know.”
“I don’t think you realize how big of a deal this is. It’s not every day a guy becomes a father.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I’m not trying to—”
Her words were cut off by a door swinging open. “Here he is,” Micah crowed as he walked toward them.
Gabe’s eyes shot toward the voice before drifting lower to the beautiful creature next to him. In that moment, all his nerves and reservations melted away. He sunk to the ground beside the bench he’d been sitting on and held out his hands. “Hiya, buddy.”
Not even a second later, Gabe’s arms were full of excited, wriggling fur. A giant tongue came out to bathe his face.
Rachel and Gabe had gone back to the shelter a few times since they’d gotten back together. With Rachel able to work remotely most of the time, she’d been spending considerable time at Gabe’s place in Philadelphia. After about a week of them mostly hanging around the house, Rachel decided they needed a project.
To Gabe’s chagrin, that project was helping him get over his fear of dogs. Gabe had tried to talk her out of it, but she’d become fixated on the idea, so back they went to the shelter.
Gabe had originally thought Micah was fucking with him when he had him spend more time with Torque, but it ended up being a blessing in disguise. Once Gabe got over being nervous around the gigantic animal, Torque also relaxed. Not long after that—during dinner when Gabe was recounting his day with Torque even though Rachel had been there—she suggested that he just adopt the dog he was clearly in love with. Gabe had played it off by asking if Rachel was jealous, to which she shot him the finger, but the seed had been planted.
And now here they were, ready to adopt Torque and take him home. Thank God he was good with cats, since those little assholes had grown on him as well.
Micah handed over the lead, gave some last-minute instructions, and wished them all the best. It nearly killed Gabe to crate Torque for the ride home, but Micah and Rachel had both insisted that it was the safest way for him to travel. Once home, Gabe hopped out of his SUV and practically sprinted to let the dog out. “Come on, buddy. I’m sorry I had to lock you in that prison. The mean lady made me.”
Rachel shot him a dry look that made Gabe laugh. They led Torque around the small patch of grass on the side of Gabe’s building so he could sniff around and do his business. Then they walked him to Gabe’s condo.
Rachel hurried in front of them and started to unlock the door with the key Gabe had given her. She gave him a small smile before throwing the door open.
Gabe heard a loud, “Surprise!” before his eyes processed what he was seeing. Ben, Ryan, Jace, Aly, and some of his other close friends were all standing in his house wearing party hats with dog ears hanging from them. The living room had been decorated with streamers and balloons, most of which said “Congratulations” or “It’s A Boy.”
“You guys look like assholes,” Gabe said, but a laugh soon followed. Because really, who wouldn’t be touched by a surprise party for a dog?
“That’s good, because we feel like them too,” Ben said as he slid his hat off his head.
Everyone laughed and then walked over and greeted Torque. Torque was uncharacteristically shy at first, choosing to stay close to Gabe, but he eventually loosened up. Especially when Rachel brought out the cake she’d had made at a doggie bakery she’d found a few blocks from their place.
As his friends milled around and talked, Gabe sidled up to Rachel and put an arm around her shoulders. “Thanks for this,” he said as he placed a kiss on her temple.
She melted into him. “Of course. It’s not every day the love of my life becomes a daddy to someone else’s offspring.”
Gabe chuckled but then pulled her even closer. “Maybe someday I’ll be a daddy to your offspring too.”
Rachel turned his head and looked deeply into Gabe’s eyes. A slow smile spread over her gorgeous face. “Sounds like a plan.”
Epilogue: Two Years Later
“This is the life,” Gabe said on a sigh as he relaxed back into the hammock.
Rachel snuggled into him, the sides of the hammock causing her to be practically on top of him. “It is. We should get one of these things.”
“And put it where?”
“We can figure out a way to hang it on the balcony.” Rachel rested her head on his chest.
Since Gabe was down for any plan that put Rachel in his lap, he said, “Okay. We’ll figure it out when we get home.”
Rachel turned her head up toward him, and Gabe was just about to press a kiss to her lips when he heard a loud voice.
“I can’t take any more heterosexual affection this weeke
nd. Please. Just stop.”
Gabe smirked at Camille. “You’re the one who brought a guy as your date to this thing.”
Ben, who walked out onto the long wood porch behind Camille, said, “Thanks for referring to my wedding as ‘this thing.’ Some best man you are.”
Gabe shrugged. “Don’t hassle me. I’m finally enjoying myself.”
Ben let out a laugh. “You’re such a dick.”
Gabe laughed too. The truth was, the events Ben and Ryan had planned for the week leading up to their wedding had been pretty fun, but Gabe wasn’t going to let him know it. He’d initially balked at having to spend an entire week doing wedding activities, but it had been important to the couple. “I’ll just be glad when you guys are married so you’ll stop having to prove how much better you’ve gotten at party games.”
“We will never have to stop proving that,” Ben said seriously.
Gabe chuckled again. “Well, for both your sakes, you may want to stop anyway. The two of you still suck at them.” Gabe could just make out Ben’s glare in the soft light that filtered from the lanterns lining the porch and the small bit of sunlight that hadn’t fully disappeared over the horizon. “Where is the bride-to-be anyway?”
“I don’t know. She was right behind me,” Ben said as he moved back toward the door that led inside the enormous and extravagant cabin Ben had rented out for them for the week before his wedding. Just as he reached the door, it abruptly swung toward him, not giving him time to grab it. The wood smacked him in the face, causing him to immediately double over.
Gabe jumped up and rushed over to Ben, moving him back gently so he was out of the door’s path.
“Oh my God, what happened?” Ryan said, her voice laced with alarm.
Ben straightened, but his hands still cupped his nose.
Ryan took one look at him and burst out laughing. “Oh shit. This is perfect.”
“I fail to see the humor,” Ben replied, even though there was a hint of amusement in his voice.
The One Night Stand Page 19