Immediately upon entering, a woman comes charging towards us. She's like a damn running- back heading to the end zone. Squealing like a pre-teen girl she excitedly says, “I heard you were back in town! It's good seeing you honey!”
“Thanks Juley, it’s good to be back.” Gavin replies genuinely. I'm disappointed when he doesn't introduce me.
Gavin again places his hand on the small of my back and ushers me to a table in the center of the room, even though there are a couple corner booths not in use.
As I take my seat, I notice a table of young good-looking women staring at Gavin and me. Like they're trying to figure out who I am and who I am to Gavin. It doesn't take long for insecurities and doubts to flood me. Is he flaunting these women in front of me? Is he trying to prove a point that he can have his pick of women?
“What can I get you all to drink?” The blonde waitress asks. I didn't even notice she was standing there.
“Uh. I'll have a Diet Coke. Thank you.”
“Just a water for me.” Gavin says.
I start thumbing through the menu to avoid conversation and I realize I'm no longer hungry. I just want to leave. Since I can't just walk out, I decide to ask where the bathroom is. Gavin eyes me curiously and points down the small hallway.
Once I'm in the bathroom I try to clear my head. The sensible part of my brain is telling me that Gavin wouldn't be so cruel. He wouldn't bring me somewhere to make me uncomfortable. But then why did he? Who are all those women?
Well, I won't be getting answers in here. Quickly I touch up my lip gloss and head back to the table. Gavin is again talking to that running-back girl. She's Asian with a beautiful head of hair. But I'm watching the body language between them and I can clearly see they are friends. She's laughing a deep belly laugh. She's unafraid of snorting in front of him the way a girl would be if she were interested. Still, I feel a little jealous of this strong bond of friendship. I realize how irrational that is and shake it from my head. Feeling a little better, I return to my seat.
“I'll give you guys a minute to decide what you want.” Juley says.
Gavin gives a half wave as she walks off. Of course, I noticed that he once again missed an opportunity to introduce me.
He must pick up on my facial expressions because he asks, “Is something bothering you?”
My initial instinct is to lie. To say no everything's fine, but I can't. I guess in this moment I've decided that Gavin will either like me and my insecurities or he won't. But I will no longer hide what I'm feeling.
Here goes nothing. “Why did you bring me to this bar? How many women in this bar have you slept with? And why can't you introduce me?”
The biggest grin crosses Gavin's face and it reveals his perfectly straight teeth. For fucks sake. Even his teeth are good looking.
“To answer your first question. I brought you to this bar because my mom owns it. And one day my brother Eli and I will own it. I wanted to bring you here because when you hear stories about Hanson's, you will know the place we are talking about. And because this is the one place my entire family and me will gather. So you'll be coming here a lot.” Gavin explains and it makes me feel like shit.
“To answer your second question. None! I have never wanted to mix business with pleasure. Though I don't work here, I will one day. So this place is off limits.”
I am about to interrupt and tell him he has mixed business and pleasure before. I got to witness it first hand in the bar we worked in. But he doesn't give me time to point out the flaw in his story because he continues. “And to answer your last question. I didn't introduce you because Juley already knows who you are. Maybe I should've done it as a formality but it didn't cross my mind.”
Shocked and curious about his answer I question, “And how does Juley know me already?”
“She's my uncle’s best friend, Braydon's, daughter. She will be at every function we have as a family. She and her brother Cade are really just another brother and sister to us. We all grew up together. And when one person in my family knows something, everyone knows. And besides I called before we came to see if they were busy.”
Feeling foolish but better at the same time, I ask one final question. “So, why are we sitting at a table, in the middle of the floor, and not at one of those tables where it's more private?”
“Because I said I don't mix business with pleasure. Me alone with you in a dark corner. My hands would already be up that skirt you're wearing.” He says with passion in his voice.
Well okay then. It takes me a moment to speak.
Trying to beat back the blushing that is covering my face I correct him. “I seem to recall a time when you had no problem mixing business with pleasure.
Gavin grins and then replies. “True, but that was in private. Fucking you in a room full of people is off limits. No one besides me will ever get to see your face as you come. That look is just for me. You got it?”
It dawns on me in this moment that Gavin is truly thinking of a future with me. I decide to tease him just a little. “We will see.”
The grimace that crosses Gavin's face is almost laughable, but I don't dare crack a smile, because I can tell he doesn't find my teasing funny. He grounds out with frustration, “We won't see! I'm telling you now Nicola, it’s me and you, forever.”
Gavin
Christ, I’m becoming my father! It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but there were times growing up when my dad would snap at my mom to remind her that she was his. I always found it annoying because of course my mom knew that. But now I see why he did it. It’s impulse, alpha-male, possessed, or crazy! Pick a term but Nicola needs reminding that she is mine and always will be mine.
“So how has your morning been?” Nicola asks, pulling me out of my temporary insanity.
“It was actually good. I went to my parents house and talked with my family.” I had hoped to have a light hearted conversation today but I know it’s just delaying things. I need to hear all about Jason so I start asking questions. “You know it dawned on me after you left the bar in Kentucky, that I didn’t even know your last name. So what is it?”
“Wow, I didn’t realize I never told you. I assumed maybe Jean might have told you. It’s Simmons.”
Thinking of Jean, I both smile and scowl. “Jean told me nothing. Did she know where you lived? And is Simmons your married name or maiden name?”
“Yes, Jean knew everything. I swore her to secrecy,” she confirms. That Jean! She watched me suffer for months and said nothing! I’m both proud of Jean for keeping Nicola’s secret and angry she lied. “Mazur is my maiden name.” Nicola continues.
“Mazur? That’s an unusual last name.”
“It’s Polish. My dad left Poland when he was 13.”
I like learning these little details. So, she’s half Polish. Just learning all these small details reminds me how much I want to get to know her more. As much as I want to continue learning about her, I have to focus on Jason and getting him out of the picture permanently.
“So can I ask you for a few more details about Jason?”
She eyes me suspiciously. “Why? You’re not going after him are you?”
“No, not yet. My Uncle is going to have someone follow him. For one, to get to know his routine, and secondly to make sure he is nowhere near you and Allison. He’s gonna dig up all he can on him so that when I go to New York, I go with knowledge.”
“You mean when WE go to New York!” she demands.
I don’t answer her but in my mind, I let her know! No, when I go!
Chapter 27
Gavin
After dropping Nicola back off to work, I head to my Uncle Evan’s office with the information I gathered on Jason. Hopefully, with Cade’s help, he can locate him quickly so all of this can be behind us. It’s funny because I used to love living day by day and not really looking into the future. Now, I can’t help but envision what a life would be like with Nicola and Allison. When Lane reminded me that I would become an
instant father, for a moment, I couldn’t breathe and I couldn’t really see being her father. Not that I wouldn’t jump at the chance, but Allison is just like her mother, she doesn’t open up to me. It’s like pulling teeth to get her to talk. I guess being the adult, I should initiate a conversation, but I have no clue what little girls like, especially one who has witnessed so much abuse and who only trusts her mother. The strange thing is, that moment passed, and I realized I’m willing to learn how to be a father. Hell, I’m not just willing, I’m excited!
My uncle’s law firm always impresses me. The way his name is written in bold lettering, it’s hard to believe someone in my family owns such a beautiful part of the magnificent mile on Michigan Ave. When Nicola mentioned she wanted to move back to Kentucky, my heart sank a little. I thought when I moved to Kentucky that it’s where I would always be, but being back here with family and with my girl, I can’t see our future anywhere but here. Of course, I would move anywhere if I knew it meant she was happy.
As I walk the marble floor of the law firm, I can’t help but feel out of place. This place is polished from floor to ceiling with fragile art in every corner. It reminds me of how rough around the edges I’ve become. I’m dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, tattoos spilling out of my sleeves. My clothes are clean and ironed, but I’m not wearing a suit like the men and women I pass by. Everyone that works here is eyeing me like they are expecting me to tell them this is a robbery. I laugh a little when a sweet old lady looks at me and then pulls her purse closer. Thankfully, I see Cade coming to greet me. The way he walks towards me lets everyone around me know they’re safe.
“Hey man, glad you could make it up.” Cade says as he extends his hand for a shake and pats my shoulder at the same time.
“It’s been awhile, I still can’t believe you picked law as your profession.” I chuckle thinking about how mischievous Cade was as a teen and young adult.
“Yeah, me either, but I figured this side of the law was better than the other side. Prison orange makes my balls itch.” He laughs probably remembering his three nights in jail after a bar fight when his parents refused to bail him out. They were probably hoping it would teach him a lesson and by the looks of him now, I think they were right. “Evan is with a client and will meet us shortly in my office.” Cade explains while opening his office door.
I take a quick look around his office and take notice. It seems so out of place in this building. The only decoration in the whole room is the nameplate on his desk. It makes me wonder how a teenage boy goes from loving heavy metal bands, stoner bands and MMA ends up with the most boring office in all of the world. Hell, who am I to judge? My apartment decorations consisted of refrigerator magnets and the original Hanson’s bar sign.
“So what kind of information did you find out for us?” Cade asks as he moves the computer mouse to bring the computer online.
“His name is Jason Simmons, he lives on 2nd Ave in East Village in Manhattan. He’s thirty-eight.”
“Found him.” Cade announces interrupting my list.
“That’s quick. What does it say about him?”
“Nothing, absolutely nothing. No speeding ticket, no arrests, nothing. Looks like he’s been a model citizen.”
“Model citizen?” I ground out. “It’s easy to come across as model when your victim is too afraid to speak up.”
The realization that he has no criminal record is going to make threatening him with jail or prison harder. It’s going to come down to “he said she said” and it doesn’t look good that Nicola took off with their daughter. He could have her charged with kidnapping.
There are a million questions running through my mind when I hear the door opening and Evan’s footsteps announce his arrival.
“So, what do we have?” Evan questions.
Frustrated I respond “nothing. Seems like he’s not broken any laws, no hidden secrets.”
“Wait a minute, I didn’t say he didn’t have any hidden secrets. I said he didn’t have an arrest record,” says Cade while turning his computer screen towards us.
What the fuck? I know what I’m looking at. Even though I’ve only worked a couple cases with the cyber crime division, I do know that stuff like this gets millions of hits every week. I’m devastated for Nicola!
Nicola
After an enlightening lunch with Gavin, I felt hopeful for a good conversation over dinner. Instead, Gavin left. He said he was going to help his cousin out, but I know he was lying. It was the way he mentioned it as he was walking out the door. If he had truly made plans, he would have mentioned it on the car ride home. He couldn’t really look me in the eye either. I’ve seen that look before and know it well.
The clock on the wall says it’s ten-thirty, but it feels much later. Allison has been in bed for a couple hours and I’ve had one hundred and twenty minutes to do nothing but be alone in my thoughts and wondering what could’ve possibly happened between the time Gavin dropped me back off at work to when he picked me up, that changed his demeanor so drastically. The best way to describe Gavin is he had turned cold. No warm hug or flirtatious wink.
I know he met up with some members of his family to talk about Jason, but I can’t see that causing the change. I know for a fact that he didn’t learn any more about Jason than what I’ve already told him.
“Nicola?” I hear my name being called from the living room. It’s Gavin!
Quickly, I cover myself with my pink robe and head out to meet him. Hearing him call my name offered some relief from the questions running through my mind. When I see him, he’s sitting at the dining room table with his head resting in his hands. He didn’t go to his cousins, he got another tattoo. This one is the first truly visible one. Most just peek through what the shirt doesn’t cover. This one is writing, I can’t read it from here but his forearm looks like a novel was written on it.
“Would you like to take a seat in here or out on the balcony?” Gavin says in a monotone voice.
“You’re scaring me Gavin!” I blurt out before thinking.
Finally, he scoots his chair around and looks up at me and I think Gavin may have been crying. His eyes are red and I can see pain in them. Gavin has aged ten years in front of my eyes. Hoping to make Gavin relax and to hurry this conversation along I sit down next to him and start rubbing my hand over his new tattoo. “Did it hurt?” I ask.
“No.” is all he says.
“What does it say?”
“Uh, it’s a bible verse.” he explains. “Jeremiah 29, verse 11. For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Stunned by his choice of tattoo, I have to press. “Is there a reason you chose a bible verse or that particular verse? I didn’t take you for the religious type.”
“My dad believes in God and my mom is agnostic. This verse was framed in our home. Sometimes before my dad left for work, he would stop to look at it and I never understood why. After today, I get it. I get the need to believe in something bigger. The need to believe that all the fucked up shit has a purpose. I’m struggling Nicola! I’m struggling to find that purpose.”
I’m not sure what’s going on but Gavin is hurting and I don’t like it. I want to scream at him to just tell me. He’s scaring me. Without another thought, I do all I can think to do to help him. I nervously get up from my seat and take a step forward to his chair. Even as hard as this is to do, I straddle Gavin and lift his chin to kiss him. He looks shocked by my forward advances but that doesn’t stop him from fisting my hair and bringing my mouth to his.
The kiss I was expecting was soft and polite. No, not Gavin. His warm tongue urgently dances around mine with passion and it sends those delicious shivers down my spine. On impulse I start rub myself against his now rock hard cock. Yes! This is exactly the distraction we both need. This moment is intense and long overdue for us both. With my orgasm building, I slide up and down a few more times. Sure, I wish my panties and his
jeans weren’t between us, but I cannot stop. I’m so close! Maybe Gavin can sense I’m unable to stop because he whispers into my mouth. “Come for me.” Just his warm words in my mouth have me coming so hard and the emotions running through me makes this moment so unforgettable. “I love you Gavin!” I divulge unwillingly. Oh. My. God. Why did I say that? Especially right now!
His hand has loosened its grip in my hair and he pulled his mouth away from mine, but I can’t look at him. I honestly don’t know why I said it. Do I love Gavin? Maybe my heart knows before my mind because when I spoke those words I spoke them from the heart.
The seconds tick by and it’s crickets! No, I love you back! No joke about the dry humping that just went on. My face warms with sheer embarrassment. Why oh why did I do that? Any of that? From start to finish, it lasted only a couple minutes and it embarrasses me even more when I realize I started it wanting to make Gavin feel better but I’m the only one who took pleasure in that. Gavin didn’t get off. Hell, did he even moan in pleasure? Nope! He didn’t do that either. He did tell me to come for him. Probably trying to hurry me along.
Defeated and humiliated I quickly say, “I’m sorry about that.” And take off running to the balcony where I can cry in peace and more importantly hide my shame.
Chapter 28
Gavin
What the hell just happened? I’ve never been so confused in all my life. I’ve never been this happy in all my life either. Nicola said she loved me. That amazingly sexy woman loves me. And I’m pretty sure it wasn’t just an ‘in the moment’ I love you. I felt it all through me. As much as that excites me, I couldn’t bring myself to say it back. Not now at least. It didn’t feel like the right time. She doesn’t know what I know yet. When I picked the dining table to sit at this evening, I did so because it seemed like the perfect place to sit down and have a talk. Obviously, that didn’t happen. When she first sat on my dick I thought about saying not now because I knew now was the time to tell her what I found out today. However, I couldn’t turn her away. Her beautiful eyes were lit with desire and I wanted her to know she is in control of this relationship. That I will be who she needs me to be, and I’ll do whatever she needs me to do. Thinking about her rubbing up against me has me hard again. I watch her on the balcony, and I want nothing more than to walk out naked so that the next time she sits down, she’s sliding down on my cock. Now isn’t the time. I have information I have to share, and as much as I dread doing it, I can’t put it off until tomorrow. With that determination in my head, I make my way to the balcony. Fuck! I really don’t want to do this.
Gavin (Made From Stone Book 2) Page 14