by Joyce Jordan
“Okay sweetheart, be safe.” Her dad had always been easy going. She loved that about him. He stood and hugged her.
“Mum, my flight leaves this afternoon at two thirty, so I will need to leave for the airport just before twelve thirty. That will give me at least thirty to forty five minutes to get to the airport and drop off my rental before I have to check in.”
Her mum was finishing her coffee and looked at her wrist watch. “Okay, Ana. I’m ready when you are.”
“I will go and finish packing, I need another five minutes.”
When Ana came back with her overnight bag and laptop, her dad had left. She followed her mum in her rental as they went out to help out at her charity. Hope’s Child was her mother’s favorite charity where she volunteered more hours than any other charity. It was a charity that took in unwed pregnant teenagers who were at crossroads on what to do with their unborn babies. The home allowed the teenagers to use that time before they gave birth to decide if they wanted to keep the child or give it up for adoption.
The teenagers got access to free therapy, free doctor and nurse, free medication but in turn everybody did their chores which included cooking, cleaning, laundry, in short taking care of the whole home. Everybody had to attend ‘survival’ classes that the home put together that prepared the young mothers in the event that they decided to keep their babies.
Her mother usually taught the cooking classes. She taught everything from baby meals and meals that the mother needed to eat especially if she chose to breast feed and while pregnant. The other volunteers taught classes on how to take care of a new born, sewing, finances and even lamaze classes. No drugs or alcohol was allowed and in exchange you pretty much lived a good life at the home.
Ana helped around until it was time for her to leave for the airport. Giving her mother a good-bye hug, she rushed hoping she wouldn’t be caught in some kind of traffic. Unfortunately the weather in between Dallas and New York delayed her flight. Texting Kelly she told her she would call her when she landed, if the flight even left.
Finally her flight got the all clear to leave after two hours from the time it should have departed. By the time everybody was seated, it was another forty five minutes. The bumpy flight made Ana wish she she had caught the Saturday flight instead. Tired and hungry, Ana was glad she only had a carry on. Keeping some clothes in Dallas made it easy for her to travel light. Walking towards the baggage claim where she would find an exit, she hoped she would be able to get a cab quickly.
She called Kelly, and she told her friend she had just landed. “I am glad to be back. But I guess I will see you tomorrow since you are on night shift.”
“Yes, I hope you will be up by the time I get home.”
“I am so tired, I just need to eat and crush. If I manage that as soon as I get home, I should be up. Maybe we can go and have breakfast somewhere?”
“It’s a date girlfriend.”
“Uh! Kels? Did you tell Gabe I was coming back today?”
“No, why?”
“He is at the airport. But maybe he isn’t waiting for me.”
Kelly snorted. “Fat chance. I am sure he is looking for you. You know he called me, I’m not sure where he got my cell from, but he wanted to find out where you were staying.”
“He sent flowers,” Ana told her friend.
“What? He did? And you are only telling me this now?” Kelly shouted into the phone.
“I have to go, he just spotted me.”
“Ana!” Gabe reached Ana and swooped in for a kiss.
“Gabe, how did you know I was on the flight?”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back today?”
A fight at the airport? “I was going to call you after I landed. I was originally supposed to land around five, but my flight was delayed and after that I thought it would be best to call you tomorrow.”
“I see.” Grabbing her carry on, he took her hand with his other hand and pulled her outside. “The car is waiting outside.”
“You are not angry?”
“No, should I be?”
Phew. Would she ever understand this man? Meeting him at the airport, Ana had expected him to rant and rave and pretty much revisit Tuesday’s incident.
Gabe’s driver, John took her carry on and laptop and stashed them in the trunk after opening the door for them to get in. Never was Ana more grateful for Gabe’s limo. The line waiting for cabs was long and it would have been at least another hour before she would have found one.
“How was Dallas? Did you finish what you went there to do?” Gabe asked her.
“Dallas was warmer than New York. And yes, I did finish.”
Gabe pulled Ana onto his lap, held her head up and kissed her senseless. “I missed you!” he said about to kiss her again.
“I see that.” Ana tried to go back to her seat but Gabe refused to let her go.
“Where are you trying to go to?”
“To my seat.”
“I’d rather you sat on my lap. I am not letting you go until I have you in my home.”
“Gabe, I need to go to my apartment?”
“What for?” he asked surprised.
Duh! “To sleep,” Ana replied as if anyone needed an explanation.
“You can sleep in my bed,” he said matter of factly.
“Look Gabe, can we do this tomorrow? I am really tired and just need to crash. Besides I need a change of clothes.”
“Ana, we should have been together Tuesday evening. I am not letting you out of my sight. Not tonight, or rather this whole weekend. Since you are tired I am not going to expect any sex from you tonight. But any sleeping tonight will be done in my bed.”
“This is like talking to a brick wall.” Ana tried to move away again, but found it a fruitless attempt. “Well at least let me go and get some clean clothes?”
“Everything you need is at my place.”
Thick brick wall indeed. Ana gave up and just sat in his lap. She didn’t even bother to ask where he got her keys from to enter her apartment and get her clothes.
Linking his fingers to hers, he played with them and occasionally brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it. Finally the movement of the car lulled her and she fell asleep. The cold air woke her up when Gabe tried to carry her indoors. “I can walk,” she said and wiggled out of his grasp.
“It’s more fun for me to carry you.” But he let her go and picked up her carry on and laptop bag, then walked her to the elevator.
The doorman was looking at them with interest. This was embarrasing.
“What would you like to eat?” Gabe asked her when they entered his apartment.
“Anything. But can I at least take a shower first?”
Again he linked his fingers with hers, and walked her to his bedroom. Entering the huge, more like gigantic walk in closet, he waved at the women’s clothes on one side. Seeing the tags still on the clothes, Ana gasped. “You bought me clothes?”
“Yes, and there should be shoes, socks somewhere, underwear too. If there is anything missing let me know and I will remedy that.”
Walking back, he showed her the bathroom and left. Some things Ana learned quickly, and she was wise enough to know that there was no use to fighting with him about the clothes. Not tonight anyway. Running the water in the tub, Ana went back to the closet and found a pyjama short and top with a matching gown. Taking that to the bathroom, she stripped and settled in the hot water. She was so tired she needed the water to be hot to soothe her aching muscles. The running around she had done at Hope’s Child and the waiting at the airport when her flight had been delayed hadn’t helped much. Neither had the bumpy flight. Taking a wash cloth, she soaped herself and washed her body. Settling in Ana decided to enjoy the water for a few minutes before she got up to join Gabe for dinner.
∞∞∞
Gabe answered the door and paid for the food. He had ordered Thai, one of Ana’s favorite. Most of what he had learned about her had been the night he ha
d taken Ana and Kelly to dinner. After a few glasses of wine she had loosened up enough to discuss herself. Every woman loved talking about themselves, except her. Talking to her sometimes felt like pulling teeth. As infuriating as it was he was coming to love how unpredictable she was, an enigma he hoped to solve one day. Hopefully not too soon since he had plans with her body, plans that were going to have to be put on hold for another night. That Dallas trip had really taken a lot out of her. Now that he saw Ray as the client he was, he wasn’t so bugged about it anymore.
Grabbing two plates, cutlery and some napkins from the kitchen he laid everything out on the table. He remembered wine, then he went back to the kitchen and pulled two wine glasses.
“Ana!” he called out as he walked to the bedroom door. “Food is ready.” When there was no response Gabe knocked on the door and opened it slightly when nobody answered again. Walking further inside the bedroom he took steps closer to the bathroom. “Ana?” Where had she gone to? Did she somehow slip outside without him being aware?
“Fuck. Jesus Christ.” About to drown herself, Ana was fast asleep with her chin about to be submerged into the water. She had been sliding down slowly for the past however long she had been asleep. Grabbing a towel from the rack, he picked her up and held her to his chest. He pulled the towel to cover her back, then he dried her as much as he could and carried her to the bed. Gabe pulled the covers down and settled her in bed. Back in the bathroom he took another towel and came back where he proceeded to dry the rest of her body. He moved her a bit more to the center of the bed and covered her then went to drain the tub.
Back in the kitchen he made a sandwich and ate it with a beer. Mad at himself that he hadn’t seen how tired she was and checked on her sooner. She could have drowned. Fuck. Gabe was so mad at himself he didn’t even finish the sandwich. No longer hungry and not wanting to eat the food he had ordered earlier, he cleaned up and went to join Ana in bed.
Ten
The sun shining through the curtains finally woke Ana. As she moved her head to find an angle without the sun, she bumbed into a hard body. Kels? Checking her surroundings, she realised she was naked underneath, her back to someone’s front, and a hand was holding her down. Everything came rushing back to her except she blanked from the time she had taken a bath. Gabe? How did she get in bed? And why didn’t she have a nightie? Did he carry her to bed? Moving slowly, she held the hand holding her down and tried to lift it so she could slip from under it.
“Morning beautiful,” Gabe said pulling her closer to him.
“Why am I naked?” Ana whispered her question.
“You don’t remember?”
“I remember taking a bath.”
“Yeah, well, then you passed out in the tub.” Lifting his head from the pillow he turned Ana to lie on her back. “And don’t do that to me again. I almost had a heart attack.”
“Sorry, I guess I was more tired than I thought. I should have taken a shower but your tub is amazing. It was calling me.”
“We can take one together if you like, but never alone, especially when you are tired.” Pulling the sheet down he cupped her breast and played with her nipple. “You have amazing breasts.”
“They are too small.” How had they moved from one topic to the next?
“I like the way they fit in my mouth. Perfect.” And with that he brought his mouth to the other breast and suckled deeply.
“Gabe!” Oh my God. She had missed him, missed the way he pleasured her when he suckled her breasts, kissed her and fingered her sex.
“Yes, baby. You like?”
“Yes. No. Wait.” Pushing his head away with two hands, “Focus.”
“I am focused. On you.”
“Why am I naked? And you are not.”
“Well, we can remedy that right now,” Gabe replied and moved to remove his underwear, but Ana stopped him.
“That’s not what I meant. Did something happen last night?”
“Baby, if something had happened you would have remembered. Make no mistake about that.”
With relief Ana dropped back down on the bed. Confidence much? And who would blame him especially after what he had done to Ana the few times he had showed up at her apartment unannounced. “What time is it? I need to call Kelly.”
“It’s after ten.”
“Oh my God, she is going to be frantic.” Rolling to her side, Ana moved to pull the top sheet with her so she could go and find her phone.
“After my morning kiss,” Gabe said to her and pulled her right back. Giving her no time to respond, he held her head and dropped his head until his lips met hers. As she opened her mouth to say something, Gabe pushed through and kissed her until she responded to the kiss. Kissing her deeply he moved and settled between her thighs. He brought both hands down from her head to her breasts and he played with both nipples with his thumb and forefinger. Then pulled back from the deep kiss, and he nibbled her lips before he distanced himself away from her center, “Now that’s what I call a ‘Good Morning kiss’,” Gabe said into her face and touched her nose with his forefinger. “Stay in bed while I get your phone,” he added as he stepped away from the bed.
That was close, Gabe said to himself as he moved to the sitting room where Ana had left her phone on the coffee table when they got in last night. A cold shower would help alleviate, but not much. No longer was he so sure how he would survive the day trying to seduce Ana and not be seduced himself. It would be a miracle if he survived at all.
He found Ana still lying down where he had left her. Glad to see the dazed look in her eyes he moved closer and handed her the phone. “I’ll take a shower while you talk to Kelly. Then I will make breakfast,” he said as he walked to the bathroom, “Anything you want for breakfast,” he asked over his shoulder.
“Whatever you have is fine with me.”
∞∞∞
As soon as she heard the shower running, Ana pulled the top sheet free from the bed and made a sarong to cover herself up. She moved from the bed to sit on the sofa against a wall in the bedroom. She went through her phone to see if she had any missed calls of messages. A few she could return later, but one from Kelly saying she figgered Mr Hot and Sexy was with her. So true.
Not wanting to wake Kelly if she was already sleeping, Ana sent her a text instead, apologizing for missing their breakfast date that they had planned to have this morning. A few seconds later Kelly called.
“Hi. I thought you would be asleep by now.”
“I would have, but there was some complication at work and I ended up getting off a little later. I actually got in about half and hour ago.”
“Everything okay at work?”
“Yeah, but I don’t want to talk about my work today. I want to hear all about Mr. Hot and Sexy. Did you finally do it?”
“Kelly, gosh. Might I remind you that you have a boyfriend?”
“Who is neither hot and sexy, besides we broke up.”
“What? When? Why?”
“Later. I am dying to hear about you.”
“Well, nothing to tell.”
“Ana! This is so not fair. I just broke up with my boyfriend, and I need my dear friend to cheer me up, but it seems my friend doesn’t care,” Kelly cried and sniffled.
“Kelly please. Stop the drama. Since when have you ever cried over a guy?”
“There is always a first time,” she replied and sniffled some more.
“Yeah well, I doubt it is this time though.”
“Okay then. What’s a girl gotta do for some juicy details?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you. The truth is there is nothing to tell?”
“He wasn’t good in bed?” Kelly shrieked.
Laughing, “Oh God, Kelly. I was so tired I literally passed out while taking a bath.”
“Oh Ana!”
“It’s not like he didn’t know it wasn’t going to happen last night. I told him I needed to go home and crash, but he still refused to bring me home, and he accept
ed that his plans would have to be postponed.”
“So why are you calling me now instead of fulfulling the deal?”
“You called me, remember?”
“Whatever, after you sent me a text. Seriously Ana you need to put the poor man out of his misery and just fuck him. And have him fuck you too.”
“Kelly!”
“You need that. Your last boyfriend was ancient years ago.”
“Don’t remind me.” Switching the subject, “So are you still going on night shift tonight?”
“Changing the subject I see.” Kelly always knew when Ana did that. “I pulled a double shift, so I am not going in today. But tomorrow is my last night.”
“Okay, let me see if I can make plans to come and see you later after you have had some sleep.”
“I need to go and see Brad to break it off.”
“I thought you already broke it off.”
“Just in my mind. He finishes work at six thirty and he agreed to meet me at seven tonight at a diner close to the hospital.”
“Okay, let me come before you leave. We could ride together and then I can come back. You okay with that?”
“Sure, that is if lover boy can let you go for a couple of hours.”
Giggling, “Leave lover boy to me. I’m sure I can find a way to be very convincing.”
“I am afraid to ask.”
“Don’t.” Ana looked up and found Gabe staring at her. “I have to go.”
“Lover boy done with his shower?”
“Uh-huh. Bye.” Okay, how long had he been standing there? Has he been eaves dropping? Playing it cool, Ana got up from the sofa she had been reclining on. As she turned to face him she tried to read his expression, “I need to see Kelly later this afternoon.”
“What time?”
“About four. I can catch a cab and we will ride together to her work, then I will be back after that.”
“No cab. I would rather you used my car. I’ll have the driver come and pick you up.”
“It’s not necessary, I can catch a cab.”
“Ana. No cab.”
“Do you have anything against cabs?” Ana asked wondering if he was paranoid about something.