Her mom sniffed once more. “Yeah. He should be out any minute. He’d just finished his shower before you came in.”
As though he’d been listening in, which Abby figured he probably had, Aaron came out of the hallway just then, his short blond hair spiky and damp. His calculating gaze swept over Abby, darting to their mom and back to her, one eyebrow lifted in question.
“Hey, Aaron.”
“Hey, sis.” He stepped up to her and gave her a hug, pulling her in closer to him than she liked. She understood why when he whispered in her ear, barely louder than breathing, “You have it?”
She gave a slight nod and pulled back. He eyed her again, but moved to sit down on the end of the couch opposite their mom. Abby sat back down, keeping up the pretense of visiting her mom by filling her in on her birthday party over the weekend and Gabby’s upcoming visit to audition for the music department at Marycliff.
Abby kept a close eye on the time, wanting to make sure she left in plenty of time to make it to her first class. Just before ten, she stood. “It’s been great seeing you, Mom, but I have to get going. I have class in about an hour.”
Her mom stood too, rubbing her upper arm. “Wait just a second. I got you a card for your birthday.”
Abby glanced at her brother, who smirked back at her from where he still lounged on the couch. At first Abby had been surprised when he didn’t stand when she announced she had to go. But looking at him closer, she could see the restrained tension in his body. He didn’t want to seem overeager for the cash he knew she had, but at the same time, he wanted it badly.
Maybe I should just keep it, flitted through her head, but she dismissed the thought as soon as it appeared. She’d promised him the money, and she wouldn’t go back on that promise, even if her brother didn’t deserve her loyalty. Hopefully she’d hear from her mom by the weekend that he’d bailed again. That was the best scenario she could come up with.
Her mom came back to the living room with a blue envelope in her hand, Abby’s name written in looping cursive on the back. “Here you go, sweetie. It’s not much of a birthday present, but it’s the best I could do.”
“It’s fine, Mom. You didn’t have to do anything.”
“Well, Aaron did most of the work. I wanted to pick out your card myself, but I couldn’t manage to go to the store with him, so he called me and read me all of the options. I hope you like it.”
“I’m sure it’s great, Mom. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Her mom gave her a small smile and another pat on the arm.
Abby wrapped an arm around her for another gentle hug. “Bye, Mom. I’ll check in with you next week.” If her mom hadn’t called her already.
Aaron stood. “I’ll walk you out to your car, Abby.”
Their mom practically beamed. “That’s so nice of you, Aaron. I’m happy you two are getting along better.”
Abby stopped herself from shaking her head. “Getting along” was not the term she would have picked.
Grinning at their mom, Aaron threw his arm around Abby’s shoulders. “I’ll be back in a few, Mom.”
Despite Abby’s attempts to shrug off his arm, he didn’t give an inch, squeezing around the back of her neck, propelling her toward the door. He let go once they were at the door since it wasn’t wide enough for both of them to go through together.
She picked up her pace, trotting down the steps, wanting distance between herself and her brother. “Seriously, Aaron? That was completely unnecessary.”
He shrugged and crossed his arms. “Gotta keep up the show for Mom.” He paused, his tongue coming out to lick the corner of his mouth. “So you have it? The money?”
Abby rolled her eyes and pulled the envelope out of her back pocket. “Of course. You really think I’d come all the way over here without it when I have classes later?”
“You might’ve changed your mind.”
She snorted. “Yeah, I might’ve. But I wouldn’t have driven all the way here just to tell you that.”
She held out the envelope. “There’s the four thousand you said you owe.”
Snatching it from her hand, he opened it and rifled through the bills inside. “Thanks, Abs.”
And with that, he turned to go back to the house. Her mouth dropped open. That was it? Nothing more than an off-hand thanks?
She watched him walk up the steps, tuck the envelope into the back pocket of his jeans, and stroll inside like she hadn’t just given him the contents of her savings account. That hit her like a punch to the gut. She had no other money, just the few hundred dollars in her checking account. Yeah, she had a job, but ten hours a week at minimum wage didn’t add up to a whole lot.
Even though Lance was happy to cover the rent, she craved the security of having her own money. It left her feeling sick and off-balance now that it was gone.
She swallowed back the choking, fearful feeling and climbed into her car. It was done. She couldn’t undo it now. And she had to get to class.
Chapter Twenty
“Lance!” Gabby squealed and threw herself into his arms, the large rectangle of her violin case banging him in the side as it slid off her shoulder. He hugged her, smiling widely despite getting whacked with a large hunk of hollow wood. That sucker was heavy duty, designed to protect an expensive instrument.
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 abo
ut 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.”
“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. 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.
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. 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!”
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.
Unsaid Things (Players of Marycliff University #4) Page 16