by Arlo Arrow
I was frowning down at the table. My family was something of a sore spot for me, and I didn’t speak to them often, ever since I moved out on my own.
“Have you told them about your plans to open up a bakery?”
I glanced up at Gabe and shrugged. “I did, yeah. They don’t think that’s a career, either. They also didn’t think I’d survive through business school, something I’d apparently have to do if I planned to open anything, so they wouldn’t even pay for it.”
Gabe frowned. “Well shit. And I thought my parents were bad.”
“They aren’t really…”
“No, fuck that.” He shook his head and leaned forward. “They were wrong not to support you. It’s probably hypocritical of me to say, but you should listen to your heart and follow your dream no matter what your parents say.”
He said it with such conviction like it was something I could do. It made me relaxed as we finished our meal in silence. Gabe paid, then we were heading out, and he asked for the directions to my place. With light traffic, we made it there in half an hour. I was pleasantly surprised when he parked the car and stepped out with me.
I led Gabe up to my apartment. Then he followed me to the kitchen and deiced on his own that he’d help me bake. I protested only a little, and we started working immediately. He was more help than I’d expected.
Once the pastries were done, we sat down in my living room to eat, and I delighted in watching his expression light up as he did a taste test, then devoured the small pastry in his hand and reached for more. I took one before he could scarf them all down, and was a little surprised myself. Maybe it was just him joining me, but it turned out good.
Once the pastries were all eaten, Gabe turned back to me.
“What, I’m interesting now that the food is gone?”
He grinned. “I was thinking of having double desert.”
As if his words were some cue, my body was burning, and I was aching between his legs. His grin grew into a smirk when I started squirming, a flush starting up on my face. He leaned forward across the space between us on the couch. I leaned back as he did until he had me pressed back on the seat.
“Jasmine,” he murmured, and I shivered at the sound of his voice.
He placed a hand on my stomach, then slid it up. I gasped when he brushed it over my breasts, then came to rest at my throat and started undoing the buttons. His face lowered as I wrapped my arms around his neck, and pulled him into a kiss.
Chapter 10
Jasmine
It was Friday night, and for once, I insisted on leaving the office early. To say Gabe wasn’t happy with me would be an understatement, but I’d left him with a kiss, and he seemed to be in a slightly better mood.
I’d had him over a week ago, and while he’d wanted to come again, I wanted to see my friends. I didn’t have that many, so I tried to keep in touch with the few I spoke to because I didn’t know how to be a loner.
There was a knock on my door not long after I’d made it home, and I rushed to open it. I was still fully dressed from work, I’d only had time to put down my purse and take off my shoes, so either I was a bit late, or they were overeager.
I opened the door, and there they stood, my two besties, Emma and Olivia.
“Jasmine,” they both crowded and hugged me.
“It been so long since we go to hang out,” Olivia said, walking into my living room. “You’ve been way too busy recently haven’t you?”
“Yeah,” Emma picked up, pouting as she wrapped an arm around my shoulder and rubbed our cheeks together. “It’s almost like you don’t have time for us anymore. That’s not fair, you know?”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, guys, please come in. It’s so lovely to see you after so long apart. Won’t you please come into my apartment?”
Emma just giggled, unashamed. Olivia didn’t even seem to care, waving a dismissive hand at me. I rolled my eyes and closed the door, then moved to the couch where Olivia had dropped herself.
“So,” Emma said with a large grin. “What the fuck have you been doing that you had to completely ignore us for the past few weeks?”
I rolled my eyes some more as I sat down in between them. “Don’t be so melodramatic. We talk and text all the time over the phone.”
“But still a lot less than usual,” Olivia pointed out. “So, what happened?”
I sighed, leaning my head back against the couch, resigned. “So, you guys know how work has been for me, right?” I glanced at one, then the other, and they both nodded. “Okay. So, after the shit that happened when the FBI, I got a new boss. Well, the old man’s son. And I’ve had to work.”
“Ooh, is he hot?” Emma started in immediately. “If he’s the son, he has to be. He’s fucking attractive isn’t he?”
“And rich, too,” Olivia added. “I kinda envy you right now.”
I pursed my lips and refused to pick up the line of conversation. I couldn’t exactly tell them I’d been staying late sometimes to fuck my boss, and he’d also taken me out a couple of times.
“Why don’t we go out?” Olivia suggested, thankfully dropping the subject about my boss. “It’s been a while since it was just us girls. There’s this club in town I’ve heard good things about. I wanted to try it out, but somebody was always busy,” she gave me a pointed look.
“You two could have just gone and come back to brag to me about it,” I said with an unapologetic shrug. “When was the last time I even when clubbing?”
“But that’s why you have to go!” Emma wailed, holding onto my arm and shaking me a little, ignoring me when I groaned. “Come on, Jasmine. Your new boss might be a hard ass, but it doesn’t mean you can't have any fun out with your friends, right?”
I choked a bit on a laugh. Yeah, Gabe was a hard ass—he had a nice ass, and the man was hard everywhere. Even exhausted, my body could still react to the thought of him and I groaned again. Whatever this thing was between us; it was starting to get out of hand. But Gabe didn’t seem to mind, so I put it out of my mind, as well.
“Could you guys just count me out tonight?” I begged, giving Emma specifically a look begging for sympathy. “I only just got back from work, and I’m exhausted…”
But she shook her head, and I was a little surprised because she was usually the first one to cave.
“Nope,” she said stubbornly. “We’ve both been planning this for a week already, Jasmine. Just come out with us, have some fun. It’s the weekend, so maybe find some hot guy to take you home.”
Olivia murmured, draping herself on me from my other side. “You’ve been out of a relationship too long. You shouldn’t let the opportunity pass you by.”
I sighed and pulled away from the both of them. “Okay, first of all, you’re both heavy, so please don’t lean on me.” Emma pouted, but Olivia just shrugged. “And second, I don’t need to look for a hookup or a one night stand.”
“It doesn’t have to be one night,” Emma pointed out.
“It could be a lot of nights,” Olivia added.
I rolled my eyes at them, then chewed on my lip and thought of telling them the truth, or at least some of it. They were my best friends, after all, and if there were someone I could trust, it would be them. It should be safe enough. So I took a deep breath to tell them.
“I'm already with someone,” I said slowly.
They both blinked at me, then broke out in grins. Emma leered at me.
“Why the fuck didn’t you just tell us you found a man,” Olivia said, face lined in approval.
I shrugged. “It’s not someone you guys know, and it's fairly new.” I wasn’t sure if that was precisely true, it had been a few weeks. “He’s been keeping me busy, too, and between that and work, I’m way too tired to be going out.”
“But you’re still coming,” Emma said, giving me a stern look. “It’s Saturday tomorrow, anyway. Just go out with us, unwind, and you can sleep off your hangover tomorrow.” She giggled, and she and Olivia smacked a high five. “It
’s what we’ll be doing.”
“You assume I’m going to drink,” I said, amused.
“Of course you will! Otherwise, it won’t be as fun.”
I opened my mouth in protest, but then Emma was getting off the couch and tugging on my arm. Olivia stood, but she didn’t try to drag me off, though they were both impatient.
“You know she won’t let you say no,” Olivia told me, rolling her eyes. “I’m surprised you even expect it, knowing her.”
I groaned, then sighed as I let Emma pull me up. “All right. Because I don’t want you here annoying me the rest of the night, I’ll go out with you guys.”
“Yes!” Emma threw her arms up in triumph, and I rolled my eyes.
“Should I go change, or…?”
“Nah, you look fine,” Olivia reassure me. “It’s a really hot look on you.”
I was just wearing a blouse and a skirt, what I usually went to work in. But I trusted them, so I didn’t argue. I picked up my purse, found a different pair of shoes, and we were on our way.
We walked, and I groaned and grouched about it the whole way. My feet were killing me by the time we made it to the club and got in.
“We’re going to sit down,” I immediately declared as I went inside ahead of the both of them.
Emma whined a little, while Olivia just shrugged. “Whatever. I’ll go get us some drinks; you two find a table.”
It was still pretty early in the evening. Most clubs I went to didn’t rake in the crowds until around nine, and they stuck around until the early morning hours. I’d left work early, so it was still barely eight, and the club was packed. Finding a table was difficult, but when we finally made it, I eased down into a seat with a sigh, Emma sliding into the seat next to me.
“So,” she yelled a bit to be heard over the music. “About this guy you're seeing?”
I grimaced a little. I didn’t want to tell them too many details about Gabe, in case they found out. Lucky for me, Olivia arrived with the drinks before she could start to grill me.
I was glancing around as I took a sip of my beer, and promptly choked when I saw the last person I expected to see.
“Jasmine!” I wasn’t sure who, but one of my friends called my name out in alarm, and a hand patted my back a little too hard to help me out.
I barely paid them any attention. My eyes had to be fucking deceiving me because Gabe was there. And he wasn’t alone.
Chapter 11
Gabe
“Gabe, what are you doing? You’re here with me. I thought you were done with work, already.”
I glanced at the woman that sat next to me, draping herself against my side. Her name was Melinda, and I’d met her a while back.
Fuck, I recognised her voice immediately. She was a woman I had in my black book, not one of my favorites, but I called her first, and she happened to be available. I was regretting it already, but I’d been a little peeved when Jasmine suddenly decided she was leaving work early.
“I’m afraid it’s something important, baby,” I said, giving her a placating grin that soothed her immediately. I almost scoffed, wondering how she couldn’t notice the smile didn’t reach my eyes. “You know I wouldn’t be making calls in a club if it wasn’t imperative.”
She pouted. “Whatever, but hurry up, will you?”
She reached for her glass and took a sip of her colorful drink. I rolled my eyes, my lips flattening, as I looked back at the phone in my hand. I’d called twice already, and I made the call again, putting the phone in my ear.
Just like before, the call rang, but then cut off. I frowned down at my phone, wondering if she was ignoring me in particular, or if she wasn’t near her phone. But I’d left some time in between calls, and still nothing on the third try.
Why the fuck wasn’t she picking up?
“If whoever you’re calling isn’t available, shouldn’t you leave them alone?” Melinda said, setting her drink down and leaning into me again. One of her hands was on my shoulder, and she placed the other against my chest, rubbing in wide circles. “You need to relax, anyway. You’ve been tense since the moment you picked me up. That’s not like you.”
I snorted. I wanted to say that was what happened when your father got pulled under the FBI radar, was barely keeping himself out of prison, the damn Feds were still on your tail, and you suddenly had a job dumped on you that you never wanted but had to do anyway.
“I’ve just had a lot going on at work, lately,” was what I said instead. “Anyway, why don’t you tell me how you’ve been?”
She gave me a sultry smile and leaned closer. She placed her lips on the side of my neck, then slid up to nibble lightly on my ear. “I’d rather hear what you have going on,” she murmured. Her hand snuck inside my coat and slid down over my abs. “Or, better yet, take me home, and we can have some real fun.”
I smiled tightly. It didn’t sound as appealing as I would have hoped, though I’d called Melinda plenty of times before and had no problem taking her home for a quick—or not so quick—fuck plenty of times before. I wouldn’t call myself a relationship kind of guy, but I had no trouble if all I wanted was a little fun. Melinda was a favorite because she knew not to expect too much, and her clingy attitude when we were together usually turned me on.
Right then, though, I was not feeling it, and that was fucking odd.
“How about we stick around and drink some more,” I countered, wrapping an arm around her waist. “It’s still early.”
She bit her bottom lip and looked at me from under her eyelashes. “Are you stalling for something?”
I smiled, and again, it didn’t reach my eyes. “Of course not, baby. I told you already, I’ve had a lot going on at work. I’d like to relax a bit, drink some more…” I let the sentence trail off because I didn’t feel like taking her home that night.
Dammit.
Melinda just giggled and hugged my arm, pressing her breasts against me. “Whatever you say, honey,” she said sweetly.
I had to find some way to ditch her for the night. I cursed to myself. Why did Jasmine have to go off alone for the night, and why did it mean so much to me that I called Melinda to keep me company? Jasmine and I were fucking, plenty and often, but that was all we’d done. Well, there was the time I took her out for coffee, but I wasn’t sure that counted because we ended up at a hotel later.
Ah. It could be the time I took her out for dinner. We ended up in her apartment and had sex on her couch, then moved on to her bedroom. The morning after, before I left, I took her again in her shower. Was that when things changed, and I started taking the thing between us seriously? Or did that happen earlier?
“Should I ask how your dad’s been doing?” Melinda said, still feeling me up with her hand.
I had the urge to pull her roving hand away from me, but I left it alone.
“How about something a little less depressing. How about, what have you been doing?”
Her face lit up with a smile as her other arm squeezed around mine, and she pressed even closer to me. I was a bit surprised at her reaction, but then I remembered I didn’t usually ask about her. We talked about inconsequential shit because we always ended up in bed and then separating not long after.
So why the fuck was I initiating small talk?
“Well, this week—” she started, only to be cut off by the last voice I expected.
“Hey there, Gabe. Fancy seeing you here.”
I widened my eyes as Jasmine stepped up to my table. She was still dressed in her work outfit, though her hair was left in disarray and her cheeks were a little flushed. I assumed it was either the heat, or she had been drinking.
“Jasmine,” I said, surprised.
Of all places, I hadn't expected her to be in the club. If I’d known she’d be there, I would never have had Melinda there. A couple of women stepped up behind her, both eyeing Melinda and me suspiciously, and I assumed they were friends of hers. So she hadn't deliberately followed me to the club, though a part of
me had thought, just for a moment, that she had.
“Gabe, who is this?” Melinda asked, eyeing the three women, but specifically Jasmine in the front, with a look of distaste.
“Yeah, Gabe,” Jasmine mocked, smile going sharp. “Why don’t you tell me who she is?” she returned Melinda’s look.
I stood up slowly, trying to buy some time to think of something to say. I hadn't planned on the two women meeting at all. Rather, I never intended for Jasmine to see me with any of my previous women, and now that the situation stood as it did, I was unprepared.
“Jasmine,” I said, attempting to divert their attention. “It’s a surprise to see you here. I was just trying to call you, but you wouldn’t pick up.”
Her eyes narrowed as she pursed her lips, deciding whether to believe me or not. “My phone is in my purse,” she finally said. “Sorry, I didn’t hear it ringing. I was occupied with my friends.” She waved at the two behind her.
“Wait, Gabe, why were you calling her?” Melinda demanded, standing up beside me as she frowned. “You told me the call was for work.”
“Of course it was,” I countered, returning her frown. “This is Jasmine. She’s my secretary.”
Melinda snorted and flipped her hair. “You said it was for something urgent, so why is she out clubbing?”
I opened my mouth to respond, only for Jasmine to speak over me.
“Just your secretary, huh, Gabe?”
When I turned back to her, I almost flinched. Her expression was one of anger and I winced.
“Of course, Jasmine,” I said, tone dropping cold. “You’re my secretary. Or am I wrong? You work for me—under me, even.”
She sneered, clenching her hands into fists, and placing them on her hips. “Yeah, that’s a good description, I think. I do work for you, and I do work for you, don’t I?”
The other three women in on the conversation looked confused, but I didn’t miss the innuendo Jasmine just dropped. It was true, though, she’d been under me a lot at work. I clenched my jaw, unsure what to say so there wouldn’t be some fallout.