by Laura Brown
What was stopping him from asking permission to join her on the bed?
One simple technicality: according to his family, he was still engaged. He had no right to pursue anything real with another person before he tied off all the lies and ended the clusterfuck of a mess with Monica. If the lure held once things calmed down, and his balls were freed from Monica’s short nailed clutch, then perhaps he could see where things led with Gaby.
Until then, stiff floor, his personal friend.
Eventually sleep claimed him, but thoughts of Gaby filtered in, filling his dreams with mouths meshing, hands roaming, and the hot and dirty type of sex his mind craved.
He’d made it to a particularly interesting portion of the dream, with Gaby kissing down his stomach, a glint in her eyes promising lots of fun for his throbbing erection, when an impact jarred him awake. Or jarred him into a reality. Because much like his dream, a warm body lay on top of him, and damned if he wasn’t interested in turning the dream into a little reality.
Somehow, Gaby had fallen on top of him, and his sleep mussed brain liked this wake up far too much.
His hands went to her sides, the warmth of her skin seeping through her sleep shirt. The morning light glowed on her face, accentuating the amber in her eyes. Her gaze soaked him up, roaming over his face, like she liked this wake up as much as he did. He pulled her closer, knowing damn well he was rock hard, and maybe they could take care of that—
Her eyes widened, and his ego took a huge hit when she pushed off him and raced out of the room. He lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, hands in his hair. Reality was a bitch. Had he really scared her that much? If it was an alarm of some sort, he’d be clueless in a home not set up with visual notifications.
The air didn’t appear to carry any smoke, so he banked on not being caught in a fire and left to burn. He pushed himself up, ran a hand through his hair, and fixed his morning wood to a hidden state.
The hall outside Gaby’s room held no clues to the emergency, so he ventured toward the front of the house, finding Gaby and Anne in the kitchen. The dog lay in his kennel, head on his paws, giving off the saddest set of “I didn’t mean to” eyes he’d ever seen. Anne wore a robe and her hair looked disheveled, and he didn’t know if the dog had done something or if he’d picked up off of Anne’s distressed vibe.
Gaby counteracted that vibe. Her messed up hair and the slight indent of a pillow or blanket against her cheek somehow hit him low in his gut. He wanted to be responsible for both, but only in his dreams had he been. Then her eyes met his and her gaze roamed over his body, heating him up inside and out and making him grateful he’d trapped his dick in his underwear band. She looked at him as though she liked what she saw, as though he was her real boyfriend, and he wanted to drag her back to her room and show her how real he could be.
She waved him over to the sink, and he took tentative steps into the room, until he found the cause for the early wake up: an empty carcass of a turkey. His eyes went wide and he darted his gaze over to the dog, who pushed his nose under his paw. The dog ate the entire turkey? Still frozen, too, as the icicle left in the sink claimed. The absurdity of the moment hit him, the humor building deep inside as he tried to hold it in. Anne wouldn’t find the humor with her dinner in the dog’s belly, but, goodness. Who ate an entire frozen turkey?
He pointed to the dog and mimed more than signed eating something large, “I can’t believe the dog did that.”
He faced Bengi, whose mouth opened in a bark, tail wagging and shaking the kennel, clearly proud of his work. Gaby’s lips twitched, the humor reaching her eyes, and Levi fought harder to keep his in check, knowing it to be a losing battle.
Gaby said something, flapping a hand against his shoulder. That broke his restraint and he doubled over, laughing, unable to help it at the absurdity of the moment. And then Gaby’s entire face lightened with laughter, joining him. Somehow, it was a sexier moment than anything in his dreams. “Where did the dog put the turkey?” The Italian greyhound was as lean and fit as a greyhound could be, no evidence of the missing turkey anywhere but the sink.
He wanted to reach out and touch Gaby, feel her laughter, but he kept himself together to at least that degree. The dog’s tail-wagging continued to shake his cage, but Anne held none of their mirth, grabbing a piece of paper. He worked at swallowing his laughter, not wanting to be an ungrateful guest laughing at the host’s misfortune.
Anne spoke as she wrote something down, and Gaby listened, laugher fading. She took the paper and held it up to Levi. He caught descriptions on what kind of turkey they’d had before Gaby placed two hands on his shoulders and turned him toward the hall.
If this was how Passover started, the day promised to be an interesting one.
When her door closed behind them, Levi collapsed to the bed, the simmering laughter rising to the surface again. Until he caught Gaby standing there, no longer laughing. He rolled over, dangling at the side of her bed, reached for his phone, and pulled it out of the charger.
Levi: What’s wrong?
Gaby unplugged her phone from its charger and then typed her response.
Gaby: Not used to hearing you make sounds.
Levi: Was I too loud? I never know if I’m loud or soft, not unless someone tells me.
She shook her head as she read, and he relaxed.
Gaby: You weren’t loud.
He studied her face, looking for some signal of what bothered her but finding none.
Levi: Is that a problem?
Gaby: Not at all. And it’s early, there hasn’t been coffee yet, and my mother’s shrieks woke me. And on the topic of turkey, I need to buy a new one the dog hasn’t eaten.
He hadn’t been able to help with much, but this small job he could handle.
Levi: Let me quickly freshen up and I’ll get the turkey. Just tell me where to go.
He moved to collect his stuff, and when he faced her, she turned her phone so he could read.
Gaby: You don’t have to do that, I can go.
He knew damn well he was the disposable person here. He tucked his belongings under his arm and used her phone to respond.
Levi: I don’t mind, and your mom might need help getting started on other things or taking care of the dog.
She nodded, that bottom lip getting caught by her upper teeth again. He didn’t know what swirled around in her head. It shouldn’t matter—they weren’t really an item—but he wanted to know, he wanted to understand her. She collected her phone, and he hoped for some tidbit into her thoughts.
Gaby: Thank you. I know you didn’t sign up for this.
He didn’t have a response, so he handed her back her phone, thumb brushing her cheek. As though he got her and she got him and helping each other was just something natural they did. And even though no words passed between them, he’d bet his left nut she got him.
Then his hand slid away, and he headed for the bathroom before he did something foolish, like pull her in for a kiss. He dropped his items to the counter and cranked the shower to cold as he stripped down to nothing. His freed dick pointed like a damn dog, but it didn’t want his hand, it wanted Gaby.
Hell of time to want his fake date. He stepped under the cool spray, willing his body to take a hint, unable to get the look in her eyes out of his damn mind. She wanted him, too—he knew it and she knew it.
Nothing could happen. He was still tangled up in the whole Monica thing; he wouldn’t tangle Gaby up in it, too. He needed to get that taken care of before he even considered anything else. He’d text her later, find out the status, even though the lack of messages from his family meant she hadn’t revealed the truth yet. Once she did, he expected his phone to blow up with questions, or worse.
At least thoughts of Monica and his family took care of his erection.
Ten minutes later, Levi walked down the aisle at the local food s
tore, paper in hand for what Anne needed him to get. It appeared the dog had had an organic, free-range, antibiotic-free midnight snack. The rest of them would get whatever Levi could find to feed them all.
He was all for healthy food, for the body and the environment, not to mention humane for the animals, but something ticked in the back of his mind. Gaby had mentioned her ex was a bit of a health nut, which meant that he and Anne would have encouraged each other, potentially leaving Gaby in the dust.
He wanted to do something to balance it out but wasn’t quite sure how, especially with his limited communication abilities. He did find the kosher for Passover section and rummaged over the remaining sweet options. Containers of macaroons lined the shelves, but he wasn’t the biggest coconut fan. There were cake and brownie mix boxes, too, but he wouldn’t have room to bake with Anne using the kitchen.
Running out of options on something nice to do for Gaby, ignoring the reason why he had the urge to do this on top of getting the turkey, he settled on the fruit-flavored jelly slices. A staple of his Passovers growing up. He didn’t know Gaby well enough to know if she’d like these or not, but someone else at the Seder might.
Fruit jellies in hand, he found the turkeys. They didn’t check all the marks Anne had wanted, but the free-range had the right serving size, and in a pinch, he’d go for humane over organic, even if the two should go hand-in-hand, in his opinion.
He pulled out his phone as he made his way to the cashier.
Levi: How’s the dog?
When he’d left, Anne had been waiting on a call back from the vet to make sure the dog would be okay.
Gaby: Mom has to watch his stools and go light on his food, but he should live.
Levi: That’s good.
Gaby: The dog knows it, too. He keeps following Mom around the house, tail between his legs, eyes amped up on the cuteness.
Levi could picture it, too, Bengi had started with the eyes before he left.
Levi: Anything else I need to get at the store?
Gaby: Besides Xanax?
Levi: It’s not that bad.
Gaby: The day is still young. Please tell me your family has these types of hijinks.
He didn’t consider the “lump the deafies together” thing to be hijinks. More a stifling attempt at control. Or maybe the one with the control issue was Monica and her pilfering of his ring. Not a game of keep away he wanted to play; he’d rather tackle the dog for the frozen turkey. Wouldn’t Gaby love to read that? Well, my ex-fiancée is currently parading around the Seder as my still-fiancée and the only soul alive who knows she’s my ex is my best friend. Getting into that can of worms was not on his agenda.
Levi: My family has their own issues, but today is about yours.
He put his phone away when he got to the checkout, unable to help the troubled feeling now rolling through him. The cashier looked at him, so he must have missed something. He pointed to his ear and shook his head, and her eyes grew wide. She fumbled around, picking up a plastic bag. Ahh, the age old “paper or plastic” question. He pointed to the paper bag, and she breathed in relief.
After the turkey and jellies were scanned, she pointed to the total on the screen, and he swiped his credit card. Anne had given him money, but he’d slip that back to her later. She was feeding and housing him for the weekend, so the least he could do was help out.
Back at the house, he found the dog on a leash in the yard, head on his paws, woe-is-me expression on his face. He perked up when Levi got out of the car, tail wagging.
“No more turkey for you,” he signed, holding the bag tight against him as he made his way up the steps.
He let himself into the house and up the stairs to the kitchen. Gaby and her mother bustled about, and he held out the bag. Gaby spied him first and her mouth moved, wide grin on her face as she took the bag from him.
Anne turned and spoke, relief evident in the way her forehead relaxed at his presence. She took the turkey from her daughter, and more mouth moving occurred, the two working together to catch up on lost cooking time. Levi backed out of the kitchen. He wanted to help, but much like at his parents’ house, the lack of communication meant he’d just be in the way.
Before he could leave, Gaby turned to him and held up a thumb. The turkey must have passed inspection. She then moved over to him and flung her arms around him, holding him tight. Her berry scent enveloped him, the smell of fresh shampoo and body soap and Gaby, and he wanted to bury his head into her neck and never let go. But when her grip loosened, he forced himself to step back.
“Thank you,” she signed, before turning back to her mother.
He wanted to pull her back to him, see what other ways she could thank him, especially with her recently showered smells teasing his nostrils and bringing to mind images he shouldn’t be thinking of. He shook his head. Fake girlfriend. He backed into the hall and headed to her room. Time to stop thinking of what she looked like with water dripping down her body, before he did something he couldn’t take back.
…
By early afternoon the turkey was in the oven and other food prepped and ready to go. Gaby returned to her room in search of Levi and to change out of the clothes she’d worn while cooking for the Seder.
She found him with the door open, settled on her bed, a laptop on his lap. He wore a blue dress shirt open at the collar and khaki pants. Gaby had only seen him in workout clothes or jeans and this business casual side of him set her all abuzz. The dog wedged into his side, masquerading as an unofficial armrest. Cute, damn cute. How did one sign “cute”?
Levi glanced up and shrugged, lifting a hand off the dog. Bengi gave him such a look that he immediately returned the arm.
Gaby laughed and figured, what the hell. “C-U-T-E.”
Levi held up two fingers and swiped them against his chin twice. “C-U-T-E.”
Gaby did her best to copy his motion, and at his thumbs-up she figured she managed something passable. She had no idea how long she’d be able to retain these random signs she learned, but for the first time in her life, learning a foreign language didn’t feel so daunting.
She climbed onto the bed, and the dog promptly put his head in her lap. Levi closed his laptop, and she pointed to it. “What?” Best she could figure to ask what he had been doing.
“W-O-R-K.”
“Oh, I can…” She shook her head. There she went, talking to him as if he could hear. Again. She gestured to herself and then to the hall, asking if she had to leave. Or trying to.
Levi shook his head and picked up his phone.
Levi: No. It’s fine. I was just getting some work done while things were quiet. Everything okay in the kitchen?
Gaby: Yup. Turkey should be ready close enough to on time and we got the other food prepared.
She bit her lip and looked at him. She still hadn’t explained Passover food yet.
Gaby: The food is a bit different. Passover involves not using anything that rises when cooked, basically breads and other grains, and a lot of eggs get substituted, so the food can be heavy. There is some regular bread left in the kitchen if it becomes too much.
He shook his head as he typed, but Gaby was distracted by a sound in the hall. Bengi jumped up and headed to the doorway, where her mother appeared.
“Sorry to interrupt,” she said. “Your aunt is on the way, so I’m going to freshen up, but the soup needs some checking and—”
“No problem, I’m on it.” Gaby slid off the bed. She waved to Levi, then typed a quick message to explain what happened. Her mother and Bengi went into her room while Gaby went to the kitchen and attended to the soup simmering low over one of the burners. She stirred and tested the carrots when the doorbell rang. She pulled her phone from her back pocket.
Gaby: Guests are here but take your time. I’ll get you when needed.
Through the front window, she saw
her aunt’s short red hair. She opened the door and zeroed in on the container in her aunt’s hands. “Is that what I think it is?”
Her aunt laughed and entered the house. “Would your mother let me come to Passover without my flourless brownies?”
Gaby took the container as her aunt dropped her overnight bag to the floor. “Well, you are family.”
Her aunt gave her a hug, enveloping her in the scent of designer perfume and cushioning her in a tight embrace. Family could be a bit much at times, but there was nothing like a hug from her Aunt Faith.
They headed into the kitchen, and she set the dessert down. Her aunt rubbed her hands together. “So, where is that new boy of yours?” Before Gaby could open her mouth, her aunt continued. “I was so happy you moved on from that Tom. Oh, I know your mother adored him, but you can do better. And I’m here to make sure you do.”
Gaby forced a smile. Fooling her mother and sister would be easy. Fooling her aunt? Not so much. Aunt Faith had truth radar that any government official would covet—or fear. Which meant she had made one major oversight in this whole scheme, and it was about to come tumbling down around her shoulders.
“He’s getting a little work done before the Seder,” Gaby said.
“And your mom mentioned he’s deaf? No offense, but Izzy is more of the charity date type, liking those that pose a challenge for her.” Her aunt tilted her head to the side.
Gaby’s hand tightened into a fist. “Levi is not charity.”
Her aunt leaned back and crossed her arms. “I see.”
“What does that mean?” Could Gaby leave now, or would that be rude?
“Just learning a new language on a whim, that’s Izzy. You like things much more orderly, which is why you hooked up with Tom in the first place, and that wasn’t what you needed. If this guy pushes you out of your comfort zone, then I’m on Team Levi.”