~*~
The following evening, at seven on the dot, I knocked on Mel’s apartment door. When it swung open and she greeted me with that bright smile of hers, my heart thumped and then stopped for a minute. She literally took my breath away. “You look amazing,” I told her as I took in the fact that she was wearing a little red dress. The sleeves of the thing just barely covered the caps of her shoulders and the neckline plunged just enough that her cleavage was enticing, but not obscene. She was the epitome of class and sexiness. The heels were a bit much though, because if I were being honest with myself, all I could picture were those gorgeous legs of hers wrapped around my back as the heels of those shoes dug into my ass.
“You look pretty handsome yourself, Gabriel,” she answered in that sassy way of hers. “So, where are you taking me?”
“I thought we’d go get some dinner and take it from there. Did you need a copy of my license plate, driver’s license, or anything else to send to a friend, just in case you go missing?” I teased her, knowing she had been on the receiving end of those types of texts from her friend back in New York.
“I think I’ll take my chance this time,” was her shy response as she grabbed a sweater to carry with her.
“It’s pretty warm out.”
“Yeah, but you never know with restaurants. Some of them are uncomfortably cold.”
“I suppose so,” I told her as I moved close enough that I could run a finger from her shoulder down her bicep to where the bend of her elbow began. “Shame to cover all this up but do what you must to stay comfortable.” I didn’t miss the shiver that ran up her body, or the way the hair on her arm stood at attention. “Shall we?” I asked as I offered her my arm.
“Yes,” she began to say and then she noticed. “Where’s your cane?”
“Didn’t want it to cramp my style tonight. Besides, I’ve been doing the exercises a good friend of mine showed me,” I explained as I winked at her.
“That’s good. Your friend is probably way smarter than you.”
That made me laugh. “She’s definitely smarter than me.”
We ended up at a quaint little Mexican restaurant where I ordered chicken tacos, and Mel laughed at me for it. “What, I’ve had a craving ever since the grocery store.”
“You are too much, Gabriel Northman.”
“I like that,” I told her.
“What? The chicken tacos?”
“No. The fact that you know me as the man, Gabriel Northman, and not just the other part of me.”
Melanie smiled before taking another sip of her drink. “I always knew you as the man first.”
“That’s part of what made me fall so hard for you,” I informed her. The resulting blush that stole across her cheeks was a white-hot reminder of our one night we managed to spend together and the time that I watched that blush sweep up her body to settle prominently in her face.
“How has life been treating you lately?” She finally asked, as if slightly uncomfortable at the reminder of me falling for her and fucking it up enough that we were starting over here. Then again, that might have been my own insecurities talking. Where Mel was concerned, I worried that I’d screw it all up again without even trying to.
“It’s been quiet. Everyone left shortly after you did.”
“What do you mean everyone left? Where has Chevy been? Why did he leave?”
“It’s okay. He didn’t leave permanently. At least, not yet. He’s been spending more time with his brothers lately. I’m guessing they’ll be coming around more here soon, since they asked for some time in my studio.”
She beamed with pride then. “Are you going to help them record?”
“I am. John’s going to be back to help out with it too.”
“Did he go back to LA?”
“Yeah, there was an emergency there with his wife, and I think he’s trying to convince her to move to Georgia now.”
“How is it that I still haven’t met this elusive wife of his?”
“Jade is John’s best friend from childhood. They lost touch for a while, some bad shit went down, he won the girl, and then after a few years, he screwed it up again. It wasn’t even a bad decision on his part. It was more so not acting quick enough when a conniving bitch was around. They’ve been on rocky terrain since, but I have faith in them.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“They love one another.” I told her, as if that one emotion could fix anything that was wrong in a relationship.
“You don’t sound so sure though.”
I shrugged. “I think that she was always in love with him and he never saw her that way until it was too late, and he lost his chance. She ended up marrying someone else before John got off his ass to do anything about it.”
“Um, is she still married to someone else? I thought you called her his wife?”
I shook my head and laughed. “John would be having a field day with this if he knew you were really this clueless about all of us. Some of this played out in the headlines a few years ago, when they finally got back together.” She just smiled at me and shrugged her shoulders. “Her new husband put his foot down about John. Didn’t like him coming around, trying to win her back. Can’t say I blame the guy. To be honest, I’m sure John was making a difficult situation worse for Jade at the time. Eventually, things broke between them. I’m not sure what the straw was, but when it broke, it took a long time to get my best friend back. He was lost to a pretty dark place for a while.”
“That’s awful. So, how did they end up back together if she was married to someone else?”
“That is a long story, and not mine to tell.”
“I can respect that.” Mel leaned in, got closer to me and then asked about everyone else. “Last I knew, you had a full house of people there with you. What happened to everyone else?”
“Tim left the same day you did. He hasn’t mentioned whether he’ll make the swap to the east coast or not. I think he’s waiting on something back in LA that might never happen.” I took a sip of my drink and then carried on, filling Mel in on where Wen and Alyssa were living now, how Calista refused to come stay with them, and that I wasn’t sure if they were going to work things out after everything that went down. Then we talked about her, the new job, and what it was like to work on the set of such a popular television series.
Once both of our plates were cleared, trepidation set in. “Would you be willing to accompany me on a walk?”
“Sure, after this dinner, my ass would probably thank me for it,” she joked.
“There’s not a damn thing wrong with your fine ass,” I told her, in all seriousness.
She grinned at me. “Thanks for my ego boost of the day.”
“Were you really ever in need of one?”
“Well, I do work around starving actresses all day.” Again, I could hear the playfulness in her voice, but it was a trap I didn’t want her to fall into while working around the industry.
“I hope you don’t compare yourself to them and find anything lacking,” I told her. “I know this is a fresh start, a new first date for us, but I remember the night we had together as if it were burned into my damn retinas. I’m unable to stop seeing just how perfect I thought you were, your body, your everything. So, please, don’t let their issues claim space in your head, because you are a goddess among them. They don’t realize you’re the perfect look they should be striving for.”
She stopped mid-step and just gaped at me. “Well, if I was ever having any doubts about myself, I think that would have cured me. Rest assured, Gabe, I like myself just fine the way I am. Thank you though, for seeing me as perfect in a society that would paint me as flawed for having hips too big, an ass that has to be wrestled into my jeans some days and…” I couldn’t help the laughter that came out with her imagery. “Oh! Now, he laughs at me!” She was teasing and it was such a beautiful fucking sight to see her laugh so freely.
“Sorry, I was picturing you wrestling your ass into your
jeans, only it was more a cartoon skit than the sexy one I should be playing in my mind, especially with how you look in that dress tonight.”
“If you think flattery is going to get you back in my panties, you’re probably not wrong,” Mel mentioned as she batted her thick, black lashes at me.
“I don’t want back in your panties just yet,” I informed her.
“No? Then what do you want?”
“I want back in your heart.”
Her gasp, despite the attempt she made to hide it, might as well have been a symphony playing in my mind. I guess she had underestimated exactly what I was after with this fresh start. She’d see. Our walk was cut short the minute one person recognized me. Pictures were being taken of Mel and me together, and I knew we were out of time on our little excursion.
Instead of finishing our walk under the stars, we managed to tuck into a waiting car and head back to Mel’s apartment. There, I left her at the door with a simple kiss goodbye and a promise that this was just the beginning.
23 – Swoon Worthy
Amanda finally found the time to come visit me in Georgia. “It’s been too long,” I told her, once more, as we both sat with our feet tucked under our legs on the fluffiest, comfiest couch in the world. It was the one I loved so much from Gabe’s living room. When I’d found the apartment, he had sent someone with the couch so that I would have at least one piece of furniture to start out with in my new life that didn’t remind me of the old one I’d left behind in New York.
It had been a sweet gesture, and one that insured that I thought of him every time I sunk into the cozy feel of it. “It has. Honestly?” My best friend asked me.
“Tell me anything and everything.”
“I’ve been thinking of making the move myself,” she admitted.
“Leave New York?” There was no hiding my absolute shock at her words. “Are you serious?”
“I know my family is there, but I only see them on holidays as it is because everyone is too busy hustling to make enough money to live in a decent place. What’s the point? Besides, look at this lovely apartment, and for a fraction of the cost of the little closet I live in back home.” She was right about that. The difference in housing, cost, and even the quality of life here were vastly different than back there in the city. “Plus, my bestie is here, and I’m sure you’re developing quite the network now that you finally found a job.”
“What has you wanting to run, Amanda?”
She huffed at me. “I met someone. A fellow nurse,” she admitted. “She’s moving to Atlanta to be near her ailing mother.” It didn’t surprise me that Amanda had moved on to a woman in this relationship. I had known from the beginning that she was bisexual. What did surprise me was that the relationship had progressed enough that she was willing to follow someone here.
“I missed a lot while I was away,” I told her.
“We were swept up in the newness of everything and then the rawness,” she admitted. “It’s part of why I came now, to catch you up, to find out about you, and to check out the possibilities here.”
“I’d say the ball is in your court as far as possibilities go.” We chatted a while about her new love, Sarah. Then she turned everything back around to me. “What about you? What’s been happening?”
So, that was when I broke down and filled my best friend in on everything that had gone down since I moved to Georgia. I included the last three dates that Gabe and I had gone on. All three of which had ended with a simple kiss at the end. “What the hell does that mean? Is it his way of saying he just wants to be friends? Have I been friend zoned?” I asked in a panicked tone when I finally finished.
Amanda laughed at me. “You really think he’s gone through all this trouble, after telling you he wants in your heart, not your panties, just to friend zone you?”
“I honestly don’t know what to think. He’s a freaking rock star. Shouldn’t they want to leap into bed first and see where the chips fall after?” I knew that was a horrible way to think of things, but I couldn’t help the doubt that had seeped in.
“Melanie, stop it. I understand the knee jerk reaction you’re having, considering what took place, but sweetheart, you’ve missed the point. You haven’t been dating a rock star. You, my dear friend, have been dating the man. The man that had to gain your trust back. The same one that told you he was waiting for you to let him back into your heart. Don’t you think maybe he’s waiting for you to greenlight the next step?”
“What?” The word tumbled free of my lips before I could pull it back. Could she be right? “Do you really think that’s what he’s been doing?”
“Duh!” Was all she said in response. “I’m grabbing another margarita, you want a refill?”
“Of course I do, now that your brilliant brain made me see the light. I have some plans to make. I think it’s best that it happened while my defenses are down a bit.”
Amanda laughed at me. “That’s my girl. Now, let’s get drunk and plan exactly how you’re going to get back in that sexy-as-fuck man’s pants!”
~*~
The next night, I had another date with Gabe while Amanda went to meet up with her girlfriend. We went to see a movie that one of the girls on the set I worked on recommended. The only redeeming factor for the film was that it had a few steamy scenes. The movie might have been better than I thought, but nerves had me so preoccupied that I just couldn’t really pay attention.
“You seemed distracted,” Gabe mentioned as we quickly moved out of the theater, hoping to avoid him being noticed by anyone.
“I am, a bit. Do you mind if I just take you back home?” I had driven that night in order to show off the new car I purchased. While living in New York, it had been impossible to own a car because I had absolutely nowhere to park the damn thing and spaces there went for a premium. We hopped into my Buick Encore, or what I’d explained to Gabe was the ‘cheap man’s luxury vehicle’. It appeared high end with all its bells and whistles, even though it was closer to twenty thousand dollars than thirty.
“Are you sure nothing’s wrong?” Gabe asked as we drove.
“I hope not. There are just a few things on my mind is all.”
We drove the rest of the way in relative silence as Gabe watched the scenery pass by outside the window. He refused to look at me again, and I began to wonder if I hadn’t let my nerves ruin the entire night. I was previously married. My birthday was just around the corner. I was about to hit the big 3-5, and I couldn’t keep my nerves under wraps for one freaking date. If I could have split down the middle to form two people at that moment, my bad-ass self would have slapped the shit out of Downer Debbie me.
Once we got to his house, I turned the car off and walked Gabe to the door. My palms were sweating, heart was beating about a thousand miles a minute, and I felt like I might pee myself, if I was being honest. Still, I managed to do what had to be done. Whereas he had been leaving me at the doorstep with just a quick brush of lips and simple kisses, I was about to rock his world. I just hoped he was okay with that.
So, when he turned to say something to me as he got the door opened, I went for it. I raised up on my tippy toes while simultaneously reaching up to grasp around the back of his neck and pull him down to me. He came willingly, even though it was obvious I’d surprised him. Gabe’s mouth met mine, and thankfully for my purposes, his lips had been slightly parted already since I caught him about to say something. I shoved my tongue right inside and slid it as seductively as one can manage right across his own and then I licked his lips and went back for more. He was stunned at first, but once he realized what was happening, Gabe’s tongue tangled with mine. His arms wrapped around my waist, and he lifted me so that we were no longer awkwardly stretching and bending to go at one another. I lifted as he tugged me up and wrapped my legs around his hips as my hands attempted to tangle in his hair. Unfortunately, he’d cut it recently, so I just had to settle for brushing my nails along the close-cropped bristles that were left.
“Stop,” I panted into his mouth. “You need to let me down,” I warned.
“I never want to let you down again, Mel.”
I smiled into his kiss then, before slowly trailing my hands around and down his cheeks, to his neck, and across his shoulders. Then I squeezed a bit and allowed my legs to drop so that I was basically dead weight hanging there until he finally let my body slide down his own until my toes could touch the ground again. I didn’t miss the grind of his hardened cock against my body as that happened.
“I want this to continue, but I don’t want to hurt you. So, let’s be smart about it, okay?” I asked.
“Oh, thank fuck! I thought I’d gone too far, and you regretted it already.”
Laughter bubbled free from me then. “Seriously? Gabe, I’ve been wondering what the hell was wrong with me. I thought maybe you had friend zoned me or something. Four dates and only a quick, stolen kiss at the end of each?” I asked the question lacing each word with the disbelief and doubt I’d felt. “We’re in our 30s, not dead.”
It was Gabe’s turn to laugh then. “Fuck, even when I’m trying to do right, I’m screwing it all up. I just wanted you to know that it was about more than just the physical stuff. I fell for you long before we went there…”
“Right. Long before. I know we’re starting anew, but the truth is, we’re not new. It’s been months and I just want to feel you, be with you again. Do you think we can manage that?”
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