Love Love (14 page)

The Brew House is packed this morning,
but I spot Brad immediately behind the counter. It’s hard to miss
that dimpled smile. Although, I notice he isn’t smiling today. I
make my way through the long line, pulling my earbuds from my ears,
until finally it’s my turn. “Hey, Brad.”

“
Hey, Gabby,” he says with
glassy eyes and downturned lips.

“
Are you okay?”

He looks over at Erica, his right-hand
in the shop. “Can you take over the register for a bit?”

I steer him to a nearby table. His
eyes glaze over and all I see is sadness. “What is it, Brad? What’s
going on?”

He pauses, unsure whether he wants to
continue. “It’s just that…today is the anniversary of my sister’s
death. She passed away five years ago, from breast
cancer.”

“
God, Brad, I’m so sorry. I
had no idea.”

“
It’s okay. I don’t like to
talk about it that much.”

A lone tear rolls down his cheek, and
I have a strong desire to lift my finger and wipe it away, but I
don’t. Instead, I place my hand over his, ever so briefly. I need
him to know that I understand. And I do. I really do.

He looks down at our hands, and I feel
the need to say something. “I’d love to hear about her sometime, if
you’d like. When you’re ready, that is…I’m a really great
listener.”

We sit quietly for a few minutes,
before the shop starts to get more crazy and they need him behind
the counter. Brad pats my hand and half-smiles, then goes back to
work.

When I get back to our apartment, Fran
is awake and watching re-runs of I Love Lucy. As soon as I walk in,
she turns the TV off.

I mill around our tiny kitchen, pull a
tray and some napkins from a cupboard under the microwave, arrange
our breakfast on it, and then go sit next to Fran on the sofa. “Two
special chocolate sprinkle donuts, and one caramel
latte.”

“
Thanks, hon. I appreciate
it.”

“
Anything for you. So, how
do you feel this morning?”

“
Drained. All that therapy
I went through so I could heal from that nightmare. My mother
dragged me every week for four freaking years. There’s no way I can
let him back in my life again. I don’t know what I’m going to do,
but I know that I don’t ever want to see that dirtbag again. I
don’t care how much he told my mom he’s changed. He doesn’t exist
in my life.”

“
I know, Fran. It’s going
to be okay. I promise you.” I hesitate for a second. “Have you told
Kyle about all this?”

She exhales a large breath. “No, not
yet.”

I cover her hand with mine. “I really
think you should, Fran. If your dad is serious, you’re going to
need all the support you can get.”

***

Sex on
a Sunday. That’s what I wake up thinking…There’s nothing like the
tantalizing thought of emerald eyes and wandering hands. Dane
continues to blow my mind in the sexual arena and I’m looking
forward to another round tonight. He definitely has a gift, that’s
for sure. If you can consider excelling at giving pleasure a gift.
I’ll gladly accept it anytime, no twisting of the arm
necessary.

I’ve had sex before, but he’s
certainly raised the bar. His prowess in this particular area is
not unexpected, given that he’s an Adonis. Sex appeal drips from
every sinew of his sensuous, chiseled body, like warm chocolate
pouring seductively from a fountain. Thick, hot, rich.

I need a cold shower.

My fashion stylist has chosen my dress
for the evening, and apparently it needs to be sexy with a burst of
color, like the mint green stretch satin dress with the spaghetti
straps that’s cut far above the knee. According to Fran, it shows
just the right amount of cleavage, while still leaving something to
the imagination.

I’m sitting on a chair in our
makeshift beauty salon in the bathroom, getting ready for Fran to
do my hair. I peek up at her. “So, do you think he’ll be turned on
by my day of the week undies?”

Fran’s mouth hangs open and she nearly
drops the hairbrush. “You did not!” she screams out. She’s so fun
to tease and I can’t resist.

I giggle. “Of course not! But don’t
act so offended, you used to wear them in elementary and middle
school, remember?”

A happy noise escapes her throat.
“Yeah, I remember. In fact, even then I remember Friday was my
favorite day. I seem to remember that you used to wear them too,
chickie, even in high school…”

“
They made really cute
ones! I can’t help it! I was addicted.” I look around the room
covertly and whisper, “truth be told, I still have a pair hidden
away in my keepsake box. The ones I was wearing when I lost my
virginity to Clark. It was Thursday.” I do have a tendency to save
things.

Fran looks at me like she’s either
going to vomit or burst into giggles, and I know she’s torn between
the thought of dirty underwear in my keepsake box and my
sickeningly sweet nostalgia. “Please tell me they’ve been
washed.”

“
Of course they have! I
just couldn’t throw them away. They represent something very
special to me.” I sigh and wipe away a tear.

A hint of laughter tickles her throat
before she leans down and kisses my cheek. “That’s one of the
things I love about you…you’re so sentimental.” She playfully swats
me with the hairbrush. “Okay, enough of this sentimental shit,
let’s get back to hair.”

Fran does my hair in a sexy, casual
updo with soft strands dangling on each side of my face. Neck
exposure is always good and it encourages nibbling. I like
that.

I push back on the makeup,
as usual. She wants dramatic and I want simple, so we compromise
and go heavier on my pout. Lancome lipstick in
Berry Sensual
. Seems very
fitting.

Fran spins me around, then stands
back. “You look amazing, Gabby.”

“
Thanks,” I
mumble.

“
I don’t get you, Gabby.
Why don’t you seem excited? Dane is super hot, he’s rich, he wines
and dines you…”

I feel like pulling my hair down and
ripping off these clothes already. “Fran, the sex is definitely
hot, and he totally turns me on, but you know this is just a
physical thing…a good distraction.”

Her hands immediately go to her hips
and her foot starts that tapping thing. “Does Dane know that Gabby?
I mean, why don’t you open yourself up? Who knows what could
happen?”

Staring down at the carpet, I tell her
“He’s just…”

She cuts me off. “Stop thinking so
much, and just enjoy yourself. Leave yourself open to
possibility.”

The truth is that I don’t see
possibility. I don’t really connect with Dane on anything other
than sex. It’s hard to admit, even to myself that he’s just a “fuck
buddy.” At the same time though it’s kind of nice not to have to
worry about an attachment.

Taking one last glance in the mirror,
I hardly recognize my reflection. I’m not even sure I like who I
see. It doesn’t look like me. Oh well.

When I get to Dane’s hotel, a tingling
excitement comes over me, and I already feel a dampness between my
thighs. Eyeing his hotel room door, it feels like I’m about to
enter the dragon’s lair. I knock once and wait for the dragon to
appear. Unfortunately, when he does, he looks less like a mythical
beast and more like a dashing knight. He’s wearing his trademark
black pants and a green button-down shirt that reveals a tiny bit
of tanned skin. We match perfectly, almost as if we planned
it.

“
Gabby, you look absolutely
breathtaking.” He runs a hand casually from my neck to the hem of
my extremely short dress.

My whole body shivers.

He invites me into his suite and I
immediately notice the table for two complete with white linen
tablecloth, candlelight and a bottle of champagne. Very Dane.
Taking my hand, he leads me over to the table and pulls out my
chair. Always the gentleman, at least for the time
being.

I take in our surroundings. “Wow,
Dane, you went all out tonight.”

He reaches for my hand and drops a
kiss on my palm. “I wanted it to be special for you.”

We dine on a luscious meal of brown
butter scallops over linguini which is seriously to die for. As we
eat, Dane talks a lot about his work…again.

“
I just landed this big
client that the agency’s been trying to snag for the past two
years. I was able to put a unique spin on their marketing strategy.
We had a meeting the other day and I laid out several concepts.
They were extremely impressed and now they’re hooked.”

Actually, Dane talks about himself a
lot. Maybe I’ve just been ignoring it, but the evidence is glaring
tonight. He’s pretty self-absorbed. This seems to be a recurring
theme in my life; my mom, my dad, my sister. As he continues to
talk, I try to appear attentive, though I’ve completely zoned out.
I’m wondering if the hotel has any chocolate cake for
dessert.

“
Gabby?” he finally asks,
bringing me out of my fog.

“
Yes.”

“
Am I boring
you?”

Yes, very much. “No, not at all. I
enjoy hearing about your work. It’s very interesting.”

“
Would you like some more
champagne?”

You don’t have to get me drunk, I’m
pretty much a sure thing. “That’d be great, thanks.”

After pouring more champagne, Dane
stands and extends his hand. Before I’m even up on my feet, he
descends on me like a wild animal. He’s no longer a knight. His
hands are fisting in my hair and his tongue engulfs mine with bold,
fiery licks. Hot, heavy breaths fall into my mouth as he continues
his onslaught. I feel his hands all over my body…stroking,
touching, and squeezing while his rock hard chest pushes against
the fullness of my breasts. He turns me on and fills me with a
desperate lust that I seem to need right now. Panting heavily, I
roll my hips against his, begging him with my body to seduce me. He
answers by slowly sliding the thin straps of satin down my heated
arms, then slipping the soft fabric down past my breasts, past my
hips, until it drops to the floor. I’m not wearing a bra. His eyes
are immediately riveted to my chest and he licks his lips, pulling
me harder against him so I feel every inch of his arousal. Small
moans leave my lips and I hear him gasp as he whispers, "your tits
are fucking amazing." His words and the burst of air leaving his
mouth bounce off my skin, making me hot and wet between my
legs.

I unbutton his shirt as he rolls his
thumb and forefinger over my nipples, squeezing ever so lightly and
causing me to whimper.

“
I want to taste those
sweet nipples,” he says, lowering his head and taking me in his
mouth.

I stifle a giggle at his words.
There’s dirty talk and then there’s porno talk. He’s walking a fine
line.

His breathing quickens and I inhale
the soft, spicy scent wafting through the air as my fingertips
scrape his chest, glide the linen fabric off, and toss it to the
ground. My eyes move lower and I see that his pants have already
joined his shirt, his arousal bulging through the seam of his
shorts. Pressing his eager body against mine, my thighs are
suddenly aching for him.