The Eternity that Follows (16 page)

“I can’t believe I get to spend my life with such a gorgeous,
handsome man.” Gabriella said, then giving Joey a kiss on the
check.
Joey took Gabriella into his arms and said,
“oh tell me more.” He then laughed.
“You think you’re funny, don’t you?”
“No. I’m just always laughing now that I have you in my life.”
“Aww, Joey.” Gabriella said, sweetly.
Joey pulled her close and started to kiss her sweet kisses.
He then pulled away,
“come on we’ll never get out of here if we keep this up.” Joey
said, as he shrugged his shoulders toward the bed. Gabriella
grabbed her purse and keys, and met Joey at the bedroom door as
he was waiting for her to leave. Joey took Gabriella’s hand, led
her out of her room, down the stairs and out of the house.
“You drive.” Gabriella said, throwing her keys at Joey. Joey threw
the keys back, and reminded Gabriella he didn’t have a valid
drivers license. Joey and Gabriella were now on their way to
Starbucks with Gabriella driving.
“You know, I have to get my mustang from my apartment.” Joey
said, thinking out loud.
“And just a few other things?”
“It doesn’t matter. I have all I want right here.”
“Oh Joey.”
“I love you.” Joey said. He then kissed her lightly on the side of
her face as she drove.
“I love you too, cuddle bum bear.”
“Oh is that my new nickname?”
“Yes and many more to come, you’re very cute, very good material
for a nickname.” Gabriella said.
They pulled up into the Starbucks parking lot, and Joey
informed Gabriella where to park. As Joey and Gabriella got out
of the car, Josh was walking over.
“This is yours Gabriella? Nice!”
“Yeah it’s mine.”
“Hey man! Congrats!.” Josh said.
“Thanks dude.” Joey said. Gabriella caught him blushing.
“I didn’t know this was you.” Josh said, pointing to Gabriella’s
car. “I was just coming over to see who was driving it. Didn’t
expect to see you guys.”
“Yeah figured we’d get out of the house. You want to pop this
hood with me? Mark did the work underneath. I’m dying to see
what parts he used.”
“Yeah of course I’d love to look under the hood.” Josh said, and
then he turned to look at Gabriella, “Why haven’t I seen you
around here before?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know anyone that hangs out around here.”
“Are you into cars?” Joey asked Gabriella
“Yeah. I like getting my hands dirty with them.”
“So you did some of this work under here?” Joey asked, looking
underneath the hood of Gabriella’s car.
“Well sort of, I just kind of tightened and loosened where I was
told to.”
“Oh I see.” Joey said, bursting out with laughter over how cute
Gabriella was. “Did Mark teach you about cars?”
“Sort of. Well I didn’t really pay attention. He’d sit reading car
magazines’, explaining how the catalyst converter hooked up to the
exhaust and whatever else he tried teaching me. I didn’t pay much
attention.” Gabriella said, not about to pretend she knew more
about cars then she really did.
Joey smiled at Gabriella, while he looked under the hood,
causing her to blush. Gabriella wasn’t interested in car talk.
“Joey, may I have a few dollars to go inside and get something to
drink please?” Gabriella asked, not feeling uncomfortable asking
Joey for money.
Joey gave Gabriella the money and asked for she
to buy him a drink too. He gave her his order and told her it was
what he always had at Starbucks.
While Gabriella was walking into Starbucks, Joey wouldn’t
take his eye off of her. He watched as all the boys were checking
her out.
“That ass.” Joey said to Josh. “Damn I have problems on my
hand.”
“Yeah you do have problems.” Josh said, seriously, as he too was
checking out Gabriella.
“Don’t be looking at my girl”
“What? You pointed it out.”
“Yeah but not for you to look at.”
“Then for what?”
“I don’t know. Lets just rip this car apart and throw out all the
money Mark put into it.”
“Your not really thinking about doing that, are you?”
“And if I am?”
“Joey, these are good parts. Mark didn’t cheap out or anything.”
“We’ll I’ll sell them.”
Joey and Josh analyzed the car more. Mark put in an after
market turbo kit and inter cooler. A blow-off valve and waste gate.
A cold air intake system with an after market intake manifold,
header and throttle body. An ignition system and fuel rails,
aluminum pulleys, and a strut tower brace.
“Wow.” Joey and Josh said in unison, as they were closing the
hood off the engine.
“You know, he had his hands on your girl too, are you going to rip
her to pieces too?”
“True. I guess I’ll take it as a peace offering gift.”
“It’s not your car.”
“It is now.” Joey said, as Gabriella returned with their drinks.
Gabriella handed Joey his mocha late and asked,
“it is now what?”
“You.” Joey said. Gabriella took a sip of her French Vanilla late.
“I am it is now what?”
“Mine.” Joey said, kissing her lips. “You are now what it is that’s
mine.”
“Oh well, how lucky I am.”
“I was not just thinking the same thing.” Josh joked.
“Oh no? I’m not lucky to have Joey?” Gabriella asked Josh ,then
turned to Joey to give him a sad puppy dog face.
“Nope. You don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into! Good
luck.” Josh said, seriously, walking away.
“Hey what did he mean?”
“Who knows with him?”
“Are you hiding something?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Hmm. Where’s Anna tonight?” Gabriella asked, noticing there
were only a few girls hanging around a crowd of more than twenty
guys.
“I’m not sure.” Joey said, honestly. “She’s usually here.”
“Do you think they broke up again?”
“Who knows with him?”
“Yeah who knows with him” Gabriella said, making that a new
popular line in regards to talking about Josh.
“Let’s get out of here.” Joey said.
“Really? But we haven’t mingled yet, or finished our coffee.”
“You’d rather stay?” Joey asked, playing with the bottom of
Gabriella’s dress.
“Well. I wanted to look around at the cars.”
“I’m not in the mood for people. We’ll come back another night.”
“Oh all right.”
“Is it all right if I take her for my first spin?” Joey asked, wanting
to take claim of his fiancés car in front of the crowd that had come
over to see it.
“Sure.”
“Back away everyone.” Joey warned the crowd.
Joey and Gabriella placed themselves in the car, and then
Joey made sure Gabriella was safely in her seat with her seatbelt
on. Joey peeled out of the parking lot for the audience that was
watching. He pulled out onto the main road, stopped the car with
his foot on the break and on the gas, spinning the tires causing
rubber to smoke into the air, and then let off of the brake, leaving
behind a small strip of rubber on the road. Half a mile down the
road he was pulled over. Joey’s heart sank into his stomach. The
officer came over, said hello to Gabriella and told Joey to take it
easy around his town. Joey was sure the cop recognized him. The
cops around town knew him well and not for good reasons. On the
other hand, they obviously knew Gabriella and had a liking of her.
“How did you know that cop?” Joey asked, still driving as the cop
never checked his license.
“I know almost all the cops in Mandala and Candlewood, Joey.
They come out to the bars.”
“You didn’t sleep with him or anything did you?”
“No, of course not Joey.”
“All right, well you never know.”
“Whatever. Did you want to stop at your apartment and grab your
stuff, and drive the mustang over while were out?”
“Sure. I just want to stop at the ATM first.” Joey said, already
pulling into the bank. He took out a few hundred dollars for
pocket money. He then handed a hundred and fifty dollars to
Gabriella, telling her to use it to go food shopping tomorrow
because he didn’t want to eat food her parents had spent money on.
Joey left Gabriella outside his apartment as he grabbed a
few of his things. When he came back out, Gabriella was in her
driver’s seat singing along to the radio. Joey put his stuff in his car
and walked over to Gabriella. He told her to meet him at the first
gas station you hit coming out of Candlewood, and into Mandala,
so he could play lotto. Gabriella agreed. Joey thought it cute to
pass Gabriella over the double yellow line as they drove. Gabriella
then drove close to Joey’s bumper after, not wanting to be illegal
and passing him. Although she was known for doing so.
Joey pulled up front at the convience store and Gabriella
pulled away to the side in the parking lot. As Gabriella parked she
noticed Mark and Melinda hanging out with a few of their friends.
Gabriella hoped Joey would just ignore him, but Mark was the one
to come up to him
“Dating my ex, I hear?”
“Marrying your ex, you heard wrong.” Joey said, catching an
attitude.
Gabriella spotted them talking and came over to Joey’s
side.
“Marrying?” Mark laughed. Joey started to walk away.
“I bet she doesn’t scream for you in bed like she did for me.”
Mark said. Joey went to punch Mark in the face, but Gabriella
held him back.
“Joey don’t he’s not worth it.” Gabriella said, holding Joey back
from fighting.
“He’s not?” Melinda asked Gabriella, with an attitude.
“No. Do you want your boyfriend punched in the face?” Gabriella
asked Melinda.
“Well no.”
“Yeah he’s not worth it, see.” Gabriella said, pointing out how
unintelligent her comment was.
“Whatever.” Melinda said. Then she turned to Mark and asked,
“how come your causing problems with your ex girlfriend’s
boyfriend? Do you still have feelings for her?”
Mark and Melinda started arguing. Joey wanted to stay and
hear the answer to Melinda’s question, wanting to know himself,
but Gabriella insisted he go inside, and play lotto so they could
leave. Gabriella went into the convience store with him, grabbing
a pack of gum and putting it down for Joey to pay for. Joey
smirked when she did so, he liked spending money on Gabriella.
When they got back outside, Gabriella noticed that Mark
and Melinda had left. They got back into their cars, and Gabriella
followed Joey to her house, passing him once just to say ‘I can do
that too.’ Gabriella turned Joey on, he wasn’t expecting her to be
risky when it came to driving. When they were both out of her car,
and in the driveway, Joey couldn’t help himself. He got out of his
car quickly enough to make it over to Gabriella to open her door.
“Why do you do stuff like that to me?” He asked.
“Do what stuff?”
“Things that make me crave you.”
“Just keeping you on your toes, making sure you don’t cheat.”
“Why? Would you cheat on me?”
“Never Joey.” .
“You promise?”
“Promise baby, forever.”
“Eternity?”
“Forever and the eternity that follows.”
“All right, let’s get inside. I want to make you scream my name.”
Joey joked, as he started to walk toward the front door of the
house. Gabriella held his hand back.
“You know it’s different with you Joey.” Gabriella said, wanting
Joey to know how special he was to her.
“Different how?”
“You remember how I told you I never made love to a man the
way I have with you?”
“Yes”
“I meant it.”
“You did?” Joey asked, he believed her at the time, and was
believing her now.
“I sure did. I’ve never felt this way before Joe.” Gabriella said,
calling Joey something other then Joey for the first time.
“Joe?”
“Yeah, is that okay?”
“It sure is, but only you.” Joey said, then kissing Gabriella on the
lips.
Joey and Gabriella starting making out in the front lawn,
Joey couldn’t loosen his grip when Gabriella tried to bring him
inside, and Gabriella had to force him off. “I’m just so in love
Gabriella, I just want to hold you all day long and never let go.”
“Aww Joey. Come on babe, lets go inside, and you can place your
hands anywhere you like.”
“Anywhere?” Joey asked, raising one eye brow.
“Anywhere” Gabriella winked, laughing. Joey laughed too.
Joey still couldn’t let go of Gabriella. He walked behind
her holding her tight the whole way to the front door. Once inside,
Joey asked Gabriella if he could ‘have her on her parents couch.’
Gabriella hadn’t had a choice in the matter. Joey had scooped her
into his arms, and had her naked before she even had the chance to
respond. Joey made love to Gabriella saying ‘I love you’ more
than thirty times as he kissed her everywhere on her body.
After, Joey had her put back on her dress, grabbing her bra
and underwear, and throwing on his shorts to walk up the stairs.
He knew her parents were sleeping since they got home, but he
didn’t want them to find them naked in the house.
When Gabriella reached her room, she went into the
bathroom to wash up before going to bed. Joey followed her into
the bathroom. He still didn’t want to let go of her, he held her
from behind. He followed her, holding from behind the whole way
to her bed. Gabriella kicked him out of bed, telling him to go wash
up.
Gabriella made sure the alarm was set for Joey to wake up
for the gym and work in the morning. When Joey got back to bed,
he kept Gabriella in the position on her back she was laying in, as
he put his head on her stomach to be held. Gabriella placed one
hand on Joey’s head, and the other holding tightly around his back.
Gabriella held him until he fell asleep, and then naturally rolled
him off so she could get comfortable to fall asleep. Joey wasn’t
happy Gabriella didn’t want to hold him anymore, so he laid on his
side, pulling Gabriella onto her side. He nestled his leg between
hers, wrapping his arms around her, bringing the side of her face
into his chest. Gabriella threw her arms around Joey, thankful that
he was holding up to what she said about holding each other all
night, ever night.

Joey and Gabriella woke up in the same position they had
fallen asleep in. Joey hit the alarm on the side of the bed he was
on moments after it went off. He didn’t want to get out of bed, and
leave Gabriella. Gabriella stayed awake as Joey held her tightly,
letting him sleep for a few more minutes.
“Come on, you got to get up sleepyhead.” Gabriella said. Joey
wouldn’t move. “Joey come on, get up. I’ll make you breakfast.”
“No. I don’t want to go to work today! I want to cuddle.”
“We can’t cuddle all day sweetheart.”
“Just one more hour? I’ll skip the gym!”.
“All right, if that’s what you want.” Gabriella said, liking the idea.
She didn’t want to get out of bed either.