The Eternity that Follows (29 page)

Joey himself was pleased to read the message Gabriella had
written back to Jemma. He didn’t want Gabriella to have to do
anything with Jemma, feeling she wasn't the best influential friend
or emotional supporter for Gabriella. Joey decided to get a feel for
Gabriella’s mood.
“So, you think Josephine believes that Jemma didn’t do anything
with Vinny that night?”
“I hope not. Maybe she didn’t do anything.” Gabriella said
restlessly.

Joey sensed she would rather not discuss this now.
“Gab?” Joey asked, as Gabriella turned on her side to fall asleep.
“Yes Joey?” Gabriella asked, staying on her side.
“You love me?”
“Of course, forever.”
“You want to show me?”
“Not really.” Gabriella admitted.

Joey lifted Gabriella’s shirt to tickle her back.
“Is that because you’re mad at me?”
“I’m not mad at you.”
“I know your bored home all day without me.”
“I have school starting soon.”
“So you won’t have time for my babies?”
“Oh, I’ll have time to raise your babies.”
“Do you want to make a baby tonight?” Joey asked, while giving
Gabriella several kisses on her neck.
“No babies tonight, Joey.”
“So, no sex?”
“I didn’t say that.” Gabriella said, turning around because Joey
had managed to put her in the mood.

Joey made sweet love to Gabriella, expressing the passion
and warmth his heart held inside for her. Gabriella held Joey’s
body tight to show, she too had the same passion and warmth in
her own heart. Joey knew he had become Gabriella’s everything as
she slowly kissed him, sitting up, and slowly turning him onto his
back. Gabriella showed Joey her sexual attraction for him, while
using him to hit her pleasure spot. Joey realized Gabriella was
doing more then just pleasing herself, as she slowed down her
sped, giving him what felt like a thousand kisses upon his face.

Gabriella was the one to hold tightly that night. Gabriella
placed one hand under Joey’s head, cradling, as the other held with
a tight grip around his neck. She placed the side of her face onto
his chests, listening to his heart beat, then falling into a peaceful
sleep.

When Joey and Gabriella woke up on Friday morning, she
was still holding him tightly in the same position they had fallen
asleep in. Joey woke up a few minutes before the alarm,
strengthening his hold on Gabriella. With his arms wrapped
around her waist, he squeezed, holding tight for a few minutes. He
then gracefully turned Gabriella off his chest, while she lifelessly
let go of the hold she had around his neck. Joey held Gabriella for
a moment from behind, as to make sure she wouldn’t wake up,
when he moved his arm out from under her side. When he was
standing out of bed, he sighed in relief he hadn’t woken her up. He
then turned off the alarm so he could give Gabriella the morning to
sleep in.

Joey got dressed for the gym, packed his work clothes, and
then headed downstairs to make himself his own cup of coffee,
while also pouring a cup to go. Joey then made himself breakfast,
knowing full well Gabriella would be upset with him if he went to
the gym and work, without eating first. Joey then packed the
leftover's Gabriella prepared for him from dinner last night, and
also the snack she left out on the counter for him. He was then all
set to leave, but first, he wrote Gabriella a note.
‘I love you so much. I wanted to give you the morning to rest that
beautiful face of yours that I love so dearly. Don’t worry I ate
breakfast and I have my lunch and snack too. I also have the
cookies. Love you, doll face.’

Joey reminded himself when he was writing his note, he
almost forgot the cookies. Gabriella had put them in a disposable
tin tray for his workers. Joey was glad he remembered, thinking it
how thoughtful of Gabriella to bake them for him to give to his
workers. Joey put the cookies, and all of his other stuff next to the
front door. He then went upstairs to leave the note for Gabriella on
his pillow. He also wanted to give her a kiss on the forehead
goodbye, but he didn’t want to wake her up. Joey instead, blew a
kiss toward Gabriella as he gently closed the door.

When Gabriella woke up, she stretched out her arms and
legs, feeling relaxed. She felt like she had been sleeping all day,
but was soon to notice Joey wasn’t in the bed. Gabriella was upset
for a slight moment, Joey would leave bed without waking her up
before rising out of bed himself, until she noticed the note Joey had
left. After she read the letter, she felt more then a world of love,
she felt peace. Gabriella then looked over at the time, seeing it
was nine thirty in the morning.
She felt bad for a moment,
realizing Joey was already two hours into work, and still had many
more hours until his shift would end. She then felt even more so,
being Joey had switched his workouts to the morning for her.
Gabriella rose out of bed, wondering if she had been doing a well
enough job to show Joey how much she appreciated him.

Gabriella went downstairs to make herself a cup of coffee,
then sitting at the kitchen table, counting the endless things she
loved about Joey. When she sat down with her second cup of
coffee, a brilliant idea came to her mind. Since Gabriella didn’t
have any of her own money to buy Joey a gift with, like she
wished to, and being she didn’t even have access to Joey’s money
yet to buy him something, she thought to make him something
homemade instead. She rose from her empty cup of coffe, and
went upstairs to her desk cabinet, pulling out all her arts and craft’s
materials.

Gabriella had a few colors of dried up paint, a few pieces of
construction paper, but noticed, all the good colors were used up.
She had markers, colored pencils and crayons. She then went to
check her mother’s stash of wrapping paper, examining if anything
suited her gift idea. Gabriella then sat down and wrote out a list of
the things she would need from the arts and crafts store. Gabriella
only had a few dollars more than twenty dollars to spend, but knew
that would be enough, for she didn’t need much.

At the Arts and Crafts store, Gabriella picked up a pack of
construction paper, choosing the pack offering more reds and pinks
then greens and blues. She then looked through the fancy sheets of
scrapbook paper sold by the sheet. She picked out those which she
thought would go nicely around the box she had in mind for her
craft. She then picked up one red, one pink, and one purple sharpy
pen.

When Gabriella got home, she made a heart stencil on a
piece of white construction paper. She then traced the heart stencil
as much as it would allow on red and pink paper. She continued
tracing and cuttting till she reached fifty hearts in all. Gabriella
then got out a box in her closet that she had been saving. The box
was plain white, and the inside of it had once held a music
carousel, her mother had given to her for her twenty-first birthday.
Gabriella was shocked, she had saved the box as she wasn’t much
of a packrat.

With the box in hand, Gabriella went back to her craft, and
cut up the sheets of scrapbook paper she had found at the arts and
crafts store. She cut them in different shapes, sizes and designs.
When she was through cuttingthe paper, she got out her glue and
began gluing them onto the box, covering the whole box with her
shapes and designs. When she was done, the box appeared to be
covered in a multi design wrapping paper. Gabriella then cut out a
big heart for the front with a piece of blue construction paper. She
wrote with the red sharpy ‘Reasons Why I Love You,’ as the
blending of the pen with paper made the writing view purple.

Gabriella then began to write, on all the little hearts, all the
reasons why she loved Joey so much. Gabriella was getting
carried away, adding in all the little reasons why she loved Joey so.
She wrote on one, ‘how romantic you are’, on another, ‘for how
many times you’ve made me smile,’ ‘how many times you’ve
proposed,’ ‘for the ring you made me,’ ‘for drawing up my dress,'
‘the way you tickle me,’ ‘how you care for me,’ ‘how you make
sweet, sweet love.’

Gabriella even wrote on separate hearts all the different
faces he made, noting if they were sexy or cute or any other
attribute coming to mind to described how she viewed Joey. She
also added in many compliments, such as; ‘for how hot you are,’
‘for how kind looking your eyes are,’ ‘for how nicely you style
your hair.’ When Gabriella was through writing on all the hearts,
she still had more reasons for loving Joey. So she cut out ten more
hearts, writing on them, and then another ten, writing on those, and
continued until she had a hundred in total. Gabriella was sure she
could come up with a few more reasons, but thought a hundred
was a perfect, rounded total.

When Gabriella was done writing on the hearts, she placed
them all in the box. Gabriella thought this was the perfect way to
tell Joey she loved him, and hoped he wouldn't find her gift to be
silly.

Joey had called Gabriella on lunch, while she was in the
middle of making his gift for him. He told her not to cook
anything for dinner tonight, because he wanted to take her out
since he was getting off from work early, being it was Friday.
When Gabriella hung up the phone, she realized she had no clue
how to dress. She hadn’t asked Joey for any details on where they
were going or what they would be doing. Gabriella thought to call
back, but figured he had to take a shower and get dressed when he
arrived home, so she decided she’d wait until he came home to
select her outfit.

When Joey got home, Gabriella was up in the bedroom
curling her hair with the curling iron, with her makeup already
polished on her face. Joey came in, giving her a big kiss on the
forehead, for he had been dreaming of kissing her forehead, ever
since he left this morning. Coming home to kiss Gabriella was the
only thing that kept Joey working hard all day. He found himself,
thinking several times during the day, what he had been doing with
himself before Gabriella walked into his life. He was thankful to
have her now, and never wanted to part.
“What was that for?” Gabriella asked, in response to the kiss on
the forehead Joey had given her.
“For, being so pretty.”
“Awe Joey.” Gabriella said, as she stood up to give him a real kiss
hello. “Thank you for letting me sleep late this morning.”
Gabriella said, while ruffling Joey's hair, making him look sexier
then he already looked.
“I love you.” Joey couldn't help to say.
“Well, I love you too.” Gabriella said, and then thought back to
the box she made him. She decided it wasn’t the right moment to
give it to him.
“I really love you.” Joey said, pulling Gabriella into his arms.
“Like I love this.”
“I really love you too, and I love this too.” Gabriella said,
understanding Joey meant, he loved her being in his arms.
“Oh really? You really love this too, what?”
“Being in your arms like this.” Gabriella said, and then she gave
him a light kiss on the nose.
“Yup. That’s what I meant.” Joey said, holding Gabriella’s back,
and leaning her down for a kiss, stunning Gabriella, because he
had never kissed her like that before.
“Oh my Joe.” Gabriella said, when she was back in his arms in an
upright position.

Joey laughed to Gabriella’s response to his kiss, realizing
how old-fashioned it was.
“Do people kiss like that any more?” Joey asked.
“Only in the movies.”
“Like when there really in love?”
“I think so.” Gabriella said, leaning back for Joey to kiss her like
that again.

Joey took hold to her cue, and held Gabriella’s back as she
leaned down. He leaned forward and gave her, what Gabriella
would describe, one hell of a romantic kiss.

Gabriella finished her hair, feeling fluttered from Joey's
kiss, while Joey was in the shower. When Joey appeared from the
bathroom, his hair was already styled with hair gel. He laid out his
outfit, choosing to wear a pair of dark denim shorts with a powder
blue, cotton, button down shirt. Gabriella noticed the outfit Joey
had picked, and figured he would probably be wearing his black
timberland low top boots. She went into her closet to pick an
outfit to mirror how Joey was dressing. She came across a dark
purple halter top, she purchased two summers ago. She tried it on
with a dark denim skirt, not intentionally picking her outfit so they
were both wearing dark denim, but it just so happened, it was all
she had to match the halter. Gabriella was stumped when it came
to picking out her shoes.
“Joey, you wearing your black timberland boots tonight?”
Gabriella called out from the closet.
“Plan too.”
“Okay, Thanks.” Gabriella said, and then she picked a pair of
black one inch sandals to wear with her outfit.

When she came out of the closet, Joey gave her many
compliments that came to mind, as he blurted them out one by one.
He then got down on his knees, and kissed her up her legs. He
then quickly led Gabriella to the car, not wanting his hormones to
take over. He figured they’d take his work truck tonight because
Gabriella rarely got the chance to ride in it.

Joey took Gabriella to his favorite Italian restaurant in
Candlewood, a romantic place, set with candle light at all tables.
Gabriella felt like a princess as Joey pulled her chair out for her to
sit down. Joey ordered a bottle of red wine for them as the
violinist started playing slow soft music. Gabriella complimented
over how nicely a place Joey picked to take her to. Joey asked
Gabriella what she would be having for dinner before the waiter
came, he then ordered for her and himself. Gabriella had never had
a man do that for her before, and she was staggered by Joey’s
hospitality of showing her to a good time.

When the meal came, and Joey tried his food, he assured
Gabriella it wasn’t as tasty as her cooking. Gabriella knew he was
fibbing to please her, and Joey admitted, maybe not, but she was a
close second, and he did truly mean it.