My cinnamon spiced latte suddenly curdled in the pit of my stomach when I looked over at Alyssa sitting across from me. Her eyes were focused on the steady stream of people outside of the small coffee shop, and a concerned frown tugged at her lips.
Shame flooded me when I looked down at my drink. I didn’t know what to say, either, besides for the truth; the awful truth that would shatter our friendship. I couldn’t tell Alyssa, even if I wanted to. Things with my mother back in New York were strained enough. I didn’t want to risk losing the only good thing I had in my life at the moment.
I curled my fingers around the hot ceramic mug. “What do you think is going on?”
“I’m not sure,” Alyssa said, tapping a finger against her lips. “It’s something, though. It’s like he’s distracted over an issue that he can’t work out.”
“He’s under a lot of stress with his job,” I pointed out because that seemed plausible. “Plus, you’ve got things going on with your mom and the lawsuit.”
“It’s not his job. I know when he’s stressed from his job because he won’t ever leave the office. He won’t take phone calls, either. He goes ghost on everybody—including me.”
“I’m sure whatever it is, he’ll work it out,” I said. I hoped, at least. I didn’t know what to think about what kept happening between us anymore, or why I felt the irresistible urge to kiss him. This was my best friend’s dad, and yet, I couldn’t look past the fact that he made me feel so many wonderful things with just one simple kiss and touch. I wasn’t a virgin by any standards, but it had been a very long time since I felt something so amazing.
Maybe the forbidden nature of being with Gabriel drew me in more than anything else. The temptation of it. I sighed inwardly at that. It sounded like a cheesy romance novel that you picked up at the airport. But I felt a wild thrill rush through me every time I thought about kissing him again, or letting his hand slip back between my legs to caress me.
Alyssa twisted around in her chair to look at me. “I hope so. Listen, I have to tell you something that I haven’t told my dad yet.”
“What is it?” I asked, sipping at my coffee.
“You know how my dad is about me dating guys. He hates it. He tells me all the time to wait for someone to sweep me off my feet.”
I arched my eyebrows at her, not sure where this conversation was going. The last time I checked, Alyssa had been too busy with final exams and assignments to go on dates with the classmates at our school. Not that any of the men there were really Alyssa’s type. They were all frat boys who liked to party and bang as many college girls as they could get.
“You’ve mentioned that before,” I said. “So?” “There’s a guy here in Chicago that I used to go to high school with.” A smile spread across her face then. “We’ve been talking for a few months back and forth about hanging out while I was home. He goes to college here.”
“What is his name?” I asked curiously.
“His name is Scott Myers,” she said. “He’s a really good guy, Penny. He actually texted me on our way here to see if he could come join us for coffee, if you’re okay with that. I can’t really tell my dad because you know how he gets protective over me.”
“Right,” I said and watched as Alyssa pulled out her phone to text him. “How about I leave so that you and he can have some time alone?”
Alyssa looked up from her phone. “I didn’t mean that you had to leave, Penny. Please don’t think that was what I was implying.”
I waved her concerns away while I gathered my purse and sweater from the back of my chair.
“Don’t fret,” I said, smiling down at her. “Enjoy your coffee date. I don’t want to be the third wheel here, so we can hang out later.”
“Are you sure?” Alyssa asked.
I slid back into my thick sweater. “Of course. I didn’t expect you to give up all your plans because of me tagging along.”
“Thank you. You’re an awesome friend, Penny.”
I forced a smile on my face as Alyssa quickly resumed her attention to her phone. If I was such a great friend, I wouldn’t have let myself get carried away with Gabriel.
I stood huddled against the cold on the curbside, waiting for a taxi cab to pull over. Once inside the warm car, I rattled off the address to Gabriel’s condo, even if a part of me said it was a bad idea to go back. That meant having to face Gabriel alone for a few uninterrupted hours. The temptation of it startled me as I dug through my purse to pull out my vibrating phone. I glanced down at the screen with an inward sigh.
“What, Mom?”
Nothing. Just breathing. Heavy breathing for that matter.
My fingers clutched the side of my phone before I quickly ended the phone call. Just a random butt dial. That’s what it was. I didn’t want to think of the alternative explanation, which had been happening quite a bit over the past few months. The late-night phone calls, paired with the random ones throughout the day. My mother insisted that there had to be something wrong with her phone because the phone calls weren’t coming from her.
I had another idea of what it was, but I didn’t want to go there. I didn’t want to think about any of it right now. I rested my head against the passenger window to cool my feverish skin down.
The taxi cab parked in front of the condo building. I handed him a few twenty-dollar bills before exiting the cab to head in through the lobby. The security detail there didn’t even question me as I breezed by them. They knew my face by now. I took the elevator up to the very top floor and let myself in with the spare key that Alyssa had given me. The condo was bright from the late morning light. It was quiet while I slipped out of my sweater to head into the kitchen to make more coffee.
It was the sight of Gabriel standing in nothing but a towel near the kitchen sink with a glass of water in hand that stopped me short. I found my eyes taking in the strong muscles of his back where water trailed down the bumps of his spine before disappearing into the towel wrapped tightly about his trim waist. He turned to look back at me in surprise, which only revealed his well-defined torso even more. Water clung to the faint patch of chest hair that trailed teasingly down past his navel to disappear below the towel there, too.