Ruin (Ruin 1)

He grinned. “Oh, and by the way, not gay and most definitely watched.” He said watched with such a predatory snap of his teeth that I took a step back.

“Gabe, stop scaring her,” Lisa scolded. “Now, Kiersten, put on the necklace and heels and you’ll be ready.”

I did as she said and then stood in front of both of them and did a quick turn.

Gabe leaned forward, his forearms flexing against his legs as he put pressure on his legs to stand. “Nope. Change.”

“What? Why?” I felt my face fall . “Doesn’t it look good?”

“Lisa, do you want her to be taken advantage of?” He shook his head and walked around me like a tiger stalking its prey.

“The top isn’t even low! She has it buttoned for crying out loud!” Lisa argued.

“Right,” Gabe snarled.

Before I knew what was happening he’d reached around me and put two of his fingers directly on my chest at the last button. “And every damn minute of the night he’s going to wonder how many seconds it will take to strip every last button on her shirt.”

“The skirt’s fine.” Lisa stood her ground.

“Right.” Gabe’s hand moved to my skirt and gave it a little tug. “It may as well be a second skin the way it hugs every single curve, and you know what guys think.”

Lisa rolled her eyes. I, however, stood frozen in place.

“He’s going to want to touch her legs. He’s going to want to—”

“Gabe!” Lisa stood to her feet and marched over to us. “Is this about him? Or you?”

“I don’t want in her pants!” he all but yelled.

“Um, I’m standing right here,” I said in a quiet voice.

Gabe paced around the room in front of me. “It’s about him. What if he touches her? What if she can’t find her whistle, and—”

“You’re going to be such a great dad,” Lisa announced. “Now, it’s time to cut the apron strings. Tell her she looks pretty and let it go.”

Gabe crossed his arms and pouted.

I waited with Lisa.

Finally, he swore and looked me in the eyes. “You look really pretty.”

“Thank you!” I slowly walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek. “That means a lot.”

“Lisa,” Gabe said with gravel in his voice. “Give us a minute.”

“But—”

“I said give us a minute.”

“Fine.” She stomped off into her room leaving me alone with Gabe.

“Do you know how to hit a guy?” he asked, grabbing my hands. “If I pull you close to my body, do you know how to knee me, where to knee me?”

I lifted my knee quickly, causing Gabe to stumble back and smile. “Well done.”

“Anything else, Dad?” I laughed.

He growled and pulled me close again. “If he tries to touch you, if he does anything that you don’t want, you blow the damn whistle and call me. I don’t care what time of night it is, okay?”