Gabriel's Rule (4 page)

The
silence in the cab felt awkward and unnatural, but Riley kept quiet since Gabe
had been clear about what their relationship was going to be going forward –
polite neighborly nods and an occasional “hello.” The depressing image had
tempered the excitement she was feeling about the possibility of a new job. But
as they headed further downtown she felt the anticipation building. She hadn’t
yet had a chance to explore downtown Seattle, she’d only seen the amazing skyline
view on her drive in.

She’d
seen the waters of Puget Sound on that day too but not the mountains as she’d
hoped since it had been rainy and fog had limited most of the view. But as Gabe
got closer to the waterline she started seeing peeks of snowcapped mountains
standing tall over sparkling blue water. It was a rare sunny spring day, no
clouds in sight. Traffic slowed as they turned onto the road that ran next to
the waterfront. Tourists clogged the streets and sidewalk and she saw numerous
boats out on the water along with two huge car-filled ferries. And there in the
distance, the majestic mountains stretched as far as her eyes could see.

Gabe
heard Riley take in a breath at the incredible view. He hadn’t planned to take
the long way, but when he’d seen her searching between the buildings to get
glimpses of the waterfront and skyline beyond, he’d figured she wouldn’t mind
spending an extra few minutes in his company if the tradeoff was a stunning
view. He powered both their windows down as he rolled to a stop at a crosswalk.
The fresh air flowed through the truck and when he glanced at Riley again his
heart lurched when he saw the huge smile on her face. Her bright gray eyes were
trying to take in every sight. Forcing his eyes back to the road, he made his
way up the street and then turned. At the next corner he said, “The marketplace
is down that way.”

She
looked in the direction he pointed and then swung to face him.

“What
marketplace?”

“Pike
Place Market.” When she looked at him in confusion he said, “The place where
they throw the fish?” She clearly had no idea what he was talking about. “We
can stop after you meet with Nell if you want.” She hesitated for a moment and
he knew she was thinking about that she might be needing to stop at Mac’s if
things with Nell didn’t work out. “We’ll just play it by ear, okay?”

“Okay.”

He
turned the truck away from the marketplace and drove a few more blocks. He
pulled into a parking lot and came to a stop in front of a small, nondescript
looking restaurant that had a simple black and white sign that said “Pete’s
Eats.” She followed him out of the truck and in through the front door.

The
boring exterior was the complete opposite of what lay inside. It looked like a
diner right out of the 50’s. Black and white checkered floors, a bar with red
vinyl topped stools, huge booths also in red vinyl, a big silver jukebox
against the back wall that appeared to be playing actual records and a menu
above the counter that advertised everything from burgers and fries to shakes
and homemade pies. There was a pie carousel at the end of the counter and she
felt her mouth water at the sight of the desserts inside.

The
diner was packed full with people and she could see through to the kitchen
where a big guy in a white shirt with the diner’s name on it flipped burgers
and pulled orders off the rack in front of him. Music on the jukebox, Elvis
Presley she guessed, blared and people chatted happily. She had a moment of
panic when she wondered if the waitresses had to do everything on roller skates
but then sighed in relief when a young woman came out on foot, two plates in
her hand. She was wearing jeans and the same type of T-shirt as the cook.

Another,
much older woman, came out behind her with more plates and slid them in front
of the waiting customers. Her silver tipped, gray hair was swept up in a messy
bun and her smiling mouth was generously coated in bright red lipstick. She was
very tall for a women, probably close to Gabe’s height and she was quite large
– not necessarily fat, just heavy framed. But she moved quickly as she checked
on other customers, occasionally dropping a hand to someone’s shoulder in
greeting. Her long earrings that looked a lot like cherries swung back and
forth as she nodded her head in obvious amusement as she made her way closer to
them. When her eyes settled on Gabe she let out a huge smile and even several
feet away, she already had her arms outstretched.

“Gabe
sweetie, how are you?” Gabe closed his arms around her and even lifted her off
her feet as he returned her hug.

“I’m
good Nell.”

Nell
pulled back and studied his face as if making sure he was being honest with
her. Whatever she’d seen must have satisfied her because she turned to face
Riley.

“You
must be Riley.”

“Yes
ma’am,” Riley said as she stuck out her hand. Nell ignored her hand and swept
her into a hug. And it wasn’t just a polite little, “nice to meet you” hug – it
was a full on mama bear type hug. Riley felt something tighten in her chest
momentarily as she hugged Nell back.

“It’s
Nell darling. Just Nell.” Nell released her, gave Gabe another fond look and
then grabbed Riley by the hand. “Gabe, honey, why don’t you go find a seat at
the counter for you and your girl here and order some of my lemon meringue pie.
I’m going to show Riley around.” Gabe didn’t correct Nell’s assumption about
her being his girl and before Riley had a chance to even speak she was being
pulled back towards the kitchen.

“Carolanne,
get Gabe and Riley here some of the lemon meringue, would you? There’s a fresh
pie in the fridge.” The other waitress nodded and disappeared behind the
counter where she could see Gabe had managed to find two seats. He was watching
her in amusement as she was hauled off and she felt her insides warm at the sight
of his smile.

Nell
led her through the double doors into the kitchen and pointed out some of the
things she would need to know as part of her waitressing duties. “This is my
husband Pete,” Nell said as she introduced her to the man she’d seen doing the
cooking. He was a huge man, bigger even than Gabe, and he sported a mustache
and beard but was completely bald under the white chef’s hat he was wearing. He
looked like someone you’d find on a football field defending the quarterback,
but with his massive bulk she wondered if he would even need protective pads.
She suspected he was in his mid-sixties but he danced around the kitchen like
he’d been doing it his whole life. Tattoos ran the length of both arms and he
stuck one out to shake her hand while the other one continued flipping burgers.

“Welcome,
good to have you on board.”

“Um,
I haven’t actually gotten the job yet,” Riley stammered awkwardly when she
glanced at Nell but Pete just dismissed her comment with a wave of his hand and
then she saw him wave at someone through the opening that gave him a view of
the goings on at the counter. She saw Gabe lift his hand briefly but his eyes
were on her, a knowing smirk now plastered across his beautiful lips.

“So
Riley,” Nell started as she took Riley’s arm and led her through another set of
doors to the back where there were some lockers, a supply room, a huge walk in
freezer and a desk covered in papers. “Would the lunch and dinner shift work
for you? It’d be weekdays and every other Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. There’s
parking out back and Pete will make sure you get to your car safe each night. I
won’t lie to you – it’s pretty busy here most of the day but you’ll get a half
an hour for your dinner break and another half an hour to use throughout your
shift as you need to.”

Nell
rattled off the pay and then told her how much she could expect to make in tips
each day. Riley was in seventh heaven. She’d wondered if the part about Pete
walking her to her car had come from Gabe but she wasn’t stupid enough to
question Nell about it. Yes she had her pride, but she also had bills to pay
and getting a job in a place like this for someone in her situation would have
been nearly impossible any other way.

“Gabe
told you about my…situation.”

“Oh
yeah honey, it’s not a problem – we’ll figure something out.”

Riley
was a little surprised at Nell’s acquiescence; after all, what she was asking
for wasn’t exactly on the up and up. She suspected Gabe had something to do
with that part too.

“When
can I start?” Riley asked, suddenly eager to prove herself to Nell and Pete
that she would be their best employee.

“How
about tomorrow, 11 a.m.?”

“I’ll
be here.” They worked out a few more details like getting her a few T-shirts
that would be her “uniform” and a quick run-down of where her locker would be.
She followed Nell out front where the older woman happily returned her to Gabe,
gave each of them another huge hug, and then she was off doing her rounds
again.

“So?”
Gabe asked.

Riley
smiled and nodded, then climbed on the stool next to Gabe and dug into the pie
that was sitting in front of her. Gabe had already finished most of his. The
pie melted in her mouth and she couldn’t help but think how many pounds working
around Nell’s desserts were going to add to her size 14 frame. She shoved the
negative thought away and finished the pie. If Gabe hadn’t been sitting right
next to her she might have even picked up the plate and licked off the few
crumbs and filling she couldn’t get onto her fork.

When
she turned to him she saw that he was watching her with interest. He was
probably thinking what a pig she was, but when he reached his thumb out and
stroked her bottom lip she froze. His eyes turned black as the rough pad of his
finger caressed her and she bit back a moan. He pulled his finger back and it
was then that she saw he had wiped a little bit of whipped cream from her lip.
She nearly swallowed her tongue when he licked the whipped cream off his
finger, his eyes holding hers prisoner.

“
Mmmm
, sweet,” he whispered before he seemed to remember where
they were and that they were surrounded by people. He broke the eye contact and
said, “Did you want to check out the marketplace before we head back?” She
should say no because this man was seriously starting to mess with her head and
she was so close to climbing up his body that it was ridiculous. Only the
knowledge that her complete and total humiliation would be on the other side of
that act stopped her. But the jolts of electricity still buzzing through her
from his touch seemed to have killed off any common sense cells she had left
because she found herself nodding and then following him back out to his truck.

Oh
did she have it bad. Riley twisted her hands in her lap as the drive back home
from the marketplace was made in silence. They’d walked around for nearly two
hours checking out all the stores and stands. She had gotten to see fish being
thrown around, seen guys playing guitar for money and there’d been so many
fresh cut, stunningly beautiful flower arrangements available for purchase that
it had blown her mind. On her own she would have still enjoyed it, but having
Gabe there, his protective hand at her back when they were wading through some
of the slow moving crowds, had made it so much better. His huge, warm body had
pressed against the back of hers when he leaned down to study something she’d
pointed to and when she wandered a little ahead of him to check something out,
his eyes always stayed with her.

They’d
had coffee and then walked down to the waterfront where they’d even seen a few
seals frolicking around the barnacle covered pilings of the pier. She’d been
most surprised when he started pointing out different buildings in the city’s
skyline and had spoken of their history and early use. It turned out that he
had a fascination with architecture, something she’d never had any interest in,
but when she heard the passion in his voice as he explained why certain
buildings looked the way they did, she was intrigued. And she lost a little
more of herself to him.

Back
in the truck she kept glancing at the clock. It was like it was mocking her,
reminding her that she only had a few precious minutes left with Gabe because
once they were back home, they would return to the “neighbor” zone. Maybe she
should tell him she wanted to try being friends. It would be better than
nothing, right? They could maybe grab coffee once in a while or even catch a
movie.

She
started thinking about the best way to broach the subject when she remembered
all the women that had stared at him at the marketplace. Most had been subtle
but some had openly flirted with him, clearly not worried that Riley would be
any kind of competition. Could she really handle watching him take some woman
up on that one day? Would she be able to say a friendly “hello” to her buddy
Gabe as she watched him say goodbye to a lover as she left his apartment? She
felt an actual ache in her chest at the image that had popped in her head and
she knew she had her answer.

“Riley,”
she suddenly heard from next to her. She realized Gabe had asked her something.

“What?”
she asked dumbly.

“I
asked if you still wanted me to drop you off at Mac’s.”

“Um,
no, thanks. Just home please.” He seemed relieved and returned his attention back
to the road. He found a place to park a few minutes later and then they were
walking up the stairs. Riley jammed her key in her lock and then swung open her
door. She turned around and forced a smile to her lips. Why did she feel so
cold all of a sudden?

“Thanks
for today Gabe. Nell, the marketplace, everything.”

“You’re
welcome,” he said. He was in front of his door but he hadn’t made a move to
open it yet and the way he was looking at her made her feel like a bug on a
slide about to be studied under a microscope.

“Bye
Gabe,” she managed to get out before she disappeared inside. She leaned back
against the door and forced back the tears that were threatening to drop. It
was better this way, she assured herself. She just hoped her heart would get
the message sooner rather than later because this hurt like hell.

***

Between
his day job and the three clients he had booked, Gabe had run himself ragged
over the next week. Add in the fact that he’d slept only a few hours each night
and it was clear why he looked like the walking dead. Even the guys at his
construction job had noticed because he’d started making stupid mistakes that
either put the project behind or, even worse, had put the crew’s safety at
risk. He needed to get it together.

There’d
been no peep out of his mother which was unusual because he was sure she’d be
out of money by now and would have either come begging him to loan her some or
she would have done something to get herself put in jail. Just to make things
harder, his brain had decided to play images of Riley on a repeating loop. He’d
been confused by how sad she’d looked after their last day together and he
hadn’t been able to figure out why. According to his frequent check-ins with
Nell, Riley was thriving at her new job. She was courteous, efficient, quick,
and her welcoming, friendly demeanor had made her a customer favorite, and not
in the same way she’d been at Mac’s.

He
hadn’t spoken to her at all since that day and he wasn’t sure if it was because
she was avoiding him or he was avoiding her. He’d only actually seen her once
when he’d been out jogging and had neared their building. Riley had seen him
coming as she’d been unpacking groceries from her car. She’d snatched her bags
up so quickly and run up the stairs that he had actually looked around to see
if she was being chased before he realized she’d been fleeing him.

His
sessions with clients hadn’t gone well, at least not for him. His clients, as
always, had gotten exactly what they’d ordered. He, on the other hand, had
continued to picture Riley as he had pleasured each woman and when he was done
he’d pretended it was Riley’s tight, wet body milking his cock in the shower
instead of his hand. But last night there’d been a new twist. After fucking his
customer into a stupor, he’d gone into the hotel bathroom to clean up and shame
at what he’d done had overtaken him. He’d somehow managed to pull sweet,
beautiful, innocent Riley into this sick, twisted mess. And right there in the
fancy hotel bathroom, his client asleep in the next room, he’d actually vomited
into the toilet. His erection had disappeared but the self-disgust had
remained.

Now
it was nearly 10 on a Saturday night and instead of going out to meet Shane for
drinks like he usually did, he’d stayed home to try and work his body into a
state of exhaustion so that he might actually sleep tonight. He had just
finished his bag work and had managed two reps on his weight bar when he heard
a tentative knock on his door. He carefully lowered the weight, grabbed a towel
to wipe the sweat from his brow and went to answer it.

***

Riley’s
jaw nearly dropped when Gabe answered the door shirtless, a fine sheen of sweat
covering his body. His hair was damp and mussed and all she could think about
was running her fingers through it. He had little hair on his upper body so she
could see all the definition of his muscles clearly. She finally got her first
real look at the tattoo on his arm and saw that it was actually what looked
like the thin ends of a couple of tree branches intertwined with one another.
She thought she saw some writing too, but she didn’t have time to check for
sure because he had cleared his throat to get her attention. Damn, caught
staring again.

“Hey,”
she stammered.

“Hi.”

“Am
I interrupting?”

“Uh,
no, I was just working out.” He wiped the towel over the back of his neck and
she saw a tuft of hair under his arm and some part of her wacked out brain
couldn’t help but notice how sexy it was.

“I
brought you some pie.” She held up a paper bag. “Nell made lemon meringue again
and there’s a piece of French Silk too – Nell said that one was your favorite.”

Instead
of taking the bag from her, he opened the door wider. “Come on in,” he said in
that panty-melting tone. She stepped over the threshold and waited as he closed
and locked the door.

“You
want to stay for a bit and help me eat that pie?”

Yes
. “No, these are
for you…I should go.”

“Please.”
There was that damn word again. She wondered if he knew the power he had over
her with just that one word. She finally nodded and he grinned. She couldn’t
help but notice how tired he looked.

“I’m
gonna go hop in the shower real quick. There’s some drinks in the fridge – help
yourself.” As he turned, she saw he had a huge tattoo on his back but he
disappeared into the bathroom before she could tell what it was. As she heard
the shower turn on, she went to the kitchen and put the bag on the counter.
Uncomfortable with looking through his cabinets for plates without his
permission, she settled on searching the fridge for something to drink. She
found a can of soda, opened it and took a long swig and then wandered around
his living room.

It
was sparsely furnished and his furniture looked even older then hers. There was
no TV but there were a few books on the bookshelf and a couple more on the coffee
table. She skimmed the titles – mostly mysteries and thrillers but there were
also a few architecture books in the mix as well. There were no pictures on the
wall or knickknacks of any kind but the apartment was clean and the walls
looked freshly painted.

Drifting
into the dining room, she pushed at his heavy weight bag and was surprised at
how much effort it actually took her to get it to move. Glancing at the weight
bench, she could imagine him lying there as he lifted all those pounds. A naughty
image of her on the bench with him flashed through her mind. She laughed at
herself because she’d never had such a vivid, sexual imagination before. She’d
read some romance novels that she borrowed from the library and sneaked into
her parents’ house when she was a teenager, but they’d been pretty tame.

Her
ex had been the only man she’d been with and sex with him hadn’t been anything
like she imagined and he’d made sure to remind her often that she wasn’t good
at it. Even at the end when she’d found him with someone else, he’d put the
blame on her saying he’d tried to make it work but her body just didn’t turn
him on enough. He’d hinted that if she would just work on how she looked, then
things could be different. She shuddered when she remember what had happened
after she told him what she thought of his suggestion.

Riley
heard the shower stop and a minute later Gabe crossed the hallway from the
bathroom into his bedroom, a tiny white towel wrapped around his lean hips and
outlining his incredible ass. She took another long pull on the soda and then
went and dropped down on the couch since it appeared to be the only place to
sit. She heard him come out of his bedroom and then go to the kitchen. He
rummaged around for a minute, then came into the living room. He sat down next
to her and turned so that he was facing her. He held one plate with both pieces
of pie on it and handed her one of the two forks in his hand.

“I
figured we could share,” he said as he dug into the French Silk piece. His hair
was still pretty wet and it looked like he’d run his fingers through it rather
than a brush or comb. He wore a pair of jeans and a dark blue T-shirt. His
gorgeous big feet were bare.

“Nell
makes the best pie,” she mumbled after swallowing down a bite of the lemon
meringue.

“If
you ever get a chance to try her cookies, take it. She makes the best chocolate
chip cookies in the world. She doesn’t sell them in the diner but if you ask
her nicely she’ll whip some up for you.”

“Have
you known her long?”

Gabe
hesitated as if knowing they were treading towards the “friend” waters just by
sharing a little bit more personal information.

“We
lived in a house next door to her and Pete for a while when I was growing up.”

“We?”

“My
mom and I. We moved when I was about twelve but I ran into Nell and Pete at
their diner when I went there with some college buddies my freshman year at the
UW.” He switched to the other pie so she did the same.

“UW?
Is that the University of Washington?”

“Yeah.”

“What
did you study there?”

“Architecture.
I didn’t graduate though; had to drop out in the middle of my senior year.” He
didn’t expand on that and Riley didn’t ask, sensing it was a sensitive subject.

“Does
your mom still live around here?” His hand stilled for a long moment before he
took another bite of pie. When he finished chewing but still didn’t answer her
Riley said, “Sorry, it’s none of my-”

“She’s
an addict.” Riley stayed silent – saying sorry seemed insufficient. “It started
when I was nine. Doctors gave her a prescription for some pain killers after
she hurt her back in a car accident. She got hooked pretty quick and it didn’t
take long before she lost her job and we had to move out of our house. She
finally switched over to heroin because it’s so much cheaper and the high is
about the same.” Riley saw his hand tighten on the plate – his tone may have
been nonchalant but it clearly hurt for him to talk about it.

“You
don’t have to talk about this if you don’t want to,” she said gently. She ran
her fingers over the hand that looked like it might shatter the plate at any
moment. He seemed to relax slightly at her touch.

“She
pops up now and again and I put her into rehab. She usually leaves after a few
weeks and ends up back on the street. When she runs out of money she shows up
here and if I’m not home then she helps herself to whatever she can find here
that she might be able to pawn.”