You Before Me (21 page)

“Good lord, Gabe,” she breathes, her
eyes tightly closed as I move slightly faster, kissing along her
jaw. Ryan arches her back when my pace picks up even more, my thumb
aggressively moving over her clit. She grabs onto my shoulders,
squeezing. “Harder,” she pleads.

That one word as she pulses around me,
releases an animalistic vigor within me. I slam into her
relentlessly, deeper and harder. When her hands reach down, the
tips of her fingers digging into my ass as she tries to push me
even further, I lose all control. I drive into her with everything
I have, kissing her with all the passion I can muster.

She bites my lower lip, clenching
around me, her legs tightening around my waist, and a throaty groan
pushes its way out as she shudders beneath me with her climax. I
don't stop, can't. Not until I find my own release. Ryan squeezes
around my cock and I explode with a grunt, slowing down
dramatically to prolong our orgasms. Her legs slip off my hips as I
pull out and fall next to her.

I'm drained, so I go to the bathroom
to clean myself up. When I come back, Ryan is snuggled underneath
the covers, which are pulled all the way up to her neck. Her smile
grows when she sees me. I crawl in next to her and she cuddles up
to me.

“Today has been fantastic,” she
whispers. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome,” I answer, my eyes
already starting to droop. It's been a long week, and I'm still
trying to catch up on sleep. Twenty minutes later, I'm dozing when
I faintly hear Ryan talking.

Her voice is soft and low with a hint
of fear. “I think I'm in love with you.” My heart stops, fully
awake now, but I don't stir. “I don't know what the hell I'm
supposed to do about that, Gabe. That's why I'm terrified. You hold
a power over me and don't even know it.” She wiggles to get closer
to me and without thinking, I tug her tighter against me. Ryan
sinks into me, oblivious that I'm not, in fact, sleeping. It's not
until I feel her breathing even out that what she said hits
me.

She's in love with me? Is that what
she was on the verge of saying earlier? I almost don't know what to
do about it either. This wasn't something I was expecting and
especially not to hear it this way. I've learned so much about Ryan
since we've started seeing each other. Her feelings kind of worry
me. Only because I don't want to hurt or disappoint her. She
deserves so much more than that, and I don't want to be one more
person on her list of people not good enough for her.

I'm not about to let Ryan slip away
from me, though. Like I was thinking earlier, she's mine. I don't
want her going anywhere. I only want her where she is right now. In
my arms. As I fall asleep, my last thought is that maybe it is time
for Ryan to meet my mother.

Ryan

I wake up at four in the morning, my
dreams terrible as I professed my love for Gabe, and he turned me
down. Over and over. I didn't sleep well at all. You know, it's one
thing to have your thoughts consumed with worry over a realization,
but it's entirely another thing when you voice them. Even if it was
barely a whisper, and Gabe was sound asleep. This massive piece of
information has me completely clueless. What am I supposed to do
about it? Wait until Gabe falls in love with me? What if that never
happens? What if I disappoint him and he realizes I'm not good
enough for him?

I remember Gabe saying something about
how he thought I was intriguing when we first met, but that doesn't
prove anything about him or his feelings for me. Maybe that means
Gabe knew there was something about me the moment we met. Or it can
mean nothing at all. It doesn't matter because I know without a
doubt, I've fallen in love with him. There have been bits and
pieces about Gabe along that way that sunk me into this quicksand
of love for him. We shared moments together that would make me slip
and fall a little further for him. There were moments, like
yesterday, when I didn't fall, but I tripped and rolled down a
hill, building speed along the way, helpless to stop it.

With all these damn thoughts in my
head, more sleep is a hopeless wish. Remembering that there's a
mess out there waiting for us, I quietly get out of bed, slipping
on the first thing I find, which is Gabe's t-shirt. I silently
close the door behind me and walk to the end of the hallway.
Looking at the balloons, the streamers, the broken seahorse, and
the array of silly string everywhere, my heart swells again. He did
all of this for me. The least I can do is clean it up, so he won't
have to come home to it after work. Besides, cleaning can help me
relax, and I'm on pins and needles.

It doesn't take but maybe an hour to
throw away the trash, wash the few dishes, and put the games neatly
on the kitchen table, which is my current task. Thankfully, this
busy work has soothed me a bit.

“Ryan? What are you doing?”

I nearly jump out of my skin with a
scream as I hear Gabe's gruff, sleepy voice. My heart pounds
against my chest, wanting to break out and run away. Swiveling to
face him, I see he's found a pair of pajama pants to wear. “God,
you scared me,” I say, my hand over my heart as if that would still
it.

Gabe smiles slightly, his eyes still
squinting as they try to adjust to the kitchen light. “What are you
doing?” He repeats, looking around at his clean house.

“Oh, I woke up and couldn't sleep, so
I picked up our mess.”

He shakes his head, walks over, and
takes my hand. “You didn't have to do that,” he mumbles sternly,
leading me back to the bedroom.

“I'm not tired,” I object, knowing
there has to be more to clean out here.

“Too bad. You're coming back to bed
with me.” He flips the switch to turn the light off and then we're
in the bedroom. I lay on my back as Gabe slips underneath the
covers next to me. Just like the first time we slept together, only
this time he's awake and consciously doing this, he throws an arm
over my waist and uses my chest as a pillow. “Now you can't go
anywhere again,” he says smugly. I laugh, twirling a curl from the
top of his head around my finger. “Fall asleep with me,
Ryan.”

It's a simple request. One I would
love more than anything. Not sure that it'll happen
though.

“Okay,” I answer, feeling the need to
say something at least.

A few minutes pass, and I think that
Gabe has drifted off, but his head lifts suddenly to look at me. I
couldn't fake sleep if I wanted to. My eyes are wide with surprise
at his movement.

“You're not even trying.” He
frowns.

“It's useless. I'm too
awake.”

Gabe thinks about something for a
moment before scooting up to lay beside me on his side. He holds
his arm out, lifting the covers as he does so. “C'mon.” I move into
his arms, one tugging me close as the other slips underneath my
neck, working as my pillow the closer I get to him. Gabe
intertwines our legs, and I'm cocooned in his warmth from head to
toe. “Sleep, all right? We have to be up soon.”

So I press my forehead to his chest,
over his heart. I force my eyes to close and my mind to shut off,
thinking only of how warm he is, his heart pulsing next to me. Gabe
glides his hand up and down my back. Before I know it, I'm falling
asleep with him.

All too soon, Gabe's voice cuts
through my sleep as he says, “Ryan, it's time to get
up.”

“Mmm,” I hum, not moving at all. Being
nestled against him has me warm and toasty. No way in hell I'm
getting up.

“You'll be late for class,” he
tries.

“Ugh, I don't want to go. It's
terrible, dreary, and cold outside.”

Gabe chuckles. “Have you been out
there yet? How do you know?”

“I watched the weather yesterday,” I
tell him simply, dragging a laugh out of him. Lifting my head, I
continue, “Can't we stay here today? As a birthday present?” Maybe
that will work. Doubt it, but worth a shot.

His eyes widen. “Hold still. Don't
move, okay?”

“What? Why?” I call after him, but
he's already out of bed and out of the room. What did I say? Where
is he going? Moments later, he comes back with a gift bag with
Happy Birthday written all over it and white tissue paper sticking
out the top. As I sit up, I'm practically dumbfounded as to what
this is.

“I forgot about this yesterday,” he
says, sitting back down next to me. “It's not much because it was
last minute, but I hope you like it.” Gabe puts the bag in my
lap.

I stare at it before looking at him.
“You got me a present?” Sure, I've received presents before, but
never an actual birthday present. One that wasn't just money. My
throat constricts as tears threaten to fall.

Gabe nods. “Open it.”

Wanting to take my time and remember
everything about this moment, I gingerly pull the tissue paper out.
I peer into the bag, pulling out the first thing I see which is a
pair of black protective earmuffs.

“Now you have your own for next time,”
Gabe says.

“Thanks.” I smile and then reach in,
pulling out an orange gift card to the grocery store.

“It's orange because it's for you to
support your Sunkist addiction.”

Laughing, I thank him again. The next
thing I pull out is a gift card to the movie theaters.

“There's a horror movie coming out
soon, and I thought you might want to go see it. Should be two more
things in there.” Left in the bag is a small square envelope and a
larger one for a greeting card. “Open the little one
first.”

I slip my fingers underneath the piece
of tape and open it. Inside is Gabe's business card and I flip it
over to read his handwriting.

“One Get Out of Jail Free Card?” I
burst into a fit of giggles, leaning on Gabe before I fall
over.

“You've been behaving, but never know
when you might need this. It's legit too. If you ever get in
trouble, you can call me, and I'll come bail you out.”

“I love it. Hope I never have to use
it, though.” Placing it next to me with everything else, I open the
final envelope. Inside is a birthday card, and I silently begin to
read it, my eyes drawing in on Gabe's handwriting first.

You deserve to feel special every day
of the year, but especially on your birthday. That's the day you
came into this world, making it even more beautiful.

You're a wonderful person, Ryan, and
I'm thankful you were speeding that day. Hope I was able to make
your birthday one to remember.

Happy Birthday, Ryan.

-Gabe

My eyes scan over the rest of the
words printed on the card, even more sweet sentiments. I know Gabe
is watching me, but I can't seem to look away from his scrawl.
Finally, I look up, swallow hard, and throw my arms around his
neck.

“Thank you, Gabe. Thank you so
much.”

“You're welcome.” I pull away to kiss
him, but he mumbles against my lips, “You need to get
ready.”

Jutting my lower lip out ever so
slightly, I wish I didn't have to leave. “Sure we can't skip?” One
last try won't hurt.

Gabe chuckles, finding my attempts
amusing. “Not today, Ryan. Believe me, if I could, I most certainly
would.”

“Okay, fine. I have one last special
request.”

“Oh yeah? What's that?” Gabe
smiles.

“Kiss me.”

Gabe holds my head in place in between
his hands. He leans forward, gently brushing his lips over mine as
my eyes flutter to a close. My mouth parts in the slightest. Gabe
sweeps his tongue over the entrance, and I open wider to let him
in. I love these kisses from him. They're slow, delicate, and
attentive yet so passionate, so heady that we immerse ourselves in
one another wholeheartedly. Time stops. It's as if nothing else
exists except for our lips, our tongues, and Gabe's hands on my
face.

When Gabe stops kissing me, his lips
resting against mine, it takes a moment for me to come back to the
present and open my eyes. I feel his lips quirk into a smile, his
cheeks rising as well. He's so freaking adorable.

“I better go get my shower now,” I
tell him.

Gabe moves away as I start putting my
gifts back into the bag. A glance at the clock tells me I have to
seriously put a move on it if I don't want to be late. Being late
is nothing new, so I'm not that concerned about it. Still, I make
my shower quick because if I'm running late, then Gabe will be too.
Once I shower and get ready, about to leave, Gabe asks if he can
see me Thursday night.

Smirking, I say, “Sorry, Gabe. A damn
cop gave me a ticket, and I have to go to a four hour defensive
driving class to avoid getting points on my license.”

He laughs. “All right. I'll talk to
you later. Go before you're late.”

I leave him behind to drive to school.
There are a couple of texts from my parents on my phone when I
look, but they can wait until later. I scurry across campus,
knowing that Viv is waiting for me. When I spot her, I practically
run to her.

“We need girl time, stat,” I
rush.