You Before Me (26 page)

“Been doing good, Ryan?” he asks as he
unhooks her bra, making sure that won't be in his way. I hate that
his hands are on her at all. Ryan takes her arm out of her sleeve
and that side of her bra before lifting her left arm over her
shoulder while the other holds her shirt in place. A small swell of
the side of her breast can still be seen though. Then Pete applies
a piece of paper with the outline of the heart on it.

“Better than ever.” She smiles at me,
and I return it. “Is everything good with Max? I don't think I've
ever known him not to be here on a Friday night.”

“He's been sick all week, and we sure
as hell don't want him here like that. I'll make sure he knows that
he missed you though.”

“Thanks. This will be my last one for
a while, I think.”

“Why is that? You've let Max work on
you three times. I think I deserve two more times to make us even.
He did a good job, especially on this seahorse.” Pete runs his
fingers over it, looking just like I'm sure I did when I did the
same thing. “Why the hell did you get a big ass, pink seahorse
anyway?”

“And this is why I love Max. He
doesn't ask questions. Are we ready to get started or what?” Ryan
rolls her eyes, and I laugh.

“Are you ready?” He asks
her.

“Yep.”

My eyes focus completely on where he's
working. But after he does one line, I have to look away, finding
Ryan's face a picture of perfection.

“You okay, Gabe?” She
questions.

I shift in my seat. “Yeah, but now I
know why I never wanted a tattoo. The sound for one and then to see
it happen?” I shake my head, resisting the urge to
shudder.

Ryan grins, and she's dying to laugh.
“Glad to know it's not because you are a goody-two shoes who is
scared of his-”

“Don't even say it, Ryan.”

“Fine. I won't. But you have to admit
that it's hilarious that a measly tattoo scares the big bad
cop.”

Leaning forward to rest my elbows on
my knees, I tell her in a low voice, “Thanks for finding me so
hilarious all the time.”

Ryan's smile widens, obviously
thinking of the handcuffs incident. “You're welcome.”

* * *

The easy, laid back banter between us
continues throughout the weekend. I love her new tattoo so much
too. The red ink sticks out against her skin when she's naked and
her arm moves. I love catching sight of it. Like right now as she
reaches over to grab the remote from my end table, turning off the
TV. She lies back down and pulls the comforter up to cover her
breasts, careful not to let it touch under her arm where the tattoo
is because of the cream she has to keep on it. I love spending
Sundays with her. Especially when our day starts with a little bit
of morning sex.

“How is this Thanksgiving ordeal going
to work?” She asks, and I can hear a bit of worry hidden in her
words.

“We usually get together around noon,
eat around one or two, and hang out all day. You can stay with me
Wednesday night or I can pick you up from your place Thursday. And
you are more than welcome to stay with me Thursday night. I have to
go in Friday evening, though.”

“Viv and I are going shopping Friday,
so I'll just go home afterwards. She's supposed to come over and
stay with me that night. Are you nervous about this at all?” She
turns her head to look at me.

“No. Not one bit and you shouldn't be
either.”

Ryan

All week, when I'm not in school, I'm
vigorously cleaning my apartment. Gabe might not be worried, might
not think I should be, but I am. And I hate it. Gabe and my
feelings for him have me feeling vulnerable. Not to mention my new
tattoo.

Love.

Love, love, love, love, love, love,
love.

That's
all
I've been able to think about. A
new four letter word that takes up too much of my thinking. When I
saw the heart online, I craved it. That little tat seemed just as
mesmerizing as my favorite paintings. I
needed
it on my body. I needed the
perfect, pretty heart tattoo on my side near my own, not so pretty,
not so perfect heart.

My nervous, scared to death
heart.

I have no idea what's going to happen
if his parents don't accept me. Will Gabe stand up for me again or
will he succumb to his family? I may mean something to Gabe, and I
say it that way for a reason, but if he has to choose between them
or me, he would choose them.

Right?

That is his family, who he loves and
cares about more than anything. Surely, he wouldn't risk his
relationship with them just for a relationship with me. To avoid
thinking about this all the time as Thursday loomed closer and
closer, I've been cleaning like crazy. This place is spotless.
Every inch of it. But the day is here. I can't clean anymore. A
knock sounds at my door, and I go to answer it. I couldn't even
manage to run late like usual. I'm too nervous.

Gabe stands on the other side with a
big smile. At least someone is excited about this. I'm not excited,
but my nerves disappear at seeing him. Instead, they are replaced
with determination. I will do my best to make them like me. I want
this so badly. Being in love with Gabe without him knowing is hard
enough. I don't need his parents to reject me and make this
harder.

“You're ready?” He says with surprise,
stepping forward to kiss me sweetly.

“Crazy, I know.”

“Well, let's get this show on the
road.” Gabe holds out his elbow, and I loop my arm through his. On
the ride over, Gabe tells me about work and how he and his partner
are working well together. He's in the middle of a sentence when we
pull up to a house, the driveway and curb full of parked cars, when
I interrupt him.

“You are not allowed to leave me alone
with anyone other than Gramps or Owen, okay?”

He smiles. “I don't plan on leaving
your side, Ryan. It'll be great and fun.”

I nod because that is the plan. We get
out of his car and head inside. The men are gathered in the living
room, and I can hear the bustling of the women in the kitchen.
Gramps seems to be the only one missing from the men.

“Hey y'all,” Gabe says as we walk
further into the house. Heads swivel to look at us and voices all
tell us hello. There is only one guy I haven't met. “I'm sure y'all
remember Ryan.”

“With an aim like that, how could we
forget her?” Gabe's cousin, Frank Jr., smiles.

“It's nice to see you guys again,” I
tell them honestly, noticing that Gabe's father actually smiles at
me. What changed his mind about me?

Gabe leads me over to the guy I
haven't met yet, and he stands. “Keith, this is Ryan Kavanaugh.
Ryan, this is my older brother, Keith.”

Keith shakes my hand with a friendly
smile. He definitely fits my image of an FBI agent with the
exception of his casual clothes. “Nice to meet you,
Ryan.”

“It's about time you got here,
darlin',” I hear behind me before I can respond to Keith. I turn at
the sound of Gramps' voice. He comes over and gives me a bear hug.
“We're thrilled that you could join us.”

I can't help but smile. “Thanks for
having me.”

“You can come sit with me,” Owen says
from the couch.

I turn to Gabe, and he smiles in
reassurance. “I'm going to say hey to the girls and then I'll be
back, if you want to stay in here.”

I nod, moving over to sit with Owen.
It's better to be in here than with the women. On one side is Owen,
and Gramps takes the spot on the other side of me. Gabe's father,
Larry, starts talking with Keith about football and then all the
men are talking about it. I listen, paying attention to what they
say, in case I can learn something new about the sport. Gabe
returns to the room, but I have no idea where he's going to sit. He
walks in front of Gramps and motions with his hand for me to
stand.

Oh, no. Please tell me he isn't going
to have me sit in his lap. He's trying to get his parents to hate
me even more! Sure enough, Gabe takes my seat before tugging me
down, joining in the conversation as if I'm not in his lap. Larry
doesn't seem fazed by it, so that's good. But I feel awkward
sitting here in a room full of men. Gabe grabs my hips and squeezes
lightly as he talks.

“Keith, are you staying for the
weekend? Are we still going shooting?” he asks, redirecting his
question to everyone else. They all nod and murmur
confirmation.

“Darlin', are you going to join us?”
Gramps asks me.

“Oh, I already intruded on y'alls
men's day once. I-”

“Nonsense. You have to come. Keith
needs to see what you can do,” he interrupts.

“Yeah,” Keith chirps. “All I've heard
about is how you showed up Dad after only shooting for an
hour.”

Great. I glance at Larry, and I'm
shocked when he grins at me. “I'll admit that I wasn't so sure
about you that day, but you earned my respect regardless. I could
easily see why Gabe would give you a ticket after you asked for it.
How exactly did that happen?”

I turn to look at Gabe, but he doesn't
say anything. His father did ask me, so I should answer him. “I was
having a bad morning. So much so that it irked me when he called me
ma'am. I said a few things and then told him to give me my ticket
already. He said okay and did just that. Can't blame him either
because I deserved it, especially for some of the things I
said.”

The guys laugh, and Keith speaks up.
“How in the world did that turn into you two dating?”

“Ryan is trouble, plain and simple,”
Gabe says, his thumbs moving up and down over my lower back while
keeping his hands on my hips. “And it's very hard to say no when
she catches you off guard.”

“Hey,” I start defensively, turning a
bit in his lap to look at him. “Have I had to use my card yet? No,
so I'm not that much trouble.”

He laughs. “Good point.”

“Let's eat,” his mother calls from the
dining room, halting the conversation.

Everyone stands simultaneously and
heads into the other room. This time, Gabe is on one side and Keith
is on the other as we take a seat at the large table. I stay quiet
as we all hold hands, and Larry says prayer. Once food gets
distributed to everyone, his mother, Camilla, decides to start
talking to me. Or should I say, interrogate me.

“So you're in college?” She
asks.

“Yes, ma'am.” It's best to be as
polite as possible. “I'm in my second year, and my major is art,
thanks to Gabe,” I finish.

“Thanks to Gabriel?” Camilla frowns in
confusion.

“Yes, he was the one who helped me
figure out what I wanted to major in, Mrs. O'Connor.”

She's still frowning, but she
continues her interrogation anyway. She should have been an
interrogator for the police because she's fucking intimidating.
“And do you work as well?”

“No, ma'am. My parents want me to put
all my focus on school, so they pay for my expenses.” That should
be a good thing to say, right? Because it means I'm concentrating
all my efforts on my education.

“Your parents have lots of money
then?”

“Mom,” Gabe protests. “Why does that
matter?”

“I only want to make sure that she's
not a young, rich, spoiled brat looking for someone to take care of
her when her parents decide to stop doing it for her. You're my
son, Gabriel, and you often fall for girls who aren't any good for
you. I only want what's best for you.”

Is she serious? This is fucking
ridiculous. Gabe doesn't say a word as he stares at his mother, his
mouth closed. He isn't going to say anything. The moment has come,
and he's not going to mutter a damn word. I decide then and there
that I'm done. The table rattles as I slam my napkin
down.

“I think Gabriel,” he flinches next to
me as the rage courses through me, “is old enough, as you love to
point out to me, and smart enough to handle himself. I'm sorry that
you have to be rude with the most ridiculous fucking questions that
don't have a damn thing to do with who I am as a person.” I turn to
Gabe. “And Gabe, thanks a lot for standing up for me. I can clearly
see how much I mean to you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have my own
fucking problems to deal with instead of your family.”

The sound of my chair scraping back is
deafening in the room, and I stalk out of there as fast as I
can.

“Ryan, wait,” Gabe pleads from behind
me as I swing the front door open and keep walking.

“Don't even,” I call over my shoulder.
I was right. Damn it, I was right. He's not even going to stand up
for me, and I guess I shouldn't have expected him to do it. See
what happens when I have stupid expectations? People fail me. At
least now I know how my parents feel.

“Let me take you home.”

“No!” I yell, turning to face
him.

“Ryan, I didn't say anything because-”
he attempts to explain, but I don't want to hear any of
it.