You Before Me (7 page)

But then I remember how he looked last
night before he left. Inviting him over would be a bad idea. So I
plop onto the couch, slip off my shoes, prop my feet onto the
coffee table, and turn on Netflix to find a horror movie. I pick
the first one it recommends, not really caring what I watch as long
as it's horror. My phone buzzes next to me.

Gabe: I know it's late
& rude to invite myself, but do you care if I come over after
my shift?

He wants to come over? It's almost one
in the morning. Maybe I misread his expression. After a quick
debate, I text him back.

Only if you bring
popcorn.

It's a little after half past one when
there's a knock on my door. I pause the movie and go to the door to
find a freshly showered Gabe wearing a t-shirt and jeans. He must
have gone home first.

Gabe holds out the box of popcorn.
“Here you go.”

I giggle because part of me thought he
wouldn't actually do it. “Thanks. Come on in.”

He shuts the door and follows me into
my kitchen where I put a bag of popcorn in the microwave. When I
turn to face Gabe, I catch him admiring my legs. Guys go crazy over
them because they are tan, toned, and long. They are easily my best
asset. He smiles, looking a little embarrassed that I caught him. I
hoist myself onto my counter to sit, leaning forward just a tad as
my hands anchor myself on either side of me. We watch each other
for a moment before Gabe walks over to lean against the counter
next to me.

“You're probably wondering why I
wanted to come over?” He says as he folds those big arms over his
chest and crosses his ankles, looking completely relaxed in my
kitchen.

“I figured you just really wanted to
bring me popcorn.”

Gabe laughs. “That's exactly why. Now
that I'm here though, I feel underdressed.”

I giggle softly, looking down at my
top and sparkly skirt. “I haven't gotten around to changing yet.”
The popcorn begins to pop as I hop down from the counter. “Make
sure it doesn't burn. I'm going to change and then you're watching
a horror movie with me.”

“You like scary movies?” He seems
surprised.

“Hell yeah. I live for the thrill,
remember?” I laugh and then leave him to popcorn duty.

When I get to my room, I'm not sure
what to change into. It's late, and I want to be comfy, but not in
pajamas. After quickly examining my closet, I decide the hell with
it. I'm going to wear whatever the fuck I want. I pick a cute, dark
gray pair of sweatpants that still manage to make my ass look good
and a pink tank top. Upon my return to the living room, Gabe is
sitting on the couch with the popcorn, the smell quickly overtaking
my apartment. There are also two bottles of Sunkist on the coffee
table. I faintly smile at how he thought that far ahead.

“What are you watching?” He asks when
I sit down next to him, plucking the bag from his hands.

“I don't know. Netflix picked for me.
It's halfway over. Want to pick a new one?”

Gabe shrugs. “Up to you.”

I grab the remote and go to the second
suggested movie and hit play. Out of the corner of my eye, I keep
watch on when Gabe is out of popcorn. I'll tilt the bag his way so
he can get more. The movie is terrible. Once I hit the forty-five
minute mark and I'm still not interested, I bump Gabe's
shoulder.

“Are you enjoying this?”

He shakes his head no. I get the
remote and turn off the TV. Getting really comfortable, I turn a
little to lay my legs over Gabe's.

“Why did you want to come see me so
late at night?” I finally ask. He never offered to further tell me,
but now I'm more curious.

Gabe puts his hands on my legs. One on
my thigh and the other on my knee. He squeezes them a little before
looking at me. “The truth?”

“Of course.”

“I wanted to see you, especially after
earlier with that guy.” His brows come together with
displeasure.

“You wanted to triple-check to make
sure I was okay?” The thought is endearing. Gabe must have been
worried about what happened.

He laughs at my question. “Yeah,
pretty much.”

“Well, that was my first incident like
that. Your timing couldn't have been more perfect. Thank you.
Although, I'm sure I would have been fine without you.”

“You weren't scared at all?” he asks
curiously. I shake my head in a lie. “What scares you
then?”

Gabe's brown eyes watch me carefully
as I think of an answer. I know what scares me, but that doesn't
mean I want to share that with him. “What scares you, Gabe?” I ask
instead. “I mean, you're a big, bad cop. There can't be a lot that
scares you, right?”

He grins, knowing that I avoided his
question, but he answers anyway. “Remember when I told you that
going into law enforcement just fit?” I nod. “That's because it
really does. I have always been on my best behavior. Part of that
is because of my family being full of police officers, but mostly
because I want to be able to look back on my life and know that
I've been the best person I could be. I'm a good guy in almost
every sense, and I want to help people as much as I can. I'm scared
that I'll do something that will make me not-so-good, by my
standards.”

And sleeping with me on the first date
fucked that up for him. It all makes sense now. For the first time
ever, I feel guilty about sleeping with guys so quickly. He
shouldn't have come over. I'm his mistake. Something that shouldn't
have happened. It's time for Gabe to go because I'm not going to
hinder the image he has of himself any more than I already have. I
slowly remove my legs from under his hands and off his
legs.

“That's, um, interesting.” I have to
say something, and I'm not about to let him know that I know I'm on
his list of shouldn't haves. “It's late, Gabe. Probably time to go
home.”

Gabe looks a little confused, but then
the light bulb goes off over his head. “Ryan, I didn't-”

“I don't know what you're talking
about,” I interrupt, stupidly outing that I do indeed know what he
was going to say. “It's late, and I have a lot to do tomorrow.
That's all I meant. Nothing more.”

He reaches for my hands and holds it
in his, running his thumb over my knuckles. “Tomorrow is a Sunday.
What do you have to do?”

For some reason, his question makes me
laugh. “Do you think I'm lying? I am many things, Gabe, but a liar
isn't one of them.”

Gabe focuses his brown eyes on me.
“Then you would have no problem going on another date with
me?”

He's challenging me. That's what his
response is. A challenge. I narrow my eyes at him and remove my
hand from his.

“Now, you're just hurting my feelings,
Ryan,” he jokes.

“No.” I want to ask him why. Why does
he want to go out with me again when he clearly felt so terrible
about the first one? It doesn't even make sense!

“No?”

“No. I don't want another date.” And
to drive it home, I add, “I probably should have mentioned that I
have a one date only track record that I'd like to keep.” It's a
dumb thing to say, but I want him gone, and I'm hoping that will
help.

“One date only?” He
questions.

Is he just going to repeat parts of
what I said? “Yep. I have a long list of first dates and zero for
second dates.”

“And you want to keep that?” He says
skeptically.

“Precisely.”

Gabe seems to think about this for a
moment. “Fine. Then you would have no problem hanging out with me
again?”

“Why the hell would I do that?” It's
out of my mouth before I can help myself. “I mean, no thanks. I
wouldn't want to tarnish that shiny armor of yours.” I smile
sweetly. Then I get up and go to my door, opening it so there's no
doubt of what I want.

Gabe runs his hands down his thighs
and then stands. Finally! He walks over, coming to a stop in front
of me. His head tilts as he looks at me like I'm a puzzle he can't
solve. I think he's about to walk on out, but instead, he steps
forward, cups my cheeks with his hands, and kisses me. Without
meaning to, I relax into him as he gently parts my lips with his
tongue. God, he's a fantastic kisser. Our mouths move slowly, like
not a thing in the world exists more than savoring this
moment.

And boy, is it worth savoring. For
what seems like a lifetime, I'm lost in him with no hopes of ever
being found again. But then Gabe pulls away after a final kiss. I
can't find it in myself to open my eyes yet. My lips are buzzing
from the lovin' they just got, as is the skin surrounding my mouth
thanks to his facial hair, and my body is still paralyzed in place
by his hands.

Gabe's breath fans out over my mouth
as he softly says, “You look beautiful right now.”

My eyes pop open immediately. The
corners of his mouth lift in a smile. In a whisper, I become
completely honest with him. “No one has ever said something like
that to me.”

“What? How you look after a
kiss?”

I shake my head. “No. Well, yeah, that
too, but I meant the beautiful part.”

Gabe's smile falls. Oh, fuck. I
shouldn't have said that. Stupid, stupid, stupid girl! He's
probably going to think I'm weak or something because no one calls
me beautiful. That is so not the case, and I need to make sure he
understands that. Before I can recover, he kisses me softly just
once.

“Well, they should because you are,”
he mumbles against my lips. He strong gaze bores into me.
“Absolutely beautiful.”

My muscles are tense, waiting for him
to laugh and add that he was joking. I've never been told that I'm
beautiful. Hot or sexy, sure. Beautiful? No. My grandmother used to
tell me that I was, but that was a long time ago. She was old and
probably thought all little girls were beautiful. That hardly
counts. Gabe holds my eyes, letting me absorb what he said. For the
first time in my life, I ask him to do something that doesn't
include sex. The funny thing about it is that my question
embarrasses me more than if I had of outright asked him to sleep
with me.

“Would you like to spend the night?” I
ask quietly. “No sex, though.”

Gabe grins. I was really expecting a
frown or a confused look, but I'll take a grin. “Only if I get a
second date.”

I laugh, finally able to release some
of my tension. “Okay, sure.”

He drops his hands from my cheeks and
removes my hand from the doorknob before closing and locking the
door. Like the confident, sure-of-herself girl that I am, I take
his hand and lead him to my bathroom first.

“There's an extra toothbrush and
anything else you might need in the medicine cabinet. I'm going to
go put my pajamas on.”

While he's in there, I pick up the few
clothes that were lying on the floor and toss them into my closet
before changing into a cute pair of blue pajama shorts and taking
off my bra. My tank top can stay on. Now that Gabe isn't right here
with me, I'm a little tired, stifling a yawn when I hear the
bathroom door open. Seconds later, Gabe appears at my bedroom door,
still dressed.

“Just a second,” I tell him, lifting a
finger. I turn to my dresser, open a drawer, and start looking for
what I know is in there. When I find them, I hold them up. “I have
mens' basketball shorts and a shirt if you want to wear them. They
drown on me, so they would probably fit you.”

He raises an eyebrow at me. “You keep
mens' clothing on hand?”

“They're mine. I bought them.” His
brows both rise higher. Why is he making me flustered? This is
ridiculous. “Look, when I get sick, I wear these because they are
the ultimate comfortable clothes. Do you want to wear the damn
things or not?”

Gabe chuckles. “Sure.”

I slam them into his chest as I walk
past him to go to the bathroom myself, and I hear him chuckle
again. Once I've washed my face, brushed my hair and teeth, and
used the restroom, I go back to my room. I find him with his ass in
the air because he's bending over to put his folded clothes on top
of his shoes near my dresser. But when he turns around, I see that
he's not wearing the shirt. Only the shorts.

Oh, he looks so hot. I would have
never thought I would be a fan of chest hair, but it looks like
heaven on him. Not to mention his happy trail and then those deep,
V muscles. Fuck. It's going to be me who is resisting having sex.
Not him! This is not fair.

“The shirt was too small,” he
explains.

Thank God. He doesn't need to cover up
that body or those muscled legs. Before I have to wipe away drool,
I manage a nod. “I'm so not sorry about that.”

Gabe laughs. “Turn off the light and
get in bed.”

That's all I needed to
hear.

Gabe

I don't even know where to start with
this girl. First, her friend calls, freaking out that something bad
had happened to her. When I get to her apartment, that jackass had
her pinned against the door, wanting to go inside. I overheard what
he said about her being easy and her response. Yet I still texted
her later about coming over. Ryan obviously noticed how I looked
when I left the other day because she interpreted what I said about
being scared into that. That wasn't how I meant it. And then she
kept turning me down with outrageous excuses. When she got up and
opened the door, I had every intention on leaving.