CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR – PENNY
Nothing in the world would ever replace the feeling of Gabriel pressing up against me intimately. The realization washed over me while I clung to his shoulders to ride out the pleasure pulsing through my body. He consumed me in every sense and surrounded me with strength and warmth.
He collapsed against me with a sated groan. The tips of my fingers and toes continued to tingle from the aftermath of our lovemaking. I strained my ears out of habit to hear if Alyssa was nearby before it hit me again that we didn’t have to worry about it any longer. Even if Alyssa found it weird, she accepted the relationship because she just wanted us to be happy. I wanted to cry with relief because it meant that I could have my best friend still. I also had my mother’s acceptance. Everything would work out just fine.
“You okay, Penny?”
“I’m more than okay,” I said, threading my fingers through Gabriel’s dark locks of hair. “I’m just relieved, you know? Everything worked out.”
Gabriel lifted his head from where it had been nestled against my neck to gaze down at me. A relieved smile tugged at his lips, too.
“Me too. But we still need to talk,” he said.
I smiled up at him, not willing to let him roll away just yet. I wrapped my legs tightly around him to keep him pressed up against me. I savored the feeling of his hard body lying flush against me, skin on skin, with nothing in the world separating us.
“Talk about what?” I asked.
“For starters,” he said, tracing my bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. “We have to talk about what we both want and expect in the future.”
“What do you want?” I asked him.
Gabriel gazed down at me for a long time while he thought about the question intently. He rested on his forearms so that both of our bare chests touched one another. It brought him even closer to me, something that I gladly accepted.
“I want to be with you, not just now and not just in bed. I want a real relationship. I want to go places together, do things together. I want all of the mundane everyday life things with you. All of it,” he said.
“I want that too Gabriel, more than you know,” I answered him.
A smile graced my lips as I rolled over to drape myself over his bare chest. I could feel the pounding of his heart slow back down to a calm and steady rhythm beneath the palm of my hand.
“I have to give it to you,” I said. “Convincing my mother was going to be one of the most difficult things to do about this, but you managed to ease her worries without too much effort.”
Gabriel shrugged. “I reminded her that once upon a time, she knew the type of man I am. That eased her concerns about our relationship because she knew I was going to take care of you, no matter what happened.”
“You are?”
“Of course, I am,” he said, circling an arm around my back protectively. “I don’t want to think about you going back to school at the end of this break, but I’m willing to make it work if you are.”
“Absolutely,” I replied and traced a finger down the center of his chest. “It’s going to be hard to leave at the end of the break. I don’t want to go back to school after everything that has happened.”
“You have to go, though. I am not going to deprive you of your degree. Our relationship will be here when you’re done.”
“What do we do in the meantime, then?” I asked.
Gabriel pressed a kiss against the side of my head with a smile. “Well, I’m buying you a brand-new phone. We can call and text every single day if you want to, until you’re done with school in May. I can even come out for a weekend here and there if you don’t have exams scheduled.”
“There is spring break, too,” I said. “It’s for an entire week in March. Not long like winter break, but I could come here to Chicago to stay with you if that is possible.”
“Hmm.” His fingertips trailed up and down my spine. I let my eyes slipped closed at the contact, my senses being lulled to sleep from the simple touch. “Maybe a trip to somewhere nice and warm would be better. It’s rarely springy around her in Chicago in early March.”
“What are you thinking then?
“A nice sandy beach in Hawaii,” Gabriel said, sighing. “That sounds better to me than anything else. Digging my toes in the sand, watching you play in the sea with a bikini on. That’s an ideal type of spring break vacation for me.”
I opened my eyes to gaze up at him. “What about Alyssa? I don’t want her to feel like the odd man out throughout this.”
“Alyssa already has plans for spring break. That’s why I’m suggesting Hawaii.”
“She does?” I asked, propping myself back up. “What are her plans? She hasn’t said a word to me.”
“California with Scott,” he said. “She told me about it just yesterday. The two of them plan to fly to California to spend some time together there, since both of their breaks are at the same time.
I studied Gabriel’s face intently. “And you’re okay with your daughter dating? There was this big thing about it for a long time, according to Alyssa.”
“It’s not easy letting your kid go out on their own,” Gabriel said. “She’s always going to be my baby girl. No matter how old she gets, I still see a little girl. That’s how your mother sees you, too. It doesn’t matter if you’re an adult at this point—we still see our babies.”
“The protective father,” I said, grinning. “That’s very nice of you to let your daughter do what she wants to do. I think Scott will make her happy. She rarely spends time with guys, so I think this one is special.”
“It sounds like it. I promised that we would all go walk the mall one last time before it closed early tonight.”
“Sounds good to me.”
We spent the rest of the morning cuddling together in bed. We even squeezed in a quick lovemaking session, before the sound of Nikki and Alyssa’s voices broke through the silence of the condo. I slipped into a sweater in time for Gabriel to open the door to his bedroom. He kissed me one last time on the lips before we both walked down the hallway in the direction of the living room.
I stopped in surprise to find a Christmas tree in pieces on the ground with boxes of ornaments scattered about. I looked over at Alyssa as she shrugged out of her coat with a grin.
“Found the decorations,” she said. “They were locked up in our storage attic thing upstairs. We haven’t decorated the condo yet. It’s time to get in the Christmas spirit.”
I glanced over at the calendar that was nailed into the wall over Gabriel’s desk. Christmas was in three days. I had lost track of time with everything that happened in such a short amount of time.
“Sounds good to me,” Gabriel said, grabbing the bottom piece of the tree. “What time are we meeting Scott at the mall?”
“At four,” Alyssa said, and she glanced at me. “Are you coming too, Penny? It’d be nice if you came along to meet him, too. Now that you’re my new stepmom.”
I laughed at that. “Very funny,” I said, smiling. “But I’d love to come along.”
We spent the entire afternoon hanging up decorations. The condo looked like a Christmas parade float by the time we finished emptying out all the boxes together. Bidding my mother, who looked quite content wrapped up in a blanket with a book, goodbye, I followed Gabriel and Alyssa out of the condo to meet William downstairs. We drove to the mall in silence with Gabriel seated in the front seat. He kept our affection tucked away when we met up with Scott, out of respect for Alyssa who was still adjusting to our relationship. He didn’t want to overwhelm Scott, either, upon first meeting him.
I hovered back while Gabriel and Scott got to know one another as they walked through the mall. To my surprise, and relief too, Alyssa hooked an arm through mine as we walked along behind the two of them.
“This is going to sound strange,” she said over the Christmas music blaring in the mall. “But I’m glad that you were able to convince my dad to come out here to meet Scott. He never does things like this.”
“I didn’t convince him,” I said, shaking my head. “He wanted to come out here of his own accord”
Alyssa sent me a pointed look. “My point exactly. Even if this is going to take some time for me to get used to, I can’t sit here and tell you that you haven’t done some good for my dad. He’s happy, and that’s all I care about.”
“We really do love each other,” I said. “I hope you know that. I wouldn’t ever try to intentionally hurt either one of you.”
“I know that.”
Alyssa’s eyes focused on the Starbucks on the bottom floor. She nudged me gently in the ribs to nod down at it before tapping Scott on the shoulder to get his attention.
“How about some Christmas Mocha Lattes?” she suggested. “I’m in the mood for one. Anyone else?”
“Absolutely,” Scott said, smiling. “How about you, sir?”
“I’m right behind the both of you,” Gabriel said with a smile. He waited for Scott to take Alyssa by the hand before coming up to me. “Let’s get some coffee. What do you say?”
I smiled up at him. Christmas lights were twinkling in I’m right there with you.”
He leaned down to press his lips against mine in a soft kiss that instantly sent my stomach soaring in various directions. He pulled back to rest his forehead against mine while whispering, “I love you, Penny.”
I rested my hands on the tops of his broad shoulders to feel the lingering wetness of melted snowflakes. “I love you, too, Gabriel.”