Chapter Fourteen
Jonathan
I try to leave Gabby alone so she can talk to her parents without me butting in. I don’t think my presence on the call would be helpful. But I can’t stop myself from eavesdropping outside the door to my bedroom while she sits at my computer.
Her dad’s gruff voice carries through the crack in the doorway where I listen. “The deal was that you’d go for two weeks. You’re coming home on Saturday. The tickets are already paid for.”
“I understand that we made that deal.” Gabby’s doing an admirable job of keeping her voice calm. I’m not even in the room, and I want to yell back an answer. “But I can pay the fee to change the tickets out of my earnings from playing this summer,” she continues.
There’s a pause, then her mom’s voice comes in. “That’s as may be, but your father’s point is that you agreed to our terms, and we’re not thrilled you’re suddenly trying to change them.”
“Yes, I understand,” says Gabby. “And if the situation were still the same, then I wouldn’t have brought this up. When I agreed to a two week visit, I had no idea I’d be offered a job playing for recording artists. Much less several jobs. You wanted me to get a job this summer so I could have my own spending money next year. I’ll make more doing these gigs than I’d be able to working retail at home.”
“If you can play for money there, why can’t you do that here? Dallas is a big city, too.” If he weren’t a grown man, I’d say that Gabby’s dad sounds petulant right now.
“Yes, Dallas is a big city. And if I had connections there, maybe I could play there. But live gigs for weddings and events have to be booked well in advance, and I have no connections to any recording studios there. One thing I’ve learned already is that who you know matters as much or more as what you know.”
“Oh, I see. So your boyfriend got you this job.”
I hear Gabby’s growl of frustration, and I’m sure her parents do too. “No. All Jonathan did was forward a recording he had of me to Shane, one of the musicians playing on his album. Shane’s the person who got me the job. I met him because Jonathan wanted my opinion on his own music. Shane found out I play the violin from talking to me. The violinist they had lined up for these gigs got injured and couldn’t fulfill the contract.”
“So your boyfriend doesn’t even talk you up to the people he’s working with?”
What the hell?
“Daddy!” Her restrained frustration bleeds into her voice. I can’t blame her. I want to bang my head against the wall just from listening to this conversation.
I hear her mom say, “Honey,” in that quelling tone all mothers seem to have perfected.
Gabby lets out a loud sigh. “Jonathan has only been playing with this band for a few weeks. They’ve been rehearsing to record his album. No, they don’t spend lots of time chatting about their personal lives. That’s normal. And make up your mind. Either it’s bad that he helped me get the job, or it’s bad that he didn’t have much to do with it. Which is it? You can’t have it both ways.” She’s not able to keep as tight a rein on her frustration now, and her voice rises as she talks. Go, Gabby.
Silence. Then she continues. “This is an amazing opportunity. One that I wouldn’t have at home. One that I would be foolish to turn down. I have a place to stay. My expenses here are very low, just like they would be at home. I’d be able to save nearly everything I earn over the summer. I can take lessons from the principal violinist for these recordings, who’s amazing. She’s excited to have me play with them, and she’s excited about the possibility of working with me. I don’t want to tell her no.”
More silence. My hand falls to the door handle, ready to burst in and add my opinion. It takes everything in me to hold back, and I grip the doorframe with my other hand, pressing my head into the wood of the jamb.
“Mom, please.” Gabby’s voice is softer, the frustration replaced with pleading. “You have to see that staying here is the best plan for me right now. It has the most benefit. The only drawback is that I wouldn’t be home with y’all.”
“When would you come home?”
I draw in a shuddery breath. I haven’t breathed while waiting for some kind of response.
“Um, well, I could be home for a week or two in August before classes start at Marycliff. Would that be okay?”
“Longer is better, but yes, we can make that work. Jonathan will continue staying at his parents’ house while you’re there? Everyone’s okay with that?”
Damn. I was hoping that little stipulation wouldn’t be brought up again.
“Yes, Mom,” Gabby says, sounding more like herself. “We figured that would still be a thing, and Jonathan has already said he’d do that. I’m sure his parents won’t mind having him around more.”
Slowly, I unwrap my fingers from the handle, stepping back and running my hands over my face. She’s going to stay.
Holy shit. I almost can’t believe it. They said yes. She’s going to stay.
A giant grin stretches across my face, and I take another step back, heading to the kitchen to get a drink of water. My throat went dry with nerves and anticipation a while ago.
Christ. Relief swamps me as I gulp my water. I know that we’ll endure a longer enforced separation when she goes back to school. We still have a lot of details to work out. But now we can work them out together. In the same place. For two more months. Each extension of our time together feels like a stay of execution.
A squeal has me turning around to see Gabby bounding up to me, her face alight with happiness. I set down my glass in time to catch her when she launches herself at me.
“They said yes! I get to stay all summer!”
My mouth finds hers in a fierce kiss that captures my feelings better than words can right now. Her legs wrap around my waist, and her hands go behind my head.
I prop her against the counter, sliding my tongue against hers as I clutch her body to mine. I can’t let her go. I don’t want to let her go. I want her to stay with me forever.
When we break apart, she’s breathing as hard as I am, her breasts pushing against my chest with each inhale.
“I get to stay,” she whispers.
“I know.” We’re both grinning like idiots, but I don’t care. I’m going to be grinning like an idiot all day. All week. Hell, maybe all summer. “I’m glad your parents came around. Two weeks was never going to be long enough. I’m not sure two months will be long enough.”
Her smile dims a little at that. “Yeah. I’m not sure how next semester will go. It’ll be hard being back at school without you there.”
I kiss her again, just to avoid seeing sadness on her face already. “We’ll figure it out. I promise. For now, let’s celebrate the fact that you’re staying. We’ll have two whole months together. There’s lots of time for planning for the fall later. Right now, I’m just glad you’re not going anywhere anytime soon.”
Her lips curve up again, her smile bouncing back. “Me too.” She yanks my mouth back to hers, her tongue thrusting into my mouth immediately.
My hands go to her hips, pulling her hot center harder against my now rock-hard dick. She moans into my mouth as I grind our hips together. Her hands slide down my chest and slip under the hem of my T-shirt.
Just as I unbutton Gabby’s shorts and start to work my hand inside, the front door opens and closes.
“Gabby? You here?” Marissa calls from the living room.
“Shit!” Gabby hisses, pushing me away, trying to refasten her shorts.
I stay in front of Gabby, shielding her until she fixes her clothes, reaching down to adjust myself. We’ve managed to make it over a week without getting walked in on. I guess it was inevitable that it would happen at some point. At least Marissa has already decided that she won’t be staying all summer. While she’s been pretty awesome about giving us privacy when possible, the fact that she’s around makes it harder to relax when we’re stealing time together in the apartment.
“Hey, y’all …” Marissa’s voice trails off, and Gabby’s head pops up, her cheeks flushed, her expression guilty as sin.
“Oh, hey, Marissa.” She clears her throat, brushing her hair out of her face. “How are you?”
“I’m fine.”
I’m torn between turning to look at her and hiding my face in Gabby’s chest. Clearing my throat, I step to the side, moving around the counter so it blocks the view below my waist. Gabby hops down off the counter, running her hands through her hair again.
Marissa eyeballs us both, her gaze coming to rest on Gabby and one corner of her mouth hitching up. “I take it you had a good conversation with Mom and Dad?”
“Yeah.” Gabby clears her throat. “They agreed that me staying was the best option, given the opportunities here that I wouldn’t have in Denton.”
Marissa lets out a low chuckle. “Yes. Opportunities. Lots of opportunities.” Her dark eyes find me, and I smile at her innuendo. She waves a hand. “Sorry to interrupt your opportunities. I didn’t realize you’d be celebrating already.”
Her cheeks turning pinker, Gabby nods and says, “Thanks. Yeah. Anyway. Um, I think we were going to go have dinner.” She glances my way for my agreement before looking at her sister again. “Did you want to come too?”
Marissa laughs again, this time shaking her head. “Ah, no. I think I’ll stay out of this stew of raging sexual tension if it’s alright with y’all. Maybe next time.”
“Are you sure?” Gabby protests. Why is she protesting? “I don’t want you to feel left out or anything.”
With another crooked smile, Marissa says, “Oh, Gabby. Your boyfriend looks like he’s ready to get you alone for a while. I’ll just be in the way. I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”
Moving around the counter again, I wrap an arm around Gabby’s waist, nudging her in the direction of the door. Marissa notices and winks at me.
“Okay,” Gabby says, moving with me without really seeming to notice.
Marissa makes a shooing motion. “Go. Have fun. I’ll be around later if you want to talk, though.”
“Thanks, Marissa!” Gabby calls over her shoulder as I turn her all the way to the door.
Once we’re outside my apartment, Gabby covers her face. “Oh my God, that was so embarrassing.”
Chuckling, I pull one hand down and thread my fingers through hers to lead her to the elevator. “Hey, it could’ve been worse. At least we were still dressed.” I lower my voice and bend closer to her ear. “You weren’t naked and spread on the counter with my face between your legs.”
She shivers, her eyes wide as she looks up at me.
I nod, keeping my gaze steady on hers. “Five more minutes and that’s what she would’ve walked in on.”
Her breath hitches. “Oh.”
Her flushed face and pink lips make me wish once again that Marissa had stayed gone for longer. At least a half an hour. Now I’ll have to wait for a while. She’s clearly planning on staying in tonight. And the sun won’t be down for a few more hours, so finding a secluded place to park will have to wait until the cover of darkness.
Maybe tonight’s the night to finally go for the hotel.