Chapter Seventeen
Charlene
Jenny and I had a couple of shots, and she shared some of her secrets.
Then we had a few more, and I accidentally told her that her brother’s penis was gorgeous.
When she stopped asking for bleach to pour in her ears, we walked the short distance to Mac’s place and was met by a group of men who were laughing like idiots, but since we had some tequila in our blood, we jumped right in and laughed with them. When half a dozen Alvarezes and a few other friends joined the crowd, it went from a quiet barbecue to a party.
I was introduced to Day, which made me stumble, but I covered it up and blamed it on the tequila. As the evening passed, he stopped being the smoking hot young man on the poster I’d had in my bedroom as a teenager and became Day, one of the brothers.
Gibson pulled Jenny and me aside and shared that the criminal asshole who wanted him dead had been found with half a dozen bullets in his chest. He tried to make it sound like something a club had done out of the goodness of their hearts, and I smiled at him and told him that it was great news. We could discuss it for real another day when it was just the two of us.
Jenny listened in silence, and then she walked off without a word to pull Paddy away from the crowd, so I guessed she hadn’t been fooled either. They came back a few minutes later, and Jenny was laughing with the rest of us, but Paddy did not seem happy. He didn’t look angry either, and I wasn’t sure, but I think he looked… stunned.
Gibson carried me half the way home, just because I said I was tired, and I laughed at him, but he laughed right back and kept walking. He didn’t stop until we were in his bedroom I thought he would surely start up something wild and wicked, but he didn’t.
Instead, he made love to me slowly, touching me gently and murmuring soft words in a way he’d never done before. Then he slid inside and started moving, taking his time and building it slowly for both of us. When we came, we did it together, and I was watching his face through the waves, loving him with everything that I had in me.
Afterward, he rolled me into his side, and I leaned my cheek on his warm chest. He smelled like smoke from the grill, the outdoors and man, and I sighed.
“Are you happy, Lee?” he asked quietly.
“Yes,” I told him.
Because I was.
I had found a place where I belonged, and a man I loved. I hadn’t expected it, and I couldn’t ask for more because there really wasn’t more to ask for.
“Are you happy, Gibson?” I asked back.
“Yeah,” he said, but added quietly, “I would be happier if you moved in with me.”
I smiled against him, and a few strands of his chest hair tickled my lips.
“I thought I already had,” I said.
I felt his head moving, and then a strong hand pushed my chin up. Through the soft darkness, I saw the shape of him looking at me.
“Which one was it?” he asked on a sigh. “Joke?”
“Yup,” I said, but added, “And Paddy.”
He grunted.
“And Mac,” I murmured and arched my neck to kiss his jaw. “And Day.”
“Fucking morons.”
“Brothers,” I said. “Looking out for you. Worried you’d fuck it up.”
“Jesus,” he sighed. “What did you tell them?”
I chuckled and settled into him again.
“Gibson, I’m not stupid. There’s no need to turn the water off for three weeks to install a new bathroom, and then three more for the kitchen. And the thing with the driveway, that was just plain silly.”
He leaned over me to turn on a small bed-side lamp, and I smiled, but it faded away when I saw the look on his face. It was suddenly hard in a way I didn’t understand
“I love you, Lee,” he murmured. “Never expected something like you to happen, and I was good with that. Now that I have you, I’m not letting go. Not fucking ever.”
My smile came back then.
“I love you too, Gibson.”
“Do you want to move in with me?” he asked quietly.
“Yeah.”
“As easy as that?” he said with a smile.
“Yeah.”
“Good,” he said, turned off the light and sank back in bed.
“I guess I’m not your fuck-buddy anymore,” I murmured and closed my eyes.
His chest moved a little with laughter, and my lips formed a smile as I relaxed into him.
Then I slid into sleep.
***
Gibson
He smiled when Lee’s breaths evened out against his chest and let his hand slide lazily over her arm. Then he kissed the top of her head and tightened his arm around her, knowing that he’d not lied to her before. He’d never let go. Not when he had happiness bundled up against his side in the form of a small woman he hadn’t expected to come into his life.
Then he pulled up the covers a little and let himself fall asleep too.