Chapter 6

I do like killing the messenger.  Know why?  Because it sends a message.

-T-shirt

Ember

“Gabe.”  I said.

 

“What?”  He said distractedly.

“Gabe.”

 

“What?”

 

“Gabriel.”

 

“Huh?”  He said.

 

His eyes were still glued to the TV.  I glared daggers at his back, and there he was still ignoring me.  I’m surprised he could even hear me.  He had these big chunky earphones on, and I could hear the gunshots ringing out even with them planted firmly over his ears.  He and Max were playing this stupid game called Modern Warfare Three.  They’d been playing it for over three hours now.  I was beyond bored, and I was really getting annoyed that he was ignoring me.  I was used to Max ignoring me, but not Gabe.  All I had to do was say something and bam, there he was.  He’d been practically up my ass this past week, since Blaine delivered her son. 

 

He seemed different.  He was a lot more alert.  Almost like he was hyperaware of our surroundings, even at Free.  I wasn’t allowed to even go take a tinkle without him knowing where I was going and how long I planned to be gone.  I mean, I’ve never timed my bathroom breaks before, but as of my last one, I was down to one minute and eighteen seconds; that was with washing my hands, too.

 

We weren’t at the stage in our relationship where I could do all those bodily functions in front of him, let alone even speak openly about them.  So, instead of answering him, I would roll my eyes and leave without saying anything.  Yes, I’d let out a discreet burp here and there, but nothing like the nice long belches that sounded like they came from a four hundred pound man, like I was used to doing.

 

“You have got to be fucking kidding me.”  Max said.  “I shot that fucker in the head with a shotgun.  His face would be gone, he wouldn’t be able to get up and shoot me.”

 

“Good thing you don’t have those slow reflexes in real life.”  Gabe chuckled.  “We wouldn’t be here today otherwise.”

 

“Fuck off, Ponch.”  Max shot back.

 

“I do not look like that guy off of Chips!”  Gabe said, while shooting an assailant who tried to sneak up behind him and won the match. 

 

“You totally do.  You’re the perfect match.  You could be his twin.”  Max said while tossing his controller onto the couch in a sign of defeat.

 

“Just because I have dark, luscious hair and beautiful, darkly tanned mocha skin doesn’t make me look like him.”  He volleyed back.  “Don’t be jealous.”

 

To tell you the truth, he kind of reminded me of Uncle Jesse from Full House, but bulked up with muscle, and a few tattoos and scars to boot.  He had that beautiful smile with perfect white teeth.  He also had a great head of hair, pitch black and straight.  Even his skin color was nearly the same.

 

“Jesus, get over yourself.  Want to go again?”  Max asked.

 

Gabe took his controller back from its perch on the coffee table.  “Sure.”

 

Men.  If that were me, I would’ve been pulling hair by now.  He’d yet to acknowledge that I was standing there waiting to ask him a question.  I know he heard me, but he was doing his best to ignore the fact that I wanted to go do something, and he didn’t want to.  Well screw that.  Just because I couldn’t leave the compound didn’t mean that I couldn’t find something to do.  He should know better by now.  Just a couple of days ago, I got myself stuck on the lift in the garage for over an hour.

***

Three days before

Cheyenne and I had a bright idea.  Since we were bored, and the girls were napping in their car seats in the back of Sam’s truck, we moved the truck into the garage and stayed close in case they woke up.

 

I’d been playing with the nifty little levers that they used to hoist the cars up into the air when Cheyenne dared me to get up and ride it to the top.  Never one to turn down a challenge, I’d gotten all the way to the top before we realized we had no clue how to get the thing back on the ground.

 

Cheyenne had spent the next forty-five minutes looking for a way to get me down. 

 

You’d think being in a garage that they would have a ladder of some sort; but no, not in this garage.  So, there I sat when Max and James walked through the door.

 

It could’ve been anyone else, and it would’ve been fine.

 

When those two got together, I always ended up hurt, crying, or worse.  It took them fifteen minutes of laughing and making fun of me before they finally made a move toward letting me down showing Cheyenne where she was supposed to pull the lever.  Regrettably, before they got me down, Gabe and Sam walked in.  They took in the scene in three seconds, and immediately joined in on the teasing Ember parade.  I was getting pissed.  I’d been up there for nearly an hour, I had to piss, and I was yearning for a Snickers.

 

I’d told them I was going to jump down if they didn’t get me down.  Cheyenne immediately started to come let me down when James grabbed her from behind and wouldn’t let her come.  She knew I wasn’t bluffing.  Gabe was still having a laughing fit.  They were all less than a foot away, so I pretty much said, “Screw it” and jumped towards Max and Gabe.  I knew one of them would catch me.  One of them did. Gabe.

 

One second he was doubled over, the next, I was in his arms.  Air had rushed out of me in a whoosh when my body slammed into his.  I made sure to smack Max with my elbow ‘accidentally’ too.

 

“Don’t ever do that again.”  Gabe said angrily.  “What would have happened to you if I hadn’t caught you?”

 

“Owww.  I think you broke my nose.”  Max whined nasally.

 

I ignored Gabe as he lectured me not to do anything stupid anymore, but I couldn’t help it.  I had an innate ability to get into trouble.  I was also plagued with being curious.  That’s why I’ve had seven broken bones and before my attempted rape, twenty-seven stitches in total, in my lifetime.  I should know better, but never once did I stop to think that this was a stupid idea until I was already in the throes of doing said stupid idea.

***

Present

Walking out of Gabe’s door, I headed into the direction of Cheyenne’s house.  Sam was outside washing his truck.  He was shirtless in jeans, a ball cap, and boots.  His stomach rippled, and his arm flexed as he pulled a Mr. Miagi with his “wax on, wax off” motions.  I would’ve drooled a little if he wasn’t my best friend’s man.  Didn’t mean I couldn’t look though.  I knew he clocked me as soon as I walked out of the door, but he didn’t say anything until I got right next to him.

 

“She’s in the garage.  Something about putting a new sticker on a truck and needing a razor blade.”  He answered my question without me even asking it.

 

“Thanks.”  I acknowledged before turning and walking into the garage.

 

Cheyenne was in the back of James’ truck using a razor blade to scrape off an old sticker off the back glass of his brand new Ford F-350.

 

“What are you putting on there now?”  I asked her.

 

“A ‘piss on Ford’ sticker.”  Cheyenne said nonchalantly.

 

“Jesus Christ.  Don’t you two ever stop?”  I queried.

 

“I think it’s gonna be hilarious when he sees it.  He’s the one who let all the air out of my tires the other day, and put a broken down sign on it.  Sam didn’t question me at all, didn’t even ask what kind of sticker it was.  He just told me where the razor blades were.”  She laughed wickedly.

 

Cheyenne and James had a fight once a week about what make was better.  She was a Chevy girl, all the way, and he was a Ford.  They tried to one up the other, and it turned into a sibling war, which might possibly start World War 3. 

 

“Here, put this back in that tool box right there.”  She said, as she handed the razor to me.

  

She gestured with her head at mammoth toolbox in the corner, “I got it out of that black one right there.”

 

I walked over to it and opened the first drawer, then the next, and the next.  Wrenches.  Sockets.  Screw drivers.  Air wrenches.  All meticulously lined in a certain order that made no sense to me.  Why couldn’t they line these up in order of size?  What it looked like was one side had one set that went from small to large, and the other side did the same thing.  Seems to me that they should combine the two and then line them all up in order of size.

 

“Whose toolbox is this?”  I asked her.

 

“Gabe’s.” she answered.

 

A smile split my face.  A smile so wide that my face kind of hurt.

 

Feeling devious, I rearranged the first drawer that had the wrenches in it.  Then moved on to the next and did the same thing there.  Then when I got to the socket drawer, I took them all out of their little holders and lined them up the way I felt they should go.  He was probably going to have a shit fit, but it serves him right for ignoring me.  Maybe next time he’ll have a little sympathy. 

 

It was in the fourth drawer that I found a hammer, and a box of metal rods that had a letter on the end.  Curious, I took one out, inspecting it.  Then it dawned on me what they were for, and I went about spelling, “I LOVE EMBER” on the top of Gabe’s toolbox.  It looked pretty nifty if I did say so myself.

 

Feeling like I’d accomplished something, I wrote a note on a pad that he had sitting on top of the tool box, and set it on top of the rearranged wrenches in the first drawer.  Cheyenne and I were just about to leave when a little white Honda pulled up to the gate and pressed the call button.  Jack came out of the office and walked to the gate.  A little bottled blonde stepped out of the car, all long legs and ass.  Her hair was perfectly placed.  She was wearing a white sundress and white sandals on her feet.

 

Immediately, I recognized her as the slut-bag who I saw Gabe having lunch with a few months before when he was supposed to be having lunch with me.  He’d called and canceled about fifteen minutes before, and I didn’t pack my lunch, so I made a run to Deacon’s for a quick burger, where I saw the two of them together, walking out with his hand on the small of her back, guiding her like a fragile flower.  I knew instantly that I didn’t like the bitch.  She smiled up at him like the fake she was and laughed the most annoying laugh I’d ever heard.

 

They’d walked to Free’s work truck and got in together.  He’d made sure to hold the door open for her and help her inside.  I saw a flash of her white panties, and knew that he’d gotten a prime view as well.

 

I was hot.  I went ahead and ordered my lunch, but then decided that I was going to go ahead and give him a piece of my mind.  So I drove to Free, getting more and more upset as I drove.  When I got there, Gabe still hadn’t arrived.  Once I was done talking with Cheyenne, I knew I had to leave before I made a complete fool of myself.  I’d managed to ignore him completely until I’d gotten attacked.  It never even registered, in my mind, that I was mad at him that night.  I knew I needed him, and I knew he would come.  So I called him, never doubting for a second that he wouldn’t be able to help me in some way.

 

Now here that woman was.  She and Jack spoke for another minute before he punched the code in the panel at the gate.  She fell into her car, pulled it up to the front of the garage, and turned it off.  My eyes never left her.  She sat in the car for another minute before her gaze found what she was looking for, and that was my Gabe.

 

I didn’t realize that Jack called Gabe until I saw him rounding the corner of the garage.  He saw me and froze.  I could see his mind working.  We hadn’t discussed the fight we’d had over this woman.  Although it was inevitable now. 

 

Of course, he was able to put the mother fucking X-Box controller down for her.  I was totally going to kick his ass.  Maybe even hide his controllers.  He was going to be frozen out tonight if I had anything to say about it.

 

The woman stepped out of her car and called out a greeting to Gabe, but it fell on deaf ears.  He ignored her and walked straight up to me.  He grabbed me and pulled me into a scorching hot kiss.  My arms and legs automatically circled his body; fingers forked their way into his hair and held on for dear life.  His kiss ravaged me.  I was seriously on the verge of the Big ‘O’ when he pulled away.  I didn’t drop my arms or legs though.  If he put me down right now, I would land on my ass.  My legs felt like Jell-O.

 

Leaning forward for another quick kiss, my butt found the tailgate of James’ truck.  Letting go of my death grip on his hair, he backed slowly away from me and turned to regard the woman.  She had a scrunched up face, as if she’d sucked on a sour lemon.  I smirked at her and her glare got even more intense.  She looked ready to claw my eyes out, and if she even took one threatening step towards me, I was going to kick her ass.  Not that she had any ground to stand on.  Gabe was mine, and she wasn’t going to take him away from me.

 

“What can I help you with, ma’am?” he asked.

 

I found that funny.  He only used ma’am when he couldn’t remember names.  A small laugh escaped me, and he turned with a raised eyebrow.  I shook my head at him, and he turned back to her.

 

“My car is having a few more problems, and I wanted to see if you could fix them for me,” Whore said.

 

“I’ve got a huge project I’m working on right now, but Jack here could fix you right up.”

 

He was so getting a blow job tonight.  He had totally erased my pissiness from his earlier treatment.  The whore pouted when Gabe told her he couldn’t help her.  Not that I totally understood why she was turning her lip at Jack.  He was nothing to sneeze at either.  The army seemed to hire hot men.  Every man I knew that was in the army was unbearably hot.  Well, maybe it’s just the uniform, but that’s just me. Jack was tall, built, and handsome.  The complete package.  That is, if you didn’t take in the air of remoteness that seemed to repel you if he didn’t want you anywhere near him.

 

Gabe turned and regarded me.  I tried not to squirm or look guilty, and must have succeeded, because he gave me a slow wet kiss and left the garage.  I’m sure he was going to play that stupid game again, but I didn’t mind as much now.

 

Cheyenne and I watched and listened, while Jack spoke quietly with Story.  What the hell kind of name is that anyway? A stripper name?  Okay, if I was honest, it was kind of cool, but she was a whore in my book, so it became a stripper name by default.  Story and Jack worked out a few details, and then an Audi pulled up to the gate:  Story’s ride.  I wondered if she had a man, because it’d make me feel better if she did.  Jack opened the gate for the Audi and it became clear that she was a very rich woman.  The woman got out of her car and helped Story transfer the contents of her car into the Audi.

 

I wasn’t paying close attention until a car seat caught my eye.  There was a little girl.  A year and a half at most.  She was beautiful.  Her hair fell to just about armpit level in loose black ringlets.  Her complexion was the same bronze that Gabe had.  The little girl was asleep with her head leaned to the side of the car seat.  Something kicked in my heart.  Gabe’s baby would look like this.

 

I’ve always wanted babies, but I didn’t think they’d be in my cards.  Losing my parents so young made me realize how suddenly life could take a drastic turn for the worse.  My ovaries started crying out for Gabe’s little soldiers to fertilize their eggs.

 

So I could get a closer look at the little girl, I made my way to the car to ask if they needed any help.  “Y’all need any help?”

 

I wasn’t looking at them though; I was looking at the little girl in the back seat.  Nor did I expect an answer since I didn’t really want to help.  The girl was waking up now that she was hearing voices.  She was turning her head from side to side in annoyance at being woken before she wanted to.  Now that I was closer, I could tell that she probably was one and a half.  It was eerie how much this baby looked like Gabe.  If I’d seen her with Gabe, I would have said they were father and daughter without any hesitation.  A body slid into my vision, blocking the baby.  The driver of the car had stepped out hiding my view of the baby. The girl had a look on her face that could kill.  Not that I understood why.  I hadn’t done anything but admire her baby.

 

“She’s beautiful.”  I said to her.

 

Jesus.  This kid even had the same bone structure as Gabe.

 

“Thanks.”  She snorted.

 

I didn’t see any of her in the baby.  She had red hair that was styled in an up - do that probably cost hundreds of dollars to be done.  She was wearing designer dark linen pants and a cream shirt.  She didn’t look like she belonged in a garage, let alone in the freaking parking lot.

 

The woman was looking around, as if she was waiting for someone to pop out and come after her.  Not that anyone here would ever think about hurting her.  Just the opposite in fact.

 

Story put the last of her stuff into the woman’s car and got in without even saying a word to us.  Taking the hint, I nodded and told the woman to have a good day. She acknowledged my statement with a nod, and then got back into the car and slammed the door.

 

Just as she was closing the door, I heard Story say “Thanks, Sid.”

 

I looked at Cheyenne questioningly, and then transferred my gaze to Jack who had the same puzzled expression as me.  They both wondered what was going on, but didn’t say anything.  Story gave her number to Jack through a crack of the window, and then closed it immediately.  The woman tore out of Free as if her ass was on fire, burning rubber smelled in her wake. 

 

I made a note of the license plate, and jotted it down into my notes on my phone before I forgot it.  Something seemed very fishy there.  Why was that woman so nervous? 

 

Cheyenne joined me in the middle of the parking lot as we watched the car pull away, practically burning rubber to get out of there.

 

“Did you see the little girl in the back seat?”  I asked them both.

 

“She looked tiny, but I bet she was the same age as Pru and Piper.”  Cheyenne stated.

 

“I got her license plate.  I think we should run it.  Will you run it Jack?  That woman seemed like she was jumpy.”  I asked.

 

“I got it already. Woman did seem jumpy, so to be on the safe side I was going to run the plates.  It would’ve been done anyhow though.  Just in case the car owner doesn’t show for non-payment.  We have an alternative number and contact just in case.”  He said.

 

I felt better that I wasn’t the only one who sensed something weird.  I said goodbye to them both, but that little girl never strayed far from my thoughts.  Made me think of futures and shit.  I headed to the house where I found Gabe at the stove, stirring something that smelled heavenly.

 

Grabbing the can of biscuits that was sitting next to a cookie sheet, I tore the paper off and banged it on the counter.  After two good thuds, it burst open in a flourish, scaring the bejesus out of me in the process. 

 

“Fuck!”  I exclaimed, hand going to my thundering heart.

 

“You’re such a dork,” Gabe laughed.  “You knew it was gonna happen, why’d it surprise you?”

 

“Name me one person who doesn’t jump when they open biscuits!”  I grumped.

 

“Me.”

 

“You aren’t human,” I said in rebuttal, all while throwing biscuits down one by one onto the cookie sheet.  He stopped stirring the gravy and came up behind me, wrapping me up tightly from behind.  He rested his chin on the top of my head for a moment before diving in.

 

“What’s really bothering you, Em?”

   

I really shouldn’t tell him that I saw a kid today that looked exactly like him, that made me want to have his babies.  I really shouldn’t, but before I could stop myself, my mouth opened and I started word vomiting all over the place.

 

“When you left that girl at the shop, her friend showed up and gave her a ride.  There was a baby in the back seat.  I swear to God, she could’ve totally been your kid.  Do you want kids?”

 

He froze behind me.

 

Then I felt like a complete loser when I realized how insensitive I’d sounded.  He’d just told me about his ex-girlfriend aborting his child.  I knew it was still a painful subject, and I brought it up anyway with my big mouth.

 

“I haven’t had sex since Sidney.  I never really wanted kids with her; she was just a person to pass the time with.  It got to be routine.  I wasn’t in love with her, but having someone to come home to made me keep her around.  I’ve always wanted kids.  Just hadn’t found the right person who I wanted to have them with.  What did this lady look like that had the baby?”

 

“She was around my height.  She had dark red hair, blue eyes, and expensive designer clothes.  The baby didn’t really look like hers.  The dad must look kind of like you since she had the dark tanned skin and deep black hair.”

 

As I was describing the woman to him, a dark look came over his face, and then passed in an instant.  If I wasn’t paying such close attention, I would have missed it. 

 

A timer pinged behind him, and the moment was broken.  He finished his preparations and then set it all out on the table.

 

Dinner was amazing.  He cooked fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans.  I didn’t usually get the treat of eating a nice meal unless I went over to Cheyenne’s or went out to dinner. 

 

I stood to clear the dishes.  It’s amazing how a military man can be so unorderly.

 

Seriously, it was as if he dropped trash wherever he might have been at the time.  He could be standing next to the damn trashcan as he opened his beer, but does he throw the cap in the trash?  Fuck no.  He sets it on the counter, next to the trash.

 

The nightstand next to the bed has five half-filled water glasses.  Does he take them out in the morning when he’s through with them?  No.  He just brings a new glass to bed every night instead.  As a result, I just started cleaning up after him, because there was no way I could live in this filth.  He was almost as bad as Cheyenne.

 

Turning around, I found myself face to chest with Gabe.  One second I was staring at his t-shirt covered chest, the next I was licking his bare nipples after he whipped his shirt off.  His nipple pebbled in my mouth, and I switched to the other.  Then I ran my tongue up his chest and started following the tattoos.  He has a gorgeous one that spans his entire back, shoulder and his waist.  It peeks around his front above his shoulder, and under his left arm, curling around his pectoral.  At first glance, it looked like your normal tribal tattoo.  However, once I was able to examine it, I started finding words in the design. 

 

“What does this mean?”  I asked quietly.

 

I didn’t stop tracing the tattoo; I continued to follow it with my tongue.

 

Groaning in defeat, he snatched me up and tossed me over his shoulder like a sack of grain.  He bypassed the living room, and headed straight for his bed.  Once he reached the edge, he gave his shoulder a little kick and threw me on the bed.  I bounced twice before coming to a stop on my back.

 

I looked up into his eyes and pleaded with him.  He seemed to understand, and nodded his head once.  He stepped back from me and turned around.  From this angle, I could see it all a lot better.

 

“They’re a bunch of things my mom and dad used to say to me.”  He started.  “From the first memory I can remember, my dad started giving me words of wisdom.  When he stopped, my mom picked up the slack.  The week of her funeral, I started on this.”

 

I got up on my knees and started tracing the curves and lines.

 

“What language are they in?”

 

“Portuguese.”  He said.  “My dad was from Brazil.  He felt we should know both languages, so I grew up listening to him tell stories in his native tongue.  When he died, my mother tried to pick up the slack; she would tell me stories of my father in Portuguese.  She really sucked, but it was the thought that counted.  Some of these quotes are inked exactly the way she said them.  Whether they were right or wrong.”

 

“That’s the sweetest thing I think I’ve ever heard.”  I whispered.

 

Aside from the Ranger emblem he had on his right forearm, these were the only other tattoo he had.  Although, the pure massiveness of it should count as more than one.  Maybe like eight.  I started tracing the tattoo again, but this time with kisses.  His back started to break out in goose bumps; he turned rapidly and pinned me to the bed with his body.  My breathing turned harsh when I felt his erection press into my core.  Neediness swamped me, and I came to the sudden realization that if I didn’t have him right then, I just might die.

 

I broke contact with his body to shimmy my shirt up and over my head.  I wasn’t wearing a bra; my nipples puckered, and poked into Gabe’s chest.  His dog tags rested in the middle of my breasts, and were a cool weight against my chest.  My hands smoothed down his chest and found their way to his jeans.  He sucked in his stomach to allow me access to his cock without unbuttoning his jeans.  I slipped my hand in, and went straight for the prize.

 

His cock was a solid weight in my hand.  He was hard as stone.  The vein that ran up the underside of his cock absolutely fascinated me; I ran the tip of my finger along the underside, following it all the way down to the base and up again.  Smoothing my thumb over the mushroom shaped head, he jerked in reaction.  He must have been closer to the edge than I realized, because in the blink of an eye I found myself divested of my jeans and panties.  He made short work of his jeans and underwear, and was back on top of me.  However, he didn’t stay that way for long. 

 

Ever so slowly, he made his way down to my core.  His tongue snaked out and gave a long lick from my opening all the way up to my clit.  My body bowed up off the bed as zings shot through my clit.  He worked my clit with the ultimate precision, and I was just about to peak when he thrust two fingers inside me.  I shot into orbit.

 

“Gabriel!”  I whimpered.

 

He continued to work his fingers in and out of me until my climax slowed.  Pulling his fingers free, slowly, he stuck them into his mouth and licked my orgasm off his fingers.  Moaning, I grabbed him by the hair and pulled him down on top of me.  He wasted no time before slamming himself home.  This was how it was with us.  Hot, hard and furious.  We always tried to go slow, but never finished slow.  Something made it where we couldn’t control ourselves.  Repeatedly, he slammed inside of me.  It shouldn’t be possible, but I was already working up to my second orgasm.  He pounded relentlessly into me.  Over and over again, he hit so deep that a little jolt of pain shot through me.  But I loved it.

 

Gabe changed positions, slightly, for me.  I was gone again.  Distantly, I heard him grunt out his own climax, but I was too focused on mine.  Waves of delight were traveling through my vagina, and he kept hitting the perfect spot with each thrust of his cock.  Finally, the waves subsided and I opened my eyes to find Gabe’s eyes locked on my face, studying me.  He leaned down and gave me a chaste kiss on the lips before pulling back.

 

“I love you,” I whispered to him.

 

A brilliant smile broke out over his face.

 

“I’ve loved you for over a year now.  I’ve just been waiting for you to realize you love me back,” He said gruffly.

 

Something heavy seemed to lift off my chest.  Knowing that he returned my feelings went a long way in making me feel more secure in our relationship.