Chapter Thirteen

 

Evan

 

“Well?” I shovel in the last bite of my omelet. “Damn, I’m a fine cook, if I do say so myself.” I rub my hands over my now poofy gut and lean back ready to get the vegetable soup going and chill out.

“I guess now is as good of a time as any.” Gabe leaves a couple bites left on his plate. “I’m stuffed, that was the best I’ve ever had. You better be careful how often you cook for me, I might just kidnap you and move you in here to do it daily. How do you look in an apron?” He’s wearing that wicked grin on his face that looks so good on him again, the sultry-seductive one.

Fuckkk!

I laugh and take his plate, rinsing everything off and throw the dishes in the dishwasher, open the stew meat and put it in another skillet to slow cook, spicing it as I go. As the sauce starts to boil, I add everything else needed for it, and top it with a lid, then clean the rest of the kitchen and finally go rest.

“You’re a lot of work, dude.” I laugh. “Want to go in the living room? I want to kick my feet up after running myself ragged all damn morning for you.”

After we sit down, Gabe pulls me in close against him, his arm around my shoulder and it’s a good feeling. So right, and comfortable, like we’ve been doing this for years.

“When I turned into a teenager, and I hooked up with those older kids, the one’s I told you about, cops got involved, a lot. People were getting busted left and right around me. Even me, but I always got out after a few days and they realized they couldn’t pin anything on me, and we’d move until someone else would get caught. Same shit happened all the time.”

“And this officer took pity on you and got you out of that scene somehow?” I turn to face him.

He looks at me, his brows furrow in the middle and he bites the inside of his cheek. “Ummm…who’s telling this story here?” Gabe finally lets me off the hook and smiles at me, then continues, “Not exactly, he wasn’t around then. I always got sent in to the main jail, because of my size, they thought I was older.”

“Oh no, did they hurt you?”

“For fuck’s sake, do you want me to finish this story or not?” He pushes me away from him, but I dive back even closer, ready to be quiet and hear him out.

“Continue. Sorry, baby.” I look up and grin at him.

“Stop looking irresistible, dammit. Okay so while in the main jail until they could prove I was who I said I was, the older guys in there kept me protected because there’s always someone who’s gonna check you when you walk through the doors.”

I raise my hand and he grins. “Yes dear, what is it now?”

“What does ‘being checked’ mean? Checked for what?”

“It means there is always someone, usually a group of people who try to punk you down, pick a fight, whoop your ass, test you,” he explains.

“Ohhh.”

“So anyway, I kept to myself and watched the good guys, learned how to look over my shoulder, what to expect and what not too. Also, how the art of tattooing is done on the inside, with blades and stick pins, staples, etc… Ink from a fountain pen.”

“Oh snap, ouch.”

“Yeah, but I also learned how to do layouts and stuff too.”

“Oh crap, hang on, the meat, I need to stir it.” I jump up and run into the kitchen, then leap over the back of the couch, landing right where I was. “Sorry.”

“There was a group of cops that couldn’t stand me because they could never hang me up on anything. They could catch everyone around me, but I never did what they did, so they couldn’t ever make anything stick on me. They thought I was lying and couldn’t stand me because I ran my mouth a lot. I didn’t know how to shut up and bite my tongue then, sometimes I still don’t.” Gabe laughs.

“I’ve noticed that.”

“When I was seventeen, they had a few new officers that had come in and hooked up with the batch of bad cops and Officer Harrison was one of them. He arrested me on false charges and I fought for almost a year trying to get out of jail behind it.”

“What? I thought he helped you?”

“He did, though he doesn’t know it. My case kept getting reset because the court appointed lawyer had way too much on his plate and it was easier for him to sign off and postpone it for another month. I was charged with evading arrest & assault on an officer, nothing to shake your head at. Thing is, I didn’t do either. He pulled me down a side road and damn near beat me senseless before we ever got to the jail.” Gabe points to several scars on his face. One near his ear, the other above his eye, that his bushy brow covers, until he moves the hair.

“Oh baby, I’m sorry.” I sit up, trailing my finger over each one.

Gabe pulls back at first, then closes his eyes and lets me touch them.

“While being locked up, I started tatting people. Mainly myself at first and found others who liked what I did and wanted me to do it for them. By the time I got out, I was getting pretty good, had some money built up, enough to get some of my own equipment and was able to look for work. So yeah, Officer Harrison was an angel in disguise. If not for him, I wouldn’t have had the opportunities I did. Of course he’d shit his own pants if he thought he actually helped me instead of hurt me, like he was hellbent on doing. I should go thank him one day, but best to let bygones be bygones.”

“Yes, I bet he would just love to see you again. Ha. Asshole.”

“Anyway, I worked for several shops, stashed cash and was able to start my own place. Now here I am.”

“Baby, my God, you have had it handed to you over and over again your entire life, haven’t you? I don’t know how you could survive the things you went through sometimes. You are one tough man.” I lean against him, interlocking my fingers with his and bring his hand to my lips.

“What was I supposed to do, quit? Not hardly. I wasn’t put on this planet to quit or stop fighting. If you don’t mind, I’m going to go upstairs and lay down for a minute. After stuffing my belly and spilling my guts, I think I need a nap.”

“Let me check on things in the kitchen too and I’ll turn it all on simmer and be up. It’s time for your medicine again.”

Gabe goes ahead of me, but I’m not far behind. I make sure everything is spotless in the kitchen and that I’m not going to burn the house down, then pour him a glass of orange juice and follow up behind him a few minutes later.

I could get used to spending more time here around him.