"Can I get you anything else?"

"How about your phone number?"

I rolled my eyes at the middle-aged guy staring at me with unconcealed lust. The idiot was married too. Gross.

I looked up and saw Gabe was sitting at the bar, watching me like a hawk. It made it a lot easier to handle this sort of thing without getting too upset.

Plus, I didn't want him pummeling the customers.

"Anything on the menu."

"Damn girl, that's cold."

The guy didn’t seem too embarrassed about being turned down in front of his friends. His buddy elbowed him and leered at my chest. I ignored them and set the check down on the table.

"Okay, here's your check. Come again."

"We sure will sweet thing."

I shook my head and left, making my rounds through the restaurant. I did my best to be polite, even when the customers weren't. I didn't even care about tips when things got like that.

I just wanted to keep my job.

So I had to resist the urge to dump a drink down their pants.

Gabe was watching me. I could feel his eyes on me. He smiled at me warmly and I blushed. Suddenly, things didn’t seem all that bad.

The rest of the night passed in a blur. I knew when I got off Gabe was coming home with me.

And I knew he was going to keep me up all night.

I definitely didn't mind though.

Like clockwork, round eleven the rowdy crowd came in. I watched as Gabe was surrounded by his old teammates. He even did some shots with them.

I left him alone, bringing him a snack at one point but letting him have his fun. It’s not like he was still on pain killers or anything.

It was getting near closing when things got weird. The place was emptying out, with last call over and done with. Gabe's friends had just left as I headed to the back.

I turned the corner and froze.

Gabe was staring at me with a strange look in his eyes. He leaned in the hallway, his walker blocking my path.

"Almost ready?"

I nodded breathlessly, wondering what he had in mind. He'd blindfolded me the other night. I shivered just thinking about it.

The truth was though, I liked to see his beautiful face when he took me.

I especially liked to watch him as he watched us.

"Let me get my things."

He didn't say a word, just stared at me. His face was strange- almost hard. I felt a tiny pinprick of worry. A feeling that something was off. But it was just Gabe. He loved me.

Nothing was wrong.

Nothing could be.

I gathered my things and said goodnight to the other girls. Gabe was waiting outside by my car. He stared at it, barely looking at me when I unlocked the door for him.

We drove across town without talking. Every time I glanced at him, he was staring out the window in silence. He didn't try and take my hand. He didn't try and kiss me.

He didn't say a single word.

I swallowed, feeling suddenly nervous. Maybe something was wrong. Maybe he was regretting getting me the car.

Or asking me to move in with him.

Or any of it.

I decided I should tell him he didn't need to do anything for me. That it wouldn’t change a thing about how I felt about him.

I wanted to tell him, but I couldn't work up the courage to say anything. And he didn't say a word. Not until we got all the way inside. He locked the door and turned to face me.

"Take your clothes off."

My mouth opened a little. I realized I was nervous but pushed the feeling aside. We'd already done this a bunch of times. He loved me. That’s what mattered. He was just eager to make love.

What was there to be nervous about?

I smiled at him shyly. "Do you want to go into the bedroom?” He just stared at me, his jaw clenched.

“No need."

"Okay."

I watched him sit on the couch and push the walker away. Then he unbuttoned his jeans and leaned back. He didn't even take his coat off. He just stared at me, waiting.

I fidgeted a little. My gut was telling me something was wrong. I just didn’t know what it was.

"Is everything okay?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

He looked straight at me, almost challenging me to say something. I felt flustered, like I was trying to prove something. I just didn’t know what.

"You're just- you're being..."

"What am I being?"

Gabe’s face was calm. He didn’t look mad. He raised his eyebrows and I forced myself to answer him.

"Different, I guess."

He shrugged, completely indifferent. I would have thought we were strangers, except I could see the fire in his eyes and the growing bulge in his pants. Maybe he didn't feel like talking.

That was it, right?

"What are you waiting for?"

I bit my lip and started pulling my clothes off. My jacket. My scarf. My t-shirt.

"That's good. Keep going."

I stared at him, standing there in my bra and jeans. This felt weird. Wrong somehow.

Like we weren't together. Like I was just- an object.

Like I was a stripper or something.

"You can have the car back."

He stared at me, a muscle ticking in his jaw.

"Keep it. I want you to have it.”

"I'm just saying if that's what’s bothering you-"

He sighed, like he was bored. But he undid his pants and shrugged out of his jacket. Then he leaned back and looked at me again.

"The car is yours. Now take your bra off."

I reached for the clasp and undid it. But I didn't pull it off my shoulders. Instead, I covered myself with my hands.

Suddenly, I was on the verge of tears.

"Come here, Tabby."

"Are you angry with me?"

"Come here and make it up to me."

"Make... what up?"

He smiled at me coldly.

"Come here and I'll tell you."