LAUREN
“Can I drive, Aunty L?” Madi asked, skipping over to me.
I held the keys out and wrapped my jacket around myself tightly. It had grown cold while we were in the restaurant. Madi clambered into the driver’s seat and slammed the door.
“You’ve got one forward niece there, Aunty L,” Gabe whispered. “She literally grabbed me under the table. Not backwards at coming forward that one.”
“Grabbed you where, exactly?” I frowned and looked through the window at Madi who was taking her time adjusting the seat and the mirrors.
“Well, let’s just say she ran her hand fairly high up.”
“The little hussy.” I looked at my niece in a new light. One I didn’t really want to see her in. “You be careful around her. You aren’t—”
Gabe threw his head back and laughed heartily. “You’re not jealous are you, Mrs Robinson? I assure you I’ve only got eyes for you.”
I shook my head and smiled a little. “You’re an idiot.” I pulled open the car door. “You can hop in the back.”
“Tell me where to go.” Madi smiled at Gabe in the rear vision mirror. “I assume we’re dropping you home?”
“Just take me back to Lauren’s. I’ll walk from there.”
“You sure?” she asked. “We could come in for a night cap or something, couldn’t we, Aunty L?”
“We will not be going anywhere for night caps, young lady.”
“You used to be more fun.” She sulked and her eyes flicked to the rear vision mirror once more.
“Eyes on the road,” I instructed.
Gabe walked right past his jeep when he left, pretending he didn’t have a vehicle. The rest of us walked inside and started to make the beds fit to sleep in. I didn’t have enough room so Madi was assigned to the couch in the lounge. She complained for a bit before realising the only other option would be sharing a bed with her mother at which time she promptly shut up. Just before heading off to bed, I opened the presents they had brought. I got a pizza stone from Mother and Dad, and a subscription to a photography magazine from Morgan and family. I already had three pizza stones in the cupboard, and I had given one away. They were a popular gift at my and Derek’s engagement party. I would be able to start my own collection soon.
Mother cornered me and made me give her all the sordid details concerning Derek. I could tell she still didn’t really believe me, and she still insisted I hadn’t tried hard enough.
“And what of the young man tonight?” she asked.
“What of him? I said, looking up from flicking through the glossy pages of the magazine.
“Don’t give me that, Lauren. What was he doing there?”
“He’s a friend and a workmate, that’s all,” I said, pretending to be distracted by one of the photos.
“The devil comes to tempt us in many forms,” she said solemnly.
“Gabe is not the devil.”
“You may think me naïve, Lauren, but I’m not as stupid as you’d like to think. That boy looks at you with a lustful glint in his eye. You would do well to stay away from him. Something like that could ruin your chances of ever getting Derek back.”
“But I don’t want Derek back,” I replied through gritted teeth.
“Well, you should. He’s your fiancé and it’s your duty to stay by his side.”
“My duty?” I could almost feel my hackles rising.
“Yes, your duty,” Mother took a sip of her tea and looked at me pointedly.
I considered debating with her, telling her exactly what I thought of my duty, but I bit my tongue as I knew it was pointless. “I’m heading to bed,” I told her. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Mother stood and pulled me into an embrace. “Happy Birthday, Lauren.” She squeezed tightly. “See you in the morning.”
I fled down to my bedroom and shut the door a little harder than necessary. The conversation with Mother left me feeling so useless. I pulled at the zipper and let my dress drop to the floor. Staring at it, I considered picking it up and putting it away, but that act alone reminded me of my mother so I left it. For now, I just wanted to climb into bed and forget today ever existed. It was not a birthday I wanted to relive in a hurry. I reached behind and pulled off my bra. Something tapped on the window. Noticing the crack in my curtains, I pulled my nightshirt to my chest, covering myself, and cautiously approached the window to pull aside the curtain. In the darkness, I could only just make out Gabe’s figure staring back at me. I opened the window a fraction.
“You really need to be more careful with your curtain placement,” he whispered. “I was rather enjoying the show.”
“What do you want?” I hissed back, glancing to the door, certain that someone would hear.
“Let me in?” He rubbed his hands over his arms, trying to warm himself.
“But my parents are in the next room.”
“I’ll be quiet.” He pouted and leaned forward, eyes dropping to my chest. “You can’t stand there exposed like that and expect me to leave.”
I adjusted the shirt to cover myself better and opened the window wider. “Fine.” Gabe pulled himself through the opening as I tugged on my shirt and hopped into bed. “You can’t stay, though,” I warned.
Pulling his shirt over his head and tugging his jeans off, Gabe just smiled and jumped into bed, shivering as he wriggled close to me.
“You’re cold,” I said quietly, scared that my mother would be able to hear the slightest whisper. I pressed the length of my body against him and he reached across to clutch me, taking all the warmth he could from my body.
“Well, that was an interesting night,” he said, shivering. “Shit it was cold out there!”
“Shhh,” I hushed him. “You should have just gone home.” I rubbed his back, trying to coax some warmth into him.
“But I wanted to see you. I didn’t even get the chance to wish you a proper happy birthday.”
“What have you been doing out there?”
He shivered again. “Just walking around, waiting for you to go to bed. You took your time.”
“You could have just driven home.”
He huddled closer. “I was afraid I would get caught getting into the jeep and ruin your perfectly planned excuse.” He pushed me away a little. “Can you roll over? I think I’ve drained all the warmth from this side.” I shook my head a little and smiled as he squished even closer. “Your mother’s just a lovely ray of sunshine, isn’t she?” He chuckled. “Clementine. You look an awful lot like her. It’s like getting a peek into your future.”
I flicked his chest with my finger.
“Ouch!”
“Behave,” I warned.
“It’s true,” he insisted, laughing softly.
“Quiet. They’ll hear you,” I pleaded.
He pressed cold lips to my ear. “Speaking of behaving, roll over.” He tickled me and I squirmed as noiselessly as I could until I relented and turned over. Gabe nestled into me, pulling me tight, and when my backside pressed against him, he surged with awareness. “I guess not all of me is cold.” He pressed his lips to the nape of my neck.
“We can’t,” I whispered back and looked pointedly at the wall which my parents would be sleeping next to.
“I’ll be quiet,” he whispered devilishly.
Gabe ran his hand down my side and gripped the flesh of my hip, massaging it as he worked his hand down my thigh. He nudged his way under my arm curled across my chest and stroked my breast gently until he took my nipple between his thumb and forefinger and twisted it gently. My breath caught in my throat, then escaped with a small moan.
“Shhh,” Gabe whispered again. He kept gently teasing me until I was grinding against him, virtually begging. Running his hand over my stomach and then trailing further down, he plunged his fingers into me.
“My god, you’re wet,” he groaned. “I want to taste you.”
“No,” I breathed, though my body language was saying otherwise. Before I could stop him, Gabe dove under the covers and I struggled to contain the pleasure surging through me. It was too much. It needed somewhere to escape, to release, or else I would come undone. I moaned and gripped the sheets. Gabe slid up me and pressed his finger to his lips, grinning wickedly. Then he covered himself and entered me, thrusting with sharp, hard movements. I couldn’t help the little yelps that escaped with each thrust, and Gabe covered my mouth with his hand, his eyes stuck on mine, dark and burning with the knowledge of the way he was making me feel. After tormenting me with ripples that reverberated through every inch of my being every time he moved, he plunged in deep and used his fingers to complete me. Afterwards, I turned limp beneath him, my body melting to liquid as Gabe bit his lip rather than cry out, and fell back to his side of the bed, spent.
“Now I’m warm,” he said.