Track 9: Crazy For You
Gabe
The disappointed look on Kate’s face doesn’t go unnoticed, which gives me a little thrill. I know she felt that kiss as much as I did, but I can’t be the one to crack first. Her feisty, smart mouth has me wanting to pull her naked body back against mine and carry her ass up into my bed. I know her body responds to me just as mine does to hers, but waiting until she can’t take it any longer will make it that much better.
Knowing she’s wanting it as much as I do makes it really hard to maintain my willpower, but as long as I get her to give in first, I won’t have to any longer.
Hearing about her family and the loss she’s gone through makes it easier to understand her sarcasm and guarded walls. I can empathize with her, which makes me want her even more, but I’ll be damned if I’m the first one to crack.
Waking up without her in my arms feels different. Even though it only happened once, I can’t get it out of my mind. The warmth of her body, the silky-smooth feel of her skin against mine, the way she curled up next to me, brought me back to falling asleep in Sophia’s hospital bed. I visited her every day and stayed until she’d fall asleep. A couple times a week, I’d wake up to one of her nurses waking me up, telling me it was okay to go home. Although the memories bring back pain, the feeling of having someone next to me brings back the reality of how lonely and empty my life is now.
I shower and dress, surprised I didn’t run into Kate. I head downstairs and stop on the last step as Kate’s ass comes into view. She’s in the living room with her ass up in the air in barely-there shorts.
“A guy could get used to this,” I say smugly, walking toward her and watching her body tighten.
“Used to what?” she fires back, turning her head toward me. “Girls don’t stick their asses in your face on a weekly basis for you?”
“Only when I ask them to,” I fire right back, shrugging as if her comment didn’t bother me. I’m sure she thinks of me as a manwhore or something, but she has no idea. “However, they usually aren’t wearing clothes when they do.”
“Classy.” I hear her mutter as she lowers her body to the floor and arches her back and neck up toward the ceiling. Natalee comes in and hands me a mug filled with coffee. I kiss her on the cheek and thank her.
I take a sip and watch as Kate purposely avoids eye contact with me.
“Didn’t peg you for a girl that does yoga. Looks good on you, but I think you’re supposed to be relaxed. You look a little tense.”
“Gee, I wonder why.” She glares at me, but I can tell she’s trying hard not to smirk at me. She might not be an open book, but her body language is loud and clear.
“Hey, you be nice to my cousin. She’s been through—” Natalee starts scolding me, but Kate’s quick to interrupt.
“Nat, it’s fine.” She waves her off, pushing herself up to standing position. “Gabe’s just mad he had to sleep with blue balls last night.” She glances at me with an evil smile, knowing she’s exaggerating the truth.
Natalee sighs. “I swear you two…” She shakes her head. “You bicker like siblings. Or cats and dogs. Or worse.”
“What’s worse than that?” I ask.
She looks at me and then to Kate before looking back at me again. “Nothing. Never mind. Kate and I have some errands to run after breakfast, and I put you and Trace in charge of cleaning out the garage. I’m not walking in my heels through the damn mud, so the car needs to fit.”
Fun.
“Well, I’ll go shower and get ready then.” Kate excuses herself, and I watch as she struts up the stairs, glancing back once before continuing with the satisfaction that she’s caught me staring at her ass. Again.
I head into the kitchen where Trace is sitting at the table with a newspaper in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.
“So garage duty, huh?” I ask, teasing his old man status.
He peeks up from the newspaper, waits until Natalee isn’t looking, and then shakes his head. Natalee turns around, refills both of our mugs, and says she’s going to finish getting ready. She leans down, kisses Trace, and tells us to ‘behave’.
“Of course, babe.”
He flashes me a wink and take a sip of my coffee to hide the laughter.
“So what are we really doing?”
“Getting props for Thursday night.” He sets the paper down and grabs his phone.
“What’s Thursday night?”
“Since you canceled on my bachelor party last month, we’re having an impromptu one Thursday when the girls are out doing their thing.”
I raise my brows, impressed. “And you think keeping a secret two days before your wedding is a smart idea?”
“Trust me. It’ll be easier to ask for her forgiveness than her permission.”
I laugh, seeing the old Trace again. “Dude, I hope you’re right. I’d hate to see her handcuff your balls to the staircase or something.”
He winces. “Then let’s just make sure the girls are gone long enough to not know any better.”
I shake my head, smiling, fully on board.
Kate
Natalee dragged me into town after our breakfast. She was on a mission to find something blue.
“It’s tradition,” she informs me for the second time. I flash a fake smile. “You’ll understand that someday, Kate. You’ll want all the traditions and ridiculous flowers and be picky about colors and venues.” She smiles sweetly at me. “Someday you’ll be dragging me around looking for stupid wedding things, too.”
Hearing her words completely guts me, straight to my heart with a sharp-bladed knife.
This is harder than I thought it would be and it’s going to keep getting harder the longer I keep it a secret.
“I’m sure I will.” I flash a convincing smile.
The day consisted of rummaging through flea markets, looking for something she could pin in her hair, wear on her ankle, and old, large picture frames. When I gave her an odd look about the frames, she informed me it was for pictures—snapping a picture of the two of them in the frame.
It was kind of unique so I understood the purpose. After a while, I loosened up and started to enjoy my time alone with her. It was fun picking out pieces and looking through old stuff.
“So you and Gabe seem to have a little thing going on,” she says casually, picking through stuff.
My brows shoot up, surprised she’s pretending to sound so nonchalant about him. “Nope. Nothing happening.”
“Seems like it.”
“We haven’t slept together if that’s what you’re insinuating,” I reassure her.
“I wasn’t, but good to know,” she quips with a wide grin. “So why not?”
“Why not what?”
“Why haven’t you slept with him yet? He’s good looking. You’re hot as hell. What’s the problem?” The way she says it is like she’s asking why I haven’t tried the seafood yet or something. It didn’t sound like Natalee at all.
“What’s the problem?” I repeat. “I’ve known him for three days! What kind of girl do you think I am?”
She narrows her eyes and scowls at me. “The kind of girl that hasn’t had fun since she was in high school. The kind that barely left the house unless it was to the hospital or pharmacy. The kind that needs to let loose and have some fun for once in her life.”
Her words hit me right in the stomach, this time full of truth and reality.
“Doesn’t mean I should just jump into bed with the next willing guy,” I retort, not exactly shooting the idea down. “I’m not looking for a relationship or anything that will make my life more complicated right now.”
“Sex doesn’t have to be complicated, Katie.”
I groan. Tell that to my heart, I think to myself. And vagina.
* * *
We arrive back to the house just before dinner. The guys are sitting on the couch with an empty beer case on the coffee table, each holding a bottle in their hands as they watch something on TV. As soon as they hear us, they quickly glance up at us and flash a weak smile before gluing their eyes back to the screen.
“Please…don’t get up,” I say dryly, walking pass Gabe with both hands full of bags.
“Someone’s full of piss and vinegar,” I hear Gabe mutter to Trace and the both of them laugh.
“Would it kill you to be a gentleman once in a great while? Or is that beyond your capabilities?” I snap, piling the bags on the kitchen table.
“You’re the first girl to ever complain. So perhaps it’s you, sweetheart.” There’s an edge to his voice, and I can tell he’s getting off on rattling me.
“Or just the first girl to have standards.”
Trace bursts out in laughter, and I almost forgot he was in the same room.
“What? What I miss?” Natalee asks, bringing in more bags.
“Nothing,” I shout before Trace can say anything. “Where do you want all of these?”
“There’s fine. I have to organize it all and put it in the right tote bag.”
Natalee has totes all over the dining room floor, which is why we’ve been eating in the kitchen. Everything is labeled and perfectly organized inside.
“Okay, well, if that’s the last of the bags, I’m going to head upstairs for a bit.”
She sets the bags down and smiles. “Thanks for all your help.” She wraps her arms around me and squeezes. “We should do this kind of stuff more often,” she says, making me wince at her words, echoing in my ear.
“I agree,” I say, my heart filled with regret. I pull back and head for the stairs, needing to distance myself before I completely break down in front of everyone.
First Gabe and now Natalee.
How am I going to tell her after this? How am I going to get through the rest of my time here without cracking?