Chapter Twenty-Eight Sienna
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Sienna
He did not just say what I think he said ... did he?
That dopey grin is still on his face. I’ve always believed a person’s true feelings come out when they’re drunk.
Maybe, just maybe, Gavin is in love with me.
Hmmm. That might be hopeful thinking on my part.
A car fitting the description of our Uber pulls up to the curb, and I change the subject, desperate to get us out of here and somewhere more private. “Here’s our ride.”
“Thank God.” He lurches out of my hold and staggers over to the car, bending down to peek through the open passenger-side window. “Hey, dude.”
The guy is watching Gavin with shock and awe written all over his face. “Gavin Maddox?”
“That’s me.” He slaps the edge of the open window with both hands and shifts toward the rear passenger door, opening it for me. “My lady.”
I almost laugh at the way Gavin gestures gallantly toward the open door, and I send an apologetic glance to the Uber driver.
“Hey, uh. This car is for Sienna, not Gavin,” he says, sounding confused.
“I’m Sienna,” I tell him as I get into the car, Gavin sliding in after me. He’s nestled close, his side pressed into mine, and he slips his arm around my shoulders, hauling me even closer.
“You smell fucking delicious,” he tells me as loud as possible.
I meet the driver’s gaze in the overhead mirror, and he looks away guiltily.
“Gavin. You need to stop,” I whisper.
“He doesn’t care.” Gavin’s voice remains just as loud as he waves his hand at the driver. “Do you care that I’m in love with Sienna Cooper?”
“Not at all,” the driver says, shifting so he sits lower in his seat, like that might help him disappear. “You can love whoever you want.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” Gavin exhales loudly, that smile still on his face. “It shouldn’t matter. I don’t know why we’re keeping this a secret, baby. Everyone deserves to know how we feel about each other.”
I want to die of mortification, and I also want to sing from the rooftops because is Gavin declaring his love for me to our Uber driver? Apparently so.
“I told my parents that I’m in love. Want me to tell you what my dad said?” He pauses but doesn’t give me a chance to speak. “Nah. You don’t want to know. It was mean. He’s a mean son of a bitch, and I’m sick of his shit.”
“Gavin ...”
“Don’t. The tone of your voice—you sound like my mom.” He leans his head against the back of the seat, closing his eyes, his expression agonized. This poor man. He must’ve gone through it with his parents during dinner. “Always making excuses for my dad. Always trying to get me to go along with the plan. Whatever that is.”
I remain quiet, glancing out the window to see how much longer we have in this car. Thankfully his apartment complex is close by, but we’re stuck at a red light that seems to go on forever, and Gavin can’t stop talking.
“I have my own plan. To take this season all the way and win it all. Graduate. Get drafted by the NFL. Take you with me wherever I end up. I know you have a year left, Freckles, but you don’t need to finish if you don’t want to. You can travel the country with me.” He’s still got his head slung back against the seat, and he turns it in my direction, his expression oh-so serious. “I’ll buy you a ring, and we’ll get married. What do you say?”
Is he now proposing to me in the Uber? He cannot be serious. The man has clearly drunk way too much alcohol tonight. “I should probably finish school first.”
He frowns. “That’s a little disappointing, baby. You mean you’ll stay here and finish while I leave?”
“Um ...” My voice drifts, and I’m beyond grateful when the car pulls into the parking lot of his complex. I immediately change the subject. “I think we’ve arrived.”
“Oh shit.” Gavin lifts his head, staring straight ahead. “I live here.”
I almost laugh at his surprise.
“Straight ahead, dude. My building’s all the way in the back.” He leans forward, thrusting his head between the seats. “Yeah, drop us off right there.”
The car jerks to a stop, and I’m reaching for the door handle, escaping the car quickly. Gavin stumbles out of it right after me, and I grab his hand, holding on to it as tight as I can, though I know he’ll take me down with him if he falls.
Gavin waves at the driver as he leaves before turning to me, that silly smile still on his handsome face. “I’m glad you came home with me, baby. I can’t wait to get you naked in my bed.”
His brutal honesty is ... shocking to say the least. He’s been sweet toward me the last couple of months, and I haven’t felt uneasy with him the entire time we’ve been together, but in this moment?
I’m thrown by his behavior. It’s not normal for Gavin to speak so freely, and I’m blaming the alcohol.
“How much did you drink tonight, anyway?”
“Not enough,” he says as he starts for his building. Somehow, he makes it to his front door, though he’s not walking in a straight line. I follow him, apprehensive until the moment he walks inside his apartment, and only then can I breathe again. If he would’ve fallen outside, there’s no way I would’ve been able to get him off the ground. He’s way too heavy. I would’ve had to call my brother for help, and that would’ve brought a lot of questions that I don’t know how to answer.
I shut and lock the door, then turn to find Gavin has already left the living room, leaving a trail of clothing behind him. His shirt. His belt. His shoes. He kicked off his jeans in the doorway of his bedroom, and I grab everything, clutching the pile of clothing and accessories to my chest when I enter his room to find him falling forward on the bed in just his boxer briefs.
“Maybe I did drink too much,” he says, his voice muffled by the mattress.
I dump his clothes on top of his dresser. “Were you drinking at dinner?”
“Oh yeah.” He rolls over on his side, resting his elbow on the bed and propping his head up with his hand. “It was the only way I could get through that nightmare.”
“It was that bad?” I wince, bracing myself.
“You don’t even know the half of it.” His voice lowers. “Come closer, future wife.”
I go still at his words, shocked all over again. I can’t get used to him saying these sorts of things. Will I ever?
I edge closer to the bed, gasping when he lurches forward and grabs my hand, pulling me onto the mattress with him. He wraps me up in his arms and rolls us over so I’m lying beneath him, his gaze locked on my face. “You’re wearing too much clothing.”
“I didn’t strip like you did.”
“I was hot.” He bends his head, kissing my neck. “ You’re hot. So fucking hot, Freckles. I need you naked.”
I close my eyes as he makes his way down my body, kissing the parts of me he exposes. He lifts my sweater and kisses my stomach. Undoes the snap of my jeans, slowly lowering the zipper. The moment my panties are revealed, he’s kissing them, making me tremble.
“I can smell you. You want me.” He lifts his head, grinning at me. “You always want me, huh?”
There’s no point in denying it because he’s right. When do I not want him?
“I always want you too,” he continues, his voice gruff as he starts tugging on my jeans. “Lift your hips, love of my life.”
The nicknames are adorable. The way he’s touching me? Sets my skin on fire and leaves me a shaky, needy mess. I lift my hips for him as he requests, and he slowly pulls my jeans down, nearly falling off the bed when he gets them all the way off. He yanks off my socks next, his gaze lifting to find me watching him.
“Take off the sweater,” he demands, and I do as he says, revealing that I have no bra on underneath. I went and changed after the game, wanting to look prettier for him, and I don’t even think he got a chance to appreciate my outfit.
Oh well.
“You’re beautiful, baby,” he murmurs as his gaze rakes over me, and I forget all about feeling sad that he didn’t appreciate what I wore. The way he’s looking at me more than makes up for it. “And I’m not just saying that because I’m drunk.”
He always compliments me when I’m with him, and he’s remained sober the last couple of months, avoiding alcohol because he didn’t want to consume the extra calories. “You’re beautiful too,” I tell him because he is. His body is absolute perfection, and he works hard to maintain his physique.
Gavin laughs, shaking his head. “If my dad heard you right now, he’d be so pissed. He’d say you’re trying to feminize me or whatever. Calling me beautiful like that.”
“You are beautiful.” I grab hold of his arm and pull, and he collapses onto the mattress with ease. I crawl on top of him, straddling his hips, my face in his. “You’ve not only got a beautiful body, but you’re beautiful on the inside, too, Gavin. You’re kind. Smart. A natural-born leader who cares about those who are important to you.”
“You’re important to me.” His hand comes up, fingers threading through my hair. “You’re the most important person in my life.”
My heart starts thumping wildly at his declaration. I know he’s drunk. He might not remember saying any of this to me tomorrow, but the sincerity glowing in his eyes tells me he means it.
And I believe him. That’s not wishful thinking on my part either. This man is for real. He’s all mine and he loves me.
“I’m tired of hiding our relationship from everyone. I know I wanted this, and you did, too, but it’s getting so fucking hard to keep my feelings to myself. When all I wanna do is unleash them all over you.” He cups my face, a gesture he knows I love, and I lean down, brushing his lips with mine. “I meant what I said earlier. I’m in love with you.”
“Are you sure?” I whisper, my heart now firmly lodged in my throat. I swallow past it, noting the flicker of irritation in his eyes. “I don’t doubt you, I just ... you’re drunk. And emotional after a rough night with your dad.”
“That rough night, as you call it, opened my eyes and made me realize I don’t treat you like I should. Hiding you like a secret when I should put you on a goddamn pedestal like you deserve.”
He kisses me again, his mouth soft and persuasive, and just as I’m about to part my lips for his tongue, he ends it, the glimmer in his gaze fierce. “I’m not like my father. I never will be. I love you, Sienna. I want a life for you. With you. And I will never stifle you or tell you what to do. That’s how my father treats my mom, and it’s so fucking unfair. She barely has a life. He dictates her every little move, and there is no freedom for her. He controls her in all the ways, and that’s fucked up. I would never do that to you.”
“I know you wouldn’t.” I smile, trying to ease the mood that’s suddenly come over him, but he continues.
“We’re telling everyone we’re together. I can’t take it any longer. And I don’t care what my dad said. I deserve love. I do. And I love you.” His mouth is on mine once more, the way he’s kissing me feeling almost desperate. I press my hands against his face this time, trying to gentle the kiss with my lips.
His mood is all over the place. He’s laughing, he’s in love, he’s mad, he’s upset. I wrap my arms around his neck and cling to him, our mouths moving against each other, tongues sliding, circling. I still haven’t told him I love him, and I don’t know why. Maybe because this doesn’t feel real? Like he’s going to wake up in the morning and deny he ever said any of this? That’s my fear, and it might be irrational, but then again ...
It might not.
He rolls me over until I’m underneath him, my legs spreading to accommodate him nestled between my hips. I don’t stop kissing him, loving how he’s almost frantic with need, and it takes us only a few minutes to shed the last of our clothing and for him to somehow slip on a condom before he’s buried deep within me.
Gavin holds me close, his mouth on my neck, his hands on my hips as he lifts me up, plunging deep. I run my hands up and down his back, trying to soothe him and calm myself. This night, this moment, is unlike any other we’ve shared before, and we’ve shared a lot. This feels like a turning point. A new beginning. And I’m ready for it.
Hopefully he is too.