Chapter 9 #2
BiteSizedGabi: I’ll think about it. Does this mean I won’t see you this week?
Eros415: You can see me anytime you want, Gabi. All you have to do is call me.
His assurance makes me feel better, and I’m tempted to do it right now. But I need to organize my thoughts, and I really should work on my project.
Eros415: Send me your POTN before you go to bed.
BiteSizedGabi: My what?
Eros415: Pajamas of the night.
I smile and shake my head.
BiteSizedGabi: You first.
A minute passes before a photo comes through. My gaze roams over the long, muscular legs sprawled across the bed—all the way up to his black briefs. The image is cropped, but I can just make out a hint of ink dipping beneath the waistband. And below that, the thick, hard outline of his cock.
“Dear universe.” I close my eyes and clasp my hands together. “Whatever I did to deserve this, thank you.”
BiteSizedGabi: Some morally gray god made you in his image.
Eros415: Deviant.
Eros415: Have your answers ready by Friday.
BiteSizedGabi: So bossy.
Eros415: You haven’t seen anything yet.
The weight of those words settles between my thighs, and I already feel neglected knowing I won’t see him this week.
BiteSizedGabi: I’ll be here if you’d like to demonstrate.
Eros415: I’ll demonstrate when you’ve done your assignment.
BiteSizedGabi: Fine.
I send him a pouting cat emoji and stretch out while I let my mind wander. It’s only a few minutes later that something occurs to me.
Why was he in bed in the middle of the afternoon?
The rest of the week passes slowly. After I ignored their demand to meet, Nate’s friends have been turning up everywhere. It could be a coincidence, but it doesn’t feel like it. I think they’re trying to send me a message.
Everywhere I go, people whisper and stare. I can’t even escape it in class, where Bethany and her friends make a point by paying me extra attention. Part of me hopes that if I ignore them, they’ll eventually leave me alone, but I’m not so sure.
On Tuesday, I video call Eros, and he makes me read him my favorite spicy scene from this week’s book. On Wednesday, I find another gift waiting for me in my cubby—a pink Swarovski teddy bear necklace. I saved it to my Pinterest board a while ago, so I guess he found that too.
By Thursday, I’m counting down the minutes until Friday, but I can’t shake the anxious feeling in my chest.
What if he bails after I tell him the brutally honest truth?
The thought of never hearing from him again triggers definitely-not-as-casual-as-it-should-be feelings. I’ve become so used to talking to him every day, the idea of going without makes me feel lonely.
But it shouldn’t.
Shoving those worries aside, I distract myself by video calling him. It takes him a minute to answer, and when he does, I can see that he’s walking somewhere. Tonight, he’s wearing the balaclava.
“Do you carry that mask with you all the time?” I ask.
“Never know when I might need it.” A hint of humor slips through the altered voice.
“Are you busy?”
“No.”
“Want to watch a movie?”
He glances at the screen, and I rush out an explanation before he turns me down. “There’s an app we can use to watch it together.”
“What movie?” he asks.
“I was thinking…the original Scream? Halloween is coming up, and I usually do a horror movie marathon.”
“Send me the invite,” he says.
“Are you sure? You don’t have to if you have things to do—”
“Gabriela, I wouldn’t have told you yes if I didn’t want to. Now stop being apologetic and send me the invite.”
“Okay.” I offer him a small smile. “Talk to you in a minute?”
He nods, and I disconnect the call. A few minutes later, we’re all set up and ready to go. I pull the big, fluffy comforter around Beppe and me and hide under the covers as the movie starts.
To my surprise, Eros actually seems into it, offering his strange commentary like, “that’s not how people bleed out” or “those are theater wounds.” I tell him I’m not sure I want to know how he knows that, and he laughs.
It’s weirdly comfortable, but also empty.
“What’s the matter?” he asks.
I didn’t realize I’d sighed so loudly.
“Nothing. I was just thinking it would be so much better if you were here.”
There’s a pause, and then his voice, but not where it should be.
“Yeah?”
I nearly jump ten feet in the air when he pulls the covers off my head, and I stare back at him with wide eyes.
“Oh my god.” I clap a hand over my mouth to stop myself from laughing too loudly. “You could have given me a little warning.”
“Maybe I just like to hear you scream.”
I bite back a smile as my eyes roam over his body. It’s crazy what a difference a few days can make. I feel desperate to have him close right now.
“Are you going to stay a while?”
In response, he reaches down, unlaces his boots, and climbs into the bed behind me. Wrapping an arm around my waist, he tugs me back against his warmth, tucking my head beneath his chin.
“We still have five more movies in the franchise to watch,” he says. “If you really want a marathon.”
“Sounds like an all-nighter.” I close my eyes and let out a contented little sigh. “That will be perfect since we both have tomorrow off.”
He nods, but doesn’t answer, which makes me wonder if he even knew about the Faculty Development Day. He’d only know if he was really a student.
Regardless, I don’t care right now. An entire night of watching horror movies with him pressed against me won’t be a hardship.
As it turns out, we only make it through two before I notice the time on the phone.
“Hey, it’s after midnight,” I tell him. “It’s officially Friday.”
“You have your three reasons?” he murmurs.
I bite my lip and nod.
“Let’s hear them then.”
A note of tension edges his voice, and it gives me the impression he’s dreading what I might say. That only adds to the pressure. But he asked me to be honest, so that’s what I’ll do. All I can hope is that the truth doesn’t scare him off.
“Okay, here we go.” I blow out a breath.
“The first thing you should know is I’m bound to an arranged marriage, which will happen after I graduate.
I don’t love him, and he isn’t who I would have chosen for myself, but I can’t change it.
I want the time that I have left to be with someone I choose.
I realize that might be too messy, so I understand if you don’t want to get involved. ”
His arm tightens around me, and it feels almost…protective.
“And the other two reasons?” he asks.
I swallow hard, knowing we survived the first part, but I’m not sure about the second.
“You said you thought you were a placeholder for someone else. The truth is, I’ve had my heart broken before, and it was brutal.
It took me years to get to a point where I finally accepted that loss.
I won’t lie to you and say I’m over it. Honestly, I’m not sure I ever will be.
But I also know that he and I will never be together.
Things are complicated with him, but they are final.
Something happened, and now he hates me. ”
“What happened?” Eros asks, the words so low I barely hear them.
I close my eyes as the memory of that day comes roaring back. I don’t like to think about it, so I try to keep the details brief, leaving out the part about the lightning strike.
“We were at the fair, and there was a storm, so they shut it down. When we made it back to the parking lot, I realized I’d left my phone at one of the booths inside.
He told me to stay in the car, and he’d get it for me, but they’d already closed the entry gate.
I should have told him not to go, but I didn’t.
He jumped over the fence and grabbed my phone, but when he was climbing back over, there was an incident.
It ruined his life, and it was my fault. ”
A long, heavy silence stretches between us before he finally says something.
“I’m sure he wouldn’t agree with that.”
I don’t have it in me to argue that point. People always tell me that, but the truth is Romeo has hated me ever since he came back to the island, and I can understand why.
“He almost didn’t make it.” My throat tightens around the words. “That day haunts me. Even now, when I feel a storm coming, it steals my breath. So I can’t tell you I’m over it, because I never will be. I’ll carry that pain forever.”
“Gabriela—”
I shake my head, rushing to get the words out while I still can.
“I know I can’t change it. I’ve accepted that.
It will always be part of my story, but it’s time for a different chapter.
What you and I have is temporary, but it means something to me.
I may not know who you are, but in a weird way, it’s like I’ve known you forever.
I’m comfortable enough to be myself with you, and that’s rare for me. ”
Eros stays quiet, anchoring me with his presence. I can’t see his face, but I feel the intensity of his gaze.
“So basically what I’m trying to say with a whole lot of words is that…I like you. That’s my third and final reason.”
“I like you too, Gabi.” His voice comes out rough. “And that guy who broke your heart sounds like an asshole.”
“That’s all you got out of that?” A quiet laugh escapes me.
“No. But I do have one more question for you.”
“What is it?”
“If he were a shark, what kind would he be?”
“That’s an odd thing to ask.”
“Humor me.” He glides his fingers through my hair, sending a cascade of goosebumps down my spine.
I answer without thinking it through, because I already know. “A megalodon.”
He releases a ragged breath and what sounds like a muttered curse. I’m not sure why, but when he rolls over me and presses his forehead against mine, I forget all about it.
“Tell me I won’t be an asshole if I do this with you.”
“You won’t.” I smile against his mask. “I’m quite literally asking you to do it. At this point, you’ll be an asshole if you don’t.”
His chest vibrates with quiet laughter, but it dies off slowly.
“I hope you remember that.”
“I will.” I slide my hands over his back and pull him closer. “Now will you please be a gentleman and take off my clothes?”