Chapter 20
Nora: #Owned
“A tiny little kiss in the corner of a room?” Shit! Did those words come out of my blabbering mouth? How desperate have I become?
Truth be told, I want a kiss. So bad. Ever since we kissed that night at the bar, I’ve wanted to kiss him again. Just to see if it was the alcohol that made it seem like the best kiss ever, or was it really so good? I thought the kiss with Clark would make me feel something similar, but it was nothing like it. So, yeah. I want it, but I could’ve been more elegant instead of asking for it point-blank.
Anyway, even if Gabs feels weird, he says nothing. He plays along and nods, though his expressions take a consternated look for an instant.
Well, let’s hope the kiss is not as good, and then I can get past this stupid feeling and things can return to the way they were. Plus, it’s just a ‘tiny little kiss’. No harm can come of that. And if it helps my friend even one bit, I should do it, right? I mean, I get my kiss and he doesn’t need to know that I ‘need’ it for my own sexual reasons as well. A classic example of a win-win.
We go down, hand in hand. There are at least twenty people downstairs already.
“I thought it was a close friends type of small dinner,” I whisper to Gabs.
The women are all dressed in gowns, so I’m glad I wore what I did.
“You look beautiful, Nora,” George gushes as soon as we go down, hugging me. “And Gabriel, you’re still as smart as ever. Just like me.”
“Just like you, Dad,” Gabs says, chuckling and punching him lightly in the stomach.
“Nora, my dear! You look lovely,” Daphne says, sashaying toward us, flailing her hands affectedly.
“Thank you. And you’re as beautiful and graceful as ever,” I reply.
“Come, both of you. Let me introduce you to the others.”
We go around, as she introduces us to everyone, never once mentioning that I’m Gabriel’s girlfriend. Just ‘his friend’ or ‘childhood friend’.
There are only a few who I remember from past times, professors who taught with George. Most people seem to be socialites who are recent additions to the ‘family friend’ circle.
Once we’re done, George comes over with glasses of champagne for the two of us.
“Don’t mind Daphne,” he says, turning to me. “She’ll come around. She still doesn’t believe you two are dating seriously. But I’m delighted for you both. I’ve wanted this since you were kids.”
I smile at George, but his speech is a bit slurred already. So it could also be the alcohol talking. Carla had told me he’d started drinking a lot, and I can see why. Living with this new Daphne must not be easy for a simple and easy-going person like him, who liked nothing more than spending an evening in his pajamas, drinking a cup of coffee, and reading a book alone in his study. A party like this was definitely never his idea of fun.
Daphne calls George to meet someone, and he leaves us reluctantly.
I’ve barely had a few sips of the champagne when Gabs takes the glass from my hand and places it on a nearby stool. Then he holds my hand. “I’m sorry for Dad if it made you uncomfortable.”
“No. That’s the reaction we’re going for, right? But I find it concerning that your mom isn’t convinced yet.”
He comes closer to me. My back is against the wall and he’s standing right in front with his arms on the wall, one on each side of me. He bends a little and whispers into my ear, “Are you sure about the PDA thing you said earlier?”
My brain stops working when he is this close to me. I guess this is the effect he has on other women when he whispers into their ears. Even if he whispers something banal, his sexy drawling voice can make anything seem arousing.
I nod and try to hold his gaze as he peers into my eyes. I swallow as he bends down further, his lips grazing mine, our noses touching.
A tiny little kiss . That’s all we need to do. I can do this. I tell myself. For him, I can.
I see Daphne looking in our direction. This is the best time to show her we’re real, that I’m more than his childhood friend. I pull him down, closing the remaining distance between our lips.
He cups my face in his hands as my hands rub his back. My brain shouts out that the ‘tiny’ part of the kiss is long over, that we should separate now, but my lips can’t seem to get enough. The next instant, his tongue is inside my mouth, ravaging my tongue. I hold him closer, my chest flat against his. I can feel his hardness, and all I want right now is him inside me. His fingers knead my spine like he’s trying to draw me in even closer while his other hand is caressing my cheek.
With a sudden change in movement, he bites my lower lip. I almost moan into his mouth when someone clears his throat near us and I realize we are in a room full of people and not alone in his condo.
“Ahem. Would you like another drink, son?” George asks.
Gabriel peels away his lips and I can see he’s as dazed as I am. What just happened? He licks his lips, gapes at me, then turns to George.
“Drink? Yeah. I think I do need one.”
“Get a hold, son. I know you can’t keep away from each other, but maybe try to hold on till after dinner,” George says, chortling as he hands us a drink each.
I’m sure my face is red as a cherry and so hot that the chef could bake a fish on my face itself. And it’s not only the embarrassment of George pointing us out like this that’s causing it. I realize it was not the alcohol that made me feel like it was the best kiss ever that night. It can’t be the drinks or rebound or anything else, if you get the same feeling two times in a row.
Shit! I’m really in deep shit.
I think I need to talk to Gabs about this. He needs to know how I feel, or at least how I think I feel. Maybe he has an explanation for it.
I turn to face him, and he is deep in thought. “Hey, we need to talk,” I say.
“Right now?”
I shrug. “The sooner the better.”
Daphne interrupts us. She has a knack for always coming at the wrong time. “Nora, you must meet Sophia. She’s the daughter of a dear friend and will inherit one of the very large businesses in France. Sophia, this is Nora, Gabriel’s childhood friend. Her family lives nearby.”
I smile at Sophia and shake her hand. She’s pretty and elegant. I’m almost jealous. Jesus! What’s wrong with me?
“Is your family here too?” Sophia asks.
I scan the room. I didn’t even check whether Daphne invited Mom and Carla.
Daphne is quick to respond. “Um, they’re busy and can’t make it today.”
Well, clearly that’s a lie. I know they’re not ‘busy’ today. Anyway, I don’t want to call her out on that. Gabs understands that too, I guess.
“Gabriel, I’d like you to meet some people. Why don’t you come with me?” Daphne says, pulling Gabs’ hand and taking him away, leaving me with Sophia.
“So,” I say after a brief pause. I know that the difficulty of breaking a pause increases exponentially with the length of the said pause, and I don’t want it to reach seriously uncomfortable levels. “How do you like Boston so far?”
“It’s okay. It’s not my first time in the city, though. I travel to the US often for work. But it’s not like Paris.”
I nod. “Yeah, it isn’t.”
“You’ve been to Paris?”
“Um. No. Not really. I love it here and the beauty of my work is it can be done from anywhere in the world. I mean, it’s digital marketing. Would be silly if I had to travel for that, right? Not too digital if it required physical meetings.”
Wow, I’m pretty happy with the words I just uttered. They’re intelligent and funny, at least in my head. Given the state of daze I’m still in, I’m quite impressed with myself. I turn to her, hoping to see an appreciative look. But no. Nothing. Not even a hint of a smile. Maybe she doesn’t understand English all that well.
“I know a few social media influencers. TimPenny, TruthSeekerBob, HashTheTag. A few more. Aren’t you too somewhat of an influencer? I can’t understand the big hype around them, though.”
TruthSeekerBob! Why am I not surprised? Birds of a feather. Hah.
We’re quiet for a bit. I don’t know how to respond to her. Maybe I should introduce her to Clark. They might hit it off.
I’m still engrossed in thinking about the two of them and what conversation they’ll have when she speaks up again. “You weren’t there for the meeting with Gerard? I would think the marketing head should’ve been there.”
“Gerard Dumas? The investor? You know him?”
“Yeah, I do. I know most people in business in France. You end up meeting them at conferences, or parties or somewhere, y’know.”
Yeah, of course. If they’re all as snotty as you, I’d rather die of loneliness than go to any party.
“Totally,” I reply aloud. “I think Gerard shouldn’t have asked Gabriel to leave MooreGames. There’s no one better than him, and he was doing a stellar job.”
She doesn’t reply, and I don’t want to start another topic with this snooty woman. Unfortunately, she doesn’t feel the same.
“You and Gabriel been dating for long?”
“Not really. It’s quite new. Of course, we’ve been friends like forever. But the dating bit is new.”
“Yeah, must be. Weren’t both of you seeing other people barely a week ago or so?”
I don’t like her grandmothery, judgy tone.
“Kinda. But having known each other so long makes it seem quite easy and almost natural,” I reply, amazed at how easily the reasons come to mind.
“That was some kiss you both had going there,” she says and my heart pounds at the mere memory. “And Gabriel is, of course, a great kisser. Am I right?”
What? How does she know? Did Gabs kiss her during their dinner date? What the hell? Is the room spinning all around me or is it just me?
Just breathe. One breath at a time. Inhale. Exhale.
Why do I care if he kissed her? I’m not his real girlfriend, so why should I care? As far as I know, he had technically broken up with Paula when he met her and our fake dating hadn’t started. So, yeah. It’s all fine. Whatevs.
She’s still looking at me, and she has a silly smirk on her face. God! How I hate her. But I won’t let her win or at least give her the satisfaction of feeling that she won.
“Yeah, he’s also great in bed. Have you seen his…” I open my eyes wide. I know for a fact that he didn’t sleep with her because he came to pick me up after his date, so I can end up one-upping that.
She shrugs. “I’m sure I’ve seen better.”
I give out a tiny laugh. “I doubt it,” I say, giving her back the smirk and taking a quick winning selfie for my followers. Hashtag Owned! Hashtag Burned.
Yay! Nora one. Sophia zero. Though I know it’s fake, but so what? Everything here is fake and the lines between fake and real are blurring really fast.