Chapter 31 #3
The first song bled into the second, and though I was acutely aware of Gabe’s proximity, I was able to relax enough to enjoy the music.
Then they played a slow song, one about longing and passion, lost love and second chances.
Gabe had begun to move closer, not close enough to draw attention or raise eyebrows, but close enough that when he uncrossed his arms, his pinky brushed against mine.
At first I thought it was an accident, but then he began to gently rub it back and forth.
He continued to stare straight ahead as he entwined our pinkies, and it felt like he was extending an olive branch.
It felt like an apology for what happened last weekend.
Too soon, he pulled away and my heart sank. Where he’d touched me now felt cold. I scrubbed my hands over my face, fighting back tears. I wanted him so bad, it felt like my heart was being ripped from my chest every time I looked at him, knowing I couldn’t have him.
I quietly slipped away to regain my composure.
Ducking behind the senior center, I pressed my back to the wall and let my eyes fall closed, drawing in a deep, cleansing breath.
I didn’t know how much more I could take.
Being so close to the object of all my desires and not being able to do anything about it was chipping away at my heart piece by piece.
“Jasmine,” Gabe’s voice called from the dark. He stepped out of the shadows and into the dim glow of a nearby streetlamp. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep having all these almost moments with you.
It’s slowly crushing me,” I confessed, and a tear slid down my cheek.
He needed to make a decision soon. Either take the risk and go all in or let me go completely.
He was like a drug. It would hurt less in the long run to quit him cold turkey than to continue getting micro doses that only fed this addiction.
He was in front of me in an instant, his hand cupping my cheek as his thumb brushed the tear away. “Please don’t cry,” he pleaded. I pressed my hands to his chest, and his heart tapped out a staccato rhythm against my palm. I couldn't decide if I should push him away or bring him closer.
“I wish I could stop wanting you. I wish I could stop dreaming about you. But this craving I have for you will not abate,” I confessed.
He released a shaky breath and dropped his forehead to mine.
“Fuck, Jasmine, you’re killing me.” His body leaned closer as he brought his free hand to my hip.
Our breaths mingled and became ragged as his body pressed into mine.
His restraint was slipping again. I could feel it in the way his hands trembled and his breaths shuddered.
Spearing his fingers into my hair, he tugged until my face was tilted up to his. And then he was kissing me. It was slow and sensual, the kind of kiss you poured your heart and soul into. It was nothing like the frenzied, desperate kiss we shared the first time.
Gabe slid an arm behind my back and pulled me closer.
I clung to him, wanting to hold on forever.
He slipped his hand beneath my shirt and splayed it across the small of my back.
The sensation of his bare skin on mine lit my nerve endings on fire.
I snaked my arms around his neck, arching into him so there was no space left between us.
His tongue swept inside my mouth, exploring, tasting, claiming.
He groaned into the kiss as his hand dropped to my ass and squeezed.
The sound of giggling and stumbling footsteps sounded from the direction of the concert.
Gabe abruptly ripped his mouth from mine just as a couple rounded the corner of the building.
He shifted to the side to block my body and dipped his head to hide my face, shielding me from the onlookers.
His hot breath on my neck and his hard body pressed against mine had a moan spilling unbidden from my lips.
Gabe nipped at my ear and slid his hand up my throat to cup my jaw, pressing his thumb to my lips.
A pulse of arousal shot to my core, and I fought back the whimper that threatened to escape.
“Shh,” he warned, low enough only I could hear as he gently brushed his thumb back and forth across my lips. I pressed my thighs together as I imagined him rubbing a different appendage over my lips.
“Sorry,” the woman snickered. “Didn’t mean to interrupt.” Neither of us responded, and the couple passed by.
Gabe lingered for a moment after they were gone, holding me in place as he breathed me in.
Finally, he pulled back and there was so much yearning in his expression, I considered throwing caution to the wind and asking him to take me right then and there.
That thought quickly faded when he stepped away and scrubbed a hand over his face.
“I should probably get Rory home. It’s almost her bedtime,” he said regretfully.
“Yeah,” I mumbled my agreement and pushed off the wall, straightening my clothes.
Without his hands on my body and his lips on mine, I could think more clearly.
We’d been reckless. Anyone could’ve come upon us out here in the open.
Someone who knew my dad or brothers, and if word got back to them, it would be disastrous.
“Gigi is probably ready to go too.” He nodded, but made no move to leave. Neither did I.
Closing the distance, he pulled me to him and whispered, “One more,” before crushing his lips to mine.
This kiss was desperate. It was urgent and unyielding.
He kissed me like I was the air he needed to sustain his very existence, like he was a drowning man and I was his buoy.
It felt like coming home. It also felt like it might be our last.
And it was over all too soon.
Gabe pulled back and pressed his lips to my forehead.
Then he slipped his hand in mine and led me back to the concert.
Despite having been naked in his lap only a week ago, the simple touch sent tingles up my arm.
When we stepped onto the lawn, he squeezed my hand and released it before anyone could see.
I swallowed hard, tears welling in my eyes.
I hated sneaking around, and I was tired of hiding our feelings from the rest of the world.
Something needed to change soon, or I wouldn’t survive loving Gabriel Montgomery.