11. There’s A Fireplace
Chapter eleven
There’s A Fireplace
G abe makes it easy to recover from my blunder by consistently calling my numerous apologies unwarranted. We get up from the bench shortly after my final attempt, and stroll through the park, holding hands as the sun sets. I am spent, but I don’t want the day to end.
“There’s one more thing I want us to stay for, but if you’re tired, we can head back now.”
“I’m not,” I fib. “Well, I am, but I thought my facade was airtight. Exactly how rough do I look?" I send him a small smile.
“You look exquisite. Call it a gut feeling.” He shrugs.
“Nice save. But you didn’t need it. I want to see what you want to show me.”
His relief is apparent; he squeezes my hand a little tighter. “Alright, let’s take a break and then we’ll come back.”
We walk until we end up in front of a giant building. Gabe opens the door and leads me inside. We are still in the park but there are no crowds here; the quiet is a stark contrast to the screaming and giggling children.
The interior of the building is filled with cream marble; the colour accentuated by the warm white chandeliers and wall sconces. There is an arrangement of light pink and yellow roses which sits on a giant table in the entryway.
“Mr. Rohan.” A man at the front desk dips his head towards us. “Nice to see you again. It’s been a while.”
“Nice to be back, Peter. Is my suite prepared?”
“Always.”
We follow Peter to an elevator, where he swipes a card, activating it. “Enjoy your break from the park.”
The room is as opulent as the entryway. There is an enormous sitting area with a circular couch that frames an oval, glass table.
Hanging from the roof is a gold-and-crystal raindrop chandelier that fills the entire open space.
The farthest wall from us is mostly lined with ceiling-to-floor glass windows, except for a door that leads to a balcony with a view of the entire park.
“What if we stay here instead? It won’t change my plans for us. Unless you want to go on more rides? ”
I’m not sure what plans we have but relaxing seems like a magnificent one.
I stretch out on the soft couch and watch Gabe as he keeps pulling different food items from new places.
When he’s done, there is a board filled with tons of snacks, pastries and sweets.
He makes his way over to me with a gold bucket that holds two bottles.
I don’t expect the pop of the bottle to startle me the way it does.
“Sorry, I’ll give you some warning next time.” Gabe hands me a glass.
“Next time?” I quirk an eyebrow playfully.
“Definitely. I’ve already decided to ask you out again. And I’ve already decided you’ll say yes.”
The way his eyes twinkle is too tempting for both our sakes. It doesn’t help that he keeps scanning my body even though I’m sitting. He lifts my legs using my ankles, and slides under the open space.
“You like being close to me, huh?” I laugh after he gets comfortable.
“Eh, it’s alright.” He playfully scrunches his nose up.
“So, you’re like this with all the girls then?” I glance down at the way his thumb delicately strokes my left ankle. “Or has all of this been reserved for me?” I gesture to the spread and the room.
“Honestly?” The word was a question I’m not sure I want an answer to.
“No, lie to me.”
His response starts with a chuckle which fades into sincerity. “I’ve brought women here before, not many. But it feels different with you, although it’s a little too soon to spill my guts since this is our first date.”
I know exactly what he means.
“Being with you feels like home.” It’s a thought that slips from my lips in a compelled whisper. “Which is insane because I just met you.”
The space between us fills with something heavy; the weight of it makes the air fervent.
From the entry table, his ringing phone corrodes the moment. Gabe shifts my legs off him and gets up from the couch. “Sorry. I thought I’d turned it off.”
I’m having a hard time processing the way he is so invested in spending time with me.
And a harder time processing what I’m risking because of my attraction to him.
But I can’t shake the way seeing him with those other women still irritates me a bit, which I know is hypocritical due to the Eliam of it all.
And that bothers me too. Not to mention the way Eliam just disappeared.
My mind flips between the two of them for the first time, acknowledging the fact that I want them both, and knowing it’s never going to happen because I am a royal Incandescent, engaged to Uziel.
The massive room is suddenly too small as my heart lodges itself in my throat.
I rush towards the door, pushing the glass frame outward so I can escape into open air.
The patio is grand; its decoration complementing the indoor space.
I climb onto the U-shaped couch and curl up on one of the over-sized cushions, pulling a blanket over my legs.
There is a rectangular table with an already-lit fire pit and large pedestals of white roses standing in each corner.
Different configurations of glass-enclosed flames dance around in clusters on the floor.
Cataloging my surroundings helps regulate my breathing, and the joyous laughter and screams from the park start to improve my mood.
“You look cozy.” His smooth voice pulls me back to the balcony. “Can I join you? Or do you want me to leave you alone?” He waits for me to respond. When I don’t, he sits down next to me anyway, assuming our exact position from earlier.
“Tell me about the surprise.” My voice sounds more sad than excited.
“You don’t like surprises?” He is lightly drawing circles on my ankles with his fingers.
“Not usually.” The befuddlement in his voice when he asks the question makes me sniggle. “What?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever met a girl that didn’t like surprises.”
I scoff at his categorization. “Girl?”
“Sorry, not girl. Woman .” I don’t react this time, because his new label isn’t any less ironic.
“You apologize a lot.” I take the ears off and place them on the table .
“I feel compelled to with you.” His voice has dropped into the zone, which causes my pulse to quicken.
“Interesting.” I seductively smile at him. “What else do you feel compelled to do?” A rhetorical question, really, because I can see the hunger in his eyes when he looks at me.
Gabe yanks me gently by the ankles, quickly repositioning his hands around my calf and waist so that he can meld my body into his. I feel his fingers wrap tenderly around the back of my neck before he pulls my head towards him.
He closes the space between our faces and stares into my eyes. Licking his lips, his eyes flicker down to my mouth; the lights from the park and dancing flames bounce off his skin gorgeously.
“This.” He leans in, lightly pressing his lips against mine.
The sensation of our lips colliding is indescribable. My senses are flooded with flavours of smoked peaches and honey. Gabe deepens the kiss like he is starving . His right hand is still gripping my neck securely as his left slips under my skirt where he caresses my thigh.
I pull away at the loud voice announcing a firework show in five minutes. “The surprise?” My voice sounds sleepy, though my body is anything but.
“The surprise,” Gabe confirms, his voice trance-like as loud bangs from above pull our concentration towards the sky.
Shapes, colours and characters we’d seen throughout the park, dance across the onyx sky. I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes and I blink them back for fear that one will fall and he’ll see the iridescent glowing liquid.
“Exceptional.” I am enthralled by the fireworks.
“Yes, you are.” I look over at Gabe who has been watching me instead of the lit-up night sky.
“Thank you. But you’re missing all the magic.” I shift my gaze upwards again.
“There’s nothing more magical than my view right now.” He leans into me, planting soft kisses in the crook of my neck.
The fireworks continue and throughout, Gabe kisses my neck periodically or runs his fingers gently over any section of my exposed skin. He never tries to pull my attention from the show, but I can feel the electric sexual tension mounting in the air.
Eventually, the show ends and the park flares to life again. “Did you enjoy it?”
“I did. I’d ask you if you did but…” My words trail into a small laugh.
“I enjoyed watching you enjoy it.” Gabe’s voice is husky and it makes me shiver. “Are you cold? We could go inside.”
The possibility of my voice betraying the lust I am feeling has me shaking my head. I can see him smile at the unspoken acknowledgment that he is the cause.
“So…” I stretch the word out for a bi t. “Do you do this often?”
“I haven’t been here in a minute, to be honest.” I raise my brow at him and confusion flashes across his face at the question. “Wait. Do I do what?” He almost looks offended for a second.
“Invite women up here to woo them?” Even though we are having what could be an awkward conversation, his fingers still linger on the nape of my neck. He is delicately twirling my curls.
“You don’t beat around the bush, do you?” I shrug at his question. “I have invited women up here before but it’s different with you.”
“I’m sure it is.” I don’t mean to sound so sarcastic. I’m not even upset—if anything, I’m feeling territorial which is shocking. What the hell is going on with me?
“Jealousy looks good on you.” Gabe winks at me. I respond with an eye roll and he laughs.
“Was it one of the twins? Or one of the two girls from the pool?”
He lets out a soft groan. “Does it matter?”
“Not really, no.” I don’t say anything else and neither does he. A few seconds later, he finally moves his hand and I miss the feeling of his fingers on my nape.
“Weren’t we having a good time? We were having a good time, right?” There is something in his voice and he isn’t as calm as before.
Everyone’s warnings about getting too close to humans replay in my head. Maybe this is a side effect; my mind is telling me to put more space between us but my heart isn’t listening. I reach out to cup his face and place a soft kiss on his lips.
“We’re having a good time. I’m having a good time .” I kiss him again and when I pull away, I’m sure I see a twirl of blue in his brown eye.
The awkwardness dissipates and Gabe is back to his usual cocky self. We enjoy sitting outside for a while longer until the crowd at the park starts thinning out.
“Are we heading back soon?” I ask as we step off the patio; the warmth from inside hugs me like a soft blanket.
“About that...” Gabe pauses and pulls the door close behind us. “I was wondering if you wanted to stay.”
“Stay?” I saunter over to the couch, not looking back to see if he is following.
“Yeah. It’s a couple of hours back, and it’s late. We can leave but we don’t have to. And I don’t want to if I’m being honest. But it’s entirely up to you.” He walks past the couch and heads into the kitchen.
“I’m not opposed to it but I don’t have anything to wear. Or a toothbrush.”
I can hear him snickering from behind the fridge door. “Well, both of those things aren’t a problem. They’re plenty of new toothbrushes here. And—” his statement ends abruptly.
“ And? ” I twist around to face his direction.
“They’re tons of new clothes here in different sizes.” He closes the door and our eyes connect .
“Of course there are.” I turn around. The jealousy I’m not supposed to be feeling worms around inside me.
“It’s not what you think.” Gabe’s voice is getting closer. He places two glasses of fizzy water on the coffee table, then sits down. “Okay, maybe it is. I’ve never thought about how bad this sounds. I’ve never had to. None of the others cared.”
“The others. I wonder how many others.” My voice trails off into silence; the words lingering heavily between us.
“Fuck. That’s not what—” He is cute when he’s flustered but my goal isn’t to upset him.
“It’s okay.” I want him to feel comfortable around me. So, I ignore the jealousy urging me to lash out and try focusing on the moment. He is here with me right now and that’s all that matters. “I’m not mad you’ve had a life before me. Plus, this is just a date.”
“Oh, it’s just a date?” Irritation coats his words.
“What did I say?” I’m confused. He’s getting upset and I have no idea why. “Isn’t this a date?”
“I—” He pauses for a long time before continuing. “It is a date.”
“So why are you getting angry?” The question seems to snap him back to reality.
“I don’t know what the hell is happening to me. I’m sorry. I’ve been anxious today and it’s baffling. Especially for me. I’m—”
“Usually extremely charming and all the ladies want it?” I smile at him and he physically relaxes a bit. “Now, you said our date was going to turn into a sleepover?”
“Essentially. If you’re into it.” Gabe takes a sip of his water and I mirror the action.
“Sure, it should be fun.” I’m not as confident as I pretend to be. Gabe makes me nervous, excited and impassioned.
What I feel around him isn’t normal. Instant love isn’t real but that’s how I feel. Like I’ve spent the whole day falling in love. I want to climb into the most sacred space of who he is and live there forever. I want him to strip me down and press me against every surface.
“And no one will be looking for you?” His voice breaks through the stupor of my lustful thoughts.
“Huh?” I’ve missed what he’s asked.
“There’s no one expecting you to come home? A boyfriend? A wife?” He has pulls my feet onto his lap again.
“Um, well. About that…”