CHAPTER 19
Just Yours
Gabriela
I was officially moving back to my apartment.
When I was getting ready to leave, Mamma cried at the threshold and Papà stood with a stony face, trying to hide his emotions.
Though we’d still see each other, I knew it wouldn’t be the same.
I was going to miss them terribly. In the weeks I spent living here, I’d seen a change in my parents.
Our dinner and game nights were fun again, the way they used to be before their messy divorce, and their communication with each other had improved drastically.
Like they were owning up to the faults that tore them apart in the first place.
During my time back home, Papà dropped by often and despite Mamma’s raillery, I knew she liked having him in her space.
Missed it, even. We all still had a multitude of issues to wade through, but dare I say, we felt whole again.
How crazy that this semblance of peace in our home arose from such a disturbing chapter in my life. If the break-in had never occurred, I wouldn’t have moved back and witnessed the small growth between Mamma and Papà.
Oscar drove me back to my apartment after a bittersweet farewell with my parents. He ushered boxes with my belongings up the elevator and I did my utmost best not to cast a glance at the door in front of mine when I entered my place.
I thanked Oscar for everything he’d done. He responded with a crooked smile and a pat on my head, saying it was nothing and that I was welcome to call him if I ever needed help.
With the threat gone, a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. A younger guard had replaced Maverick, someone Vance Remington personally selected, and a bit more muscle was added around the building.
Anna and Layla arrived at my apartment just as I was putting my clothes back into my closet. They came bearing cake and a white box tied with a pink bow.
My jaw hung open when I unwrapped my gift, presented with the prettiest black bustier with gold chain detailing. “Oh my goodness.”
“Do you like it?” Anna queried from her seated position on my bed.
“I love it. Are you kidding me?” I spun around to face the mirror, holding it against my chest. “This is stunning, Anna. I’m going to wear it at the Halloween party, and I’ll pair it with my new miniskirt and heels.”
Anna approved with a cheeky smile. “You’re going to look so hot.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’m obsessed with it, Anna,” I gushed, absolutely enamoured with her creation. “Layla, did you already get yours?”
She nodded. “Anna gave me mine before we came over. It’s cream-coloured, with beautiful pearl embroidery.” She showed me a picture on her phone. “I’ll wear it to the Halloween party as well.”
“Yes, then we’ll match!” I threw myself at Anna, hugging her with all my might and pushing us until we fell backwards on the bed with giggles. “Can’t wait till you establish your own label and we can have wardrobes filled with your designs.”
Not wanting to be left out, Layla ambushed us too. We were a tangle of limbs and laughter before settling on our backs and staring at the chandelier on my ceiling.
“What are you going to do about Hunter?” Anna questioned after a quiet moment.
“Has he replied to any of your texts?” Layla commented.
“He hasn’t even opened them.” I sighed. “I didn’t mean to hurt him. I just…”
“It’s fine, Gabby.” Layla swept my hair back from my face reassuringly. “Just talk to him like your mom suggested. Everything will work itself out.”
“I hope so.” My chest twisted. “I don’t want to lose him.”
Anna raised herself on an elbow, peering down at me with knowingness. “You like him a lot, huh? Admit it.”
I couldn’t even deny it. “I’ve never liked anyone this much in my entire life.”
Shocked gasps erupted from either side of me. I wasn’t kidding. None of the boys from my past held a candle to Hunter. In such a short amount of time, my feelings for him ran so deep, I feared there was no bottom.
No one had ever treated me—cared for me—like Hunter.
Not even Franco.
But being friends with Hunter was the only way to ensure he stayed in my life.
A romantic relationship wasn’t in our cards.
I was too scared. Too messed up from my past. I had many insecurities and fears that I hadn’t worked through.
I felt like I was doomed to screw up this good thing between us.
Doomed to fail all of Hunter’s expectations.
“For what it’s worth, he definitely likes you back just that much—if not more,” Anna said. “It was so obvious on Friday night. He kept watching you with this soft, possessive expression. I don’t think he realized it himself.”
That’s what made this all the more painful. “I know he likes me too.”
“Just a couple of weeks ago, you were saying that you’d never act on this attraction,” Layla teased.
I chewed my lip before casting them both a meaningful glance. “I won’t be acting on this attraction. I…I’m going to apologize to Hunter for hurting his feelings, but I’m going to make it clear that the only possibility in our future is remaining friends.”
My best friends’ faces fell. “Gabby…”
“I don’t want to hear it. Please.” My shoulders drooped. “I’ll keep you both posted on what happens tonight.”
After eating cake, the girls helped me clean up my apartment.
We dusted, broomed, and vacuumed. Every inch was spick-and-span by the time we finished.
They left afterwards and then it was just me and my Luna.
She was happy to be back home, resting on her favourite spot by the windowsill in the living room, neighbourhood-watching like a judgy old lady.
I was currently in the kitchen, preparing a lasagna for Hunter.
Just half an hour ago, I’d heard shuffling in the hallway and looked into my peephole, butterflies swarming in my stomach at the sight of him entering his own apartment.
It was Tuesday, which meant he probably finished football practice, if the duffel bag slung over his shoulder was anything to go by.
I hoped he opened the door when I knocked. Otherwise, I was going to be crushed.
While the lasagna baked, I hopped into the shower, mentally going over my speech to Hunter. There was so much I needed to say, so much he needed to hear. I hated to admit that I was nervous. This discomfort snaking in my belly was newfound and I was ready to put an end to it.
Would he be excited to see me? Or would he be annoyed?
I contemplated every possible scenario as I got ready in record speed, throwing my hair up in a loose bun with a few tendrils framing my face. I even went as far as to put on some makeup and don my red lingerie-style dress. I was pulling out the big guns for this apology.
“Are you ready to see Hunter, Luna?” I cooed to my cat, who bounded over to me when I unlocked our apartment door. I reckoned she missed him too. He’d become a fixture in our lives and being apart from him was doing no favours to either of us.
She meowed in agreement.
With the dish in my hands and Luna beside me like my trusty sidekick, we crossed the five steps separating our home from Hunter’s.
“You can do this, Gabby,” I muttered to myself before I fell apart like a weakly built house of cards.
I knocked tactfully on his door.
Fifteen seconds later, Hunter opened it.
And when I was finally face-to-face with him, my knees buckled and every thought, every sentence, every word failed me. My mind was a blank canvas of pure serenity in the presence of the man who shushed all my demons.
His familiar cologne wafted over and I inhaled, letting it travel through my lungs and ebb away the remaining anxiety in my body.
Hunter’s blue eyes widened a fraction like I was the last person he expected to see. He quickly composed himself until he appeared austere. Even his clipped “Hi” was cold.
It gutted me a smidge, but I still persevered, my speech jovial as I said, “Hi! How are you?”
“I’m fine.” He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the doorframe, looking absolutely delicious in a plain black T-shirt and lounge pants. “You?”
“Great!” I said a little too chirpily and internally winced. “We’re, uh, neighbours again. As promised, I made you some lasagna.”
I extended my olive branch towards him, but he didn’t grab it.
Instead, his dark brows pulled into a frown. “You’re back?”
“Yes.” I gulped and decided to respond to his unspoken question. “It was Maverick. The security guard. He…He’s been dealt with accordingly.” Dead, to put it simply, but we had other neighbours on this floor and I wasn’t about to air out my dirty laundry. “So I was allowed to return home.”
“Ah,” he drawled as if he wanted to ask me more but was refraining from doing so. “I’m glad to hear that. You’re feeling okay?”
I’ll be okay once we deal with the weirdness stacked between us.
“I am.” I nudged the dish higher in an attempt to get him to acknowledge it. “Here you go. It’s still warm. I hope you enjoy it.”
“Thank you.” He accepted the dish from my hands and our fingers brushed. Hunter’s Adam’s apple bobbed at the touch, the only indication that he was affected, but his expression screamed impassiveness.
He turned around to deposit the lasagna on his entryway credenza, then returned to the threshold. I squandered down my bout of sadness over the fact that he didn’t invite me in.
I didn’t know how to deal with him when he appeared so closed-off.
Luna padded closer to him, sensing the shift in the air, and rubbed herself against his leg with a purr. He smiled down at her and I was instantly jealous that my cat got one of his charming smiles. It wasn’t fair.
Eventually, my cat trotted down the hallway, giving us privacy.
“Are you feeling okay?” I asked hesitantly. “You didn’t come to class on Monday.”
I missed having you there. Holding your hands. Passing notes. Sharing donuts.