Chapter 6
Gabriel: #IsThatAFlutter
I ’m officially messed up. Paula has done it. She’s put this idea in my head and now my stupid brain seems to be actually thinking about it. Thinking about the one thing that is good in my life and planning to mess it up. Nora! That’s who.
Is it possible that I sabotage my relationships because of Nora? I don’t think that’s true. Not completely, at least. I mean, I’ve never thought about her that way, never regarded her in that light. That is, not until tonight.
I took her to Kelly’s after picking her up outside that ahole Rick’s apartment. As she sipped the hot chocolate, my brain couldn’t think of anything other than licking that chocolate from her lips. Jesus Christ!
How come I’d never noticed how sexy her lips are, those beautiful, curvaceous, pink lips? Why had I never thought of kissing them?
Nora has always been the girl next door. My best friend who I share everything with. Ah, there’s the rub. She knows me too well and is too smart to want to have anything to do with me as far as a ‘relationship’ goes.
And if I had any doubt, her reaction when she thought I was suggesting sex with me, cleared it up.
I hate Paula.
Why did she suggest something so bizarre? And why do I want it? Why am I ogling at her, lying on my couch with her wet hair, reading a book, as if I’m seeing her for the first time?
How did she end up on my couch?
Yeah, I did something even more foolish. I brought her home, instead of taking her to a hotel. I have two rooms, so it’s not a problem. And this is not the first time she’ll be staying over at my condo. She’s come over plenty of times after late-night parties if Rick had left early, as he was wont to do.
But this time it’s different. She’s different. Or maybe it’s me. She’s still the same Nora, my friend, who treats me as such. What’s changed is me and the way I see her.
She was too tired to unpack, so I gave her one of my shirts to wear. The shirt reaches to her mid thighs. Her legs! They’re perfect. My eyes scan her from her feet, up to her thighs, the loosely hanging shirt, her neck, the wet hair hanging around her face. My eyes stop at her lips again and I have an intense desire to taste them, to see how they will react to mine. I can feel my heart thumping against my chest, a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. Jesus! Is Nora doing this to me? Nora!
I peel my eyes away from her and begin picking up the lamp pieces from the floor.
I’m not comfortable with these thoughts I’m getting about my best friend. I think I need to leave. Seeing her lying casually in that shirt isn’t doing me any good.
“I’m tired. Can’t believe it was only this morning I returned from a different continent. You know where to find stuff if you need anything, right? I’ll call someone to clean the house tomorrow to take care of whatever’s remaining, so you don’t worry about it, okay?”
“Of course, it’s your home. I’m here for a short time. A guest, if you will. I won’t be cleaning your house, especially any mess your ex-girlfriend made. That’s for sure.” She lifts her head from the book she’s reading. “Why’re you looking at me so funny? Is there something stuck between my teeth?”
“No. I was just… Nothing. So, I’ll… y’know, go to bed.”
“It’s your house. Do what you want. And it’s not my first time in your condo. So you don’t need to worry about me. Go and sleep. I’ll read a little before going to bed. G’nite and thanks again for picking me up.”
“Night, Nora. And you know I’ll do anything for you.” What! What am I saying? “I mean, you’re my friend, so whatever. Don’t worry about it.”
She regards me with squinted eyes. “Yeah. I know. I was only being polite, dude. Now get lost and lemme read.”
She leans against the handrest of the couch and buries her head in the book, while my eyes trace out the curves of her body. How did I never notice it before? She’s perfection if ever there was one.
Stop it! I close my eyes. I picture her as a kid, with braces and a ponytail, wearing the ugly green jacket her mother bought for her. Yes! Seems to be working. My heart calms down a little and my lips spread into a smile. She’s my safe space, the one constant in my life that I never want to mess up. And anyone who knows me can vouch that I’ve messed up all my relationships so far. So I have to—no—I need to control my emotions and get back to the friendship mode. I can’t be seeing Nora like this.
I hurriedly make my way to my room before I say or do anything stupid and lock the door for good measure.
Maybe my body is reacting in this indecipherable manner because both of us are single at the same time, which has not been the case for many years now, not ever I think since we started dating people. If that’s the case, then I know how to sort this shit. I need to get her a date. Tomorrow I’ll get to work on it.
Weirdly, I dream about her, Paula, and Sophia. Paula and Sophia are telling Nora about how shitty I am, and she hates me. She leaves me and goes back to Rick. She’s unhappy and so am I. Then the investor Gerard Dumas tells me I need to step away from Nora along with MooreGames, stating that not only am I a bad and inexperienced CFO but also an inexperienced boyfriend, since I know nothing of relationships.
I wake up with a splitting headache. Dreams are really the worst, I tell you.
I tiptoe out to the kitchen. Nora’s probably still snoozing, so I set up the coffeemaker, but don’t start it. Then, I take a quick shower and start reading the news. In some time, I hear a shuffling from the other bedroom, so I set the coffee for brewing and scramble some eggs.
By the time Nora is ready, breakfast is ready and served. She’s wearing blue jeans and a pink tank top grazing just above her shining naval ring. I’ve seen her in this attire multiple times. Then why does she look sexier today? Or was she always like this? No wonder everyone in the office stares at her when she comes and goes. How come I never noticed it before? And why am I getting these sick thoughts about my childhood friend, who will always think of me platonically? Is it because of what Paula said? Nah! It’s probably because I haven’t had sex for around ten days. Maybe animal sex with Paula wasn’t a bad idea after all.
“My my,” Nora says, rolling her eyes. “Morning to you, Gabs. Don’t do these things or I’ll get so used to it I might decide not to leave.”
I feel an unfamiliar feeling in the pit of my stomach. Is that a flutter? Jesus! I’m turning into some cheesy hero from a silly rom-com instead of the hot, sexy, cool dude I am. As if I care whether she stays. I see her giving me a cheeky look, and I have to stop myself from becoming a Cheshire cat.
“You know you can stay as long as you like, right? But don’t get used to this. Tomorrow it’ll be your turn to make breakfast.”
She groans and takes a seat. “I wouldn’t bet on that,” she scoffs and scrolls through her phone, catching up on her social media. With her head still bowed, she takes a bite. “This is good. Even the humble scrambled eggs taste nice when served on these beautiful white plates. Why am I seeing them for the first time?”
“Mom bought them a few weeks ago.”
“Ah, that explains it.” She takes a photo of the plate, posts it, and then keeps her phone away. “Now, let me focus on the food.”
My phone rings. I pick it up and see Mom’s name flashing on the screen. I curse under my breath. “Talk about the devil.”
But this is not the time I want to talk to her. Not when Nora is sitting here enjoying the meal I cooked looking as sexy as a model.
I message Mom that I’m busy and will call her later and then continue to marvel at the beauty Nora has become. She was always pretty. I’ve told her that multiple times over the course of so many years we’ve been friends. But I never thought of her as ‘a girl’ if you know what I mean. And since last night, all I can think of is her as ‘ the girl’.
I shake my head.
“What happened? All okay? You seem weird,” she says, kicking me on the shins.
“Nothing. I need to get laid and so do you. So this evening, after work, we’re going on a bar crawl and finding ourselves or each other some sexy partners for the night. What say?”
“I’m in. Enough of this relationship stuff. It’s time for some good and irresponsible times.”
We finish our breakfast and drive to our office.
“I hope you decide to stay. I mean, Ryan is not even thinking of taking up the investment from Dumas. So you needn’t worry, y’know,” she says as we walk in through the doors just before we part ways and she leaves to meet her team.
I know, but I need to do what’s right for me and my conscience. Plus, it’ll be good to put some distance between me and her.
I see Ryan and Eva in a meeting with the coders and wave to them. Ryan immediately marches to the door and gestures for me to join them.
There’s a new game that they’re discussing—a blend of gaming and learning, not for schools but for the end customer. It’s more fun with learning as a side benefit. A mixture of what MooreGames has been doing and what Eva is trying to do. It’s interesting but I can see that it’ll require a significant investment in terms of increased headcount.It’s still at a nascent stage, but it shows promise and the entire team is full of energy and excitement as the discussion ends after about an hour.
Although I’d thought of distancing myself, I can’t help but get excited by the idea.The coders file out of the room, talking animatedly. Eva follows them.
“I’m glad to see you back in action, Gabriel,” she says as she leaves the room, squeezing my shoulder a bit.
Ryan and I are the only ones left. He closes the door and sits down.
“Spit it out. And don’t you dare give me bad news,” he says, giving me a death stare. “I can see there’s something on your mind. If Gerard Dumas is the source of the unease, I suggest you throw it out of your system, man. I’ll not let my trusted team split because of him. I don’t need money like that. And you know it. Right?”
When he says it like that, I cannot help but feel guilty about my thoughts. But I know in my heart that it’s the right thing to do.
“I’m joining the family business,” I say. Ryan opens his mouth to speak, but I raise my palm. “Hear me out first. Please.”
He nods and takes a seat opposite me, his arms crossed over his chest, eyes boring into me.
“You know Mom has been pestering me to join the business. They’ve set up an office in Boston now so I can easily work from here and travel to Paris once in a while. It’s a big business and can help me grow and learn as well. What Gerard said is not wrong. I need that kind of exposure.”
“But what about MooreGames? We’ve been together in this. What if the person Gerard suggests can’t understand the way we function? And what about me? Even I don’t have experience of running an extensive business. Should I leave too and hire someone else to run the company?”
I smile. “If you keep growing the way you are, you might have to do that in a few years.”
His eyes go wide. “You’re a b*stard, you know that.”
“I know. And I’ve already thought about the CFO situation here. You can have Alex as your consultant. He knows the business inside-out. He knows you. And now that he has his freelance business instead of working in a bank, he can help you out. It’s a win-win. Gerard can’t possibly object to him because he has the right kind of experience of working with all kinds of businesses. I’d have suggested you hire him as CFO but he might not accept, so a consultant will have to do. CFO, you can choose as per Gerard’s choice.”
“Alex? Um, it might work for us. But what about you? You don’t want to work with me anymore because of what some douchebag said?”
“It’s not just him and what he said. I mean, that was the trigger. But more importantly, he was right. And you need the money for the new hiring that you need to do, for the increased marketing, maybe even a bigger office. And honestly, I knew I’d have to join the family business someday. I can’t escape it forever. The best part is that I’ll be around in the same city.”
“When do you plan to leave?”
“I’d say today, but I’ll hang on a little longer if required. My team can now handle most of the things without me in any case. I’ve already spoken to the CEO of our family business and he’s excited for me to lead the team here. There’s a strategy retreat this weekend to discuss the US business strategy and I’ll be joining that. It’ll also serve as kind of an induction. Let’s talk to Alex and see what he says. I can come here whenever required and you can tell Gerard to go ahead with the next steps for his investment.”
“You’ve already spoken to your mom about this?”
“Not yet. I wanted to talk to you first. Then Nora. Then Mom.”
“You haven’t told Nora about this? She’ll be livid. And if she leaves with you, I’m not accepting this idea of yours. I cannot have two of my most trusted people leave at the same time.”
I hand him a bottle of water. “Relax. I’ve hinted it to her and she’ll stay. You know I wouldn’t do it if I wasn’t certain that it was the best course of action for you, the company, and even for me.”
“We’ll miss you around buddy. It won’t be the same without you puttering about and questioning all the expenses. Think about it again. I can find another investor, so don’t worry about that. But I don’t want to come in the way of you joining the Bardot business. I’ll support you whatever be your decision. And remember that even if you decide to join your family business, if you ever want to come back, you’ll always have a place in this company.”
I pat Ryan on the back, unable to say anything for fear I’ll break down if I open my mouth. So I give him a quick hug and hurry back to the confines of my office.