Chapter 13 Gabe
Chapter 13: Gabe
Saturday August 30, 9:34 PM
How could he be so dumb? How in the world had he been interested in two girls, back-to-back, who were apparently also friends? As if being around Claire wasn’t awkward enough, now she was acting interested again?
His head still swirled, partially from the incident at the dance earlier, but he honestly was fine now. Though he was still reeling the whole Avery and Claire situation that basically blew up in his face. Gabe had had the best time with Avery, and now it was all ruined. If only he had followed his own advice about not pursuing another girl. But Avery was different. He had never felt this way about anyone before.
He also shouldn’t have ignored Claire’s text this week. Maybe he could have made it 100% clear there was nothing left between the two of them. Though he wasn’t sure that would stop Claire listening and just doing what Claire does: whatever she wanted. Still, confusion filled his brain. Why had Claire seen Gabe as a “summer fling” only to act interested now? Sure, Claire and Avery being friends was awkward, but Claire had made it worse. Stroking his back and arm, acting surprised that Avery and Gabe had been to the dance together.
When Avery had gotten out of the truck, her eyes were on fire, and as Claire spoke, she slowly lost steam, like a deflated balloon. Whatever hold Claire had over Avery, it was clear Avery listened to her. Had decided to go home with her instead of Gabe. Not that Gabe had fought for her. Who was he to decide what Avery wanted?
One thing was clear now. It over with Avery. Another failed relationship, or at least what he thought could have been a relationship.
He tried not to think of Avery as he got into his truck. He tried not to think about how she took care of him as he put on his seatbelt. He tried not to think about their kiss—actually both of them, the second one really surprised him—as he drove out of the parking lot and onto the main road. But it was impossible.
It had been the best kiss/kisses of his life. If only he could rewind time and go back to that moment.
A honk behind him brought him back to the present. Gabe looked up to see the stoplight had turned green, but he hadn’t moved. He shook his head back into the present and shifted into gear, trying to pay better attention to driving home.
What was he going to do now? At least tomorrow was Sunday and there was no possibility of subbing, so he wouldn’t have to face her yet. But Monday would come soon enough. Wait a second, that was Labor Day. Maybe he could text Avery. Or maybe that would make things worse.
He opened the door of his apartment and Emmett jumped on him. “Hey buddy,” Gabe said, bending down and scratching his dog’s head. “You’re pretty much my only long-term relationship.” Dang, now he was really depressed. “Come on, boy, let’s go for a walk.” He snapped Emmett’s harness and leash into place and headed out the door and around his apartment complex.
Gabe’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He stopped walking and retrieved it as his mind whirled. Was it Claire? Or Avery? Maybe on their drive they decided to conspire against him.
One look at the screen and his fear turned to excitement, hope rising in his chest. “Professor Reynolds! I hope you’re calling with good news.”
This could be his way out. If he could make a clean break by moving as far away from Phoenix as possible, he wouldn’t have to worry about running into two women who probably hated his guts. Which was definitely his own fault.
“Well, my boy, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is, we secured enough funding for a bare bones team to head to the site in a few weeks and start excavation.”
Gabe sighed, letting go of the stress of waiting to hear about a project like this for so long, while at the same time anticipating what the bad news would be. Emmett sniffed around some desert landscaping in a neighbor’s yard.
“The bad news?” Gabe was afraid to ask.
“Unfortunately, you’re not included in the bare bones crew. So sorry. We were lucky to get what we got. Still, I’d love to have you, but we’d need a bit more funding. I’m afraid we’re tapped out. Any avenues of grant money you could possibly pursue?”
Gabe closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. This being his first project, he had no clue about grants. They’d gone over that stuff in college, but he had no practical experience doing it. But he wanted to go on this adventure more than anything.
“I’m not sure,” Gabe answered. “How do I do that?”
“Honestly, any business or even people in your life who support this type of work. There’s no harm in at least asking.”
“I’ll try to come up with something,” Gabe said, trying not to sound deflated.
“Great. I’ll email you the proper forms you’ll need to fill out. I know I’m speaking for everyone on the team when I say you’d be most welcome to work with us. You always manage to make something as boring as digging in the dirt fun.”
He ended the call and stuck his phone back in his pocket. Leaning back, he stretched and peered into the night sky. A plane flew by far overhead, reminding him of his dad. Gabe hadn’t talked to him in a while. Even though his parents had been generally absent, the one thing they did support him in was his archeological pursuits.
Emmett tugged at the leash and he started walking again. He could ask his parents for funds. He didn’t want to, but he wasn’t sure where else to look, and he didn’t have time to explore other options. Knowing his parents, they’d want all the details of the project and all the background of the dig site.
They wouldn’t want to know about his personal life, but they’d want to know everything about what they were spending their money on. He had wished for so many years his parents would call, visit, or invite him to wherever in the world they were. Ask about his life. Care about his life. But they didn’t. It hurt in a way he couldn’t put into words. His gut hardened.
Shuffling his way home, he remembered the promise he had made to himself after he left home. He was not going to be like that. Whoever he dated, he’d go all in. He’d want to know all about them. He’d care.
But where had that gotten him? A bunch of failed relationships and a broken heart.
Back at the apartment, he threw Emmett a treat and his phone buzzed again. His heart skipped a beat. Was it Avery, telling him despite the weird love-triangle, he was the one for her? Not that there was much hope. But any contact from her would be welcome at this point.
No, it was Claire.
CLAIRE: Oh, hey Gabey baby! That was awkward, lol.
He rolled his eyes. Wow. Really? That was her reaction running into him and Avery? He had really liked Claire over the summer, but she betrayed him and it was over. Or so he thought. Her texts this week and then her actions a bit ago proved otherwise.
Huh. Wait a second. Of course! Claire must have known there was a possibility Gabe had met Avery, and she was texting to find out. Her text to Gabe earlier asked which school he subbed at. No wonder she was asking. She was trying to find out about him and Avery.
But what did that mean in the bigger picture?
As he brushed his teeth, he imagined a few scenarios in his head. If Claire had known for sure he would meet Avery at work, what then? Claire would have texted him to say… what exactly? What was her angle? Maybe she was simply going to tell him to keep an eye out for her. Like he needed someone else to tell him to do that.
He pulled out his phone and scrolled through Claire’s texts. Just a lot of fishing for info.
Even though he vowed to stay away from women, he literally fell for the next girl he met. He smirked to himself. She was so cute, bringing him the substitute binder. And needing his help with her students. In the library. In the music room. The dance, and then… his truck.
Had it really only been a week since he met her? How had he fallen so hard so fast?
Dumb, Gabe. Dread pierced his heart. Things would never be the same between them anymore. Probably. Definitely. Most likely. Unless, maybe, they could somehow work things out. If that’s what he wanted. What did Avery even want?
What if… if Claire had previously asked Gabe if he was a substitute and which school for the reason of spying —like maybe she was worried he would be interested, and Claire was jealous—then the whole situation would fall to pieces. He had already cut things off with Claire. Hadn’t he? Claire had described Gabe as a summer fling, but had he actually officially broken up?
Oh crap. His chest tightened and his stomach dropped. He had assumed things were over with them. But maybe to Claire, the totally boy crazy gym girl she was, she still saw Gabe as a backup guy she could pull back in at any time.
GABE: It was only awkward because you made it awkward, Claire.
He waited a few seconds, then typed again.
GABE: BTW, we are over. We have been ever since I walked in on you telling that gym guy I was just a summer fling.
There, that should do it. No, she needs to know how she made me feel. I need to get this out.
GABE: I was about to ask you to come to Sedona with me for the weekend, but when I saw you kissing him, it was clear you didn’t think of our relationship as anything special.
Okay, now he was done. There was no mistake now that Gabe wanted nothing to do with Claire.
So what now? Did he have a chance with Avery? She seemed like the type of person who was a loyal friend. The type of person who would sacrifice her own feelings for others. So if Claire convinced Avery to put on the brakes, she would.
Because Avery was considerate. Kind. Loving. In so many ways. He wanted to talk to Avery. Desperately.
Finally, Gabe went to Avery’s texts. The last texts between them were only hours ago, when he asked for her address and she playfully accused him of being a stalker. He smiled, then clicked to type a new message. You got this, Gabe. You can text her. It’ll be fine.
Gabe typed, “Hey…” Then deleted it. His heart raced and his head swirled. What could he say?
Then typed, “So…” Then deleted. Frustration filled his chest. If he could pour his heart out he would have typed, “I should have been the one to drive you home so I could explain and hopefully things would be okay, but even if they aren’t, I still want you to know how much you mean to me, except I might be leaving soon anyway. But our kiss was special and you’re pretty and really amazing.”
He closed his eyes. Wow. So lame. There was a reason Gabe majored in archeology and not writing. Maybe texting was a bad idea. He could make things worse. He opened his eyes then he typed, “I’m sorry.” His thumbs hovered over the screen as he contemplated whether to delete or click send. Should he delete it and say he wanted to talk? But what if Avery hated his guts and said no? Blocked his number? The least he could do was apologize for making her feel terrible.
He clicked send. Instantly regretted it, a heaviness settling onto his chest. Then checked to see if she had read it about a million times as he scrolled through archeology videos until he finally fell asleep.
Sunday August 31, 10:00 AM
If Emmett hadn’t licked his face, Gabe would still be asleep, dreaming of Egypt. Pyramids. Sand and mummies and cataloging and who was that in the distance? Even in his dream it appeared to be a mirage, but at the last second he saw a woman in a green dress heading toward him.
Gabe pet Emmett, his thoughts drifting to Avery. He grabbed his phone. Avery still hadn’t read his text. Dang it. Now what was he supposed to do with himself?
A quick search told him the library was open. If only his laptop hadn’t broken a month ago when he dropped it at school, he could do the proper research for the grant proposal at his apartment or a coffee shop. After changing clothes and a quick breakfast, he headed out the door.
Once he was situated at a computer at the library, Gabe got to work. He opened the proposal document from his professor he’d need to submit before joining the Egypt project. Plus the documents would be good to send to his parents before calling them and asking for money.
Would all this be worth it? He stared ahead at the endless shelves of books. He daydreamed about what it would be like to be part of an actual archeological dig. The scent of history, the excitement of being where civilization began. Being part of a team of people with the same passions as he had.
Someone walked toward him and stopped right in front of his computer. “Gabe? What are you doing here?”
His eyes darted up and a lump formed in his throat. “Avery. Hi.”