19. Gabrielle
Gabrielle
“Kins, I need you to focus. This is crucial,” I pout, propping my phone up.
Kinsley snorts on the other end of the FaceTime, filing her nails like she isn’t deeply invested in the fate of my love life.
“Babe, I thought you weren’t supposed to overthink things anymore.”
I groan, dramatically flopping back onto my bed. “I’m not overthinking. I’m just…I don’t know what to wear.”
“Mmhmm.” She smirks, setting down her nail file. “Maybe if you tell me where you’re going, I can help.”
I purse my lips, sitting back up. “I don’t know. He said it’s a surprise.”
Kinsley’s brows shoot up. “Ohhh. A surprise? That’s very ‘boyfriend-coded’ of him.”
I roll my eyes, but my stomach flips at her words. “It’s not a date or anything.”
Kinsley deadpans. “Babe, let’s be real here.”
I groan, tossing a sweater at the phone camera. “Okay, fine. I don’t know if it’s a date. I mean, it feels like it kinda should be…could be? But he hasn’t been pushing for anything more since I basically turned him down a couple of weeks ago. So maybe it’s just…a friend thing?”
Kinsley scoffs. “Yeah, sure, cause friends totally surprise each other with mystery dates. That’s a very well-known platonic activity.”
I sigh, pulling my legs up onto the bed, wrapping my arms around them.
“I think I want it to be a date. I mean, I feel like it’s inevitable at this point.
The feelings are only getting stronger, and I’d be dumb to keep pushing them away just because I’m afraid of getting hurt.
At this point, I have to stop lying to myself.
He’s not trying to win my heart back…he doesn’t need to because he never gave it back. He’s always had it.”
Kinsley lets out a dramatic gasp, pressing a hand to her chest. “Ohhh, my heart! That was sooo cute. I love this for you. I love this for me. I love this for us!”
I roll my eyes, but can’t help smiling. “You’re so dramatic.”
“And you’re so in love.” She wiggles her brows. “Which, by the way, means you need to wear something that screams I’m totally dateable, but you’re still gonna have to work for it.”
I snort. “So…sexy but not slutty?”
“Exactly. Sexy but functional.” She scans my options before pointing. “That. Wear that.”
I hold up the off-the-shoulder sweater and high-waisted leather skirt, giving it a once-over. “You sure?”
“One hundred percent. Now go finish getting ready, and let me know how your not-a-date-but-maybe-a-date goes.”
I shake my head with a laugh, hanging up the call.
Just as I finish curling my hair, a knock sounds at my door. My stomach flips.
I take a deep breath and open it.
And—damn.
Cam stands there, effortlessly put together in a dark sweater and dark slacks, his hands shoved into his pockets.
He doesn’t look overly dressed up, so we can’t be going anywhere too fancy. Thankfully, I picked something that said casual while secretly hoping it still caught his attention.
His gaze sweeps over me, and for a split second, I swear I see something hungry in his eyes before he reins it back.
“Wow.” His voice is lower than usual, rougher. “You look…” He exhales through his nose, his jaw ticking. “Really…good.”
My face heats instantly. “Um, thanks.”
His eyes flick down to my lips for a beat before he shakes his head, smirking. “Come on. Let’s go before I do something stupid.”
I laugh, grabbing my bag and stepping out. “Like what?”
He grins, but he doesn’t answer. Just reaches around me and closes my door.
* * *
I recognize where we are the second we pull in.
The Brooklyn drive-in.
My chest tightens as I look over at him. “This was our first official date.”
Cam parks, putting the car in park before turning toward me. “I know. How could I forget that debate we had about the technicalities?” His smirk is softer now, almost nervous. “And…I was hoping it could be our official second first date.”
A slow smile spreads across my lips. “I think I’d like that.”
He relaxes slightly, grinning. “Good.”
As we settle in, he reaches into the backseat and pulls out a box of snacks. All my favorites. They’ve never changed.
I gape at him. “Wait. No. Did you—?”
He smirks. “Of course, I did.”
I let out an actual squeal, grabbing one of the bags. “Okay, you’ve officially outdone yourself now.”
He laughs, shaking his head. “It’s just snacks, Gabrielle.”
“It’s not just snacks. It’s all my favorite snacks. And it’s the fact that you remembered everything I love. It’s all very nostalgic.”
His smile softens. “I never forgot a thing about you.”
The air shifts between us, heavier. Like everything we say means more now.
The more we talk, the clearer it becomes that neither of us wants to fight this thing that’s still there between us.
I try to steal glances at him when I know he’s paying attention to the movie, memorizing his features, letting my mind slip back into the past—when I loved this boy freely with everything I had.
Back to a time when I wasn’t promised much of a future, and neither was he, but we both just wanted to spend what time we did have with each other.
It was the purest form of love I’ve ever experienced, even to this day.
No other man or relationship has been able to reach the part of my soul that has always belonged to Cam.
He catches me staring this time.
“What are you thinking about over there?” His voice is so deep and smooth, effortlessly coaxing me in.
Something about Cam has always drawn every part of me to the surface. I think that’s why I don’t stop myself when I ask what’s really on my mind.
“What do you really want long term, Cam?”
His eyes flick to mine, holding, searching. He doesn’t answer right away, just watches me like he’s weighing how honest he wants to be. How much he’s willing to lay bare.
Just when I think he’s going to give me some teasing, avoiding response, he exhales deeply. “This. You. Here. With me. Not just tonight, not just when it’s fun…not just as a friend.
Cam exhales, running a hand through his hair. “This isn’t just me trying to win you over, Gabrielle.”
I swallow hard, my heart hammering. “Then what is it?”
His gaze locks onto mine, unwavering. “This is me showing you I never stopped being yours.”
I’m shocked at him pushing the boundaries with us. I think it’s what I’ve been waiting for.
His presence has always given me the confidence to say what’s on my mind, consequences be damned, so I say my truth too.
“I was scared to be hurt by you again.” My voice is quiet, but still confident.
“But I think I’m past being able to protect myself from that happening.
I think that ship has sailed, and regardless of the path we take from here, I could end up hurt again.
So why not at least take the path that gives me something I want and could make me happy again? ”
He smirks slightly. “So…you’re saying you want me?”
I roll my eyes, shoving his shoulder lightly. “You ruin every tender moment, you know that?”
He chuckles, catching my hand before I can pull away. And then he just…holds it.
“You’ll always be my friend first, Gabrielle.
It’s our foundation.” His thumb brushes over my knuckles.
“But I need you to give me the chance to remind you that we stopped being just friends a very, very long time ago, and there’s no real going back to ever just being friends.
There’s too much history here for me not to want you as more. ”
The words settle between us, every ounce of desire I have for him threatening to undo me.
Without overthinking it, I lean over and kiss him.
It’s slow at first. Careful. But the second he responds, the second his fingers thread through my hair, and he pulls me in closer, it turns into something more.
Something desperate.
Something inevitable.
Something I’ve missed.
He kisses me back like he’s trying to make up for the twelve years of lost time. His lips move against mine, hungry and sure, like he’s spent every moment of those twelve years waiting for this—waiting for me to come back to him.
And maybe he has. Maybe I have, too.
Because the second his hand slides to my thigh, gripping me like he’s afraid I’ll disappear, my body reacts like it’s never forgotten him. Like it was always his.
I melt into him, my fingers curling into the fabric of his sweater, needing something to hold onto. There’s nothing steady about any of this. No slowing down these feelings.
His hand moves, trailing up my spine, fingers brushing the nape of my neck, sending a shiver through me. I arch closer, letting him take more, letting him have all of me.
His tongue sweeps against mine, coaxing a quiet whimper from my throat, and that sound makes him groan, low and deep, like he’s the one unraveling.
The heat between us is dangerous. It’s all-consuming. It’s everything I’ve spent years trying to chase, it’s everything I tried to fool myself into thinking I could find with someone else, and now that I have it back, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop wanting it.
His teeth graze my bottom lip before he soothes the sting with another kiss, softer this time, with the same urgency. His hand tightens on my thigh, like he’s trying to hold back, but I don’t want him to.
I slide my hands up, threading my fingers into his hair, tugging just enough to make him exhale sharply against my lips. Then he’s tilting my chin up, kissing silent promises along my neck, using his kisses to tell me how he really feels.
I should stop. I should pull back before I lose all sense of reason.
But then he whispers my name against my skin, and I’m done for.
Because Cam Hayes has always been my weakness.
By the time we finally pull back, my breathing is unsteady, and Cam’s eyes are dark and heavy.
“Gabrielle,” he mutters, shaking his head. “You’re gonna kill me.”
I let out a breathless laugh, but my heart is racing.
“Come here,” he says, tugging me toward him.
I climb over, settling on top of him in the driver’s seat as he pushes it back, wrapping his arms around me. “Feels very familiar,” I whisper.
He kisses my shoulder. “Feels right.”
And just like that, we fall into something that feels like gravity—quiet, certain, and impossible to fight.
Something that’s been long overdue in the universe and begging to happen again.
Settling into his warmth, we try to watch the rest of the movie, but my brain won’t slow down from the thoughts of how beautiful the world works to bring two souls back together where they were always supposed to be.
* * *
When the movie ends, I glance up at Cam.
And he’s asleep.
I bite my lip, smiling, and shake his shoulder lightly. “Cam.”
He blinks awake, groggy. “Crap. I fell asleep?”
“Yeah,” I laugh. “I was about to leave you here.”
He smirks sleepily, rubbing his eyes. “You were gonna what? Push me out of my car and drive off without me?”
“Maybe—“ I say, eyes pointed, pretending to be serious.
He squeezes me closer to his body, playfully taunting me. “You wouldn’t leave me behind like that after you basically confessed your undying love for me.”
“Okay, reel it in, I did no such thing…I think you’re the one who’s so far gone for me.”
“Oh, I know I am Gab, but that’s old news,” he says, winking at me.
He turns me slowly so I’m now straddling his lap. “I’m sorry I missed such an important life-altering chick-flick, though, I know how much you love them. These long shifts are really starting to do me in.”
I nod, but before I can say anything else, he grins lazily. “Or…maybe you just felt so good in my arms that I got too comfortable.”
I roll my eyes, but my stomach does that little flip anyway.
“I guess now you just owe me an official second, second date then.”
He places his hands on my hips. “I owe you a million more dates to make up for the last twelve years, Gabrielle.”