So here we sat, Cash talking about his latest conquest while I tried not to compare every woman he talked about to Erica.
"Her ass was amazing."
I bet Erica's ass is better.
"I had my hand wrapped around her hair."
Nobodies hair is better than Erica's wild curls.
"You seem distracted," he interrupted my thoughts.
I took a sip of beer. "What?"
"You're really into Erica, huh?" He took a bite of his food and looked at me, waiting for an answer.
"I think that might be an understatement."
He ran his hand down his face and groaned. "Not you too. First Blake, now you. Johnny will be next, and then I'll be all alone."
"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked as I watched his dramatics.
"You idiots never seem to see it. You're in love with her."
"I am not in love." I couldn't be in love.
"Oh yea?" He looked over my shoulder and an evil grin formed on his face.
"Yes. I like her, a lot, but I'm not in love."
"So I bet you wouldn't care if she went out with another man." He grinned even harder.
"Of course I would care, but she can do what she wants," I said matter-of-factly.
"Good, because she's sitting right over there with some guy I've never seen before."
I spun around in my seat so quickly, I knocked my silverware into the floor. I was hoping that Cash was being his usual self and just being an ass, but it only took me a second to spot her amongst the crowd in the restaurant. She had her side facing me and there was some douchebag sitting across from her. He said something to her, and she threw her head back and laughed. I wanted to throw him through a wall.
I watched them talk for a few more minutes trying to calm down. My body felt like it was on fire. I hit my feet before I really ever thought it through. I stormed toward her table while I heard, "Shit," from behind me.
She noticed me when I was a few feet away from her table, and the way she smiled up at me just pissed me off more. Did she not give a shit that I just found her out with another man?
"Hey, Gabe."
"Hey." My response sounded as forced as it was.
I ignored her and turned toward the guy who was sizing me up.
I reached out my hand to him. "Hi, I'm Gabe. Who are you?"
The corner of his lips turned up as he gripped my hand. "I'm Jon. How do you know Erica?"
His tone pissed me the fuck off. I looked over at her and placed my hands on my hips.
"Well I was the one with my face buried between her legs a couple days ago." I returned the smirk of the asshole as the smile dropped from his face. I had hit the exact nerve I was aiming for. There was no way in hell Erica was leaving here tonight with him.
"Gabe." Erica's voice sounded like she wanted to kill me.
"What, baby?" I finally gave her my full attention. "You didn't tell him about what we did the other night."
"No, Gabe. I didn't." The anger in her face was clear. "I don't usually share those details with my brother."
Her words shocked me, and I closed my eyes. What the hell did I just do? I heard a snicker behind me, and I knew that Cash had just witnessed that entire display. I opened my eyes and Erica's brother was practically falling over in his chair trying to hold in his laughter.
"Umm." I had no idea what to say.
"What, Gabe? You don't have anything else you'd like to say?" She was still irritated, and she had every right to be.
"I'm sorry … " I hesitated.
"Good start." Her brother was still laughing.
I gave him my attention and swallowed my pride. "I'm sorry for what I said about your sister. I like her a lot, and I was pissed off that she was here with another man."
His laughter faded, but his eyes still held amusement. "I understand that. Why don't you and your buddy grab a seat so we can get to know each other."
Erica still looked irritated, but her expression had softened. She still didn't look too thrilled that her brother had just invited us to sit with them. Reaching down, I gripped her chin in my hand and turned her face in my direction. She stubbornly stared into my eyes with a pout on her lips so I leaned down and kissed it off of her.
She was breathing hard when I pulled away from her, and I left her staring up at me as I went to grab my beer from our table.
When I returned, she was leaning across the table whispering to her brother. It didn't take a genius to tell that she was coaching him on what he could and couldn't say, but if the vibe I was getting from him was right, he wouldn't give a damn.
As soon as my ass hit the seat next to Erica, he proved me right.
"So you're fucking my sister."
Erica put her head into her hands, and Cash put his beer bottle to his lips to hide his smile. He was sitting right next to Jon, and he was no help to me. He was having far too good of a time at my expense.
"Well I'm not sure if that's what you would call it." I looked down at Erica with her head still bowed then turned to her brother. "We're getting to know each other better, we're hanging out, we're having fun, we make each other laugh, and yes, we fuck."
Erica groaned at my side, but I could also hear the laughter in her voice.
Jon looked me up and down before he spoke. "I respect your honesty. It takes quite a bit of balls to be able to say that to me, but I will warn you, if she ends up in the same state she was after the last time the two of you did this, I will kick your ass."
Jon's build was smaller than mine and I had no doubt that I could take him, but I completely understood his protectiveness and I respected his warning.
"Understood." I held his eyes.
He watched me for a few more seconds before he reached his hand across the table and shook mine.
"Well if you two are done playing whose dick is bigger," Erica's voice interrupted us, "I'm hungry."
I took her mouth against mine again, and I realized that I couldn't agree with her more, I was fucking starving.
To say dinner had been awkward was the understatement of the year. Jon and Gabe seemed to completely forget about what had happened when Gabe walked up to our table, but I kept replaying it over in my head, and I wanted to cringe every time.
I was so happy when I saw Gabe walking up to our table, but I was shocked at the words that came out of his mouth. It was something that Gabe had never shown before. I had never seen him act so possessive. It was hot as hell except that he was laying his claim against my brother.
All three of the guys seemed to get along great, and I was thankful for that. They were talking about sports and cars, and while I wasn't participating much in the conversation, Gabe kept his hand on me at all times. He gripped my neck in his hand before he laid a chaste kiss on my lips. He rubbed one of my curls between his fingers. His hand rubbed small circles on my knee.
He made it hard to concentrate, but the only thing that was running through my mind was him. The Gabe that I had seen in the last few weeks was completely different from the one who left me completely wrecked. I loved how far we had come in such a short time, but I was also scared as hell.
While everything seemed to be going great, we still hadn't talked about his past, and he hadn't said a word about where he went when he left. I desperately wanted to bring it up, but I also didn't want to push him away. The fear far outweighed anything else, but I knew we couldn't go much further until he finally opened up to me.
"Are you coming to our parents' anniversary party this weekend?" My brother's voice broke through my thoughts.
"I didn't know anything about it." Gabe looked down at me with an eyebrow raised.
"I was going to mention it," I quickly answered, "but I didn't think you would be interested."
"Is it important to you?" Gabe's voice was low as he spoke in my ear for only me to hear.
I nodded my head because it was. I didn't think he would actually be interested in coming, but of course I wanted him to. Meeting my parents' might be interesting, but I wanted him to meet them.
"I'll be there," Gabe said to my brother, and I couldn't stop the smile on my face.
After dropping the third thing within the last hour, I sat down at my parents' island and rested my head on my arms. I wasn't sure what the hell was wrong with me, but I did know I needed to get it together if I wanted to get this party together before everyone got here. My parents' were celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary, and I wanted everything to be perfect.
Jon was outside loading beer into coolers, and I was in charge of the food. Everything was running pretty smoothly. I had most of the appetizers made and ready to go, but the food wasn't what was stressing me out. I was scared to death about Gabe coming here tonight. Not only would he be meeting my parents' for the first time, but he would also be surrounded by my brother, my cousins, and the rest of my family.