Holy crap! Was I thinking about marriage already?
See? This was why girls needed other girlfriends to reign them in. I momentarily thought about calling Lisa, but that girl was anything but the voice of reason. She’d probably drive me to Vegas if I asked her.
My finger hovered over the phone, just as I gained enough courage to dial Gabe’s number, the phone lit up.
It was him.
“Hey,” I answered. “I was just going to call you.”
I waited on the living room couch for Wes to show up and twirled my hair in my fingers.
“Sure you were,” Gabe said, laughing. “I was just calling to make sure you were still alive. I heard you went for a swim.”
“How?” I gasped. “That was only forty minutes ago.”
“Someone’s boyfriend called to update me on the adventures of Kiersten.” I could practically see Gabe’s smug grin in my mind as he spoke. “And he wanted me to be the first to give you a high five for being brave.”
“Swimming isn’t brave,” I whined. “I feel like a five-year-old.”
“I wore water wings until I was fourteen,” Gabe said dryly. “What you did was brave.”
“Fourteen?” I repeated.
“I had a minor shark phobia.”
“In a pool?”
“We aren’t talking about me.” Gabe changed the subject. “How goes the fairy tale, Cinderella?”
“It goes well.” I sighed happily into the phone. “He’s perfect, I mean, it’s perfect. I feel good. Too good, almost like something bad has to happen or something, you know?”
Gabe grew really quiet.
“Gabe?”
“Yeah, I’m here.” He cursed softly. “Just thinking. Look, I gotta go, but do yourself a favor? Don’t over-think things. Just enjoy having the richest twenty-one-year-old in the world at your beck and call, kiss him goodnight, and savor the moments you guys have together.”
“Huh?”
“You know…” Gabe cleared his throat. “Before school starts again.”
“Oh right, next week, school. I almost forgot, thanks for bringing me some early Christmas cheer.”
“I did work at the mall as an elf once.”
“Pictures?”
“All destroyed in a tragic fire that only ended up burning that one section of my room — odd really.” He laughed. “Now, go have fun, I’ll see you Monday okay?”
“Fine!”
“Oh, and don’t forget, you’re going shopping for a homecoming dress with Lisa. She’ll freak if you forget.”
“Got it.”
Wes walked into the room. I hung up the phone not even realizing I hadn’t said goodbye until it was too late.
“Tattle tale.” I narrowed my eyes as Wes innocently lifted his hands into the air.
“I thought you needed another cheerleader on your team, that’s all.” His face looked a bit sunken. Dark shadows were beginning to show beneath his eyes.
“Are you feeling okay?” I asked, touching my hand to his forehead.
“Sure.” His smile was tight.
“Wes,” I warned. “Seriously?”
He sighed. “Fine, I don’t feel one hundred percent, but the good news is we’re spending the rest of the afternoon watching movies and eating, and I have nakedness to look forward to later, so there is that to live for.”
“So you’re basically only living for two things? Food and sex?”
“Sounds about right, though I’m only living for food… living for sex just seems so—”
“Like Gabe?” I offered.
“Touché.” Wes grinned and looked at the floor, shoving his hands into his jeans pockets. “I’m not that guy anymore, Kiersten, you need to know that. Damn.” He licked his lips and gave me that sexy grin I was beginning to breathe for. “I wish I still was. Then maybe I wouldn’t be walking around the house in a constant state of arousal.”
I felt my cheeks heat with embarrassment. With a desperate sigh he lifted my chin with his hand and kissed my lips briefly. “I like you a lot, you know that, right?”