Break Me (The Summer Series) (9 page)

“I know.” Gemma squeezed his hand. “She just
seems so naive, you know?”

“The girl that just threw herself into a near
stranger’s arms?”  Emily laughed as she kicked sand toward Gemma.

“Oh”—she slapped her forehead in mock
embarrassment—“you’re right; she’ll be fine.” Gemma kicked sand back at Emily,
“Simon did seem nice, right? And interested in the exact thing she was offering
up too.”

“Yes, Gem.” Abe smiled at her. “Trust me on
this one, okay?” There was something in the way he said it, something about his
confidence. She trusted him, yes, but she was also starting to trust that
freaky sixth sense of his too, and with that, she nodded.

“I guess it should be a match made in sexy
summer heaven.” She reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting
her head on his chest.

“Who?” The blond girl Gemma now knew as Megan
interrupted the group as they neared the fire. “Me and Abe?” She smiled up at
him innocently.

Gemma was taken by surprise and looked at Abe
in confusion. “Megan, what are you trying to do?” he asked, pulling Gemma to
his side and wrapping his arm around her waist to offer her some comfort. All
Gemma saw, however, was the comparison between herself and Megan. Gemma filled
out the top and bottoms of her swimsuit. Megan had the slender, modest sizing
of a model but was much shorter. Gemma felt like some kind of ogre next to her.
Was she actually too large? No. But Megan and girls like her could swipe her
confidence in a matter of seconds.

“Just making sure Gemma here understands your
rules.” She squared off with Gemma, her glare almost too intimidating to meet.
“He makes you the most important thing in the world for a few months, tells you
everything you want to hear, makes you feel things you didn’t know you could,
gets you addicted to his touch and taste, and then when he’s done, he’s done.”
Megan sneered up at Abe, “Don’t trust him. He will use you, take exactly what
he wants, and then be done with you. Dropping you like a bad habit.”

“Megan—”Abe started but was interrupted by
Emily.

“Listen, you psychopath, you cheated on him
two
years ago. He tried to trust you again and he couldn’t. You lost him, and now,
quite frankly, he has found someone a lot better. Move on.” Emily walked past
Megan, pulling Ryan behind her and making sure to bump Megan’s shoulder enough
to have her tripping to her side, barely catching herself before she fell.

“Come on, baby,” Abe said, pulling a confused
Gemma after him.

“He used to call me that, you know,” Megan
yelled after them, a small catch evident in her voice. “Has he taken you to his
cove yet? That’s where he’ll tell you how much he cares, how much you mean to
him.”

Gemma took in a breath quickly and dropped
Abe’s hand. Abe turned and looked back at her, fear evident in his eyes. “Em,
Ryan, we are going to head out,” he called over his shoulder, never letting
Gemma’s eyes leave his own. He stepped forward, grabbed her hand, and pulled
her along with him toward the parking lot. “We need to talk,” he told her as she
continued to try jerking her hand out of his while he wouldn’t let go. He did
stop walking suddenly and turned to face her. “Come home with me?”

Gemma was so confused she couldn’t speak, but
she also knew there were questions that needed to be answered, so she nodded
and followed along. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was disappointed that
the first time she would see his place may be the last.

Ten

The ride to Abe’s place was nothing
short of torture. Their entire relationship, even their snarky beginning, had
been effortless. Their first date had turned into hours of talking, laughing,
and sharing. He knew all of her secrets. He knew her fears. It was as if he
knew everything without her telling him from the very beginning, and it was slowly
dawning on her as they drove that the same might not be true for him. Sure, she
thought she knew everything. Sure they had talked so much she thought he had
certainly told her everything, but clearly she was wrong. What she had mistaken
for a crush that first night on the beach was so much more. Clearly, Abe and
Megan had been in a relationship, a serious one at that. But to hear that Megan
was the one who cheated, to hear that the only reason things ended was a lack
of trust, it changed everything. Would they still be together had she been
faithful? Did he think of her still? Was Gemma a placeholder for the summer
while he licked his wounds and hurt her back?

They pulled up in front of a beachfront
apartment complex. He entered a code in the gate, and it slowly slid open,
revealing a full parking lot. It was a single building, not multiple units like
most of the apartments in the area. It was also a bit more run down than the
others. He pulled up right outside the front office. It wasn’t the only spot, so
she was surprised he would take it. She noticed the staircase just to the left
of the central mailboxes that led upstairs and decided he must have one of
those. Instead of going toward the stairs, however, he walked to the office and
unlocked the door, gesturing for her to go in first. Confused, she narrowed her
eyes and went into the waiting room behind him.

“Just give me a minute,” he said as his eyes
pleaded with her for a little more patience. She let out a deeply held breath
as he pointed at a seat near the desk for her to wait in. “I’ll be right back.”
He turned and hurried down the hall, flipping on lights as he went. She heard
low murmuring that she knew was him and then another voice. Minutes later, he
returned, followed closely by an older man. Seeing the man shuffle in the room,
she hurried to her feet and put on a fake smile.

“So this is the famous Gemma,” the man said as
he smiled and melted her heart a little before lifting his hand for her to
shake.

“Yes, Gramps, this is her.” Abe smiled at the
two of them. “I told you I’d get her here eventually.”

“Hey”—she drew back and shot Abe a warning look—“don’t
throw me under the bus.” She turned and stepped closer to Abe’s gramps. “I
promise I had no idea you were waiting to meet me, sir.” Gemma’s eyes narrowed
at Abe, and then she decided it was best to completely ignore him before she
made a scene in front of his gramps.

“Don’t worry, my girl. He can’t fool me. He’s
been trying to hide you because he’s worried I’ll embarrass him.”

“That’s not true, Gramps, and you know it. I
pretty much spend all my time working or getting Gemma to like me.” Both Gramps
and Gemma scoffed at that then looked at each other and laughed. “Nope, not
happening, that’s the other reason I don’t want you two spending too much time
together. You’re too much alike. It’s unnerving.” He glowered at them.

“I knew I liked this girl.” Gramps winked at
her.

“Well, Gramps, I think I may like you more than
him. You interested in a younger woman?” She winked at the old man and his
charming smile grew.

“Okay, we said hello. You two can torture me
later. I need to talk to Gem.” He reached over and rubbed his Gramps’ bald head
and then started for the door.

“See you around, sugar. You can come by
whenever; don’t wait on this fool.” He waved after the couple before turning
and walking back in the direction he had come from.

“You got it.” She smiled as she followed Abe
out the office door again.

He silently led her to an apartment around the
corner that had a view of the water. She only got a second of the breathtaking
view before he ushered her into his apartment. “That was my Gramps, obviously.”
He fidgeted nervously. “He owns this place, and I don’t know why I never
mentioned any of that, but there it is.”

“And what about your parents?” She decided to
get back to the glaring issues later, but for now she wanted more information. It
was becoming more and more obvious she didn’t know as much about him as she
thought.

“They live in Florida. I moved up here when I
was fourteen to help Gramps. He was alone and starting to get old, but the
stubborn ass refused to sell the place. It was he and my Gram’s pride and joy,
and short of death he is never leaving it. My parents can’t leave Florida. They
own a small water park. It’s not exactly something they can relocate, and
honestly, they didn’t want to. I always came here in the summers and loved it
so . . .” He shrugged.

“So you came here to finish high school. I get
it. What’s he going to do next year when you leave for school?” She crossed her
arms over her chest protectively as he nodded his head toward the living room,
inviting her in to the room.

“Ryan’s going to be moving in to the
apartment.” Abe shrugged, “He’s going to the tech school and doesn’t have any
interest in ever being anywhere else. He’s going to move in so he can help
out.”

“Okay,” she said as she started to walk around
the living room, taking in a few pictures and books lying around. She also
noticed he had more seasons of TV shows on DVD than she thought existed. “So
tell me about Megan.” She sat on the only chair, knowing she didn’t want to
risk him sitting by her and distracting her from the conversation they had to
have.

“Baby, there’s nothing to tell.” He sighed.

“Obviously there is
something,
Abe. I’m
not an idiot.”

“I didn’t say you were. I’m just trying to—”

“You’re trying to hedge talking about her,
which to me screams there’s something to say.” Gemma tried to keep her volume
low, but she was irritated and tired. This hadn’t been how she planned to spend
her evening, and it was pretty obvious by her erect posture and frustrated
tone. “This isn’t that hard. She said some things. You and Emily reacted. I
want to know why.” Gemma uncrossed and then crossed her arms again,
protectively.

Abe shifted uncomfortably but looked her in the
eye, which to her was a good sign. “Okay. What do you want to know? I’ll tell
you anything.”

“Well, for starters, did you call her “baby” or
“babe” like she said?” Her tone was a little darker than she meant it to be,
and she surprised herself with her burning jealousy. It wasn’t about the words
“baby” or “babe.” It was more the intimacy of the words, the relationship they
would signify.

“Honestly,” he said, “we were sixteen years old.
I think I called her every name I could come up with at one point or another,
but it wasn’t like with you. It was never her
name
; it didn’t have the same
meaning and tone that it does with you. I swear that.” He walked to the coffee
table that sat in front of her and took a seat, knowing well enough not to
touch her yet.

“And the cove? And all the other stuff she knew
about?”

“Gem”—he wiped his hands over his face—“there
are coves all over the place around here. When you’re sixteen and not allowed
to bring a girl back to the apartment you share with your Gramps, you find some
of them, so yes she saw them. Did I tell her she mattered, that I loved her?
Yes. But I was young and had no understanding of that at the time. And finally,
did she cheat and did I take her back, trying to give it a second chance? Yeah,
I can’t deny it, but I can regret it. Gem, she was my first. I had to learn the
hard way that didn’t mean she was my forever.”

“You’re blunt. I’ll give you that,” she said
before she blew out the breath she had been holding.

“I figured anything else would get me kicked to
the curb.” He grinned.

“And me?”

“And you, what?” He looked nervous and confused
as he scooted closer to her, almost unnoticeably. Almost.

“
You
will be my first, well, not my
first, you know that, but the first man that I completely give myself to in
love. The first guy I make love to looking for something more, both emotionally
and physically. I don’t want to make any mistakes. I don’t want to do something
I can’t take back, that I’ll always wish I could. I don’t want to waste our
time with this thing we have going if this is just a fling for you.” She looked
away, embarrassed, but he used his hand to turn her back to face him, waiting
until she was looking in his eyes to speak.

“Gemma”—he let go of her face and pulled both
of her hands into his—“I don’t even know where to start, but here goes.” He
searched her eyes for a moment, confirming for both of them that they were on
the same page. “The stuff with Megan—what I thought that was, even up until the
day I met you—was so completely wrong. She was a girl who liked me; I had a
relationship with her that was nothing but physical fumbling and arguments. It
was the definition of a high-school relationship. But you, the way you make me
feel, the way I want to be with you and for you? It’s crazy. I didn’t know it
was possible to want like this not just physically, because we both know how
badly I want you that way, but in every way possible.”

Gemma, suddenly nervous as to where this was
going, started to pull her hands away. There was a part of her that couldn’t
hear what he was about to say. These words would only lead to heartache. It was
one thing to get her heart broken knowing it would never work out, but to have
hope? To know he felt what she had been trying not to feel? It would be too
much. She hurried to interrupt him, “Abe—”

“Gemma, you can’t stop it before it happens;
you can’t beat me to the punch.” He interrupted her, reading her mind as usual.
“It’s already happened.” He dropped from the table to his knees and inched
closer to her until her legs were on either side of his body. “Gem, I love
you.”

Her breath left in a rush. Knowing what he was
going to say and hearing the words were two completely different things. Emotions
took over that she didn’t know she could feel. For the past couple of weeks,
something had been building. Something deep inside had been grabbing ahold of
her, and with those words, it was as if the bottom had dropped out from beneath
her. Her insides hit the floor. Heat filled the space they had left vacant. Her
body was numb and on fire at the same time. Her ears heated with joy or passion,
she wasn’t sure. Her heart sputtered, stalled, and then picked up its pace,
ten-fold. She had to speak. She had to find something to say or do besides
stare at him wide-eyed. Clearing her throat, she prayed the words found their
way past her lips. “You love me?” she asked, needing to hear it again, to prove
that the gamut of emotions taking her over wasn’t for nothing. That it was real.

“Yes.” He chuckled. “In almost no time at all
and without any hesitation, I can say for sure that I love you, my Gemma.” He
said her name almost reverently.

She reached her hand up, cupping his cheek, and
running her thumb back and forth. “I can’t believe this,” she whispered,
talking more to herself than him. “I do too.”

Excitement filled his eyes. A spark of fire
began burning in her body. She knew that to him, if she meant her statement, if
she confirmed what she had been implying with actions and vague words, she
would be starting something so much more than they had already began. Too
excited to wait any longer, he leaned forward, resting his forehead against
hers. “You do what, baby
?
”

She pulled back enough to allow their eyes to
connect without crossing. “It makes no sense.” She closed her eyes around the
tears that were suddenly trying to escape. “It was never supposed to happen.”
She shook her head but didn’t allow herself to hide anymore. Looking up into
his eyes, she finally let a smile spread across her lips. “I was supposed to
hate men and guard myself from any weakness where they were concerned. I always
told myself to stay away. To keep just enough distance.”

“I know, baby, but we can’t help these things. The
moment you turned and looked into my eyes something shifted for me. I didn’t
know it at the time, but in that moment, something changed forever. Then, after
getting to know you for a few days and going on that date, it was like the
final nail had been hammered home. You will forever own me.”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath,
letting what she was about to say and everything that she felt fully sink in, swell
up inside her and then ache to burst out. “Oh my God, Abe. I love you so much.”
She jumped forward, causing him to fall back into the coffee table and then
fall to the side, taking her with him. They both laughed as she pushed him to
his back. “I’m sorry,” she whispered as she kissed him over and over again.

“For loving me?” He laughed as he looked up at
her, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

“No, for throwing you into the table. For
loving you, I’m thankful. You make me feel something I never thought I would
get to experience.”

“Well, you have it now. Promise me you won’t
stop?” He looked suddenly nervous, probably because of what Megan had done, or
maybe because he knew Gemma’s past. Whatever the reason, her heart broke that
he even thought he had to ask the question.