A Will To Change (Hope) (28 page)

The sound of my alarm was like nails on a chalkboard. I was a lot better than I had been just twenty-four hours ago, but I was still wishing I had one more day before I had to go into work. I had caught Gabby’s sickness a few days after she did, landing me in bed for three days. Gabby, of course, was in full nurse mode, doting on me every chance that she could get, making me appreciate her even more than I already did. I was just about to get out of bed when I heard a light knock on my door. “Housekeeping!” Gabby giggled.

“Come in.”

“Are you decent?” she asked, carrying a tray in her hand as the door flung open.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I teased.

She placed the tray on my lap and sat down on the bed. “How are you feeling?” she asked, placing her cool hand on my forehead.

“Much better.”

“Good!” she smiled. “Well, I made you some blueberry muffins, fresh from the oven. Don’t go crazy eating today. Your stomach still isn’t going to be up for it.” I couldn’t stop staring at her. She was just so perfect in every way. She was beautiful, funny, smart, and the most caring person that I knew. All she cared about was taking care of me. And, right now, all I was feeling was my dick throbbing and wanting to be inside of her.

“Thanks, Gabby girl.”

“No problem. That’s the least I could do since I’m the one that got you sick in the first place.”

“Why don’t you stop by the station and have dinner with me tonight when you’re done working?”

She sucked in her bottom lip, like she would always do when she was upset or thinking something over. “Actually, I’m supposed to be going to the movies with Brian tonight.”

“Peterson?” I said, almost choking on my orange juice.

“Yeah.”

What the fuck? Was this some sick joke? There was no way that Peterson was going to get his hands on her!
“Why?”

“Um…because I think he’s really nice.”

“Oh, trust me, Gabby. He’s not nice when it comes to women.”

She looked at me and rolled her eyes. “Oh, and you are?” she said with a sarcastic grin.

“I’m not saying that I am but, Gabby, you shouldn’t be going out with someone like that.”

She began to laugh. “What do you mean ‘someone like that’? He’s one of your best friends, Will.”

“Gabby, just -.”

“We’re going to a movie, Will. That’s it. Just calm down. I’m not some stupid, naïve little girl.”

She stood up and bent over, kissing me softly on the cheek. “Thanks for looking out for me, but I’ll be okay.” I breathed in the familiar sweet smell of vanilla coming off of her, which was only making me want her more. “Don’t work too hard on your first day back,” she said as she quickly pulled her hair back in a ponytail, giving me one last beautiful smile before walking out my bedroom door.

Just being in the same room with her got my dick hard. I wanted her so bad, but I knew that I could never have her in that way. She was so special to me, like no other woman I had ever known, and if Peterson touched one hair on her head, I would kill him.

“So what’s so important that I needed to come in on my shift off?” Peterson asked as he walked into the station.

I moved my hand, motioning him to follow me into the kitchen area. “Why didn’t you tell me that you and Gabby were going out tonight?”

“Umm…I don’t know. I didn’t think that it was that big of a deal. Plus, I figured Gabby would’ve told you.” He picked up a donut from the counter and took a bite.

“I’m tellin’ you right now, Peterson, that if you do anything…ANYTHING…to hurt her, I will fuckin’ kill you.”

“Geez, Will. What the fuck is your problem?”

“My problem is you taking Gabby out on a date.”

He held up his hands in defense. “She told me that there isn’t anything going on between you two and so did you. So what are you trying to say now? That there is?”

“No, there isn’t and you want to know why?” I didn’t wait for him to answer. I just continued on with my rant. “Because she’s special. She’s not just some piece of ass, and I’m telling you right now that you better not treat her like she is.”

He raised his eyebrow at me. “Damn, Will. You got it bad for this girl, don’t you?” I shook my head. I would never admit to anyone exactly how I felt for Gabby. Hell, I was having a hard time admitting it to myself. In a million years, I never thought that I would be feeling this way about a woman. “Look, Will, if you don’t want me going out with her, I won’t.”

No, I didn’t want him going out with her. The truth was, I didn’t want
anyone
going out with her, but I knew that it wasn’t going to be possible to keep her in a bubble and protect her from all of the assholes out here. At least with Peterson, I could keep an eye on what was going on and make sure that he didn’t do anything to hurt her. As much as it was going to kill me to watch one of my best friends dating the girl that I had fallen so hard for, I knew I had to do it. If it meant keeping my Gabby girl safe, I would endure it.

Brian walked me upstairs after our date. “I had a lot of fun, Gabby,” he said, once we reached the door.

“Me, too.” I smiled.

He leaned down and grazed my lips with his before looking into my eyes and pulling me closer, kissing me harder. I ran my hands through his hair, kissing him back just as eagerly. I knew that Will was working a twenty-four hour shift and wouldn’t be home until the morning, but something just didn’t feel right about inviting Brian into Will’s place and continuing this kiss even further. I realized now that I was doing the right thing by taking Callie up on her offer to look at her sister’s apartment that she was subletting. I needed a place of my own. I rubbed my thumb along his jawline and stared up at him. He was breathing heavily and I was fighting with everything I had to not invite him in, trying my best to ignore that sexy look in his eyes or the want for him that was building up inside of me. “I want to see you again, if that’s okay with you.”

I nodded. “Yeah. That sounds good.” Suddenly Will’s face popped into my mind. I knew he wasn’t happy about me going out with Brian tonight and he certainly wasn’t going to be happy about me going on a second date with him, which was all the more reason that I needed to find a place of my own.

“Okay. When?”

Damn, he doesn’t waste any time.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Umm…I don’t know.”

“Well, when is your next day off?”

“Tomorrow.”

A smile stretched across his face, but all I could see was Will’s beautiful smile in my mind. “Okay. Did you have plans?”

“Well, just in the morning. A friend of mine from work wants me to take a look at her sister’s apartment. Her job transferred her to London for a few months so she wants someone to stay there and take over her rent while she’s gone.”

Brian’s eyes widened. “Does Will know you’re thinking about moving?”

“He knew that this was only temporary. Besides, he needs to have his life back instead of me here all of the time, cramping his style. It’s not fair to him. I figure I could look for a permanent place while I’m staying at her apartment. It will kind of force me into doing it, ya know?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Hey, I would love for you to come with me and check it out,” I said.

“Okay. What time and where?”

“Well, here’s the thing. Callie, my friend from work, has to be in by seven so I agreed to meet her kind of early.”

“Okay. What’s early?”

I formed and innocent smile before blurting out the time. “Six. I know that’s super early, and if you -.”

“Nah, six is fine. I’ve been up way earlier than that before. Then I could take you out for breakfast after.”

“Sounds great.” I found a piece of paper in my purse and wrote down the address. He stuck it in his pocket and leaned down, giving me another “I want you to invite me in so badly” kiss.

“I’ll see you in the morning.” This time it was me who was breathing heavily, and I was quite impressed with my willpower.

“See ya, Gabby,” he said, waiting until I unlocked the door and was safely inside before walking away.

After washing my face and brushing my teeth, I went into my bedroom to change into my pajamas. I really did have a great time with Brian tonight, and I was actually looking forward to spending time with him again tomorrow, but there was still something bothering me about the whole situation and if I didn’t already know what it was, the text that had just come through on my phone certainly jogged my memory.

Will:
Are you home?

Me:
Yes, Dad. Just getting ready to go to bed…by myself.

Will:
Good night, Gabby girl.

Me:
Good night, pain in the ass.

I giggled as I curled up under my
covers. My smile quickly turned to a frown. Things would sure be a lot different once I got a place of my own. I closed my eyes, reminding myself that it was for the best for both of us. I needed to get a life, and Will needed his back. We would still be friends, just friends that lived a little further apart. I knew it was the right thing to do. So why did I have such a sick feeling in my stomach just thinking about it?

Callie’s sister’s apartment was perfect. It was spacious, in my price range, fully furnished, and only five minutes away from the hospital. I scolded myself for not telling Callie that I would take it right away, instead of telling her that I needed time to think about it. In the back of my mind, I knew why I was hesitating. I still hadn’t even told Will about this and I wanted to do that before I made any decision.

The snow was coming down when Brian and I exited the bagel shop. Since his place was only a couple of blocks away and the bagel place was so crowded, we decided to get our bagels to go. By the time we reached his apartment, we were both drenched from the falling snow. I was shivering as I took off my jacket, which was saturated and was soaking right through to my sweater and jeans. Brian went into his bedroom and came out with a pair of sweats and a sweatshirt. “Here, Gabby. Go in the bathroom and change into these. I’ll throw your clothes in the dryer for you.”