Bent not Broken (99 page)

“Yes, they are.” She rolls her eyes at me.

“No, they’re not.”

“I’m hilarious.”

I can’t help but laugh at her now; she is so damn cute when she argues with me.

“Okay, you’re hilarious, Jess.”

“I know. I’m really glad we settled this,” she says with a smirk.

“Hey, I have an idea,” I say, taking another bite of my pizza.

“I don’t know if I should be intrigued or scared. See, that was funny,” she says, wiping her mouth with a napkin. “What’s this idea of yours?”

“Maybe we can go visit Ava. You know, once she’s settled, we can take a road trip and surprise her for a weekend.” Her eyes soften and mist over as she thinks about my proposal.

“I’d love that,” she whispers.

“I’d do anything to make you happy, you know that, right?” She nods and tears threaten to spill out of her green eyes.

“I love you, Gabe.”

“I love you too,” I respond. “Now are you ready to get out of this dump?” I joke with her.

“Yeah, yeah. I will never bring you here again.” She laughs.

“Actually, I was hoping we could come back next week. That pizza was damn good.”

“Told you.” She laughs.

As I pull into my parents’ driveway, I see there are quite a few cars already here. I even see Luke’s truck parked in front of the house. Instead of heading through the side gate, Jess goes into the house, and, like a lovesick puppy, I follow her.

“Hi, Mom and Dad!” she announces as she walks through the door. My mom is at the sink, washing dishes, and Dad is sitting at the kitchen table, drinking a beer and supervising her.

“Hey, Jess!” my dad hollers.

He jumps up out of his recliner and makes his way to her, pulling her into a tight embrace.

“We miss having you around, but I’m glad Gabe is keeping an eye on you.” He winks at her. “There’s quite a crowd out there tonight,” he says, nodding toward the backyard. Jess releases her hug on Dad and opens the patio door.

“‘Bout time, lovebirds,” Luke catcalls.

Giving him the bird, I ignore his comments, noticing that there actually are quite a few people here, more than the usual eight to ten that normally gather. Jess makes her way over to Ava, and I grab a beer from the cooler, taking a seat next to Luke.

“So how are classes going?” Luke asks, taking a drink of his beer.

“Actually, really good. I’m lucky that every one of my undergrad classes transferred over. All I need are the sixteen credits for the Fire Sciences degree. Once those are done, all I need is to pass the P.A.T. Jess has been running my ass off lately, so I’m hoping the extra cardio will help me.”

Luke laughs. “Good. Can’t wait to have you on board, bro.” He takes his beer bottle and taps mine.

“Me too, man,” I say, watching Jess move from group to group. She is a social butterfly, able to talk to and relate to anyone. She finally settles, sitting on the stone bench by the fire, talking with Ava. I can’t help but smile when I see that they’re laughing so hard, Ava is doubled over. Jess glances at me, and her eyes sparkle in the light of the fire. I never knew I could be so in love with someone, but she has completely captured my heart.

“I love you,” she mouths to me.

“Love you too.” I mouth back. Luke laughs when he sees us.

“So, how are things with you two?” Luke asks.

“Good. Really good,” I say, watching her. “I’m happy.”

“You look happy,” he says. “Can I ask you something, honestly?”

“Shoot.”

“Is she the reason you didn’t go back to Arizona?”

I hesitate to answer for a moment because I wonder where this questioning is coming from.

“Partly. I love her. I really do, but I also know that I wanted to be a firefighter.” I think back to a few months ago, when I made this decision and all the emotions involved. “Either way, this was a chance worth taking for me,” I say, looking at Luke, and then back at Jess. “She’s worth it.”

“She is,” he agrees with me. “I’m glad you’re both happy.”

“So am I, man. So am I.”

Chapter 11

Jess

“Stop eye fucking my brother. It’s gross,” Ava says as she catches me looking at Gabe. I pick up another plastic cup and toss it into the trash bag.

“I’m not eye fucking your brother.”

Picking up the last of the paper plates and empty cups, Ava and I make one last sweep of the patio, looking for anything else we missed.

“You know I’m really going to miss you when you leave,” I tell Ava.

“I’m going to miss you too. I honestly can’t remember what it was like before you starting living with us.”

“Really? I remember so much about that time, probably because I had just lost my mom. I guess the trauma of it really ingrained in me everything around those years.”

“Do you miss her?”

As I pause to gather my thoughts, I notice Gabe talking to Luke up on the patio near the house. I sit down on the built-in stone benches that surround the fire pit. I take a few moments to stare at the flames and remember the bits and pieces of my mom.

“Yeah, I miss her. I don’t remember much about
her
particularly, but I have vague recollections of baking cupcakes with her and going to the library. She loved to read.”

Ava sits down next to me, weaving her arm through mine and resting her head on my shoulder.

“You love to read too,” she whispers.

A small smile settles on my face. “I guess I get that from her.”

“And you look like her too,” Ava says. “Almost identical.”

I keep a small-framed picture on my nightstand of my mom and me. I catch Ava looking at it occasionally.

“I think so too. Do you think that’s why he hates me?” I ask. “Because I look so much like her?”

She squeezes my arm. Ava knows I’m referring to my dad.

“He doesn’t hate you,” I hear Gabe say from behind us. Ava and I simultaneously turn our heads to see him walking toward us.

“Well, maybe he doesn’t
hate
me, but he doesn’t care much about me.”

“Look, I can only tell you what I see.” He sits down on the other side of me. “He loves you, Jess. He just has a really shitty way of showing you. I think losing your mom destroyed him. He knew that having you stay with us was what you needed, the stability of a family and siblings. We were a surrogate family for you, and he drowned himself in work as a coping mechanism. I guarantee you that man would lay down his life for you; he just doesn’t know how to show you that.”

Giant tears are rolling down my face as I absorb his view of my relationship, or lack thereof with my dad. I see Ava wipe tears from her cheeks too.

“I didn’t mean for this to get all emotional.” I laugh and swipe at the tears, trying to lighten the mood.

Lifting her head, Ava wipes her cheeks again. “Just because I’m moving doesn’t mean I’ll forget about you. I will miss your sassy ass every single day.” She smacks my thigh and stands up. “And you have Gabe here to keep you, uh…busy.” She winks at me.

“Good night, you guys. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Ava says quietly, leaving me alone with Gabe.

“Night, Ava.”

“Night, sissy,” Gabe responds.

We sit in silence for a few minutes, just watching the fire. Gabe’s fingers are laced through mine. He brings my hand to his lips a couple of times placing small kisses across the top of my hand, and on each knuckle.

“You okay?” he asks.

“Yeah, sorry. I didn’t think I would cry, but talking about it is still hard.”

“You have every right to be upset. I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose my mom.”

Leaning in, I press my lips to his and taste a slight hint of the beer he had been drinking minutes before.

“Thank you.”

“For what?” he asks.

“For loving me.”

“I’ll never
not
love you.” Those words melt me a little more every time he says them. I press another kiss to his mouth, this one a bit deeper and more aggressive.

“I’m ready to go,” I whisper against his lips.

He pulls my hand and nearly drags me across the street to my house, clearly ready to cash in on the alone time I promised him earlier. Shuffling into the house, I lock the door behind him and he is already down the hall and headed to the bedroom. I take over the bathroom to start getting ready for bed, tossing my clothes into the laundry hamper.

Looking at myself in the mirror as I’m rinsing face wash off of me, I see Gabe squeeze in and plant himself directly behind me. Resting his chin on my shoulder, he watches me finish washing my face and removing my make-up.

“What?” I ask, noticing the serious look on his face.

“I’m the luckiest man in the world, you know that, right?”

“You are, babe. You have so much happening for you right now, and I’m so proud of you. A few more tests and you’ll be finished with school and then you can finally apply for a full-time position at the station. My dad is dying to bring you on.” I turn and kiss him.

“Yes, that makes me happy, but I’m the luckiest man in the world because I have you.” He rubs the side of my cheek with his hand.

God, this man knows what to say. Pushing me back gently against the bathroom counter, he presses his lips to mine while his hands skillfully catch the hem of my pink tank top, lifting it up and over my head. Sliding his hands from my shoulders, he finds my breasts, pinching both nipples, causing a slight moan.

“Like that?” he asks.

“Mmm hmm.” I lean into him.

His lips move from my cheek, down to my neck, where he spends time kissing and nipping me. I feel his hands slide down my sides and over my hips, and he hooks his fingers in the top of my pink panties and pulls them down just past my hips, where they fall to my feet. As he lifts me onto the bathroom counter, his lips never leave my neck.

He positions himself between my legs, and I instinctively wrap them around his waist. He rests his hands just inside both of my thighs. Lightly circling his fingers, his hands move closer to my naked core. His fingers brush the sensitive skin of my labia, wasting no time finding where they intend to be. Running his fingers through my already wet lips, his thumb finds that sweet spot. I gasp loudly as my head falls backwards and I feel the tingling sensation take over me.

“Oh God,” I mumble as his fingers find my entrance. Gently, he presses two fingers into me.

“Jesus,” he groans, pulling his fingers out of me and dropping his boxer briefs to the floor. Pulling me forward to the very edge of the bathroom counter, he positions himself at my center and presses into me. I moan at the intense pressure as he fills me. Slowly, he moves in and out, nearly pulling himself completely out with each thrust. Every time I’m just about to peak, he slows his pace, this time stopping entirely.

“Don’t stop,” I beg. “Please.”

My legs still wrapped around his waist, he pulls me from the counter, walking us to my bedroom. Bending over, he lies us down on the bed, never once separating us. Grabbing both of my hands, he places them up above my head and holds them there with one hand. Slowly, he begins to move in and out of me in perfect rhythm. I can feel my walls clenching as he brings me close to climax, but I’m not ready to go there yet.

Without thinking, I whisper loudly, “Stop!”

He stills. “Babe, what’s wrong?”

He sounds nervous, and his body tenses. My legs are hitched around his waist, holding him in place on top of me.

Giggling, I say, “Nothing, I’m just not ready come yet.”

He drops his head with a sigh.

“You scared me. I thought I was hurting you.”

“I want to go on top,” I whisper against his lips, unhitching my legs from around him. They fall widely, and he sits back, still inside me. He pulls my legs up over his shoulders, and thrusts himself forward, filling me. Doing it again, the pressure is intense, and once again, brings me close to the edge when he suddenly stops completely.

“Gabe, please…I’m not…ready….”

“That’s what you get for scaring me.” He thrusts again, this time pulling out of me. He drops my legs from his shoulders and lies down on his back while I position myself on top of him.

Bending forward, I press a kiss to his lips as I settle on top of him and slowly slide down, filling myself with every inch of him. It feels so different from this angle.

“Mmmm,” he groans.

I place my hands on his chest, slowly moving my hips up and down. My breath quickens at the feel of him inside of me from this position. He is so much deeper when I’m on top, and it’s an entirely different sensation. My pulse races with the different sensations my body is experiencing, and I can tell I’m not going to last much longer. Leaning back, I can feel him pressing against the very spot that is going to send me into ecstasy.

“Gabe,” I breathe heavily. His large hands grip my hips tightly, forcing me up and down faster and harder. “I’m going to…”

“Come with me,” he interrupts.

Falling forward, I do. My release is intense as I rest my head on his shoulder, and I let my body recover while taking in the intoxicating scent of him. There is nothing more comforting than his masculine scent.

“Babe, you can do that to me every day,” he says, pressing his lips to the side of my face. Still trying to catch my breath, I slide off of him, rolling to lie on my back beside him.

“Babe?” Gabe asks.

“Yeah,” I say with my eyes closed, my breathing still sporadic.

“Look at me.”

Rolling my head to the side, I open my eyes.

“I will love you every day for the rest of my life; never forget that.”

“I love that you tell me this every day,” I whisper.

“It’s because I mean it.”

My eyes suddenly fill with tears. I’ve never felt like I belonged anywhere before, but in this exact moment, I know I belong with Gabe Garcia forever.

****

Watching Ava pile her belongings into Mom and Dad’s car is bittersweet. Ava is headed to Stanford. I never doubted she’d get accepted with her grades and ambition. As she throws her last bag in the back seat, Gabe and I stand on the driveway, his arms wrapped around me from behind. She walks over to us, and my eyes fill with tears, my heart hanging heavy.