Mending (13 page)

Gabby smiled politely.
“I’m not eating. 
Just joining a friend while he eats.
  Thank you, though.”

“
Ya
sure
sug
’
, not even a piece of cake?”

“Hmm, as enticing as that sounds, I better pass on cake.” Gabby giggled.  She loved how friendly the waitresses
were here
.  People could say all they wanted about people from the south, but she loved
southern hospitality and how
concerned
everyone was
with feeding you.

“What about you, young man?” The waitres
s looked over to Ian who was
obviously glaring at Gabby
,
none too pleased with her stubbornness regarding eating.

Gabby looked at him and shrugged her shoulder with a playful smile. 

“I’ll have t
he country fried steak with butter
beans, collards, and cornbread.
”
Ian put the two
menu
s
on the side of t
he table
.

“I wish you’d eat.”

It wasn’t that Gabby had just eaten earlier on her way home as to why she didn’t want to eat with him but her stomach was in knots.  Between the day she’d had with Bradley’s baggage and Ian showing back up trying to charm the
pants off
her, she worried if she ate anything she would
be
sick.  The wine had been helpful because it had taken the edge off o
f these feelings, dulling them
.  “I told you I ate earlier.  I’m not hungry.”

Ian looked away. 
“Fine.”

The conversation
flowed well
.  All things said about him, they had never had trouble getting along.  He may have broken her heart a long time ago, but she was over that.  She had been over that.  Not only was he a distraction, he was also good company.  It was nice to be with someone wh
o had known her for so long.  He
knew what all she had been through
, even if he was the cause for some of the
trauma.  He had known her mother and they shared really good memories.  They laughed about the good
times
and conveniently ignored the bad ones. 

When he finished
his dinner
they made their way back to the car
.  Her
fatigue from the day had really set in, but she could also feel the familiar pull towards Ian that she had always had.  She fought desperately to ignore it and not give any indication that she was still affected by him.  She would occasionally feel his gaze in the car on the way home.  Luckily
,
the drive was short.  When they got back to her apartment, he offered to walk her to her door.  She knew he would probably make a move on her.  She had already resolved to stop it if it occurred.
  Again, unlike Bradley
who always opened the door for her, he didn’t.  She let herself out and hung her head down as the ache in heart suddenly came back with a vengeance at the thought of her love, Bradley.

Chapter 10

August,
2010  ~
 
The Past

Gabby

Gabby spent the rest of the afternoon
and evening
curled up on h
er couch reading The Notebook.  She only stopped long enough to go to the bathroom and to eat a salad for dinner. 
She loved Nicolas Sparks
’
novels.  Despite all the heartache she had experienced, she still wanted the fairytale.  But, then again, every girl she knew wanted the fairytale.  She found herself daydreaming through much of the story about whether Bradley Banks could possibly be her fairytale.  She would
catch herself re-reading the same line over and over again.  Then she would just roll her eyes at herself and grin.  No matter how hard she had tried all day, getting him off of her mind was impossible.  Everything she saw or
did in some way a reminder
of him. 

Even though she had initially been concerned about the mid-week proposition, she was now so excited.  She completely understood what he meant about not being able to make it to Saturday.  Suddenly, waiting until Wednesday seemed like an eternity away.  She was thankful she did at least have school the next couple of days because if she was just hanging out doing nothing she would be beside herself.  Of course, if she had no school she wouldn’t have to wait until Wednesday to see him.  She sighed.  It was the first time ever that she dreaded school and wished that she was already done.  The daydream changed to a life with Bradley.  She was getting far too ahead of herself, especially for them just being friends.

Her
thoughts wandered
to whether she had made the right decision
about the friends bit.  She
played her conversation with John on repeat in her mind.  All she could hear
was the echoing of his words
about her being wound up like a spinning top just waiting to be released.  She shook her head and quietly laughed to herself. 

The more she thought about Bradley, the more she wanted to be with him.  She had been unable to get
her fill over the weekend even though
they had spent hours with each other at a time.  She wondered if looking
at his face would ever get old
.
  Closing her eyes, she
tried to recall
the
image
s
she c
ommit
ted to memory on the beach.  H
e was standing so close to her she could feel his breath.  He looked so sexy with his
dark hair blowing in the breeze.  H
is blue eyes the color of the clearest Caribbean ocean she’d ever seen and the way his clothes cl
ung to his muscles. 
She thought to t
hat night and the
sound of
his
husky voice whispering in her ear how beautiful she looked as she
sat down to dinner.
 

W
hen
her thoughts
got to the later part of the date, she could feel the same nervous electric energy she’d felt at the moment their bodies were pulled together like the strongest of magnets
.  It was the most memorable kiss
she’
d ever had.  She was lying on the couch grinning with her eyes closed re
calling her weekend in her head
when her phone rang.

She could see it was him.  The grin that had been plastered to her face al
l day widened as she answered,
“Good evening, Mr. Banks.”

“Hey beautiful.
  What are you doing?”

She wasn’t sure if she w
anted to tell him that daydreaming
about him was the only thing she had be
en able
to
effectively do all day.  She nervously started twirling her hair. 
“
Hmm.
 
Nothing.”
She sat up on the couch and leaned into the corner, tucking her legs sideways underneath her.

“Well, you must be doing something.” He chuckled.

She glanced up to the ceiling as
a wide smile overtook her face.
“I am talking to you.
 
What are you doing?” She
was
trying to contain her elation to hear his voice
.

“
I just wanted to tell you goodnight.”

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. 
“
You go to bed at nine
?”

“Well, I’ll watch TV for a bit, but I wasn’t sure what time you went to bed.” 

“I usually go to bed around eleven, but I’m really tired.”  She giggled
as she closed her eyes smiling
.
“
Someone kept me
up late all weekend.”

“Ah.”
He whistled.
“Yeah, I’ll take full responsibility for that.
  Do you have a busy day tomorrow?”

“I
only
have
two classes, but they are long.”  Gabby picked up a throw pillow from th
e couch and hugged it hoping to
relieve the fluttering in her abdomen. 

His tone perked up as
if he was genuinely interested.
“What are they?”

“
Hmph
, well one is biology. 
Blah.
  And, the other is contemporary poetry.”

“I’m with you on the biology. 
Contemporary poetry, huh?”

“Yeah.
  I didn’t want to have to read anything really long.  I’ll be reading a lot of other stuff
this semester
.  I thought it sounded fun.”  She shrugged her shoulder, “
Besides. 
Sam took this class at USC with the same professor.  She said it was the best English class she’d ever taken.”

“Sounds interesting.”

Gabby
giggled.
“Time will tell.  Do you have an exciting day tomorrow?”

“Every
day is busy.”  Bradley chuckled.
“But, I wouldn’t classify tomorrow as an exciting day.  How about ask me that tomorrow about Wednesday.”

S
he whispe
red, “I must admit I’m
excited, myself.”

“Oh, you don’t say
?
 
You know we don’t have to wait until Wednesday.”

Gabby couldn’t hold in her sarcastic laugh, “Oh Mr. Banks, you’re smooth.”

He laughed back, “What can I say?”  He paused, “I can’t get my fill of you.”

Gabby held her breath for a moment as the tingly feelings shocked through her body, “I know the feeling.”

“So do you want to move it to Tuesday?”

“Honestly, it might be better for me.”  She nervously started to twirl her hair and looked up at the ceiling as she thought out loud.  “My classes on Wednesday start a little later than my Thurs
day classes, so I could sleep in
since I assume I’ll be getting home really late.”

“Alright, well then tomorrow it is.”

Gabby was sure that if she were on video chat with him, he would be grinning that adorable schoolboy grin.  The same grin he had given her on the beach when she had said she would go to dinner.  The same grin he had given her when she said she’d try.  It was enough to make her melt right then and there.  She was quickly realizing that will power where he was concerned was not something she possessed.

“Gabby, you still there?”

She smiled, “I’m still here.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I was just thinking.”

“Oh.  Good things, I hope.”

“
Yeah, good.”

“Well, I should probably let you go so you can get some rest.”

Gabby rolled her eyes in delight. 
All she could
hear John’s voice in her head with his remarks about spinn
ing tops needing to be released. 
“Yes, tomorrow is going to be a big day.”

“Goodnight, Gabby girl.”

Gabby laughed, “Where did you come up with that, by the way?”

“I don’t know.”  He paused.  “
Do you not like it?”

“No I love it.”
  There was silence for a moment.  She pondered
if sh
e should ask, but decided
what
the heck
.  “Do people ever call you Brad?”

“Not really.”