On the Ropes (Down for the Count) (21 page)

The entire way over to her place, I’m second-guessing myself.
Turn around and go home. Wait for her to text you. You look desperate.
I scream at myself. The fact is, I am desperate… desperate to spend more time with her. At the next stop light, I check my phone again and see that one new text message has popped up on the screen. My stomach does a somersault in anticipation, and I almost don’t want to see who it’s from. With great hesitation, I slide my finger across the screen to unlock my phone. Salem’s name appears and my heart skips a beat.

Salem –
Hey Gabriel, I just got your message. My phone was on silent. Text me back when you get a chance so we can discuss our dinner plans.

A wave of relief washes over me. She isn’t ignoring me, and she hasn’t changed her mind about dinner; at least not yet anyway. Once I show up at her doorstep, she might feel differently.

I pull into her driveway and sit there debating if I should call or just knock on the door.
Fuck it. I’m here, just knock on the door.
I smooth out the wrinkles in my shirt as I walk up the steps to her door. I knock lightly, trying not to wake up her roommates if they’re still sleeping.

The door flies open, catching me by surprise. I’m greeted by a girl standing in a bathrobe, her hair wrapped in a towel, and a toothbrush in her mouth. “Hi, is Salem here?” I ask unsure of myself.

She gives me a strange look then yells with the toothbrush still in her mouth, “Salem!” Standing there, she just keeps staring at me while brushing her teeth, and I’m beginning to feel uncomfortable.

Salem comes bouncing down the stairs, “Gabriel? What are you doing here?” she’s obviously surprised to see me.
Fuck, I should’ve told her I was coming.
“I’m sorry to stop by unannounced,” I hope she’s not thinking I’m some crazed stalker.

“No, it’s totally fine. It’s just…” she pauses, playing with her hair, “I wasn’t expecting you so soon.”

“What she means is, she doesn’t have her face on,” Salem’s roommate chimes in.

“Daniela,” I hear Salem warn under her breath.

“What? It’s true; you don’t leave the house without makeup on,” Daniela says as she walks back up the stairs.

“Forgive the rudeness of my roommate.”

“It’s alright. I shouldn’t have just stopped by.”

“No, you’re fine. Why don’t you come in?” she steps back, making room for me to walk through the door.

“Are you sure?” I ask.

“Well, you drove all the way here,” she laughs, making her way up the steps.

I follow her, watching her tight ass as she takes each step up. She’s wearing a pink camisole with matching shorts, and she looks hot just like that. “I was just about to take a shower,” she informs me as she reaches the landing. Once I reach the top, I stop at the doorway and look around inside her condo. The living room is larger than my entire apartment. By the looks of the furniture and decorating, it’s very clear that women live here.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt your day.”

“You didn’t,” she touches my forearm lightly and my heart begins to race at her touch. “Why don’t you have a seat? I’ll turn on the TV for you,” she motions toward the couch, “I’ll only be a few minutes.”

“Okay.”

“You want a sports channel?”

“Sure,” it doesn’t really matter what channel she turns on, I won’t be paying any attention to it. I’m nervous as hell sitting here in her home. I feel like a school boy going home to meet his girlfriend’s parents. Yet, there are no parents here, and she isn’t my girlfriend.

“Here’s the remote just in case. I’ll be out in ten minutes, tops.”

“Ten minutes? Ha!” a voice says from the other room. “Who the hell do you think you’re fooling? More like thirty to forty-five minutes.”

Salem forces a smile and mentions, “That’s my other lovely roommate, Jocelyn.”

Jocelyn pokes her head around the corner, “Hello, tall, dark, and handsome. It’s very nice to meet you.”

Salem shakes her head at her.

“Hi,” I say shyly. Roommates are popping out of the woodwork.

“Who’s this good looking man? Are you trying to keep him all to yourself?” Jocelyn asks, making her way into the living room.

“This is Gabriel,” Salem answers her politely.

“Ohhh, so
you’re
Gabriel,” she teases.

What does she mean by, “So you’re Gabriel?” Did Salem tell her about me?

“Gabriel, this is Jocelyn,” she keeps our introduction brief. “Maybe you should sit in my room and wait for me.”

“Well that’s not nice, keeping your guest from your best friend,” Jocelyn scowls at Salem.

“That’s not…”

“Oh, lighten up, Salem. I’m just kidding. She’s always so serious,” she turns towards me.

“Yeah, and you never take anything seriously,” Salem snaps back.

“Why don’t you come and wait in my room instead of out here,” Salem motions for me to follow as she begins to walk down the hallway, and I scurry behind her.

“At least you’ll have peace and quiet in here,” she opens the door to her room, and I follow her inside. I carefully inspect her bedroom, and the first thing I notice is that it’s spotless, pretty much what I would’ve expected from her. Naturally, her bed is already made and everything is in its rightful place. Her pink and mint green paisley comforter shares the same pattern as the curtains that adorn her windows, even the window seat cushion matches. There are a few doors in the room; the entrance, then one leading to what I assume to be the bathroom, and the other, to a closet maybe.

“Okay, well, make yourself at home and I’ll be back in just a few minutes.”

“I’ll be here,” I say, still trying to learn as much as I can about her from her bedroom.

Closing the bathroom door behind her, Salem is in full-on panic mode.
Oh God, why is he here so early? I probably look a mess.
Rushing the few steps to the mirror, she looks at her reflection. “Ugh, it’s worse than I thought!” she fidgets with her unruly bedhead then frantically reaches for the washcloth that’s sitting on the vanity. “Why are you being so hard on yourself?” running the washcloth under the faucet, she continues muttering to herself. “He saw you bawling your eyes out last night, and there’s no way you can look any worse than that,” the warm sensation is calming as she wipes the tear-stained streaks of makeup from her face. “Waterproof my ass,” she applies more pressure to remove the hardened mascara that is clumped on her lower lashes. “God, he’s got to think I’m hideous right now.”

“Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea,” she states, as she stares at her reflection. “You don’t want to give him the wrong impression about you. He’s going to think you’re easy,” Salem continues to have a full-blown conversation with herself. “You’re not easy. Hell, it took Blaine almost three years to get into your pants!” She leans into the shower and turns the water on, then slips out of her pajamas.

After taking the quickest shower of her life, she reaches for her robe, and as she puts it on, she tries to give herself a boost with a little pep talk. “Everything is going to be just fine,” turning back towards the mirror, she slicks her hair back. “You’re going to go have a little lunch, make some small talk, and drop him off at his place. It’ll be just like going to lunch with Jockey.”
Except Jocey isn’t hot and sexy, and she doesn’t smell so damn good.
“Now, pull yourself together. You can do this!”

Once she leaves me alone, I begin to take a closer look at some of her items. The desk that sits next to her window has quite a few huge books stacked on top of one another. Upon taking a closer look, I realize they are law related textbooks.
Holy shit, is she in law school? No wonder why she was freaking out about studying for her exam.

Next to the stack of books are a few pictures in frames. I pick up the first picture; it’s Salem and what must be her parents at her graduation. She obviously gets her red hair and looks from her mother, but her blue eyes definitely come from her father. I carefully put the picture down where I found it and pick up the next one. This one is Blaine and Salem. They look to be in their teens and are dressed formally; I can only assume it’s a prom or other formal dance. That means they’ve been dating since high school. My heart sinks.
How can I compete with a first love?
“What the hell are you talking about? Competing with a first love?” I say aloud.

“What?” Salem’s voice from behind startles me.

“Huh? What?”

“Did you say something?” she’s standing in the middle of her room in a pink fuzzy bathrobe, her hair all slicked back.

I just stare at her, taking her all in. It takes everything I have in me not to walk up to her, untie the knot that holds her bathrobe together, throw her on her perfectly made bed, and have my way with her.

“No, I didn’t say anything,” I try to play it off. “So, you’re studying to be a lawyer?” I raise an eyebrow and pick up one of her books.

“Yes, I only have a few more weeks of this semester; one more year of school, the bar exam, and then I’m a lawyer,” she smiles proudly.

I stand there, speechless and smiling.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like you just found out something amazing.”

“I dunno, I guess I’m impressed that you’re in law school, that’s all.”

“Why, because someone pretty can’t be smart too?” she says defensively.

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

“Well, what exactly, did you mean?” her voice begins to rise and she crosses her arms over her chest defensively.

“I didn’t mean anything by it. I think it’s great you’re in law school. I just took you for an accountant or something.”

“An accountant? Oh God, no. I’m horrible at math,” she laughs.

“What kind of lawyer do you want to be?”

“Since I was a little girl, my future has been practically laid out for me. My schools were chosen for me, my profession, heck, even my boyfriend.”

I give her a strange look.

“No, not like that,” she smiles, shaking her head. “What I mean is, my parents have always wanted me to go into corporate law, like my father. They knew which schools were the best for me to follow that dream,” a devilish grin grows on her face. “To be completely honest, I find that type of law extremely boring and, little do my parents know, I’m planning on becoming a guardian ad litem. I didn’t decide to go into law to become rich; I chose law because I want to make a difference.”

“A guardian ad what?”

“A guardian ad litem. Basically, I’ll represent children or the mentally ill; people that are unable to adequately represent themselves. I’ll be their voice and make sure their best interests are being considered.”

I can’t help but think back to my childhood and wish someone like that would’ve stepped in for Jase and me. “That’s a great reason to become a lawyer,” I say. “Too bad there aren’t more of you out there.”

“There are good people out there, Gabriel, you just need to know where to find them.”

“And your boyfriend, is he something you may change your mind about, like you did with your major?” I know I’m really pushing the boundaries with this question, but my curiosity has gotten the better of me.

She turns and looks over her shoulder at me. “Well, you never know now, do you? If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get dressed.” She glances down at herself then walks over to the door, steps inside, and disappears.