I smirked.
Another deadpan expression from Gabe as he ran the iron over the white shirt. “I take this to my grave you know.”
“What? The white shirt?” I asked innocently.
“No.” He rolled his eyes and unplugged the iron. “My Martha Stewart skills.”
“He can sew too,” Lisa announced as she walked into the room and dangled a necklace in front of my face. “In fact, I’m pretty sure if you asked him to knit you a sweater you’d have one by Christmas.”
“Thanks, cousin.” Gabe flipped her off and threw the shirt at me.
“Hey!” I caught it midair. “We don’t want all your hard work going to waste.”
“I need more guy friends,” Gabe mumbled as he took a seat on the couch and sighed into his hands.
Lisa gasped. “I’m offended! You know I’m your favorite.”
His eyes narrowed. “You know you’re a loser when your best friend is your cousin.”
“Aw, Gabe.” Lisa pressed her hand to her chest. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“Right.” He folded his arms and groaned, leaning his head back on the couch. “I need a smoke.”
“You quit,” Lisa sang.
“Fine, then I need alcohol.”
“You don’t drink anymore.”
I laughed when Gabe gave me an exasperated look. He pushed to his feet and walked over to the kitchen. I heard water running and then cursing.
“Don’t mind him.” Lisa waved in Gabe’s direction. “He really isn’t as annoyed as he seems. Promise.”
“Lies,” he yelled from the kitchen.
“Now…” Lisa pointed to my t-shirt. “Strip. He worked hard on this and I want to make sure it looks good with the skirt.”
“Uh…” I shook my head no. “Gabe’s in the kitchen, like right there. I’ll change in my room.”
“It’s like he’s gay. I promise he won’t notice.” Lisa nodded emphatically. Another curse was heard from the kitchen. Poor Gabe.
“Fine.” I quickly took off my T-shirt and reached for the one she held out to me. I slowly did the buttons and then stood for her to examine me. I had a cute miniskirt with tan and white stripes that hugged every curve and a white button up blouse that hung loosely over my hips. In my mind I thought it would look awfu,l but by the large smile on Lisa’s face I could tell I was the one in the wrong.
“Damn,” Gabe said from behind me.
I jerked around.
He grinned. “Oh, and by the way, not g*y and most definitely watched.” He said watched with such a predatory snap of his teeth that I took a step back.
“Gabe, stop scaring her,” Lisa scolded. “Now, Kiersten, put on the necklace and heels and you’ll be ready.”
I did as she said and then stood in front of both of them and did a quick turn.
Gabe leaned forward, his forearms flexing against his legs as he put pressure on his legs to stand. “Nope. Change.”
“What? Why?” I felt my face fall . “Doesn’t it look good?”
“Lisa, do you want her to be taken advantage of?” He shook his head and walked around me like a tiger stalking its prey.
“The top isn’t even low! She has it buttoned for crying out loud!” Lisa argued.
“Right,” Gabe snarled.
Before I knew what was happening he’d reached around me and put two of his fingers directly on my chest at the last button. “And every damn minute of the night he’s going to wonder how many seconds it will take to strip every last button on her shirt.”
“The skirt’s fine.” Lisa stood her ground.
“Right.” Gabe’s hand moved to my skirt and gave it a little tug. “It may as well be a second skin the way it hugs every single curve, and you know what guys think.”
Lisa rolled her eyes. I, however, stood frozen in place.
“He’s going to want to touch her legs. He’s going to want to—”
“Gabe!” Lisa stood to her feet and marched over to us. “Is this about him? Or you?”
“I don’t want in her pants!” he all but yelled.
“Um, I’m standing right here,” I said in a quiet voice.
Gabe paced around the room in front of me. “It’s about him. What if he touches her? What if she can’t find her whistle, and—”
“You’re going to be such a great dad,” Lisa announced. “Now, it’s time to cut the apron strings. Tell her she looks pretty and let it go.”
Gabe crossed his arms and pouted.
I waited with Lisa.
Finally, he swore and looked me in the eyes. “You look really pretty.”
“Thank you!” I slowly walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek. “That means a lot.”
“Lisa,” Gabe said with gravel in his voice. “Give us a minute.”
“But—”
“I said give us a minute.”
“Fine.” She stomped off into her room leaving me alone with Gabe.
“Do you know how to hit a guy?” he asked, grabbing my hands. “If I pull you close to my body, do you know how to knee me, where to knee me?”
I lifted my knee quickly, causing Gabe to stumble back and smile. “Well done.”
“Anything else, Dad?” I laughed.
He growled and pulled me close again. “If he tries to touch you, if he does anything that you don’t want, you blow the damn whistle and call me. I don’t care what time of night it is, okay?”
I sighed and nodded.
Gabe released me.
“Why are you so protective of me? You don’t even know me.” I went to sit on the couch, waiting for Wes to come pick me up.
“No freaking clue.” Gabe took a seat next to me and put his arm around the back of the couch. “I just can’t stand the idea of something happening to you. And even though I keep saying this until I’m blue in the face, it’s not because I’m jealous. I just… I have a really bad feeling about him.”
“You gotta let the baby birds fly, Gabe.” I smacked his knee. “And you have to trust my judgment. He’s been a complete gentleman with me.”
“I know that.” Gabe pinched the bridge of his nose. “But don’t you think it’s weird? His entourage? The fact that he’s an RA? I mean, why is he an RA? I even asked a few of the other upperclassmen. It was never supposed to be him, and nobody’s talking. And then the whole football thing. One of my friends on the team said he collapsed at practice. What if he’s on drugs or something?”
“I highly doubt that.” I shook my head, refusing to believe it. “I think he’s probably just overwhelmed. I mean, wouldn’t you be?”
After a while Gabe answered. “Probably. Just be careful.”
“And for the twentieth time,” I sang out. “I will.”
At the sound of the knock on the door, my heart began thumping against my chest as if it was going to beat its way out and land on the floor.
Lisa ran from her room, nearly tripping over the table blocking her way, and stopped in front of the door, fixed her hair, and swung open the door.
Chapter Twenty-One
For the first time in a year, I wanted to live — because I wanted to spend every freaking day watching her open her eyes to the world. Hell, I wanted to be the first thing she saw. Sometimes, reality’s a bitch.
Weston
I don’t know what I’d thought she’d be wearing — but it wasn’t that. It was a short skirt, a billowy shirt, and high heels made to make guys want to touch her feet. And I was so not a foot person.
“You look…” I swallowed. “Beautiful.”
I heard Gabe grunt behind her. So clearly he still wasn’t a fan. I made a mental note to try to win him over later that week rather than sit by and listen to him grunt and groan every time I paid a compliment to the girl I liked.
Aw, crap. I was crushing. And I really didn’t have the luxury of doing that. I looked at her skirt again and the legs that led up to those full cute hips. Damn.
“You ready?” I croaked, sounding like a pubescent teen.
“Sure.” She smiled warmly and grabbed a strappy thing I can only assume was a purse, either that or a weapon. I held out my arm and escorted her out the door.
“Got your whistle?” I asked.
“Check.”
“Cell phone?”
“Check.”
“List?”
She stopped walking and looked up into my eyes. “You know you really don’t have to help me with that. I mean, I’m sure I can—”
“Stop.” I pressed a finger to her lips. “We’re going to tackle the list, but remember, I said I could only help with a few. That whole falling in love thing will have to be saved for someone who’s worthy of that heart of yours.”
She laughed. “How do you know my heart’s good?”
I stopped and pressed my palm flat against her chest, relishing the way her healthy heart slammed against my skin. I could almost feel it beating for my heart, making it stronger. I pulled back, noticing the flush in her cheeks.
“It’s a good heart. Strong beat, though I’m pretty sure it skipped one when I touched you.”
“Very funny.” She looked away.
“I can tell you have a good heart…” I sighed, opening the door to the outside. “…because the minute I met you, I wanted to fight for it.”
She was silent.
“That’s how you can tell when someone has a good heart.”
“When you want to start a war?” She laughed, clearly trying to lighten my mood.
“Nah.” I sighed. “When you want to be the one to make it beat.”
I seriously needed to stop coming on so strong. I was going to send her screaming down the street, and I really didn’t want to see her sprain her ankle in those kick ass heels.
“This is me.” I pointed to the black Porsche Cayenne and opened her door for her. It was the only car I owned that wasn’t so exotic people wanted to stab me in the eye. I’d wanted a truck for my sixteenth birthday. My dad had gotten me a Mercedes that politicians drove, complete with bullet-proof glass. The Cayenne was my purchase, the first day I was able to access my trust fund.
Kiersten was quiet. I quickly ran over to my side and jumped into the SUV.
Kiersten’s hands ran down the leather seats, her eyes taking in every single detail of the interior. Funny how years ago I would have never done that, but now? Now I got it. Because you never knew when a moment would be your last. So why not soak up every last memory? Like now, the sun was just starting to go down, which meant part of it was shining into the car directly across her red hair making it appear like it was glowing.
I sighed.
She turned to look at me. “What are you doing?”
“Staring,” I answered honestly. “I think you owe me that, especially since you felt me up the first time we met.”
She hid her face in her hands. “I did not!” Her cute voice was muffled by her hands still covering her face.