Outing [9]

::OUTING::
Chapter 9
**Present Time**
Gabriel’s POV

As usual, I’m dressed and ready to go before Vin found his underwear.

It’s a constant source of amazement to me that anybody can take as long as he does to get dressed. And it’s not like he spends an extraordinary amount of time primping in front of the mirror or anything, it’s just that he gets distracted.

Vin starts to brush his teeth, then suddenly remembers that he needs to phone somebody. He goes to make the call and while he’s there, he sees the huge flower pot in the entrance and thinks that it needs to be watered. Vin then gets the watering can and as he’s filling it at the kitchen, he realizes that he forgot to tell me about the appointment he made to go have dinner somewhere.

At that point, he wanders into the bedroom with the watering can in one hand and the phone in the other, and just in a towel.

That’s when I start ‘bitching’. His words not mine.

So I’m the one that ends up watering the plant and hanging up the phone, while Vin dresses in the clothes I’ve already made the precaution of setting out for him, only because I’m wiser than him and familiar with his tricks.

Last time I left him alone to dress, I found him sitting on the floor by the closet, naked, and looking at old pictures, when we were already fifteen minutes late for a dinner with a producer! Can you believe it?

Today is no different. I went into the bathroom to find out what the hell was taking him so long, only to see him talking on the cordless. That’s a very bad thing, let me tell you, because I learnt a long time ago that Vin with a phone is not a good thing if you want to get anywhere on time, that is.

I cross my arms and tried to look disgusted, but the sight of him in just a towel, leaned against the counter…all that caramel skin, his muscles twitching as he laughs quietly and that soft, fuzzy chest of his…Damn! It gets me every time. Still it’s time for me to play the ‘bitchy little wife’ role. His words again, not mine.

“May I know what the hell are you doing?”

“Here,” Vin ignores me, as always, and hands me the receiver. “Talk to your ‘mommy’ while I get dressed. We gotta get going or we’re going to be damned late.”
I gasp indignantly, but Vin just laughs and, playfully slapping my ass, he walks out of the bathroom. See what I have to put up with? Then his words strike me. My ‘mommy’? Oh, yeah, that must be Valentino.

“Hi, Val,” I say into the receiver as I follow Vin, just to make sure that he’s not getting ‘distracted’ again.

————

**Past Time**
((Six years before))
Gabriel’s POV

You know? I thought that being a street kid, seeing the things I had seen, doing the things I had done and meeting the people I had met over my life that I was beyond amazement, that nothing could get me astonished anymore. I was dead wrong.

I had readied myself to enjoy a quiet, relaxing weekend watching movies, drinking beers, enjoying some fine barbecued meat and chatting about this and that, you know? In other words, I had looked forward to chill out with Vin and a bunch of his friends, but what I got was a rather unpleasant surprise to put it nicely. But let me explain so you can get the whole picture.

The ’someone’ who had picked me up was a driver that showed up at my apartment, driving a black SUV. He had been extremely polite and, after grabbing my military style duffle, placing it in the trunk, he had even opened the back door for me so I got in the vehicle. I refused to take a seat in the back and, instead, got in the front causing the driver to frown, but in the end, he just shrugged his shoulders and got behind the wheel.

As soon as we arrived at Vin’s house, a smiling guy dressed in casual clothes framed by two muscled bouncers had asked me for my full name, and to sign one of those confidentiality agreements, and then one of bouncers had put a green, hideous bracelet on my wrist, saying that I should not remove it once I entered the place because it was some sort of ‘all access areas pass’.

This should have given me a hint of what I was about to find once I entered Vin’s property, but for some reason it didn’t. Maybe because I was nervous about seeing Vin again or maybe simply because I was more than a bit tired and wanted to crash down even more than I wanted to party.

Oh, I felt disconcerted, of course, as you would guess, mostly because a group of four guys that arrived shortly after I did were given a red bracelet and were politely asked to not wander outside the entertaining area.

I remember that I thought that it was odd. Not necessarily a bad thing or a good thing, just odd; I hadn’t been told such a thing. And I wondered why Vin would restrict his guests’ access to some areas within his own house at all. It didn’t make too much sense to me, then again, he was a celebrity and we all know that celebs are a bit outrageous and flamboyant regarding their manners and tastes.

Still, it didn’t make too much sense to me. I mean, it was supposed to be that the people assisting in Vin’s party were also his friends, right? And you do not restrict your friends access to specific areas within your home, now do you?

Then I thought that maybe some of these friends were going to bring other friends and that Vin just didn’t feel like having these friends of friends wandering around freely; perhaps he was afraid of some of them might steal some valuable shit? It sounded like paranoid behavior; then again I had never had anything valuable enough that it was worth being protected. The only two possessions I had that anyone would consider mildly worthwhile were my cell phone and my mp3 player, and both of them were second hand items and not fancy shit, anyway.

Like I said, so far I had been a bit disconcerted but cool with it all the same. It was Vin’s house, after all, and he was the one calling the shots. So, grabbing my military style duffle and my small contribution to the party, four packs of Coronita beer, after the bouncers had scanned them both in search of whatever, I made my way to the backyard, following the sound of music playing and people partying. And then I came to a sudden halt and my duffle slipped off my shoulder, hitting the floor with a muted thump, as though my entire body had gone numb.

I swear that nothing, and I mean nothing, would have gotten me ready to deal with what I saw.

I’m not sure how much time I stood there, as though petrified, thunderstruck was more like it, staring open mouthed at the scene on display a mere twenty feet from where I was standing. And then I heard someone calling my name and, in a daze, I turned my head, finding Valentino and another guy heading my way, both of them wearing hideous green bracelets matching the one I was wearing.

“Hey, how you doing, Gabriel?” Val stretched out his hand and I shook it without thinking, numbly actually. “This is George. George, this is Gabriel.”

“Nice to meet you.” George offered me his hand to shake it and I repeated the motion, still not really aware of my own moves.

“Same here.” I smiled and then snapped out of my weird trance, looking around. “I had no idea…” I trailed off, naively thinking that Vin had a hell of a lot of friends.

“No idea about what?” George looked at me curiously.

“That Vin had so many friends.”

“And he doesn’t.” George answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

I blinked, perplexed. “Then what…”

“I guess Vin got a bit carried away.” Val looked a bit embarrassed but he was smiling.

I got the impression that I wasn’t the only one feeling overwhelmed.

“Nah, you think?” George snorted out loud. “I can’t figure out what he’ll come up with for his birthday.” He rolled his eyes, sighing but there was a small grin tugging up his lips.

“Come on, I’ll show you around.” Val urged me to move and I hesitated.

“Um…I got this.”

Val and George looked down at my feet where the big plastic bag with the four packs of Coronita beer rested and then both of them looked at me funny. No, not me, actually. It took me a few seconds to realize that they weren’t looking at me, but looking past me.

As in slow motion I turned around. How in the hell had I missed that? I couldn’t believe how I hadn’t seen the huge container with an equally huge mountain of ice inside and like dozens and dozens and dozens of bottles of Coronita beer sticking out of it. As soon as I saw it, I just couldn’t avert my eyes from that monstrosity. It was surreal.

“Shit…”

To say that I felt like the biggest moron on earth would be the understatement of the century. I felt like a total idiot, and that wasn’t the worst of it, I also felt embarrassed down to my very toes, and that was something coming from me, let me tell you. I wished the ground would open up, swallowing me along with my four stupid packs of beer.

A warm hand rested on my shoulder and I looked back to see who was attached to it. Val. “You know the saying, right? It’s never enough.” He smiled a little, giving me a sympathetic look and squeezed my shoulder affectionately.

“Yep. There’s no such a thing as too much beer.” George pointed out as he moved forward, grabbing the bag as though everything was fine. “I’ll put these into the cooler.” He winked at me and headed towards the house.

It was clear that they both had noticed how stupid I felt but for whatever reason they wanted to put me at ease. I still hadn’t moved though and Val met my troubled gaze with a knowing one.

“I know how you feel, exactly.”

“Do you?” I very much doubted that he did.

Val nodded. “Overwhelmed. Embarrassed. Stupid. Naïve. Angry. Pick one.” He knit a brow and cocked his head to one side, waiting.

Okay, so yeah, he knew how I felt after all. “I wasn’t expecting…this.” I gestured around.

“It wasn’t always like this.” He smiled a little but his eyes looked a bit sad. “George, Gordon, Vin…all of us have pretty humble origins. Me more than them maybe.”

Val started making his way to the house as he kept talking and I followed him without even thinking.

“For as long as I can remember my mom always struggled to make ends meet, even though she had two jobs and growing up, I never knew what it was to wear new clothes, all I got was second or even third hand things that people had donated to the church, including shoes.” He chuckled, a bit lost in thought.

“What about your dad?” I asked without thinking.

“He wasn’t around.” Val answered without missing one step. “Mi papá abandoned us when I was four year old.”

I frowned a little at that. I had never met mine; in fact, I didn’t even know who my father was. Unlike most kids, that fact never affected me, not in the same way that might have affected other people. I think that in some weird way I always considered myself lucky for not having to deal with an abusive father that kicked me around when he got drunk. Still, the fact that Val’s father had abandoned him when he was a little kid got me.

“Sorry to know that.”

Val looked back at me and he was smiling. “Don’t be.”

I smiled back. I was starting to like Valentino. Not in the same way Vin did, of course, but he seemed a pretty decent man. Modest, humble, unpretentious. It reminded me of Fred and my smile grew a bit wider.

All the attention we got from the bouncers standing guard at the entrance of the house was a tip of their chins and a quick glance at our bracelets, and then they were stepping aside, allowing us to enter. I followed Valentino as he made his way directly to the kitchen.

George was still there, rearranging the beers so they fit in the cooler and had two of them already opened for us. Then, the three of us moved to another room. It looked like a recreational room with a billiard table, a bar and a huge plasma screen hanging from a wall.

There wasn’t a lot of furniture around but those with a purpose and several posters hanging from the walls, showing Vin’s movies. I admit that I didn’t know that he had taken part in so many movies. There were huge windows and we all could see the people partying outside, but the blaring music sounded muffled, as though the walls served as some sort of sound isolation system.

Comfortable couches were spread all over and two guys were playing  some video-game showing a bald guy driving cars and shooting while being pursuit by cops and others guys riding bikes on an Xbox 360. It took me a minute to realize that the guy in the video-game was Vin himself.

There were three more guys playing pool. As soon as we entered the room they approached us, introducing themselves as Dave Breaux, Roger Sanchez and Danny Tenaglia.

Val told me that Roger and Danny were DJs and music producers and that they both would perform later. Roger was from the Dominican Republic, like Valentino and Danny had met Vin, Val and Dave back in the days when they were bouncers in New York.

The three of them were quite polite with me, asking me what kind of music I liked most. We talked for a little bit and then the three of them returned to their game but not before they offered me to join them. I politely declined their offer, mostly because I had no clue how to play pool.

I took a seat on one of the tall stools that were at the bar, sipping from my bottle of beer. George got comfortable at my side and Val brought a huge chair, taking a seat in front of us.

I learnt that George was a producer and one of Vin’s partners at ‘One Race Films’, Vin’s production company. He worked with Gordon. Valentino however was mainly an actor and had had small roles in all Vin’s movies, most of them without lines.

It didn’t seem to concern the Latino that some of Vin’s fans played the ‘Where’s Waldo’ game while watching Vin’s movies or his pictures. In fact, Val even made jokes. Most of the time, he also was Vin’s bodyguard and he seemed to like that things were that way.

I couldn’t help it and I thought that it was a bit sad that Val hadn’t been able to get a better chance to play in a movie, but he seemed okay with that too. Val said that he didn’t like to attract too much attention anyway.

Then George and Val started talking about people I didn’t know, but at the same time they did their best to include me in their conversation, adding extra information about whoever they were talking about so I didn’t feel left out. It was a really nice gesture that I appreciated from deep in my heart.

It was clear that neither of them wanted for me to feel uncomfortable, and it worked. I felt that I belonged there. This was what I had been expecting, and I found myself having a lot of fun, talking and drinking beer, at least for almost an hour, until a skinny guy showed up.

He entered the room as though he owned the place, followed by two more guys that looked like his entourage more than his friends, as though he was a king. I had crossed paths with guys like him many times, mostly at the nightclub. Rude, spoiled brats whose daddies gave them whatever they asked for so they didn’t bother them with their annoying presence. All they did for a living was waste their parents’ fortunes, loafing around, and their main pastime was to shamelessly rub under people’s noses their privileged lifestyles.

They were talking in Spanish, laughing out loud. The skinny guy more than the others. It was clear that he wanted his presence to be acknowledged. I got the impression that, unlike Valentino, passing unnoticed wasn’t something he would tolerate.

The thing was that save for the two guys playing with the video-game, the other five men pretty much ignored them all, as though they hadn’t even entered the room. Dave and the two DJ’s briefly glanced at the skinny brat before they kept playing. Val and George just shot him an annoyed look, as though he was nothing more than a little kid that wanted to attract the attention of the adults by talking really loud, or making rude noises.

I noticed that the ‘adults’ lack of attention towards him infuriated him more than upset him, judging by the nasty glare he shot in our direction.

Then the three of them made themselves comfortable on the couch, carelessly shoving aside the two guys that had been playing with the video-game, and started a new game. Once more Vin was the main character but this time the game seemed like some sort of futuristic deal.

I did my best to ignore the skinny guy, the way I always did with brats like him, but it wasn’t such an easy task because he kept looking back at me. I guess his curiosity got the best of him because after only a moment, he came to the bar, grabbing a beer from the small cooler.

George glanced at him but kept talking. Valentino tensed however. I wouldn’t have noticed if it wasn’t for the Latino’s knuckles turning white around his beer.

I glanced at the guy and he stretched his back, meeting my eyes. He was smiling but it was a contemptuous smile, the one someone like him would give to one of his servants and only because his dad insisted on being polite with their employees.
I was taught long ago that manners and money not always came in the same pack. I didn’t have money, but manners? Yep, that I had.

“And who are you?” His eyes showed mild curiosity but somehow I knew that he wasn’t in the least interested.

“Gabriel Montes.” I offered him a polite smile and extended my hand to shake his.

His eyes widened the slightest bit and then narrowed. “I’m Karim Nader.” He shook my hand and even though his smile never faltered, it never quite reached his eyes.

I remembered then that Max had said that a Karim Nader was supposedly ‘dating’ Vin, but I didn’t know what this guy did for a living. So I thought that it would be only polite to show interest and I asked him just that.

To my surprise, George choked on his beer while Val’s lips spread in a small evil grin that he hid behind his Coronita beer.

“Are you kidding me?” Karim’s indignant tone of voice told me that I should have known who he was just because of his name, but I swear that I had no clue.

“No, not at all.” My puzzled look only made George do his best to stop his beer from making its way out through the wrong passage, all the while sputtering and laughing his ass off at once. On the other hand, Valentino sipped from his beer, grinning smugly; he looked like he was having the time of his life. I swear I didn’t know what was so funny.

In a flash and almost without breathing in between one line and the next, Karim rushed to update me on who he was.

By the time he was done talking, I knew that he had gone to an exclusive college, that he had two masters’ degree in economics, that he could speak five languages, fluently, that his father was an oil magnate and that through his veins ran royal blood. Apparently, Karim’s father was related to the deceased king Fahd of Saudi Arabia, whoever that fella was.

I guess that I should have been impressed, but all that I could think about was why he had told me all that crap. And yet, I still didn’t know what he did for a living, exactly, not that I really cared anymore.

“So, what do you do for a living?” Karim leaned against the bar, sipping from his beer. He wasn’t going anywhere, it seemed, and it made me feel a bit nervous. I suspected that Karim would stick close until he got whatever he wanted.

“I’m a painter.”

“And a hell of a painter judging by the painting Gordon has hanging in his salon.” George winked at me.

“That’s true.” Val intervened, smiling widely.

I blushed at their compliment. I knew that I didn’t suck, but I wasn’t the shit either, still it was nice to see that other people aside from Max and Fred were able to appreciate my work.

“It was a really nice gesture of you to give it to him. Gordon loves it.” George added.

“And so does Vin.” Val pointed out, meeting my gaze.

Val’s line got me even though I wasn’t sure if he was just fucking with Karim.

I’m naive, we already stated that, but I realized what Valentino and George were doing. They were giving me a hand but in a very subtle way. I guess they expected for me to fight my own battles, but it was reassuring to realize that I wasn’t alone.

Val’s comment caused Karim to narrow his eyes and I saw how his nostrils flared open. He was mad and getting madder.

“What did you say your name was?” He pretended to sound interested, but I knew better, and I also knew that Karim remembered my name just fine, unless he suffered from short term memory issues, like fishes.

“Montes. Gabriel Montes.”

“I think I’ve never heard of you.” Karim said and I didn’t miss the condescending tone his voice held.

“Yet.” Val gulped the rest of his beer and got to his feet. “Gabriel, want another one?”

I nodded, silently thanking Val for his timing. “Yeah, thank you, Val.” I slid of the stool and got to my feet.

“You’re welcome.” He gave me a knowing look and we both headed towards the kitchen.

“What’s wrong with this Karim guy?” I frowned, taking the beer Val offered me.

“My guess?”

I nodded.

“His papá dropped him when he was a baby, or maybe all that shit he studied fried his brain.” He chuckled. “Not sure.”

I grinned. I was starting to really like Val’s sense of humor. Then Val grew serious.

“What are you doing here, Gabriel?” He leaned against the counter and looked at me square in the eyes. “I mean, why did you come, exactly?” It wasn’t an ill-intentioned question, that I realized right way. The look in his eyes told me that he was more concerned than any other thing. If for me or because of me I wasn’t sure.

“To be honest I don’t have a clue.” And it was true. I didn’t know what the hell I was doing there. “Vin invited me, said that it would be a ‘just us guys’ kind of party…I guess I thought that–” I cut myself off.

What the fuck had I thought, exactly? That I would get a chance to meet the man behind the celeb? That once the other guests had left Vin and I would get all nice and cozy?

“I better go.”

“Don’t go,” Val reached out, grabbing my wrist, preventing me from going any further than to my feet. “Or you’ll wonder for the rest of your life what would have happened if you would have stayed.”

I frowned, realizing then and there that Valentino could read me like an open book. And that would make of him the second guy that could do that, aside from Vin. “I don’t belong here.”

“Says who?” Val knit a brow, releasing my wrist once I sat back again and he was sure that I wasn’t going to go anywhere.

“Take a look at me, man, what do you see?” I challenged him.

Val didn’t answer right away, instead he sipped from his beer, looking at me from head to toe. I would have felt embarrassed but all I could see in his gaze was curiosity and a concern that came from somewhere I wasn’t sure of.

“I see a smart, pretty down-to-earth guy that maybe chewed off a bit more than he could swallow–or not. I see a decent guy who knows what he wants and how. He’s terrified of failing yet won’t let anyone stop him from achieving his ultimate dream.” He grinned, then sipped from his beer.

I swallowed, hard, wondering who Valentino was seeing for real while looking at me. It was then when it occurred to me that such a description might fit any of them, maybe even Vin. A younger Vin actually.

“You’re not that different from any of us, Gabriel. Not even from Vin.”

I had to snort out loud at that. “Yeah, sure,” I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. “And now you’ll say that Vin is just a guy.”

“That’s what he is, exactly.” Val shrugged his shoulders. “Just a guy who happens to have an interesting job.”

I frowned a little at that and then narrowed my eyes in suspicion. Was Val playing matchmaker? “This is the part when you tell me how humble and modest and cool Vin is for real and that I should give him a chance?”

Val shook his head. “This is the part where I beg you to drop to your knees to suck my cock dry.”

My eyebrows shot up and I gasped aloud. I couldn’t believe what he had said. And then I saw it. The wicked grin tugging up his lips and the mischievous look in his eyes. He was doing his best to keep a straight face.

“Oh, man, you should see your face!” Val lost it completely, laughing out loud.

“Asshole.”

That only got Val to laugh even harder, grabbing his belly. I couldn’t help it and joined him. This was what friends did, right? They teased each other without fearing that the jokes would be taken the wrong way.

***********

Vin’s POV

“I’m telling you, Vin, this is a huge mistake.”

I frowned at Gordon as we got out of the car; he had been giving me shit from the minute I had told him about the party. He had kept repeating no end that I had it all wrong. “I really don’t get you, man. You told me to be nice to the kid. What would be nicer than throwing a party just for him? If I was Gabe I would feel flattered.”
“You don’t get it, do you?”

Gordon gave that disappointed look, the one he always gave me when I talked out of my ass. It was annoying as shit.

“And I didn’t tell you to be nice to him. I distinctly remember telling you to leave Gabriel the fuck alone.”

I almost rolled my eyes at that. Like I ever did what people told me to do. Gordon should have known better. “I just want to know him better, Gordon. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.”

Gordon sighed heavily. “And there’s nothing wrong with that, Vin, but we both know that what you really want is to fuck Gabriel’s brains out. So don’t fool me and do not fool yourself.”

So yeah! I wanted to fuck Gabe six ways from Sunday, but it wasn’t as if I was planning to do that right away. That was my mid-term goal, sorta. And sex wasn’t the only thing in my head either, at least concerning Gabe.

“Listen, Gordon, I really want to know him and also want for him to know me.”

“Oh, fear not, Vin, Gabriel would know you. The shallow you, actually.” He pointed as he made his way to the house.

The sarcasm in his voice got me as much as his words did. I didn’t like how that sounded at all.

“What do you mean?” I caught up with Gordon and glared down at him.

“What do I mean? What do you know about Gabe?” Gordon folded his arms across his chest. “I mean apart from that he’s a painter and a go-go dancer that performs at parties.”

I opened my mouth to reply then closed it then opened it again. To be honest I didn’t know anything else about Gabe besides that.

“That’s what I thought.”

The triumphal edge his voice carried annoyed me. “It’s your fault. You wouldn’t tell me shit,” I replied, lamely, I admit.

Gordon snorted. “I didn’t tell you ’cause I don’t know myself.”

That disconcerted me. “Thought you said Gabe was your training partner at the gym.” I blinked, perplexed.

“Oh, and he is, but Gabriel is also a very discreet person. Not shy, just reserved. He likes to talk, but most of the time he’s not saying anything, unless he wants to, and he’s more humble than Valentino…and that’s a hell of a lot.” Gordon grinned but there wasn’t humor in his voice.

More humble than Valentino? I thought that would be cool because I really wanted Gabe to feel that he belonged.

“This is the perfect party for someone like Karim though. In fact, I bet that the skinny brat is glowing just thinking about you throwing a party just for him. He’ll make sure everybody knows that too.” He shook his head. “We won’t hear the end of this shit for months.”

It was right then and there when I started getting it. I had put my food in it and what a way to do it! I had wanted for Gabe to end up dazzled, astonished and fascinated, but I started suspecting that my big plan would end up backfiring. Gabe wouldn’t be the one feeling that way but Karim. Gordon was damned right; I had it all wrong.

I guess the look on my face spoke volumes because the next thing I knew Gordon was at my side, squeezing my shoulder to catch my attention.

“Listen, Vin. I know you wanted to impress Gabriel and that’s good, really. But throwing a party, and a theme party no less…” he let out a heavy sigh. “You don’t even know what works of art Gabriel likes or even if he likes to play Xbox.”

“Everybody likes to play Xbox,” I protested but my voice sounded small. Hell! I felt small.

“That’s not the point, Vin. The thing is that this,” he gestured at the huge tent, the people partying… “It’s way over the top. Gabe won’t be impressed, if anything he’ll be overwhelmed, and not in a good way. If he shows up at all, that is.”

“He’ll show up.”

At that Gordon narrowed his eyes. “How are you so sure?”

“‘Cause he doesn’t know about this.”

Gordon’s eyes grew wide and he opened his mouth gasping aloud. “You mean you didn’t tell him?!”

I shook my head ‘no’, wincing inwardly. If I had told Gabe then he wouldn’t have come.

“You mean he’s gonna walk into the middle of this without knowing in advance?”

I nodded, but this time I actually cringed at the look Gordon gave me. He was scaring me, a little.

“Jesus, Vin! What were you thinking?”

I hadn’t been thinking, and that was a fact. It was only then when I realized that I had fucked up, big time.

I opened my mouth, ready to explain myself, to justify the unjustifiable but at that very second I spotted Valentino and Gabe; they were walking back to the house, talking and, so far, oblivious to our presence, Gordon and mine.

My mind went blank as I stared at Gabe. He was laughing at something Val was saying and man, did he look good enough to eat.

His hair was pulled up by a black bandana that rested at the edge of his hairline. He had on a pair of worn out jeans that rode low on his lean hips, a red t-shirt and white tennis shoes. Casual and yet damned sexy. And then he turned his head, finally spotting me.

I leashed in my impulses, but it was hard. Gabe was as tempting as a cup of bitter black coffee. Add to that his tragic expression, which stirred my over zealous desire to protect and avenge, and you could say that I was in love.

He, on the other hand, just stood there, staring back at me with those green eyes.

I gave him my best smile, the one meant to cloud men’s minds and stir their cocks, but his response was a shocker.

Gabe looked as if I’d just kicked him in the groin and was going to do it again. And again. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who regarded one of my smiles as a deadly weapon.