Beneath The Lies (20 page)

“I have a copy of the papers, which she has to sign in front of my lawyer. She happened to call as I was leaving the office, and I told her I had them on me. She said she was going to pick up Callie for me then meet me here to get a copy of what she’ll be officially signing. Hopefully as early as next week.”

I’m not sure why, but I believe him. He tried to prepare me for Carly to do exactly what she did, yet I still fell for it. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this? I would have been prepared to see her if you had?”

“Are you joking? If I had any idea what so ever that you were going to leave class early, I never would have agreed to meet her. Even if she had picked up Callie like she said she was going to that wouldn’t of kept her from saying something awful to you. I told you, she’ll try anything to upset you in hopes that you will leave me for good.”

Gavin reaches out and brushes his thumb across my hand. “Are you going to tell me what she said that upset you?” I wait a beat before finding my voice to answer him.

“That you two were engaged, that the only reason you’re not married is due to your drug and sex addiction.” I watch as Gavin goes from calm to crazy within seconds.

“Are you fucking kidding me? That bitch said that shit to you? Fuck me. I can’t believe I’ve underestimated what she’s capable of doing to get her way.”

Gavin jumps to his feet and starts pacing back and forth, mumbling something to himself. He suddenly stops and his head flies up toward me. “Wait, you believed her?”
Oh crap.

“No. Yes. No. I mean...” I pause, trying to collect my thoughts, but I can see the disappointment in him. “Gavin, I didn’t believe her when she said you are a sex or drug addict, but I won’t lie to you. I wondered about the engagement part, then you showed up and it was clear that you were expecting to see her and not me. So, yeah, my brain went foggy with everything she tossed out.”

Gavin stands motionless for a few minutes. “I guess you’re pretty good at reading people. Carly and I—we were engaged. Not for long, nothing with Carly happens for very long, but it was after Callie was born. She convinced me that life would be different with a ring on her finger, but nothing changed. One night she got pissed like normal and threw the damn ring I bought her at my head. I picked it up and left, and I never gave it back to her.”

I want to tell him how a lot of this could have been avoided if he sent me a text telling me she was coming over, but then I forgot to send him one about going home early.

“That’s twice now that you’ve showed up here and assumed the worst.”

“Now wait a damn minute. That’s not fair. I know I should have sent you a text telling you I was coming home, but to be honest I hit a wall and was exhausted, therefore I wasn’t thinking clearly. However, you could have just as easily sent me a text telling me what was going on.”

Gavin lets out a long frustrated sigh as he runs his hands through his hair. “I told you she would try shit. I warned you and still you bought into it. What happens when, God forbid, she gets her claws into you again, huh? Are you going to come here and pack a bag and head off to your friends like you were trying to do tonight?”

I thought we were about to move past Carly’s visit but with Gavin’s words all my previous anger surges back to the surface.

“Fuck you, Gavin. Everything seems black and white to you, but guess what? You’ve been dealing with Carly for seven years and I’ve only met her twice. If you had prepared me for her visit then I wouldn’t have come anywhere near the apartment until I knew you were here. That didn’t happen. Carly was rude and disrespectful and if today taught me anything, it’s that I’m not cut out to deal with people like her. I’m sorry if I let you down, but today wasn’t fun for me, either.”

We’re both standing in the living room, not saying a word while we’re staring at each other. “I’m tired. I’m going to lie down.” I turn and walk down the hallway, and this time Gavin lets me leave.

If I’ve learned anything since moving here to California, it’s that my parents babied me. Without a doubt, they sheltered me from the Carly’s of the world. I knew mean people existed, but I never had firsthand knowledge of them...until now.

Carly is definitely causing problems, which is exactly what she wants, and I’m allowing it to affect my relationship with Gavin. What he doesn’t seem to understand is he’s doing the same exact thing.

I’m nowhere near asleep when I feel the bed dip as Gavin climbs in. I’m debating turning over and saying something as I feel him brush my hair away from my face. Moments later he places a kiss below my ear. “I’m sorry. I was acting like an asshole. You’re right. I’m used to Carly and her fucked up behavior and you’re not. I hope to hell you never are, but I need to follow my own advice and not allow Carly to have any control over us. That includes getting upset with you after you’ve had to deal with her.”

I turn over and bite my lip. This is my chance to prove to Gavin that I’m not like Carly. That I don’t need to continue a fight just for the sake of fighting.

“I’m sorry, too. I know I shouldn’t listen to her, but it doesn’t help that we’re still learning things about each other, things like a broken engagement. I’m not mad that you didn’t tell me, but it allowed Carly to have the upper hand. In a sense it gave her control.”

After hearing my comment, I can feel the tension start to drain from his body. “I know. I’m sorry. I wasn’t keeping it from you. Honest to God less than a week went by from the day I bought the ring until she threw it in my face. I’m sure she tried to make it sound like more than it was, but truthfully I don’t consider it an engagement, that’s why I didn’t say anything. And if I’m being honest I didn’t even think about telling you about her coming here today because Carly’s my problem and I hate making her yours.”

“We’re a team, right? That makes Carly my problem just as much as she’s yours.” Another thought crosses my mind. Carly claimed that we haven’t had sex since the accident. Chances are she was guessing and hoping it would pay off, exactly how it did. But right now I want to correct the situation. I want Gavin. I lean my face up toward his and softly start to kiss him.

I’m rewarded with a slow heated groan escaping his mouth, which fuels me to keep going. I reach my hand down and quickly slide it into his boxer briefs, finding him already hard. I start to pump his shaft up and down but all too soon he removes my hand. “Babe. You’re tired and still sore from the accident.”

I have been extremely tired lately but the doctor said to expect that. My body is healing from the accident, but other than sleeping more, I wasn’t given any restrictions.

“Gavin, please? I want this. I want you.” He’s caving, or at least he’s struggling to tell me no again. With that knowledge I slide my hand down to his rock hard erection and I start pumping him up and down.

Gavin’s eyes start to flutter shut. When he opens them again, I see how greedy he’s become. He pulls my hand away from him but this time it isn’t to say no, it’s so he can work his way down my body. First, he pulls off my shirt, then my panties. Gavin moves my legs apart then lowers his mouth on me and sucks.

“Ah. Oh. Yes.” I’m panting out some kind of response. Gavin seems to always know exactly what my body needs. My old boyfriend never offered to repay any oral favors and to be honest, I never thought to ask because it seemed dirty, almost wrong, but there is nothing wrong with what Gavin is doing to me right now.

“Do you like my tongue on you? Do you want to come on my face?” Oh, Lord. Gavin has already discovered my desire for dirty talk, but add that to what his tongue is doing and I might explode in seconds.

Gavin shifts his eyes to mine but he doesn’t stop his magical touch on my clit. When he adds two fingers along with seeing his beautiful dark eyes staring at me, I can’t hold off my climax any longer. “Oh. God.” I clench against him as my release seems to go on forever. Once I start to come back down to earth, I see Gavin rolling a condom on then he leans over me and slowly slides in.

“Fuck me. You’re always so damn ready.” I’m expecting him to start pounding into me, but instead he goes slow and sweet, holding my eyes the whole time he’s thrusting in and out of me.

“Kate...” Gavin practically growls out my name.

I can’t tell if he’s fighting off his desire to be rough with me or his desire to come, but either way I don’t want him to be anything except himself when we’re together.

I reach up and lock my mouth with his while I start pumping my hips upward, helping him out. I’m either going to push him over or remind him I’m not fragile.

“Oh, God. Kate. Fuck!”

Gavin starts speeding up and it’s not long before his body tightens and he’s riding out his own climax. The whole time he keeps his eyes glued to mine. The emotional connection definitely adds to what we just shared.

Once Gavin’s breathing returns to normal, he leans down again and ever so softly kisses me on the lips. When he pulls back, his eyes return to mine.

“Kate, I...I...I don’t know what I’d do without you. I know it seems like we just met, and it’s most likely too soon to feel this way about you, but I...do. I can’t stomach the idea that something might happen to take you away from me. The idea of that makes me crazy, which causes me to act like a dick sometimes. I’m fucking sorry for snapping at you earlier. Carly’s a conniving bitch, and I’m the reason you have to deal with her so...I’m sorry.”

Any anger I still had melts away. “No matter what happens from here on out, we both have to decide not to allow her to have any control over us. I won’t listen to anything she has to say and you’ll keep me in the loop where she’s concerned. Deal?”

Gavin breaks out in a gorgeous smile then he moves his hips, and I’m reminded of the fact that he’s still inside of me. “Deal.” Slowly, Gavin pulls out and climbs off the bed. I hop up behind him, heading to the restroom myself when I hear a mumbled “shit.”

“What’s wrong?”

Gavin slowly turns in my direction with a strange look on his face. “The condom broke. Fuck. I should have pulled out of you sooner, but—”

“We should be fine. I’m on the pill and I’m clean.” A look of relief washes over Gavin. “Good. That’s...good, and the same thing here. Not the pill part but the clean part.”

I can’t help but giggle at his fumbled words. He’s nervous and I find it cute. I’m still laughing as Gavin sweeps me up into his arms and carries me back to bed. “You think that’s funny, do you?” Instead of answering I lock my lips on his. Within seconds Gavin melts into my body and broken condoms and his crazy ex’s are long forgotten.

****

“I need to call you Elsa?” Callie is nodding her head yes while she’s stuffing her face with the dinner I fixed.

Gavin asked if I would be willing to stay with Callie for a few hours after he got a call from Kiran who needed his help with something. I finished cooking while Callie watched Frozen for the thousandth time since I met her and now she’s eating, insisting I call her Elsa, the princess from Frozen. “Does your dad call you Elsa?”

She stops and thinks about my question before shrugging her shoulders with no clear answer. “Okay, Elsa, finish up eating then you’re off for a bath.” Callie’s face lights up at my statement. I know she’s taking advantage of me but at the same time I don’t really care. She has Carly for a mother, which I’m sure makes her life harder than it should be at only four years old.

Giving Callie a bath was very easy and borderline fun. She told me about how her friend at school has special crayons that she can write on the bathtub wall with, but her mother told her she couldn’t have them. Again, I’m certain she’s taking advantage of me, but I don’t care. Tomorrow I’m going to lunch with Gabby and Alyssa, and while I’m out, I’m going to buy her those bathtub crayons.

While I’m helping Callie into her pjs I hear a knock at the door. “Elsa, stay here. I’ll be right back.” I’m rewarded another huge smile before I head to the door. I’m positive whoever’s here didn’t come to see me, which is why I thankfully look through the peephole because it’s Carly.

Shit, shit, shit. Seriously.
I can’t open the door or she’ll go crazy and end up taking Callie out of spite when she discovers I’m here alone with her.

“Open the door,
now
.” I race over to my phone and hit Gavin’s number, but it goes straight to voicemail. I tap out a quick text telling him Carly’s at the door. When I look up I see Callie walking into the living room with a panicked look on her face.

“Open the door now, asshole!” I hurry over toward Callie and quickly place my finger over her mouth, “Shh. Let’s be quiet okay, Elsa?”

Carly is her mother, but she’s a shitty mother and I’m certain that even Callie knows this. I’m not trying to replace Carly in her eyes, but I know in my heart if I open that door without Gavin here all hell is going to break lose and Callie will be the one who ultimately pays the price.

My only hope is that Carly will think no one is home and leave, which is exactly what happens ten—very long—minutes later.