Live Today (Live Today #1) (15 page)

“Be nice.” I cry with laughter. He winks and laughs harder. We can hear Drew and Matt laughing in the background when Brennan starts answering.

“Yeah fuck you man. She’s got a bigger package than us all.” He answers with a laugh as I raise my middle finger through the window.  I take the walkie again and reply.

“Screw you all. I will kick all your asses if you keep it up.”

“Bring it sis.” Brennan says. I throw the walkie onto Gabe’s stomach. He catches it, gets himself more comfortable and closes his eyes.

I look down at him and smile. This is the Gabe I want. Carefree, not pushy and not making me jealous of every girl that he talks to. It’s just him and me, it fits. I rest my arm on his shoulder as I feel his head begin to get heavy and reflexively I begin to run my fingers through his hair. He hums his approval before falling in a deeper sleep.

We drive nonstop until about six in the evening when I finally ask to stop for the night. Drew and Gabe agree, but Brennan and Matt want to just continue on. I finally put my foot down and tell them I will not sit in the car for another minute unless I get some sleep in a real bed. With a heavy sigh and a few huffs here and there, we pull into a hotel somewhere in Wyoming. I am starving and tired. The guys decide that it’s best to order food and bring it to the hotel rooms.

We have three rooms, Drew and Gabe are in one, Matt and Brennan in another and I have a room to myself. Drew and Gabe’s room is across from mine and next door to the other boys’ room. As soon as I drop my bag on my bed, I immediately flop down next to it. It feels so good to stretch after being in a car for an entire day. I purposely left the door propped open so the guys can come in because they usually migrate my way anyways. Within minutes, all four are laying on my adjoining bed and love seat talking about what to get for dinner. I let them know that I really don’t care and get my things ready to take a shower. Gabe and Drew decide to stay behind while Bren and Matty get dinner.

The shower feels great. I usually take quick showers but tonight, I decide to pamper myself by letting the water run over my aching body a bit longer. After shutting the water off, I wrap a towel loosely around myself before walking out to what I thought was an empty room. When I see Gabe laying on my bed. His head resting on the headboard with his hands behind his head. I jump in shock and my towel falls to the floor.
Great
. Immediately, he is at my feet picking my towel up and wrapping it around my body laughing.

“What the hell Gabe! What are you doing in here? I thought you were taking a shower yourself.”

“Drew beat me to it, and I had your spare key, so I figured I would come in here and keep you company. I didn’t realize you were going to take up all the hot water in the hotel.” He says rubbing my shoulders dry with the towel. I back away from him. “But I am glad I got to see you drop your towel for me. Good thing it wasn’t for Drew or Matt huh”

“You couldn’t keep yourself company in your own room? Geez, you scared the shit out of me.” I say ignoring his towel comment walking to my bag and grabbing my panties and sleepwear. When I grab what I need, I turn to walk back to the bathroom because obviously Gabe isn’t going anywhere.

“No, I just wanted to be with you.” He says honestly as he leans back on the bed and turns on the TV.

“Not like we didn’t spend the entire day together in the car.”

“That’s different.”

I dress quickly and walk back into the room. Drew comes in a few minutes later and Gabe leaves to take his shower. About five minutes after that, they all walk in with dinner. They decided on Mexican food and I couldn’t have been happier. I am starving when the aroma hits me. We all sat silently and ate quickly. When we finish, Brennan and Matt leave to take their showers. Brennan takes his in the vacant room.

“I saw a miniature golf place down the street. We should go.” Drew says.

“Oh my God, I’m stuffed. You guys can go, but I don’t think I can move.” I groan.

“Come on Jems. It would do you good to stretch your legs.” He argues. I think about it for a minute when I decide he’s right.

“Okay fine.”

We wait for everyone to get ready before we head down to the fun center. Matt picks the hardest course because he thinks it’s the easiest. We get our putters and balls and begin playing. Brennan suddenly doesn’t feel well, so when I offer to take him home, he declines. Drew says he has a headache and he goes along with Brennan back to the hotel.

“Fuck this, I saw some hotties in the arcade. I’ll catch you guys later. Text me when you’re done.” Matt says before jogging off.

“What the hell Matt?” He laughs and runs off. I look over to Gabe and he shrugs.

“Guess it’s just you and me angel.” He says.

“Guess so.” I smile up at him. “This will be an easy win.” He grins.

“We will see about that.” We decide to make it fair and start from the beginning. At about half way through, he adds the total and realized I am winning by four points. I giggle when he begins to pout.

“I told you it would be easy. I’ve been going easy on you.” He looks over at me, raises his eyebrows before walking right in front of me. Our chests are practically touching by now and my heart beat has definitely picked up speed. He leans down and rests his cheek on mine and whispers. “You’re up angel.” He kisses just below my ear. Damn him for knowing where my favorite spot is. “If it’s not a hole in one every time you putt, you may lose.” I look up at him, trying to look unaffected but failing miserably. I try to calm my nerves as I take a step back and walk towards the pink ball.

I align my putter to my ball, pull back the putter and swing slightly. The ball glides up the ramp, over the hump and rolls to a stop about three feet from the hole. Damn it. I trail my eyes over to him and he smiles mischievously. Fine. Two can play at that game.

“My turn.” He says as he drops his green ball at the base of the course. Once he gets his putter aligned with his ball and pulls back, I take a step towards him and run my fingers up his back under his shirt. I can feel the goose bumps on his skin immediately as he stiffens. Ha. I am affecting him. He takes his shot and his ball shoots straight up the ramp and off into the flower bed. I begin to giggle as he turns towards me. “That was just wrong.” I pay him back with a sweet smile and a shrug. His eyes become heavy with lust as he realizes how this game is going to be finished.

We have done everything we can to distract the other. By the time we reached the eighteenth hole, my senses are on high alert. One more touch from Gabe, and I may combust on the spot. We sit at a tied score and since he got the last hole in a par two, he gets to go first. He drops his ball, turns and points his putter in my direction.

“You stay there.” He commands. I raise an eyebrow at him as he shakes his head. “I mean it Jenna, don’t you move from that spot.” I raise my hands innocently and he turns back around to putt. Without taking a step, I reach over with my putter. As he pulls back to take a swing, my putter runs its way up the inner part of his thigh. He swings and misses the ball completely. I do my best to keep my composure as he turns around.

“I didn’t take one step.” I say innocently. He walks over to me with hunger in his eyes and I take a step back. My back stops at a pole and I find myself stuck. Gabe reaches me, takes my putter and drops it on the ground along with his. My breath kicks into over drive as I take in his scent.

“That was not nice.” He says looking down at me. His eyes make their way to my lips. Instinctively, I run my tongue over my bottom lip before biting on it. He brings his hand up to my chin and pulls at my bottom lip. My heart is racing, I reach behind me and hold onto the pole to keep me from falling over. Leaning down, he crushes his lips onto mine. We both moan simultaneously. An hour of teasing and touching has both of us in sexual overdrive.

His hand runs to the back of my neck as he deepens the kiss and my hands reach up around his shoulder blades keeping him close to me. His lips run their way down my chin, to my neck as he brings his body closer to mine and begins grinding on me.

“Ahh” I let out as I run my hand down his front and grab hold of very prominent erection. He groans as he brings his lips back to mine. His hands run up the bottom of my shirt and just before he cups my breasts with his hot hands, we hear a cough. Our lips stay onto each other as we stiffen and open our eyes. He smiles and I immediately drop my head to the crook of his neck.

“Well, well, well. Did I interrupt something here?” Matt asks. “Because from the looks of it, it appears to me as if you two were going to have it out right here on the eighteenth hole.”

“We were just finishing up here Matt. Do you mind giving us a minute?” Gabe wraps his arms around me, looking over his shoulder towards Matt, keeping me from his view.

“Jenna?” Matt asks

“Please Matty? Can you um, take our putters back please? We will be right there.” Shit, the sound of his voice lets me know he disapproves. Heck, I disapprove. What is wrong with me?

“You know, if Bren found out…” He gets cut off immediately

“He won’t find out though will he Matt?” Gabe is glaring at him. “Dude, give us a fucking minute to gather our senses. Please.” Matt doesn’t say a word, he just sighs heavily and walks away.

“Gabe.”

“Don’t” he says. “Just don’t say anything you haven’t already said before.” He kisses my forehead and we remain like this until our breathing calms. Once we are calmed and cooled down, he slides his hand down to mine and takes it.

“Come on. Let’s get back to the hotel. We need to leave early.” He says pulling me towards where Matt is sitting on a bench waiting for us. We walk slowly back to the hotel. Neither one of us say anything until we step into the elevator.

“Matty?”

“Don’t worry Jems. I won’t say anything if that’s what you’re worried about.” He says dryly. “But if you two keep this up, you will get caught. And I don’t think Brennan needs this right now.  Do you?”

I don’t answer, I drop my head and I can feel the tears begin to well up as we walk down the hall to our rooms. Without saying a word, I open my door, close and lock it before letting the tears fall as I change into my night wear and curl up to bed. I end up crying myself to sleep.

The following morning is quiet. After the silent continental breakfast offered by hotel was eaten, we made a few adjustments with our bags which will leave the backseat of my car filled with the bags that were brought into the hotel so we can use the third seat in the SUV. I decide to take that seat for myself so I can get some distance from everyone. Gabe, Matt and I have been relatively quiet with each other since last night. Drew has been watching my every move with a questionable look on his face. I am ashamed with myself for letting my guard down yet again with Gabriel. Something I know I shouldn’t let happen again, but for some reason, my body decides to shut my brain off when he is near me.

I am laying across the third row of the SUV with my ear buds in my ear on full blast. I decide to block out everything and everyone today. When Brennan offered to drive my car with Drew, Matt chimed in and said he would drive it with Gabe instead which I’m thankful for. When Matt’s eyes met mine this morning, they were heavy with disappointment, but once he saw the shame in mine, they softened and he winked. I was even more thankful when Gabe decided not to push the issue and went willingly with Matt.

I knew this was going to happen, this awkwardness between us, and I have no doubt that the guys have noticed something is off by the silence.

We’ve been on the road for about two hours when my phone chimes. I pull it out of the cup holder that it sits in and notice it’s Drew.

You Ok????

Not reall
y


??? What’s up & don’t tell me nothing either.

Fine then.

Jenna. Talk to me.

Gab
e


What did he do now?

WE. We both went too far… AGAIN! UGH. Drew. I knew this was wrong.

There is obviously something going on between you two that can’t be stopped. Maybe it’s time to just let it go and face the music.

What about Brennan? He will kill us both.

Jenna, he is not a moron. He knows something is up between you two. He won’t be happy now, however you know he won’t have any choice but to accept it.

Guess so. So what do I do?

It remains silent for a while before it chimes again.

Talk to Gabe. Tell him how you feel so he knows for sure. He is all over the place too Jems, not just you. Then you need to talk to Bren. He will understand. I know it’s hard, but he will accept it eventually. And no matter what, be honest and true to yourself.

I love you Drew! Thank you. I’ll text him now. =)

Love you too =0) let me know how it goes babe. xx

With a little bit of hope inside me from Drew, I decide to take a shot in the dark and text Gabe.

Ok.

My palms begin to sweat in anticipation. Suddenly disappointment begins to hit me when I realize that nothings coming through the phone. Then suddenly he texts back.

Ok what?

Oh man, how do I do this? This isn’t really how I planned on starting a relationship. But then again, nothing we do has been ordinary. 

Ok. Let’s do this. There is no way we can hide our feelings anymore.

Are you kidding me right now? Because after last night Jenna, I can’t take any more of this.

No. I’m being dead serious Gabriel.

This isn’t really how I wanted this to go.

Ditto

Angel, are you sure this is what you want? Because if it is. You’ve just made me the happiest man in the world. =)

This is what I want Gabe. I’m tired of fighting this. We have a lot to talk about and a ton to work out, but I’m ready to handle this.

What about Brennan? He’s gonna have my balls in a vice.

Let me take care of him okay?

Okay. Good luck Angel xx

Thx =) xx

I set my phone back on the holder and stare at the roof of the cab for a long time. My leg begins to shake as it always does when I get nervous. I’m not even sure how I’m going to do this, so I decide to just let it out.

“Brennan?”

“Yeah?” Shit, why am I so scared to tell him? “Jems?” he asks when I remain quiet. Well, here goes nothing.

“Um, Well. Don’t get mad but.” I can get out just barely over a whisper.

“Just get it out Jenna. Something has been bothering you all morning. I’m not stupid. What is it? You hooking up with Gabe or something?” he asks with a chuckle.

“Yes.” I squeeze my eyes shut waiting for him to respond. The cab stays quiet for a good ten minutes. I decide to peek my head up and look over the back of the seat. Drew is looking directly at Brennan. And from what I can tell, Brennan is white knuckling the wheel. Maybe I should have waited until he wasn’t driving to let him know.

“Well it’s about fucking time Jenna. I’m not gonna lie, I’m going to beat that fucker to a pulp if he hurts you.” He says. What? Really? He was waiting for this? Oh man. I’m at a loss for words.

“You will do no such thing Brennan Munson.” The cab is silent for a few minutes before I hear the beeps from the walkie-talkie.

“Gabriel Gonzales. If you even think of hurting my little sister, I will single handedly make your life a living hell. Do you understand me?” I flush with embarrassment. It’s Matt that answers Brennan.

“Dude, I don’t think you can say anything right now that can bring him down. The dude’s seriously been smiling since Jenna sent him a text.” He laughs, I smile. I cannot wait until we stop so I can officially wrap my arms around Gabe without having to hide my feelings.

We ride for another few hours before I literally make Brennan stop. He has done this on purpose so we didn’t have to meet up. Before we come to a complete stop, I have crawled over the seat and have the door open and I run to the bathroom. Brennan and Drew are laughing so hard, I can hear them from the entrance. I ignore them and run full sprint into the restaurant.

Once I finish relieving myself, I wash up quickly and open the door to find a very happy Gabriel leaning against the wall in the hallway. I smile up at him as the door closes behind me. He pushes off of the wall behind him and scoops me up into his arms and swings me around while planting a kiss on my lips. I smile into the kiss as my arms automatically wrap around his neck.

“We are definitely riding the rest of the way together. They did this extended drive on purpose.” He says as I giggle and nod and kiss him again. “Well, that’s just not cool. I have been dying to get my arms around you Angel.” He carries me like that down the walkway to the table where the rest of the group is seated.

“Gabe, I do know how to walk.” He ignores me and carries me the rest of the way.

“I have gone years not being able to touch you the way I wanted. I’ll be damned if I go another minute longer.” He says before setting me down. I turn and look at the guys sitting at the table. Drew and Matt are both smiling at us. As if they planned it, they both speak in unison.

“About damn time”

I blush and Gabe flips them off as we slide in the booth together. Brennan says nothing and he still doesn’t look like he is happy about it. I place my hand on his and give it a squeeze.

“You’re still my number one, Bren.” He looks my way, then over to Gabe who I can assume smiles at him but I wouldn’t know because I refuse to take my eyes off of Brennan. His glare returns to me and he rests his other hand on mine, leans in and kisses me on the forehead and whispers.

“I just want you happy Jems. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. I swear.” He shakes his head and I cut him off.

“Brennan. I am happy when I am with Gabe. I’m happiest when I am with you all. Can’t you see that?” I plead.

He smiles and nods. “Yeah I can see it.” He says before returning to his menu. My heart swells with joy as I turn my attention back to Gabe. He smiles down at me with a wink. I smile back in return before he bends down and plants a swift kiss on my lips before we look over the menu for lunch.

The duration of lunch was as normal as it could be. We are only a few hours away from Gabe’s hometown. He still seems on edge about it. From what I gather, he hasn’t mentioned to the rest of the group about why he’s hesitant, and no one pushes the subject on it, until Matt chimes in.

“Did you tell them about the concert?” All eyes are on Gabe now. He swallows his bite and tenses.

“Um, no. Not yet.” He says glaring at Matt.

“What concert?” I ask nervously.

“It’s not really a concert. It’s a county fair. They have show’s that perform at night.” he says. “I, um, I mentioned it to Matt in the car earlier.”

“Oh that’s sweet. Who’s playing? I haven’t been to a fair in so long. The ones in California aren’t like what you see in the movies.” I mention.

“Yeah Gabe. Who’s playing?” Matt pushes.

Gabe looks over to Brennan before taking my hand in his. For some reason, I don’t think I am going to like this simply by the way his body language has shifted so suddenly. “Well, when I was talking to Ashley last night after we came back from golfing. She mentioned that a band had backed out. She kind of asked me if we were interested in filling in, and I told her I would ask you guys before I said yes. Of course, she took it as a yes. So I guess we are playing. If that’s okay with you.” He glances down at me with a worried face. I feel the blood drain from my face as I absorb the words.

“We have been talking about getting back out. I think it’s a great idea. Do they have the right equipment?” Brennan asks excitedly. He continues to ask questions but I block him out and continue to stare at Gabe.

“Hey. You ok?” He leans down and asks softly in my ear. I don’t answer, I just stare at him. “Angel. You’re making me nervous.” He squeezes my hand.

“Jenna?” Drew asks from across the table. “Dude, what’s wrong with her?” Drew asks Gabe. I feel a set of hands on my shoulders, Brennan’s. But I can’t move my eyes from Gabe’s eyes.

“I…” I try to say. “Gabe I haven’t been on stage since Will...” I finally choke out. “I… I don’t know if I can do it.”

His eyes shift from worry to sorrow. He was worried I would be upset with him. I can’t swallow down the knot that’s formed in my throat. “It’s okay. We don’t have to do it. I didn’t officially tell her yes. I can just tell her we won’t do it.” He reassures me.

“Jems, this is what Will would have wanted.” Brennan says softly behind me. “It’s been seven months. And we’ve been back in the studio for the past few months now.”

I turn towards him. “No Brennan. You’ve been in the studio. I go, but I don’t actually do anything. I haven’t even really sung since the accident.” Then Drew decides to correct me.

“We sang in Rehab Jenna.” He says shyly. I look in his direction. The song we wrote was not to be mentioned.

“You sang in rehab?” Brennan, Gabe and Matt all say at the same time. I narrow my eyes at Drew. His eyes are full of remorse.

“We wrote a song, it helped me get over some things. But I don’t consider it singing aloud. It was more like us two with his guitar under a tree trying to deal with everyday life in there.” I explain. “Some of the members decided to congregate around us.”

“You never said anything.” Brennan said.

“Didn’t think I had to.” I look over at him. “I’m not ready Brennan.” I say sarcastically.

“You don’t know that Jenna.” He replies with the same tone. “The rest of us are dying to get back on stage.”

“Maybe it’s too soon Bren.” Gabe says.

“Yeah, now you say that because you two are a couple and shit.” He snaps. “I’m still not happy about all this to be honest. I haven’t forgotten about our little talk either Gabe. I have some rules you know?”

“Not now Brennan.” I cry out, pushing Gabe out of the booth. He lets me out and follows me to the restroom and waits for me to return. I just need a moment alone. I stand in front of the mirror and look long at hard at the person staring back at me. After I realize I need to face it head on, I splash my face with cold water, take a few deep breaths and gather my senses before returning to the guys. Of course, Gabe is standing in the same place he was earlier.

“I’m sorry.” I whisper as I walk up and lean into him. He wraps me in his arms and kisses the top of my head.

“No. I’m the one that’s sorry Jenna. I should have asked you when she asked us to do it. But last night, I was so upset, with the both of us. I was upset with how things ended. I hated Matt for getting in the middle. I told her all about it.” He says softly.

“You spoke to your sister about me?” I ask. I knew he spoke to his sisters, but I never imagined he would actually tell them everything. Well, Emily at least since she is quite younger.

He chuckles, “Well, I have to get girly advice from someone.” I look up at him with a questionable brow. “You’re not the easiest girl to handle. You know that?” he says before leaning down and kissing me. I melt into his kiss immediately, letting everything else go. It really doesn’t matter what happens when I’m with Gabe. I know that we will figure it out one way or another. I take his hand in mine, and we walk outside where the guys are waiting.

“I’m sorry Jems. I didn’t mean…” Brennan tries to say before I put my hand up to stop him.