Live Today (Live Today #1) (22 page)

“Um, he hasn’t told you?” I shake my head no. “Oh. Well, he needs to tell you. But I can say she’s a very selfish woman.” I nod in acceptance as I know I’ve already figured that out. I choose not to push the subject simply because I agree with her wholeheartedly. As we walk back to the group I notice my new favorite enemy sitting next to Gabe. With a heavy sigh, we reach the table. Gabe looks up at me with sorrow in his face. Carmen has her arm draped over his shoulder which ignites a flame in my gut.

“So, how about that dance?” she asks just before turning to look at him but notices me standing at the end of the table again.

“How about no.” I say coldly. I can hear Matt and Drew making noises from the other side of the table from her, but this time, I don’t bother turning towards them. I’m not sure if it’s the alcohol talking or the simple fact that this woman has literally gotten under my skin.

“Excuse me?” she says narrowing her eyes at me

“Oh c’mon Carmen, you’re not that much older than I am, I’m sure your hearing is just fine. I said no.” My face flushes with anger as her hand still rests on his shoulder. He takes it and removes it from his shoulder. But she takes his hand in hers as if she is adding fuel to the fire inside me.

“Oh sweetie, you’re not jealous are you?” She says spitefully. My eyes travel down to their hands and I realize his hand is in a fist. Good boy.

“Two things, one, I am not nor will I ever be your sweetie.” This time I have to crack a small smile to Matt who coughs and laughs at the same time. “Two, I am far from jealous. To be jealous means you envy what someone else has. And the last time I checked, I have what I want and he has what he wants. And from the looks of your hand on his, he wants nothing to do with your touch.” She removes it quickly and stands and walks face to face with me. Brennan and Gabe both stand for support to stop anything that may or may not arise between us.

“You think I’m jealous?” She asks with an eye roll.

“Depends, do you envy me?  It’s apparent I have something you want.” I smirk. “I think it’s time for you to leave.”

“Gabe and I have history, something you will never have.” She snaps. I take a step towards her so we are nose to nose. The tension increases.

“You’re right. You two do have history. But that’s all you will ever have, history. Something obviously happened that caused him to leave and move far away from you. So sweetie,” I repeat her gesture, “You’ve lost your chance. Now why don’t you pull yourself together, face the fact that you’re not welcome here? Because that look on your face isn’t a pretty one.”

“You think because he’s spent the last seven years with you, that you have this claim on him?” She pokes me in the chest with her finger. Matt and Drew stand now. “I’ve got news for you little girl, you don’t own him. I’m more welcome here than you ever will be.”

“Carmen just go.” Gabe tries to intervene. But I interrupt him.

“I don’t have a claim on him. I never said I did. He made the choice to be with me. He’s not a dog. No one owns him. What do you think he did for seven years? He not only lived with me and Brennan, he’s become our family. We supported him in everything. We were there to make his dreams come true.  I know him more than you can imagine.  So I’m warning you. Keep your hands to yourself and walk away.” I say poking her back in the chest.

Her eyes look over my shoulder to Gabe who is standing directly behind me. “You didn’t tell anyone anything did you?” Anger flushes throughout my body while I keep my eyes fixed on her. “You’ll never change. You’re such a coward.” I take a step to the side to break her glare at him. Before I have a chance to respond to her, he intervenes.

“I left for the right reasons Carmen. I don’t need to explain to you or anyone why I left.” He says coldly. “Why don’t you take Jenna’s advice and leave?”

She laughs. “Please Gabriel. You think I’m scared of this little blond piece of trash.” And that was it. Immediately my hands rest on her chest and I shove her with all my might. She tumbled back and her ass hits the floor with a thump. Her eyes widened as I charged towards her.

“Oh Shit.” Matt says at the same time Drew and Brennan say “Fuck.”

I take a step towards her and a set of arms are instantly wrapped around my waist lifting me up off the floor. “Brennan get the door” Gabe calls out walking towards the door. Brennan opens it as Gabe carries me outside. “Get her out of here.” He says meaning Carmen. He knows if I had my way with her, I would have ended up needing bail money.

“No problem.” Brennan says as Gabe keeps me in his arms.

“Gabriel, put me down!” I yell as the cool midnight air hits me and I begin to squirm.

“No.” he says holding me tighter. “Not until you calm down.” He says walking us past the SUV. And down the Square.

“I’m not done with that woman.” I pry a hand loose and he drops me on my feet. I begin to run back towards the bar. He runs past me and next thing I know I’m up and over his shoulder. I begin pounding his back. “Damn it Gabriel Gonzales! Let! Me! Go!” I say between pounds. He smacks me on the ass hard causing me to jump over his shoulder.

“Stop acting like a child and I’ll let you down. But I’m not letting you go.” He says swatting me again.

“Fine.” I say still angry and shaking. He continues walking about a block or two away from the bar letting me truly cool down before he decides to slide my body off his shoulder.

“What the fuck was that about?” He asks angry.

“You’re joking right? You don’t get to be angry with me Gabe. Did you see her poking me? Did you hear what she called me?” I argue.

“I heard and saw everything Jenna. Do you honestly think I couldn’t have handled her myself?”

“Well, it looked like you didn’t mind her arm over your shoulder. Should I have given you two some space? Should I have just sat at the bar and chatted with the stranger that was eyeing me all night?” His face turns cold immediately. I knew he noticed the guy but kept his cool because the guy never made a move. “Should I have given you a minute to rekindle your relationship? Maybe give you two some time alone on the boat?” I turn to walk away, hoping I’m making my way towards the house.

“Fuck Jenna, are you kidding me?” He grabs my arm. “If you would have waited just a minute before you snapped, which was kind of sexy too by the way, you would have heard me telling her to leave. Ask Brennan, I told her when you two were gone that she didn’t belong there.”

“You did?” My voice a little softer but still angry.

“Yes I did.” He yells. “I left here because of her. She is relentless. She ruined my life Jenna.” My arms are crossed. I wait for more. “She cheated on me. But the sad thing is I knew…” His face drifts off to what I can tell is a painful memory. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is she doesn’t even compare to you. Not even close.” He takes my hands and holds them to his chest. “I love you Jenna Munson, not her. I thought I loved her, but that was before I knew what love was. I would have figured after seven years that you knew this.” He kisses my hands, my anger slowly dissipates. “Those other girls are nothing. They were just fill-ins. Not because of Carmen.” He shakes his head. “Fill ins from you. I’ve told you this. I’ve only ever loved you.”

Our fingers entwine and I ask. “You thought my snapping was sexy?”

The corner of his mouth lifts. “I’ve never had anyone get angry like that over me Jenna. I thought it was hot.” He steps closer me wrapping his arms around my waist bringing our bodies together.

My hands make their way around his neck and I rest my head against his. “Sorry.” I whisper.

He kisses my lips softly and looks into my eyes. “Is this the kiss and make up part? Because if I remember correctly, someone told me I would wake up with her in the morning, preferably without clothing.”

I smile and pull his lips to mine and kiss him softly. He groans as I deepen the kiss and before I know it, he grabs me from behind and lifts me on his hips. “Gabe, I can walk.”

He shakes his head. “Doesn’t matter, you were walking the wrong way anyways.” He laughs, reaching in his phone and texts Ashley. He carries me back to the car where the rest of the group is waiting for us.

“What’s up Rocky?” Matt teases. “If I was them, I would have let you brawl.” I roll my eyes at him as we get into the car. We all chat quietly as Brennan drives us back to the house. The vixen isn’t mentioned again that night, which is fine by me.

Once we’ve said our goodnights, Gabe and I walk hand in hand down the hall to his room. He closes the door quietly. He turns and walks towards me as I’m rummaging through my bag looking for my nightwear. “What do you think you’re doing?” he asks resting his chin on my shoulder.

“Getting my clothes.”  I answer. He immediately begins to shake his head. “What?”

“You forget so soon?” He turns me in his arms. I rest my hands on his chest. He begins to walk us backwards towards the bed. “Not tonight.” He reaches down and plays a song on his phone. With the volume down just enough that only we can hear it, he takes me in his arms and we begin to a dance to ‘A World With You’ by Jason Mraz. My hands trail their way up his chest and wrap around his neck as we dance under the moonlight coming through the window. His lips rest on mine as we move our bodies to the music, he slowly lifts my shirt over my head returning his lips back to mine immediately before removing his and dropping it on the floor with mine.

He begins to trail kisses across my collar bone as he slowly removes my bra. My chest rises and falls with each touch. As the song morphs into another love song, he slowly lays me on the bed and trails kisses down my body as he removes the remaining of our clothing, crawling back over me, he rests his forehead on mine as he takes my face in his hands. “I love you Jenna.” He says as we begin to make sweet, sweet love…

Gabe is sound asleep on my chest when I wake. Our bodies are intertwined under the sheets. Slowly, I trail my fingers over the definitions of his back. I smile down at him as he shifts his body over mine when I find a sensitive area. I try to keep my giggles quiet as I trace my fingers lightly over his sensitive area again. This time he shifts onto his back, lying next to me. Quietly I shift onto my elbow and run my fingers along his abdomen towards the v that’s half hidden under the sheet. His hand immediately stops mine in its tracks. “Having fun?”

“Actually, yeah.” I say trailing my eyes up his body meeting his sleepy eyes that are watching me. “Good morning. Sleep well?” I ask.

His sleepy face morphs into a very satisfied face. “Actually, I slept exceptionally well.” He pulls at the sheet that’s covering my chest. “But the best part is waking up.” He trails his hand along my shoulder down to my chest, causing my skin to perk up.

“Yes, I have to agree, waking up does have its advantages.” I agree.

He lifts his body onto his elbow so we’re face to face. “So,” he says taking the sheet and covering the both of us as he pushes me onto my back and rests between my legs. I can feel his arousal between my legs. “Think we can top what we did last night?”

I pull him down to me. “I think we can at least try.” I kiss him softly. We quietly replay the events that happened the night before. Of course, until the door swings open causing Gabe and I to freeze.

“Oh shit. Sorry man.” Matt says. “I um.” He cover’s his face with his hand as he enters the room.

“Um? Really man. That’s all you got? Do you mind?” Gabe says covering us up making sure Matt see’s nothing. I tuck my face into his chest out of embarrassment.

“I just needed to grab.” Matt says.

“Matty!” I holler. “Whatever it is, I’m sure it can wait.”

“Oh, yeah. I guess it can.” He says walking back, closing the door. He opens it again and whispers. “Sorry.”

Gabe looks down at me and we both start to laugh. “Well, that sucked.” He says rolling off of me.

“Maybe we should wait.” I say as I roll myself to lie on his arm. “I’m going to take a shower. Maybe you should see what he wanted. Before he tells Brennan.”

He kisses the top of my head before getting up and dressing. “I guess you’re right.” I sigh as I watch him dress. He turns to me and grins. “Enjoying the show?” He chuckles at me when I hide under the pillow embarrassed. He makes his way towards me and pulls the pillow away from my red face. “Hey,” He lays over me fully dressed now.  I stare into his eyes, I see nothing but love in them. “I love the way you look at me.” He leans down and kisses my nose. “It’s hot, plus no one has ever looked at me the way you have. I feel…” He takes a second to find the word, “loved.”

I cup his cheek in my hand. “That’s because I do love you. I always have. You’re my best friend Gabe. You know me more than I know myself at times. I adore you.”

“I love you too angel.” He says kissing me swiftly before rising from the bed. “Hurry up and get showered. I miss you already.” He walks out and closes the door behind him.

Once showered and dressed, I make my way downstairs. When I almost get to the bottom, I hear Ashley and Maria talking about last night’s events. I stop at the base of the stairs as I hear Ashley say “She doesn’t know momma. He hasn’t told her.”

“He will tell her. He has to.” Maria says. There is something he isn’t telling me. Whatever it is, is obviously a part of his past and not a part of him now. As intrigued as I am, it’s best if I let it go until he decides to tell me.

“I hope so. You should have seen her last night. She was amazing. She is so spunky.” Her voice sounds like she’s proud. “She totally put Carmen in her place.” I smile after hearing that. Then I decide it’s time to make my presence known as I take the steps down to the bottom. “Good morning Jenna.” Ashley says smiling.

I return her smile and say good morning to them both before looking for my family. When I reach the kitchen, Gabe, Brennan Matt and Drew are sitting around the kitchen table with Emily and her computer.

“Morning Jems. Take a look at this. Emily is showing us some pictures that people took last night.” Brennan says with joy. I walk over and instead of sitting between him and Gabe; Gabe pulls me onto his lap. Looking on the screen, my face lights up with all the pictures taken. They are amazing.

“They are awesome right?” Emily says. I nod as they scroll down the screen.

“They are fantastic Emily. Did they all come from last night? And where are they displayed on? I’ve never seen this page before.” I ask bewildered.

Giggling she replies, “Well, I am a teenager after all.” I glance over just in time to see her rolling her eyes at me. “And I kind of set the page up a few years ago when Gabriel told me about the band. He’s sent pics of the group. But I’ve gotten most of them off the internet.” My attention immediately shift’s to Gabe.

“You knew about this?” He shrugs.

“I did, but not until just before the accident. Then I forgot about it.” He holds hands up innocently. “Honest.”

“Well, I think its amazing Emily.” Matt says proudly. Emily gleams with pride. I think Matt has a little band crush.

Maria saunters into the kitchen. “Are we ready kids? Church begins in a little bit, but Tony and I wanted to take you to breakfast first.” She says smiling at Tony who I swear, every time he looks at his wife, has a twinkle in his eye. It’s the same look I recognize when I catch Gabriel looking at me.

“Corner Café?” Gabe asks and they both nod in unison. He then pushes me up off him as if he’s never eaten a meal in his life. “Let’s go then.” He takes my hand and before we know it, we are on our way to the Corner Café.

Breakfast was delicious. I swear the Corner Café has the best French toast ever. It’s definitely a place to brag about. We finished our breakfast and made our way to church just in time. As our newly grown family takes a whole row at church as we sit with full bellies.

Most of the fellowship we’ve met already, so the majority of the greetings this morning were congratulations on last night’s performances. Gabe who hasn’t left my side all morning has my hand in his resting on his lap. I’m a bit nervous about being here. Brennan I are not church going people by any means of the word. It’s not anyone’s fault, but the way we were brought up, pretty much by each other, it just never fit in.

“Jems.” Gabe says snapping me out of my thoughts. “Relax baby. You’re not going to hell or anything.” He says chuckling. I roll my eyes at him.

“I know I’m not. If I was, I would have been struck down upon entering.” I reply sarcastically. He places his arm over my shoulder and begins rubbing it softly calming my nerves.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this nervous.”

“I’m not nervous really.” He raises a brow at me. “I’m not. I just feel like I’m out of my element.” I answer honestly. He leans in and kisses my cheek as the music begins.

The Gonzales’ church is more of a modern style church that plays more contemporary music. Some of the songs I’ve even heard on the local radio stations. After a handful of songs, the pastor begins by welcoming everyone. He extends his warmest welcome over to Gabriel and his group and thanks us again for our impromptu concert. We all smile in acknowledgement and nod. Once he begins his sermon, my nerves have calmed. Of course, Gabe’s relentless rubbing of my shoulder has helped well.

“Now for something special for us on this beautiful morning, Ashley Gonzales has agreed to sing a song for us today to finish off a wonderful weekend of their family reunion. And at her request, she has asked for a singing partner.” The pastor says. My heart freezes immediately.
Oh no.
Singing in a barn and on stage is completely different than singing in church. Ashley leans over and looks at me with her puppy dog eyes. The same eyes Gabe gives me when he knows I will cave. Damn, this must be another Gonzales trait.

“Please Jenna. Will you do me the honor and sing with me.” By now, the entire row and their eyes are staring at me. One half is favoring the puppy dog eyes, and the other pairs of eyes are enjoying the “Lets embarrass Jenna” moment. With a heavy sigh, I first shake my head, and then agree. I mean, if I don’t then I’m truly destined for hell, right?

She stands and takes my hand as Gabe kisses my cheek before we walk towards the back. As music begins to play with a live band this time, she explains which song will be sung. Thankfully, it’s a song I am familiar with since it’s been played on the radio for months on end. “I Can Only Imagine” by Mercy Me. She tells me that there will be a couple of songs to be sung before this one. She had planned it that way to give me enough time to prepare my vocals, which we do in a quiet corner for a few minutes.

Quietly, she takes my hand and walk on the stage. One of the band members places a second microphone stand center stage. “Just breathe Jenna.” She smiles kindly at me. I take a deep cleansing breath and smile back. The music begins and she points to the backside of the room, which ironically has a screen similar to the two screens at the front of the church that has the lyrics. She begins with the song, I follow. We sing our hearts out. There really is a difference when you are standing in a church and you are singing to a spiritual being rather than thousands of screaming fans. Once finished, a standing ovation fills the room. She hugs me tightly and thanks me again for singing with her.

The pastor takes the microphone as we all take our seats again and says he never thought he would have not only one, but two angelic voices singing at the same time. His kind words melt my heart. As I make my way back to Gabe, the guys’ all give me a congratulatory high five or knuckles. I finally make my way to Gabe and he has nothing but pride on his face. “That was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard.” He says. He always knows what to say to make me fall for him over and over again. I rest my head on his shoulder as we listen to the remaining portion of the sermon.

As soon as it ends, everyone congregates outside. Everyone shakes the pastor’s hand and thank him for his work. We follow suit. He takes Brennan and my hand in his, pulls us to the side and thanks us both for keeping Gabriel safe for his family. He also wanted to offer a silent prayer for our upcoming journey. Apparently, Maria and Tony have been praying for us on a regular basis, and when they found out about the loss of our mother, they decided to share the information with the pastor for extra prayers. Brennan looks at me before the pastor and thanks him just before we bow our head in a silent prayer.

Afterwards, Brennan and I walk back towards the Gonzales family with his arm over my shoulder and mine around his waist. We both agree how nice it was for the pastor to offer a prayer, not for our mom, but for us. He prayed for strength for Brennan and I, which I appreciated greatly.

As we made our way back to the family, the look in Drew, Matt and Gabe’s eyes were filled with sorrow. They understood the torment Brennan and I have gone through on the issue. Unfortunately, Drew brought up the issue since it was already on the surface.

“When are we heading out?” he asks. I look over at Brennan and shrug. “There’s no rush. Dad’s already there with mom. Matt’s parents are there as well. They decided to go out a little bit before us to get as much done as they could so you didn’t have to do much at all.” He finishes.

Brennan answered before me. “I was thinking a few more days here?” he looks over to Gabe and Ashley. “Does that sound okay?” Gabe and Ashley look at each before turning to us and agree. Just as we finalize that we will be leaving on Wednesday, we make our way to the center of the Square where a traditional picnic takes place after service every Sunday. It seems like time literally has stood still in this town. We sit and stand around our picnic table and blanket that’s laid beside is when a small boy comes running across the lawn.

“Papa!” he says quite loudly causing us all to turn and see who he was referring to since it seemed like he was running straight towards us. “Gamma.” The young boy calls out again.

Tony crouches down and pulls the young boy in his arms. “LG, how are you son?” my heart stops. Did Tony just say LG? No, it couldn’t be. Trailing my eyes over to Brennan who is eying the two in their embrace.

Immediately, Brennan says. “Um, Ashley. Who’s that?” She turns slowly as if everything is now in slow motion and before she makes eye contact with Brennan, she does with Gabe’s. My eyes follow. I swear he has now lost all color in his face as his eyes stare down at his father and young boy. “Ash, is he a relative?” he asks again.

She frowns as she shakes her head and shrugs. My mind suddenly clicks and my heart stops as the look on Ashley’s face tells us this young boy somehow is a part of their lives. “Ashley.” I say so quietly, I’m not sure if she heard me. “Who is that?” My eyes are glued to Gabe’s face as I wait for an answer. He keeps his face down purposely making sure he doesn’t make eye contact with me.

“That’s LG.” she says with a shaky voice. I roll my eyes breaking eye contact with Gabe as I glare at her for stating the obvious, she continues. “He is Carmen’s son.” She explains, but what she hasn’t explained was what the initials LG stood for. As if she was reading my mind, she finishes. “LG is short for Little Gabriel.”

I take a step back as my breath hitches and gets stuck in my throat. I take a deeper look at this little man in front of us. His complexion is olive tone like Gabe’s. His hair is lighter than Gabe’s and he has the greenest eyes. Gabe’s hair and eyes are brown. As if he knew I was making the comparison, Gabe finally turns and steps between me and the young man breaking my view from him. “Jenna, I can explain.”