Lovely (5 page)

Chapter 11

After a few days, I felt better and decided to forget about Brody once and for all. I even bought an envelope to mail the ring back to him. If it got lost, at least he wouldn’t be able to give it to me again. I hadn’t actually sent it yet, though.

Unfortunately, Gavyn had been right about the week dragging on. It was one longest of my entire lifetime. When date night finally arrived, he picked me up and we went to the movie theater to see the latest superhero action flick. He walked me to the door when we returned and we both hesitated.

“It’s probably getting pointless for me to say, but as
always, I had a wonderful time,” I said, leaning against the closed door to my apartment with a half full bag of popcorn in my hand. I hadn’t wanted to pig out and eat the entire thing during the movie, but I sure as heck was keeping the popcorn for a midnight snack.

He moved closer, looking into my eyes. His fingers moved up to caress my lips with the tips before sliding his hand behind my neck and into my hair. My breath quickened and I kept my eyes locked with his. He leaned down and kissed me with a needy passion. The kisses
he’d given me before were amazing, but never had he done so with such aggression and lust.

My arms went around his neck and I returned the affection with equal, if not greater, intensity. His other hand slid down my side and he cupped my right butt cheek through my jeans. When I let out a soft groan of approval, he picked me up and pressed against me, pinning me between him and the door.
The bag fell from my hand and popcorn scattered across the gray carpet. At any moment, someone could return to their apartment and catch us making out in the hallway.

His
hand tugged my hair gently, urging me to lean my head to the side. Then his hot breath was against my neck as he leaned down and inhaled my scent. If this was the way vampires shared the dark embrace, I was in. But Gavyn was all human and all man. I had known that even before I felt his bulge pressing into me through my clothing.

“I need to go,
” he moaned with his lips still on my skin. He returned to suckling and nibbling on my neck.

“I need you to stay,
” I whispered and he returned his mouth to mine, kissing me deeply for a long moment. His tongue forced its way between my lips with no resistance from me.

He pulled back a little and
, as he lowered me, I let my legs fall from around his waist to support my weight. They weren’t doing a great job. I was weak in the knees.

“I wish I could. You have no idea how bad I wish I could.” He cleared his throat. “We should probably slow down… I don’t want to mess things up.” The obvious hard-on in his pants begged to differ.

“You’re right.” I agreed, surprised at my own words even though I knew they were true. “I like what we have going and I don’t think it would be good if I caused you to lose your job.”

He glanced down at the floor, still not moving from his position close to me. “You spilled your popcorn.” He smirked.

I ran my hands up his chest and grabbed a handful of t-shirt in each hand. “Oops.” I pulled him into another long kiss before releasing him and turning around to unlock my door.

“You’re one of those girls that’s secretly bad, aren’t you?” He
asked as I pushed open the door.

Turning back to him, I smiled. “Don’t they always say to watch out for the good girls?
They’re a myth.” I touched his chest again and then gave him a little playful shove. “Go to work.”

“You really push my buttons, Farrah.
All the right ones.” His feet crunched the popcorn as he headed toward the elevator with his hands in his pocket. This time it was my turn to watch him walk away and the amazing view made me shiver with anticipation.

Chapter 12

Conflicting schedules prevented us from getting together for a date the following week. The next time Gavyn and I saw each other was at school. He jogged up to me in the hallway and immediately pulled me into a hug and kissed me in greeting.

“Finally.
We’re going to have to work something out so we see each other more often,” He said.

I laughed. “I missed you, too.” We headed into class holding hands and sat side by side.

As the professor droned on, I barely heard what he was saying. Gavyn was turned away from me at an angle, scribbling something onto a piece of paper. I tried to inconspicuously catch a glimpse of what he was writing, but I couldn’t see. When he finished, he folded the piece of paper and handed it to me underneath the table.

I quirked a brow as I slid my chair back a little so I could unfold it out of view of everyone.

It read:

“Want to go steady?”

There were two boxes. I almost laughed out loud, but covered my mouth. Beside both of the boxes the word “yes” was written. “No” was not an option. He was grinning at me as I turned my back to him and hid the paper from his view. I made it look like I was writing a response instead of checking a box. I glanced back at him and his expression changed to a worried frown. In reality, I’d only been pretending to write and checked both boxes.

After I folded up the paper, he extended his hand for me to give it to him. I shook my head and mouthed the words “after
school.” Then, I turned my attention to the instructor at the head of the class.

Inside, I was bouncing off the walls with emotion. His tactic had been adorabl
e and he knew it, but I was doing a pretty darn good job hiding that I thought so.

When class
was dismissed he reached for the book that I had slipped the paper into, but I grabbed the textbook and held it to my chest.

“Are you sure you want the answer?” I
asked seriously in a convincing tone.

“I’m not
sure now, but I need to know.”

“Fine.”
I flipped open the book. The paper was on page ninety-five. It fell to the floor and landed at Gavyn’s feet.

He bent
over in a hurry, took a deep breath, and then unfolded it. His grin returned when he looked down at it. “You’re such a brat.” He slipped his arm around my waist, kissed my cheek, and led me out of the classroom.

Chapter
13

“Want to spend the weekend with me?”
Gavyn asked in between kisses to my cleavage. He’d tugged my low cut blouse down toward my belly button.

“I thought
you were busy on Friday nights,” I said, disappointed when he stopped and helped me to sit up on my futon.

He wouldn’t meet my gaze and a feeling of dread knotted my stomach. When he finally looked into my eyes,
the anxiety stupidly eased. I should have trusted my first instinct.

Gavyn
shrugged. “Kind of, but I figure you can be a part of it. You’re part of my life now.”

“Alright.
I’ll pack an overnight bag.” I stood, pulled my shirt back up over my breasts, and retrieved my small suitcase from the closet.

He wandered around the room, looking at my newest paintings as he waited for me to pack. “Is this one me?”

I grinned as I placed the folded clothing in my bag. “That is you… as a spy.”

“Getting a real kink for that, aren’t you?”

“Maybe you’ll find out this weekend.” I shut my overnight bag. He walked over to carry it for me.

He still seemed a bit uneasy. There was something I couldn’t pin down, but I didn’t press.

We arrived at his apartment a short time later and he pushed open the door to let me in. The first thing I noticed was the painting I’d given him as payment for taking me to the dentist hanging on the wall in the living room.

In contrast to my place, his walls were pure white. The décor was conservative, not like
the bachelor pad I imagined a college guy would have at all. As he had at my apartment, I slipped off my shoes before stepping further inside. Gavyn set my bag down beside the door.

“Can I look around?” I asked.

“Sure. Make yourself at home.” He went into the kitchen and turned on the stove. A teapot was already sitting on top with water inside.

He had a small dining area with a table and four chairs. Beside it was the living room
. There was a black sofa, a widescreen television in front of it, and a computer desk in the corner. A bar separated the kitchen from the other two rooms. It wasn’t large, but clean and homely. A magnet held a drawing securely to the fridge, but I couldn’t see what it was from where I was standing.

I headed down a nearby hallway. On my left was a room with a closed door. I didn’t open it. On my right was a bathroom, and at the end of the hall the master bedroom. I returned to the living room and sat down on the couch when
Gavyn brought me a cup of tea.

“Thanks,
” I said, not much of a hot tea drinker, but accepting the cup. Tea was supposed to be iced and loaded with sugar. I sipped it cautiously and was pleasantly surprised at the fragrance and taste. “This place is nice.” I braved another sip then placed the cup on a coaster to let the beverage cool.

Gavyn
sat down beside me. “Farrah, you’re important to me. I know it has only been like a month, but I think we have something special. We’re compatible.”

“I think so, too.”

I picked up a framed photo off the table and smiled. Gavyn was in the picture with a boy of about five or six. I figured it was a nephew. They looked similar. I sat it back down, glancing at my boyfriend as he tapped his foot anxiously.

“What’s going on? You’re acting strange.”

He sighed. “I’m not sure how to begin. There’s a minor detail I left out about myself. I wanted to make sure we were serious and you weren’t psycho or anything.”

“Psycho o
r anything?” I repeated. “Nice choice on how to begin.”

A knock on the door left his words unsaid and
jaw tense. “They’re early.”

“Who?”
I stood up.

He crossed the room to the front door and opened it. A middle-aged, curly headed woman
with short hair stood there with a young boy. She lifted her hand in greeting.

“Mu
m, this is Farrah Caine.” He gestured to me.

I smiled meekly and lifted my hand in
return. “Nice to meet you.”

My voice was nearly drowned out by the child running into
Gavyn’s arms and screaming, “Dad!” The boy was grinning, the same one from the photo.

“Nice to meet you, too.
Have fun, kids.”

“Bye, Mum.”
Gavyn said before closing the door after she’d walked away.

Completely caught off guard, I couldn’t find any words to say. How could I speak when I hadn’t even been able to process what had happened or how I felt about it?

The kid skipped over to me when Gavyn set him down, wild curls bouncing. He was missing two front teeth. The child extended his hand. “Hi! I’m Mac.”

I shook his hand.
“Farrah.”

“Dad never brings girls home.” He placed his hands on his hips as if determining my worth.

“Malcolm, go play in your room for a few minutes while I talk to my friend,” Gavyn said.

“Girlfriend.”
Mac corrected before running across the living room to the hall and opening the closed door I’d passed earlier.

“They were early. I wanted to talk to you and explain before they arrived.”
Gavyn told me after Mac shut the door behind him.

When he walked toward me, I backed up and made my way around the table, heading for the door. “Don’t you think telling me you have a kid would have been a good idea, oh I don’t know, on our first date?”

“Hey, I understand that it’s a shock. I needed to make sure we were heading into a serious relationship and that you weren’t crazy. I don’t bring random women into his life.” He reached out to me and I glanced down at the floor.

“
Where’s his mother?” I asked. “I knew you were too good to be true.”

Regret filled
Gavyn’s usually cheerful eyes. “She killed herself. I’m not sure if it was because of the disappointment that came from her parents or something post-partum.”

“I’m sorry.” I grabbed the handle of my bag
. He reached out, gently grasping my arm.

“Please don’t go.”

“I’m not sure that I ever want kids. I moved to Miami so I’d have the freedom to live my life the way I want and heal old wounds.”

He sighed, releasing my arm and rubbing his hand over his face. “I’m not asking you to be a mother.”

“No, you just wanted to make sure I fell in love with you before telling me you were a father.” My lip trembled and I bit down to stop it.

“I love you, too. That’s why I want you in my life. I wasn’t trying to be deceitful. Try to think of this from my point of view.”

I picked up my overnight bag and turned the doorknob behind me. “I need time to myself. Enjoy your weekend.”

“Does this mean…
we’re done?” His voice sounded pained. The sound of regret tore at my heart.

“I don’t know.”

I exited the apartment that had seemed so welcoming and warm without another word. Before I knew it, I was running. I stopped at the elevator and pressed the button. When the sliding metal doors didn’t open, I headed for the stairs. I didn’t breathe until I was outside with hot tears running down my cheeks. For a while, I wandered aimlessly as I thought about my behavior.

Had I overreacted? I didn’t think so, but that did little to change how h
eartbroken and betrayed I felt.

I should have known better than to open my heart.