On the Ropes (Down for the Count) (25 page)

“There’s the real Gabriel I know, the one that walks away.”

Jase’s words cut straight through me, and I explode. I lunge at him, grab his shirt with my fists, and lift him off the ground. “What the fuck did you just say, you little punk?”

“Gabriel!” Salem yells as she rounds the back of the car. She begins pulling on my elbow, trying to get me to release him.

I drop him abruptly, letting him fall to the ground. My breathing is out of control, and my chest is heaving. “Get out of my fuckin’ face before I do something I’ll regret,” I growl at him.

He’s curled up into a ball, looking up at me with eyes full of fear and his body shaking. Flashes of him, looking exactly like this as a little kid, come rushing back to me. This is how he always looked when our father came after us; he’d cower in the corner as our father flung our bedroom door open. I stood in front of Jase every time, trying to keep our father from hitting him, always protecting him. Now
I’m
the one he fears.

“Jase,” I quickly lower myself to the ground and gently put my arm around his shoulders to comfort him, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He tries to fight me off at first, but I tighten my grip, making it difficult for him to leave. “Jase, I didn’t walk away. I tried to see you, always. I never gave up on you, but I was just a kid too!” I need him to understand that it wasn’t ever my choice that I did everything in my power to see him. My foster parents wouldn’t take me. Tears are forming, and I force myself to choke them back. I have to be the strong one, just like I was when we were kids; never letting him know that I’m slowly breaking too.

A hand touches my shoulder and I look up to see Salem staring down at me. “Are you okay?” her face is that of concern.

“This is my little brother, Jason,” I manage to get out.

Stepping off the curb, she walks in front of me and onto the other side of Jase. She sits down next to him and adds her arm to mine around his shoulders. “Hi, Jason.”

He jerks away from her, and she quickly jumps back from him, but the fear fades from her face as he buries his head in his knees, weeping. “I’m not going to hurt you, Jason,” her voice is soft and comforting as she rubs his back lightly. “I’m Salem, Gabriel’s friend.”

He raises his head slowly, looking at me and then at her, “I’m sorry,” he sniffles. “It’s nice to meet you,” he wipes his nose on the sleeve of his shirt. His body is still trembling from our near fight.

“Can we drop you off somewhere?” she asks him calmly, keeping her voice soft.

“I have nowhere to go,” he mumbles sadly as he looks at the ground.

Salem looks over at me, giving me a
look
. I shake my head profusely. Her stare hardens as she widens her eyes at me.

I waver, then give Salem a look of defeat, “You can crash at my place.” There is nothing in the world I want more than a relationship with Jase, but knowing his history and his current state, I know that I’m not what he needs right now.

Her smile beams as she nods her head at me.

“Really?” his voice and spirit perk up.

“Yeah, sure, why not? You can take a shower and get some clean clothes. Maybe I’ll even make you dinner,” I joke.

“I don’t want to put you out or anything.”

“You’re my brother, you won’t be putting me out.”

“Come on, let’s get you into the car,” Salem helps him stand up. With her arm around him, she kindheartedly guides him to the front door of her car. After he gets in, she slips into the backseat.

“Salem, why are you sitting in the backseat of your own car?” I ask.

“Because I have short little legs. Jason needs the leg room more than I do.”

Whatever I’ve been feeling for her has just grown even stronger because of the way she treated Jase. She didn’t cast him aside like most people would’ve done. Christ, I was about to cast him aside myself. She comforted him and made him feel special. I mouth the words “Thank you” to her, and she flashes me her beautiful smile.

A while later, I pull Salem’s car into the parking lot behind my building, and I turn around to see that she’s curled up, sleeping.
Fuck, she’s even beautiful asleep.
I can’t help but smile at her.

“How long you two been together?” Jase asks.

“We’re not together,” I sigh, still staring at her.

“Huh.”

“Huh, what?” I turn my attention to him.

“Coulda fooled me, that’s all,” he shrugs his shoulders.

Opening my car door, I step out, then shut the door quietly, so I don’t disturb her.

Jase meets me at the back of the car, “So why aren’t the two of you together?”

Apparently, he isn’t going to give up on this line of questioning. “It’s not by my choice, she has a boyfriend.”

“So, if she has a boyfriend, why is she here with you?”

“That’s a really good question, little brother,” I smile at him. “Come on, let’s get Sleeping Beauty upstairs.”

“Salem,” I nudge her gently, trying to wake her up.

“I don’t wanna get up,” she murmurs sleepily. Her eyes are slits from the overhead light that is blinding her.

“I know doll, but I can’t leave you down here in the car.”

“Ehhh,” she whines.

“Come on, I’ll carry you,” I try to squeeze the top half of my body into the back seat.

She hangs her arms around my neck and her body is limp. “You gotta give me a little help here,” I laugh softly into her hair.

After a couple of attempts, I finally get her out of the car. She’s cradled in my arms, and her head is resting heavily on my shoulder.

“God, I hope you live on the first floor,” Jase laughs as he holds open the door for me.

“Try the third.”

“Oh, shit.”

“I’ll be fine, she’s pretty light.” We head up the stairs, and all I can think about is how great it feels just to have her in my arms.

Finally reaching the third floor, I lean up against the wall. “I guess she’s heavier than you thought,” Jase teases.

“I heard that,” Salem mumbles.

“Busted,” I smile back at Jase. “My apartment is the second door on the left. Can you open the door for me?”

Jase hustles down the hall to my door, “It’s locked.”

“Fuck,” I drop my head. Adrian has a fucking girl in there. That’s the only reason why the door is locked. “Bang on it.”

Jase bangs on the door.

“Adrian, open the damn door,” I say loudly, giving it a kick.

We hear laughter and shuffling around inside my apartment. The door swings open, and a scantily clad girl is standing in front of us, leaning on the door jam. My eyes immediately land on her breasts; they’re at least a double D and are popping out of her lacy black bra. My eyes continue down her body, and I notice that her belly button is pierced with a cherry dangling from it. “Come on in, fellas,” she drawls as she saunters away in her black thong.

“You live here?” Jase has a huge grin on his face as he pushes past me, eagerly entering into my apartment

“They’re not staying,” I mutter under my breath as I follow right behind him.

Adrian is resting comfortably on the couch shirtless, with jeans unbuttoned, and he’s clearly not wearing any underwear. I glare at him, “Will you put some clothes on, for Christ’s sake?”

“Aww Sugah, don’t you want to join us? We were just about to have some fun,” a familiar voice purrs from the hallway. I turn my head quickly in that direction and confirm it’s the dark haired vixen from Shikago’s. “You never came back to see me,” she pouts.

“I’ve kinda been busy,” my eyes glance down at Salem, who’s still nestled in my arms.

“That’s a shame. We coulda had a real good time together,” she raises one of her dark, mysterious eyebrows at me then she struts over to Adrian, shaking her ass. She’s wearing another skintight, black catsuit, but this one is shorts, and her ass cheeks are peeking out as she climbs on top of Adrian. She looks over her shoulder and blows me a kiss.

I instantly get hard. Jesus Christ, what I wouldn’t do to get a piece of ass right now. I look down at Salem, who’s still asleep in my arms, and I instantly feel guilty. “I’m going to put her to bed,” I say to Adrian. When I look over, I realize he’s not listening; he’s too busy tongue-wrestling with the girls on the couch.

“I’ll be right back,” I inform Jase, who’s obviously enjoying the soft core porn that’s now taking place in my living room.

“What?” he looks up at me, grinning.

“Never mind,” I exhale loudly, shaking my head. Honestly, I can’t blame him for wanting to watch. I’m sure Adrian can put on quite a show. Through our paper thin walls, I’ve heard girls he’s brought home scream, and they certainly weren’t screaming in pain. More like praying to God Almighty, Himself.

I gently place Salem onto my bed, “Here we go.”

I carefully take off her boots, trying to not to wake her, though I’m not exactly sure how she’s slept through all the commotion that’s going on in my living room. I pull the blankets over her and brush the hair off her face. She looks so peaceful. Her skin is as perfect as a porcelain doll and her complexion is flawless. Gently, I kiss her forehead, then turn off the light and begin to the shut the door as I leave. “Gabriel,” she says softly.

“I’m still here,” I rush to her side. The light from the hallway is casting a faint glow on her. Looking down, I realize she’s still sound asleep.
She dreams about me?

I walk out into the living room expecting to find a full-on orgy taking place. “Where is everyone?” I ask Jase, who’s standing in the kitchen alone.

“Adrian said he’d see you tomorrow. Cat Woman convinced him to go to her place because ‘there are too many people here.’ I tried my best to convince her to stay.”

I laugh, “I’m sure you did.”

“Well, you know,” he says.

“Are you hungry?”

“I’m starving.”

“Why don’t you go take a shower, and I’ll make you dinner?”

His eyes light up, “That sounds great.”

“I’ll show you where the bathroom is and get you some clean clothes.” I walk towards the bathroom with Jase following.

“Thank you, Gabe.”

“Anytime,” I pat him on the back.

As I turn to leave, Jase grabs my arm, “I really do appreciate you bringing me here. You could’ve left me outside of Pablo’s.”

I look him in the eyes. “No, I couldn’t. You’re my little brother. I could never just leave you, and I’ll never leave you again,” I pull him into a hug.

I can feel his body trembling in my arms, and a few quiet sobs escape. “Let it out, Jase.”

“I know I’m a… a… a fuck up,” he stutters, choking back his tears. “Every time I try to get clean, I fail, just like I do with everything else.”

“Shhhh,” I stroke his hair. He still seems so young; it’s like we’re ten and five all over again. “Go shower and when your hair is clean, I’m gonna give you a trim,” I tug on his hair. “You look like a hippie.”

Jase shuts the door behind him, and I ease open my bedroom door. Trying not to disturb Salem, I tiptoe through my room to my dresser. Digging through my drawers, I find a pair of shorts and a T-shirt for Jase to wear. I then search through my underwear drawer looking for the underwear I bought for myself last week.

Quietly closing the bedroom door behind me, I enter into the steam filled bathroom, “You alive in there?”

“Yeah,” he laughs.

“Good, here are some clean clothes and the towels are in the closet.”

“Great, thanks. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

When Jase finally emerges from the bathroom, I’m in full-on cooking mode. I’m making pork chops, rice, and green beans. I have pots and pans scattered all over the place.

“Oh, my God, it smells like heaven out here.”

“Dinner should be ready in another ten to fifteen minutes. I just put the pork in the oven.”

“You’re making pork chops?” he sounds excited.

“Yeah, just like Mami used to make with Sazon and Adobo.”

“I haven’t had those in years.”

“Neither have I, so I figured why the hell not? Let’s give you that haircut,” I glance at his hair.

“Okay, I guess I do need a trim.”

“A trim?” I blurt out. “No son, you need it shaved off.”

Jase begins to laugh. “Yeah, you’re right, I do,” he runs his fingers through it.

“Man that was so good,” Jase yawns, rubbing his stomach.

“I’m glad you liked it,” I smile at his empty plate. I notice how bloated his stomach is from all the food he just consumed.

“Let me show you Adrian’s room, you can sleep in there tonight.”

“No, I can’t do that; the couch is fine,” he protests.

“Bro, you don’t want to sleep on our couch,” I laugh, “Adrian likes to fuck on it.”

He holds up his hand and closes his eyes, “Thanks for the visual.”

“You got a sneak peek earlier, the man has no shame.”

Jase fights off another yawn.

“Yeah, I’m pretty wiped out myself,” I get up from the kitchen table. He follows me out of the kitchen and down the short hallway, until I come to a stop at Adrian’s door. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Gabe, thank…”

“Don’t,” I stop him from speaking, “you don’t have to thank me for anything. I should’ve been there for you. I should’ve tried harder to find you.”

“I know it’s not your fault.”