Page 123 of The Path to Loving Him
Aubree juts out a hip in annoyance. “No, I like her for you.”
“Can we not, please? You made me invite her. I did it to be nice, but please don’t start with this shit, okay?”
“But . . . her friend Bower was telling us how you’ve been taking care of her . . . carrying her upstairs to her apartment?”
“You carried her?” Abel asks. “You didn’t tell us that.”
I tug on the brim of my hat. “She could barely walk, so what the hell was I supposed to do, just watch her suffer?”
“She was wearing his shirt this morning,” Aubree whispers.
Hayes and Abel turn to me with a raised brow.
“She was wearing your shirt?” Hayes asks.
“Did you swap? Did you wear hers last night?”
Hayes and Aubree laugh. “God, I’d love to see that,” Hayes says.
“Does that mean you spent the night together?” Aubree presses.
“No,” I answer.
“How did she end up in your shirt?” Abel asks. “Did she fall into it?”
“Did she just so happen to trip, tumble, and stumble into one of your unpacked boxes and come out wearing your shirt?” Aubree asks.
I look up at all of them. Their gleeful faces are really fucking annoying. “You know, I don’t need this.” And with that, I walk right past them toward . . . hell, right toward Gabby.
The three of them chuckle behind me, but I ignore them. Instead, I focus on Gabby while my mind thinks about her in my shirt last night and how I loved seeing her in it.
How I loved seeing her in it this morning.
And seeing her in it this afternoon.
When Gabby spots me approaching, she smiles sweetly. “Thank you for inviting us. The hot dogs were amazing.”
“Yes, thank you,” Bower says. “And the pasta salad was the best I’ve ever had.”
“That would be me,” Hattie says with the raise of her hand. “I’m not very good at cooking. I’m better at baking actually, but I can make a mean pasta salad.”
“Delicious. Actually, maybe you can describe the way you made it to me right over there,” Bower says, not sounding coy at all.
It takes Hattie a second, but she nods and smiles. “Yes, I’d love to tell you all about it right over there.”
Together, they take off, and I just shake my head and take a seat next to Gabby. “Do you need anything else? Want another hot dog? Another drink? Maybe a new friend? Because I’m looking for some new family members.”
“I’m good,” she says with a laugh, patting her stomach. “Seriously full over here.”
“You sure? Not even room for dessert?” I tease.
“What kind of dessert are we talking about?”
I smirk. “Gummy worms. It’s all I have.”
“Hmm, shame.”
I look back at our group of friends staring at us, but when they see me stare back, they turn their attention away. “They’re irritating.”
