Page 155 of Gabriel
My upper lip curls just thinking about them.
“So uh …” Cecilia stammers, her voice breaking the silence as we stand on her doorstep.
Without hesitation, I reach out, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. My fingers linger, tracing the curve of her jaw before finding their place on her hip, pulling her closer. Leaning in, I capture her lips in a kiss, silencing whatever words were about to spill from her mouth. She sighs into the kiss, her hands finding purchase on my chest. When her lips part, I resist the urge to deepen the kiss, instead pulling away, keeping it chaste.
Confusion clouds her features, her brows furrowing.
“Don’t overthink shit,” I murmur against her forehead, planting a gentle kiss there. “There’s no reason to make this weird. Let it be what it is.” While I turn it into what it isn’t.
Her cheeks flush, nodding in agreement. “Right. Yeah. Okay.”
God, she’s fucking adorable when she blushes like that. I can’t help but chuckle. “See you tomorrow, Cecilia.”
Not waiting for a response, I climb back onto my bike as she unlocks her front door. She pauses just inside the threshold and looks back at me over her shoulder. Her cheeks are still pink. Yeah, she’s going to go to bed thinking about me. Smiling to myself, I pretend not to notice as I secure the strap on my full-face helmet, waiting just long enough for her to slip safely inside.
I don’t like that I have to drop her off. That I can’t pull her into my side and fall asleep with her lying beside me in my bed. But for now, it’s okay. I’m able to breathe my first real breath since she broke things off.
I’m back in the game. And I’m a hell of a lot closer to getting my girl back. For good.
I take another deep breath, relishing in the contentedness I feel as I head back to the soccer house. I’m not at all surprised when I find all four of my roommates in the living room despite the late hour.
What surprises me more is that they stayed out of the house as long as they did, giving Cecilia and I some much needed privacy, but now that she’s gone and they’re home, did the fuckers really need to wait up for me?
Felix is the first to jump to his feet, leaping over the back of the sofa as soon as I walk through the door. His grin is wide with anticipation. “So?” he prompts eagerly.
I raise a skeptical eyebrow. “So, what?” I’m beat and would much rather catch some Z’s than have whatever conversation he’s hoping for tonight.
Felix groans. “Don’t play dumb, cabrón.”Fucker.“How’d it go? Is she?—”
“She’s fine,” I cut him off, not wanting to discuss the details. The less they know, the better. “We talked. She’s okay now. I took her home.” I can’t say the same for the asshole she was ona date with. That fucker and I are going to have some words. But Cecilia—I grin, thinking about what we did—yeah, she’s good.
Felix waggles his eyebrows suggestively. “And ...?” He eyes me up and down, giving me an expectant look.
“Come on, bro. Don’t leave us hanging,” Atticus chimes in.
“There’s nothing else to tell,” I deflect, hiding the truth behind a facade of nonchalance. “We’re good. But we have an early start tomorrow, remember? So stop pestering me about my personal life and go to bed.”
Keeping our arrangement on the down low is another of her rules, and while I’d like to shout from the rooftops exactly what we did and where we stand, a gentleman is never supposed to kiss and tell.
Scrubbing a hand over my face, I stifle my chuckle. I’d hardly consider myself a gentleman. Not with the ideas swirling around in my head. The things I plan to do the next time I have Cecilia alone in a room.
Fuck. I’m getting hard just thinking about it, which means I need to get the hell out of here and into my room. Maybe rub one out before bed.
“Please tell me you’re kidding?” Felix whines, “You swooped in and saved the fucking day. How do you not get the girl after a knight in shining armor moment like that?”
I shrug, brushing off the question, and notice that Julio still hasn’t moved from his seat on the couch. When my eyes meet his, the look on his face calls me a liar.
So what if I am?
Julio doesn’t want me with Cecilia, anyway, and it’s not like I need his sour mood bringing me down.
“It’s fine. We’re cool now. Stop harassing me about my love life and go to bed. I’m not going to go easy on any of you fuckers in the gym tomorrow. You know J won’t either,” I say, dipping my head toward the broody fucker.
Felix grumbles but makes his way upstairs, Atticus following close behind him.
Julio is slower to get up, and right before he passes me, he stops.
I know he has something to say, and I already know I’m not going to like whatever it is.
