AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What?” he laughed, focusing on the game.
If I owed him a favor, it could be anything, and with Gabriel, he was too unpredictable. Cheating was going to be the only way to win.
I started nudging his arm with my elbow. He nudged back but kept ahead of me in the game. I moved from nudging to poking him in the ribs.
He laughed, letting go of the controller for a second to swat at my hands. When I kept poking, he caught my hand in his, causing both our cars to stop.
He held on to me, grinning. “What-the-fuck-ever. Who do you think I am? Victor? That little shit doesn’t work on me.”
He was challenging me to cheat better! I narrowed my eyes at him and pulled my hand back to start my car again, racing around his stalled car.
He caught up with me, too, but kept glancing over at me. I had a feeling he was waiting for my next move.
Using my hands wasn’t working. Letting go of the controller meant I had to stop racing. I wasn’t going to win that way. I tried to pretend I was focusing on the race, but at the same time, I slipped my sandals off my feet as if I didn’t want them.
When he managed to sideswipe my car to send it into a spin, I kicked at his controller until it was knocked out of his hands and fell to the floor.
“Fuck,” he said, and pushed at me hard enough that I landed on my side on the carpet as he scrambled for his controller.
I laughed, leaning over while propped up on my elbows. I toe-nudged him in the side and on his arm. When I was sprawled out on the floor, he could only reach my legs. Maybe sitting on the other side of the room was the way to win.
At first he tried resisting, but my nudging at him and being able to play at the same time meant I could get ahead of him. Soon I was zooming down the road, well out of his reach.
“Shit,” he grumbled, pushing my foot away. “Stop.”
“Nu uh,” I said. I poked him in the side with my toe as I aimed my car to collect speed bonuses before he could get there.
He lifted a hand up, bringing it down on my thigh with a slap. Even through the material of the jeans, it stung. “Trouble,” he called to me. “Watch it.”
“Now who’s cheating?” I said and stopped poking because I was already ahead.
“That’s not cheating,” he said.
“Oh?”
He laughed and reached a hand out, snatching my ankle and trapping me. I stretched out my controller away as far as I could so he couldn’t get to it as he held onto me. He crawled over me, positioning himself to sit on my hips and poked me in the stomach.
I squealed, slapping at his hands and wriggling under him. “No! I’ve almost won.”
“Not yet you haven’t,” he said, and he let go of his controller. He hooked his fingers at the hem of my shirt, and pulled it up just enough so he could trace his fingertips over my bare sides.
My lips split apart with a burst of giggles. I dropped the controller and then grabbed at his hands, hanging on. “No tickling!”
Gabriel’s crystal eyes lit up. He snatched up both of my wrists and hovered over me to pin them to the floor above my head. With his free hand, he traced my side. “What? Big, brave Sang Sorenson can’t stand her own tricks?”
I laughed until tears teased my eyelids. I wriggled hard against him. The cars in the game stilled. If he wasn’t going to win, neither of us was. “Stop,” I cried out. “I can’t breathe.”
He beamed then stopped tickling me but placed a palm against my bare side. When my laughing subsided, his face hovered inches from mine. His eyes traced over my face. My heart tripped over itself, and I struggled to breathe evenly.
“Gabriel,” I said softly. My mind was mush from laughing so hard and overwhelmed with him on top of me.
His smile warmed. “Sang.”
Was this too close now? I’d previously told Silas I’d be his girlfriend. Mr. Blackbourne said to get close to the others. How close would upset Silas? Did that mean I had to tell Gabriel to back off? I wished Silas had said something to the others to make it clear. If I wasn’t sure, they would know. My tongue glued to the top of my mouth. I was worried that telling Gabriel about Silas would hurt his feelings. I really liked Gabriel, too.
Gabriel leaned his head down, his lips found my ear. “You can’t look at me like that,” he said softly.
“Like what?” This had to be too close. He was kissing my ear. Silas wouldn’t like it. But then, Nathan kissed me, too, and I’d kissed North as well. Gabriel had once kissed my neck, but since then, he’d only kissed my cheek and now I was Silas’s girlfriend. Didn’t that make a difference? The conflicts inside me surfaced any time one of them got close or kissed me. I tried to let them guide the way, but it was hard not to consider their feelings.
“Looking all beautiful and terrified at the same time,” he whispered, his warm breath on my skin giving me goosebumps. His hands tightened around my wrists as he kept me pinned. His lips touched my lobe. “It’s those eyes. They drive me crazy.”
“Gabriel, I...”
“Trouble,” he whispered, his lips meeting my ear again. “Tell me to stop.”
I sucked in a breath, my spine tingling. Did he mean it? Why was he telling me to say no?
Why wasn’t I telling him?
He pulled back. His crystal eyes met mine. His hand at my side started gripping my hip. “Please,” he begged in a whisper.
I didn’t understand what he meant. He was begging me to tell him to stop? If he wanted to stop, he didn’t need me to tell him.
“Sang,” he said. His head dropped down, his lips met my cheek, kissing it. “You’re too good for me. You shouldn’t be here.” His lips traced across my cheek and he kissed my temple. “I can’t stop thinking about you.”
I sucked in a deep breath. My eyes flittered to the ceiling, to the water stain in the corner. I had to tell him about Silas. This was too much. It’d be wrong to both him and Silas and they’d both be mad at me forever.
His kisses trailed over my cheek. I parted my lips to say something.
A woman’s voice shot through the silence. “Gabriel Joseph fucking Coleman! What the hell are you doing?”
Gabriel jumped, letting go of my wrists and backing up until he was sitting on top of my hips again, looking behind him. I propped myself up on my elbows.
A tall woman with bleached hair stood, staring at us from the kitchen. She wore tight shorts that barely covered her butt and a wrinkled halter-top that showed off her stomach. Her fingers were manicured with bold bright red polish. She was barefoot, bleary-eyed and shooting angry darts from her eyes at Gabriel. Then she turned to me and her eyes widened. “Holy shit. It’s a girl.” She dropped a hand over her heart, backing up a step.
Gabriel scrambled to his feet. “You scared the shit out of me, Pam.”
“I scared you? How do you think I feel? I walk in and you’ve got someone pinned to the floor like you’re gonna rape him.” She laughed, her eyes brightening. “Her. Sorry, sugar. All I saw were your feet.”
My cheeks were on fire. I stood up so I could better hide behind Gabriel. Amid my embarrassment and the chaos, I had a sudden lapse of memory. Who was this woman? His mother? They didn’t look much alike.
Then I remembered his mother was dead. This must be his stepmom.
“I wasn’t doing anything to her,” Gabriel said flatly.
“Is that why you had to pin her wrists to the floor? Haven’t I taught you better on how to treat a lady? You can’t hold them against their will.” She turned to me, her lips broadening her smile. “I didn’t mean to scare you. Really. I thought... well...don’t mind me.” She stepped closer, her eyes raking over my body. “But I can see why he did. Holy shit.” She looked me in the face again. “You are a girl, right? God, please say yes.”
“I am,” I said quietly. I hovered a finger over my lip, unsure of what to say.
“Pam, this is Sang Sorenson. Sang, this is my stepmom, Pam. And yes, she’s a fucking girl.”
“Thank the lord,” s
he said, and she stepped around Gabriel and wrapped her arms around my shoulders, pulling me into a hug. “Thank you, thank you.” She smelled heavily of cigarettes and perfume that got caught in my throat, but her hug felt genuine.
“Jesus H. Christ,” Gabriel breathed out, pressing a hand to his forehead.
Pam let go of me, spun around and landed a palm against his cheek. “Don’t you go taking the lord’s name in vain.”
I sucked in a quick breath and froze. Was he hurt? Did I need to call Mr. Blackbourne? What do I do? A flash of memory came through me of Nathan getting hit by his dad. I readied myself to tell him to run for it.
Gabriel reeled back and cupped his cheek. “Fucking shit, woman, stop hitting me.”
“Watch your backtalk,’ she said, waving a finger at his face. “And you can’t go sitting on top of her like that. You sit her nice on the couch. You don’t wrestle her into submission.”
“We were just playing a video game.”
“You don’t play games sitting on top of her.”
Gabriel shifted around Pam, grabbing my wrist. “We were done anyway.” He tugged me to have me follow across the living room. “Come on, Sang. Let’s get out of the way.”
“Sang, you make him buy you dinner first, ya hear?” she called out. “Make him treat you like a lady.” She headed toward the fridge, opening it and staring into the light.
