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She grabs the drink out of the bathroom that I made her while she got ready and takes a long sip. “Can I have one more before I go? Sounds like I’m going to need it.”
I pull up to the bar that she’s meeting her friends at and I’m grateful that I don’t see a super long line because it’s freezing and I don’t want her waiting in the cold. “Gabby, are they here?”
She nods. “Yep, Harp is already inside. She said she would come out and get me when I got here.”
“Okay, have her come out now. I’m not leaving until I know you’re with her.” I’ll admit I’m a little apprehensive; Gabrielle doesn’t go out much and I don’t know that I trust Harper not to ditch her if a guy catches her attention. She is seeing someone though, maybe that won’t be an issue. I always worried about Gabrielle when she went out, even before we were in this new relationship. I worried about someone taking advantage of her innocence or her kindness. I worried about her getting separated from her friends and getting home safe on her own. It’s why I always kept my phone near me when I knew she was out. I knew if she was ever in trouble, she’d call me and I never wanted to let her down. I always wanted to be there for her when she needed me, and nothing about that has changed.
A mass of blonde curls bangs on my window breaking me of my thoughts and I see Harper bouncing up and down and waving. “Hey, girl, hey!” She waves as Gabrielle gets out of the car. We’d already kissed goodbye three streets ago, and although I’m tempted to grab her by her neck and kiss her senseless, I settle for a smile and a squeeze of her thigh.
“Call me if you need me,” I tell her as she opens her door.
“Always,” she says before she gets out of the car. I watch as she heads inside with Harper behind her and after no less than a minute my phone beeps with a text message.
Gabrielle: I love you.
I smile at her words and rub my finger over the screen, wishing like hell that she were in front of me.
Me: I love you too. Be safe.
I’m at the bar a few doors down when a figure drops down next to me and slams his hand down on the bar. “Two shots of tequila por favor,” Isaac says as he takes the barstool next to me. “I was not trying to come out tonight; you’re lucky I live down the street.” He runs a hand through his hair and looks up at the television at the football game. “The Giants are losing now? Oh, what the fuck. They were winning when I left my apartment.” He pulls off his coat and sits down next to me. “So, what are you doing here by yourself anyway?”
Isaac is my closest friend in New York so I’m mulling over the idea of telling him what’s going on with Gabrielle. I hold the shot in my hand and down it. “I had to drop Gabrielle off somewhere and just wanted to stop and get a drink before I headed back home. Figured you may be around.”
“Oh shit, you should have just come over then. You waiting to pick her up? I swear you’re so much nicer to her than I am to my sister.” He chuckles and I cringe at his comment wondering how I’m going to explain how different my relationship with Gabrielle is compared to him and his sister.
“Uh…maybe, but probably not,” I lie, knowing damn well I’m not leaving this street without her with me. “It just depends on how late she wants to stay out.” I scroll through my feed and notice that Harper already has a new story posted since the last time I looked at it four minutes ago. I tap it and see Harper and Gabrielle taking a shot followed by Gabrielle shaking her hips for the camera. I grit my teeth trying to temper the sting of the ache in my dick watching her when Isaac chuckles.
“Your sister is a smoke show, I swear. Who’s blondie though? She’s hot as fuck.” I set my phone down and let out a sigh trying to ignore his comment about Gabrielle as I wonder if this could be a reason to go and see my girl.
“Her roommate.” I shoot him a look with a grin. “She’s seeing someone but…I mean I don’t know how serious it is. If you want to meet her, we can go over there.”
“I wouldn’t be opposed.” He laughs and downs the shot that was placed in front of him.
I take the shot and then a deep breath. “So, if we go over there, there’s probably something you should know.”
His eyes don’t leave the television. “Oh yeah? What’s that?”
“Isaac, this is serious,” I tell him and his eyes finally pull away from the television and land on me.
He slaps the bar in front of him. “Oh, we need more shots?”
“Maybe.”
He waves over the bartender and orders another round before turning back to me. “Okay, what’s up?” he says and I let out a breath. If I was asking Gabrielle to tell Harper tonight, I should be able to tell Isaac.
“It’s an awkward thing to say and I have no idea how to put it so I’ll just spit it out…” I let out a breath. “Gabrielle and I have been exploring a new type of relationship.” I rub a hand over my mouth. I sound like a fucking girl. “We’re sleeping together.”
He narrows his eyes in confusion. “Like…your sister?”
“Adopted sister.”
“Didn’t your folks adopt her when she was like a baby?”
“She was two,” I grunt out. Shame slithers through me as I think about how this must appear to someone on the outside. Especially given how it looked to someone on the inside like Monica. “I know how it looks and sounds and fuck…” I let out a breath as I’m talking to the first person I’ve had to talk to about this besides our sister.
Isaac’s eyes widen before he waves down the bartender and points at the two shots in front of us. “So how did this start exactly?” It’s hard to gauge his reaction and I’m trying my best not to get defensive, knowing that this is a long road of uncomfortable conversations and I need to be able to keep my temper in check. People are going to have opinions and there’s a good chance that most of them will be negative.
“Right before Christmas.”
