AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Henna: Shit. I’m so sorry. I’m calling him right now.
I switch back to Sam’s message.
Me: We should plan dinner next week and I’ll fill you in.
Sam: Fine, but I’m still mad at you.
I shake my head, firing off another response.
Me: Yeah. Yeah. Love you.
Sam: Love you too.
I drop my phone, running my hands through my hair. Freaking Henna. I knew she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. Especially when she’s dating the brother of the man I’m currently hooking up with.
My mind wanders to Abel and a nervous knot forms in the pit of my stomach. Does he know that Aaron knows? That now Sam and Andrew know too?
I consider sending him a message but decide against it. If he doesn’t know yet, I certainly don’t want to be the one to tell him.
Then again, I can’t really see him caring that much. At least I hope he won’t. After all, he did introduce himself as my boyfriend to my boss of all people.
In a way I think maybe John was right. Maybe him doing that was a show of claim so that John wouldn’t try anything with me on our trip. Not that he would have, anyway. He’s proven to me over and over again that he’s not that kind of guy.
But if Abel felt compelled to do that than obviously he cares enough to not want me hooking up with other guys. It’s not something we ever discussed. I guess I just never saw a need for it. I just assumed...
Another thought hits me with force, nearly knocking me off balance. What if he’s hooking up with other girls? What if he has been this whole time?
“Stop being stupid, Peyton,” I say aloud as I gather my toiletries. When would he even have time to hook up with someone else if he wanted to? Every night he’s either with me or he’s working. So unless he’s hopping around doing daytime bootie calls, I can’t see this being a thing.
My phone pings again right as I enter the bathroom. Dropping my shampoo and body wash on the vanity, I head back toward the bed to grab it.
A rush of warmth spreads through me at the message staring back at me.
Abel: I miss you.
I clutch the phone to my chest, letting the happiness I feel spread over me like a warm blanket on a cold night.
He misses me...
I let out the most girly squeal. The kind you reserve for when you’re alone and there’s no one around to judge you. The sound echoes off the walls back to me and it only makes me smile wider.
I can’t help it. That’s what Abel does to me. He takes me from uneasy and questioning everything, to so insanely happy I can barely contain myself, all in the matter of one sentence.
I miss you.
It’s such a small thing, missing someone. But to me it feels enormous. It feels like the clouds have parted and the skies are opening up, showing me a clear path to the man I now know I am undeniably in love with.
Me: I miss you too.
I have to resist the urge to type out an additional message professing my love for him right here and now.
It feels too soon, feeling about him the way I do. And yet it feels like I’ve loved him my entire life, if that makes any sense.
I’ve always been a “think with my head and not my heart” kind of girl. I weigh the options. Not just with how I feel, but with the logistics of making an actual relationship work long term with said person.
But with Abel it’s different. With Abel I care more about just being with him. Maybe that’s how it should be. Maybe that’s why I haven’t had much success in the relationship department.
All I know is that every single thing I’ve taught myself over the years – the dos and don’ts when it comes to men – all of it went out the window the instant Abel kissed me.
