A Bridge of Her Own (22 page)

Even though the movie was still on, she couldn’t hear a word. Everything got very still as one corner of Gabe’s mouth curled up just before he brought his lips to hers. To say the kiss was intense would be putting it lightly. She put her arms around his neck and he pulled her into his lap. He held her tightly as he moved his lips from her mouth to her neck. At this, Baby jumped on the ottoman and began barking excitedly at them.

Jane giggled, and Gabe buried his face in her neck.

“You suck, dog,” he mumbled as Jane scooted off his lap and straightened her dress, blushing.

He rubbed his hand over his face and said, “Come on, Baby. Time to go outside." He was back in no time and sliding in next to her. “Where were we?”

Any hope for concentrating on the movie was over.

“Your hair smells so good,” Gabe said, nuzzling his nose behind her ear. “Like coconut."

She was super ticklish there, and Gabe grinned at having found a weakness. He kissed her again. He tasted like sweet tea and popcorn, which was a surprisingly yummy combo. His hands were on her back
,  and she felt herself pressing into him. Her mind was racing between tearing off all of his clothes and not wanting to seem over eager, but to be honest, all of this kissing and body contact was really turning her on.

He had to be feeling the same way, she thought. She wondered if he would make the next move.

A loud rattling noise came from the back door.

“Sorry,” Gabe said, coming up for air. “That’s Baby wanting to come back inside. If I don’t get her soon, she is liable to break the screen door.
Again.”

He detangled himself from her and headed towards the kitchen. Jane took advantage of the breather to use the very pink bathroom. Luckily, her makeup hadn’t rubbed all off. She applied some chap stick and headed back to the living room.

Gabe was turning the movie off, and when she entered the room, said, “So I’m thinking we should turn this lunch date into a dinner date. That is, if you can stand my company much longer?”

“I’d like that,” Jane replied.

“Well, the kitchen is not up for cooking yet so we can go out or maybe…order in.”

There was some definite inflection on the word “in.”

“I think we should order in,” Jane said, feeling bold and locking eyes with him.

He didn’t break eye contact with her as he slowly walked over to her. He took her hands in his and leaned her against the wall. When he kissed her, she felt her toes curl.

“You are so beautiful,” he whispered into her ear, then playfully nipped it.

She seriously felt like her knees might buckle. She let go of his hands and wrapped her arms around his neck. His body molded to hers.

“Whew,” he said taking a step back. “You should come with a warning label."

He turned, and holding her hand, sat her down at one end of the sofa and jokingly sat himself at the other.

“Jane, I am really into you,” he began. “And I really don’t want to mess this up. Part of me wants to blow all caution to the wind, but I don’t want to rush you. What are you feeling?”

Jane moved to sit next to him, and taking his hand in hers said, “I really like you."

She nestled into him, and they sat there for a few moments, feeling the weight of their words, both spoken and unspoken.

“Alright,” Gabe said. “Let’s talk more about ourselves. Likes and dislikes." They ordered some Chinese delivery and talked for hours.
Favorite books, movies, and colors. You name it. They both liked comedies; Jane preferred the romantic ones to the gross humor ones. Gabe also loved action movies. Jane liked those, too, but mainly the super hero ones versus really suspenseful ones.

Blue was both of their favorite colors. Jane’s favorite season was spring and Gabe’s summer because of the break. They talked about their families and any travelling they had done.

Gabe still had living grandparents on his mother’s side. They lived not far from where Gabe’s parents wintered in Florida. Jane had all four of her grandparents still living. Her dad’s parents lived in Ohio, and her mother’s parents lived in Virginia. He was still very close with his grandparents, travelling down to see them most summers. This one he had not because he was working on his house.

Jane wasn’t as close to her grandparents. She saw her maternal grandparents more often than her paternal ones simply due to distance. He spoke more about his brother and sister-in-law and their kids. It was clear how important family was to him. Jane told him about her dad, and how out of everyone, she never felt pressure from him, not like she got from her mother.

Gabe was pretty athletic. He enjoyed most summer sports. Loved being in the water, whether it was jet skis, kayaking, surfing, or boating. He loved the ocean or any lake. He was not particular. He was not crazy about winter sports, preferring to be inside where it was warm. Jane was not as athletic. She liked to go for walks and go to the beach, but she had never done anything other than swim.

She loved to read while he sheepishly admitted he had not read for pleasure in a really long time. They went on to describe what their perfect day or evening would look like. Gabe’s would be a barbeque at the beach with a group of his favorite people. Jane’s dream day would have her handling her favorite pieces of art. Her eyes sparkled as she talked about being able to run her fingers over their brush strokes. Bummer was, even if she was able to handle these pieces, she would never in a million years touch one for fear of damaging it. Gabe laughed out loud at that, imagining the look on her face if she was ever in that position.

It was so late now that it was morning. They had talked almost all night. Jane just didn’t want to leave. They stretched out side by side on Gabe’s comfy sectional. Gabe playfully kissed her chin, and feeling a second wind, she kissed him back more forcefully. Gabe pulled his head back to look at her in question. She nodded, pulling him towards her. Realizing the direction they were headed, Gabe led her to his room.

Closing the door behind them, he said, “Are you sure?”

She had never been more sure of anything, and she lay down on his bed and reached her hand out to him. He placed his hand in hers, and she pulled him onto her. Covering her, kissing her with his hands in her hair, Gabe only pulled back when he realized Jane was trying to pull his shirt off. Sitting up, he pulled it off and threw it somewhere. Jane kicked off her boots and socks off, laughing.

Searching her eyes for approval, Gabe lifted the hem of her dress. She raised her arms over her head as he slid it off of her. Her hands moved to her waist to take off her leggings. Gabe stopped her, easing her back down onto his pillows. He started kissing the skin exposed from the top of her bra and then moved down, kissing her stomach as he slowly dragged the material down her legs and continued kissing her skin as it became visible.

She felt like she was going to explode. She wanted him so bad. She sat up, reaching around him to tug on his belt in an effort to loosen it. Gabe groaned and slid off of the bed. He kicked his shoes off and removed his pants and socks. He left his boxer briefs on and lay back on the bed, facing her and pulling her into his arms. Jane could not stop touching him, pulling him against her body and kissing him.

Gabe explored each inch of her as it was uncovered. He was so thoughtful and gentle, stopping to ask her if everything felt all right multiple times. His body was beautiful, she thought, running her hands over his chest and back. He was only the second person she had ever been with.

Afterward, lying in his arms, his lips on her forehead, he said, “I am in so much trouble with you."

At that, she pushed into him, and they started all over again.

Chapter 27

Waking up in Gabe’s arms was one of the most peaceful moments Jane could ever remember. He started stirring and tightened his grip around her.

“Morning, beautiful,” he said with one eye open, giving her a kiss on the neck. “So what are we going to do today? And please say it will not include clothes?” She giggled and then sat up quickly pulling the sheets with her.

“What time is it?” Jane asked, panicked.

“Um, like elevenish,” Gabe said, checking his watch.

“I am so sorry. I have to meet my mom for lunch,” she said, throwing her clothes on. “I can’t be late."

"That’s cool,” Gabe said, pulling on some pants. “Do you want me to make you some coffee?”

“I am so sorry for running out of here like this. I just have to get home and showered,” Jane said, leaning over and giving him a quick kiss and then grabbing her purse. She headed for the door.

“Can you tell me when I’m going to see you again before I get a complex?” Gabe joked.

They agreed on seeing a movie they had both talked about earlier the next night. Jane would call him after her lunch to work out the details. She waved through her window as she pulled away. She daydreamed about her night with Gabe the whole ride home. She had never experienced anything that good during her entire relationship with Wyatt.

Why couldn’t she just email everyone and tell them the truth? That she didn’t want to go and that she didn’t even want to be friends with Wyatt. As much as she wanted to, she did not want to disappoint her mother. Still, she would have to figure out some way for Wyatt to focus his attention elsewhere. She flew into the apartment and slammed the door behind her with a bang.

“Lacey!” she called out as she ran into the bathroom.

“Coming home in the clothes you left in yesterday. I knew you had it in you.” Lacey laughed as she walked into the bathroom.

Jane had already jumped into the shower, so Lacey peppered her with questions as she sat in the sink counter. Turning the shower off and grabbing a towel, Jane went to her room with Lacey trailing behind her.

“I have no idea what to wear,” she moaned.

Lacey picked out some tailored gray slacks and a green twinset. Jane, not up for arguing, got dressed while Lacey poured her a cup of coffee. Jane let her hair air dry and threw on the bare minimum of makeup she could get away with and ran out the door. Lacey shook her head as Jane headed to the restaurant. She got there only a moment behind everyone else. It was a beautiful place in the heart of downtown. It had a huge picture window that overlooked the sidewalk. They were seated right in front of it.

Wyatt’s mother sat on one side of Jane and Wyatt on the other, Jane's mother sat on the other side on the table, facing her. When they sat down, Mrs. Huntington took Jane’s hand in her own and told her how devastated she was when the two of them had broken up. Jane almost laughed out loud. Yeah right, she thought. Wyatt’s mom was now her biggest fan. How things had changed.

They ordered their food. As they waited, Jane watched people walking up and down the street. Once their food arrived, she ate quickly. Maybe too quickly, she thought, as she had nothing to keep her busy while she watched them eat. She excused herself and went to the ladies’ room.

She would have stayed in there, but it probably would have upset her mother. When she got back to the table, she was relieved to see the dishes had been cleared. Then dismayed to learn they had ordered desserts. Wyatt boasted that he had ordered the light sorbet for her.

Great, she thought, now wishing for a trough of chocolate pudding instead. When their desserts came, she did her best to enjoy the sorbet. It was a bit chilly for a frozen dessert, she thought. Wyatt seemed to have dropped something because he was now kneeling next to her. She lifted the tablecloth and peered under it.

He took her hand in his and pulled at a small velvet jewelry box. She felt as though she was watching a slow motion horror movie. She both felt his hand on her hand but also felt as though her hand was not even attached to her body. She didn’t even feel as though she could even hear what he was saying. What she heard was air rushing.

Why couldn’t she speak? Why couldn’t she shake her head no? She watched in horror as he slipped the ring on to her ring finger. Movement on the other side of the picture window caught her attention. She looked up to see Gabe staring open-mouthed at her. She brought her hand up to cover her mouth.

Her left hand. Which was now sporting a giant rock on her ring finger. He shook his head and walked away, only to look back at her a few steps away then continue on his way. Why was he there? This is not happening, this is not happening, she kept repeating in her head.

“Jane, darling, say something,” her mother said, coming over to her.

“Uh,” was all she could muster. She frantically looked back to where Gabe just was and then back to her mother. She stood, and Wyatt enveloped her in a tight embrace. All around her, the other patrons were smiling and clapping for them. With what everyone in the restaurant assumed were tears of joy streaming down her face.

“Jane, really?”
Wyatt admonished handing her a napkin to dry her eyes. “Don’t make a spectacle."

She
pursed her lips and nodded. On demand, she held her hand out to both her mother and Wyatt’s mother. When lunch was finished, Wyatt walked her to her car, letting her know the engagement announcement would run in next Sunday’s paper. Also, that they would need to set aside time to arrange for her things to be moved to the home he had just purchased. He said he would swing by her place tonight, and grinning, patted her on the backside.