Authors: Dawn Pendleton
4
Wolfe
When she showed up at the bar, a vision all in black, I nearly fell out of the booth. Luke and Mallory laughed at my ridiculous behavior but finally quieted down when I sent them a chilling look, although Luke continued to chuckle silently as I approached Gabby at the bar. She was dressed to kill, the hem of her short dress barely covering her ass. If she bent over, she’d be showing the world her business, which only made me more possessive than I wanted to be.
And when I left the bar, I was desperate for a deep breath because I’d been holding mine while she sat next to me, all but rubbing me in her quest for attention. I understood why she did it, but I wasn’t about to fall prey to her ploy. All she wanted was to forget that we buried Rainey, and in the cab, I knew exactly how.
“One night of sexual bliss, and then we can go back to hating each other …”
The words cut straight to my heart.
Does she really think I hate her?
I tried to ignore the
sexual bliss
statement as much as I could when I replied to her.
She looked surprised when I told her I didn’t hate her, which led me to believe she hadn’t meant to say it aloud. Another confirmation that she was drunk and possibly had a concussion. It didn’t matter that her words had me hard as a rock or that I wanted nothing more than to lose myself in her sweetness; I refused to give in tonight. I wanted her, of course, but I wasn’t going to let her get away with it tonight. When we got back together, she needed to be sober. So as much as it hurt, when the cab stopped in front of her house, I asked him to wait while I got her into bed and promised to return in ten minutes.
When Gabby stumbled for the third time, I lost my patience and lifted her up in my arms, surprising her. Her arms flew around my neck and then she seemed to realize she was safe, so she relaxed against my chest, her right hand resting on my neck. Her fingers danced over my throat, so softly I almost couldn’t feel it. And then she leaned in and pressed her lips to my stubbly skin.
I wanted to stop her, but I was too busy getting turned on. When we were actually together, she knew exactly how to push my buttons, and it was nice to know she hadn’t lost her touch. She sucked on my neck, hard. With a deep breath, I managed to maintain my resolve to leave her alone tonight. She was going to have to come to me when she wasn’t intoxicated.
I got the front door open and it swung wide, revealing traces of the flowers she destroyed. Although it crushed my heart, the scent was so appealing, I smiled. It smelled even better than when I left the flowers in there earlier in the day. It was like her destruction created the sweetest potpourri that ever existed. I walked into the foyer, my boots crunching over the flower petals and stems. I looked down at Gabby, who stared at me, her eyes ablaze. She wanted me, I was sure, and I wanted nothing more than to get her in bed, moaning underneath me, but I reigned in my desire.
Soon
, I promised myself. She wouldn’t be able to keep up this front for much longer. I headed for the stairs, my footsteps loud as they hit the hardwood of the steps. When I reached the second floor, I turned to the master bedroom. I didn’t turn on the lights, as the streetlamp just outside lit up the room, making it clear Gabby hadn’t been staying in here. When I was in the house that day, I never went upstairs, since my attentions were focused on the flowers on the first floor.
Gabby was peacefully asleep in my arms already, which made me surer of my decision to not pursue anything tonight. She needed to come to terms with everything first, and that meant she needed to sober up and figure things out herself. I pulled back the covers and gently laid her down. Her big blue eyes fluttered open.
“Wolfe?”
“I’m right here, baby,” I smiled at myself, still using my pet name for her after all this time.
“Will you stay with me? I don’t want to be alone,” she whispered, like it was a secret she didn’t want anyone to know.
“I can’t, Gabby. You know that,” I replied.
Her eyes closed, her expression turning painful. “I hate sleeping in this bed alone. I miss you.”
Her words struck like a knife to my heart and I almost caved. Climbing into bed with her would be easy, natural. A short beep from the cab driver reminded me he was waiting for me and brought me back to reality. I wouldn’t sleep with Gabby tonight.
Unable to resist, I sat on the bed next to her and brushed her hair away from her face. Her eyes opened again and she smiled at me, the first time in a long time that she wasn’t scowling at me. She didn’t speak, just stared at me, her eyes wide. When she licked her lips, I threw caution to the wind, lowering my head to hers.
I meant it to be a sweet, loving kiss, but when our lips touched, every synapse in my whole body lit on fire, desperate for more of her. Her sweet moan and the way she opened her mouth to me without any resistance at all didn’t help matters. My tongue dipped into her mouth, the sensation like coming home. She was sweet and pliable and tasted like cherries, and I never wanted to leave.
Her hands wrapped around my waist, her nails digging into my back so deep I felt it through my light jacket. Her hair was wet now, the snow having melted, but as I ran my fingers through it, the tresses cooled my heated skin. With both hands, I picked up her head up off the pillow, pulling her closer against me, her breasts crushed against my chest. She moaned again and broke the intense kiss, her head thrown back in near ecstasy.
I took advantage, my lips pressing to her throat, holding her there while I suckled the sensitive skin just below her jawline. She arched into me, her nails digging deeper. I ran my tongue along her jaw, up to her lips, and thrust into her mouth again. When she sucked on my tongue, I knew it was time to stop.
My decision was confirmed when a second beep came from the cab outside. I set her head on the pillow gently and gave her one last sweet kiss, one I hoped she would remember when she woke up.
“Goodnight, Gabby,” I whispered.
“Goodnight, Wolfe,” she returned, her voice already starting to fade into sleep.
I left the house, hopped back in the cab, and directed him to the place I was renting. After I paid him a generous tip, I slowly made my way to my front porch. Just before I reach the steps, though, I turned my gaze up to the sky, where the snow was beginning to thicken. I pulled my jacket tighter around me, though my chill wasn’t from the cold.
Doubt crept into my head, making me second guess my decision to kiss my wife. She might feel like I took advantage, even though she was all over me. It wasn’t like I could say that to her; she’d be horrified by her own behavior, but that was only if she didn’t remember it in the morning.
With snowflakes already covering the ground, I walked into the house I’d been calling home for the past year. It was cold and forbearing, too big and lonely for me. I went to the large woodstove in the center of the living room and began the tedious task of starting a fire.
Days like this reminded me why I loved Florida. My parents had been seasonal people, living in Maine during the summers and always moving us back to Florida in the fall. That was how I met Gabby; she was working at the local ice cream parlor in Casper when I was twenty-one. She was only seventeen that summer, but I knew she was it for me. I was so unhappy in Florida, but the day I met her, everything changed. I transferred to the University of Maine and within two weeks, we were dating, her an untried freshman and me an experienced senior at the same school.
Less than four months later, she turned eighteen and agreed to marry me, something I never thought I’d want during college. But that was it. She was the one. We had a small ceremony on Christmas Day, something I wish we could change, since the holiday would be ruined for me if our divorce went through. I was hoping it wouldn’t, but even I knew I had to be realistic. There was a good chance she was going to go through with it, and I was going to be left alone forever.
Most people would be able to move on, but not me. I couldn’t get over her. Luke had tried to tell me that time would heal my broken heart and I would eventually move on. I countered with a question about him and Mallory, and how he never truly moved on. And in that moment, he got it. He completely understood the pain, the agony that flowed in my veins every day that I was apart from her. He lived that pain himself with Mallory. We had been best friends ever since.
With the fire roaring, I took off my jacket and boots by the front door and then grabbed the cloth sweeper to dry up the melting bits of snow. Once the wood was dry, I sat back on my haunches, warming myself in front of the blazing fire. The warmth it emitted was welcome, despite my mood. Thoughts of Gabby had me feeling sorry for myself, like she was further away than ever. I tried my best to make her feel something,
anything,
for me today, but I failed. I needed to step it up.
With that thought, I went over to my favorite chair, the one Gabby had bought as a wedding and Christmas present our second year together. It was worn and faded, but so comfortable. I reclined back, staring at the glow of orange flames through the wood stove window, and then I finally drifted into sleep.
* * * * *
The next morning, the air inside the house was brisk. The fire had long since died out and I slept like the dead. Dreams of Gabby flooded my subconscious. I pushed thoughts of her away as I made my way to the bathroom. I passed the front door and took a glance outside. At least four inches covered the walkway, if not more. With a heavy sigh, I continued on, knowing full well that my morning would be filled with shoveling.
Less than twenty minutes later, dressed in my heavy Carhart jacket, snow pants, and my boots, I was outside, shoveling my walkway. Luke showed up a few minutes later with the plow on his truck. Mallory was in the passenger seat. He dropped the plow and pushed back a lane of snow to the side of the house. He let Mallory out near my car and then backed up.
“Where are the keys?” she asked, gesturing to my Jeep.
“They’re in it,” I told her.
In a small town like Casper, crime wasn’t as rampant as it had been in Florida, and I thoroughly enjoyed being able to trust my neighbors. Mallory hoped in the Jeep, started the engine, and then backed out of the driveway so Luke could finish plowing. They had it handled, so I continued to shovel the walkway.
By the time my Jeep was parked in its spot, both the driveway and the walkway were cleared of snow. Luke parked next to the Jeep and he and Mallory met me on the porch.
“You guys want some coffee?” I offered.
“I’m not sure–”
“Yes! I need coffee!” Mallory exclaimed, running up the steps and letting herself in the house.
Luke sighed. “She doesn’t seem to realize that this is a job. I can’t stop every five minutes to get coffee and chat with friends.”
“Let yourself take a break. How long have you guys been going?”
“We never went to bed last night. And after you left the bar, we went home and drank about eight cups of coffee together. I only had two beers last night, but I didn’t want to take a chance. How did everything end up?” he asked, referring to Gabby.
“I took her home. She wanted to get me in bed,” I explained as we walked through my front door.
“Oh! Did you get some?” Mallory asked from her spot in the kitchen, a hot cup of coffee already in her hands.
“You work fast,” I commented, nodding my head to the cup.
“So do you,” she laughed. “Getting Gabby into bed after one full day of trying. Imagine if you had tried these moves this time last year …”
“Shut up,” I said as lovingly as I could. “I just took her home. Nothing happened.” I decided to keep the kiss to myself, since I wasn’t even sure Gabby would remember it.
Mallory turned to the coffee pot and poured a cup for Luke and me. “I’m glad you keep creamer in here, Wolfe. I might have had a meltdown if there was no creamer.”
“Oh, you mean like the last time you came over and there was no creamer?” I laughed, remembering how snooty she’d been, ranting for a full five minutes about keeping creamer in the house before we all broke into raucous laughter. Rainey and Baker had both been with us then.
I sighed. “Anyone heard from Baker?”
“Not a word. Have you tried him?” Luke replied.
“Me? Why would he pick up my call?” I asked.
“You really can’t see yourself very well, can you?” Mallory shook her head as she sipped her coffee.
“What the hell are you talking about?” I demanded.
“You are the oldest one of our little group, which makes you, by default, the one every single one of us goes to for advice, including Baker. You are the one who convinced Rainey to take a chance on love, even though your own love life wasn’t perfect. There’s something about you that draws everyone to you, a quality that makes us all think you’re pretty damn smart.” Luke answered, stunning me into silence.
I pulled out a stool from underneath the island and sat, still unsure by what exactly they meant. Was I truly the one who everyone came to? A memory of Mallory flashed into my head, when I told her to stop running. A vision of Rainey came next, just before she left for LA again, right in this house. I looked over at the dining table, remembering that we sat there together.
I took a deep breath. “I think you guys expect too much from me. I can’t work wonders. And I definitely can’t make Baker pick up the phone. But if it makes you feel better, I’ll try … later.”
“That’s perfect. We need to go over and plow Gabby’s place, anyway,” Mallory concluded, downing what was left of her coffee and then sprinting for the bathroom.
“I should probably stay away from her, huh?” I looked at Luke.
“Honestly, I’m not sure. She’s hot and cold, much like Mallory was when she came back from Boston. I think the key is to apply some pressure, but don’t push her too far. And unfortunately, you won’t know how far is too far until she teeters over the edge and has an all-out meltdown.” Luke laughed as he finished his coffee.