Page 12 of A Lot Like Adiós
Part of him was positive this was all a huge mistake—coming back to New York, staying in Michelle’s apartment, hell, even opening a new gym. The other part just wanted Michelle in his arms again.
On the flight over, he’d tried to brace himself for how things might be different between them, preparing himself for an extremely awkward car ride to her place. But then she’d surprised him with a hug. He hadn’t expected it, but once his arms were around her, it had felt as natural as breathing.
He knew what it felt like to hold her. Michelle was affectionate, and they’d hugged often when they were younger. And then, of course, there’d been that one time, the last time, when—
Gabe pinched his thigh to interrupt the memory. These pants wouldn’t hide a hard-on, and that’s what had gotten them into trouble in the first place.
He should’ve worn jeans. Or a cup. But he preferred comfortable clothes for travel, and he hadn’t expected to get turned on by Michelle immediately.
She was stunning, though. There was no denying that. Some things he remembered—the spill of long, dark hair. Honey-colored eyes. The smattering of light freckles across her nose andcheekbones. He tried not to think about the enticing swell of cleavage revealed by her tank top, or the way her faded blue jeans hugged her lush, round ass. Michelle had been sexy before—and his dirty teenage-boy mind had noted the changes as they’d grown up together—but now, he just wanted to take a bite out of her.
He’d always thought the phrasea body that wouldn’t quitsounded stupid. Looking at Michelle... he got it.
They were quiet as she navigated the traffic leaving the arrivals terminal at LaGuardia, but when they hit the highway, Gabe finally said what was on his mind.
“You look good, Mich.”
Her eyes cut away from the road for a second, giving him a quick, sweeping, up-and-down glance. Just as he thought she was going to say “You too,” her gaze returned to the road and she said, “I know.”
Gabe let out a low chuckle. It was such a Michelle thing to say. She’d always had an abundance of confidence. It was one of the things he used to adore—and even envy—about her.
“How was your flight?” she asked, keeping her eyes trained on the road.
“Not bad. I had the row to myself.”
She nodded. “Cool. Did you sleep?”
He shook his head. “Nah. Wasn’t tired.”
He’d also been too wired to relax enough to sleep. Instead, he’d caught up on emails and indulged in a few episodes ofSpaced Out, the latest original sci-fi series on ScreenFlix.
If he could avoid seeing his family on this trip, he’d call it asuccess, but at least... at least things seemed to be going okay with Michelle.
She turned to peer out the back windows and Gabe finally got a good look at her shirt. It showed Queen Seravida, one of the lead characters fromBeyond the Stars, a sci-fi TV series from the mid-aughts. It had been canceled after one season but had since attained a cult following.
Had Michelle worn that shirt on purpose? As a reminder of their shared history and the fanfic that had consumed their teenage years?
“I thought of you when she died,” he said.
Michelle frowned. “When who—oh.” She glanced down at her shirt. “Tamara Romero. Yeah, I was devastated.”
Me too, he thought. When he’d heard the news of the actress’s death, he’d thought of reaching out to Michelle. But he hadn’t done it.
“Are you still in contact with any of the others?” he asked, referring to theirBeyond the Starsonline fandom group from back in the day.
Michelle shook her head. “I’m Facebook friends with a few of them, but we don’t interact much. I don’t know what happened to the others—I never knew their real names.”
Gabe was quiet for a moment, remembering all the hours he and Michelle had devoted to their favorite fandom. “We never finished our story.”
“No,youdidn’t.” She gave him a little smirk.
By the end, Gabe had basically been writing all the chapters of their fanfic with Michelle leaning over his shoulder, making comments and suggestions. Those had been some of the happiestmoments of his teenage years, which was pretty fucking nerdy to admit, but it was true. Just the two of them, with all their inside jokes, making up a world of their own.
They’d been close to the end when he left. The plan had been to continue writing the story together while they were in college, but things hadn’t worked out that way. Just one more thing Gabe had abandoned when he’d left New York.
He peered out the window, idly scanning the signs along the side of the highway. And frowned. It had been a long time since he’d been here, but he was sure he remembered this route.
“This is the Whitestone Bridge.”
