Page 42 of A Lot Like Adiós
“No more work, okay?” he murmured. “Let’s just... enjoy this.”
“Okay.” She sounded surprised, and Gabe couldn’t blame her. He was surprised at himself. His life was all work all the time, and taking a break in the middle of the day was completely unlike him. He’d told himself it was fine because they were still talking about the gym, but now... he just needed a break from it all.
Soon, he’d return to Los Angeles, and god willing, he wouldn’t have to come back often. So why not make the most of the little time they had together?
Unable to help himself, he kissed her again, more deeply this time. When her tongue slid against his, he groaned and tightened his arms around her. Luckily, a group of children burst into the space a second later, their high-pitched “indoor voices” reminding Gabe where they were. He eased away from Michelle, running his tongue over the lower lip she’d just nipped. He didn’t miss the sultry smile she sent him. Maybe the things they’d done that morning hadn’t been a onetime thing after all.
Thinking about what they might do when they got back tothe house that night, he slipped an arm around her waist and led her through the rest of the exhibit.
“THAT WAS DELICIOUS.” Gabe stretched his legs as much as he was able to in the front seat of Michelle’s Fiat.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad meal there,” Michelle agreed as she drove up Morris Park Avenue.
After leaving the zoo, they’d stopped at one of the Bronx’s famous Italian restaurants, where Gabe had worked as a valet his senior year of high school. They’d gorged on pasta and seafood, and after a waiter recognized him, a glass each of white wine. Gabe couldn’t remember the last time he’d consumed so much butter in one sitting, but he had no regrets.
Lulled by carbs, wine, and the familiarity of the road, Gabe noted each house as Michelle drove to their old street—he wouldn’t think of it as “home” again. As Michelle started to turn the car into her parents’ driveway, Gabe’s gaze continued on to his own house, an old habit, just in time to see the front door open and his father step out.
“Shit!” Gabe ducked down in his seat, nearly wrenching his shoulder when the seat belt pulled taut. “Keep driving!”
“What the fuck?” Michelle jerked the wheel and sped up, stopping briefly at the stop sign on the corner before turning. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.”
Gabe felt like he was nearly having one himself. His pulse skyrocketed, and his skin felt clammy.
“That was my dad,” he mumbled.
He hadn’t seen his father in nine years, hadn’t even reallygotten a good glimpse of him before ducking out of sight, but he’d know Esteban Aguilar anywhere.
If they had pulled into the driveway just three seconds earlier, he would have come face-to-face with him while getting out of the car.
“Gabe, stop being such a baby,” Michelle snapped as she circled the block. “He’s your father, not a serial killer.”
He gaped at her. “Are you serious? He almost caught us!”
Me. He almost caught me.
“And I almost hit your mom’s car because you scared me. How would I explain that?Lo siento, Norma. Your son, who you don’t know is here, startled the shit out of me while I was parking and I took out your taillight. My bad!” She pulled over to the curb and pointed. “Look, there he goes. We’re in the clear.”
Gabriel did not appreciate her sarcasm. “One of the conditions of me staying with you is that my parents donotfind out I’m here.”
“That wasn’t one of the original conditions,” she said in a snotty voice he remembered all too well.
“Only because you lied to me about where we’d be staying.” He knew he was getting loud, but his heart was still pounding with the shock of seeing his father.
“Are we back on that again? I didn’tlie, exact—”
“Get out of the car.”
She shot him an incredulous look. “Excuse me?”
“Michelle, ¡salte del carro!”
“Mira, comemierda, este esmicarro.”
Gabe took his hat off and shoved his hands through his hair, groaning in frustration. “Okay, pero let me drive it aroundthe corner so I can get out closer to the gate and sneak around the house like a fucking burglar again. And this time open the goddamn basement doors so my mother doesn’t almost see me too.”
“Whatever you want, Gabe!” The way Michelle said it did not match the accommodating words, but she left the engine running and opened her door. They both climbed out and stomped around the car—Gabe around the trunk, Michelle around the hood—before getting back in. Gabe drove around the corner in silence, still shaken by the close call. Michelle sat with her arms folded across her chest and a dark scowl on her face. He parked in the driveway and Michelle grabbed the key fob the second the emergency brake was engaged, sweeping from the car in high dudgeon.
Once upon a time, Gabe would have tried to placate her. She had a temper, and he’d always tried to soothe her when she was in a mood. But now? Fuck it. He was pissed. This was exactly why he hadn’t wanted to stay here.
