Page 40 of Michael's Awakening
Damn, it actually tasted good.
“How did your cello lesson go?” I asked after swallowing my bite.
“It went great,” he answered after taking a sip of wine. “I only have a few more lessons left and then I’m done. I’m just glad I started playing again. I missed it.”
“I don’t see how you do it. When you practice in front of me, it always blows me away.” I chuckled as he looked at me smugly. “Hey, now, don’t get a big head or your princess crown won’t fit anymore.”
“You love it,” he repeated the same words I had said to him earlier and stuck his tongue out at me.
“Touché, Princess,” I shook my head and took another bite. “But if you keep sticking that tongue out at me, I might just have to bite it.”
Giving me a sassy grin, he replied, “Not if I bite you first.”
My dick jerked at the image his words created. Damn, I wanted him right there on that table. Shifting in my seat, I averted my gaze from him and took a rather large sip of wine. My nerves were still shot to shit and I needed all the liquid courage I could muster if I was going to go through with my plan.
***
After dinner, I took Gabriel on a tour of my house. I showed him the inside of the house, which was nothing remarkable, but he seemed to love it. It was just a simple two-bedroom country-styled house, but compared to his tiny apartment, he thought it was massive andfabulous– his word, not mine. Wanting to show him the view from the outside, I told him to bundle up. The November night was very chilly and I didn’t want him to get sick.
The stars shone bright in the night sky as I led Gabriel out to the back porch.
“Oh my god, Michael.” He shook his head, amazed, and looked up at the stars. “It’s gorgeous here. That’s one of the only things I miss about living in the country…” He looked at me with a thoughtful expression and continued, “The stars and the overall sense of peace. Like you’re living in your own little perfect world where nothing can get to you… or hurt you.”
His gaze shifted from mine and back to the nature surrounding us.
Standing out there in the crisp night air, watching him as he admired the sky, I knew I was in love with him. I had never admitted it to myself before that moment, but it was unmistakable. I loved him.
Before he came into my life, I thought I was incapable of love. But all of that changed in just a few weeks. Gabriel held my heart in those well-manicured hands of his.
I couldn’t wait any longer; he needed to know the truth about me.
“Gabriel.” My arm tightened around him as he turned his head to look at me. “There’s something I need to tell you. And to show you.”
He regarded me with wary eyes. “This is it, isn’t it? You’re going to tell me what you’ve been hiding.”
“Yes.” I pulled him to me and kissed the side of his head. His short, blond hair tickled my cheek as I rested my face against him.
I wished we could have stayed in that moment forever. If things panned out for the worse once I told him, I would lose this angel for forever. My heart screamed and thrashed wildly in my chest at the thought of never holding Gabriel against me again, never seeing that sassy smirk when he gave me attitude, never seeing that blush creep to his cheeks again.
Pulling away from him, I grabbed his hand and led him back inside the house. His hand shook as I held it, and I looked back at him, concerned. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” He nodded, even though his blue eyes told a different story. “I’ve just been obsessing for weeks what it was you were keeping from me.”
His stare didn’t leave mine.
I had no idea what he suspected or concluded, but it was time to come clean. Leading him to the living room, I took a seat on the couch and gently pulled him down next to me. A million different scenarios played out in my head of how I’d reveal everything to him, and I was still at a loss for how to do it.
There were no guidelines on what the appropriate way to do this was.
“If you want to leave after this, Gabriel, I’ll understand.” I met his anxious stare and felt my insides die a little.
Please don’t leave me.
After brushing a hand through my short, dark hair, I inhaled deeply and took off my shirt.
