Page 59 of Michael's Awakening
Chapter Twenty-Three
Gabriel
“Oh no you didn’t!” I squealed and threw a handful of popcorn at Melissa.
She ducked her head and laughed. “Yes, I did! I can be wild sometimes. And maybe your new relationship pushed me to get out in the world more.”
Rolling my eyes, I responded, “My relationship isn’t exactlynew. We’ve been together for like two months.”
“You better not be giving me that famous Gabriel attitude or I might just be tempted to hide yourSex and the Cityseasons. No more Carrie Bradshaw for you.” She tsked and waved her finger at me.
I gasped. “You wouldn’t!”
“Oh, I so would,” Melissa said straight-faced, making us both burst out into a fit of giggles. “So, it’s really serious now between you and Michael?” She asked once the giggles had subsided.
“I think it’s been serious between us from the first moment we met,” I answered with a shrug. “But, yes. It’s very serious. I honestly can’t imagine not being with him.”
“Wow.” She nodded her head and grabbed some popcorn from the big purple bowl sitting between us on the couch. “I figured as much when I met him. The way he stared at you was unlike anything I’ve seen. Like you were the sun and he was a planet revolving around you.”
I tilted my head at her and teased. “So, I’m a huge ball of gassy mass now?”
She snorted. “It’s called a metaphor, prissy pants.” Looking around the living room, she smiled when she saw a painting on the back wall. “Aww, you hung it up.”
“Of course I did. Duh. It’s of me, and I’m gorgeous.” I smiled at her and grabbed some popcorn before washing it down with some wine.
Melissa had painted a portrait of me for one of her art assignments and it looked amazing. In it, I was wearing my favorite black studded collar with smoky gray eyeshadow on my lids, and I was looking straight ahead with an arched eyebrow and a small smile curving the corners of my lips. There was a secretive gleam showing through my blue eyes that reminded me of the mysteriousMona Lisapainting, but I guess in my case, it was theMona Gabriel.Melissa had captured me perfectly. After it was graded, she placed it in a glamorous frame and gave it to me for an early Christmas gift.
I loved it.
“How’s Zack doing? You haven’t talked about him in a while,” Melissa said before taking another sip of wine.
“He’s doing great. His personal training is really picking up. Business will really be great for him after the holidays when everyone makes New Year resolutions to eat better and lose weight.” I giggled and hiccupped before looking at my almost empty glass of wine.
I hadn’t told anyone about Zack thinking he was gay, except for Michael.
After Michael confided in me about his past, he and I made a pact to never keep anything from each other again. I had also been curious as to what Michael would say about the whole situation with Zack and wanted his opinion. After telling him everything, he told me that Zack would have to decide on his own, for the heart cannot be swayed by outside forces. It knows what it wants.
Zack hadn’t said much else to me about it since Thanksgiving, but it was probably because he was trying to juggle everything in that goofy head of his.
It was killing me, though, to find out the truth. Zack had always been somewhat of a womanizer, but now that I really thought about it, he never seemed happy doing it. Could it be because he was trying to prove something to himself by sleeping with all of those women? The questions in my mind were practically screaming at me. But, I knew Zack. He wouldn’t talk until he was ready.
“Now, back to our previous topic. You seriously went out and had a one-night stand?” I still couldn’t believe it. Melissa was always more reserved than that. I was pleasantly shocked and amazed at her.
“Yes, I did,” she said and tilted her glass up to her lips, finishing off the last of her wine. After swallowing, she continued, “He was exactly my type too: gorgeous red hair with a matching beard and green eyes.”
“I’ll go get us some more wine.” Standing up, I grabbed our glasses. “And when I come back, you better tell me all the juicy details.”
***
Later that night, I lay on the couch, tossing and turning. Melissa decided to stay the night with me since we drank one too many glasses of wine during our gossiping, and I let her sleep in my bed. Because I was a wonderful friend like that.
She’d gone to bed about two hours ago and I was still nowhere near asleep, although my muscles were satisfyingly relaxed from the wine.
I still hadn’t heard from Michael and it was close to midnight.
Sighing, I reached across to the coffee table and grabbed my phone, checking to see if I had any new messages, even though I had just checked it about a minute ago. No new messages… no shocker there. Grabbing myDisneyprincess blanket, I pulled it over my head and huffed. Michael bought that blanket for me as a joke, but I loved it. It was fuzzy, warm, covered in tiaras, and purple. What’s not to love?
Hearing a vibrating on the table, I quickly uncovered my head and grabbed my phone. It was a text.
