Page 55 of The Tip-Off
He holds me steady until I return to reality and regain basic motor function. He smooths down my dress and takes my hand.
“Ready to re-join the party?”
“Do we have to?”
He doesn’t look any more excited about doing so than I am. “Afraid so.” He tucks my hair behind my ear and places a chaste kiss on my lips. He squeezes my hand once before he pulls me toward the door, pushes it open, and holds it for me to walk in front of him.
It’s another three hours before the party is over. Wes and Blair walked home and since Zeke and I both drank more than we should, we take an Uber back to my place.
“Thank you for tonight. I had fun.” The end of the date shouldn’t feel awkward when we’ve already kissed and he’s had his fingers inside me, but my heart races as he walks me to the door.
“Me too. You make everything a helluva lot more fun.”
“Do you want to come in?” I offer. My body is so amped up, begging to be touched by him again.
He shakes his head. “Not tonight.” He steps forward and drops a kiss to my lips. “Goodnight, Gabby.”
27
Zeke
The next fewdays go something like this: eat tiny portioned meal that tastes like cardboard, finish said meal still hungry, workout, eat another toddler-sized meal, school, eat (yep, you guessed it – miniature meal), workout, eat, eat some more, and somewhere after exhaustion and hunger takes over, I sleep. There’s also a lot of texting with Gabby, which is basically the highlight between all the other must-dos in my day.
I’m lying in bed texting her and wondering if I should invite her over or ask her on a real date when Joel stops by my room. He knocks on the open door to get my attention. “We’re going out in thirty.”
“Pass.”
He makes a sound like a buzzer. “Wrong answer. It’s the last Monday of the month, last Monday of the month for the entire school year, last chance to get dollar beers at Prickly Pear, last—”
“Alright, alright. I’ll go. Just stop saying the word last. I’m not dying.”
He smirks and steps away from my room.
Me: Plans tonight? Looks like I’m going to Prickly Pear with the guys.
Gabby: Same! Blair and Vanessa are over and we’re getting ready. It’s taking a while because I can’t seem to find my favorite pair of red panties.
Me: What color is the second-string?
Gabby: Only one way to find out.
Prickly Pear is packed when we arrive, and the girls aren’t here yet, so we grab a bucket of beers and then work our way through the chaos to hunt for a table. All that’s available is a four-top so we take it and then Joel goes to grab extra chairs.
I shoot a text to Gabby to let her know we’re here and have a table. When I look up, Wes is grinning at me all weird like.
“What?” I ask and set my phone on the table in case Gabby responds.
“Nothing.” His grin grows larger.
“Spit it out or stop smiling at me like that.”
He takes a drink and then leans back, beer bottle resting on his leg. He’s drawing out the moment and holding me in suspense for his own satisfaction. “I just think it’s fun to see you like this.”
“Like what?”
“Hung up on a chick.” He motions to my phone. “Texting her.” He lifts his head and points toward my leg which is bouncing under the table. “Anxiously waiting to see her. You’re so gone for her. How’s this going to work when you leave?”
The reminder that whatever this thing between Gabby and me is – it’s only temporary - does a funny thing to my insides. I force both feet to stay glued to the floor, take a swig of beer, and shake my head. “It’s not like that. Neither of us are looking for anything serious. Gabby just got to Valley – all she wants is to have a good time and get some of that freshman craziness out of her system.”
