“No,” they both say at the same time. “Leave them,” Banks says, kissing my hand.
“I’d get mine tattooed on if I could bear to mar this incredible skin of mine—”
“Looks like you had quite a night,” Gabe’s brother remarks.
“Yeah. I did. And it’s none of your business. Just like your romantic life is none of mine. But it seems like something you’re determined to share with me.”
“Hey, man. We’re just living our lives.”
“Right.” Gabe’s arms are crossed now. I’ve never seen him look more confident. “Is there some reason you’re parked on my lawn?”
His brother doesn’t bother to glance at the tires, which leads me to believe he’s well-aware of what he’s been doing. “It’s a small driveway. I like to leave room on both sides of the car, so we can get in easily.”
“That sounds like your problem, not mine,” Gabe says without hesitation. His brother snorts, but his amusement disappears quickly when Gabe remains stone-faced. “This is the last time. You park on my lawn again, you’ll wake up to flat tires.”
The other man gapes. “Are you threatening me?”
Gabe winks at his brother, turns on a heel and strides back toward the house. “You bet your ass I am.”
Candace has been silent up to this point, but she finally speaks. “Jesus, Gabe.” There’s a mystified smile on her face. “What has gotten into you?”
He points at the blinds where all three of us are watching the proceedings—and we’ve definitely been spotted. “They have.”
We hit the floor like children caught eavesdropping.
Gabe’s shadow darkens the door, but his brother calls to him, stopping him just short of entering the house. “Hold up, man. Wait.”
“What?” Gabe asks.
“Listen, uh…” A loud gust of breath. “It’s not about leaving room on both sides of the car. I was just trying to get a reaction out of you. This whole thing with the marriage and divorce…you have no idea how much I regret how it all went down. I hurt my brother. I hurt Candace, too, by letting her go in the first place, but she forgave me in due time. You…you didn’t even get fucking mad at me. You just accepted us getting back together without a fight. I wanted a fight. I wanted you to tell me I’m a prick and punch me in the face. I deserve it.”
Gabe is silent for a full ten seconds. “That’s why you’ve been parking on my lawn?”
“Yeah. What else am I supposed to do?” A chagrined laugh from Gabe’s brother. “Communicate with you like an adult?”
“That would have been nice.”
“You’re one to talk. Hiding in your house. Signing the divorce papers without so much as a middle finger for us. You wouldn’t believe the guilt I’ve been living with.”
Gabe walks into the house calmly and takes a knife out of the wooden block. After shaking his head at the three of us huddled under the window, he goes back outside. And then there is the very distinct sound of a tire being punctured. “Happy?” Gabe asks.
The ex-wife is laughing.
“Not really,” mutters his brother.
“Well, I am,” Gabe says, letting the words hang in the air. “I’m happy. I don’t need you to feel guilty for me. Matter of fact, I don’t want it. There’s no reason for it when I’m this happy. You take up your space and I’m going to take up mine.”
“Is there any chance of us being…friends?”
“I don’t know.” Gabe doesn’t elaborate right away. “I’ll let you know when I’m ready.”
“Well done, mate,” Tobias murmurs.
A moment later, Gabe steps over the threshold and marches into the kitchen. His attention zeroes in on me and he keeps coming, intention etched into his features. My pulse speeds into a haywire sprint as Gabe hauls me to my feet. My breaths already sound like hiccupping half-sobs and I don’t even know what’s happening yet. I’m not in the dark for long, though. Gabe leads me into the kitchen by my wrist, kneels long enough to tear my panties down my ankles, and then I’m being lifted, my ass slapping down on the kitchen table, rattling the remaining breakfast plates and orange juice glasses.
“I want some pussy.”
Slowly, I trace the growing ridge in his sweatpants with a single fingertip. “Then you better take it.”
I’ve enjoyed every second of having Gabe inside of my body. But when Banks hands him a condom and Tobias spits on my already dampening sex, allowing Gabe to buck home inside of me with a vile, gritted curse, there is a new, distinct difference in his energy. His confidence is tenfold. He’s not just making love to me with an air of gratitude like before, though that sentiment is still there in spades. No, he’s owning me. He’s looking me right in the eye and conquering me, because he was finally able to conquer some loose end in himself.