Page 100 of Angels & Whiskey

“Of course.”

“And what happened last night can’t happen again for a while.”

“Says the girl standing naked in my shower.”

“Touché.” I chuckled, still leaning into his hard body. “Okay, but not every night.”

“Can’t make any promises, angel. Especially when you crawl into my bed and walk into my shower naked.”

“All right, all right. Just promise me that you’ll always tell me the truth.”

He pushed me a little until I was no longer leaning on him. “I’m not him. I’ve never lied to you.”

A lump started to form in my throat remembering almost everything Rich had told me over the years. “It’s going to be hard. You know?”

“I’m a man of my word. You should know by now.”

A tear ran down my cheek, mixing with the shower water and running down my face. “Hope so.”

“You’ll see.” He pulled me into his chest again and he held me. My tears started to flow, mixing with the shower water again. I wasn’t sure if I was crying happy or sad tears. I just knew I couldn’t stop them. “Want to watch a movie in my bed?”

“Is that code for sex?” I grinned, pretending I wasn’t crying.

His chest shook as he chuckled. “Only if you want it. I promised you a movie and I want to continue to hold you.”

“Okay,” I nodded. “I probably can’t sleep alone again either.”

“That’s fine with me. I liked waking up to you next to me.”

I liked falling asleep in his arms. The way he wrapped his arms around me, bringing me into him until our bodies were touching. The warmth radiating from his body kept me warm. The way he kissed my forehead when he thought I was already asleep before he drifted off. And most of all how safe and comfortable I felt being in his arms. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think I was already falling in love.

The next morning, I woke up in Gabe’s arms. I didn’t want to get out of bed, but I needed to get a new phone and call around to find an attorney. Knowing Rich, he had already retained an attorney and was probably going to serve me the papers at any moment. I wanted to be prepared for when it happened.

“Don’t go. You’re all warm and soft,” Gabe murmured into my neck with his arms wrapped around me.

“And you’re … hard.” I laughed.

“Another reason for you to stay.”

“We’re supposed to be taking this slow,” I said, reminding him of our conversation in the shower the night before.

“This is slow. We didn’t do it yesterday. We both fell asleep watching the movie.”

I snickered, not saying anything.

“You smell good too,” he whispered along my neck as he kissed it. “Did I ever tell you I love the smell of warm vanilla sugar?”

I drew my head back. “You know what my lotion is called?” When I put it on after the shower, I was in my room, not his.

“I just know the scent.”

“How?” I questioned, chuckling.

He groaned, rolling over to his back. “I just do.”

Silenced filled the air for a few minutes and I watched as he stared up at the ceiling. After a minute or so, he turned his head to face me. The moment our gazes locked, my heart tightened and I knew. “Your first love?”

He was silent again, staring into my multicolored eyes. With all first loves, there was a tragic story. Gabe knew mine and maybe one day he’d tell me his, but I knew it wasn’t today. “Yeah,” he finally said and rose from the bed.