Bad Girlfriend (8 page)

The taste of him is incredible, even better than before. I deepen the kiss, begging for more because right now I not only need more, I
want
more. List or not, my body responds to him in ways I can’t make my mind understand.

The hand on my waist moves up to my face, brushing my hair back where it stuck to my face. His thumbs rub gently across my cheeks, sending warming sensations all down my body, mixed with pleasurable shivers.

Too soon, his mouth releases mine and I swear I groan aloud. My eyes open and meet his. His expression is unreadable making me doubt he felt what I did.

“That’s better,” he finally says, continuing to rub his hands over my face. “Your body was going to go into shock if you didn’t warm up soon.” I continue looking up at him, wondering exactly what he means. “Let’s get you inside now.”

“Wait…what was that?” I finally ask, offended that he’s constantly leaving me clueless.

“I was trying to warm you up. You were shaking and your body was too tense. When you’re tense, you feel colder. I was giving you my body heat so you’d relax.”

My face stiffens into a hard grin. I can’t let him see how that affects me. I wanted more than just a kiss. “Oh…” I nod graciously. “Thanks.”

Gabe

The disappointed look on Kate’s face doesn’t go unnoticed, which gives me a little thrill. I know she felt that kiss as much as I did, but I can’t be the one to crack first. Her feisty, smart mouth has me wanting to pull her naked body back against mine and carry her ass up into my bed. I know her body responds to me just as mine does to hers, but waiting until she can’t take it any longer will make it that much better.

Knowing she’s wanting it as much as I do makes it really hard to maintain my willpower, but as long as I get her to give in first, I won’t have to any longer.

Hearing about her family and the loss she’s gone through makes it easier to understand her sarcasm and guarded walls. I can empathize with her, which makes me want her even more, but I’ll be damned if I’m the first one to crack.

Waking up without her in my arms feels different. Even though it only happened once, I can’t get it out of my mind. The warmth of her body, the silky-smooth feel of her skin against mine, the way she curled up next to me, brought me back to falling asleep in Sophia’s hospital bed. I visited her every day and stayed until she’d fall asleep. A couple times a week, I’d wake up to one of her nurses waking me up, telling me it was okay to go home. Although the memories bring back pain, the feeling of having someone next to me brings back the reality of how lonely and empty my life is now.

I shower and dress, surprised I didn’t run into Kate. I head downstairs and stop on the last step as Kate’s ass comes into view. She’s in the living room with her ass up in the air in barely-there shorts.

“A guy could get used to this,” I say smugly, walking toward her and watching her body tighten.

“Used to what?” she fires back, turning her head toward me. “Girls don’t stick their asses in your face on a weekly basis for you?”

“Only when I ask them to,” I fire right back, shrugging as if her comment didn’t bother me. I’m sure she thinks of me as a manwhore or something, but she has no idea. “However, they usually aren’t wearing clothes when they do.”

“Classy.” I hear her mutter as she lowers her body to the floor and arches her back and neck up toward the ceiling. Natalee comes in and hands me a mug filled with coffee. I kiss her on the cheek and thank her.

I take a sip and watch as Kate purposely avoids eye contact with me.

“Didn’t peg you for a girl that does yoga. Looks good on you, but I think you’re supposed to be relaxed. You look a little tense.” 

“Gee, I wonder why.” She glares at me, but I can tell she’s trying hard not to smirk at me. She might not be an open book, but her body language is loud and clear.

“Hey, you be nice to my cousin. She’s been through—” Natalee starts scolding me, but Kate’s quick to interrupt.

“Nat, it’s fine.” She waves her off, pushing herself up to standing position. “Gabe’s just mad he had to sleep with blue balls last night.” She glances at me with an evil smile, knowing she’s exaggerating the truth.

Natalee sighs. “I swear you two…” She shakes her head. “You bicker like siblings. Or cats and dogs. Or worse.”

“What’s worse than that?” I ask.

She looks at me and then to Kate before looking back at me again. “Nothing. Never mind. Kate and I have some errands to run after breakfast, and I put you and Trace in charge of cleaning out the garage. I’m not walking in my heels through the damn mud, so the car needs to fit.”

Fun
.

“Well, I’ll go shower and get ready then.” Kate excuses herself, and I watch as she struts up the stairs, glancing back once before continuing with the satisfaction that she’s caught me staring at her ass.
Again
.

I head into the kitchen where Trace is sitting at the table with a newspaper in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.

“So garage duty, huh?” I ask, teasing his old man status.

He peeks up from the newspaper, waits until Natalee isn’t looking, and then shakes his head. Natalee turns around, refills both of our mugs, and says she’s going to finish getting ready. She leans down, kisses Trace, and tells us to ‘behave’.

“Of course, babe.”

He flashes me a wink and take a sip of my coffee to hide the laughter.

“So what are we really doing?”

“Getting props for Thursday night.” He sets the paper down and grabs his phone.

“What’s Thursday night?”

“Since you canceled on my bachelor party last month, we’re having an impromptu one Thursday when the girls are out doing their thing.”

I raise my brows, impressed. “And you think keeping a secret two days before your wedding is a smart idea?”

“Trust me. It’ll be easier to ask for her forgiveness than her permission.”

I laugh, seeing the old Trace again. “Dude, I hope you’re right. I’d hate to see her handcuff your balls to the staircase or something.”

He winces. “Then let’s just make sure the girls are gone long enough to not know any better.”

I shake my head, smiling, fully on board.

Kate

Natalee dragged me into town after our breakfast. She was on a mission to find something
blue.

“It’s tradition,” she informs me for the second time. I flash a fake smile. “You’ll understand that someday, Kate. You’ll want all the traditions and ridiculous flowers and be picky about colors and venues.” She smiles sweetly at me. “Someday you’ll be dragging me around looking for stupid wedding things, too.”

Hearing her words completely guts me, straight to my heart with a sharp-bladed knife.

This is harder than I thought it would be and it’s going to keep getting harder the longer I keep it a secret.

“I’m sure I will.” I flash a convincing smile.

The day consisted of rummaging through flea markets, looking for something she could pin in her hair, wear on her ankle, and old, large picture frames. When I gave her an odd look about the frames, she informed me it was for pictures—snapping a picture of the two of them
in
the frame.

It was kind of unique so I understood the purpose. After a while, I loosened up and started to enjoy my time alone with her. It was fun picking out pieces and looking through old stuff.

“So you and Gabe seem to have a little thing going on,” she says casually, picking through stuff.

My brows shoot up, surprised she’s pretending to sound so nonchalant about him. “Nope. Nothing happening.”

“Seems like it.”

“We haven’t slept together if that’s what you’re insinuating,” I reassure her.

“I wasn’t, but good to know,” she quips with a wide grin. “So why not?”

“Why not what?”

“Why haven’t you slept with him yet? He’s good looking. You’re hot as hell. What’s the problem?” The way she says it is like she’s asking why I haven’t tried the seafood yet or something. It didn’t sound like Natalee at all.

“What’s the problem?” I repeat. “I’ve known him for three days! What kind of girl do you think I am?”

She narrows her eyes and scowls at me. “The kind of girl that hasn’t had fun since she was in high school. The kind that barely left the house unless it was to the hospital or pharmacy. The kind that needs to let loose and have some fun for once in her life.”

Her words hit me right in the stomach, this time full of truth and reality.

“Doesn’t mean I should just jump into bed with the next willing guy,” I retort, not exactly shooting the idea down. “I’m not looking for a relationship or anything that will make my life more complicated right now.”

“Sex doesn’t have to be complicated, Katie.”

I groan.
Tell that to my heart
, I think to myself.
And vagina.

* * *

We arrive back to the house just before dinner. The guys are sitting on the couch with an empty beer case on the coffee table, each holding a bottle in their hands as they watch something on TV. As soon as they hear us, they quickly glance up at us and flash a weak smile before gluing their eyes back to the screen.

“Please…don’t get up,” I say dryly, walking pass Gabe with both hands full of bags.

“Someone’s full of piss and vinegar,” I hear Gabe mutter to Trace and the both of them laugh.

“Would it kill you to be a gentleman once in a great while? Or is that beyond your capabilities?” I snap, piling the bags on the kitchen table.

“You’re the first girl to ever complain. So perhaps it’s you, sweetheart.” There’s an edge to his voice, and I can tell he’s getting off on rattling me.

“Or just the first girl to have standards.”

Trace bursts out in laughter, and I almost forgot he was in the same room.

“What? What I miss?” Natalee asks, bringing in more bags.

“Nothing,” I shout before Trace can say anything. “Where do you want all of these?”

“There’s fine. I have to organize it all and put it in the right tote bag.”

Natalee has totes all over the dining room floor, which is why we’ve been eating in the kitchen. Everything is labeled and perfectly organized inside.

“Okay, well, if that’s the last of the bags, I’m going to head upstairs for a bit.”

She sets the bags down and smiles. “Thanks for all your help.” She wraps her arms around me and squeezes. “We should do this kind of stuff more often,” she says, making me wince at her words, echoing in my ear.

“I agree,” I say, my heart filled with regret. I pull back and head for the stairs, needing to distance myself before I completely break down in front of everyone.

First Gabe and now Natalee.

How am I going to tell her after this? How am I going to get through the rest of my time here without cracking?

Gabe

I know my time with Kate is going to end in a few days, and I can’t help but want to spend it all with her, even if she is playing this hot and cold dance with me.

I need to be alone with her.

I need to break her hard exterior, even if it breaks everything in me to try.

Even though I came here for a mini-break and to help Trace with wedding stuff, I want Kate to myself, even just for a few hours.

I knock on her door through the bathroom and wait anxiously as she either accepts my plan or rejects it all together. I hear her stumble out of bed and the padding of her feet as she walks to the bathroom door on her side.

“Yes?” She looks at me as if she’s already bored with this conversation, her arms crossed against her chest. “Can I help you?”

My lips turn up into a huge grin and before I can say anything, she speaks again.

“Scratch that.” She shakes her head. “You’ll take that literally.”

I smile. “You’re figuring me all out, aren’t you, Kate?”

“Unfortunately. Sharing a bathroom surely hasn’t helped.”

“Well, lucky for you, I have a proposition for you.”

She eyes me curiously, her body finally relaxing. “What is it?”

“Tell Natalee you can’t go with her today and spend the day with me.” My voice is steady, hoping she hears the sincerity in my tone.

“And why would I want to do that?”

“Because you still have numbers to cross off on your list. And you secretly like spending time with me,” I say with certainty, leaning against the doorframe.

She narrows her brows, her arms falling down to her sides. “Oh, look. There goes your ego.”

I cock my head and furrow my brows at her. “Are you telling me you’d rather go shopping with Natalee for honeymoon supplies? I’m guessing body wax for her, speedo for him, sex toys for…” I ramble on before she cuts me off in a frantic.

“Okay, okay! Fine. But no more speedos talk. I’ll never get that image out of my head now.”

“Good.” I smile in victory. “Meet you back up here in ten minutes.”

She shuts the door in my face, a smug smile stretched on my face. I walk downstairs first, with Kate just a few steps behind me. I’m not sure what kind of excuse she’s going to come up with, but I’m eager to find out.

“Good morning,” Natalee says the moment she sees the both of us. “Coffee?”

“Morning. Yes, that’d be great,” I say automatically, grabbing a cup and walking toward the coffee maker.

“None for me,” Kate says, sounding weak. “I don’t think I can go with you today.”

I try to focus on pouring the coffee and staying out of their conversation, but the curious side of me wants to watch her reaction and if Nat will buy it or not.

“Oh, no!” Natalee walks toward her. “What’s wrong? Are you sick?”

“Just dealing with cramps and bloating, you know…” she lingers, not wanting to say anymore with Trace and I in the room.

“Girl stuff,” I blurt out. “The monthly excuse for hating men.” They both turn toward me, their firm expressions letting me know that was
not
the right thing to say. “What? I was trying to be sympathetic.” I shrug.

Natalee sighs and rolls her eyes. “Men don’t know a damn thing about our bodies
or
being sympathetic.”

“I know plenty, thank you very much,” I say confidently. “You go do your shopping and I’ll make sure Kate has plenty of chocolate, ice cream, and chick flicks to watch.”

Kate pinches her lips and cocks her head at me with a hard stare. She’s warning me.

“And…a heating pad. I heard those things help,” I add, not as confidently.

Kate rolls her eyes when Natalee isn’t watching, but she doesn’t say anything.

“All right, fine, but I swear, Gabe…” Natalee points her finger at me like she always does. “You make one rude comment, I’ll make sure all the single girls at the wedding think you’re gay.”

Kate lets out a snort, bowing her head as she tries to stifle a laugh. I throw my arms up in defeat. “Why the hell does everyone think I’m gay?”

Kate chimes in. “I told you. You give off a vibe.”

Natalee gets interrupted by Trace and walks out before I can rebuttal. I step behind Kate and bend down to whisper in her ear, “I’d be more than happy to show you just how
not
gay I am.”

“Keep it in your pants, mister,” she whispers back. “I’m not
that
curious.”

I chuckle, pressing my body even closer against hers. “You’re not very convincing when your body shivers against mine and is basically begging for it.” I feel her breath hitch. “Now meet me upstairs in ten minutes.”

I walk out, leaving Kate alone in the kitchen. A few moments later, Natalee says her goodbyes as she heads out, dragging Trace with her. We’re finally alone in the house, and I plan on making every minute count.

I head up to my room and wait for Kate. She barges through the door, dressed in skinny jeans and a thin, long-sleeve shirt with her hair braided to one side, lying loosely over her shoulder.

“I still expect chocolate, ice cream, and chick flicks.”

I lay on the bed, staring up at her, wondering how I’m going to keep my hands off her all day.

I swallow as she takes a step forward, putting her knee-length boots in view.

It’s going to be a challenge
… I tell myself.

“Chocolate and ice cream are no-brainers, but no chick flicks.”

She eyes me, her arms crossed over her chest as if she’s trying to think of a comeback.

She sighs and releases her arms. “Fine. Are you going to tell me what we’re doing today?”

She looks tense and right now I can’t help myself. So I do the only thing that’ll help us both.

I stand up from the bed and before she can say anything else, I grab her waist and push her body against mine, my mouth covering over hers as I kiss her without any hesitation at all. She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me in closer, one hand wrapped around her neck and the other secure around her waist, molding our bodies together.

She moans as our tongues intertwine in an effortless dance, heated and filled with wanton desire. I can feel how I affect her body the same way hers affects mine, but I won’t give her the satisfaction of knowing I want it too.

I break the kiss and pull my body away from hers, just enough to see the disappointed expression flash across her face before she quickly wipes it off and looks up at me.

“There, now you can finally relax,” I say as I brush my thumb over her cheek, her jaw quickly tightening.

“Why do you keep doing that? Kissing me and saying stuff like that?” She looks hurt and annoyed.

The corner of my lips curl up in satisfaction, knowing that she enjoys it every time I kiss her. “Admit it, you agreed to staying with me today hoping I’d kiss you again.”

“You’re really arrogant, you know that?” She pushes against my chest, putting space between us.

“And you’re really good at dodging questions.”

She rolls her eyes. “This was a bad idea. I’m not going anywhere with you.”

She turns around, but I grab her elbow before she can get too far away from me. “You don’t mean that,” I say smugly. “You know you want to.”

“I want to not be another notch on your bedpost,” she says with sass in her tone.

“I don’t have a bedpost, but I have a little black book app on my phone if you’d like to see that,” I say, like it’s nothing. I know I’m only fueling the fire, but she makes it too damn easy.

She shakes her head and parts her lips, but smacks them back together before she turns and starts walking out again.

“Wait,” I say, laughing. “Don’t go. I’m only teasing. C’mon,” I plead, but she ignores me. “Kate!” I yell, chasing after her down the hall. “I want to help you cross off another number on your list.”

She spins around and studies me, looking to see if I’m just messing with her again, but I’m completely sincere.

“What else is on your list?”

“If I tell you, you can’t chicken out.”

I put my hands up in surrender. “I’d never.”

Her body relaxes, finally. “Fine. I have two we could do.”

My eyes light up, pleased that she’s finally on board with me. “Great, let’s do it!”

“You don’t even know what they are yet.”

“If they’re anything like your other ones, we’ll be fly fishing on top of the Empire State Building and making a house of cards out of singing birds.”

She laughs finally, for the first time today. “Close, but no. I’ve always wanted to sing karaoke and try sushi.”

I stare at her, wondering how this girl could have lived such a sheltered life.

“They’re lame, I know,” she says softly, lowering her eyes.

I tilt her chin back up so I can see her face. “They’re not lame at all. Sounds fun. Let’s do it.”

Her lips spread into a pleased smile. “Okay.”

Kate

“So how is it you’ve never sung karaoke before? Isn’t it like a college girl’s drunk right of passage or something?” Gabe asks as we start our drive. “And how have you lived on the east coast and never tried sushi?”

“I didn’t do the whole college thing,” I admit. “Plus, who wants to eat sushi alone? I mean, who’d hold my hair when I threw it all up?” I laugh, finding it much more comfortable to talk to him now that all the tension seems to be gone.

“Well, that’s why you get drunk,” he says, turning to face me with a cheeky grin. “Drunk encouragement.”

We both laugh, falling into easy conversation as he drives us to a local bar. “Do you think you’re going to get me drunk at ten a.m.?”

“If I said yes, will you still come with me?” He winks.

“Ha ha,” I mock. “They aren’t going to have karaoke this early.”

He shifts his lips back and forth for a moment. “You’re right. Nothing a little improvising can’t fix.”

He pulls the car out of the parking lot and starts driving again until we stop at a toy store.

“What are we—” He gets out of the car before I can finish asking.

“Come on, let’s go!” He swings my door open and reaches for my hand.

“What are we doing?” I ask again as he pulls us to the doors.

“I told you. Improvising.”

After we leave the toy store, he takes us to a local deli downtown and orders us both sushi platters. They pack them up for us, and Gabe drives us back out to Nat and Trace’s house.

“So what else is on your list?”

“Why do you want to know so bad?”

“Just curious. Thinking I should make a list, but maybe more simple things, similar to yours.” He glances at me and smiles. My stomach flutters, and I hate that he has that affect on me.

“Oh yeah? And what would those things be?”

He thinks for a moment, tilting his head in my direction. “I’d enjoy life more. Perhaps slow down and just learn to enjoy the moment, rather than wishing for it to go by faster. I’d go for walks, take more pictures, quit my stupid job.”

I look at him, surprised by his confession. “If you hate your job, why don’t you quit?”

He shrugs, staring hard out the window. “Family business.”

“Pff…” I mimic his careless shrug. “Life is too short to hate your job, Gabe. Family business or not.”

“Yeah?” He finally turns and looks at me with soft features. “What’s your day job?”

“I quit a few months ago. I was in fashion.”

“That sounds like something you would’ve enjoyed.”

“It was. I was busting my ass.”

“So what happened?”

I exhale deeply, looking back out the window to avoid his eye contact. “Life.”

We arrive back to the house and instead of going inside, he leads me down to the dock with our bags and a blanket from his trunk.

“Are you ready?” he asks, unpacking the bags.

“I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be ‘ready’ for.”

“Karaoke and sushi,” he says matter-of-factly.

“Here?”

“Yes. Why not?” he asks, laying the blanket out on the grass until it’s nearly smoothed out.

“I-I don’t know. What if someone sees or hears me?”

He sets up the toy karaoke set and hands me the toy microphone. “I’ll be the only one listening.” He nods his head at me, giving me permission to turn it on.

I smile, shaking my head. “I can’t believe the only one they had in stock was a Frozen Sing-a-long karaoke set.”

“It even lights up,” he adds, a cocky grin playing on his lips.

“You’re loving this way too much.” I scowl.

He shrugs. “Just a little.”

So in front of him, the tree we kissed in, and the water we skinny-dipped in, I sang
Let it Go
. It was completely off-pitch, I forgot some of the words even, and I felt completely ridiculous, but even with all of that, it felt completely liberating.