On the main shelf, uniform stacks of Tupperware containers were piled four high. Michelle selected one and removed the lid. Scents of lemon and pepper wafted up to him. Inside the container, which was separated into two compartments, sat a baked chicken breast and a side medley of sauteed vegetables—zucchini, mushroom, and green pepper.
Gabe stilled. “What’s this?”
“Meal prep.” Michelle replaced the lid and put the container back in the fridge. “I figured you’re probably on some kind of bodybuilder diet, so I looked up food recommendations and portion sizes. Some blogs suggested a lot of lean proteins and veggies throughout the day, so I did some cooking in advance.”
A warm feeling spread through Gabe’s chest. “How did you know?”
She gave his torso and arms a pointed look. “Instagram.”
Of course.
“Anyway,” she continued, “we obviously don’t have a full gym, but there’s a weight bench and a couple machines downstairs.”
“Thanks.” Gabe didn’t have the heart to tell her he wouldn’t be staying here more than one night. It would lead to an argument, and Michelle had clearly gone to a lot of trouble to prepare for his stay. The premade meals were more than he ever would have asked for.
Michelle gestured at the containers. “Do you need dinner?”
“Nah, I had a sandwich on the plane. I’m just tired.”
It wasn’t a lie. And the sooner he went to bed, the sooner he could sneak out in the morning.
“All right,” she said, shutting the fridge. “You’re going to stay in my brother’s old room.”
He nodded. Junior’s room was upstairs, so Gabe would at least be far away from Michelle’s room in the base—
“Next to me,” she added.
Gabe frowned. “¿Qué?”
“I’m staying in Monica’s old room.”
“What happened to the basement?” The words were out before Gabe could stop himself. The basement was where their friendship had both leveled up and shattered, all in one fell swoop.
Michelle busied herself at the sink. “It was my dad’s dream to convert it into an entertainment room. Big TV, a bar, plus a desk and the exercise equipment. Once I moved out, he got his wish.”
“Oh.”
Shit. How was he supposed to function knowing she was sleeping in the room next to his? For some reason this was worse than the idea of sleeping on the sofa in her apartment. Maybe the memories of her family occupying this house, of his family right next door, would be enough to quell whatever thoughts his libido tried to conjure. Gabe could only hope.
But when Michelle took him upstairs, he saw something he’d forgotten. The bedrooms shared a bathroom.
Gabe stood inside it, the peach walls and tiles reflecting off his skin and making his image in the mirror look yellow and sallow, but all he could focus on was the explosion of bottles and jars on the bathroom counter. Michelle’s makeup, her lotion, her face stuff. All the things she used on her body, on her skin and hair, when she stood in this room naked.
He shut his eyes. Being here was reverting him back to his teenage self, and he didn’t want that. That Gabe had been unsure of himself, worried about what other people thought of him and his choices, too afraid to act. When he’d moved to Los Angeles, that had been one of the biggest changes he’d made. Alone, away from his family and everyone who knew him, he’d finally had the space to take decisive action, to not give a fuck what anyone thought. It had worked for him.
That was why he was here. Taking decisive action to open the New York location of the gym. Yes, it was part of his investment agreement, but he’d made a deal and he was confident Agility Gym could make the jump to a new market.
So why was he hung up on the simple task of brushing his teeth in the room where Michelle showered?
He sent his reflection a resigned glare. He knew why. Because he wanted her. Still or again, it didn’t matter. It had been a long time since he’d felt this level of wanting for someone. He didn’t know how much of it was old, leftover desire or some fucked-up part of him that wanted what he couldn’t have. But he wanted her, now. And there was no getting around that fact.
As Gabe got ready for bed that night, exhausted from a day of travel and riding the emotional roller coaster that had become his life, he reminded himself that this was why he’d left. Being here, around the people he’d left behind, pulled him into a hurricane of drama and doubt. Yeah, there were times he felt alone, but he was strong in his convictions, and that mattered more. Better to be alone and focused than surrounded by people who didn’t believe in him.
With that in mind, Gabe picked out his clothes for the next day, zipped his suitcase, and set an alarm for early the next morning.
He didn’t need these reminders of who he’d been. As much as he still wanted her, he couldn’t let Michelle trap him here, in such close proximity to painful memories.
Tomorrow, he was leaving.
Chapter 6
Michelle woke early the next morning. Too early, but she couldn’t get back to sleep, her mind full of thoughts of Gabe. Beside her, Jezebel was curled into a warm ball.
The summer morning light seeped past the bedroom curtains, which at one time had been pink, like the bedding, walls, and carpet. She’d shared this room with her sister before Monica had gone off to college and Michelle eventually moved down to the basement. Since then, it had been repurposed as her mother’s craft room and painted a soft yellow with white furniture and plastic drawers full of jewelry-making supplies and washi tape.
To an extent, Michelle understood how Gabe felt. It was weird to be sleeping in her parents’ house in her now-unfamiliar childhood bedroom. It had to be even stranger for Gabe, who hadn’t been back for many years.
When Michelle had conceived of this plan, some part of her hoped that having him here would make her feel . . . happy. She remembered being happy when they were young, whereas these days the best she could hope for was mild contentment. Plus, she’d missed Gabe more than she cared to admit. She’d expected some nostalgia, some reminiscing about the good old days. Excitement about the Agility project and catching up on what they’d been up to since they’d last seen each other. After all, they had college and all of their twenties to rehash.
What she hadn’t expected was the simmering arousal. Like all of her cells prickled with awareness of him. Like he was a giant magnet pulling her inexorably toward him, and she was powerless to stop the attraction. It was a force of nature, undeniable in its strength, laughing at her to just give in. To stop fighting it. You want him, dummy.
Michelle shoved the blankets aside and slid from the bed. This line of thinking was doing nothing but making it impossible for her to get back to sleep, and now she had to pee. Jezebel immediately burrowed into the warmth Michelle’s body left behind, making herself at home in the center of the bed.
Michelle stepped into her chancletas and left the room silently, making sure to avoid the creaking floorboards under the hall rug and on the stairs. She used the downstairs half bathroom so as not to wake Gabe by flushing the toilet on the other side of the wall from his bed, then went to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. If she was going to be up and about, she might as well caffeinate.