The teasing light in his eyes softened. His tongue darted out and he licked his bottom lip like he always did when he was nervous. She filed that away in the “same” category. Also in the “cute” category.
“Did it feel good?” he asked, voice quiet.
On the floor, Jezebel reached up to paw at his knees. Michelle’s heart thumped when he leaned down to pick up the cat, but she just shrugged and turned back to the sink. “Yeah. Fine.”
“Fine?”
She bit back a laugh at his aggrieved response. “Maybe more than fine,” she amended.
He stared at her for a second longer, then his eyes narrowed, and he said, “Michelle.”
Just that. Just her name, in a low growl with a tinge of exasperation and humor, like he was trying not to laugh. He’d said her name like this before, but the growl . . . that was new.
She filed it under “different” and “sexy.”
“You hear that, Jezebel?” he muttered behind her. “She says it was just fine. Next time I need to show her what I can really do when it’s not three-thirty A.M. my time and she’s not rushing me.”
He put the cat down and opened the fridge, taking out the containers of cottage cheese and blueberries Michelle had bought for him.
Next time? Hell, she’d barely survived the first time with her self-control intact. How would she handle a second time?
Michelle really hadn’t planned to let him make her come. Her intention had been to get in and out—so to speak. Wham, bam, thank you, man. She’d thought rushing him into the penetration part and being on top would have helped her stay in control, but then Gabe had to go and call her “mami”—which should not have been so adorable—and whisper sweet nothings in her ear.
Don’t worry. I’ve got you.
Damn it, how was she supposed to keep her head when the man said things like that while holding her in those massively big, strong arms? It just wasn’t fair. Even a hard-ass like her couldn’t keep her cool under that kind of seduction.
The easiness of their banter should have made her happy—this was the closest to “old times” she’d felt since picking him up last night. Sex should have complicated their interactions, made things more awkward. Instead, it had torn down a wall between them—a wall Michelle desperately wished would stay up. She felt closer to him now, like she could say or do anything around him. And that was dangerous.
Maybe Gabe wasn’t leaving today, but he was still going back to Los Angeles on Friday. She couldn’t let herself get used to this.
No matter how good it felt.
Chapter 9
Gabe ate his breakfast and tried to keep his hands to himself. Michelle clearly didn’t want to get all snuggly, and her “fine” comment bothered him.
She was holding back. He could tell from the way she’d rushed him and used humor as a defensive tactic, even when he was inside her. She’d held back during sex, and she was trying to put distance between them now. It was smart. Whatever they were doing here was only temporary. He had every intention of returning to his life in Los Angeles at the end of the week, and handing the New York reins over to Fabian whenever the guy was ready. Gabe wasn’t back for good.
All the same, he just wanted to be close to Michelle again.
It was stupid to want her like this. There was still too much baggage between them, too much distance, and she was too tied to his old life. For twelve years’ worth of memories, she was a constant fixture. In college, he’d struggled not to start sentences with “my friend Michelle” whenever he talked about something from his childhood. Each time had been a reminder that they weren’t friends anymore. Eventually he just stopped talking about his life in New York altogether. It was one of the things he loved about Agility Gym—it was entirely rooted in his life in California. There was no overlap. No reminders of who he’d been, or of the people who hadn’t believed in him.
Until now, when his worlds were colliding.
Gabe put his bowl and spoon in the sink and gave them a quick wash with the sponge before setting them in the drying rack. Then he turned to bring up something that had occurred to him in the shower.
“I probably should’ve asked earlier, but I’m assuming you don’t have a boyfriend who’s going to show up at any minute, right?”
“No boyfriend. Or any other kind of friend, for that matter.” Michelle raised an eyebrow. “And you? No secret wife back in LA?”
Gabe held up his bare left hand. “No wife, no husband, no spouse. I don’t want to get married, and even if I did, I don’t have time to date anyone.”
Michelle propped a hand on her hip, her jaw dropping open in surprise. “Gabriel Aguilar, do you mean to tell me we’re both bi?”
He grinned. “Looks that way.”
“Huh. Wish we’d figured that out in high school. We could’ve had some amazing conversations.”
“I kinda knew,” he said with a shrug. “But it wasn’t like we had too many people around us to provide an example, you know? And I never would’ve told my parents.”
“True. My tío Luisito didn’t come out to the family until a few years ago, after his divorce. Everyone was more chill about it than I expected them to be. He’s married to Tío Archer now, and he’s never looked happier. Plus, Abuela adores Archer.”
“I came out to my sister,” Gabe said. “My niece Lucy is transgender, so I wanted to make sure she knows someone else in the family is queer.”
Michelle’s smile softened. “I’m sure that made a huge difference to her.”
“I hope so.”
“Ava and Jasmine kind of know about me, but I don’t talk about dating at all, so who knows what the rest of my family thinks.”
His brows creased. “Why don’t you talk about dating?”
“Because I don’t date.” Her tone was matter-of-fact.
“Why not?”
“Why don’t you?”
“Like I said, I don’t have time.”
“Maybe I don’t have time either.”
Gabe raised an eyebrow, and she expelled a sigh. “Look, love and romance just aren’t for me.”
“But you deserve those things.” And more. Michelle deserved to be worshipped and adored.
“If that were true, my romantic life wouldn’t have gone the way it has.” She shrugged again. “It’s fine. I don’t plan to ever get married or have kids. I love my nieces and nephews, but I don’t feel any urge to have kids of my own.”
“Same. I’m content to be an uncle.” Gabe pulled up a photo on his phone and turned it to show her. “Lucy and Oliver. My niece and nephew.”
Michelle smiled at the picture of the children, but her eyes were a little sad. “I know,” she said. “I’ve met them.”
“Oh. Right.” Of course she had. She’d been here all the years he hadn’t.
“How come I never saw you?” she asked quietly. “On holidays or summer break?”
“I didn’t come back often. When I did, I usually stayed with my uncle or my sister.”
Michelle turned away to fuss with the stuff around the sink. “Was it me?”