AllFreeNovel
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“She has such a way with words,” I joke.
Andrew chuckles before running a hand through his hair. “Look, you caught me off guard I’ll admit, but it doesn’t deter me. She’s right, it’s obvious you are no longer that person. It’s in your past.”
“Yeah,” I say glancing away. “Sure.”
For the rest of the date, Andrew and I talk about safer subjects. We discuss our likes and dislikes, movies and tv shows, and he told me about his childhood and his family. Overall, I really enjoyed my time with him.
“I can’t believe you actually told your professor that.” He laughs.
“Look, math is already my hardest subject. I could not sit in that classroom for an hour with someone who smelled like hot ass on a bed of wild onions.”
Andrew tosses his head back and laughs again. He has a nice laugh. It’s breathy and deep almost like a chuckle. I wonder what Gabriel’s laughter sounds like?
My thoughts come to a screeching halt. What the hell? Why is he popping up in my head? This is not the time or place to get lost in Gabriel.
“Are you okay?” Andrew asks. “You looked a little spooked for a minute.”
Planting a smile on my face, I shake all thoughts of Gabriel out of my mind.
“No, I’m good.”
“Well, how about I pay for dinner and maybe you and I can go for a walk?”
“That sounds nice.”
Andrew reaches across the table and places a hand on top of mine giving it a gentle squeeze.
“Alright, I’ll grab the waiter and go to the restroom.” He smiles as he stands and walks away. I watch him as he heads toward the bathroom. Turning back around, I grab my phone out of my purse with a huge smile on my face.
Me: Okay, I take back everything I said about your matchmaking skills.
The dots immediately pop up alerting me that Trina is replying.
Bestie: I told you he would be perfect. And he’s sexy.
Me: LOL! He is. We’re going for a walk after this. I’m sharing my location with you.
I scroll through my apps to find the share location option. I liked Andrew and all, but you can never be too careful. Sooner than expected the chair in front of me scrapes across the floor alerting me that Andrew had returned. I quickly put my phone back in my purse.
“Well, that was qui….” My words die on my tongue as I sit up straight and look across the table. It isn’t the well put together Andrew sitting in front of me. It’s the one person I was sure I’d never see again.
“Gabriel,” his name rolls off my tongue in a breathless whisper.
Although Andrew is attractive with his dark hair and geeky vibe. There is something about the man sitting across from me that puts all other men in the mediocre box.
I take a minute to admire the man that has made cameo appearances in my thoughts since the morning I woke up without him.
In my mind his eyes aren’t as electric as they are sitting across from me. The pale scars that mar his face seem less prominent in real life than in my dreams. Those lips that I’ve dreamt about kissing me are fuller than I remember, so is his size. It feels as if he’s gotten taller and even more buff in our time apart.
His long golden blond hair hangs in his face like curtains. For what feels like an eternity he and I stare at each other. It’s as if we are both taking in the changes of the other.
It isn’t until I start to pay closer attention that I notice the veins in his neck. The way his hands are fisted on top of the table. The way his breathing lifts and drops his shoulders as if he’s been running. Even the vacant look in his eyes.
I saw this look many times that night. That is one thing that my memory never gets wrong. Gabriel is battling his mother. It is then I realize that he just popped up on my date. A date with someone that has yet to come out of the bathroom.
I shut my eyes and take a deep breath before reopening and speaking. “Is he alive?”
Silence, and then finally he speaks. “He’s breathing.”
