AllFreeNovel
Share Us
There was no way I could come this far and not make Gabriel see how dangerous people like my uncle really were. If George had managed to contribute to the death of his parents, there was no telling what he would do to Gabe.
I had no idea how I would get through to him, but I would try. Deciding to buy more time, I removed my clothes and rummaged around in my overnight bag for something to put on. After I pulled out a stretchy camisole and pair of panties, I tossed them onto the bed and walked into the bathroom.
It was the same boring shade of white as the bedroom which didn’t surprise me at all. I turned on the shower and let the water run as I pulled my hair out of a ponytail. My eyes were bloodshot, and even more red from my previous crying. My cheeks were also flushed, and I looked a mess.
I grabbed some towels, setting them within range of the shower, then stepped under the water which was scalding hot. I jumped back as far as I could, but still be able to reach the faucet, then turned it down. Another tear slipped unchecked from my eye as I remembered the one and only time I had ever been in a shower with Gabriel.
“Oh my God. Are you trying to burn me?” I’d asked him the night of our homecoming dance. We’d just made love for the first time and had decided to shower together. I was never a fan of super hot water, but he evidently was.
“I like my water how I like my Harper—hot.”
I’d pushed at his chest, but his arms wrapped around mine and when he lifted one of my legs, he thrust inside of me. Gabriel had always had the uncanny ability to make me forget the world around us when he was near. I closed my eyes and tried to remember that night in better detail. I could remember what we did and how, but it was the feeling of belonging... security... and love that I remembered most. Gabriel was a literal cocoon, and I never felt more cherished as I did that night.
My hands moved to my breasts as I recalled the way he lifted me up the wall and lowered his head to my breasts as he brought me to an orgasm. My fingers tried to mimic the feel of his, but I could never quite recreate this no matter how many times I had tried in the past. I stopped midway through trying this time.
“This is crazy,” I said aloud.
Gabriel was a few doors down the hallway, and instead of trying to save him as I had flown all this way to do, I was touching myself while dreaming of him. I dropped my hands to the tiled wall in front of me, then dropped my head. This too was familiar because after he took me against the wall one way, he lowered me back to my feet, spun me around, then took me from the back.
I had to stop thinking about that night. Nothing in my life had ever come close to it, nor would any ever come close now. I quickly showered, then dried off before returning to the bedroom to put on the camisole and panties. I returned to the bathroom to dry my hair and when I returned to the bed, I pulled down the covers, but didn’t crawl underneath them.
I wasn’t tired at all. While the time zone had a lot to do with it, I was super restless. I never used to be, but once the late night visits started, I would force myself to stay up at night so I could at least brace myself for the pain which would follow.
I paced back and forth around the room before deciding to go downstairs. I had noticed a number of things that could take my mind off of everything, including these unresolved feelings that being so close to Gabriel brought back up.
I grabbed the robe from the bathroom and tied the belt tightly around me before stepping out into the hallway. The place was eerily silent, and I tiptoed down the hallway to his room.
The door was slightly ajar, so I peeked inside of it. Gabriel was in bed, and I had to force myself not to stare. It was hard because he was as beautiful as I remembered him being, except he had filled out his frame even more. His skin was flawless, other than a small scar on his face that he gotten one of those summers in the Hamptons.
Everywhere I looked was hard muscle, and an aching in my core nearly made me double over. I still wanted him, desperately, and realizing that, I quickly stepped back.
I continued down the hallway, then the stairs, before I moved over to the long wall of floor-to-ceiling windows. It was snowing heavily now, the various sized flakes even accumulating on the glass. The street below was entirely covered in a blanket of white, and I supposed the meteorologists might’ve gotten this forecast right.
I stood there for several minutes staring out at the city I once loved. If only my parents hadn’t died, then I could’ve been enjoying views like this every night. Mine in Portland wasn’t bad, but nothing beat the skyline in front of me.
Eventually, I turned around and the pool table off in the distance caught my eye. Deciding to expel some restless energy with a game, I headed over to it.
GABRIEL
I was awakened to a noise and bolted upright in bed. I was a bit foggy, especially considering how much I’d drank before I had gone to bed. After thinking I might’ve been a bit harsh with Harper, I walked back to her room, but she was in the shower. I then realized what I was doing and quickly reversed course.
I grabbed a bottle of whiskey from downstairs and proceeded to drink enough of it until I passed out on the bed which was why it took a minute to realize who was there with me. Harper Grimes. I raked a hand through my hair, then looked over at the clock beside my bed.
“For fuck’s sake, it’s after 1 AM,” I muttered aloud.
Of all people I expected to see at that bachelor charity auction, she was not it. After all, she left ten years ago after the death of her parents, then threw me aside. Out of sight, out of mind, was how I had figured it’d gone down.
The anger over everything that happened after still consumed me, even to this day. It was another reason I wondered what had possessed me to invite her back to my place. I then remembered an issue with hotel vacancies and that damn storm.
She had to have heard the weather forecasts ahead of time, but still flew over here expecting what? She then somehow found out where I was, then spent all of that money winning a date with me. While the so-called dates were supposed to be just dinner and possibly dancing, I had lost what was left of my mind and reluctantly agreed to bring her home.
Perhaps I just wanted to see how much she had changed over the years. Or maybe, I also wanted to see what she had become because it was nothing like what we had discussed as our life’s plan.
“I’m a fucking idiot,” I cursed as I remembered all the years we spent planning a life together, only for her to end it with a few personal messages and photographs.
Those had been the worst. I knew before them that something was bothering her. I assumed it was grief and maybe some struggle to adjust to a new city and school. Never had I imagined that her attitude change had been because of anther boy.
Even now, I could still remember what she had sent me when I tried to convince her to not give up on us. I’d been so replaceable, yet I was still too in love to let her go. It was only when I received evidence of her infidelity and it sent my entire world crashing down around my feet. The pain in seeing her with another guy gutted me.
