He kissed my forehead. “I’m overloading you, I’m sorry. We will talk about this some more soon, okay?”
I nodded and buried my face in his chest, cherishing being with him and that he was willing to give me another chance.
CHAPTER THIRTY
GABRIEL
January
Knowing that Jake wasn’t at the market waiting for me was out of the ordinary. It had become a habit to spend our lunch breaks together. Remembering he was sleeping in my bed and lounging barefoot in my condo made up for our missed lunch. I wanted to rush home and hold him because I couldn’t believe he was in my life, but work kept me at the clinic.
He’d quit his job last week because he’d made a New Year’s resolution to work on himself. I promised to help him, and we laid down plans for the future. He intended to pursue his GED but would need to take some courses at the community college. He’d been embarrassed about admitting to having an eighth-grade education, but he’d trusted me enough to tell me and I took it as a huge win. Also on his to-do list was getting his driver’s license. During the weekend, in the evenings, I took him to an industrial park and showed him how to drive.
We’d been doing a lot of talking these past few weeks about what we expected from our relationship and how to address his personal issues. It was all conversations that needed to happen, and I was hopeful about our life together. We loved each other and the bumps in the road were just that—minor inconveniences.
As I munched on my salad, I surfed property listings for farming land outside of Chicago. There was a smaller lot not far from the pumpkin farm that was perfect for a comfortable house and a few apple trees and a chicken coop. Not that I intended on actually buying anything, but it was fun pretending to own a farm. Maybe in a few years when we were settled, we might do it.
Thinking of our life together made me long for him and I sent him a text message.
Gabe: It’s only noon and I miss U already. U destroy me 4 life.
He was quick to respond.
Jake: You’re just horny and want to get inside my ass.
I beamed like a motherfucker. He wasn’t wrong. I’d never get tired of making love to him, but more than that I just wanted to hold him because he needed it.
Gabe: With panties on?
The devil emoji he sent me made me laugh out loud. My salad sat abandoned as I remembered how his ass looked in pretty pink lace. I’d never had an attraction to women's lingerie before but found that I enjoyed Jake in it. It got him so hot, stripping away his reservations and letting him be who he was.
Biting my lip, I pulled up the website of a local lingerie store and surfed their selection. Before I knew it, my virtual cart was full of sexy and slutty underwear, stockings, and garter belts. He’d said he’d wear anything I bought for him, and I couldn’t help myself. I hit pay and sat back in my chair. I was hopeful about our relationship despite certain challenges. But when you loved someone, you loved all of them, even their flaws.
The day flew by mercifully fast, and I rushed home to Jake. I found him sitting on a stool at the kitchen island, hunched over some comic panels. He’d posted some of his art online and had received positive reviews with people asking formore adventures of the boy with powers who just wanted to be like everyone else.
Wrapping my arms around his shoulders, I kissed the back of his neck. “What are you working on?”
“Inking the pages,” he said, his focus on his work. “Once they're done, I can color them with the markers you got me.”
“Then you put them online, make lots of money, and I become the kept boy?” I teased.
“You’re getting ahead of yourself,” he said and tipped his head back so I could kiss his lips. “Superhero comics aren’t a novel idea.”
“And you don’t give yourself enough credit,” I said between pecks. “Not only are these good, but the story is excellent.”
He blushed and looked at the pages scattered across the marble. “I…used to wish I were a superhero when I was a kid. I wanted to be Superman just so I could fly away and escape my life.”
I massaged his shoulders as he told me a little more about his mother and all her problems. I wished I could make those bad memories disappear for him.
He turned to me and slid my hips between his legs. I could never get close enough. “How is your sister?”
“She’s still in rehab but Dad has come to accept there is only so much we can do. Our priority is Amelia. Her needs now come first and… We’ve been discussing the idea of filing for full custody.”
He sucked his lip between his teeth. “That’s probably a good idea.”
“We just can’t keep putting Amelia through this anymore. Should Bev ever get clean, she will have to prove to the courts she is fit.”
He hugged me closely. “I’m glad Amelia has the support of a family.”
