"Hi, momma. Can I talk to you…in private?" she added.
Ebony told herself if she was going to do this she would much rather talk to her mother. Disappointment or anger, while they would still gut her, she could handle from her mother, but never from her father. Ever.
In the background she heard her father saying something but she heard a door shut and her mother sigh. "Just so you know he may cry for being left out." There was no sympathy in her mother's tone.
"Umm…" Now her heart was beating like crazy. She was glad she was seated or she would've passed out.
Just how the hell was she supposed to say this? Hey mom, you know Gavin, my brother, right? Well guess what?
Ebony felt sick. "I…umm…"
She couldn't do it. She couldn’t make herself say the words. Maybe she could just text her or-
Whitney’s voice was so soft Ebony almost doubted it was her mother. "Is this about Gavin?"
Ebony's fist clenched into her shorts. "Yes."
Whitney didn’t say anything for several seconds and Ebony was sure some of her soul left her body.
"Do you remember when Grant nearly sent Gavin up to that all boys boarding school he and his brothers attended growing up?"
Ebony blinked. That was a long time ago but it was still a memory she could never forget. It was around the time when their parents first got married. Gavin had been acting out at school and at home. He was like a demon child, unpredictable and angry. Ebony could vividly remember his father looking as if he was going to kill him.
"Yeah," she answered.
"Grant had told him he had one last chance and one more tantrum, or fight at school, fight with you, or anything he was going to that academy. But I figured I would have my own conversation with Gavin as well. While you were outside playing, I called him to me and sat him down. I simply told him that he could do what he was told and keep his life here in his house and we can live together as one family or he could get himself sent away…and you as well."
Ebony didn’t say anything. She wasn’t shocked by the news. She had overheard her mom talking with Grant about the all-girls academy next door to the boys’ school. A child-free life with her rich and powerful husband, that would be very on-brand for her mother. What had shocked her was Whitney never acted on it.
"I still remember the look on Gavin's face when I said that. The threat of the academy was not something new, it was a threat Grant had thrown around before. But what Gavin didn’t expect was the very real threat to you. Ebony darling he has loved you for a very long time. I've watched it grow from a friendship into the…slightly unhealthy obsession it is now. I'm quite positive you two would never be happy apart. I love you darling and if I've never taught you anything, I have taught you to go after what you want in life.”
Chapter thirty-one
Gavin stared at the door across the hall. For the first time in what felt like forever he slept in his own bed without her. Tossing and turning next to the empty spot beside him, could anyone even call that sleep?
With his chin propped on his fists he sat at the edge of his bed, never taking his eyes off the door across the hall. His bag, which had been packed before the sun was up, sat by his door, looking just as lonely and desolate as he felt. The house was too quiet, the kind of quiet that made every thought hit harder and louder. Closing his eyes for a moment, he remembered last night and ground his teeth. The taste of her, the sound of her, all of it had been exquisite. And he shouldn't have fucking left!
He inwardly cursed himself for the hundredth time since leaving her there spread across her bed nude and breathing hard. Gavin tightened his grip around his other hand until his knuckles popped. Fuck. He wanted to get up and go punch the bag in the gym. But he couldn’t leave her door. The door that stayed fucking closed.
His pulse spiked as fear crept into his bloodstream and he looked at the clock. It was almost time for the bus to come pick them up. What if she didn’t choose him? What if she was in there right now in front of the mirror practicing her best smile reserved for a sibling? A small part of him, a part that wanted to protect himself told him to be ready in case she didn’t choose him, but the thought barely made it out of his head before his chest tightened. He couldn’t picture that future. Could not fucking tolerate it. What would it be, her brushing past him, just smiling like nothing had changed, like she hadn't ridden his face to completion pulling at his hair crying for more? They would just pretend they weresiblingsforever? The thought made him ill. The thought made the muscles in his legs jump with the need to kick down her door and finish what he had started with her last night. Maybe if he was buried balls deep inside of her and looking into her beautiful brown eyes as he fucked her then maybe he could convince her there was no fucking way she was getting rid of him.
Getting up, he began to pace. His eyes darted toward her door every few seconds. Every tick of the clock was a strain on his grip of his sanity. He never felt so ill in his life as he waited like a man bracing for an impact that could possibly destroy him.
A sound stilled him. With wild eyes he watched the turn of the knob, the almost silent creak of the hinges. He held his breath; his entire soul balanced on the knife edge between relief and devastation.
Rolling her pink and white suitcases ahead of her she stopped when she caught sight of him. She looked amazing. Wearing jeans and a simple white button-down shirt, she looked a lot like her mom in that moment, he mused. Polished and composed, every line of her relaxed posture whispering quiet control.
Gavin barely let himself breathe as he approached her. He needed to know. That was all he could think. He just needed her to deliver the final blow already.
Ebony reached for him, giving him an unreadable smile that made him want to shake her. Robotically he gave her his hand and let her pull him out into the hall.
She looked up to him and then to the camera at the far end.
He was beginning to frown when her hands, cool and soft, pulled his face down to meet her lips. He made a sound, something deep and guttural in his throat as he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her high off the ground. He nearly cried in relief as her legs wrapped around his waist. She was choosing him, despite their parents and despite convention, she chose him.
Hismouth captured hers, His tongue finding hers. She tasted of like sweet heat. Ebony moaned into his mouth, her tongue entwining with his. He let out a low sound in his throat, part growl, part hum of satisfaction. This. This was fucking it. No stolen kisses in the dark. Just hunger. His hands squeezed her ass bracing her tighter against him until she could feel the hard rise of his cock pressing into her.
Ebony made a sound and pulled back and for a split second he feared she would pull away from him completely but her reassuring smile doused that fear.
