Once back at the resort, we debate whether to bring her back to our place or hers but end up deciding hers might be best. She may have agreed to what happened in the cave, but that doesn’t mean she’ll agree to spend the night with us.
We walk up to her villa and knock on the door, hoping Aubrey is there so we don’t have to go hunt her down and explain to everyone why we’re carrying Veronica around while she’s out cold.
The door swings open seconds later. “Oh, thank God you guys are back. We were starting to get worried.” She presses a hand to her chest but then looks down at our girl. “Oh my God! What happened?! Is she okay?”
Gabe smiles brightly. “Oh, baby Ford, she’s more than okay. Don’t you worry, we took good care of her.”
Aubrey blushes intensely in an instant. “Ohlord...”
“Can you show us to her room? So that she can sleep it off a bit. I don’t think she’s ready to wake up just yet,” I ask her.
She nods and moves to the side. “Yes, of course. Just this way.” She begins to walk to the right and heads up the few steps to a room.
The layout of their place is identical to ours, so we know our way around immediately. Once I’ve set her down in bed, Gabe goes into the bathroom and comes back with a warm, wet washcloth. I remove her bikini bottom to let him clean her up as I hunt through her things for something else to put her in.
I find a large gray shirt in one of the drawers that, without a doubt, must belong to a man. I push the irritation of knowing she carries a man’s shirt around with her down and bring it over to the bed.
When Gabe’s done cleaning her up, he helps me pass her arms and head through the shirt before we put her back down and cover her body with a thin blanket. Then we both kiss her forehead before walking out of the room.
“Fuck, I’m starving,” Gabe declares as his stomach growls angrily.
“Do we just leave her here? The gang’s already waiting on us to have dinner…” Aubrey seems reluctant to leave Veronica on her own.
“I’ll stay back until she wakes up. You guys go eat,” I offer.
“You sure?” Gabe asks.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’d rather she not wake up alone. She might be disoriented a little.”Plus, it will give me time to make my call in private.
“Okay, we’ll let the others know. There’s a bit of food in the fridge if you’re hungry,” Aubrey says as she comes to kiss my cheek, blushing once more.
I don’t think Aubrey is attracted to me at all. She just can’t hide her emotions even if she tries. And the act of affection, even a friendly one, makes her react. “Thank you for watching over her.”
“We’ll bring you guys back some food if you aren’t there when we leave,” Gabe calls as they walk out of the villa.
I go back to Veronica’s room and lie down in bed beside her. Instinctively, she turns toward me and places her hand on my chest. “Noah,” she whispers in her sleep as she cuddles up to my side. I bring my arm up around her and under her head, placing her how I always wanted her.
Hearing my name fall from her lips as she sleeps tugs at my heart. I can’t help watching her, wanting to kiss her and hold her forever. I knew this would happen. I knew she was different.
I knew once I had her, everything would change, that I’d never want to let her go. That she’d become my sole purpose. The center of my universe.
And as of right now, I can say it without a doubt.
I’ve fallen madly in love with Veronica Masters.
Chapter nineteen
Gabriel
Really, Sy? Your mom?
“So… is this like, just for fun? With Ronnie I mean.” Aubrey blushes at my side as we walk down the path to reach our friends. “I know Ronnie always says she doesn’t want to date, but I think that’s a lie. I think she’s just afraid to let anyone in. And I know I shouldn’t be saying this, but right now, she’s confused about her feelings for you both. I just don’t want you to hurt her if it is just fun for you guys,” she finishes softly.
I look down at my feet.Do we really come out as such assholes who only think about fucking chicks?I guess that makes sense since we’ve never had a relationship with a woman of any type to show them the contrary. But I don’t think it’s because we didn’t want one. We just hadn’t found someone we wanted to take that next step with, someone we couldn’t stop thinking about. Not until Ronnie.
When I take too long to answer, she continues. “Look, I’ve known you guys for a while now, and I love you both, but Ronnie’s my best friend. I would hate for something to go wrong and then have things be weird between all of us, or her not wanting to hang out with the gang anymore.”
I place a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from taking her next step and turning her to face me. “Let me stop you right there.” I smile. “I care deeply about Ronnie, and so does Noah. Whatever happened between us three today wasn’t just about sex, it was more, and I’m just hoping she saw it that way as well. So maybe if you could put in a good word for us, that would be cool.” I chuckle, then sling my arm over her shoulders as we begin walking again.
