Page 35 of Fragile

“You have a problem with how I talk to you?”

“Yes.”

His eyes narrowed, “Well, there’s the door,” he stated, jabbing a finger towards the lift. “Problem solved. I mean it, Leonie, I can see your fucking nipples. You do the maths.”

My mouth dropped open and Max exhaled and then cursed, his nostrils flaring in a God-given-me-strength motion. What he said, however, poured more fuel onto the fire.

“And very nice they are,” he smirked, having recovered from the shock of his friend's words. I knew he was trying to lighten the mood but it only made it worse.

“Do it, Leonie. Unless you’re purposefully after some action from both of us?”

“Action?” I croaked weakly, folding my arms defensively over my chest. Gabriel took a menacing step forward.

“Yeah, I could do with a threesome after the day I’ve had.”

“Gabe, fuck me. Come on man,” Max interjected, his tone now serious. I certainly didn’t want to cause an argument between them and so I scurried past them both.

“Fine,” I replied meekly. “See you later Max.”

As I moved away, feeling like a pathetic little mouse I heard Max say, “That wasn’t very gentleman like.”

“Say’s Mother fucking Teresa,” Gabriel barked back.

“You’re such a twat.”

“Bite me. I told you she’s off limits.”

“We were talking Gabriel, that’s it. Why I bother attempting to juggle your fucking tantrums is anyone’s guess. Just fuck her and get it out of your system.”

OMG, what did he just say? I slowed my pace but any reply was missed as I rounded the corridor and went to my room with my tail between my legs. Oh, how I wished I owned an invisibility cloak so I could tiptoe over there and listen to what they were saying about me. What? My ears were burning and I was a firm believer in your body's tells.

Gabriel had clearly had a bad day. Did his attitude suggest that he’d struggled in his exam or was he just pissed off that I was associating with his friends? Who knew, at times the man was like a mystery I would never solve.

Chemistry be damned. Gabriel was mean and nasty and probably got off on being horrible to me; I either had to stand up to him and get a backbone or leave, and out of both of those options, I couldn’t choose either. I was trapped; now I knew what the term between a rock and a hard place meant and Gabriel Knight was both of those.

*****

Despite his black mood that evening after his exam, Gabriel did extremely well and aced his Masters, achieving a distinction (which meant he would be awarded honours with his degree). The results had arrived around two weeks later, although it had been Asher who had told me about it, not Gabriel.

I still hadn’t had the opportunity to congratulate him personally, the right moment had never arisen. I had toyed with the idea of buying him a card and offering to cook us all a celebratory dinner, but he’d been one step ahead of me. Gabriel had made sure he celebrated his success in style, hosting a huge party in one of the local upmarket bars. I’d only found out about it at the last minute from Asher, and so had decided not to go. I did have some pride and was no one’s afterthought.

I remember spending most of that evening limbering up in my room. Asher had texted to say he was staying at Mark’s and Gabriel and Max had come back around midnight drunk. I’d remained in my room; a sober Gabriel was hard enough to deal with so what on earth would the inebriated version look like? It was definitely something I wasn’t prepared to tackle, especially when his giant of a friend was with him. As I had dozed off, falling in and out of sleep, I was sure I’d heard a soft knock on my door but come morning, I imagined I’d dreamt it.

To be honest, the atmosphere between Gabriel and me had become more intense. I had hoped that the awkwardness I felt around him would disappear with time, but it was as present as ever. He continued to act like a bear with a sore head around me. It was like I couldn’t do anything right. If he wasn’t ignoring me, Gabriel was telling me off for something; like he wanted me to hate him.

The day after the infamous ‘threesome’ comment, he’d cornered me in the kitchen and told me to stop flirting with Max.

I had attempted to deflect the heat by complimenting him on his choice of friends which backfired. Gabriel stated that the guys he hung around with were ‘not’ friends, they were associates, ones that he tolerated in small doses. He then contradicted himself later during the conversation (if you can call it that) by telling me to stay away from his ‘friends.’ At that point I decided that Gabriel Knight made his own rules and expected everyone to follow them, irrespective of his hypocrisy.

It was Thursday and I’d received a call from the club to ask if I could cover again for one of the girls who was sick. I was in the process of leaving for work when Gabriel decided to speak to me for what would be the first time that day. Odd really when we’d all been rattling around the apartment, even half-watching a movie together.

“Where are you off to?” he mumbled from the kitchen as I walked past him and Asher. They were in the middle of cooking supper. I stopped and turned toward them. Why he thought he could question my movements was beyond me, especially when he’d ignored me all day.

The smell of something spicy was in the air and my stomach grumbled; I was purposefully watching the calories, needing my body to be ready for the showcase which was now only days away. My stomach ached from the lack of food.

My mouth didn’t appear to be moving as I eyed the pot bubbling on the stove with envious eyes.

“Leonie, don’t ignore me. I asked you a question,” he stated, leaning back against the counter with a spatula in one hand. His angry outburst hit my ears like an insult.

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