Page 29 of Reeling in Love

Gabriel: #RelationshipKiller

Well, that sucked.

Nora is clearly upset. She doesn’t even want to see my face. Throughout the drive back, she stares out the window. She's perched on the edge of the seat as if someone has glued her to the door frame. I’ve probably spoiled things for us forever.

What an asshole I am.

The first time I see her as a woman and I can’t keep my hands to myself. I knew she was vulnerable after her break-up, and I still kissed her. That’s a rule between friends you can never break. The line you can never cross. But I did.

What’s worse, I want to kiss her again. I want to touch her so bad my hand twitches just thinking about it. The way she moaned when we kissed. Jesus! I feel like a teenager with his first crush. And to top it off, it’s with the one person I can’t have this kind of intimacy.

Why? Because this is the one relationship I’ll do anything for. The one thing that keeps me sane. And we all know how most, nay ALL, my romantic entanglements end. In disaster. Yeah. I’m a relationship killer. That’s who I am. I can’t make any relationship last longer than six months. Something breaks in me. In fact, something is broken within me.

I can’t risk Nora and our friendship for this romantic feeling I’m developing that’ll probably last no more than a few days. One that I’m not even sure she reciprocates. And that’s why this, this stupid thing that I did today, cannot go on.

Not that she wants it. I saw the disgust on her face after the kiss when the lights came back on. While I was coming to terms with what had happened, there she was, disappointment written all over her face. Anyway, what’s done is done. All we have to do is forget this happened. I’m sure it’s temporary and we both can go back to the way we were.

Except that we probably can’t. Not me, at least. Can I ever forget the feel of her lips on mine, the rolling of her tongue, the sound of her moaning into my mouth, the feel of her thighs, and the effect the slow movement of her body against mine had on me? It was ecstasy. Just pure ecstasy and bliss.

We reach the condo. While I pay off the driver, she stumbles halfway inside the building, with her arms folded against her chest. She doesn’t even respond to Jenkins as he waves at her. Shit! She’s really upset. What have I done?

I run after her and get inside the elevator with her, right before the doors close. She’s still not looking at me and prefers holding the elevator wall over my hand to steady herself.

Once inside the house, she waddles over to her room with an unsteady gait. Well, she did have one too many drinks. Thankfully, I stopped after some time because at least one of us had to be sane. Not that my sanity did anything except make things worse. She was drunk and that can be excused. But what’s my excuse for kissing the hell out of my best friend?

I take a glass of water and some aspirin and knock on the door.

“What?”

“You want some water?”

She replies after a few moments of silence. “Yeah, okay. Door’s open.”

I go inside and find her trying to get out of her stilettos. Looks like she’s more drunk than I thought.

“You need help with your shoes or dress or anything?” I ask, trying hard not to gape at her as she bends low in that short dress.

“No. Thanks. I can manage. I’ve been doing this for many years and can do it now, too.”

Her speech is a little slurred.

“Okay. Why don’t you have a bath, drink some water, and get some sleep? We’ll talk in the morning. Okay?” I say, placing her favorite T-shirt and shorts on the bed.

She nods and finally frees herself from her left stiletto. “See,” she says, waving it in my face. “I can do it myself. Don’t need no one’s help.”

I smile. Drunk Nora is super cute.

“Um... I’m going to ... um… take a shower now,” she says once she is free from her footwear. She moves past me and staggers into the bathroom.

In a moment, she peeps outside. I know why and I’m ready for it. She’s forgotten to take her towel. I hand it over to her and stand against the doorframe. She’s too drunk to be left alone.

“Are you going to stay here the whole time?”

“Well, in case you need help.”

“Showering? Really? You help Ryan or Alex shower when they stay here?”

She has a point there.

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