Rush: Part One & Two (The Pitstop Series Book 3)

My focus has been on the countless yachts in the harbor for most of the meal. The water barely moves, except for the occasional seagull, which disturbs the peace to collect some food. Gabriel has been trying to reach me, but I’m ignoring his texts. We need to speak in person, not over the phone.

“Can I bring you both something else? Maybe a little dessert?” our waitress asks, tearing me from my thoughts.

Her attention is on Adrian, a challenging look on her face. They’ve been flirting since we’ve sat down, which is why I can’t keep the smile off my face. My gaze shifts to my brother, who gives her an easy smirk that turns her cheeks a deep red color.

“Depends. What are you offering?” he asks, and I roll my eyes when she slips him a note.

“Would that be of interest to you?” she replies, making me feel the urge to cover my ears. I don’t want to know what she wrote on that paper.

“How could I say no to someone as beautiful as you?”

I smack my forehead, earning me a kick to the shin from him. It’s not hard, just enough to serve as a ‘stop that’. A laugh slips from my lips before I can contain it.

“Do you want to walk home?” he asks, and I cover my mouth with my hand.

He turns back to the patiently waiting waitress, Julia.

“I get off in ten minutes,” she informs him, and Adrian smiles at her.

“If we follow the instructions on your note, yes, you will,” he assures her, making another blush settle on her cheeks.

I suppress the urge to make a hurling sound but let it out when Julia leaves our table to get the check Adrian asked for.

“Give me the keys, please. I can’t stay and watch more of that,” I say and point at him. Adrian grins as he hands me the keys to his car.

“I’ll be home later,” he assures me, and I roll my eyes for the second time before standing up.

“You know, relationships aren’t as bad as you think. They might be worth a shot.” Adrian frowns in an instant.

“No, thank you. I’ve gotten hurt enough times in my life,” he replies, and I bend down to press a kiss to the top of his head.

“Someday, a wonderful person is going to step into your life, and you won’t be able to turn away from them, no matter our past. Trust me, I know.” Adrian squeezes my side, acknowledging my words without responding.

If I were smarter, I’d adapt his mindset to shield myself from further pain, but Gabriel is under my skin now. He’s the reason why my walls have turned to dust.

I text him to meet me at my house. I don’t want to torture him any longer nor do I want my anger to remain unresolved.

By the time I finally get home, he’s sitting on my porch, his head between his arms, and his phone in his hand. When he looks up and sees me, relief washes over his face.

“Thank God, you’re okay! Why have you been ignoring me? I was worried sick about you!” he says as he tries to close the distance between us. I hold up my hands to stop him, which he does at once.

“You’ve been keeping something important from me,” I reply, and his eyebrows twitch from uncertainty.

“Chérie, please be a little more specific. As much as I’d love to, I can’t read your thoughts.” I would have expected him to be angry with me for avoiding him, but he’s genuinely trying to make sense of how I feel instead.

“My eighteenth birthday party.” His eyes go wide, and the confusion vanishes from his face. “The night you whispered naughty things into my ear, then brushed it off, and didn’t tell me about it the next day.”

Gabriel nods, a shameful frown now on his face. It makes the dimples on his cheeks stand out, but for once, it’s not in the way I love.

“You should have been honest with me.”

The more I look at him, the more I realize I want an explanation. I’m not angry, but he needs to tell me why he kept this a secret.

“You’re right. I was a coward for not telling you because I was scared you would never look at me the same way. At the time, I had no idea how you felt about me, and I didn’t want to risk our friendship because of one tipsy confession,” he explains, and I wipe my face with my hands.

His words help me understand him, so I take a step toward him.

“I am so sorry for not telling you. I should have when we started this thing between us. God, I’m so sorry, baby.” I move even closer until my hands rest on each side of his neck, pulling his face down to mine.

“No matter how scared you are to tell me something, you can always confide in me, especially when it’s something like this,” I remind him, and he leans his forehead against mine.

Our breaths intertwine, and his fingers slip onto my hips to guide me against his body. Electricity courses through me, making the blood in my veins hum to Gabriel’s melody.

“I know. You’re the most understanding person I’ve ever met. This won’t happen again, chérie. I’ll do better,” he promises, the sincerity in his voice clear as day.

“Good because I’m understanding, but I don’t tolerate lies.”

Gabriel nods before leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to my neck. A wave of goosebumps spreads over my arms as my skin lights on fire.

“How can I make things up to you?” he asks, his lips moving to my jaw and then cheek. The affection clouds my mind for a moment, but I refocus quickly.

“Be happy for me when I tell you I got a spot in the Ferrari Driver Academy,” I blurt out because, more than anything right now, I want to share this success with him.

Gabriel lets go of me to step back and stare into my eyes. A bright smile lights up my face, showing him I’m not joking. This is real.

“You did it! Oh my God, you fucking did it, mon tournesol,” he cheers and kisses me all over the face.

My mind is stuck on this new nickname, ‘my sunflower’, but I’m also giggling as he attacks my face with love.

“I’m so proud of you! And happy for you. This is the best news I’ve ever heard in my life.”

Gabriel’s lips envelop mine then, and I almost sigh against them. It feels like it’s been days since we last kissed, even if it’s only been hours. His tongue slips into my mouth, making a little moan escape me. My knees go weak as he bites down on my bottom lip, but he holds me up, not ready for the kiss to end yet, and neither am I. Unfortunately, we’re interrupted by the ringing of his phone.

“I swear, if it’s Hector again, I’ll fire him,” Gabriel complains in French, causing a chuckle to escape me.

He rips his phone out of his pocket and cocks an eyebrow at the name before answering.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“Adrian? What can I do for you?” he asks, confusing me. I watch Gabriel, trying to figure out what my brother could possibly want right now. “I’ll let her know. Yeah, okay. Bye,” Gabriel says and laughs as he hangs up. “You forgot your phone at the restaurant, and he wanted to let you know he won’t be back until tomorrow.”

A yawn leaves me as I attempt to reply, and Gabriel brings his thumb to my bottom lip after, smiling.

“Let’s go to bed, chérie, you must be exhausted.” That’s an understatement. It’s been a long day.

He brings his lips to mine one more time before we go upstairs, and I take a shower. I give Gabriel an extra toothbrush so he can get ready too. We’re in bed soon, and as tired as I am, I can’t help but ogle Gabriel as he lies next to me without a shirt and pants on. The ink on his left hip bone stands out just above the waistband of his boxers, and I reach for it, like the first time I saw it. My fingers trace it for a brief moment, smiling because only I know about his tattoos.

Gabriel and I are facing each other on the bed, but we’re too far apart for my liking. I inch a bit closer, desperate to feel his body pressed against mine.

“Are you hot?” I ask him after a while of silence, but he shakes his head and leans it back to study my face.

I’m only wearing a shirt, but it is so warm in my room, I’m jealous of him being half-naked. Frustrated because I want to cuddle, I sit up in bed, let out a heavy breath, and pull my shirt over my head. I feel like my skin can breathe again. Gabriel is watching my body with a toe-curling intensity, but there is also an amused smirk on his face.

“It’s too hot,” I complain, and he chuckles, his index finger reaching out to touch my cheek. It runs down from there to my neck and then to my breasts, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

“This is going to be a real problem,” he says and pulls his bottom lip between his teeth. A blush settles on my cheeks, making me wish my body wasn’t exhausted.

“What happened with Hector?” I ask, trying to distract myself and get him to stop touching my erogenous zones.

His green-brown eyes lock onto mine, and his full, round lips pull into a thin line. He’s upset about whatever dragged him away from me this morning but doing his best to hide it from me. His gaze is on mine, a smile warming up his features when I give him a wiggle of my eyebrows.

“Don’t worry about it, chérie, all that matters is I’m here with you now and we’re okay.” Gabriel’s grin makes my heart weak.

It’s ridiculous to me how much I love him and that, after three years, I finally got what I wanted. Gabriel is lying in my bed and he has feelings for me. I’ve been offered a position at the Ferrari Driver Academy so I can work toward my dream of becoming an F1 driver. Everything is slowly falling into place.

Now, I only have to figure out what the hell I’m going to do about James.