“You wanna go there, really?” I asked. “Because if we're pointing fingers and playing the blame game, what about Jessica, huh? You remember her, don't you? That beauty queen from Maine that you tutored at Harvard?”
“Jessica? What does she have to do with this?” he asked, confusion written all over his face.
“Oh, that's right – I never confronted you about that. Yeah, I know about Jessica. I know all about her,” I said.
My voice continued to crack, and my hands trembled, but I held myself straight and stiff. I was not about to let him get to me. Not this time. “She told me everything,” I said.
“Everything? What's there to tell?” he asked, anger flashing in his eyes. “Besides, we dated after you left me for Chris – ”
“Nope. Nuh huh. You're not going to pull this shit on me. I've held back all this time, but I'm not going to let you get away with it anymore,” I said. “The two of you were together before we split. I have th
e texts to prove it.”
Gabe's eyes grew wide, but he didn't argue back. He just stood there and stared at me, his jaw practically on the floor, looking as surprised as I had when I first got the messages. Back then, he'd seemed like the perfect boyfriend. The perfect man. Sure, we were long-distance, but that was okay. We saw each other often enough, and Skyped when we couldn't be together. We were making it work. I was happy.
“I trusted you, Gabe,” I said, the tears welling in my eyes. “Even long distance, I trusted that you'd be faithful. That you would never, ever cheat on me, and then – ”
“Hadley, I didn't cheat on you, he said, his voice earnest. “I'd never – ”
“Bullshit,” I snapped, my voice echoing around the tile bathroom. “I have proof, Gabe.”
“Proof of what? Nothing happened. Not until after you broke up with me out of the blue,” he said.
He stopped speaking for a moment and looked at me seriously for a second, looking like he was processing something in his mind, before he continued.
“Did Jessica contact you?” he asked. “Did she tell you there was something going on between us while I was tutoring her?”
My lower lip trembled, and I fought to keep the tears from falling. I was not going to give him the satisfaction. No, my entire life hadn't been flipped around because of a lie. No way. I refused to believe it. Whatever excuse or bullshit story Gabe was about to spin, I was not going to believe it. I had the text messages proving it.
“Hadley talk to me.”
A gentleness crept into his eyes and his voice no longer had an edge to it. He pushed himself off the counter and closed the distance between us. Before I knew what was happening, Gabe held my face in his hands, forcing me to meet his golden eyes.
“Yes,” I whispered. “She sent me text messages between you and her.”
“Show me.”
“I'd have to look for them,” I said. “It was so long ago, and I honestly don't know if I still have them. But, I saw them.”
His thumb moved along my chin and slipped along my lower lip. My insides were turning to jelly as we stood there, gazing into one another's eyes. The way he looked at me was the way he used to look at me before we'd make love, and it set my heart racing.
God, Gabe had been so amazing in bed. The mere thought of it sent shivers of remembered pleasure coursing through my body. I recalled the way he'd pay attention to every inch of my body, taking his time with everything, and drawing out the ecstasy between us. He was a giver, but he was also aggressive and knew how to take what he wanted – and back then, what he wanted was me.
“If you've ever trusted me, Hadley, please know, I would have never, ever cheated on you,” he said, leaning closer – close enough that our lips almost touched. “I'd never have chosen any girl over you. That's the absolute truth.”
I stepped backward until my back was against the wall, and Gabe moved with me. His breath was hot against my face, his fingers stroking my chin as he stared into my eyes. I wasn't sure which one of us made the move first, but our lips met, and it was like an explosion had gone off inside of me. My hands roamed over Gabe's body, pulling at his shirt as his mouth devoured mine, kissing me with all of the heat and passion that built up after all the years apart.
Gabe pulled back for air, then moved his lips softly down my neck. My body shuddered as his fingertips brushed my breasts. All these years, I'd wondered if he still cared about me, if he still wanted me the way I wanted him – and I had my answer pressing into me. His erection rubbed against my body, making me hotter and wetter than I'd been in a long time, and I was tempted to lift up my skirt and tell him to fuck me right there.
Then, a knock at the door startled us both.
“This door isn't supposed to be locked,” a muffled sounding voice called to us through the door.
We both stared at each other, grins tugging at our lips, clearly amused. Amused at least, until we heard a key turning in the door.
“Oh shit,” I muttered, chuckling.
“Hide,” Gabe said, trying hard not to laugh out loud as well. “In there.”