Gabby settled her head on my shoulder as the movie played. We've been watching for about 20 minutes but my eyes are on her. I've never met a girl or woman like her. Free but shy , bold but quietly waiting. I've been thinking about her nonstop since I saw her step out of her car this morning. " Hey, do you want some popcorn?", she ask running her hand through my hair. Breathing in deeply I inhaled the sweet smell of mango that clings to her. It drove me crazy thinking about what could be lotion or a perfume , I had no idea. Gabby snorted breaking my internal monologue. " Did you just sniff me", she says with laughter in her voice. I groaned knowing I had been caught. "OK…. yes but , you smell sooo good , like mangos", I explain pulling her into a hug to hide the dumb ass look i have on my face right now. " It's my body wash and body butter", she says, pulling away slightly.Screaming from the tv caught our attention. Damn the tracker jackers just landed on the kids at the bottom of the tree. "OK so i'm going to go get some popcorn", Gabby pops up. " Ok", I say, watching her climb the stairs. I lay back on the bed and exhale completely relaxed. My phone rings on the nightstand. Looking at it I see that it's Chloe and answer it. " Hello", I say sitting up. " Bro , where are you? Shit went sideways not that I thought it would go any other way", Chloe says bitterly. I groan while running my hand through my hair. "You with Gabby?", Chloe ask coyly. Rolling my eyes I decided to fuck with her. " In her bed to be exact", I say smoothly. "WHAT?", Chloe screamed at the other end of the phone making me want to throw that bitch across the room. "DID YOU HAVE SEX?", Chloe squealed louder while I held the phone a good six inches from my face. "Mind your business a gentleman never kisses and tells", I say checking to see if my ear was bleeding. Chloe laughs when Gabby phone vibrates on the bedside table. DJ is the name that flashed across the screen. I tried to ignore the pang of jealousy I felt from within. The more time I spent with Gabby the stronger I felt towards her. Chloe starts talking but , my mind is still on the text Gabby just got. I want to see what it says but wouldn't break her trust by going through her shit. 'Daniel are you listening?", Chloe whines. " Yeah", I say shifting on the bed as Gabby makes her way down the stairs with a huge bowl of popcorn and two bottles of water. Sitting the bowl down on the table she scoots behind me throwing each leg on either side of me and rests her head on my back. I run my hand up her left leg from her ankle to her full thighs enjoying the feel of her body pressed up against me a little more than I should at this stage. "Daniel", Chloes says again distracting me from the warmth Gabby is putting off. '`Yes Chloe!"I said, annoyed that she was taking my attention from Gabby. I hear Gabby suck in a breath and turn to see her looking at me with death in her eyes. "WHO.THE.FUCK.IS.CHLOE?", she practically whispers. Amused by her jealousy I chuckle.Im glad I'm not the only one feeling possessive. "Oh its funny , you laughing cuz you think its funny but you bout to get fucked up", she said standing up on the bed. Sitting the phone down on the bed I hit the speaker button. " Who is this?", Gabby says in a hard tone. I try to hide my laughter with the back of my hand but get smacked with a pillow anyway. "Umm…. Chloe , Daniel's older sister", Chloe says as if it was obvious. Gabby covers her mouth and at that moment I lose the battle and laugh so hard because that was adorable. ``Shut up!"Gabby said, pushing me away when I tried to hug her.
Quickly ending the call with Chloe I turn and look at Gabby whose attention was on the tv. "You were jealous", I said while admiring her as she ate popcorn. She still seemed upset. " Well if it makes you happy I was feeling the same way when that DJ dude texted you earlier", I say as I ran my hand from her knee to the bottom of her shorts. Gabby exhales, "You never need to be jealous of DJ. Im not interested in him in the least". Shaking my head I say , "Yeah I got that but he still seems pretty interested". " Well the better question is are you interested?", She says with a smirk. The question caught me off guard and now I'm smiling so damn hard my cheeks are hurt. "Hell yeah have you talked to you", I say tucking a stray curl behind her ear. "So you feelin' me?", she ask softly. Tickling her she falls back on the bed where I pin her. Gabby immediately starts wiggling with tears in her eyes from laughing so hard. I took the time to remember how she felt underneath me and the way her legs were wrapped around me. " I'm definitely interested in you. Your sister prolly thinks i'm a crazy bitch", Gabby says finally catching her breath. I laugh at that, feeling the vibration flow from my chest to her. Gabby tightens her legs pulling me closer. " Gabby, you're making it hard to stay friends with you", I say, very aware of her. I felt myself harden when she ran her nails over my chest beneath my shirt. " Why? You started it", she says smiling sweetly up at me. She knows exactly what the fuck she doing. This Gabby is nothing like the Gabby I met earlier today. Feeling like she was challenging me I lift her legs a little higher and pressed myself into her core make her gasp. "That's why", I whisper in her ear before sinking my face into her neck. Gabby shivers making me pull back to see her face. " What the hell? As much as I hate to ruin this moment that has definitely ruined my dinner Gabby your father wants you", says Mrs. Antionette from the stairs scaring the shit out of me. Shooting up I immediately bow and apologize when Gabby and her mother both laugh. "Daniel you are fine I was young once too", Ms. Antionette says, furthering my humiliation. " We trust Gabby's judgment", she winks before going back upstairs.Spinning around Gabby burst out laughing." Happy I amuse you", I say running my hands through my hair as Gabby points at my pants.Looking down I groan making Gabby laugh harder. Pulling her into me I say , " Well your mother just saw my wood, wonderful first impression". I was almost sure Gabby's mother was going to whip my ass. Gabby smiles while putting both hands on either side of my face. " My moms a nurse, she has seen a lot more than this", she said, stroking my length with the tips of her fingers. Narrowing my eyes I study her. Taking in the light in her eyes and the wildness of her hair. "I'm going to get you for this", I say, determined to make her pay heavily for my humiliation. "Im betting on it", She replies quickly backing up to the stairs giggling. Shaking my head I smile at her retreating back and flop back onto the bed.
The ending credits had started to run when my phone rang again. I answered without looking at the screen. "Hello", I say lazily. "Son what time are you coming home", I hear my mother ask. Looking at the clock on Gabby's bedside table and the time read 8:45pm. " In a couple of hours why?", I say already feeling the tension. She was quiet for so long that I looked at the phone to see if the call dropped. " Your sister was here.Did you know?", she says on a whisper. Closing my eyes i mentally counted to ten. " Yeah mom she called me about two hours ago", I sigh. "Your father is very upset Daniel. He is laying down right now because he was dizzy", she hisses into the phone. Rolling my eyes i rake my hands through my hair so over this shit. I love my mother have never outright disrespected her but when it came to my father she was hopeless. He was probably dizzy because Chloe told the truth. " Where are you anyway?", my mother continued. I'm starting to feel like this shit is snowballing into my lap. " Im with Gabby", I say mentally preparing myself for her response. "Please don't do this", my mother sobs on the phone quietly. I assume to try not to disturb the king. " Your sister has already done enough. Your father can't take much more", she sniffles into the phone. Groaning I stand up to shake off the pent up energy. "Mother, I'm not doing anything. I didn't know that Chloe finding someone to love her would inconvenience you and dad", I said sarcastically. My mother clears her throat before speaking, "You are asian and should be with your own kind. You have nothing in common with this Gabby how could you?", she says with the undertone of what she's not saying, making disgust settle in my stomach. How could I have anything in common with Gabby because she is Black? I have tried to be patient with my parents. Dysfunctions that I knew didn't exist in other families I overlooked. The abuse physically,mentally,and spiritually I've endured it all, but what I wasn't going to do was let them run Gabby away. " I think that it's time to end this conversation. I will be home in a few hours bye mother", I replied squeezing my phone so tight my knuckles turned white. My mother's voice called back to me when I pushed end. I was running my free hand through my hair exhaling when Gabby came bounding down the stairs smiling. "So the weirdest thing just happened. My uncle is getting married", she says when she turns to look at me. "What's wrong?"she asked seriously. Grimacing I look away from her not wanting to get into it. Gabby grabs my hand and allow mine to envelope hers. "Tell me", she said more like a demand than a request. Letting my shoulders sink, I look at her. "My parents", I began not really knowing how to say it. "Did something happen?"she asked, looking at me with bourbon colored eyes. " They don't want me talking , well falling for you", I say completely ashamed. Gabby stills before stepping back. "OH", she says a little taken aback. Not like the distance she created I pulled her into my chest. " I could give to fucks, I know what I want…you", I say smiling down at her. Gabby rolls her eyes smirking. " I thought we were just friends", she says coyly. "Oh, so you kiss all your friends like that", I say running my thumb over her bottom lip completely enjoying how responsive she is. Slapping my hand away she says, " Oh that, shit Staci and I got at it all the time". I burst out laughing because I wasn't expecting that. "Now that I would love to see", I say swinging to the right to miss the stuffed toy she throws. The conversation with my mother bubble to the surface of my mind. I want to take thing slow with you not rush into the physical", I say confidently. "So we are a little more than friends but we can call it friends", she says sarcastically. "You have nothing to worry about. I'm not trying to strap you down or marry you or anything. Actually you're the first guy I've shown real attention to so…", she veers off. Smiling I shake my head because I still dont know how the stars aligned for Gabby and I to meet but im thanking every fucking one of them. She was a fucking smartass, beautiful, intelligent and funny as hell. I could tell there would never be a dull moment with her. "It's all good Danny, I'm not going to go psycho on you because we don't have a label that is cool,", says finally smiling at me. " I like that", I say. "What?", she asks confused. "The fact that you call me Danny only my sister calls me that. Coming from you though it's sexy somehow", I say winking at her to which she rolled her eyes. Gabby walks over to the xbox and puts in Mrs.Doubtfire which is one of my favorites. Laying back I try to unwind and let the conversation I had with my mother roll off my shoulders. I was releasing a breath when i feel Gabby curl up beside me. Pulling her in closer i relish in how right everything feels. This is something I definitely can get used to.
The smell of mangos overwhelmed me as I reached for the vibration in my pocket. Somehow Gabby had shifted on my chest and I gently tried not to wake her. It was sweet torture rolling her body gently off mine as I tried to reach my phone. I look over at the clock and see its 2:30am. "Shit", I mutter quietly to myself. We must have fallen asleep. Finally the phone stopped vibrating only to start right back up. FUCK!!! Snatching the phone up I see its Chloe. " What's up?", I say quietly, making my way into the bathroom. "Everythings a fucking mess", Chloe says sadly. "They told me that I would bring shame on the family and basically disowned me", she continued hiccuping. Even though she tried to hide it I could tell Chloe had been crying. Sighing I say, " Im sorry Chloe I know you were hoping for better", to which she sighed. My family was fucked up, literally disfuctional by definition. A happy occasions like marriage totally ruined by ignorance , fear, and racism. I feel sorry for Chloe because my sister deserves everything. Chloe laughs with no real humor. " You know what Danny, I wasn't , I know what type of people they are that's why Khol and Jacob moved to California", She sniffles into the phone. "The other reason I called was because mom has been blowing my phone up looking for you.Are you still with Gabbriella?", Chloe asks. I throw some cold water on my face to wake myself up. "Yeah, uh we fell asleep watching Mrs.Doubtfire", I said smiling thinking about how much we laughed during the movie. "Nice… I know that's your favorite movie. Did you tell her that?", Chloes asked excitedly. See this was Chloe she was always happy for me no matter what was happening in her own life. She put everyone before herself and was a friend to everyone. She has nurtured me when my own mother was too battered too. I will always owe my sister a debt. She saved me more times than I could count and I will be forever grateful to her. " You know Chlo, I didnt she surprised me when she put it in.She is an enigma", I say smiling at myself in the mirror. I hear Chloe squeal excitedly. " Her family is dope, I thought they would have kicked me out by now", I continue fully awake now. "I'm happy for you baby brother. You better get home though before mom has a heart attack", Chloe yawns. Sighing, I say, " OK sis", before hanging up. The door to the bathroom opens and I see a mass of wild curls staring back at me in the mirror. "Is everything ok, I heard you talking", Gabby says half asleep. Crossing the bathroom in about three steps, I wrap my arms around her. " Yeah Gab, everythings cool, I just have to get home ,'' I said. I walk her over to the bed and sit her down, pulling the covers over her.Gabby grumbles and rolls her eyes. "OK", she says with a little attitude making me chuckle as I place a kiss atop her head. I don't want to go either. "Do you want me to walk you out?"she asked, already buried deep in her comforter. "No baby, stay in bed I will let myself out", I say opening the private entrance door. I turn back to look at Gabby one last time before closing the door.
When I stepped into my house it was quiet and my mother was nowhere to be found. I thanked Buddah that my room is on the ground floor. I open my door and fall into bed fully clothed letting the scent of mangos lull me to sleep.
Bing!Bing!Bing! I jolted awake sitting straight up in bed. The screen of my phone is illuminated bathing my room in blue light. The clock reads 630am. Rubbing my eyes I see a text from Gabby and call her. The phone starts ringing and slips out of my hand smacking me in the nose. "Shit", I groan holding my nose as I search for the phone in the covers.Finally locating it I snatch it up. "Hello", I say, cringing at how groggy I sounded. " Well hello sunshine. Rough night?"Gabby giggled, making me smile. " I thought our night was lit", she continued. "Morning babe", I say, blocking the sun with a KING OF PAINT gym bag like I was Edward Cullen's cousin. "Mornin' you are still coming to pick me up today right?", she asks. I jumped up grabbing clothes out of my drawer before going into the bathroom. "Yes I'll be about to jump in the shower now", I say completely behind because school starts at 7:15am. " Wow, that mental picture will be with me all day. Hurry up we're going to be late…. and I kinda miss you", she says softly. I looked at my reflection as I was brushing my teeth and smiled. She misses me! " OK Ok i'm coming", I said laughing. Gabby hangs up and I count down the minutes I can see my girl.