Chapter 16- Confined

I shift uncomfortably in the passenger seat in Gabriel’s car. I was successful in avoiding him the whole morning. I woke up early and went to my apartment to pack, for a few hours I could think and last night’s  conversation was all I could think about. I can’t believe I told him about my dreams, it felt good to let it all out. But now that we’re stuck in this car together, it doesn’t seem like it was a good idea.

I look to his side to steal a look, he’s concentrating on the road. He looks so comfortable and in control but then again he always looks like he has it all sorted. His long fingers are wrapped around the steering wheel. I flash to the night we slept together, how he grabbed my ass hard. His blatant want written all over his face. I sigh and pull at the seat belt.

“Are you okay?” he says looking and I remember where I am. “Are you uncomfortable?” he asks concerned.

“Yeah, I’m good” I answer looking to my side at him.

“Maybe we should have flown home” he says and looks his watch and looks at me.

“No I’m fine, I’m comfortable. Don’t worry” I say touching his arm.

“You’re sure?” he asks looking at me, at the road and then back at me. He looks so worried.

“I’m sure, besides we’re going to get there before we know it.” I say gesturing to his car, the smile on my face threatening to break my face open. . If I wasn’t so high strung with emotion, I would be screaming with excitement. I’m sitting in a Ferrari Spider. If I had real money, this would be my first purchase. It’s exquisite.

“You like it?” he says smiling too.

“Yep,” I say running my hand on the dashboard. It’s incredible.

“You can have it” he says, smiling that sexy smile of his.

“Don’t play like that Gabriel” I say exclaiming. He shouldn’t say such things. I love this car, I might just take him seriously take the car and I’ll deal with the insurance later.

“Who says I am” he says serious.  I shake my head and wave my hand at him. I look out the window as the car eats up the miles. He puts his foot on the paddle and the car comes to life. I smile at the view before me as the scenery changes into green fields. I sit back and enjoy the moment. If I could travel like this everyday of my life I would be a happy woman. Of course super cars are not practical for every day use but they’re great for road trips. And for the first time in a long time I am looking forward to going home. I bet the mountains of Limpopo look even more grand. We drive in silence for a long time, appreciate the fact that he leaves me to my thoughts. Apart from the occasional side glance from him, he concentrates on driving. He seems to be enjoying himself too.

“Let’s pull in for a short rest” he says pulling into a filling station. We stop in a parking spot and everyone around us is staring at the car. I know exactly what they are feeling, it’s like you’re seeing an alien for the first time. I reach for the door handle and he touches my arm softly, he gets out of the car goes round to my side and opens the doors. He helps me out and smiles at me.

“Thank you” I say when I stand up straight.

“You’re welcome” he says closing the door and locking the car. We walk to the convenient store and I head for the candy isle. The only time I eat candy is when I’m on the road. The other time candy is the enemy. I pick up a drink and other snacks and he picks up a few things too. We meet at the cashier and I fish for my card to pay. He touches my arm softly like he did in the car, I ignore him and give the cashier my card. She rings up the total and taps to pay, Gabriel gives me the evil eye and I ignore him. He gathers everything and hands me the candy, I nod thank you and we walk out the store. We get into the car and  get going.

“Can you help me with the chips” he says when we’re on the road. I open a pack for him and feed him one chip. He makes a  sound of appreciation and smiles. I make a face and hand him the pack. He shakes his head no.

“Safety first” he says opening his mouth for more. The temperature in the car hikes up a few degrees. I feed him on silence until the pack is gone.

“Thank you” he says when I crumple the empty packet a little too loudly. I lick the excess left on my fingers in protest and the look on his face makes me stop instantly. He’s looking at me like he wants to be the one licking my fingers. I reach for a serviette and wipe my hands. I reach for my candy and pop one on my mouth. And we go back to silence.

After what seems like forever we finally pull into my parent’s house. I feel the excitement of being home come over me. It’s new and strange for me. The last time I came home I didn’t feel happy, I look at Gabriel and know it’s because I’m with him. Being with him seems so natural and easy. I always dread the drive home, but today was effortless. I would dare say fun, granted we didn’t say more than three words to each other but it was almost therapeutic. He parks the  car in one of the car ports and my dad opens the front door. He stops for a moment to figure out who it is, the car is throwing him off. Gabriel gets out and greets him. He walks around to my door and opens it.

My father walks down the front porch and greets him back. He walks to me and hugs me tight. He gives me a look over. Worry is written all over his face, I smile to ease his mind.

“I’m so glad you’re okay” he says hugging me again.

“Me too” I say to him

“Gabriel, thank you for taking care of her. We really do appreciate the help” my father says to Gabriel.

“Of course” Gabriel says looking at me too closely. I blink at him and look at my dad.

“Let me get your bag” he says catching himself.

“Let’s get you in the house so your mother can see you and stop worrying” my dad says when Gabriel gets my bag from the car. We walk to the door.

“How have you been, we haven’t seen you in a while” my father says to Gabriel when we get into the house.

“I’ve been traveling” Gabriel says to my dad when I hear my mother call my name.

“Mommy” I say in answer. She comes to the front door and hugs me even tighter than my dad.

“Do you know how scared we were when your brother told us” she says crying. I hug her back feeling so bad for her. I hate the fact that I didn’t call them after everything happened.

“I know mom. I’m sorry” I say realizing they were in hell. I felt okay so I didn’t think they should worry but can they not worry?

“Oh darling, I’m just glad you’re okay. Your life is all that matters.” She says giving me one last squeeze before letting go. She let’s go of me and smiles at Gabriel.

“And how have you been? “ she asks hugging him.

“I’ve been good” he says smiling.

“It’s so good to see you. All of you kids are so grown up.” She says looking from me to Gabriel.

“it’s good seeing you too” he says to both my parents. My mother gives me a sideways glance and looks at Gabriel a moment too long.

“I was getting started on dinner, stay let’s all catch up” she says to Gabriel.

“I would love to but my parents are waiting for me. I haven’t been home in a while.” He says looking at me. I look away from him feeling my face flush, why does he have to look at me like that?

“Oh yes. But promise me you’ll be here for the party tomorrow.” My mother says excitement in her voice.

“Definitely” he says handing me my bag. He says he is goodbyes and  I place my bag on the floor so I can walk him out.

“Thank you, for today” I say when we get to his car.

“It’s my pleasure” he says and turns to get into his car.

“Tomorrow?” he says when he pulls out of.  I nod and wave goodbye.

“Are you hungry? I can make you something before dinner. It’s going to be a while” my mother says when I walk back into the house. I walk into the kitchen and find her seasoning chicken.

“No, I can wait until dinner” I say sitting at the kitchen table. “Do you need any help” I say when I see her looking at me too intently.

“No, I got it under control. Are you sure you’re okay? The accident was so terrible.” She says worried.

“I’m sure mom. I’m not that badly hurt. My car is completely wrecked but I’m good” I say thinking about all that could have gone wrong. Now that I’m home I can think about things clearly. It’s been wild week. Everything with Gabriel, where do we go from here? I need a new car, I have the gala event to plan and I’m going to be on leave for a week. What am I going to be doing for whole week here?

“Okay darling, if you need anything.” She says walking to me and hugging me awkwardly; trying not to put chicken on me.

“I know. I think I’m going to take a nap” I say when she let’s go and goes back to prepping dinner.

“Okay honey” she says after me as I leave the kitchen to go to my room .  I flop onto my bed and close my eyes. Sleep comes easily, I’m more tired than I imagined.

I feel someone kiss my cheek, waking me from my sleep . I smile, Rose. My sister kisses my cheek even faster. I can hear her smile when she kisses me.

“Don’t ever pull that shit on me ever again kid” she says hugging me tight.

“Not ever again” I say hugging her back.

“How are you? “ she says when I sit up.

“I’m good now, coming home was a very good idea.” I say feeling refreshed and I want to tell her everything. I need someone to talk to for so bad. But where do I start?

“Good, it’s always good to come home. Especially when something big happens “ she says smiling.

“How are you? “

“I’m good, you know me. I’m always good. Dad tells me, you came home with Gabriel.” She says and the instant she says his name my heart skips a beat.

“Yeah, he… we drove down together. “ I say stumbling over my words. She looks at me weird and nods.

“How is he? I haven’t seen him in so long” she asks moving on.

“He’s cool, very kind” I say and she raises an eye brow. Rose knows me and she’s trying not to ask but her interest is peaked and I want her to ask me the right question so bad. Just take the words out of my mouth. I need to talk to someone about this, preferably her.

“Do you want me to ask? “ she says finally not able to hold it in anymore.

“No” I say too quickly.

“Okay” she says standing up to leave.

“Wait” I scream before she leaves “Ask me?” I say covering my eyes with my hands.

“What happened?” she asks and peels my hands from my face.

“I slept with him” I say covering my face again.

“How..”she starts to say and my mother appears at the door.

“Girls dinner is served, we’re waiting” she says and walks away. My whole body grows cold. I am mortified. I fall face first on the bed and scream into it.

“Rosie” I scream into the bed.

“It’s fine, let’s go eat. We don’t want her to came back and tell us for a second time.” She says pulling me off the bed.

“No, I’m going to starve for forever.

“Come on. Get that ass out of bed. And I want to know all the details about your night with Gabriel. And I mean everything. “ she says getting me up from the bed and out of my room.