The Only One He Wants

Chapter 6

Gabrielle stepped out of the shower, enveloping a white towel around herself. She dried her hair with another one in and ran a comb through it. After putting on some light make-up, she went out to the sight of Michael in the kitchen.

With all the noise in the kitchen, he didn’t even notice her. She quietly tiptoed towards him like a cat spying on its prey. He was shirtless and had only a white towel around his waist. Every muscle in his back was pronounced, probably as a result of countless hours spent at the gym.

All of a sudden her hands locked around his stomach, planting kisses on his back. His body jerked for a brief moment from the surprise, but then relaxed under her touch.

“My girl woke up pretty naughty today, huh?” he said, chuckling. His eyes didn’t leave the pan and the eggs inside it.

“Very naughty,” she replied, tickling him. “I like it very much when you call me that.”

Michael turned a bit to look at her eyes. “My girl?”

“Yes,” she said with a huge grin on her face and squeezed his body tighter. “It makes me feel safe… and loved.”

Michael abruptly turned and hugged her, engulfing her in a bear hug. And then Gabrielle felt a sudden wave of warmth washing over the middle of her chest. She knew that that warmth couldn’t be produced by any kind of central heating. Even the sun couldn’t possibly warm her like that. The way Michael Good did.

“I love you, honey. You are my girl and always will be,” he whispered in her ear before he kissed her neck and then her lips.

“Promise?”

“Promise. Until the end of my days,” he added and kissed her passionately, placing his hands on her cheeks.

They kissed each other’s bodies, enjoying the moment when they felt young and wild. Immortal. His hands were on the small of her back as they swayed slowly, kissing and simply staring into each other’s eyes.

A thought occurred to Gabrielle. “The eggs!” she shouted.

Michael’s smile didn’t diminish, and was still gazing at her. “I don’t give a damn about the eggs,” he said.

“Well, I will if they’re the reason my whole apartment burns down. And there’s fire behind you!” She yelled as she spotted the smoke coming out of the pan.

“Sh*t!” Michael was panicking now as well.

He turned and started hitting the stove and the pan with a towel. Gabrielle ran to get a glass of water which she poured over the pan. She did that a few more times, until the fire was extinguished. The eggs were coal black.

“And there goes our breakfast,” she said sadly.

Michael chuckled. “The eggs couldn’t handle the heat of our love.”

She looked at him and seeing him chuckle so wholeheartedly she couldn’t help but burst out laughing herself.

“Just speaking the truth here,” he added and joined in, a booming manly laughter coming out of his mouth.

“What are we going to do now?” Gabrielle said finally, wiping tears of joy from her eyes.

“I literally have no idea. It’s too early for pizza. So, I would have to go to the grocery store and buy some new ingredients,” he said.

She was silent for a while she thought of a solution, the gears turning and turning. “I know something we can do.”

“What did you come up with now, Einstein?” He put his hands on his hips.

“We can go to my daughter’s place. It’s the weekend, so they’ll definitely be at home. And I’m sure they’d love some company.” With each word she was saying, she realized the brilliance of the plan.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Michael didn’t share her enthusiasm. He went to the window; his look lost in the distance and New York’s skyline.

“What is it?” Gabrielle asked. Her voice was calm and soothing as if talking to a baby as she slowly approached him.

“I’m not so sure about it. That’s all,” he replied as if through gritted teeth.

“Something’s bothering you. I can sense that. I know you that much. Come on, spill it. I want to share everything with you, you know that.” She placed her hand on his shoulder. Her fears were growing with Michael’s sudden change in his mood.

“It’s just that I’m afraid to meet your daughter,” he spoke as if talking only to himself.

A huge weight lifted from her heart once she heard those words. She was thinking much worse things. “Why?” It was all she could come up with to ask.

“I love you and I want to be a part of everything that makes you the person you are. I know that your daughter is very important to you and I’m afraid that I won’t be good enough for her standards. I mean, what if she hates me. What if she thinks that I’m there to impose myself as her father? I…” He couldn’t seem to find the rest of the words to finish that sentence.

“Oh, dear,” Gabrielle said and hugged him. “I assure you that she would think no such thing. She would love you the first instant you stepped into her home. I guarantee that. She likes everything that I like. And if something or someone brings me happiness, I know that she would have zero objections.”

He grinned at her words. “You sure?”

“A hundred percent,” she replied, caressing his hand.

“Okay, then. Let’s get some tasty breakfast in our bellies, shall we?” he said.

“Yay!” Gabrielle clapped as she headed towards her room to get dressed.

In a few moments, they were done and driving towards Francis and Alesha’s house. It was a two-story with a cute white façade. You instantly felt welcome and happy just by looking at it. There were two glistening windows in the front and a white door, which stood before the gorgeous porch. There was even a rocking chair.

Gabrielle smiled as her eyes settled on it. The grass was green with all kinds of flowers and plants. Her daughter was really into gardening.

“We’re here,” she announced ceremoniously. Michael had decided to give his chauffeur a few days off for the weekend, so he was driving.

“Are we? This looks fabulous,” Michael said.

Gabrielle noticed that and placed her hand over his. “Relax. Everything’s going to be okay.”

He smiled. Then he took her hand and put it on his chest. “Do you feel it?” And she felt it, all right. His heart was beating like crazy. As if he was on a rollercoaster.

“Oh my God. This is seriously too stressful for you. If you want—”

“No, we’re going. I want to meet Alesha and her husband. After all, they’re my loved one’s family,” he replied with a smile.