‘Are you staying?’ she asked. Her heart was pounding in her ears, louder than the music.
He looked at her thoughtfully for what felt like an eternity then he crossed his arms. ‘Do you want me to stay?’
Something shiny caught her eye and she gasped, reaching out for his wrist and pulling him closer. ‘Your birthday bracelet! You still have this?’
He frowned in surprise. ‘Why wouldn’t I?’
Ana smiled now, a warmth spreading through her chest as she turned the silver bracelet over on his wrist, taking in the tiny horseshoe engraved into it for good luck. She’d worked hard at a Saturday job in order to pay for it, had chosen and wrapped it carefully and presented it to him for his sixteenth birthday. She couldn’t believe he’d kept it.
‘Your birthday was right before you were due to play that football match against the Boars, from the barrio over from ours.’
‘They were mean.’ He grinned now, watching her face. ‘I needed that good luck.’
‘You beat them, didn’t you?’
‘Yeah, we did!’ He laughed. ‘So, I guess it worked.’
‘I remember you running to my house to tell me. Where did you find it?’
‘What do you mean, where did I find it? I wear it all the time,’ he said.
‘Liar!’ She made to swipe at him playfully and he batted her off until they were play-wrestling like the kids they’d been back then, when he’d raced to her house and recounted the whole story about how he’d scored the winning goal against all odds.
A cough came from across the table. Ana turned to find the girls still there, their mouths twitching.
‘So, I suppose you two really aren’t coming?’ Sandrine said, glancing at Maria, who smirked back at her knowingly. After a few air-kisses, her team of tipsy people made its way out to join the throng of people heading towards Bueno Tango. Ana knew they were all probably talking about Gabriel and her now. Well, so what? They were just two people, reminiscing about silly childhood moments. He was just a friend...
Who had kept a good luck gift from her this whole time.
She looked down at her fingers, now intertwined with his on the table. How had that even happened? Wriggling them free, Ana was suddenly overcome with equal tiredness from the drinks, the long week and the sense that she was growing increasingly confused and out of her depth.
‘I really should go,’ she said.
Gabriel nodded, then put a hand on her shoulder that sent her heart into overdrive. ‘I’ll accompany you home, if you like?’
On the way past the restaurant’s reception, Gabriel swiped something from a vase and held it behind his back. Out on the street, he produced a marigold, and held it out proudly to her. She laughed, feigning shock. ‘Did you just steal that flower from the restaurant?’
‘It’s not stealing if it had your name on it,’ he said, revealing the dimples she adored, and her breath hitched as he moved her hair aside. Slowly and intentionally, he placed the flower gently behind her ear and met her eyes. ‘It suits you.’
Ana’s heart raced as they made their way onto the moonlit streets. The night was balmy and busy with groups of friends talking excitedly, and couples whispering closely. She could literally feel an electric current pulsing between them, threatening to start a fire in the trees they passed as they walked. The stars above seemed like some timely reminder of their past, when the nights had stretched out in front of them and they’d had no plans, no responsibilities.
They walked and talked, about his shifts with Bruno and her time in Bariloche, but she still couldn’t bring herself to ask if there had been anyone else after Ines. Instead she found herself remembering out loud the time when he had put her to bed drunk after graduation.
He just grinned. ‘You’re a funny drunk,’ he said.
‘I’m not drunk now,’ she iterated. ‘In case you think I am.’
‘Just tipsy, right?’
‘Exactly.’ She pulled her chair to a stop and motioned to her front door. ‘Well, this is me.’
He shoved his hands into his pockets. She couldn’t read the slight smile on his lips as their eyes met and held. He should already be walking away, down the street to the small apartment he had near his parents’ place, where he lived alone, except for when Javi and the dog visited. But he was still here with her, and her heart was pounding with anticipation; she was giddy as a schoolgirl. He was looking at her lips, just as she was looking at his. A thrill of excitement coursed through her body like a shockwave as Gabriel leaned closer, his warm breath tickling her skin.
He hovered for just a moment, running his fingers softly over the flower behind her ear before she reached for his shirt and urged him even closer. In that moment, she knew without a doubt that it was too late for either of them to turn back—way too late.
For a split second, the thought crossed her mind: will this cost us our friendship? But that thought was quickly silenced as Gabriel’s lips touched hers then pressed down harder, engulfing all her senses. Waves of desire flew through her body like wild birds and left her breathless. All she wanted right now was to stay in this moment for ever and let the world fade away. Every fibre of her being wanted this man...
But then he pulled away and took a step back, seemingly gathering his thoughts. ‘You know...’ He groaned, almost under his breath, as her heart bucked. ‘If I come inside with you, Ana, I don’t think I’ll be able to leave.’
Before she could think straight and let something as stupid as logic get in the way, she spun her chair back round to the street. ‘Then I guess we’re both going to your place,’ she said.
CHAPTER SEVEN
ANA WATCHED AS Gabriel carefully measured out the lemongrass tea leaves and scooped them into two cups. Then he added hot water, stirring it slowly, almost seductively, in a circular motion. Ana felt her throat tighten as she looked at him in the bright kitchen light. It wasn’t the tea she wanted. It was him she wanted, badly, but maybe he’d changed his mind about her and was about to soften the blow by reminding her they were friends.
She wanted to believe it would be beyond foolish to ruin a good thing. But this chemistry between them was like nothing she’d ever experienced before—it was thrilling and intoxicating, and even now she could feel a strange contraction in her heart muscles, pumping blood to places it hadn’t been in a long time. That newly awake and fizzing part of her wanted to stay and explore what they could have, while the other part, the sensible part, knew damn well there’d be consequences if she did. But she was here, wasn’t she?
The living area was cosy, from the open-plan kitchen to the soft textured couch and colourful rugs across the floor tiles. Ana rolled her chair towards the couch. Traces of his son were everywhere: a stack of toy cars in the corner, a drawing of a superhero tacked up on the wall, a pair of sneakers peeking out from under a chair. But she knew from their discussions that Javi was with Ines and her husband now, and Gabriel didn’t have him till tomorrow. There would be no interruptions if she stayed, if he carried her in his arms up the carpet-clad staircase to his bedroom, if he laid her across the sheets and...
‘Tea?’
Ana sucked in a breath quietly as he appeared behind her with a steaming cup. ‘If it’s too hot, let me know.’
‘Thanks,’ she mumbled as he cleared the sneakers away quickly. He sloshed a little of his tea as he kicked them towards the wall behind some fitness equipment and turned to her with a sheepish shrug. He was clearly nervous. So was she.
‘Gabriel...’ she said now, putting the tea down on the little glass coffee table and moving her chair closer. He put his cup down too and dropped onto the couch, rubbing his hands across his chin. ‘Don’t be nervous,’ she told him, as she wheeled up closer, so close she could touch his knees with hers. He ran his gaze over her lips and his eyes grew even darker with hunger, and suddenly she knew he definitely wanted her. It was everything else he was nervous about: how to navigate her disability, her wheelchair, or how to treat her.
‘I have to admit to you, I am a little nervous. Not because I don’t want this...’ he started.
