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“Let’s go out for a little bit,” I said “What do you say? Get soested?”

Alyssa’s face visibly brightened at that “Let’s do it”

“I’ll get changed There’s an old coffee and ice cream shop around here that my dad used to take me to” I forced a smile on my face “I think it’ll cheer you up instantly What do you say?”

“I say it sounds perfect,” Alyssa said “Let me tell my dad where we’ll be He wanted to make sure that we didn’t run into my mom”

“Sounds good I’ll be out in a second”

I slipped on a pair of jeans while I half-listened to Alyssa and Gabriel’s ure out what I was going to do I knew that I couldn’t go hoer sure that I could stay here either Though I told myself I could stay away from Gabriel, I kneas a lie It would take very little for me to end up in his bed

CHAPTER NINE – GABRIEL

I awoke Saturdayto the sound of Alyssa and Penny’s chatter as they walked down the hallway in the direction of the kitchen The s coffee followed a few aze out theat the slow drizzle of snow outside No matter how hard I tried to comprehend the past few days, I couldn’t wrap et past why I felt this indescribable urge to kiss Penny Marshall all the tis had transfor pace, visibly alar Penny

It wasn’t right I knew that it wasn’t, but I kept thinking about how good it felt to touch her, and to kiss her All of it had felt so sinfully good that it left ain

“Fuck,” I groaned, rubbing a hand overto do?”

I had other things to concentrate on that neededover my damn head like a dark storal team yesterday, and while they assured me —to rattle hter into the mix only rattled me more

For years, anxiety plagued me constantly over Alyssa’s need to have a fes that cropped up as she grew She never once complained, but I knew that she needed that feminine influence

Oddly enough, I noticed having Penny around see with, to get her hair and nails done with, and take trips to the spa She’d had none of that growing up withas I slipped out of bed I padded over to my private bathroom to take a shower

Penny’s gorgeous face resurfaced in hts, and I re It had to be a one-ti could happen between us anymore I made a mental vow to myself when I stepped under the hot spray to keep e I would have to keep ht be

Penny and I still needed to talk about it, though I needed tofurther Penny was young, on the cusp of graduating college and about to enter an adult world for the first tiled up with an olderto his back