Unsung Requiem by C.L. Stone

Emporté

(Fr. Fiery, impetuous)

Sang

The woman who had stopped me at the door motioned toward the rear of the house. “They should have been seated by now.”

I blushed, the heat traveling down my neck. I was late. If I found Victor, I had to apologize to him, but he should be on stage by now, I was sure. The event was dinner and him playing the piano… an odd choice for his birthday, but I assumed it was normal for him.

The front rooms of the Morgan estate had two elderly people lingering in the front parlor. The hall was empty. The kitchen had the most noise near it. The kitchen door was open and there was a flurry of activity inside with people wearing all black, with plates in neat rows on the counter with someone putting on final touches. Another attendant put the finished plates on carts to be rolled outside.

There was no reason to linger in the house, as it was clear everyone must be in the tent and some possibly even had food already. I headed toward the back just to exit at the rear door, down the porch steps, and took the long way around to where I knew the tent to be.

The large white tent stood like a small house out on the lawn, stationary and secure and glowing from the inside. A section was open on the side I approached. Tables held candles and center displays of flowers, and many people were seated inside. Their voices, low murmurs, activity, clinking of glasses, all floated to me as I approached.

Some people lingered near the front entrance, talking to each other, although I wasn’t sure if they were guests who hadn’t seated yet or attendants looking in. I made a circle around the outside, where I knew there would be a second flap of the tent that was open near the back. From there, I’d be able to look in on the crowd and hopefully spot the others without walking in front of the stage.

I lifted my phone, remembering it was on and that Mr. Buble was still on the line. “I’m inside and near the tent. There are plenty of people who can see me. I don’t know where the others are yet but most likely they are sitting already. I’m just going around to look for them from the back.”

“Good,” he said. “Do find them.”

I paused and then said, “I can’t take the point. I just don’t want it to reflect badly on Victor. That’s not his fault.”

“I appreciate your answer. I’ll check in tomorrow. Have fun.” He hung up.

That was it? I supposed there was more to talk about, but now wasn’t the time. I just couldn’t let it go and I didn’t want to hold on to that feeling for too long. I thought I needed the guys to tell me how to think about this, but I couldn’t let go of how I felt. I needed to do more.

I carried the phone in my hands and circled around until I arrived at the rear section, where the open tent panel revealed a path of outdoor carpet laid out on top of the grass for tonight. There were round tables further in, all set with centerpieces of roses. Some guests already had plates of salad and bread. Elegantly dressed people were seated, looking toward the stage near the front of the tent.

No music? Shouldn’t Victor be playing by now?

As I drew closer, there was a voice coming from the speakers, hard to decipher exactly who, but male and he wasn’t totally talking into the microphone. That or the speakers near the back weren’t set at a good volume. What was being said was unclear.

I scanned through the crowd, trying to determine where the guys were seated. There was a range of noise, a murmur, the sound of Victor’s voice in speakers overhead. I was only half listening as I stilled in between two rows of tables to determine a route further in.

But with the way people didn’t even look at me as I passed, staring blankly and with such stunned expressions, I turned, unsure what was going on.

My eyes adjusted enough to take in what was happening. Victor stood on the stage, eyes droopy, holding a microphone. The suit he wore seemed dark, making his face paler than usual. The wavy dark hair fell askew across his face.

And he leaned, too far one way and then tried to fix and overcorrected before stabilizing.

Why did he look so tired? Even from a distance in the back, I could see his shoulders slumped, his head rolled forward a little and he picked it up now and again to face the audience.

Mr. Blackbourne was nearby, with a hand extended to Victor as if wanting to assist him, saying something that couldn’t be heard.

Victor paused in whatever he was saying when I finally focused and it took him a couple of moments before he continued, his voice strange and slow, “I know it comes as a shock, and I appreciate you all attending, but I’ve given my final concert. I won’t be playing tonight.”

I stilled, unsure if I should proceed. His tone was like he was trying to remain calm, but I was familiar enough with him to understand he was upset, struggling to keep some composure.

“Please continue to enjoy the night,” he said. “My mother put a lot of effort into the evening. And please get home safe.” With that, he turned and walked off the stage, around Mr. Blackbourne, leaving an empty piano behind him.

The voices around me started up, like a wave from the ocean, swelling in the back and drifting to the front.

What happened?

His last concert?

Everyone at the tables leaned in. Talking to each other.

It was Mr. Blackbourne that picked up the microphone. He wore a black suit, white crisp shirt, and a brighter maroon tie than normal. He spoke in a reassuring tone to the audience.

“Victor Morgan has been a dear friend to me for a couple of years,” he said. “He’s an exceedingly kind and generous soul, having played at many charity events from a young age. His talent exceeds what many have accomplished. It would be a shame to allow him to perform on his birthday and not enjoy the event tonight, wouldn’t you agree?”

There was some agreement from the audience, even if a little confused.

“For once, we felt it would be fun to allow him to enjoy an event he usually works. His own birthday. Let’s let him enjoy this one.”

This seemed to give those attending a change of tone, and they all raised their voices in agreement and clapped.

With this, Mr. Blackbourne went to the piano, and he began to play some light and cheerful tune, akin to happy birthday but with a lot of flair.

Still, others around me seemed to whisper among themselves. I wasn’t sure what was said before I arrived, but they seemed more interested in talking to each other than listening to Mr. Blackbourne play.

I backed away, unsure what to do now. Where were the others? Cutting through the crowd seemed too odd to do now. And Victor had left the tent completely.

Instead of moving forward, I decided to backtrack to where I had come from, out of the tent in the rear, and went around toward the front flap. Victor couldn’t have gotten far.

My heart was in my throat, and I placed a palm over my chest to calm it. Despite Mr. Blackbourne’s reassuring tone, I was worried.

Between the open tent flap near the front and the path back to the house, others seemed to have disappeared except for George and Victor.

Victor’s father blocked Victor from retreating to the house. His lips curled back and his eyes were wide, cheeks flushed.

“It’s not a joke. Get back on that stage,” he said, his tone sharp.

Victor stumbled a bit where he stood and shook his head. “No, thank you.” Very polite and to the point. Despite his father’s anger, Victor seemed rather calm.

George pointed a shaking finger at him. “You get back in there or…”

“Victor?” I moved forward to stand beside him. Where the courage to get between them came from, I wasn’t sure, but Kota had said several times he got in the way between his parents and Victor and it helped to smooth things.

However, before I could get close enough to stand by Victor’s side, Jasmine materialized, cutting off access and taking her son by the arm. Regal, with eyes that blazed in a fierce fire that I’d only seen Victor match, she turned her back to me and addressed her son directly.

She said something to him, soft, but with hissing noises. I skirted around her until I could get within view of Victor.

Victor listened, but when I came into his view, he shook his head at whatever she was whispering. “No. You can’t bribe me. You can’t trick me again. This party isn’t for me. It’s for you. I didn’t ask for this.” Again he wavered where he stood and then hiccupped. “I’m done.”

George leaned in, smelling his breath. He laughed a bit, seeming relieved. “Darling, he doesn’t know what he’s saying. Looks like he’s had too much.”

Jasmine balked at this and leaned in to smell Victor’s breath, despite Victor trying to pull his arm from her grasp. She pulled her head back sharply, nose wrinkled. “How could you let yourself get into such a state?”

Drunk? Really? He didn’t drink. “Victor?” I said cautiously.

Victor started to turn to me, but his mother put an arm between me and him and tried to encourage him toward the house. “I’ll escort him to his room. We shouldn’t let anyone else talk to him this evening. I’ll explain to them you’re not feeling well and had a little too much tonight.”

“No,” Victor said, throwing off her arm and reaching for my hand. “Sang… Sang, help me get out of here.”

“Where are the others?” I asked, getting closer and taking his arm.

“Victor, let’s go into the house,” his mother said, reaching again for his arm. “You,” she said as sharp as if she were going to spit, “help me get him into the house.”

He shook his head and turned full toward her. “I’m not going back in that house. Don’t pretend you didn’t do this to me to get me to do what you want. I’m not signing papers. I’m done. I’m out.”

What papers? Had she gotten him to drink?

“Who knew that he’d be such a brat drunk,” George said, backing up a step. “Let him go and sleep it off.”

“You can leave here tonight,” his mother said through her teeth in such a cold tone it was like she spoke to someone she hated, “but you can either come apologize or don’t expect us to welcome you back. I will never tolerate such disrespect to our guests. I can’t imagine what damage you’ve done.” She turned away and walked toward the tent. Mr. Blackbourne was still playing. No one else had come out.

Damage he’d done?

Was his health and well-being not more important than what other people thought?

George did nothing but watch with a sneer as I took Victor by the arm, walking him toward the driveway. I wasn’t sure where to take Victor. If it wasn’t to the house, where should I bring him? I tried aiming for the driveway, hoping to see a familiar vehicle nearby that we could use.

“What happened back there?” I asked once we were out of earshot. “Victor…”

“It’s okay,” he said. “Yes, they made me drink a lot. Right after I took some medicine…”

I paused, trying to put it together. “Medicine?”

He stopped his slow walk just before reaching a row of carefully parked vehicles lined up by valet service. He swayed a bit, even with me holding his arm, looking off toward the darkened sky. “No one came, Sang. No one was here to help. I was alone.” He shook his head, a little violently. “But it doesn’t matter. I needed to be able to be an adult. I’m sixteen… seven… I’m older now.”

“What do you mean alone?” I asked.

“No one came, Sang,” he said. “Silas… everyone. Mr. Blackbourne showed up but right on time and I was already supposed to be prepped and on stage.” His voice changed, sad and a little strained like his voice was going. “No one came.”

The others weren’t here?

He pulled his phone out of his pocket, and the screen illuminated his already paling face. “And Volto. We missed him.” He showed me the screen.

It was some text message. There was only one message highlighted that he showed.

DEPTHCRAWLER: Lost.

“I don’t understand,” I said. He was giving me so much at once.

“We were trying to track him, lost him. First time we traced him since we started. Wasn’t a false trail…” He groaned. “I was too busy to help. Too caught up in… this.” He waved a little too much back toward the tent. “Stupid.” He leaned forward, a bit much and I had to use every ounce of strength to keep him up on his feet until he could correct himself.

The smell of alcohol was intense.

I had to get him out of here.

There wasn’t anyone where we were at the moment. I pulled my phone out, sending a text to Kota.

Sang: Are you still out in traffic?

Kota: Be there in two. We’re next in line.

Sang: Don’t get out of the car. I have Victor. We’re leaving.

Kota: Meet us out front.

No questions as to why. I wouldn’t expect him to know what happened, but I appreciated he understood quickly that it must be important if we were leaving.

I tugged Victor gently by the arm, away from the parked cars and toward the front of the house. “Come on, Kota’s on the way.”

“Sang,” Victor said, not moving. I wasn’t strong enough to tug him to continue. “Sang, I know why you couldn’t be here. Why did they forget me? Why didn’t they come?”

“I’m sorry,” I said, unsure how to answer him. I wasn’t sure if he was just asking random things because he was drunk and if he’d remember. The question hurt to hear; that the others were too late for him. “Something terrible must have happened. And Kota and Gabriel… they got held up by me.”

He reached out to me, holding my cheeks in his palms, a little too strong so my lips puckered at the pressure. “Sang… I don’t blame you.”

“We need to go.”

“Sang… I have to tell you I love you.”

I stared at him, shocked, unsure. “Victor…”

There was a moment there, like he thought to kiss me, as he looked at my lips way too long. Time passed, his eyes glazed over, like he couldn’t think of what to do next.

I wanted to say it back. I really did. But with my concern and the way he held me, the shock of the night, I hesitated.

Suddenly, a girl about our age came into view from behind Victor. She had dark hair up in a bun on her head and wore a plain but elegant dark dress. “Hey,” she said to me and did a short wave. “Need help?”

I clenched my teeth, embarrassed. I did need help, but who was she?

Victor seemed surprised but also was slow to turn to the girl. “Brie…” He hiccupped and turned to her fully. “Brie, I did it.”

“I saw that,” she said. “Good job.” She forced a smile and motioned to me. “Do you need to get him inside?”

“There’s… a car on the way to the front…” I said.

She nodded and came over, taking Victor by the elbow. “Come on,” she said. “Adults go to the car and get in.”

This caused him to react, and he took a step toward the nearest car.

“Not that one,” Brie sang a bit as she spoke. “Front of the house.”

I was grateful for the help. Brie seemed to know what to say to compel him to move, even if a bit slowly. We took the route away from the tent, using the house to shield us from view until we got to the front gate that allowed us out to the sidewalk. Neighboring houses sat dimly nearby, shadowed by the brightness of the Morgan house in full party mode.

Kota’s sedan just pulled up and Gabriel hopped out of the passenger seat. He worked on unknotting his tie as he came around.

He hurried quickly around the front of the car, arms open. “What the hell happened?” he asked, scooting me over to try to take Victor’s arm.

Victor said something but it came out in a mumbling mess.

“It’s my fault,” Brie said. “I gave him something earlier to help his anxiety. He seemed to need it.” She paused, a little breathy like this had taken some energy to get him to walk with her. “But then his parents kept forcing him to take celebratory drinks for his birthday and then he had to toast the guests at the start… and then… they kept going with trying to pressure him into everything, photos and his gifts. And every time they gave him more to drink.”

Gabriel shook a finger at Victor. “You dumbass. Drinking and drugs? Way to go.”

“It wasn’t just drugs,” Victor said.

Brie snorted once shortly. “Seriously? You’ll blame this on him?” she said to Gabriel. “Where were you? He said his friends couldn’t make it and got really down. He’s been trying to cope all day.”

Gabriel’s face reddened. “Then I’m a dumbass but…”

The driver’s side window rolled down and Kota stuck his head out. “Everything okay?”

“We’ve got him from here,” Gabriel said to Brie. “Sang, get in front.”

“Thanks,” I said to Brie, paused shortly and then continued hesitantly, wanting to be nice since she helped us. “Do you need a ride?”

“My mom is here and I should go with her,” she said. “I’ll try to do some damage control. His mother might be more forgiving if she really thinks it was the drinking and it isn’t totally his fault he basically said fuck off to the audience.” She waved shortly and skirted off toward the front door to disappear inside.

“I don’t need forgiveness,” Victor said, but then wobbled a bit more.

Gabriel mostly carried Victor to the back of Kota’s car and made him get in.

I rushed around, getting in next to Kota. “Should we say something to Mr. Blackbourne? He’s inside playing.”

“I’ll send him a message,” Kota said. He used the rearview to check the seat behind us. “Are we okay? Do we need water? A puke bag? Do we have our seatbelts on?”

Victor had slumped into the far side of the car away from Gabriel, eyes closed, arms over his stomach. He mumbled but said nothing. His cheeks flushed.

“Get me water and the puke bag,” Gabriel said. He gingerly reached around Victor, with a lot of care, and made sure his seatbelt was secure. He put a gentle hand on Victor’s elbow. “Just a short ride and we’ll get you out of here.”

Kota stretched over my lap to the glove compartment and pulled out a set of napkin packs and a folded plastic bag from a grocery store. “Sang, under your seat, there’s usually water bottles tucked there.”

I reached under without looking, feeling around, finding a couple of plastic bottles, and pulled them both out to pass back to Gabriel.

After that, Kota started to drive. Gabriel had a bottle of water, urging Victor to drink it. “Come on,” he said. “It’ll make it better.”

“You don’t have to embarrass me,” Victor said, pushing the bottle away.

“What’s more embarrassing, drinking water or puking?”

“I’m not sure puking is entirely a bad idea right now,” Kota said. “It might get some of the alcohol out of your system.”

“I’m not puking,” Victor said, in a voice a little too loud. He opened his eyes, grabbed at the water bottle, sloshing a little water over his clothes. With a loose, open hand, he brushed away the water from his clothes and brought the bottle to his lips at the same time. He took just a small sip and put the bottle in his lap, then rolled his head back, closing his eyes again. “I don’t really want to do anything but sleep.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Gabriel said. “What’s this anti-anxiety thing you took? And why were you drinking after?”

Kota had his phone in his hand, likely texting Mr. Blackbourne about what was happening. When he heard what Gabriel said, his hand jerked and he stopped. “What? What’s this?”

“It’s nothing,” Victor said without moving.

Kota had made a left turn but he turned the blinker off, readjusting the car to roll forward and cross the street instead. “Then we go to the hospital.”

Victor jerked his head up and blinked rapidly, pressing the water bottle to his cheek as if it might cool his face. “I don’t need the hospital. I just need to sleep.”

“Unknown medications react differently per person as it is. Alcohol on top of it can do a lot of damage.”

“I said I’m fine,” Victor said. “Why won’t anyone listen to me?”

“I’m taking you there anyway,” Kota said. “We’ll spend the night. Dr. Green is on call tonight anyway. You don’t have to be admitted, but you’ll be on premises if anything happens. We can sleep in his office.”

Victor muttered, turning away from everyone and didn’t say anything else.

I swallowed, looking ahead, my cheeks warming. Poor Victor.

Was what happened totally his fault? It didn’t sound like it.

Gabriel kept sitting awfully close to Victor, encouraging him to drink water when he could. Victor only listened occasionally and only took small sips.

The car fell silent. The sun was hanging lower.

This whole day had been disastrous.

I wanted to ask so many questions of Victor, but I didn’t want to upset him any more.

At the hospital parking lot, Kota pulled right up to a side entrance and stopped the car without turning the engine off.

Kota got out, walking around the car to open Victor’s door behind me. “Come on. Can you walk inside on your own?”

“I can walk, but I don’t want to go in,” Victor said, remaining in the car.

“Get in the hospital or I’m carrying you inside.”

Victor didn’t move for a minute, but then seemed to register Kota was serious. He moved a little and was about to stand up but sat down in the seat again quickly. “Hang on, I’m dizzy.”

“Which is exactly why we’re here,” Kota said. He reached in, taking Victor by the elbow, practically picking him up out of the car. “Gabriel, take her… actually go see if anyone else needs a ride back to Summerville. I think we’re done tonight.”

Gabriel got out, running over to open the door for Kota and Victor to get inside the hospital. When they were clear of the door, he came back, got in the driver’s seat, and did his seatbelt. “All dressed up and nowhere to go,” Gabriel mumbled.

“I don’t know if I’d feel like going anywhere after tonight,” I said. This whole day felt like a never-ending loop of problems.

“Victor will be okay,” Gabriel said. He braked at a stop sign in the parking lot but instead of continuing after, he turned to me and put an arm around the back side of my headrest. His left hand reached for my face, cupping my cheek. “Are you good?”

I nodded, my cheek brushing against his palm. His skin still smelled like sweet fruit from before. “Yes. I think so. I just feel bad for Victor.”

His fingers near my hair shifted, tugging gently at a loose curl near my face. My hair was back in the black clip again but I found it appeased him if I kept a few extra lengths of hair out. “Victor will sleep it off and be just fine. Kota’s being overcautious but this is the best place for Victor right now. I do feel bad I missed what was going on.”

“Me, too,” I said. “What a miserable birthday.”

Gabriel did a short groan and pulled away from me to continue driving. “Yeah, I think we fucked up. Maybe we should have kept going and gone to his party.”

“I should have been okay with staying by myself,” I said. “Nothing happened.”

Gabriel reached for my hand, holding it palm to palm, our fingers intertwined while he drove. He squeezed my hand gently. “I know we shouldn’t dwell on what we should have done, but I feel damn guilty. What happened to the others?”

“I think Luke’s still at the hospital with Dr. Green,” I said. “North and Nathan were with him. He got too sick. I don’t know what happened after that.”

“That’s four,” he said. “Kota and Victor are six at the hospital. I’m seven. Who are we missing? Mr. Blackbourne? Where’s Silas?”

“I thought Silas was with Victor this whole time,” I said. “What happened to him?”

“Text him,” he said. “Find out.” He pulled off to the side of the road. “We might need to go get him.”

I sent a quick text to Silas.

Sang: Are you okay? We had to leave with Victor from the party. Are you still there?

There was at least a couple of minutes before he finally responded.

Silas: Yes. Security problems.

That’s it. I showed it to Gabriel.

He frowned. “I don’t like that.” He pulled his own phone out and sent a text of his own. “Mr. Blackbourne is there. If he can get offstage, he should find him right now.”

“He might not be able to get offstage if he’s replacing Victor for the entire night,” I said. “Should we go back for Silas?”

“He didn’t say he needed help,” he said, but his hands twisted on the steering wheel while he drove. “I don’t like it.”

“Can we drive by?”

“We’ve got the time,” he said, and he turned the car around, heading back downtown.

♥♥♥

Gabriel had a brilliant idea to go behind the Morgan estate via side roads and not in front where the traffic was backed up still.

Only when we got to behind the estate, we were stopped immediately by a collection of people, including some security.

Gabriel rolled down the window to talk to one of the security people. “Hey, I know you,” he said.

The security guard seemed to recognize him immediately. “Hey, Gabriel,” he said. His badge was covered, so I couldn’t tell what his name was but he had dark hair and dark eyes, and looked bulky under the security uniform. “Do me a favor and run these people over, will you?”

Gabriel smirked at the joke. “Why?”

“Reporters,” he said. He shook his head. “First Mrs. M wanted them on the street only. Pictures, but nothing up close and nothing beyond the gate. Then it’s let one or two in the gate but pretend to suddenly catch them like they aren’t supposed to be there. Then it’s let them back out and keep them far away. Only now they won’t go.”

That didn’t make any sense. Or maybe it did. Mrs. Morgan wanted good press, and if Victor had acted badly… this wasn’t good.

“Is Silas with you?”

“He’s been running background checks with Ralph in the guardhouse, making sure everyone is who they say they are. We needed more hands on deck for this.”

Gabriel looked at the collection of reporters and nodded. “You know how to get rid of them?”

The guard shrugged.

“In like five minutes, start talking with one of the other guards about a celebrity sighting downtown. They’ll go chase that for a while.”

“Maybe,” the guard said. He waved goodbye as Gabriel made a U-turn to go back the way we’d come.

“Great,” I said. “They might have caught the whole incident.”

“They’ll be lucky if someone with their cell phone hasn’t uploaded it to YouTube already.” He started to head back to the highway but stopped the car suddenly in the middle of the road. He leaned over and looked at me. “I don’t want to go far. Just in case.”

“Then go somewhere close,” I said.

He drove the block until he spotted a place to park on the road, where we were within walking distance to the estate but tucked out of view from all the crowds of reporters. The block was quiet, with other cars along the street parked. No one seemed to be around.

Gabriel sent a quick note to Silas to let him know we were keeping nearby for a bit. He turned the engine of Kota’s sedan off. It rattled and clunked a bit before it actually silenced.

“This old piece of shit,” Gabriel said. He slapped his hand against the steering wheel. “If I had the money, I’d buy him a new one and tell him to get over it if he complained.”

“We could get him one,” I said quietly. I considered how much it might cost to buy a car. “I guess the Academy money doesn’t buy cars for us.”

“Naw, we don’t need them for buying things like cars unless we were completely out of options. We try not to spend it on things like that.” He leaned back in his seat and picked up one of my hands, bringing it over. “By the way, I owe you.”

I didn’t understand until he bit the tip of my finger gently, more gently than Nathan ever did, who would leave teeth marks usually. Gabriel’s bite tickled a bit and I giggled. “I’m kind of glad the night is over.”

“Yeah,” he said. “We got out of an entire evening of pretending to just be friends.” He winked at me and leaned over, and whispered close to my cheek. “Let’s get back to being more than friends for a while.”

I reached over, placing a palm at his cheek as he leaned further to kiss me at the edge of my mouth. For a moment, my mind was still occupied, worried about Victor, and Luke, and Mr. Blackbourne having to cover for Victor, and Silas on his own.

But Gabriel’s lips drew a warmth out of me. My fingers drifted up to the short hair at the base of his head, where he’d shaved a good portion. I ran my fingers through it while he kissed gently at my cheek and nuzzled near my ear.

And he purred. Like a cat.

I used my fingertips, rubbing at the base of the scalp more.

He lowered his head until his forehead pressed against my shoulder. “Fuck… Yeah.” Suddenly he popped his head up. “Come on, Trouble. Let’s make trouble in the back seat.”

My heart sped up, not sure what he was meaning, but still excited. It was the first time in a while where I’d been more alone with one of them.

We wedged ourselves between the front seats. Gabriel bumped his head on the roof of the car before he slid down on his back in my lap. “Ow,” he said, holding the top of his head.

I reached down to his scalp, and this time just massaged around where he was holding where he’d bumped it. “You okay?”

“Oh yeah, if you keep doing that,” he said. He settled and closed his eyes. He pointed to where he hit his head. “Just not this spot.”

I giggled and massaged at his scalp some more. His hair at the base of his neck was soft, like fur, and the longer lengths of hair on top, the blond and russet mix, cut to his chin, had gentle waves near the base. I wondered if he styled it that way. After massaging his scalp for a bit, I braided one of the locks of blond hair in a loose braid.

When I finished, he felt the braid and chuckled. “Does it look weird?”

“I don’t know. Sit up?”

He did, and he fluffed the rest of his hair with his fingers, leaving the braid to hang loose.

It was the crystal blue eyes that captured my attention. In the moment, maybe with some outside light shining just the right way, it just made me realize, again, how handsome he was. He had his own sort of rock style, like he belonged in a band or on stage somewhere.

My cheeks heated because I was staring at him for so long without answering.

He gazed at me for a long while, and then leaned in and kissed me.

His lips pressed hard against mine and within moments, his tongue teased until my mouth opened up and accepted it.

He held me for the longest time, and we kissed. For the first time in a while, everyone was so occupied elsewhere that he and I had nowhere to go.

No parents to consider. No school to get to the next day.

It was a strange feeling. Like I didn’t trust something to not happen, and yet I tried to enjoy the moment.

And then Gabriel shifted, until I’d slid onto my back in the back seat, and he knelt over me, still kissing, although he adjusted his legs multiple times.

At one point, he breathed in sharply near my mouth and sat up over me. “Fucking Christ, I hate this car.” He reached back, rubbing at his calf. “Leg cramp.”

I sat up next to him, rubbing at his arm. “Maybe we can just sit up.”

“Or we could…” He adjusted until he was sitting up in the middle and I was sitting in his lap on top of him, with knees on either side that wedged a bit into the padding of the back seat.

Like this, I was nose to nose with him.

“I think I like this,” he said.

I couldn’t say the same. The skirt I was wearing was riding up, but cutting into my legs. “I wish I had something else on.” I adjusted the hem of the skirt.

Gabriel drifted a hand down until it was at my knee and slowly slid upward, to the skirt, feeling my hip. “Could just take it off.”

I blushed, unsure. He’d seen me in a lot less, even naked, but this was different. We weren’t changing for school or trying on clothes together. When he looked at me with those eyes, that gaze that never ceased, I was thrilled and petrified at the same time.

I wanted to do what he was asking, but I was too nervous to do it. Not to mention we were in public.

Gabriel gently continued to slide the skirt up, and I didn’t stop him. But my cheeks heated.

As if sensing my hesitation, he stopped. “It’s still kind of light out.”

“Yeah,” I said quietly.

He pressed his nose to mine, and then puckered.

I kissed him, just once.

My phone buzzed to life, surprising me.

Gabriel snorted. “Don’t tell me, someone broke a leg or something.”

I checked it. It was just a message from Kota. “We’re to fill up on gas before we get home.”

“Oh. Well, why didn’t he text me?”

“He probably thinks you’re driving.”

“Oh yeah.”

I was going to say more but a car parked not far from us. We paused where we were, and I eased down until I was sitting next to Gabriel instead of in his lap.

“My bad for picking not a great spot,” Gabriel said. He waited until whoever it was got out of their car and went into their house. After, he turned to me. “We’ll just keep it over the clothes.”

I blushed, but I agreed.