Baggage & Buttons (7 page)

‘Thank you for inviting me.’

‘You’re welcome baby.’

‘I need to tell you something.’

‘O god is this to do with your thing for older mature
blond men? Are you dumping me for my dad?’ he said with a grin as he put me
down.

‘Very funny. He’s
very
attractive though. I can
see where you got your jawline, cheekbones and hair from.’

‘Wait until you see a picture of mum, she was so
beautiful,’ he sighed, with a sad smile.

‘I’d love to see her,’ I said softly and kissed him again,
hoping to take his mind off her.

‘So what did you want to tell me?’

‘I don’t like to tell people things either, in case
they get the wrong impression, so I haven’t lied to you, but I didn’t correct
you when you made the wrong assumption.’

‘With what?’

‘My family’s comfortably off and I don’t rent my
apartment, it was purchased for me outright and it’s in my name.’

‘So you’re saying that I picked a girl with money?
Excellent.’

‘You’re not cross?’

‘No,’ he said with a shake of his head. ‘You didn’t
lie to me, it was an error of omission and I can totally understand wanting
people to get to know you for you and not want to be with you because of your
car, house or status.’

‘I don’t have a car, they offered to get me one for my
eighteenth, but I figured I’d be coming to a town or city for Uni with trains,
buses and taxis and I like a drink now and again. Why have all that extra
expense?’

‘Well now you have me to drive you wherever you need
to go, I’ll be your personal chauffeur.’

‘Will you wear a suit and hat?’ I asked, putting my
arms around his neck.

‘Why would that turn you on?’ he looked down at me with
an amused twinkle in his eyes.

‘I
love
men in suits and the thought of you
driving your sexy sporty car in one, then fucking me in it is
very
exciting,’ I nodded, feeling my core warm at the thought.

‘Hmmm, then I shall add that to my list of places we
need to do it in,’ he murmured as he kissed my neck.

‘How long’s the list?’ I sighed happily.

‘It’s growing, as am I. Please can we move onto
another topic before I ditch dinner and my dad and take you right here?’

‘You could be Professor Plum and take me in the
kitchen with the rolling pin,’ I teased.

‘Mia please,’ he implored, as I felt him hardening
against my hip.

‘Sorry.’

‘We’ll go and get you changed first. If you don’t mind
I’d like to ask him to eat with us before he goes, I don’t see him often and he
was really excited about meeting you. Though I imagine he got a bit more
excitement than he bargained for.’

‘Gabe I’ve got no other clothes, I only brought a bra
and some spare knickers.’

‘Well you can’t sit in your mac eating dinner with us.
Come on, it’s ready so I’ll put it in the oven to keep warm until I find you
something to wear.’

He took my hand and led me back into the hall and up a
grand double winder staircase, which I noticed rose up to another level. The
corridor was wide and long with beautifully polished wooden floors, so I walked
carefully in my heels, so I wouldn’t scratch the wood. Gabe took me to the
first door on the right and into his bedroom. It was a huge room, with two sets
of rectangular sash windows overlooking the drive and had white painted
interior shutters pulled back into the deep walls. The room was painted in a
slate grey with brilliant white skirting, coving and picture rails. Like me, he
obviously disliked clutter so it was minimally furnished, with a large super
king black leather sleigh bed with white bedding taking centre stage. Above the
bed was a large black and white pencil drawing of a Lamborghini. I noticed he’d
left the original dark wood floorboards in here too and I turned around to look
what was behind me and gasped.

To the right of the bedroom door was a large black
lacquer oriental chest and above it hung a big black and white portrait of Gabe
and I looking down at our entwined fingers smiling. It was the picture that
Doug had taken when we were outside the English room on Monday. The black and
white canvas on the left, above the flat screen TV was what really caught my
eye though and I walked over to examine it.

It was a shot of me. I was standing looking straight
at the camera lens, my hair was hanging out of a messy up do, looking
dishevelled. My lips were enlarged, glossy and slightly parted. The kohl around
my eyes was smudged and I’d a slight dewy glow to my face. You couldn’t see
much of my body, the shot had been taken in a crowded room and it was a glance
of me through the people surrounding me, but the photographer had zoomed in on
me from the chest up.

The thing that struck me most though was my eyes. The
sheer lust in them as I stared towards the camera lens was obvious. Where had
he got this picture from? I’d never seen it and couldn’t place it at all. I
could see I was wearing a spaghetti vest top trimmed with lace and a push up
bra, out of which my breasts rose like two smooth domes. I racked my brains to think
where I’d last worn this outfit. I turned to Gabe and he was smiling at me.

‘I don’t understand, I don’t remember this picture
being taken. I’m sure I’ve not worn those clothes since meeting you, how do you
have it?’

‘This was taken the night we first saw each other, the
night you don’t seem to remember, which by the way was like a knife to my heart
when you texted me that bit of information earlier,’ he said as he tilted his
head studying the confusion on my face.

‘But where? When?’

‘It was freshers’ week on the Monday. It was my birthday
so I went to one of the bars on Princes street with the Julie and swim team and
I spotted you across the room. You were talking to some guy and I couldn’t take
my eyes off you. Doug saw me staring and got his camera out and started taking
pictures of you. It was as if you knew I was watching you, you just turned to
look at me and we locked eyes … I just felt the connection immediately.’

‘Really?’ I had no recollection of this at all, but I
remembered going out that night and how sick I’d been in the morning.

‘Hmmm. You looked at me like you wanted to rip my
clothes off and devour me right there and then and Doug snapped it. I love it,’
he said as he looked back up at it, then back at me. ‘It was the first time we
saw each other and I have it captured and up on my wall.’

‘Gabe, I’m so sorry, I don’t remember. I was
completely wasted that night, in fact most of the week.’

‘I tried to get across the room to meet you, but by
the time I’d pushed my way through you were gone. I looked everywhere, but you
must have left. I even kept going back to the bar every night that week, thinking
you might come back to it, you’ve no idea how disappointed I was not to see you
again. So imagine my surprise when I looked up in English on the first day and
there you were on the floor in front of me.’

‘
That’s
why you winked?’ I gasped. ‘You thought
I’d remembered seeing you before. Is that is why you sent me 18 roses instead
of 11?’

‘Yes, it was 18 days since I first saw you. Is it ok
that I’ve got those pictures on the wall?’

‘I guess so,’ I shrugged blushing.

‘I thought you may find it stalkerish and creepy,’ he
grinned.

‘O it’s definitely stalkerish, but as you’re providing
me with many wonderful orgasms I won’t press charges Mr Austin. I hate to tell
you this, but I think you have it really bad for me.’

‘That I do Miss Page, but you already knew that,’ he
said softly as he walked over to me and swept my fringe away from my eyes.
‘You’re sure it’s not too much for me to have that up there?’

‘No it’s fine, but while we’re on the topic of
stalking, I would like to know how you found Lexi’s pregnancy test?’

‘It wasn’t what you thought Mia, I wasn’t rummaging in
your bin. I used some of your dental floss and when I dropped it in your pedal
bin I saw the packet and stick. I wouldn’t just rifle through your private
things.’

‘Why didn’t you just come and talk to me?’

‘Mia I was angry, upset, hurt and confused all rolled
up into one, I couldn’t trust how I’d react if I confronted you. I needed time
to mull it over and calm down so I wouldn’t hurt you, or say something I
regretted.’

‘Well you did a bang up job of that,’ I laughed,
taking him by surprise.

‘You’re laughing about it?’

‘We’ve already shouted and screamed at each other
Gabe, it was all a horrible misunderstanding and we’ve both apologised, so it’s
done and dusted. Let’s forget it now ok?’

‘Really, you’re sure?’

‘I’m sure. We’ll both have to agree to handle our next
argument better ok?’

‘You think we’re going to argue again?’

‘O I know we’ll argue again Gabe, we’re both hot
headed and stubborn and like to be in control and you can be downright bossy
sometimes. As long as we can do the making up bit with orgasms after I’m
happy.’ I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him, he responded with such
tenderness it made my stomach flip. He slowly undid the tie on my mac and
pushed it off my shoulders, then lifted me up, his hands on my bare bottom
cheeks and carried me over to his bed and threw me on it.

‘Are you going to fuck me now?’ I gasped, as I lay
sprawled looking up at him. I was praying he’d say yes, my body was primed for
him already. He looked at me through hooded eyes and sighed.

‘I so want to Mia, but right now we need to get you
some clothes and go and have dinner with my father. Seeing as how you’ve
already given him an eyeful, I’d prefer you don’t come down to dinner with an “
I’ve
just fucked your son”
rosy facial. I promise to make up for it when he’s
gone.’

I sighed and watched as he turned and opened a white
panelled door, giving me a glimpse of an enormous walk through dressing room
and I clambered off the bed and went inside, amazed. It stretched the width of
his bedroom and had fitted hanging space, shoes racks and cubby holes on each
side and even two leather tub chairs to sit on. Gabe pulled out a pair of grey
sweat pants and a black t-shirt and nodded to the door at the other end of the
dressing room.

‘Go and get changed, I can’t stand here looking at you
in that outfit for much longer before I tear it off you.’

I bent over to pull off my heels and he smacked my
bottom again, making me squeal and giggle, before I padded into his en-suite
bathroom. It reminded me a bit of mine, but on a much larger scale, with white
retro brick tiles and painted in the same grey as his bedroom. It had a
massive
walk in shower, original double ended claw foot bath, toilet and a long white
painted wooden unit, with a huge rectangular sink on top and matching painted cabinets
above. Between the shower and the sink was a huge framed antique mirror, which
was standing on the floor, leaning against the wall. It was all very modern,
masculine, clean cut and sexy, very Gabe.

Two sash windows overlooked the rear of the house, but
it was already dark so I couldn’t see anything as I squinted out of them. I went
to the toilet then washed my hands, picturing him getting ready here every day.
I put on his joggers and even with the draw cord done up really tightly they
were far too big, as was the t-shirt which I pulled over my Basque. At least I
was covered for dinner, even if I looked ridiculous. I came out of the bathroom
and walked through to the bedroom. Gabe was standing looking at my canvas and
smiled as I came over.

‘How do you still manage to look sexy wearing my baggy
clothes?’

‘You think I look sexy in these?’ I asked, pulling at
the loose fabric horrified.

‘You’d look sexy in anything baby, especially to me. ’
He kissed my forehead. ‘Come on we’d better go and eat, dad will need to leave
soon.’

He insisted on carrying me downstairs, in case I tripped
on his over long joggers. He kneeled in front of me as he set me down at the
bottom of the stairs and turned them up for me, then grabbed my hand again and
led me back into the kitchen, where Robert was pouring some champagne into
three flutes and smiled as we came in.

‘Mia, you’ve no idea how pleased I was to hear Gabriel
had invited you,’ Robert said as he handed me a glass.

‘Well thank you Mr Austin … sorry Robert,’ I corrected
myself and took a sip.

‘I was beginning to wonder if he was gay,’ Robert
chuckled and I nearly choked on my champagne.
Gabe? Gay?
Did he not know
his son?

‘Dad, seriously?’ Gabe gave Robert one of his scowls,
which only made his dad chuckle more.

‘Robert please can I tell you what an amazing job
you’ve done in raising your son, he’ the most caring, kind, considerate and loyal
man I’ve ever met, as well as a fantastic cook.’ I flashed a smile at Gabe and
was sure I saw him blush.

‘That’s lovely to hear Mia. It wasn’t easy for either
of us when his mother passed away, but we did our best.’