The Odds of Happily Ever After (The Reyes Siblings #2)

Chapter 35

chapter thirty-five

luna

Lonzo

Happy birthday, Ate L

Ate

Happy birthday, Luna! Wishing we could celebrate with you.

Luna

Thanks, guys!!! I miss you alllll

I was never doing shots again.

My head ached like it was about to explode, but thankfully, when I sat up, I didn’t feel the immediate need to hurl. It must have been the water. I’d finished two of the bottles Kai got, and Gabe?—

Gabe.

Jumping to my feet, I rushed to the door and pulled it open.

My jaw dropped.

Gabe stood in front of the sink, dressed in a pair of dark gray boxer briefs that clung to the globes of his butt.

Now this was the way to wake a girl up.

He whirled around, and since my eyes had been fixed down below, I got a frontal view of his package covered in fitted cotton. The same package that had pressed against me last night.

Or was it earlier this morning?

“Shit. I didn’t think you’d wake up anytime soon.” He glanced around like he was looking for something to cover up with.

All his twisting made the muscles in his abdomen dance. I’d known he was fit, but holy crap. Gabe was ripped.

“Happy birthday to me.” The words slipped out on a happy sigh, earning me a double take.

He cocked an eyebrow at me. “Are you objectifying me right now?”

“So harsh. I’m admiring you. Where did you get all the muscles, Gabe? And that six-pack?”

His eyes might have been rolling, but the corner of his mouth turned up. “It’s called exercise.”

“I walk to and from campus and jog some days, but I have none of that.”

“You have nothing to worry about, Luna.”

“Uh, not true. My arms are like sticks, I have cellulite in my legs, and my boobs are nonexistent.” They were also currently braless since there was no way I was sleeping with one of those torture devices on.

To Gabe’s credit, he didn’t look away from my face. “You look good to me.”

Was swooning still a thing? Because I might be on the verge of it. “Well, you haven’t seen much of me yet.”

This time, his gaze lowered to the neckline of my nightgown. My nipples grew tight, practically saluting him.

“I’m going to get dressed,” he muttered as he grabbed the clothes he’d folded over a chair. “Can I use your bathroom?”

“Sure—actually, can you wait a sec? I need to pee.” Now that I’d recovered from the initial shock of near-naked Gabe, my bladder screamed at me.

“Of course.”

I took care of business, brushed my teeth, and set out a spare toothbrush and towel for Gabe. After double-checking that everything was clean, I walked out to find him already wearing pants and halfway through buttoning his shirt.

What a shame.

“Bathroom’s all yours,” I announced. “I’m sorry I don’t have any guy clothes here. I might have a shirt that fits you, though . . . let me check.”

“Don’t worry about it. I should get going anyway.”

My face fell. “You’re leaving?”

He hesitated. “I can stay a while if you want. I made you breakfast. ”

Until he mentioned it, I didn’t notice the mouthwatering scents of butter and fried pork in the air. The food was arranged in a platter on the dining table, along with a plate and utensils for one.

“I thought you’d want food after last night,” he said. “I hope you don’t mind me using your kitchen.”

“Mind? This is perfect, Gabe. Thank you. You should definitely stay because I’ll need help finishing this.”

“Give me a few minutes.”

While he used the bathroom, I prepared another place setting and went to brew coffee, only to find that Gabe had beat me to it. He also finished washing the pans and cooking utensils he’d used. The man was efficient and thoughtful, and I wished he didn’t have to leave. I wanted to play the birthday card to get him to stay longer, but he had already done more than enough. I had to be content with breakfast with him, which was so much more than I thought I’d get.

I poured coffee into two mugs, added the usual milk and sugar to mine, and set them on the table. Then I swapped my nightgown for my new dress, brushed out my hair, and headed back out in time for Gabe to emerge from the bathroom, looking just as good as he did last night.

His gaze tracked down my body before lifting to my face. “You look beautiful.”

I smiled. “Thanks. Ate and Jason gave me this dress last Christmas. I was going to wear it last night, but Kriz got that other one for me.”

“That was a club dress, but this”—he nodded at me—“is a Luna dress.”

“I know, right? C’mon, let’s eat. I’m excited to try your cooking.” I sat at the table and waited for him to join me.

“It’s bacon and pancakes. Nothing fancy.”

“Do you cook a lot?” I asked as I filled my plate.

He followed suit. “Not really. I do it out of necessity, not enjoyment.”

“Have you tried making the spaghetti?”

“No. It won’t be the same.”

“I’ll write the recipe down so you won’t forget.”

“It’s not that. It’s just not the same without you.”

I put down my fork. He really had to stop saying those kinds of things or I’d convince myself he had feelings for me.

Though he had kissed me. Okay, technically, I’d kissed him first, but he took it to another level. If he hadn’t grown his conscience back, I wouldn’t have woken up alone in bed. Maybe. Probably.

I eyed him as he chewed. Should I bring it up? It wasn’t exactly breakfast discussion material, but he was leaving soon. If I put it off, it would be harder to approach the topic later, and I didn’t want to talk about it over text. I needed to see his reactions in real-time so I could gauge what he felt as best I could without additional filters.

“What’s on your mind?”

The perfect opening for my question. Instead, I blurted out, “I thought you’d be gone this morning.”

“I told you I would stay, and I didn’t want you to wake up alone on your birthday.”

“Thank you. For all of it.”

He opened his mouth and paused. Nodded. “What are your plans for the rest of the day?”

“I’ll probably grab some lunch, then hang out here.”

Frowning, he said, “I thought you were going out with your friends.”

“After last night? I need my recovery time.” I cut a piece of pancake. “Don’t worry about me. I like going out and I love my friends, but sometimes I just want to stay in and chill.”

“Chill, huh?”

“Ever heard of it?”

“Once or twice.” He gave a half smile. “I’m not sure I’ve experienced it.”

I tried not to get myself excited over the implication of his words. “Are you fishing for an invite?”

“I don’t fish, Luna. I was leading up to asking if I can join you. But if you wanted to be alone?—”

“I wanted to ask you, but I already took up a lot of your time. Also, you said you had to go.”

“I said I should. Not that I wanted to.” One brow lifted in silent challenge. “You did promise to beat me at pusoy.”

The look in his eyes almost had me melting in my chair, and I wondered how I could be so lucky to have him to myself today. “Guess it’s time to break in my new deck.”

After breakfast, Gabe left to take care of some matters, telling me he’d be back by lunch. I took the time to chat with Ate and Lonzo, who had stayed up for me. They asked about my party, and I avoided mentioning Gabe because I had more questions than answers and I wasn’t ready to dive into it knowing he would return soon. I didn’t want to trigger Lonzo’s weird overprotectiveness either.

But just when I thought I was in the clear, he asked, “Did that guy show up?”

My stomach tightened at the disdain in his voice.

“Gabe would never go to a club,” Ate said.

Staring at me through the camera, Lonzo raised his eyebrows. “Is that right?”

I hesitated, and in that split-second pause, Lonzo’s face morphed into a glower.

“I knew it,” he grumbled.

“Hold on.” Ate’s eyes widened as she stared at me. “Gabe went to your party?”

Despite Lonzo’s displeasure, I smiled, unable to hide the happiness thrumming through my system. “He did. It surprised me too.”

“Did he stay inside the club, or did he just drop by to greet you?”

“He stayed and gave me a ride home.” I left it at that because that was all they needed to know. Also, Lonzo might lose it if he found out that Gabe had stayed the night—never mind that we didn’t do anything more than kiss.

But what a kiss it had been.

“Wow.” Ate shook her head slowly, a smile creeping over her face. “I never thought I’d see the day.”

Lonzo gave her a dirty look. “Why am I the only one thinking straight here? Isn’t there a rule about professors hanging out with students? Also, he’s ten years older than her.”

“Nine,” I said automatically.

His glare burned through my phone screen. “Like one year makes any difference,” he shot back.

Any giddiness I’d felt disappeared at his anger. Fighting to keep my voice steady, I said, “Look, I get that you’re trying to look out for me. But it was my party, and I wanted him there. Also, he’s not my professor.”

“That doesn’t?—”

“Lonzo,” Ate snapped. “It’s Luna’s birthday, remember?”

“Yeah, and you didn’t even get me a gift,” I teased, trying to get him to lighten up.

He winced and said sheepishly, “Sorry. I’ll make up for it next time.”

“It’s okay.” The lack of a present didn’t bother me—his insistent disapproval of Gabe did.

But I played it off as if everything was fine. Ate asked about my classes, and we talked for a little over an hour, with Jason showing up for the latter part. Then I put on some makeup, braided my hair, and sat down to open my presents.

My family had sent in a cake and a digital Amazon gift card along with an NBA League Pass from Ate and Jason. Kriz gave me a pair of earrings to go with the dress for the club, while Kai surprised me with a gift card for the campus coffee shop. Lastly, I got to Chloe’s present, which was wrapped in a box smaller than a usual shoebox.

“I hope it fits,” she told me last night. “You need it.”

“It should, unless you got me anything smaller than a size six.”

She laughed at me then. “Text me when you’ve opened it.”

As I tore through the paper and uncovered the illustration on the box, my jaw dropped.

Chloe had gone and bought me a sex toy. From the look of it, it wasn’t a small, discreet thing either.

Grabbing my phone, I texted her:

Luna

You did not.

I was still staring at the box when my phone rang.

“Why are you opening your gifts?” Chloe demanded.

“Uhh . . . because it’s my birthday?”

“Exactly! You should be busy fucking the professor. Are you taking a break or something?”

I gawked at thin air. “NO. Chloe!”

“Come on. You don’t have to lie to me. I promise to keep it on the down-low—but I need to know. How big?—”

“CHLOE.”

“Oh, please. Don’t be shy now. If it’s easier, just say yes or no: does he live up to his big dick energy?”

“Oh my God.”

“I knew it! He totally does!”

“No!” At least, not that I knew for sure. From how it had felt pressing against me, though . . . Not to mention how it looked in his boxers . . .

Focus, Luna.

“Chloe, Gabe and I did not and have never had sex. Okay?”

“No.” She sounded horrified.

“I swear.”

“I can’t believe it. The way he looked at you last night? Professor Hottie wants you.”

“Can you please not call him that?”

“Possessive much?” she drawled.

“I hate how people objectify him. He’s more than his looks.” My conscience nagged at me because I’d just ogled him a few hours ago.

A long silence came over the phone before Chloe spoke again. “Oh no. You’ve gone and fallen in love.”

I couldn’t deny it. “I tried not to.”

“Guess I can’t blame you. None of the guys in our year measure up to the professor.”

“You can’t tell anyone,” I begged her. “I mean, there’s nothing going on, but you know how people talk. He can’t lose his job just because he showed up at my party.”

“I won’t tell. But I wasn’t the only one who saw him last night.”

“I know.” Anxiety brewed in my stomach. First Lonzo, now this. I never should have invited Gabe. The risk wasn’t worth it.

“Look, it was dark and most people were drunk or high. I’m sure no one paid attention to him.”

Chloe was saying that to make me feel better, and I wished it was true. But I’d seen firsthand what random strangers could do with their smartphones. Stolen photos posted on social media had almost ruined Ate’s chances of being with Jason.

“Don’t worry about it, Luna. Why don’t you try the gift I got you?”

My eyes flew back to the toy. The illustration alone intimidated me.

“Trust me, it’s good for working out the stress. The toy’s kinda big if you’re not used to it?—”

I closed my eyes. “Kill me now.”

“You can play with the vibe end first?—”

“Can you please stop talking about it?”

“—and work up to the dildo.”

“Chloe.”

“It’ll be good practice for when Professor Martins starts giving you the real thing.”

I hung up on her.

A second later, a message popped up on my phone.

Chloe

You’re welcome. And enjoy

I dropped my head back against the sofa and groaned.