"Scotty, I don't feel well," Desiree whined into her phone from the comfort of under her blanket.
"What's wrong?" he asked not sounding all that concerned. Desiree's brother Scott had called to find out the status of the girls on campus and instead was instead being given the run down of his sister's health.
"I think I'm coming down with something."
"No shit, what's wrong?" he asked again.
"I'm cold, I cant breathe, and my head hurts."
"Sounds like a bad hangover."
"Bring me soup."
"No way, you're an hour away."
"I'm your baby sister, and you love me. Please bring me soup. Chicken Noodle with a big spoon. Please."
"No," Scott said with a smile. His sister was always pitiful when she got sick. "Go to the campus cafeteria and buy some soup."
"Scotty...please."
She heard him sigh, and she knew she had him.
"You are such a pain in the ass, Desiree. Are you still gonna want it after about 9pm?"
Desiree smiled and pulled the blanket tighter around her. "Yes I will."
"Fine. See you later."
"Thanks, Scotty. Love you." She got the words out two seconds before she heard her brother disconnect.
She snuggled down in her bed and closed her eyes. She didn't really need the soup, but she wanted it, and plus she hadn't seen her brother in the two weeks she'd been at school and she missed him. She wasn't going to admit to herself that she probably missed Gabriel more than she missed her brother, but she would be grateful for her brother's company.
She closed her eyes and tried to force the image of Gabriel from popping up on the inside of her eyelids. She hadn't talked to him since he sent her the text message, and she wasn't expecting to. Finally Desiree felt herself slowly being pulled toward sleep.
~*~*~
The three sharp raps on Desiree's apartment door pulled her from her fitful sleep. "Who is it?"
"Soup!"
Desiree smiled as she shuffled to the door. She truly loved her brother. "You do love me," she said without glancing through the peephole as she swung the door open.
"You're damn right I do."
Desiree's heart just about jumped out her chest. Gabriel stood at his full height smiling sheepishly at her, enjoying her shocked expression, with a dozen roses in one hand and her soup in the other. This was certainly the last thing she expected when she rolled out of bed.
She ignored his statement and asked where her brother was.
"He's sitting on his ass in his apartment watching television." Desiree raised her eyebrows.
"Well what are you doing here?" she asked. Obviously she had an idea, but she figured it best not to jump to any conclusions considering she hadn't spoken to him in two weeks.
"You gonna make me stand out in this hall all night?" Desiree wanted to tell him she didn't give a damn where he stayed, but she held her tongue and backed out of the doorway. She waited for him to step through the door trying not to get swept up in his manly scent. She shut the door behind him and felt a sense of panic rise in her.
What was she supposed to do now? The man doesn't call, doesn't text β which she hates anyway β and then just expects that he can bring her soup and everything is okay? What is wrong with him? What's wrong with me, she thought as quickly tried to assess how the night had gone from hanging out with her brother to Gabriel standing in her foyer.
"You didn't answer my question," she said hands on hips.
"I wanted to see you," Gabriel said as he handed her the roses. Desiree took the roses and walked into the kitchen to find a vase for them. She tried to hide her shock, and she was sure she wasn't doing a very good job. And did he tell her he loved her when she opened the door? Technically 'no', right? She did say it first, so that doesn't count. And it really doesn't count because she thought it was her brother.
"You wanted to see me, huh?" she truly was at a loss for words. They both knew the reason she kept letting him in, but she was still mystified as to the reason he kept coming back.
Gabriel walked up behind her and set the soup down on the counter and placed the big spoon on top of the container. "Yes Desiree, I wanted to see you."
"I have to go to the bathroom," Desiree chimed, thinking of the only thing that could get her out of this situation and away from Gabriel's gravitational pull.
"No you don't," he said holding onto her waist and pinning her against the counter.
"Seriously, thanks for the soup, the flowers were a nice touch, but isn't this scenario getting old?" Desiree turned to face him, startled by how handsome he looked. He was in jeans and a ripped sweatshirt. He couldn't have looked better if he'd tried.
Gabriel raised a questioning eyebrow and Desiree sighed. "This whole," she said waving her hands through the air. "Ignore me for two weeks then seduce me when you decide you need a sexual fix. Don't look at me like that. It's your MO, and you're becoming predictable."
"Its not ignoring if you don't want to talk me." Desiree crossed her arms over her chest and waited for him to finish. "Last time we were together, you storm out of your bedroom, then don't talk to me during dinner and you run when I get you back to your house. If I knew any better, I'd say you were trying to ignore me." He watched Desiree's jaw clench and knew he struck a nerve.
"I have to go to the bathroom," she said again.