Firsts Ch 07

Author's Note: So here we are, the last chapter. I'm sorry it took me more than a year to get this thing out, thanks for bearing with me. I'm planning on continuing the Ramirez family's story, maybe even next, but I'll wait until I've managed to write a fair amount before posting.

Thanks to warrior_wolf and coloryourworld for editing for me, and another massive thanks to Tangledinyou for being there when I needed a friend.

Also a huge thanks to everyone who's read, reviewed and/or given feedback for this story. I hope you enjoy…

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Paranoia

I nearly died of embarrassment right then and there. Standing in Teresa Demachi's immaculate kitchen, convinced I smelled and looked like I'd just been thoroughly fucked, and

god

, I wasn't wearing any panties!

I'd tried cleaning up as soon as I realised she was back, but I still felt the effects of my little bought of passion on the tool bench with Gabriel. I usually enjoyed the feeling after sex, the smell of our combined passions, but there was a difference between basking in the after-sex glow and standing in the gleaming kitchen of your fuck-partner's mother pretending nothing happened.

I was a wreck.

"Enjoy your day, sweetheart?" Mrs. D. asked as she unpacked her shopping bags. I froze, mentally scanning her question for hidden meaning. Teresa Demachi could be slyer than a fox when she set her mind to it.

"Uhh, it was okay. My car broke down, and Gabriel offered me a ride home," I replied as I went to help her put the food away.

She turned to me with an eyebrow raised in question. "He, uhh, wanted to show me the Chevy."

"Ahh, so that's what the two of you were doing in the garage when I got here." My face was bright pink, I just

knew

it! "I thought it was supposed to be a secret?"

"It still is, I guess. He just said he wanted to show me," I answered without thinking.

"Why would he do that, sweetie?" she asked. Was it just my paranoia, or were her eyes gleaming with amusement?

"I don't know, you'd have to ask him that."

I'd like to know that myself.

"Ask him what?" Gabriel asked as he strolled into the kitchen, grabbing an apple and pecking his Ma's cheek before leaning against the counter and munching away.

"Oh, nothing important," Mrs. D. waved off, giving me a wink before turning towards her son to ask about his day.

I stood there in shock. She

winked

at me. She

knew

! She had to know! The very idea filled me with dread. If she knew, she wouldn't be likely to understand the casual nature of our relationship, and it would only be a matter of time before my brothers found out.

Sure, I had told Mandy, but she had enough experience to keep it quiet, despite being the world's best gossip. And Becca, well, we could just say that whatever she

thought

we were doing was just a ploy to get her off Gabriel's back. I was fairly sure my brothers would buy that. But Mrs. D.? If she said something, it was

fact

. My brothers would kill Gabriel, and me right along with him.

I shot a panicked look at Gabriel, expecting to see my own expression mirrored, but he just stared right back stoically, chewing on the apple.

"That girl staying with you, is she eating enough? Pregnant women need to eat more you know, at that girl looks like she's about to blow away in a light breeze. I wasn't always this curvy, you know. It was this one," she nodded at Gabriel, who grinned back around his apple. "After him, my hips were a foot wider. Size of him, I should have known he'd be a big boy."

Gabriel was now grinning like the Cheshire Cat, his turn to give me a wink at the unintended double-entendre. I figured I needed to get out of there before the Mad Hatter showed up, trying to pour tea down our throats.

"Well, this was great. But I really should be getting home," I answered, feeling uncomfortable in the Demachi house for the first time in my life.

"Don't be ridiculous, you just got here. Sit and have some lemonade," Mrs. D. replied, pulling out the large pitcher from the fridge. It was tempting.

"I don't know…"

"I've got some cookies, too. Baked yesterday, so they're still fresh." Playing dirty. Not even the Pope himself could have avoided this temptation.

She turned to get them out of the cupboard, not waiting for my answer. I hung my head in defeat and pushed myself up onto the counter beside Gabriel, figuring he'd protect me from unwanted questions like when she was going to get Grandbabies. Maybe. If she knew. Which I was still praying she didn't.

"So, the party this weekend, got it all planned?" Gabriel asked, changing the subject. "I haven't really had a chance to speak to the guys yet," he shrugged.

"Mostly. It'll be pretty relaxed, Tommy and I have invited some friends, most of the people from my work have said they'll at least stop by for a while. I'll get the food ready the night before, Mel's already offered to help me. The guys are in charge of the drinks, although they've promised to go easy. Under-aged public drunkenness does

not

seem like a good recipe for a happy ending."

"And of course you'll be coming over for dinner on Sunday," Mrs. D. added, setting the lemonade and cookies down next to me, and another glass next to Gabriel.

"Of course," I smiled, happy now that we'd gotten onto a safer topic than what Gabriel and I had been doing in the garage.

"Sounds like it'll be fun," Gabriel commented, taking a big swallow of the cool liquid.

"Yeah," I said, trying to sound enthusiastic, but obviously I didn't do a very good job as Gabriel set down his glass and turned to me, looking into my eyes with a worried expression.

"What is it, Babe?" he asked, and I was so used to it that I didn't even notice the endearment.

"Matt still hasn't gotten over whatever issue it is he has with Melosa, and she's going to be at the party. I don't want him to ruin it." I couldn't meet his eyes.

"And?"

"And I may have invited Rico."

"Ahh," Gabriel replied, taking a step back.

My eyes narrowed with suspicion, and I noticed Mrs. D. watching curiously. "What does that mean?"

"Relax, I just meant that I can see why you'd be worried, what with the way your brothers feel about him," he replied, his hands up in surrender. "I already learned my lesson, remember?" he smiled.

I gave him a small smile back, glad that I had at least one person on my side. "Them putting up with each other isn't the only problem," I admitted, looking over and bringing Mrs. D. into the conversation, hoping she'd have some good advice. "I…I may not have technically

told

them about inviting Rico."

"Ahh," Gabriel repeated, a grin tugging at his lips.

"Oh, great! I'm glad you find this so amusing Demachi!" I shook my head in exasperation.

"If you and the Ortega boy are going to stay friends, your brothers will have to get used to him at some point. It might as well be now, when everyone's on their best behaviour," Mrs. D. advised, already cutting up vegetables for dinner.

Gabriel nodded. "What she said."

I sighed and nodded, knowing it was the right solution, but still dreading it none-the-less. "I guess you're right. I just wish they'd get of their damned high-horses. You just have to look at how he takes care of Melosa to see he's a good guy."

Gabriel ran a hand through his hair, looking uncomfortable. "What?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Kes…" he sighed. "Yeah, he looks after Mel, and he seems genuinely protective of you too, but… He's made some choices in his life, bad choices, and he's done some bad things. Your brothers are just trying to protect you from that."

"I know. But I'm not a naïve little girl. I may not know first hand the things he and his 'friends' get up to, but I hear the rumours just like everyone else. I also know that he's not as badass as everyone thinks he is. I'm just trying to be a friend, a

real

friend," I replied, leaning back against the cupboards.

"You can't save everyone, Kes," Gabriel argued, although his tone was sympathetic, like he wished I could.

"I'm not trying to

save

anyone, I'm just letting him know that there are still people out there who will have his back even if there isn't something in it for them," I looked into his green eyes, willing him,

needing

him to understand. "Just like you."

Gabriel gave me a warm smile, the cock of his eyebrow letting me know he hadn't missed my little bit of emotional blackmail. "Alright, I get it. I just don't want you getting hurt, okay Babe?"

This time I started, more because of him moving between my legs than the use of the endearment, but I relaxed a little when I realised his Ma had left the room at some point during our conversation, a pot on the cooker bubbling away with would-be soup.

Hearing the radio in the other room, I figured we were safe, at least for the moment, and placed my hands on his broad shoulders. Looking down, though not by much because of his height, my eyes met his and I could see the now-familiar warmth of his lust dancing in their green depths.

"Your Ma is in the next room," I murmured, keeping my voice low as his lips moved towards mine.

"I know," he murmured back, his hands sliding up my bare thighs and under my shorts.

"I think you're a secret exhibitionist, Gabriel Demachi," I grinned as his lips descended on mine.

His only answer was his soft, firm lips on mine, slow and leisurely exploring, as if we had all the time in the world. In a sense we did, as we were in the wrong place to do anything more than kissing, so there was no pressure to build it into something more. But just like in the bathroom the last time I'd seen him, his touch was charged and I found myself wanting more and more, despite the risk we were taking.

Finally I pulled back for air, my head tipping back and my hands burying into his hair as he began nibbling on my neck. "Gabriel!" I gasped the sound coming out pleading. I liked to think it was warning, asking him to stop, but who the hell was I kidding?

Luckily it seemed that once again he had more sense than me and pulled back, dropping one last, slowly savouring kiss on my lips and stepping away just before his mother walked back into the room.

Once again I was left feeling like I hand a big, blinking neon sign over my head while Gabriel acted like nothing had happened.

Bastard

.

Steeling myself against further bribes, I resolved to go, not just to escape this pendulum of emotions, swinging from aroused to paranoid, to amused, to angry and back again, but also because I had to be at work early and I still had things to fix for the weekend. Plus, I really didn't want to leave Melosa alone with my brothers for to long, just in case they voted her out of the Big Brother house.

"I've got to get home." I raised a hand as Mrs. D. opened her mouth to waylay me again. "Really. I've got work early tomorrow and Mel's been on her own all day. Give me a ride home?" I said turning to smile at Gabriel. He nodded and pushed off the counter and checking his tights jean pockets for his keys.

"I'll see you on Sunday then, sweetheart, and have a wonderful birthday," Tess said, pulling me in for a hug. "Don't let the boys go

too

crazy," she whispered before pulling back with a smile.

I nodded, returning the smile before following Gabriel out of the door, worries of Mrs. D's suspicions still in my mind.

Beach Birthday

I sat back on the sand, watching as our party began to warm up. Every few minutes another car would pull up and people would spill out, eager to relax in the hot summer sunshine.

Rico was already here, sitting and chatting happily with Mel, although his eyes would drift with every scantily clad girl that walked past. Luis and Tommy were trying to get enough people together for a game of volleyball, extremely motivated by the idea of girls bouncing up and down in front of their faces.

Plenty of people were here, most of them I didn't know. Even though I was very close to my brothers, we didn't often attend the same parties, and they had their own friends from work and school. My friends from work hadn't arrived yet, and Matt was scowling over the grill, shooting death-glares at an oblivious Rico, but I was happy. The sun was shining, it was my birthday and I was surrounded by my family.

The only thing that could make it any better would be if Gabriel were here. He'd called to say he'd probably be a little late, but that he would be able to stay the whole day afterwards. The thought of spending the day with him on the beach filled me with longing. I wanted nothing more than to have him lying next to me on the sand, my head on his chest, just wasting the day away. But I knew that even when he arrived, we wouldn't be able to do that. As far as we were concerned, I was just his fuck buddy, and the dangerous little game we were playing was just that -- a game.

I watched in amusement as my brothers managed to wrangle up enough people to play and quickly stripped of their t-shirts, leaving them in just their swimming trunks, much to the pleasure of most of the women in attendance. Not to be out-done, Rico jumped up to join them, and I had to admit, he was definitely easy on the eyes. But there was only one guy I wanted to see running around without his shirt on.

I walked over to sit with Mel and watch the game. She agreed to keep score, laughing and clapping with joy every time either side scored, sitting lotus-style in her pretty green sundress. Her petite frame made

me

feel like a whale even though

she

was the one that was pregnant. Unfair.

Pretty soon, I got tired watching the farce that was jokingly being called volleyball. The guys were pulling out all the stops to look cooler than each other, and the girls were doing everything possible to distract them and gain the advantage. It was painful to watch my brothers get so easily slaughtered, but hey, I'm all for female unity.

With a sigh, I laid back and closed my eyes, enjoying the warm kiss of sunlight on my skin, the glow of light behind my closed lids. The world slowly dropped away, the sounds of the game, of Mel laughing behind me all dimmed until I felt like I was floating on orangey light. I was seconds away from falling asleep when the light was suddenly gone as a shadow loomed over me.

I opened my eyes and squinted up at the silhouette above me for a second before I realized who it was.

"Hey Babe," Gabriel said quietly, a slow smile on his lips. "Happy birthday."

I lay there, staring at him in a moment before sitting up quickly, a blush coming to my already heat-flushed cheeks. He looked delicious, the kind of edible that had nothing to do with food. Unless it was whipped cream. Or chocolate sauce. Yummy.

His black hair was shining in the sun, his laughing green eyes glinting like emeralds. All he was wearing was orange trunks that set off his tanned skin and made him look like a sex-god surfer-dude.

Before I could respond, Luis and Tommy jogged up grinning like kids on Christmas despite the fact that they had lost miserably.

"Hey, Gabe! 'Bout time you showed up!" Luis said, slapping Gabriel on the back.

"Yeah, Mr. Tangerine Speedo finally decided to grace us with his presence," I added, having to get the joke in, and trying to hide my nervousness.

Gabriel laughed it off. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Happy birthday, guys," he replied, his tone considerably lighter than when he'd said the same thing to me a few moments ago. "So, where's the food?"

"That," Luis began, grinning at his best friend, "is an excellent question."

I rolled my eyes. Typical men. Food or sex. "Last I saw, Matty was setting up the grill. The rest of the food is in the truck, away from the heat and the bugs."

"Actually," Rico said, joining in, "Mel went to start unpacking the food. She told me to go help Matt on the grill, but him plus sharp objects nearby doesn't sound too healthy to me right now." Even Luis and Tommy laughed at that. They seemed to have eased up a little on him during the volleyball game. Male bonding mystifies me.

Gabriel shook his head. "I'll help him, it's the least I can do for being

so

late," he grinned, rolling his eyes.

"I'll help Mel, it shouldn't be too long 'till it's all set up. Do you thing you can manage not to starve for a few minutes?" I asked them like they were little kids, my hands on my hips.

Tommy, always the centre of attention, stuck a dramatic pose, the back of his hand against his forehead. "I think we'll manage to survive, somehow!" my twin said, before spinning into a faint, landing spread-eagled onto the sand.

"Drama Queen," I muttered before walking off towards the cars, Gabriel following close behind.

Feeling him next to me, I could almost forget my brothers were only a couple yards away, and I wanted nothing more than to pull him to me and feel his lips on mine. I could feel the tension rolling off him, and I knew he wanted the same thing, but instead, he bumped me playfully with his shoulder as we walked.

"I walk to talk to you later. In private." He lowered his voice to make sure no-one could hear. "I owe you a birthday kiss."

I looked up and met his eyes, seeing that same smouldering lust that seemed to be there every time we were alone. Instantly, I felt my body temperature jump a thousand degrees, my heartbeat speed up, my mouth went dry and my pussy got very, very wet.

All I could do was nod.

We found Matty and Mel out by his truck, playing tug-of-war with the large, thankfully covered bowl of fruit salad.

"Quit it!" Melosa said, a frown marring her pretty face.

"No! You shouldn't be carrying heavy things. I'm not getting blamed for you hurting yourself. Shit. You're as stubborn as a damned MULE!" Matt yelled, towering over her.

"Yeah?" Mel said, her eyes darting. She looked like she'd had enough of Matt's jackass behaviour. "Yeah? Well you…you're a jerk!"

Not exactly the insult of the year, but Mel slapped a hand over her mouth like she'd just cussed in church, Matty's quick reflexes the only thing that stopped him from dropping the bowl.

We all stood in stunned silence for a moment. Mel had never raised her voice above 'timid', and she didn't even say 'sugar' when she dropped something. To find out she had a little spark was an unexpected surprise, but a welcome one.

As Matt opened his mouth to reply, I jumped in before he could make things worse. "How 'bout I bring things from the car and Mel can set them out on the table, okay?" I said calmly, taking the bowl from Matt's hands and nudging Mel towards the tables we'd set up.

"Come on, man," I heard Gabriel say behind me. "Let's go burn some chicken."

"Oh, god! I can't believe I just said that! I was so rude!" Mel gasped, burying her face in her hands.

"Don't sweat it. It's about time you took Matt down a peg, and you were spot on, he's been such a jerk. He's not normally like this, I swear."

"But I'm a guest! You guys are letting me stay in your home and--"

"And nothing," I interrupted. "You're a guest and Matt should at least be polite. Feel free to yell at him whenever you want. It's my birthday, so I give you permission, now lets get this stuff set up before they form a mob."

By the time we had set all the food out, there was a veritable feast. Lots of nibbles, potato salad, coleslaw, corn-on-the-cob, salad, cornbread, chips and a variety of dips. Matt and Gabriel had chicken, burgers, ribs and hot dogs cooking on the grill, and as well as birthday cake, there was apple pie, ice cream, cheesecake, jello, and the infamous fruit salad.

As people quickly lined up to grab paper plates and begin loading up, a familiar voice called out my name. I turned and was tackled by a blond banshee.