Liar Liar Billionaires

36. Date between friends

"Chloe?"

"Hi?" She took in a deep breath before facing him.

"Who were you talking to?" Gabriel asked, his eyes darting to the running tap.

"Uh... myself."

"Yourself?"

'Oh boy.' She thought.

Chloe's lips then smeared as she formulated her response in her head.

"Well," she gestured, “I have a health issue."

He moved even closer, his frown deepening.

"Issue?" he asked while dipping his hands into his baggy jeans, which he wore well with a grey turtleneck that exposed the outline of his sexy physique.

"Well, the thing is..." She drew another breath. "I have this mental issue..."

"Mental issue?"

"I talk to myself a lot."

"Don't we all?"

Her eyes darted to the side, and she bit her lip. "Well, in my case, I always imagine I am a detective."

"Okay?"

"And most times, I get quite violent."

"What?" His head angled as he confusedly processed her words.

"There was a time I destroyed my shower because of my excessive imagination." Chloe wondered how many more ridiculous tales she would have to create to escape being caught.

"Wow. So, you are-”

She cut him short. "When did you come? I didn't hear you knock.”

Still wearing confusion, he answered slowly, “I… did.”

“Oh. I guess my-”

“Excessive imagination distracted you?” he completed

With a sharp nod, she agreed, hoping strongly that he would believe her. She had no more excuses left in her.

“If you say so,” he said. Then, with a glint in his eyes, he added, “I look forward to learning a lot more about you.”

"Yeah." Dancing on the spot, her hands behind her, she wondered if Agent Conner was listening.

"And speaking of getting to know you, let's go on a date."

Her heart thumped. "Eh?"

"I know you said we can only be friends. So, this will be a date between friends."

Instantly, Chloe's mind went to Nathaniel. "It will?”

"Come on," he reached for her arms. "Say yes. Let's have fun tonight. Together."

Her mind then switched to Gabriel's proclamation from the last time they met.

As she shut her eyes to wonder why she was in the middle of the NAG brothers, Gabriel moved even closer and hugged her.

Infuriated by her hesitation to control the situation, she decided it would be best to play it safe for the time being. And that meant going along with the situation.

“Come on,” Gabriel groaned, his face buried in her neck. “Say yes.”

The feel of his breath tickled her as she also decided to use his invitation as a reason to take a break.

“Yes. Let's go on a date.”

"Yass!" He released her but soon lifted her into the air, swirling her as if the bathroom were a field of beautiful flowers.

“Put me down,” she said within peals of low laughter. “Come on, Natha… Uh…” He stilled. “Just please, put me down.”

Awkwardness was not enough to describe the vibe in the air, but Gabriel smiled past it as he put her down and said, “Let's go now. I don't want us to be late.”

“Sure.” She coughed. “I'll get dressed and join you soon.”

“That would be lovely.” As he turned away, he sighed and muttered, “It will be fun.”

But it seemed he said that to himself more than to Chloe.

Biting her tongue as she watched him leave, Chloe reassured herself that she would survive in the battlefield of affection she had been tossed into.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ohh, this looks delicious.” Chloe's mouth drooled as the waiter dropped their dinner.

"The meal set here is the best I've ever tasted.”

Her eyes quickly travelled to the entrance of the small restaurant, where people were bustling past.

“How did you find this place? It's super hidden from the city.”

Gabriel folded his arms. “Sometimes, I take breaks and wander to places I've never been before.”

“Why do you do that?”

He shrugged. “Curiosity? Escape?”

“I'm glad you brought me here,” replied Chloe as she thought that the restaurant was very special to him.

His bringing her here certainly had a meaning to it— a meaning she was ready to ignore.

“Don't let the food get cold, Chloe.” He helped separate her cutlery. “Eat up.”

After another glance at the homey place, she plunged her fork into the chicken part of the meal.

That one melted so right into her buds that she moaned, “Ohh.” Her eyes closed, she continued, “I think I'm falling in love.”

Gabriel said nothing, and that concerned her. So, she opened her eyes.

Only to see that his eyes were super fixed on her, he didn't even look away when they made contact.

“What is it?” She asked after gulping.

“Why?” He quietly asked, his folded arms loosened.

Chloe dropped her fork, sat straighter and returned, “Why what?”

“Why can't we be more than friends?”

"Gabriel..." He just had to approach the one topic she had been avoiding, the very one she would never have a perfect answer for.

“Chloe, is it only Nathaniel that's on your mind?”

"I-"

"If he’s the only one, then why are you punishing us?”

"Punishing you all?" Chloe was confused.

His gaze finally shifted away. “Don't act like you're unaware, Chloe. We all like you. If we were into exotic s**t, we'd already be having you at the same time.”

“What? I-”

“But only one of us can belong to you. And until you audibly choose who it will be, we'll continue to fight a silent battle. And people could get hurt.”

Chloe sighed. “You're asking me to choose.”

“Isn't that better? Or…” A sparkle filled his eyes. “Are you into the three of us? Is that what you want?”

Her lips tugged. “It's not that simple.”

There was the matter of her mission. As much as possible, she shouldn't be wrecking chaos- emotional and otherwise- for a smooth-running investigation.

His arms rested on the table, his untouched food begging to be touched as he asked, “Are you about to give excuses, Chloe?”

"I-"

"Say it, Cupcake,” he whispered. “It is Nathaniel you want."

Surprise filled her eyes at the sound of his subtle retreat.

“Aren't you going to get hurt?” she asked. “Can you handle seeing me with another person?”

“I will get over it with time. As long as you are happy, I'm happy.”

"But still-"

He reached for her hands, which were fidgeting against each other. "Hey. Do you want Nathaniel or not?"

"I guess."

But there was so much holding her back.

"Then go get him before you regret it."

"But I have never been in a relationship before. I don't want to... I mean, I have seen people get hurt and-"

"You'll never know till you try. And if something goes wrong, take it as a life lesson."

Chloe sighed.

Something would go wrong eventually.

With a smile so grand yet pitiful, he slightly raised a hand. "Ma’am? Our bill, please."

"Bill? We are not done."

"We’ll take the food with us. We need to go home now."

"Why?"

"What do you mean? We have to get you to your man."