Breaking Down

Chapter 21

21

Tyler

From the passenger seat, Gabi gave me the eye. That eye, that told me she wanted to say things, but was holding her tongue. What? Did she want to lecture me about drinking and driving? I had had one measly beer. That was nothing.

So far, my Saturday sucked.

Besides the awkward feeling of having to stay around Gabi in the morning, I had gone to visit my father at the hospital in the afternoon. He wasn’t doing well. I had hoped to take him home the next week—even though I would have to tell Gabi about my father—but the doctor said that he couldn’t make any promises.

Before heading back to the apartment, I stopped by a coffee shop with my laptop so I could do some planning. I didn’t know why, but I didn’t feel comfortable looking at my bank accounts and my debt with Gabi around.

So, I planned. I made a list of bills that I still hadn’t paid and needed to as soon as possible, and the ones that would have to wait. I also calculated what I needed to live a little better than before, taking into consideration my salary at the vet clinic, and set that aside. If nothing crazy happened, the amount should be enough until I got the second part of the payment from Gabi.

I was better than before, but the stress and worry still ate at me. Incredible how the money simply disappeared, and I was sure to accumulate more debt until I got the full payment.

I hoped I would because that meant my father would live longer.

Shit, I should have asked for more when signing off on this deal.

I glanced at Gabi. She was still staring at me from the corner of her eyes, those two blue lasers boring holes on my face.

“What?”

She cringed, averting her eyes. “Nothing,” she muttered.

I let out a long sigh. The night at her brother’s promised to be bad, making my day even more sucky.

Thankfully, Gabi didn’t say anything for the rest of the ride, or when we arrived there, and took the elevator to the apartment.

Only when the elevator doors opened, she extended her hand to me. “We gotta keep pretending, right?”

I groaned on the inside. “Right.”

I slipped my hand in hers, and together, we walked out in the hallway. The apartment’s door was open, and voices and music drifted from inside.

“Ready?” she asked, squeezing my hand.

I wasn’t sure why I didn’t answer. Instead, I tugged on her hand and pulled her into the apartment with me.

At first, nobody noticed us.

Garrett, Pedro, Leo, and Guilherme were seated on the big couches, watching a trailer from an upcoming video game.

Bia, Hannah, Hilary, and Ricardo were around the kitchen’s island. Ricardo seemed to be getting some drinks ready, while Hilary and Hannah organized appetizers, and Bia, wearing an apron, checked the oven.

“Boa noite,” Gabi said from beside me.

All eyes turned to us.

“There you are,” Leo said, smiling. “I thought you two had gotten lost.”

Pedro elbowed him in the ribs. “Maybe not lost, but busy.”

Guilherme rolled his eyes. After a pointed look at me and Gabi, he stood and went to the kitchen.

After some more quick hellos and how are yous from everyone, Garrett beckoned me to the couch. “We’re gonna start a new game.”

Trying to be a sympathetic fiancé, I turned to Gabi first, as if asking her permission to leave her and join the guys.

She smiled at me. And even though the smile didn’t reach her eyes, my heart skipped a beat. Those eyes, that smile, that exposed neck and shoulders, and the sweet scent of her perfume wrapped around me … I shook my head once, erasing all of those kinds of thoughts from my mind.

“Go have fun,” she said, her tone light, as if we hadn’t been ignoring or snapping at each other a few minutes ago.

For the sake of pretending, I leaned into her and pressed my lips to hers. Just a light, brief touch. When I pulled back, her eyes widened in surprise, but she recovered and pushed me away.

I let out a long breath.

Leo and Pedro called dibs, and when the game started, they were seated on the center couch, joysticks in hand. Ricardo and Guilherme came back from the kitchen with drinks for us. With a slight frown, Guilherme handed me a beer bottle.

“Thanks,” I said, genuinely surprised. I took it before he changed his mind and dump it on my head.

He nodded, then sat as far away from me as possible.

Progress, then a step back?

Who cared? I wasn’t here to make friends. I was here to pretend. To earn my part of the deal.

Laughter came from the kitchen and I looked over. Bia was tending to the range, while Hannah prepared more drinks. Hilary had a sketchpad on the kitchen counter and she drew a little, then talked a little. Gabi took a seat on a stool among them.

Hilary said something else and Gabi smiled at her. A true smile, one that did reach her eyes. My heart skipped another beat. All the women in the kitchen were pretty, but Gabi … Gabi was something else. She was beautiful. And right now, among her family and happy, she was stunning. Breathtaking.

What the f**k had I done?

“Hey, Gabi,” Pedro called from beside me. I stared at him, wondering if he had read my thoughts and would now tell her about it. I hadn’t even seen when he switched places with Garrett. Gabi turned a soft smile to him. “Are you coming to practice this week?”

I frowned.

“Probably,” she said, taking a few steps closer to the living room. “It depends on my schedule.”

“And what schedule is that?” Gui asked, his voice tight.

Her smile faded. “I want to play polo, don’t I?” Did she? “I won’t find my own team if I keep practicing with you.”

“She has a good point,” Pedro said, nodding to Gui then to me. I nodded too, even though I was still lost on what they were talking about.

“So, my plan is to go to a few practices so I won’t get rusty, but I’ll also work on getting my own team together.”

“I like that,” Ricardo said. “Any idea on how you’re gonna do that?”

Her smile stretched, one corner higher than the other. “You’ll see …” Then, she turned back to the other girls.

I kept staring at her.

Pedro let out an amused chuckle. “I like her guts.”

“It’s a shame the club doesn’t sponsor mixed teams,” Ricardo said. “We could certainly get three guys to play with her.”

A team of three males and one female? Gabi playing alongside three guys? For some reason, that didn’t sit well with me.

“I haven’t been feeling the game lately,” Pedro said, his face serious. Gabi had told me Pedro and his girlfriend had broken up right before Valentine’s Day, and nobody knew what happened. “Maybe I’ll break an arm. I’ll need at least a month, maybe two to recover. She can play in my place.”

Guilherme slapped him on the knee. “Don’t joke like that. No one wants to see you with broken body parts.”

Pedro shrugged. “I’m just saying …”

The conversation paused as the guys played video games and drank, except for Leo, and my thoughts turned to the new information it had received.

So Gabi played polo too?

That was interesting.