Everything She's Not

Errands

Lilly hears her name over the intercom, nausea creeping up on her when his name is said in the same announcement. She'd never heard him say one kind word, let alone seen him look at her with anything other than disgust, except maybe once every 7 years. Why would they be called to the counselor's office at the same time? Maybe they said the wrong name? "Yeah, that's it, this is a misunderstanding," she thinks to herself as she gathers her things and heads to the office.

He walks out of his classroom, eyes glued to the hallway in front of him, jaw clenched, and his tattooed arms by his sides. His hands are shoved in his pockets. She shakes her head in disapproval at his "bad boy" appearance. He quickly catches up to her, walking beside her. His body is barely two feet away from her, now. She can feel the heat radiating from him.

"You know what this s**t's about?" He speaks to her without looking over.

Lilly shrugs, approaching the counselor's office. He moves behind her while she opens the door. His tall frame towers over her short, full-figured one. Once the door is open, he reaches over her, grabs the side of the door, and holds it open. She walks through, her stomach fluttering familiarly with him so close to her. The counselor, Mrs. Harris, has a wide smile on her face when they enter the small room.

"Good afternoon, Gabriel." She gestures to him to sit down.

"You should sit, as well, Lilly." Her smile seems to be plastered onto her face.

He waits for Lilly to sit in the chair closer to the wall and slouches into the seat near the door. It's as if he needs an escape route. He stretches one leg out and plants an elbow on the armrest closer to the left side of the room, mere inches from Lilly. When Gabriel rests his chin in his left hand, he rakes over Lilly with his daunting amber eyes and smirks for a second before turning to face the counselor. "She looks like she spends her weekends alone in her room, reading the next romance novel on her reading list. Can't she be less obvious? This is why she's picked on." His thoughts swirl around his mind.

"Gabriel--" Mrs. Harris starts before he cuts her off.

"It's Gabe." He corrects her, shifting in his seat, now sitting straighter, more tense.

"Right, Gabe. I've heard about the two of you. The way you treat her is uncalled-for. Not to mention, she'll be graduating on time, and you're barely going to graduate, if at all." Mrs. Harris narrows her eyes at him.

"Yeah. But let's get something straight. I wouldn't be behind if I didn't have to plan my grandma's funeral at the beginning of the year. She just died, like three months ago. So, it wouldn't be entirely my fault." He's leaning forward, now, clearly agitated with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Uh, Mrs. Harris, how does this conversation have anything to do with me? Other than the way he treats me, but don't blame him; he doesn't know any better. He's been raised around criminals." Lilly responds, crossing her legs, her baby blue pleated skirt sliding up her thigh a few centimeters.

Gabe's eyes dart over to her legs, noticing the change. He looks away just as fast. Lilly caught his glance, though. Her heart beats a little faster.

"Well, that's why I called you into my office, Lilly. I was hoping you'd be interested in tutoring him. If you don't, he won't be graduating." She pleads with Lilly.

"What's in it for me? I mean, respectfully, he's never even glanced in my direction, unless it was to mock me or watch another girl hit me, and you want me to make sure he graduates? Do I at least get some kind of college credit for it? You know I'll be needing financial aid for college; if I had a few credits ahead of time, they'd offer me better aid." Lilly negotiates with Mrs. Harris, and Gabe scoffs at her audacity.

"Wow." He stands to leave the room, but Lilly grabs his wrist. When Gabe turns to look at the faux good girl who had the balls to grab him, the look on his face says he'd kill her if he had to. His expression is dangerous and enticing at the same time.

"I'm trying to secure my ticket out of here, but if you really need help, who am I to tell you no?" He watches her deep brown eyes for a split second, studying her.

Lilly feels like she's being measured up for the dinner table, like a deer trapped by a hunter.

"Fine." He responds, jerking his wrist from her grip.

"It's settled, then. Lilly, I'll talk to Mr. Green about getting this turned in for college credits, and I'll write a recommendation letter to the school of your choice. Gabe, please put in the effort and make your grandma proud." Mrs. Harris struck a nerve.

Lilly watches Gabe's jaw twitch and eyes narrow before he leaves the room. He's halfway to his muscle car in the student parking lot when Lilly finally catches up to him, having to jog to catch him. She stops at the trunk of his car, placing a hand on the cool metal and taking a moment to breathe. He stops in front of her and observes the way she's slightly bent over, gripping her chest.

"Why'd you follow me? I thought I was just a ticket out of here," he says, annoyed.

"My car's getting fixed, and I figured it'd be easier for me to ask for a ride to your place so we can start tutoring today. Better to start sooner rather than later." Lilly swipes a stray dark brown curl from her face while awaiting his answer.

His eyes scan her face, and a crooked smirk graces his features. The corners of his eyes lift with an amused expression.

"I have a few errands to run, maybe tomorrow." He moves around her to the driver's side.

"I'll be quiet and stay in the car. I'm guessing they aren't errands you'd want someone to leak to others, so I won't say anything." She pauses, glancing at his left hand, clenched into a fist around his keychains. His hand relaxes, and he jerks his head towards the passenger side, silently telling her to get in. She's craving the heat from his body being near hers.

The ride is silent aside from a few sketchy phone calls through the Bluetooth feature on his stereo. "Yeah, that b***h needs to be taught a lesson." The gravely, angry voice on the other end of the call says. "Kay, do it, then. I've got plans and don't have time to mess around with some tweaker." He watches Lilly at the stoplight. "f**k him up so he won't forget to pay me again. I want the $200 he owes me by midnight." The caller hangs up with the understanding to beat the snot out of someone, and Gabe doesn't seem fazed.

Lilly clenches her backpack tightly, her knuckles turning white. He catches the shift in her position as she scoots closer to the car door.

"You good?" He asks, pulling up in front of an old apartment building.

She looks out the window, noticing the not-so-safe neighborhood. "Uh-huh." Lilly lies, her eyes darting from his eyes to his hands.

He grabs her phone, presses her thumb onto the screen, and adds his number to it. "I'll be five minutes. If anyone f***s with you, call me, not the cops."

She nods, terrified when he reaches over to her to grab the Glock from the glove box and tuck it into his waistband, turning off the safety. "Seriously, call me. Lock the doors." He gets out of the car and starts up the apartment steps, his hands in his pockets. Another tattooed man joins him, and she presses the button to lock the doors. Her hand flies to her phone, holding it tightly.

"What have you gotten yourself into, Lilly? He's not the same innocent little boy." She thinks repeatedly until he emerges from the apartment complex, holding a guy by the shirt. He tosses the sleazy-looking guy onto the ground and leans over him, holding the piece to his head. She watches him say something to the man, reading his lips. "You like stealing product?! Huh?! Keep f*****g around, you'll find out what I do to thieves! Sell my product, or you'll be done for good." When he unlocks the car and climbs in, she notices blood on his shirt.

"Did you hit him?" She asks, narrowing in on the fresh blood covering his gray shirt.

He licks his lips and looks down at his shirt. "Look, I can take you home. Just tell me where I'm going. I know you moved when your mom left."

"I'm not going home. I agreed to tutor you, that's what I'm gonna do." She responds, flinching when he shrugs and places a hand on her headrest.

He turns to look behind the car as he pulls out. His phone rings through the stereo again. "Yeah?" He answers.

"Hey, little brother!" Micheal says from the other side of the phone.

"Hey, Mikey. What's up?" He glances at her, pressing his finger to his lips.

"I'm comin' home early. How d'ya like being in charge of most of the business?" He asks, laughing with his words.

"I like it. I'm better at this part than running the legit businesses." His hand squeezes her thigh when she opens her mouth to speak.

"Where's little Lilliana? One of the guys told me you had a pretty girl with you. I just knew it had to be her." Mikey sounds like he's playing a game of cat and mouse.

"She's having me drive her home. She won't be coming over." Gabe lies.

"Liar, you grit your teeth when you lie. Well, unless you're lying to someone you think is worthless." Lilly can hear the smile in his voice.

"Hi, Mikey. I'm tutoring him. I don't think he wants to be disturbed when he's trying to learn. Can you give us some quiet time when we get there?" Lilly's voice is sickly sweet.

"Oh, sure, my little Lilly. Anything for you." His words send shivers down her spine, and Gabe hangs up.

Lilly stares silently, noticing his jaw clenching again. Silence fills the car as he drives to his house. He pulls up in front of a nice two-story home with an attached garage. "Grandma J raised them in a smaller house. His drug money probably paid for this." She shakes the thought from her head, subconsciously shaking her head physically. The muscle car turns off, and he gets out of the car, opening her door. His face is expressionless and cold. She steps out of the car, her body stopping so close to his that she breathes in his cologne. His arm is outstretched, holding the car door, and if she turns her head, she could touch the tattooed skin with her face. She ducks away from him, skittishly, watching him close the door and lock the car. He unlocks the solid wood front door and pushes it open, revealing a home with leather furniture, dark wood side tables, an open concept between the main rooms, a small bar off the kitchen, and stairs leading to what must be the bedrooms.

Lilly walks in, slowly, ducking under his arm again. She sets her old, torn backpack on his black leather sofa. He's studying her movement as she traces her fingers on the white granite countertops. Her perfectly manicured nails slide across the cool granite. He locks the front door and arms the security system, turning back to her and observing the way her ass shakes when she walks through his house. Her short skirt sways and rubs against the back of her thighs. He spots a small heart on her right ankle, most likely done with a cheap or homemade tattoo gun. "Interesting."

"Your house is beautiful." She turns and smiles in his direction while speaking.

He removes his shoes and settles in at the kitchen island near her. "Thanks. We should get started."

"After you tell me what happened to Grandma's house." She plants her hands on her hips.

"She sold it a few years ago, and the business paid for this house. Mikey and I decorated it since she was already too sick to do much. Can we move on?" He looks visibly uncomfortable.

Grabbing her bag, she sets it on the island countertop and takes a seat next to him, their knees barely touching. She looks out of place on a barstool with her feet dangling and his touching the ground comfortably. He laughs to himself when he notices the height difference. She follows his gaze, realizing he's laughing at her shortness. Her brows furrow, and she aggressively removes the notebooks from her bag. Then, the assigned reading for their English class, and two pencils.

"Which classes are you struggling with?" Her words are innocent, but her tone is angry.

"I wasn't laughing at you. I just find it...cute." He studies her. "Anyway, I'm failing English Lit, Essay Composition, and Theater. I should probably switch that last one." He grabs a pencil.

"Aw, I agree. She's pretty cute," Mikey says, walking into the room in only his basketball shorts, holding a glass of bourbon.

Lilly's eyes follow him from the bottom of the stairs to the other side of the island. His tousled brown hair and bright blue eyes drawing her in. She scans his body, stopping at the bulge in his shorts and quickly looking away. She notices Gabe glaring between her and Mikey when she looks back up at the hot guy beside her.