GABBY
I can't sleep. I've been an insomniac ever since mom left. Maybe it's because she left in the middle of the night. If I don't sleep, no one can leave. Not without me knowing, at least. I stare at the ceiling for a good two hours, lost in thought, before I finally give up on trying to get to the sweet, sweet paradise that is unconsciousness.
I usually sleep in only my underwear, but it was cold tonight, so I put on a flannel top and left it unbuttoned in case I got hot. I'm glad I have it on now, so I'm at least half decent when I go downstairs for a midnight snack. I vaguely remember Janice mentioning some ice cream cookies and I currently want nothing more in the world than to have those cookies inside of my stomach. I don't need to bother tiptoeing because the house is so large no one will hear me in the kitchen anyway. I open the freezer and silently thank God when I see there are two ice cream cookies left. Bless up.
Greedily unwrapping the gooey treat, I stumble to the game room. I plop down on the couch and use the remote to turn on a reality show that I'd never watch if I had Netflix handy. I hear stumbling and freeze. Who goes there? The Hamptons Serial Killer? I don't know if that's a real thing, but it feels real right now. I'm totally about to die.
A man steps out of the shadows and my shoulders slump in relief.
"Kurt!" I hiss at the boy in front of me. I look down and notice he has a joint in his hand. "Take it outside, at least."
"Relax, sis, I'm going to meet a chick I found on Tinder. If anyone wakes up and I'm still not here, can you cover for me? Say I went on a run or something."
I look at Kurt's lanky figure. I guess it could be semi-believable if he weren't a raging pothead.
"Whatever." I shrug. "Hope it's a serial killer."
"Love you too, sis." He calls from behind his shoulder, already halfway out the door. "By the way, nice tits!" The door shuts behind him and I look down, realizing that I left my flannel unbuttoned. I roll my eyes. It's not a big deal, he's my brother. If it had been someone else...
"I heard the word tits. Figured I should come check it out." Leo strolls in, phone in one hand and a beer in the other. When he sees it's me, he halts. "You're not--"
"My sisters?" I fill in the blank for him, realizing he was probably expecting the beautiful Bianca or the sexy Haley.
"--dressed." He finishes, eyes raking my body up and down. I get a sick feeling of satisfaction, knowing that Leo Hamilton of all people is checking me out, but then his face scrunches up like he's disgusted. Must be my fat rolls, go figure they don't turn a guy on! I raise an eyebrow at him. I'm not going to say anything unless he speaks again.
"You look...nice."
"Is that code word for fat?"
"It's code word for nice." Leo takes a few steps toward me, setting his things down on the coffee table and then hesitantly inching towards me. When I don't lash out and bite him like I'm sure he's expecting me to, he sits down on the couch beside me. "When will you learn that my compliments are genuine?"
"When will you learn that I don't want any compliments from you?" I lie. "And do you not remember how you treat me in school? Flabby Gabby? 'Watch out, she's sitting down! Might break the chair!' or 'She's running! Earthquake!' That hurts me, Leo. I'm human. That fucking hurts."
Leo blushes crimson. "I didn't mean any of that. I won't do it again, Gabby. I haven't gotten to know you that much over the past two weeks but from what I know about you...I know you're not as immune to me as you claim you are. It's in the little things, like how you watch me when you think I'm not looking, how you blink three times whenever you first see me, how you bite your lip when you see me shirtless, how your breath catches when I get near you...you might hate me for what I've said in the past, Gabrielle Hampton, but your body doesn't. "
"You know, just take your stupid assumptions and shove them up your as-"
His lips smash into mine, and as soon as I feel him against me I can't resist. His lips are so soft, and his kiss is so perfect. Our mouths move in perfect sync like his was made for mine. He slips in some tongue and I am a happy camper. We sit like that for a while, bodies apart but mouths together, and then his hands start to roam my body. They're hesitant, unsure. I don't stop him though because he's Leo Hamilton. He might be an asshole but he's an asshole that wants to kiss me. And oh boy can he kiss. His hand finds my bra and he moves to unhook it. I break the kiss, backing up. The spell is broken.
"No."
"Gabby, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset yo--"
"I don't know what I was thinking. This was a mistake. You just want me for sex, right, and that's not who I am. I'm not a girl you can treat like shit and then kiss to make it all go away. I won't forget the mean things you said, Leo. I can't."
I get up and rush out of the room, feeling his eyes burning holes into my back. I run, afraid that if I walk I might be tempted to turn around and kiss him again.
Because I want to. God, I really want to.
----------------------------------------------------------------
It's the end of week three and I haven't seen Leo (besides at dinners) since the kiss. He must have realized how not worth it I am. He'll be back to tormenting me in no time.
"You sure you don't want to come with us?" Janice walks into the game room, her eyes narrowing. She and everyone else are going to lunch. I decided to stay back since I don't have much of an appetite around Leo. I have too many butterflies, which I hate to admit. He's an ass, but he was right about what he said. I am attracted to him, even though he did treat me horribly. Could he have changed in such a short amount of time? In the time between junior year ended in the beginning of May and the start of June when my family came to stay in the Hamptons? It's hard to believe, but he's been treating me so well. He has no incentive to do so. Maybe he really has changed.
Maybe I'll forgive him after all, even in spite of last night. He was only trying to be nice, and the kiss was mutual...
"I'm not going, no." I frown. "Not up for it right now."
"Want us to bring you something back?" Janice's brows furrow. I hope she doesn't think I'm getting an eating disorder or anything, because I'm not. I'm still eating just as much and just as often.
"Yeah, a taco?" I think they said they were going for Mexican.
"Sure, babe." Janice winks and then she disappears through the double glass doors out of the game room and down the hall. Not long after, I hear footsteps. Then a body jumps over the back of the couch and then onto the seat next to me. I turn to the tan boy smirking at me.
As soon as I see him, I know that I have to try to forgive him.
"Leo? I thought you were going to lunch..."
"I only was going to go when I thought you were going because we really need to talk..."
"It's okay. Last night was...good. I've thought about it and I think that I can see that you've changed, I don't know how I know that you have, but I do. I trust you. I don't fully forgive you, you hurt me, but I believe in second chances. And I'm going to give you one."
His eyes widen. "I want to kiss you." He grins, "but I tried that yesterday and it didn't end well. So how about, instead, I get you know you. And vice versa."
"Fine. I start. What prompted this change? No offense, but at school you were an asshole."
"I still am, Gabby. I just don't want to be an asshole to you. It got tiring and you're so very...fascinating." I study his eyes and decide that he's telling the truth. I nod, satisfied. "My turn." He smirks. "Are you a virgin?"
My eyes look everywhere but him as I mumble a quick yes. It's not that I'm waiting, it's just that thanks to Leo and his friends, guys don't exactly find me desirable.
I try to push away the anger I feel at Leo. Second chances, second chances, second chances..."Are you?"
He lets out a bark of laughter. "Do I look like I'm a virgin, Gabrielle?"
I'm pretty sure every part of my body turns bright red.
"Was I your first kiss?" I turn even brighter red and give him a feeble nod. He smirks. "I could tell."
I gasp and he throws his hands up in surrender. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. You were really good."
We spend the day like this, getting to know one another. I don't see him as the kid from school that made my life Hell. Here, he's a different person. He's a good person. He likes sports and partying but he also likes reading and cooking. His favorite animal is a pig because they're so smart and underrated, he wants fifteen kids (I hope he's kidding), he wants to go into business which is convenient because he's the heir to his father's company, he has a lot of friends but doesn't like any of them, and he thinks I'm beautiful.
And he thinks I'm beautiful.
---------------------------------------------------------------
It's the last day at the Hamilton's summer home in the Hamptons. Haley, Bianca, Kurt, and I decide to spend the day at the beach, as the house is a waterfront property and the ocean is right in front of us. I don't know where Leo is but part of me wishes he were here.
Looking back from the beach I see the Hamilton's summer home. It's huge and almost castle-like, with fountains and perfectly groomed lawns. My family is rich, but Leo's family is the kind of rich that could spend a million dollars on a bar of soap and still not even have a dent in their bank account. Leo's dad is a Bill Gates type of business mogul. Leo will be the heir to the company as soon as he is of age.
"Gabby!" Haley, my younger sister, squeals. I roll over onto my stomach so I can see what all of the commotion is. Kurt is tickling her and she is dying of laughter. My stomach lurches. Kurt is our step brother, so he isn't related to Haley at all, but our brother nonetheless. Sometimes when I see Kurt and Haley interact, I get the feeling that they don't see each other that way. I always shake it off though, because the two date other people and besides, they know that it's wrong. Anyone with common sense does.
"Get off." I snap at Kurt, and he looks up with shock. He holds his hands up defensively and Haley's head pops up beside me on the beach chair. Her hair is messed up and her lipstick is smeared. For a sixteen-year-old, she looks more like she's a twenty-five-year old that has a wicked hangover from a bender the night before.
"We were just playing, Gabs." Haley sighs, adjusting her skimpy bikini. She was somehow blessed with double Ds and no body fat. I have double Ds and a stomach to match. I catch Kurt staring at her and kick some sand in his direction. He shoots me a dirty look and skulks off to Bianca who is swimming.
"You need to stop flirting with him." I warn Haley once Kurt is out of earshot. She shrugs. "I'm serious. You guys are brother and sister."
"Lighten up." Haley rolls her eyes. "I don't even like him like that--ew! He looks too much like a stoner for my taste."
"You're leading him on. He's your brother."
"I don't know what you're talking about." She pouts, rolling her eyes. "Some of us just get guys. We can't help that we're pretty and guys like us. It doesn't mean we're flirting. We're just attractive! You don't have that problem, so of course you wouldn't understand."
"Wow." I blink. That might be the most hurtful thing she's ever said. She seems to realize her mistake, because she immediately starts to backtrack, stuttering pathetically.
"I wasn't thinking--" She begins, but I hold up my hand to cut her off.
"Save it." I gather my towel and book and head back to the house. Haley doesn't follow, and I'm glad. Because if she had, she'd have seen the tears streaming down my face.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't know how he did it, but Leo convinced Janice to let me ride home with him in his Porsche. Janice is in love with Leo, so he probably had to blink and she was under his spell.
Haley and Layla were in the Rover's back seats and Bianca had the front to lie out on. Janice and Mrs. Hamilton sat up front together to gossip. Kurt drove his car.
So here I am, alone in a car with the hottest guy in the world. I want to rip his clothes off, but I suppress the urge, even though it's torture.
I roll the window down, sticking out my hand, amazed at the wind pressure. It's only a two-hour drive, I tell myself, I'll survive.
Hour one goes by pretty smoothly. I'm listening to an audio version of a sci-fi book that I found at a bookstore in the Hamptons and Leo is listening to God knows what on his headphones. It's the second hour that things start getting bumpy.
Leo pulls out his headphones. I look up, and then back at my book, dismissing the gesture. But then he speaks.
"I wasn't expecting sex when I kissed you, Gabby." His voice is quiet. Nervous. "The night I kissed you. You were so flustered and you looked so beautiful and I had to kiss you. I wasn't expecting sex."
My cheeks heat up and I'm sure I'm blushing all over. "What were you expecting, then?"
"Nothing. No expectations, Gabby. I just wanted to kiss you. Because I like you. I've liked you from the day in the Hamptons when you were pouting. Your bottom lip was jutting out and your brows were furrowed and it was so cute. And I asked you what was the matter, remember that? I asked you what was the matter and you flat out told me that I was the matter. I know I've treated you like shit in the past, I am owning up to that. But I'm different now. I'm not some asshole mad at the world because I have everything and nothing at the same time. I'm just a guy that says stupid things and is falling for you."
"Falling for me?" I sputter, nervously. I look at him and see the rawness in his eyes. He's not holding back a laugh, Ashton Kutcher isn't hiding in the back seat ready to tell me that I've been Punk'd. He genuinely thinks he's falling in love with me.
"We'll see how you feel about me when school starts back up."
We drive the rest of the ride back silent.
Sure enough, the good times don't last. As soon as we get back from the Hamptons, Leo goes AWOL. He probably only flirted with me because I was a challenge to him--the only girl in the world that wouldn't worship the ground he walks on.
It's when August starts that things get interesting.