Love Like a Man

Chapter 12 - All of Me

Gabe wondered what had gone wrong as he watched Claire do that annoying thing most women did when they were upset - She was trying to pretend that everything was fine. However, her strained smile and the way she kept averting his gaze, told Gabe otherwise.

As soon as he heard the DJ put John Legend's All of Me on, Gabe knew he had his chance to get to the bottom of Claire's turn in mood. If the world's most romantic song couldn't put their night back on track, nothing would be able to. He pulled her away from the bar and onto the dance floor, ignoring her excuses for not dancing with me.

When they got onto the dance floor, Gabe pulled Claire in close; he quickly lost himself in the music, in the smell her sweet perfume and in the feeling of her warm breath on his neck. Gabe knew it would be all too easy for him to fall hard for this woman - He had to fix things between them.

"Claire, what's going on? I thought we were having fun." He said into her ear.

"Don't worry about it Gabe, I'm fine." Claire answered tightly.

"I want you to be more than fine when you're with me."

"Gabe, I don't want to get into it, there's no point. This thing between us isn't serious anyways, so lets just have fun. OK?"

Ouch. Gabe wasn't sure if Claire was dismissing their new relationship so cavalierly because she was pissed or because it was really how she felt, but either way it stung.

"No, not OK. In what universe do you think I'd be OK with you being upset?" Gabe said back, trying to hide the hurt from his voice. "Now, tell me what's going on Claire."

"Fine. Who's the porn star over there?" Claire asked as she subtly indicated to the other side of the dance floor with her eyes.

Gabe followed Claire's gaze all the way over to Chastity, his ex. Aw fuck, now I'm in for it, he thought as he kicked himself for not being upfront with Claire that Chastity would be there in the first place.

It didn't surprise him that Chastity had done something to upset Claire; the woman was like herpes, an awful gift that kept on giving, and that kept popping up and the most inopportune moments... Not that there was a good time for herpes, or for Chastity for that matter.

Gabe wondered where Chastity's date went as he watched her dance too closely with one of the groomsmen. He scanned the room until he saw the guy holding another one of the guests in a headlock in front of the champagne fountain. It became apparent that the two men were brawling over the last glass of sparkling wine. What a douche, Gabe thought. Who starts a fight at a wedding over sparkling wine? Especially when there's an open bar. Gabe supposed that Chastity and this moron deserved each other.

"She's a mistake I made a few months back." Gabe said putting his full attention back onto Claire. "Did she say anything to you? Is there something I've got to take care of?" Gabe asked, hoping whatever damage Chastity had done wasn't too serious.

"No, she didn't say anything to me...I overheard her talking to her friend when I was in the bathroom. She said the reason you brought me here was to make her jealous." Claire said, finally relenting and offering an explanation. "And considering you've put off having sex with me it makes sense... I mean you can't try to get one girl back while screwing another."

Hearing what had pissed off Claire flooded Gabe with a sense of relief. He was thankful that Chastity hadn't purposely done anything to sabotage his date, but even more than that, he was thrilled that Claire's feelings for him were strong enough that she'd care enough to be upset.

"It's not funny!" Claire reprimanded, making Gabe realize that he had a huge smile on his face.

"Claire, the only reason I brought you here with me tonight is because I'm proud to have such a beautiful, smart and sexy woman on my arm." Gabe said, looking straight into her warm eyes, hoping she could see he was being sincere. "Bringing you here to lure Chastity back would be like wasting a filet mignon to attract a week old slab of meat loaf - It would completely stupid."

"Promise that's true?" Claire said smiling at his silly comparison.

"Promise? I don't have to promise. I'll prove it." Gabe said as he pulled Claire closer so she could feel his hard-on pressing against her. "Tonight I'm going to fuck away all the doubt you have about how much I want you." He whispered into her ear.

"But first, I want to make sure that everyone here knows you're the only one I want to be here with tonight." Gabe said as he grabbed Claire's perfect face in his hands and began to kiss her.

Gabe kissed Claire deeply, taking over her mouth with his own, eliciting a small moan from her. Hearing her moan only encouraged him and he kissed her harder, happy for everyone else on the dance floor to watch him devour the woman he was crazy about.

When Gabe finally pulled away, Claire grabbed his shoulders to steady herself. Still in a daze from their kiss, "Fuck..." was all that managed to escape from her swollen lips.

"I'm just getting started babe." Gabe said as he hoisted Claire off the ground and threw her over one of his shoulders.

"Gabe! What are you doing? Everyone's watching us!" Claire said giggling wildly.

"Good. Let them watch." Gabe said as he carried her off of the dance floor.

Gabe couldn't help but notice Chastity sending daggers their way with her eyes as they walked out of the room.

This chapter is dedicated to @MerryWombat for her encouraging this deliciously awful story I'm writing. If you want to read a fantastic romance make sure to check out her story The Snowfang Bride.... If you're looking for more trashy romance, she's got you covered... There's a second version called Snow & Silver that is her drama filled version. Also, big thanks to Merry for allowing me to borrow her champagne fountain childhood memory.