Her eyes start to well up with tears, and my heart sinks. “Aren’t I?” she asks quietly.
“No,” I say firmly. “You’re many things, but you’re not a burden. You’re the reason I wake up every morning.” Her eyes widen in surprise, and I hesitate for a moment but I continue, needing her to understand just how important she is to me. “I need you, Gabi. More than you know,” I admit, all the words I want to say caught in the back of my throat. I swallow hard, shaking my head. “You’re the reason I want to live.”
Her brows dip, concern etched into her features. “You need me that much?”
I tighten my hold on her, brushing her hair back behind her ear as I gaze into her blue eyes. “So much it hurts.”
Our eyes lock together, and her lips part. I didn’t even realize how close I was to her until I catch the scent of alcohol on her breath. I pull back when I see her eyes glazing over. Fuck, she’s drunk.
“Your turn,” I say, leaning my head back against the headrest.
“Chris—”
“Your turn, Gabi,” I say, my hand running through my hair in frustration, realizing I said too much.
She sniffs, wiping the tears that slipped down her cheek. “Truth or dare?”
She sounds determined, and I know she’s going to ask more questions. Questions I’m not prepared to answer just yet.
“Dare.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Really?” she asks. She knows I don’t back down from a dare, which is why I rarely choose it.
I nod, pressing my lips together. Whatever she tells me to do has to be better than answering her questions about that night.
She unscrews the bottle cap, takes a sip and lets out a deep breath. “I dare you to strip.”
“Gabi,” I warn. She’s drunk, and sad, and this is a recipe for disaster. I start to shake my head, but she stops me.
“You never back down,” she reminds me with a smirk. “Strip.”
My cock twitches at the command, and I force myself to remain calm. “It’s cold.”
She replies by turning up the heater, and leans back, eyes raking over my body. “You don’t need to get naked. Again.” She smirks, her lips curling up at the edges. “You can just take your hoodie off.”
This is going to kill me.
I know I shouldn’t. She’s drunk, and doesn’t know what she’s doing. This is only going to hurt me in the process. But the look in her eyes is hard to ignore as I pull my hoodie, and t-shirt over the back of my head, tossing them onto the back seat.
Gabi’s eyes land on me, and she sucks in a breath, her eyes roaming over my body. Heat rushes through me at the intensity of her eyes on me, and my heart quickens. She’s never looked at me like that before.
She’s drunk, I remind myself.It’s just a reaction to the alcohol.
Her eyes drop to my stomach, and I feel her gaze linger on the scar. She reaches out, her fingers tracing along the rough line on my lower abdomen, and I draw in a sharp breath. Her brows furrow in concern.
“When did this happen?” she whispers.
“A long time ago,” I reply, swallowing the lump in my throat.
“Does it hurt?” she asks, lifting her head to look up at me.
“No,” I assure her, meeting her eyes. “Not anymore.”
Luckily, she doesn’t ask any questions, instead focusing on running her hands over my chest, feeling the ripple of muscles underneath. “I didn’t know you had abs,” she remarks, her tongue darting out to lick her bottom lip.
My cock twitches in my pants at the sight, and I beg to all the gods out there that she doesn’t look down, or this is going to get even more awkward.
I swallow, taking a deep breath as her eyes continue to trace over my chest. “You’ve never seen me without my clothes,” I admit. Her eyes flick up to meet mine, a hint of amusement in them. “Aside from that day,” I add.
