Friday — December 14

Angela started getting used to staying in Gael's place. Her luggage was on the floor by his closet, and some of her clothes were hanging on the back of a chair. Her stuff filled almost all of the counter space in the bathroom too. She glanced at it, taking in the mess she made. There were makeups, hair, skincare products, and a few of her favorite perfume bottles.

Feeling guilty that she was taking over his place, she began to tidy up and kept her things on one side of the counter. She was mostly done preparing for her date at lunchtime. Though she wasn't really trying to impress her date, the need to dress up that day came over her.

Turning her body left and right while looking at the mirror in the bathroom, Angela thought her black long-sleeved mini dress was cute. It stopped mid-thigh and had a turtleneck. Her over the knee black suede boots complemented her dress too.

"Are you ready?" Gael's voice startled her.

She was too absorbed in her own thoughts that she hadn't even noticed him entering the bedroom. "I'm almost done. I just need to do my hair real quick."

"Okay." He nodded.

Angela thought he was going to wait outside, but he leaned against the doorframe and folded his arms across his chest as he watched her. She narrowed her eyes at him as she gave him a once over and saw that he was all dressed up, wearing a black dress shirt and looking fresh. He wasn't wearing anything fancy, but he looked good anyway. And he smelled nice too.

"Where did you change? I've been in here the whole time," she wondered.

Gael nodded towards the window. "At the cottage. Took a shower and changed there." Then his eyes roamed over the bathroom sink's counter and stared at the mess.

"Oh…" Guilt washed over her. "Sorry. I'm invading your place and taking over your bedroom. I promise I'll tidy up when I'm done."

"Don't worry about it." He swallowed, his eyes never leaving the counter.

Angela followed the direction of his stare, wondering what exactly he was looking at. She had kept most of her things tidy apart from her high-tech hair tool which was still plugged in the socket. "What are you staring at?"

His eyes snapped towards her, and he shook his head. "Nothing." He cleared his throat. "You… uh… what were you doing before I came?"

She drew her brows together, a little baffled, but she responded, "I was getting ready to fix my hair. I just dried it." Then she grabbed the hair tool and waved it.

"With...that?" The confusion on Gael's face was apparent. He glared at the tool in her hand like it was something weird.

"Y-Yeah?" Angela turned on the device, popped in an attachment at the top, and began creating soft waves on the ends of her hair. The high-tech tool didn't heat up, only using air to create the style she wanted.

She was looking at herself in the mirror when she heard him snort. Her eyes darted at his reflection and knitted her brows when she saw him holding back a chuckle. "What's so funny?" she questioned as she continued to do her hair.

Gael lost it. He threw his head back, laughing at something only he knew. He was laughing so hard he was tearing up.

Angela powered off the device and turned to face him. He looked so relaxed as he laughed, something she didn't see often. She nearly smiled but remembered that he might be laughing at her, so she glared at him. "Why are you laughing at me?"

"I'm not." He cleared his throat, pursing his lips as he composed himself. "It's nothing."

"Obviously it's not nothing. What is it?"

"You really want to know?"

When she looked at him as if she was waiting for an explanation, he gave in and told her, "I thought that was your vibrator."

"My what?"

"Your vibrator, Sweetheart." He was grinning.

Her jaw dropped, and she looked at the wand in her hand. She was speechless, so he continued:

"You know… your selfie stick.

"Lady stick.

"Magic wand.

"Rampant rabbit.

"Pussy plunger.

"Buzzer.

"Buzz nightgear.

"BOB as in Battery Operated Boyfriend—wait, that's actually wired. But I could go on, you know?"

This time, it was Angela's turn to guffaw. She could not believe what she was hearing. "Stop. Stop." She was breathless; her tummy started hurting. "Oh, my god. Buzz nightgear?!"

Gael shrugged, the smile still on his face as he watched her calm down from her laughter.

"Why in the world would you think this is a vibrator?" She waved the device in front of him.

"It's long, thick, smooth—everything you would have enjoyed." He wiggled his brows.

"Seriously. I can't believe you." She shook her head and let out a long sigh. A small chuckle escaped her lips as she set the device aside and walked past him. The thought of Gael mistaking that wand as her vibrator was amusing. Did he really think she would bring such a thing in his place and openly displayed it for his eyes to see?

Checking the time on her watch, she ran her tongue along her bottom lip. She had an hour to get to the restaurant she was supposed to go to. Grabbing her light grey coat from the hanger, she threw it on her and grabbed her purse. "You don't have to drive me there. I can go by myself. I can drive too...so if you'll lend me your car—"

"Not a chance. I'm not excited about your date, but I won't let you go out there alone." Gael grabbed his coat, keys, and wallet. Then he ushered her out the door, and they descended the stairs.

"I just feel weird that you're taking me there."

"What do you know about this guy?"

"Um. He's a professional football player—"

"A player. Got it."

Angela chuckled. "You already hate him, and you haven't even met him."

"I will hate all of your dates as long as they're not me."

Gael opened the door for her and then got to the driver's seat. Angela couldn't help but stare at him as he pulled the car out of the driveway and got on the road. He looked so calm and collected despite knowing that he was taking her on a lunch date with a man she hadn't met before. Her eyes traveled the length of his arm to his hand, and she saw it tightly gripping the wheel. Okay, so he wasn't really calm.

"It won't be long—an hour tops. I don't like players anyway. Then I'll meet Nina in the afternoon," she told him. She didn't know why she had to clarify that. Angela just felt like she had to. And then she saw his hand relax.

"I'll pick you up at the restaurant in an hour. Then drive you to your meeting place with your friend." He glanced at her, and before she could protest, he said, "I'm not taking no."

She huffed. What a weird set up. "Fine."

Gael smiled, and she smiled back. His smile widened, and then he was chuckling.

"You're still thinking about it, aren't you? The wand." Angela squinted her eyes.

"I just feel sorry."

"You feel sorry?"

"If that were your vibrator, I mean. Don't get me wrong; I think it's beautiful and only natural that you would pleasure yourself. But I feel sorry. That's nowhere near the real thing." He glanced at her and winked.

Angela kept her mouth shut, and he faced the road again. She found herself squeezing her legs together as she muttered, "Not even close."