Wild Forces: A Friends to Lovers Romance (O-Town Book 2) by Karen Renee (inspirational novels .txt) 📗

you sick, by the way. Now you’re orderin’ breakfast food at the end of the day?”

I felt my lips quiver, so I pressed them together, but I still couldn’t hold back the laughter bubbling out of me.

When I stopped laughing, I said, “No. I’ll have a cheeseburger, an order of tots, and a Diet Coke.”

He lightly slugged me in the bicep. “You’re a nut. And, really? No shake?”

I grimaced. “Gabe. I don’t work out like you do. No way I can handle a shake on top of however many calories are in that burger.”

“Bullshit, but whatever floats your boat. I’ll order a large and ask for a spoon. You can have some that way.”

Ten minutes later, the clerk brought us our food and Gabe paid. Even though we had shared our love for Sonic, this was the first time we ate it together.

“So, what’s next for your night?” Gabe asked around a mouthful of hot dog.

“I have to study for a Data Analytics final coming up in a couple weeks.”

“In a couple weeks? And you’re studying already?”

“Yeah, Sullivan. Some of us struggle with things, so I gotta hit the books early and often to make sure things sink in for me.”

The look on his face told me he was ready to argue with me, but my phone rang, and I saw it was the apartment manager.

“Hang on, I gotta take this,” I told Gabe just before I answered my phone.

“Ms. Daughtry, this is Rita Walters.”

“Yes, Rita. Have you found a different unit for me?”

She sighed. “No, unfortunately. But, you’ll be happy to know, Mr. Kingston has taken us up on letting him out of his lease early.”

“Who?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“Stan Kingston, who is the legal tenant of the unit across from yours.”

“Oh,” I said.

“Yes. He will be fully moved out by the weekend, he assured us.”

“Does he have Asher’s keys? I mean are you sure Asher can’t get back into the apartment later?”

“Yes, ma’am—” Rita was cut off from me when Gabe pulled the phone from my hand.

“This is Gabe Sullivan, I’m in unit six-thirty-nine and I want to know that Ms. Daughtry will be safe in her unit, since nobody can get her relocated from this—”

Warmth curled through my belly as it hit me how sexy it was when Gabe got so protective. Then my stomach plummeted, since I couldn’t act on how sexy I found him to be.

Even with my warring emotions, I smiled since Gabe’s expression shifted so quickly from anger to contrition.

“I was not aware, and I apologize. I’m just concerned for my friend.”

My friend. Yes, that drove it home, didn’t it?

He handed the phone back to me, I spoke for a few minutes more with Rita, and hung up.

“Sorry,” Gabe muttered.

“Apology accepted. Just to say, it’d be nice if you could see that I can handle things on my own, Gabe.”

He had stuffed the last of his hot dog in his mouth and he wadded up the paper wrapper. After he swallowed his food, he said, “Yeah, well, I really didn’t like the idea of that fucker being across the hall from you. And... shit! I forgot to ask her if they were gonna bring down those Ring cameras.”

He looked out the window and back to me. “You better make damn sure those things are pulled down, Cassandra.”

“I will. Simmer down, G-Rock. Have some of your malt.”

He glowered at me and shoved his chocolate malt my way. It wasn’t until after I had six bites of it that Gabe finally drove us back to the apartment complex.

My meal didn’t give me heartburn or a stomachache, but it definitely left me with a sense of heartache.

Gabe

FRIDAY MORNING, I HAD to bum another ride to campus with Brock. On the plus side, I watched a wrecker take my truck to the mechanic. With any luck it would be a quick fix and it wouldn’t eat me out of the bump in pay I would get from my new gig this Saturday. The way things were going lately, though, I wasn’t holding my breath. My luck had a way of turning from gold to fool’s gold in a matter of moments.

“You sure are quiet, man,” Brock said from the driver’s seat of his Civic.

I sighed. “Just tired. Thinking about money. You know. Good stuff.”

He snorted. “You not getting any on the regular probably doesn’t help either.”

“You rubbing that shit in damn sure doesn’t, asshole.”

“Lighten up, numbnuts. It’s about time you took a break from the ladies.”

“Whatever,” I muttered.

“You’ll live, man.”

I nodded.

“So, how’s Cassandra? She movin’ out of her place?”

“No. Management called her yesterday and said the douchebag across the hall was moving this weekend.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“I guess. As long as those damn Ring cameras get taken out.”

“You shittin’ me?”

I turned to him. “Brock. We’ve got two on our door. It’s not that hard.”

He shook his head. “You’re right. I just hate the idea of some jackass doin’ that to Cassie.”

“Not as much as I do,” I muttered.

Brock did a double take at me. “Really?”

“Don’t read anything into that.”

“Whatever you say, man. You got a ride back? I have no idea how long I’ll be on campus today.”

“Nah. I’ll figure something out, even if I have to Uber it.”

MY LAST CLASS FOR THE day wrapped up at two in the afternoon, and I swung by the academic advisor’s office to see if anyone was available for a walk-in appointment. For once, luck was on my side, and I had a twenty-minute meeting to declare my major in Entertainment Management. The advisor made sure all the necessary hoops were open to me so I could enroll for fall classes.

With that done, I swung by the Foxtail for a coffee, and a cinnamon bun, because theirs were some of the best around.

I found an open bench and dialed my Dad. He answered on the second ring.

“Hello, Gabe.”

“Hey, Dad. Thought I’d let you know I’ve declared my major with an advisor. So, it’s one less