Chapter 29 - Alexia's Approval

Friday night approached fast, she took a cab together with Andrew from work to her favorite lounge. When they arrived the lounge wasn't overly crowded, just the regulars enjoying the peace and quiet while sipping their poison. It was one of the reasons why this lounge was her favorite place to hang out after a long day at work. She didn't visited the lounge that often anymore since she got together with Gabriel, but since she was here now she'd go all out. Valerie preferred to explore when it came to her drinks, Andrew on the other hand he liked his regular vodka soda. They sat at the bar, joking around when something caught the corner of her eyes, or rather someone. Shifting her gaze to the door she held her breath when Ethan grinned at her and made his way over, Gabriel following after him, but looking less excited than his friend.

"Miss King, didn't know you were here tonight."

It was a big fat lie and they both knew it, Ethan, however, dared her with his eyes to comment on it. She could tell it was him who came up with this plan and Gabriel went along with it, but reluctantly. Her boyfriend didn't like her hanging out with Andrew, but he also wouldn't resort to spying on her. So she couldn't be mad at him. It was Ethan, the evil plotting master who she needed to have a chat with.

"So this is what you were planning when you more or less forced Gabriel into a guy's night out." She casually threw out there, reaching for her glass and taking a sip. She kept her eyes locked with Ethan's though, noticing how entertaining he found the whole ordeal.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about." He told her, "Gabe and I will be sitting at that booth." He casually gestured behind him to an empty booth which had a direct line of view of where she was seated at the bar, "We're having a guy's night out after all."

She understood this was Ethan's way to give them both what they wanted so she brushed it off.

"Don't let us keep you." She smiled at him, "Andrew and I will be right here, at the bar. Like usual." She trailed her eyes to Gabriel, "But Gabriel knows this is my favorite spot, we met each other right here." She gestured to the stool which Andrew occupied, "Months ago."

He finally spoke up, "I remember."

She crossed her legs and trailed her finger over the rim of her glass, "Since you're here you want to buy me a drink?"

She felt Andrew taking them in, it was the first time he interacted with them outside the office. It was a whole other side to Hunter and Starr which people at the office usually didn't see. He was in for a treat, maybe he'd fall in love with them too. She hoped he didn't though, Andrew liked a sexy guy in a suit after all. He'd be real competition if he actually tried to go after either one of them. Well, since Gabriel didn't like Andrew's personality that much it was only Ethan who could fall for the guy.

Gabriel shoved his hands in his pockets, a teasing look gleaming in his eyes, "Maybe."

She narrowed her eyes on him, "You should play nice, we're meeting your family next week after all."

He didn't look concerned even though she jokingly threatened him. She was intrigued now.

"Mom likes it when I bring home a feisty woman who knows what she wants."

Ethan agreed to that, "Yep, Alexia does like a bit of banter. Sometimes she pushes toward being a total-"

"Bitch." Gabriel muttered, causing Valerie to gasp while Andrew nearly choked in his drink.

Ethan cleared his throat, "I didn't want to use that word, but yes. She can be challenging and the quiet, shy girl won't last a second in her presence."

Gabriel closed the distance between them, placing a hand on the counter while he leaned in. He pressed a kiss to her lips, surprising her by suddenly showing her affection. He slightly pulled away, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Mom and I are very honest with each other. While your mother is a nice woman who wants to please everyone my mother doesn't give a shit. She is straightforward and always gets straight to the point."

She got it then.

"I see, so you take after her."

Ethan tried to hide a laugh, but she caught it and so did Andrew because he tried to hide his laugh too, also failing miserably.

"Possibly." Gabriel shrugged, "But when Alexia likes you, she'll do everything she can to help you and be someone you can rely on."

"I can also vouch for that." Ethan answered without any humor left in his voice, "She might not tell you the occasionally white lie, Alexia is someone who you can rely on. She treated me like her own son, she still does by the way."

Gabriel shifted his gaze to his friend, "You want to come with?"

"This should be a couple thing, Gabe." Ethan told him with a smile spread across his face, "Besides I talked to Rachel yesterday and decided to spend the weekend at her hometown."

Valerie buried her face in her hands, remembering what they discussed earlier that week. She wished Ethan never brought it up because now she'd be wondering if Ethan and her sister were going there. The thought alone made her blush all over. It was embarrassing and something she didn't want to know about her sister. Sharing too much was a thing as well, though some people in her circle didn't get that.

"I see." The tone Gabriel used said it all.

She reached for her glass and knocked back the Irish Whiskey. It warmed her belly, burned her throat and went straight to her head. She didn't care though, as long as it numbed her thoughts she'd knock back many more glasses of Irish Whiskey.

"Valerie is getting embarrassed." Ethan didn't need to point that out, but he did because he was in that kind of mood, "I think we should order our drinks and let her be. We're intruding after all."

When she trailed her eyes to Andrew she noticed the amused look on his face, he wasn't even trying to hide how much fun he was having on their account.

"It's fine." Andrew told Ethan, swirling his ice around in his transparent drink. The sound distracting her, but it seemed Andrew didn't notice it at all.

"We should let her be." Gabriel agreed, "Let's take a ride home together, okay?"

"Yours or mine?" She asked him quietly.

"Mine." He said without hesitation.

She didn't mind at all, his apartment was way fancier than hers. She liked his shower in particular, it was like bathing in the rain, yet the water was the perfect temperature. Not to mention the gigantic bed which felt like sleeping on a cloud. If she had one too many she'd love it to pass out on his cloud which he called an average bed.

"Sure."

He gave the bartender his order, handed Ethan his drink and then grabbed his own once the bartender made them with practiced movements. He brushed his fingers over her arm and then left to take a seat in the booth Ethan had picked out earlier. Valerie took in the sight of two sexy men dressed in their perfect, expensive looking suits while they chatted away. They were quite a sight to behold and when she glanced at her friend she could tell that he agreed.

"It's very serious between you two." Andrew remarked once he noticed he had her attention.

"It is."

"I didn't expect him to be that way." Andrew didn't sound displeased, but he didn't look happy either, "It's a lot to take in. I figured he was different, being proved wrong right in my face is something I need to process."

"Gabriel is good to me." She told him straight out, "I love him."

Andrew reached for her, grabbing onto her arm, "Don't say that so casually. There is a time and a place for love confessions, Val."

She turned her back to Ethan and Gabriel and focused on her conversation with Andrew again, "I'm aware that some people have certain rules when it comes to their relationships. But I'm not going to wait for my wedding night to tell the guy that I love him. It's not us."

Andrew nodded, "Also something I need to get used to."

They managed to have their night out without being aware of Ethan and Gabriel also being in the room. They quietly discussed their love life, family issues and more casual things like which movie they liked or what book they were reading. She was having a great time, also paying attention to what she was drinking. Though earlier she wouldn't have minded knocking back glasses of Irish Whisky, she started to keep track of what she was drinking. She was going home with Gabriel after all, later tonight she wanted to have her way with him.

***

Valerie pressed her hands flat against Gabriel's bare chest, watching his expression turn from amused to turned on. There was a happy gleam in his eyes which matched perfectly with the soft, relaxed smirk that had spread across his face. She couldn't help but to lean down and kiss him, making a humming sound when he kissed her back. The kiss was soft too. When the teasing got too much Gabriel grabbed onto her hips and started to move her, moving her to his liking. Pleasure was simmering in her belly, but she didn't rush to get it to boil over. Instead she kept her eyes locked with Gabriel's and let him decide the pace. He grabbed onto the back of her head when he finally got there and pulled her down, smothering his sounds by kissing her deeply. His orgasm set hers off too, it was intense and caused her to lose focus. Gabriel noticed it and kept her steady. When she got down from her intense high Gabriel gently lifted her up and placed her down beside him. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth.

"Night." He whispered.

She was completely sated and could barely keep her eyes open.

"Night." She muttered back.

Gabriel started moving, heading to the bathroom to clean up. She didn't pay attention to it, rolled to her side and started to drift away.

***

A week later Valerie found herself sitting at Alexia's dining table, sharing a laugh with the woman who made fun of her son, a lot. She could tell Gabriel didn't mind though, he sat beside her sipping his wine while his hand was placed upon her thigh underneath the table. He kept it resting there, probably to let her know he was there for her. She had been nervous when they headed to his parents' house, but now that she had dinner with his family and shared a few glasses of wine she felt at home. They treated her like family which meant that they liked her. She wanted to say she didn't care if his parents liked her or not, but deep down she did care. So she was glowing with excitement and happiness because both Alexia and Stephen accepted her.

"It's the first time I met someone beside Ethan and Tiffany who gets this boy." Alexia ignored the sound of disapproval Gabriel made, "People tend to think he is rude."

"Savage." Valerie whispered to him, but meant it in a different context.

The smirk that spread across Gabriel's face told her he got it.

"Gabriel and I got along fine since the day we met." She told Alexia, "I don't mind him speaking his mind. I prefer it that way, there are no lies between us."

"I like her." Stephen, Gabriel's dad told his son in a rather serious tone.

The fact that Stephen voiced it out loud was even better. There was definitely no anxiety left.

Gabriel glanced at her, "I like her too." He pulled away from her and got to his feet, "I'm going to make some coffee."

"Thanks, honey." His mother called after him, watching her son leave the room before she focused on her again, "I'm glad you helped him get away from that girl."

Alexia didn't use names, but Valerie had a pretty good idea which girl Gabriel's mother was talking about. It wasn't hard to piece it together.

She reached for her glass of wine and polished it off, in need of some coffee too.

"I didn't do much." Which wasn't a lie, but also not the bare truth, "She showed her true colors by being herself. They chose to change things on their own, I was just there to support them.'

The anxiety started to slowly build up again when Alexia stared at her, it was like the woman was seeing right through her. She wanted to reach for her glass, but it was already empty. She couldn't rely on the wine to comfort her while all her secrets were laid out for them to see.

"Let's go with that." Alexia smiled. She glanced down when her phone started ringing, her lips curling up to a warm smile, "It's Ryan, my eldest son." She leaned back in her chair, getting comfortable which meant the conversation was going to take a while, "Hi honey, what are you up to?" She laughed at something Gabriel's older brother said and her eyes trailing to Valerie, "We just had dinner with Gabriel and his girlfriend Valerie." She nodded, "Really serious."

Valerie's cheeks heated hearing Alexia call their relationship serious which it was, but it was a different thing when Gabriel's mom said it oud loud. She got to her feet and mumbled something about helping Gabriel in the kitchen. Stephen laughed at that, but thankfully didn't comment on it. She joined her boyfriend in the kitchen to catch her breath. Gabriel didn't say anything, letting her pull herself together while he poured them all a cup of coffee. Once she calmed down enough they rejoined his parents in the dining room and had a cup of coffee while wrapping things up.

***

Valerie was moisturizing her legs, while Gabriel was typing away an email on his laptop in bed. Both of them were in a good mood because dinner with his family was a success. She put her moisturizer away which smelled like a mojito in a bottle. She crawled into bed and leaned in to press a kiss to Gabriel's cheek.

"Night."

He glanced at her, "Night."

She laid down and rolled to her side, watching Gabriel while he was getting some work done. She knew it was creepy, but she couldn't help it. The warm feeling inside made her behave like a girl obsessed with her boyfriend.

"Ryan just texted me, said he wanted to meet you as well."

"Ryan is married and has two kids, right?"

"Yeah, two girls." Gabriel told her, "I haven't seen them in a while so they'll be pissed at me."

She smiled, "What ages are they?"

"Five and eight."

Her smile widened, "At that age you can still bribe them with gifts."

He stopped typing and met her gaze, "You can always bribe a girl with gifts." He told her, which earned him a pinch to the side, "I bet that if we got into a fight and I bought you either a nice piece of jewelry or some perfume you'd be like, okay fine I forgive you."

"Nope, you can't bribe me with those things." She told him, "Have you seen my closet, I own a lot of jewelry and my collection of perfume isn't running out either."

He narrowed his eyes on her, "I'll find something which I can use to win you over. Every girl has something which makes her go soft and giggly."

She laughed, snuggling into his side, "I'm soft and giggly right now."

It was caused him to burst out in laughter too. He placed his laptop on his bedside table and leaned into her, nuzzling her neck, "Is that an invitation?"

She buried her fingers in his hair, "Yes."

He wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her, taking his time to explore her mouth and letting his hands wander all over her body. He was being gentle, teasing her and filling his bedroom with the sounds of their laughter. It was a good day which made her long for more.