Carbon: Devil's Rose #8

Chapter 24: Roman Grant

I run my fingers through Gabby's hair as she sleeps beside me. Seeing her laying there never gets hold. These past couple of months, she's been sleeping over at my condo pretty much every night and has a lot of her clothes there, however, we haven't officially moved in together. 

I'm not quite sure why she hasn't said yes to me about it yet. I haven't been able to decipher what's holding her back and why she doesn't want to live with me even though she spends most of her time there. Knowing her, there are about a thousand reasons that she's being held back by her own brain, but she's not going to say anything until she knows how to say it. 

She doesn't want to hurt my feelings (like she ever could), and she wants to frame her words correctly because she doesn't want me to feel like I've done something wrong. I love her dedication to not wanting to hurt my feelings and make me feel bad about anything, but I also want her to be open with me. 

She's open with me about a lot of things, but we're both still working on being open about things happening to us right now. There's a difference between opening up and being vulnerable about past and current struggles. They're two different things.

But it's moments like this, moments where we lay in silence and soak in one another's presence that makes the work, communication, and therapy all worth it.

I feel her body shuffle and move as she begins to wake up, the sunlight streaming through the windows because we were both too lazy to close the curtains last night. I one hundred percent knew that she wasn't going to be able to travel all the way to Napa in one day. 

I knew that I wasn't going to be able to do that. That's part of the reason I surprised her with a quick San Francisco run. The other reason, however, is that I want to spoil the fuck out of her. We've got so much shopping to do today. 

She's not one to indulge in anything, books being the other exception, and I'm so fucking tired of it. She deserves to buy anything she wants, and I can afford it. She's not with me for that reason, but it's a perk of being with me that she needs to take advantage of. 

So, we're spending at least two hours doing that today before we do any touristy stuff that I'm sure we're going to be doing. Going to the Wharf for one.

She grumbles beside me, digging her face into my chest to hide herself away from the light.

"Why?" she moans out, hiding away from the world.

I love when she's grumpy in the morning. She's so cute.

"Good morning, little dove."

"Hi," she answers softly.

I smirk down at her and kiss the top of her head.

"The day is ready for us, Gabriella."

"Doesn't mean I'm ready for the day, Roman."

I run my hand down her back and around to hold her stomach, loving the squishiness of her. She's just so fucking comfortable. I want her fucking wrapped around me. She squirms underneath my hot touch, making me smirk. I love when she reacts to me. It's so fucking sexy.

I finally get her out of bed, much to her disappointment, but I know she's secretly excited about what I have planned for us. After she's dressed in one of her favorite sundresses, she is the one to pull me out of our hotel room. 

A few of my friends from college are living in San Francisco or close enough to be able to drive, so I asked them if they would be willing to come and meet Gabby. 

She has wanted to meet them ever since I started telling her about our college adventures, and even though she doesn't know we're meeting them right now, I think she'll be happy about the surprises. She's one of the few people I've met that adores surprises.