Where Does My Heart Beat Now- Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next morning, Gabriel awoke to a chill in the air, but dismissed it as he walked into the kitchen, finding the other boys stuffing their faces with eggs and bacon. When he went over to get his own breakfast two empty plates were all that greeted him.

“Yeah, way to leave me any breakfast, jerks,” he flicked Sean’s ear before going over to the cabinets in hopes of finding something edible. All he found was a box of granola bars, so he had to settle for that.

Sean decided to lighten the mood by talking to his friend, “So, did you sleep well?”

“Let’s see… I had Dumb and Dumber snoring in my ear all night long, and I swear Dumber tried to use me as a body pillow. So, how do you think I slept,” Gabriel replied coolly while gesturing to Nick and Max.

“Ouch. Harsh, dude. “

“Ya think?”

 

The sun was already high in the sky by the time the boys stopped for a rest on the trail. Sean was in the lead followed by Gabriel and the other boys, who were already complaining about their calves burning. Gabriel glanced down the mountain and saw what looked like a small town. He thought it might be a good idea to stop and get lunch, that was, if it had any restaurants to stop at. Maybe he could convince them to go since he was about to die from hunger. “Hey, guys! How about getting lunch in that town down there?” He called from where he stood.

“Why? Is wittle Gabriel hungry?” Sean joked as he walked by to check out what he’d found.

“You’re pushing it, Sean. I’ll drop-kick you down the mountain if you guys don’t stop,” Gabriel threatened.

All four boys made their way down to the town gradually, but it was nice to just be out in the sunshine with a breeze blowing off the mountains. It was a beautiful day for hiking, and they hoped the rest of the week would be the same.

Thirty minutes later, they entered the town and discovered that the natives were very friendly towards them. Gabriel caught sight of a small diner about a block away and immediately went towards it with the others following behind him. Once inside, he picked a booth nearest one of the windows. After ordering, he found himself gazing out the window at a young woman across the street. It appeared that she was carrying something, but he wasn’t sure as to what.

When Sean realized what his friend was staring at a bit of a smile gleamed at the corners of his mouth, “Aww, looks like Gabe’s found a girl he fancies. I guess it was a good idea to come here. Nice work, Gabriel!”

Gabriel quickly turned to his friend, his cheeks starting to turn red, “I do not! I just happened to notice her, and I was wondering what she was carrying.”

“Uh huh. Right. Don’t deny it, you like her.”

“Alright, fine! I do!”

“Then go talk to her…”

Right then, Max spoke up, “Don’t forget to ask for her number!”

Both Gabriel and Sean stared at him, eyebrows furrowed, “You stay out of this!”

The discussion continued for several more minutes while the boys ate. They never even noticed when the girl Gabriel had been watching entered the diner to pick up an order before slipping out of the door, again. Only after they finished their lunch and tipped their waitress did they head outside. Sean, Max, and Nick saw a sports equipment store down the block and started for it, leaving Gabriel to do what he wanted.

A few minutes later he was leaning against a light pole when he saw the young woman a few yards away, heading for a dark green Camaro parked by the sidewalk. All of a sudden, he saw her stumble and drop her armful of items. The next thing he knew, he found himself running over to help. From the look of it, she was shopping for her mother or sister.

“Just great. The things I get for doing the shopping in the family.”

Gabriel listened curiously to the woman mumbling to herself before seeing that one of her items had rolled a few feet away to where she couldn’t see it, so he decided to give her a helping hand by picking it up. “Excuse me, miss. Here, I believe this is yours.”

The woman looked up at Gabriel when she heard his voice. She saw that he had her lipstick and was very grateful, “Oh, thank you. I must have missed it,” She took the lipstick from him and stuffed it in her purse before he offered his hand to help her up, “Thank you, again. That was very kind of you,” After pushing some hair behind her ear she shook his hand, “Might I ask what your name is?”

When the question was posed towards him, he felt his cheeks turning red again. Why do I always do that?! “Uh, it’s Gabriel Dawson.”

“I’m Kate Rogers It’s nice to meet you.”

“Wait! Kate Rogers, as in the Kate Rogers: daughter of Corey and Cherrie Rogers?”

“Shh! I don’t want people to know. If they ever found out my reputation would be shot,” She was serious when she spoke about the subject matter.

“Don’t worry, Kate. You’re secret’s safe with me,” A smile appeared at the thought of holding such a secret that she had. Right from the start he found himself becoming quite fond of her. The next thing that drew his attention was her eyes: pale blue "almost crystal white- orbs sparkled in the sunlight, “You have really pretty eyes.”

Kate was the one to blush that time. She had never before been complimented on her eye color. “Oh… thank you. I inherited them from my great grandmother on my daddy’s side,” As she got a better look of his face, his aqua blue eyes struck her fancy, “Wow! You’ve got some amazing eyes, yourself. I love that color.”

“Yeah. My mom always talks about them, and I still haven’t figured out why.”

“Your accent… I don’t think I’ve heard it before.”

Gabriel chuckled warmly, “I’m from Texas.”

“No, it sounds foreign. Scottish?”

“Irish… but close,” He resumed leaning against a light pole, arms folded over his chest and one eyebrow arched in amusement, “I’m half Irish. My dad was born in Dublin, Ireland.”

“Cool!” Kate was intrigued by the small sliver of history. She had never really been interested in hearing where people were from, but Gabriel’s history seemed amusing. Before speaking again, something shiny caught her eye: Gabriel’s Celtic necklace, “What type of symbol is that?”

Upon realizing what she was asking, he held it up for her to see better, “It’s a Celtic knot… Irish.”

“It’s really pretty. Do you always wear it?” Kate gently turned it over so as not to choke him. The intricate design of the knot made her examine it more closely to see every bit of the hard work that went into it.

“Yes, it’s part of my heritage. I’m very proud of being Irish.”

“Yeah, his boxers will tell you that much.”

Gabriel’s face turned red and he started sweating before his eyes darted to the right, zeroing in on his friend standing a few feet away. The look of death was the only greeting he gave, “Sean, I hope you have a death wish,” he turned to face Kate, “Excuse me while I go pummel him.”

Kate giggled at the sight of Gabriel chasing Sean halfway down the block before pinning him to the ground. She cracked up laughing when the sound of Sean shrieking like a girl could be heard. At least it was something to brighten her day. A smile appeared at the corners of her mouth when Gabriel returned with Sean limping behind him.

“Sorry about that. He was just asking for it,” Gabriel explained, keeping his eye on his friend.

“It’s all right,” she stifled a few more giggles, “So, what’s this about your boxers?”

His eyes widened as he tried to keep from blushing, “Oh, nothing, but this idiot seems to find them hilarious for some reason.”

“They have little, green shamrocks on them!” Sean blurted out.

Gabriel quickly clamped his hand over Sean’s mouth, “Shut. Up.”

Kate continued laughing for a few more seconds; she found humor in watching guys get embarrassed over little things, “Really? Wow, that’s cool. I’ve never met a guy quite like you, Gabriel.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“Yes,” when she glanced down at her watch she looked somewhat troubled, “I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go, Gabriel. See you around?”

“Yeah,” his voice sounded hopeful, again.

She shook his hand once more, “Thanks, again.”

“You’re welcome, Kate.”

After she drove off down the road, Gabriel looked down and found a small piece of paper in his hand. He had a tingling feeling in the pit of his stomach as he opened it. Written in fine handwriting were Kate’s phone number, address, and the words ‘come by any time’. The fact that a girl gave him her number made Gabriel feel like he was on air.

“Okay, dude. She likes you,” Sean broke in after seeing the note.

“Why do you say that, Sean?”

“Gabe, a girl won’t give you her number unless she likes you.”

With another look at the note in his hand, a smile crept across his face. Could it be true? Did Kate really like him? If she did, then he’d have to show her that he was capable of being a suitable boy for her, but he wasn’t going to take things too quickly. First thing to do was to get to know her better before even considering going out with her as boyfriend and girlfriend. Eventually, if things worked out, he’d like to make her his wife.

“Gabriel! Hello, are you there? Come in, Gabriel! Houston, we have a problem,” Sean began shaking his friend in order to get his attention. After realizing that Gabriel wasn’t all there, he smacked him across the face.

The impact of the hand to his face caused Gabriel to come to after the initial shock of a girl, particularly a very attractive girl, actually talked to him and wanted him to visit her at, none other, than her house, “What the heck was that for?!”

“Come on, Romeo. The guys are probably wondering what happened to us.”

 

During the rest of the hike, Gabriel kept thinking about meeting Kate in town after she had dropped her groceries and such. They had immediately liked each other from the first word, but what was it about her that he liked the most? Gosh, she had amazing eyes, and her laugh… Yes, her laugh was so adorable. I hope she didn’t think I was an idiot for seeing me blush. Why do I have to do that so easily? When he looked up he found himself heading right for a giant tree, and quickly stepped out of the way to keep from hitting it.

“Okay, Gabriel, you’ve got it bad. You almost ran into a tree,” Sean fell back to walk with his best friend, “Just go and see her tomorrow. I’m sure she’d be happy to see you, again.”

“I don’t know.”

“Are you afraid?”

“No. I just don’t know if she’d want me to drop by so soon after meeting. I don’t want her to think I’m desperate,” He contemplated everything his friend had said and considered it, but he still wasn’t sure about going to see her again. Maybe it was best to just move on with his life, but then, he really felt that there was a possibility of their new friendship going further, “Alright, I’ll go see her tomorrow. I just hope she doesn’t mind me all of a sudden showing up at her house.”

His friend rolled his eyes at the words that were said, “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind. Besides, Nick, Max and I are just going to go check out Mt. Rainier. Nothing fascinating.”

 

The temperature had dropped somewhat by the time dinner was over. Sean, Nick and Max were sitting at the table in the kitchen playing a game of cards while they waited on the popcorn to finish popping on the stove. They discussed the amusing meeting between Gabriel and Kate, and even laughed about his blushing in front of her like it was something to poke fun at.

Meanwhile, Gabriel sat on his bed by the window, listening to his so-called ‘friends’ talking about him. It was becoming hard for him to bear the talking any longer, and he eventually gathered up a small bag of essentials, including his cell phone and Kate’s address. He didn’t know exactly where he was going, but it had to be better than sitting there listening to the others. This is the time to take up that offer of Kate’s, Gabriel thought as he quietly slipped out of the window and started for the town.

Reviews

[Isabelle]

I can't wait to read more about Gabriel and Kate's love story. He is just such an adorable character and I look forward to finding out where this is going. I'll read the next chapter as soon as I can.

[Crimson Apples]

Yasssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

[Sympathy Heart]

not sure how to take that response, lol. And honey, you still have 47 more chapters to go. ;)

[Crimson Apples]

I know... I was scrolling through them all, wondering where the hell the first one was. Gawd, I can be stupid xD

[Sympathy Heart]

not the mention the sequel which I'm currently working on and will probably be done in another six years just like the first one. J/k

[Sympathy Heart]

wont be long until you get addicted to this novel. It happens.

[Crimson Apples]

I can believe that.