Read Online Mind Over Matter by Kaia Bennett - Free Book Online

gave Jackie and then Nicole a smile before he turned to Gwen and said, "Okay. So what's next if I want it?"
     
    Nicole couldn't believe he was actually moving into his own apartment, a space as big as an actual house with all the benefits of being in the city to boot. Part of her was so jealous until she remembered she had a new place now too, one she was sharing with a great guy who could end up being more. And if she wanted a space as big as a house, well...
    Travis talked all the time about one day having a home of his own. A place to call his own instead of just one he was borrowing. And then, tentatively, he would paint her into his picture of the future, usually after she was tired and comfortable from a night of physical exertion in their new bed. Maybe it would be just outside the city limits so she could have the best of both worlds. Maybe a room just for her to write in, and a three-car garage for him and his bikes.
    Maybe. Maybe a lot more things were swirling around in his head. It was startling sometimes. She still had yet to say she loved him, and yet he could imagine her... well, as what exactly? His live-in girlfriend? His wife? The mother of his children?
    She hadn't even met his family yet, who were still in his hometown of Chicago. She still was stuck in first gear when it came to the future and her place beside Travis. But as usual, he was ever patient, ever thoughtful and aware of her mending heart. She looked over at Gabriel, trying not to let her eyes peruse his body the way they always seemed do out of habit. She could feel her sister's gaze on her, watching the acceptance of her dare to be a better friend to Gabriel.
    It was for Travis she was doing this. Not Jackie, not herself. It was time she started seeing Gabriel as what he was: a great guy in his own right. A friend, instead of a horrible mistake, or an addiction she was recovering from. Once she could do that, she could move on gracefully to accepting her future without him.
    Gabriel started negotiations on the apartment. Though he and Jackie were going to look over the agreement together he was pretty sure he wanted it. When that was all over and they were walking out he said, "So, what do you guys want to do for lunch?"
    Jackie shook her head, and said, "I gotta head back into the office and finish up this brief. We'll take a rain check, though, okay?"
    "Okay, sounds good," he said. Then Gabriel cleared his throat subtly and turned to Nicole, who was busying herself searching for her phone in her purse.
    "What about you, Nic? You gotta take off, too?"
    Nicole immediately looked up at him, and then towards Jackie. Jackie witnessing her grapple with the decision to be alone with Gabriel was enough to snap her out of her daze, and the fear that accompanied it.
    "Sure," she said quickly, turning to him and giving him a bright smile. "Where to?"
    "I'm kinda in the mood for Chinese or something. Oh, hey, what about Korean? You remember that place you and Trish took me to?"
    She smiled, wistfully recalling them laughing and smiling over a grill cooking sweet-flavored beef while Trish and Gabe tried to show her how to wield chopsticks without looking like a four year old. "Yeah, I remember. That sounds great. Really great, we can go there. And I think I even remember how to use chopsticks."
    "Korean it is then," Gabriel said, a soft smile of his own echoing hers and reaching his brown eyes, as if he were reliving the memory with her.
    There was a silence that managed to be both awkward and warm. Jackie observing them as they committed to this whole "friends" thing was somewhat strange, but just knowing it was really going to happen was nice. Maybe it didn't have to be awkward in the truest sense of the word. Maybe they could just go and hang out and talk, and this wouldn't be as hard as either of them expected.
    They piled out into the cold day. Gray skies were teasing them now, promising rain even as the sun continued to shine overhead. They both