JOANNA

Gabriel Morales will be the death of me. Mark my words. He's making me insane with his cute blue eyes and sexy husky voice.

But one thing I have to confess, he's provoking my creative side too - daring it to come out and play.

We've been here down the beach for hours, and he keeps pushing me to make notes, come back with better words, and step out of my comfort zone.

Without even realizing it, he's helping me to get out of my fog and to get in touch with a side of me I have abandoned over the years-one who loves to create love stories.

"And I want to lose myself in you..." he sings, making me cringe.

"Hell no!" I frown, getting the pencil from his hand. "That's awfully cheesy."

"What? Come on, every man wants to lose himself in the curves of his beloved one."

"Ew, no!" I laugh. "I don't want any man losing himself inside me."

"Oh, yeah?" He raises his eyebrows. "And what do you want from a man, Joanna?"

"When it comes to sex, or generally speaking?" I tease.

He chuckles. "Do you want different things regarding sex and things in general?"

"You know what?" I reach for the thermal bag in front of us to get a bottle of water. "You wouldn't understand. You don't need to work hard for a woman. They fall easily over your feet."

"What in the world does that mean?" He smiles, but I see a trace of red on his cheeks. He knows I'm telling the truth.

"I'm saying I enjoy being chased. I mean, I enjoy knowing the guy will put some effort into being with me, you know? Not that I play hard-to-get or anything, but..."

His eyes spark with mischief. "Go on."

"I like sex when it's bold and just a little dirty." I swallow, feeling my cheeks get hot. "I like when the guy works for it. But outside the bedroom, I want someone who is also a friend, someone I can fully trust... Someone that clearly doesn't exist."

"You want someone who's a hundred percent in." He gives me a small smile. "Someone who gets you on a deeper level and understands all the nuances that being with you involves."

"Yeah..." I bite my lower lip nervously. "Don't you want that someday, too?"

"I guess..." He studies me for a second. "But it's hard to find something real nowadays, especially with the music industry behind our day-to-day lives."

"Well." I take a deep breath before going back to our notes. "In the meantime, we write."

"And sing." He starts playing an old song from the band on his guitar. "I wanna hear you sing too."

"No way." My eyes widen. "That was not part of the deal."

"Come on, I'm much better at playing the guitar than singing."

"Uh? Are you seriously fishing for compliments right now?"

"I'll tell you what." His eyes shine with humor. "We could do a duet to throw in with that marketing campaign for your book."

"One would think you're the one trying to leave the band if you're not careful." I joke and he looks down, a small smile on his lips.

"I can't ever imagine playing without them."

My hand finds his knee, and I squeeze it slightly. "Do you really think Josh will leave the band?"

He lets a long deep breath before answering. "I don't know... And that's the fucked up part. I think we have all drifted apart so badly over the years that I have no idea what's going on in his head."

"Maybe a brief break could help, you know?" I say, and he nods.

"We have so many contractual obligations that it's hard to think how we could ever do that."

"The good thing is that you guys have this time together to talk."

"Yeah." He rubs his jaw, forcing a smile on his lips. "I guess you're right."

"You sound over the moon that they'll be all here." I chuckle, pressing my hands to my stomach when it growls. "What time is it? I'm kind of hungry."

Gabe picks up his phone. "Wow, it's almost four."

"How about we grab something to eat before we head back home?"

"Sounds good." He collects our notes, and I can't help but notice how amazing this time with him has been.

He catches me studying him after a while. "What is it?"

"Thank you for helping me out of my writer's block." I smile. "You didn't need to do this, so..."

"I'm having a great time with you," he says, his eyes widening a little as if he hadn't meant to say the words. "What are you in the mood for? I saw a Mexican restaurant on the way here." He gathers the rest of our things and stands up.

"That sounds great." I stand up too, noticing that I'm not ready to end this day.

*****

The moment we step out of the car, I need to remind myself this is not a date.

We tried our best to get rid of the sand in our bodies and clothes with no success. Our hair is all over the place. We're completely underdressed. And I'm forcing myself not to see this as a date. Yet, when Gabe's hands find the small of my back to guide me into this little Mexican restaurant we found, my body doesn't get the memo and immediately softens to his touch.

He's wearing a cap and a pair of aviators to hide his eyes, but as soon as the host sees him, her eyes widen a little. I wonder if she recognizes him.

"Welcome to Los Guapos. Table for two?" She asks.

"Yes, please," Gabe says. "Do you have any tables on the terrace?"

"We do. Just follow me, please" She nods, guiding us to a table right beside the glass railing.

The sun is gleaming, and the sky is dotted with fluffy white clouds. The air is crispy, and the wind is blowing softly against our skins. My eyes linger on the sea for a bit, admiring the way the waves crash against the rocks. I'm so distracted that when Gabe calls my name, I startle a little.

"Yeah?" I look at him.

"Would you like something to drink?" He tilts his head to the side, and I look at the host, noticing she's holding a menu in my direction.

"Oh." I take the menu. "I'm good, thank you."

"The waiter will be with you guys shortly," she says, her eyes on Gabe, probably trying to figure out if it's really him or not. He hasn't taken his ball cap off, and that makes me chuckle.

"Do you really think the cap is protecting your identity?" I ask, and his eyes widen.

"Uh..." He looks around for a second before taking it off.

"Come on, Clark Kent." I nudge his foot under the table. "The place is not that full. I'm sure you'll be able to enjoy a nice meal without being bothered." I joke, and sure enough, a girl, probably in her late teens, approaches him.

"Hi, excuse me." She pulls her phone from her back pocket, and Gabe's eyes find mine before looking at her.

"Hi there," he says, a smile on his lips.

"I'm a huge fan. Could we please take a picture together?" She asks, practically jumping with excitement.

"Sure. I appreciate the support," Gabe says and, to my surprise, the girl hands me her phone.

"Do you mind?" she asks.

"Oh." I get the phone from her hands. "Sure."

Gabe stands up to pose by her side, and she practically melts off her feet. Her hand soon finds his lower back, and his finds her shoulder. It takes me just a second to snap the photo, and when I hand her phone back to her, she takes her time eyeing me up.

"Are you two together?" she asks, but before we have time to reply, the waiter is approaching us and she thankfully takes it as her cue to leave.

"Thanks for the picture." She squeezes Gabe's shoulder as if they were best friends, and he gives her another smile before turning his attention to the waiter.

"Are you ready to order?" The waiter asks.

"Can you give us another minute, please?" Gabe asks.

"Sure thing." The waiter walks away, and Gabe busies himself with the menu.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

"I am, yeah," he says, his eyes on the menu. Liar.

"Gabe?" I breathe, and after a second, he finally meets my gaze.

"Once I dreamed of people recognizing us everywhere we went, you know?" He lets out a humorless chuckle.

"What changed?"

His brows draw together as he goes back to the menu. "These people have no idea who I am."

"What do you mean?" I ask, seeing behind Gabe's mask for the first time.

He plays the rockstar game so well. His social media videos are edgy and sexy. His songs are bold and addicting. Every time he shows a minor part of himself to the world, his fans go wild, wanting even more. But it's all a mask, one he just let slip when this girl approached him.

"They don't know me." He shrugs, his gaze meeting mine. "They have no idea who the hell Gabriel Morales is. But damn it if they don't want to claim they do. A picture, a video... anything to show the world they got a part of me."

"Gabe, I..." I shake my head at a loss.

"Would they care if I was just a random guy?" He smirks. "All they want is to feel good that they posted a photo with someone famous."

"Wow!" I blink. "I don't know what to say."

"God, I'm sorry." He rubs his face. "I'm just..."

"Hey..." I reach for his hand without thinking, and he entwines our fingers together. "You just got home from an extensive tour. You have this stuff going on with the band. How about we forget everything for a while and enjoy some tacos?"

The smile he gives me is one that reaches right into my soul. "You know what? That sounds like a brilliant plan."

My heart hurts as I finally process how tired Gabe is, but I don't pry. We came here to forget the world for a while, so that's what we'll do.

_____

A/N: Thanks for reading! To show your support, please don't forget to vote every time you hit a new chapter (press the little star at the bottom of the chapter).

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XOXO

Celeste