That Summer
Pulling Out Of The Driveway
*Annabella’s POV*
My alarm went off at 9 am on Friday morning. Since I was a senior we got out of school about a month before everyone else and it was nice getting sleep in everyday, but today I had things to do because tonight… was prom night. As I got up and got in the shower I started thinking about prom last year and senior year. It had gone by so fast, but it had been one of the best years of my life. When I said that Bryerwood would win the championships again this year, I was right. The game was last Saturday and they won 7-3 and Gabe was the happiest I’d seen in the 2 years I’d been at Bryerwood. At first no one liked that we were dating because they saw a Mel repeat flashing before their eyes but I made sure hockey was first for Gabe, right after school. I made sure he put it before me because I was just as serious about his career as he was. I got out of the shower and headed over to Katie’s house around 11. We were going to get our nails and hair done then come home and chill and do our makeup and prepare for the best night of our lives. We got to the salon at around 12:30 and our manicures took a little longer than expected because Katie was being indecisive about her color and kept making me choose until she finally settled on a color a tad lighter than her dress while I stuck with the classic French manicure. By the time we got back to Katie’s it was close to 3 o’clock because we had stopped for a late lunch on the way home. We chilled out for a couple of hours because the guys weren't picking us up until 7 o’clock, just like last year. At 5 we started getting ready, doing our makeup first and then putting on our dresses and making sure we had everything, including a change of clothes for tomorrow morning.
It was prom night and I knew what Gabe wanted and I wanted it too. We had planned it for his birthday but his family went on a trip that weekend so it obviously didn't work out and I didn't know what was happening with Katie but she had a change of clothes too. Just as I put on my heels and Katie closed her purse, the doorbell rang and we heard Katie’s mom and my mom talking to Alex and Gabe at the door. Katie went down first because I realized I’d left my phone on her desk and I heard Alex telling her how beautiful she looked. They weren't dating, but in my mind they should have been at this point. Over the past couple of years they had developed a really strong friendship and there was definitely a spark there. As I got to the bottom of the stairs I felt all eyes on me. Katie was smiling, Alex’s eyes were wide, and Gabe looked blown away. He walked up to me and wrapped his arms around me, “You look… breathtaking babe.” He said before he gave me a kiss. “Well you’re not so bad yourself captain.” I said giggling. Then our moms did exactly what they did last year- took 5 million pictures and then let us leave to go to dinner. It was the exact same thing as last year, except this time I was Gabe’s girlfriend instead of just his prom date.
Once we got to prom we mingled with our friends, laughed, and danced and when the time finally came to crown the prom king and queen I wasn't expecting much, I mean I knew I was in the running but the other girls in the running were amazing girls. When Gabe’s name was called for king I don’t think anyone was surprised at all and as he stood up there and they put the crown on his head I couldn't help but laugh at how he had to squat because of how tall he was. After they had put his crown on his head they opened the envelope for who was to be queen and when my name was called I didn't quite believe it, but Katie did. She and Alex were yelling and clapping and as I walked up to get my crown Gabe wouldn't stop smiling and laughing at me.
After they gave me my crown we stepped out into the middle of the room for our dance. “I told you that would be us in a year.” He said as the music started. “I never said you were wrong.” I answered as he spun me. “I can’t believe we’re graduating. I feel like I've only been here for a week.” I said as we continued to dance. “Well you were only here for two years… but they were the best two years.” He said giving me a kiss. I had been his girlfriend for a little over a year now, but he still knew how to make me blush. “Well I’m glad I could make them fun.” I said smiling up at him. Eventually the dance ended and then the room was filled with dancing and laughter once more.
When we got back to our table after talking to a few more people Katie and Alex were gone. I checked me phone and saw a text from her saying they decided to leave early and get ice cream. “Where are Gally and Katie?” Gabe asked as he came up behind me and put his arms around my waist. “Apparently they went to go get ice cream.” I said not believe a single thing that note had said other than that they left early. “And you don’t believe them?” He asked kissing my neck. “Nope. I know Katie and she only eats ice cream one place and that place is closes at 10 and last time I checked, it was 11:45.” I said looking at my cell phone. “Well I’m sure everything's fine.” He said as I turned around and leaned on his chest. We stayed like that for a few more minutes as our senior prom came to an end. Every year they had it at a hotel in case people were tired or drunk or something so almost everyone got a room, including me and Gabe.
At around midnight we headed up to the room and as soon as he shut the door his lips were on mine. Even though I knew this coming, I was still nervous. Gabe and I had talked about it a lot because we wanted to make sure we were ready, I mean it was the first time for both of us and we were both nervous, but soon the nerves were gone because this was the guy I loved… I was ready for this and I wanted it.
-The next morning-
*Gabe’s POV*
I woke up the next morning hearing my phone vibrating on the nightstand next to me. I picked it up without looking to see who it was and thinking I was in my own room. “Hello?” I said as I kept my eyes closed. “Hey so Katie and I just wanted to say sorry for ditching last night, but we wanted to go somewhere else.” I heard Gally say on the other end of the call. That’s when I remembered last night was prom and I opened my eyes and looked next to me to see my beautiful girlfriend, still asleep on my chest, with the covers pulled over her petite body. “Eh it’s okay. Nothing much happened afterwards anyways.” I answered closing my eyes once more. “So you didn't stay at the hotel?” Gally asked alluding to something else. “I’m not discussing my sex life with you Gally.” I said laughing. “So you did!” He yelled and laughed. “Bye Gally.” I said as I hung up the phone and saw it was 8 am… damn he was up early, too early. Annabella started to stir in her sleep and turned to her back was to me and I did the same. I turned so the back of her was pressed to my chest and I wrapped my arms around her body. I felt her nuzzle in closer to me and I smiled… damn I love her I thought as I kissed her head and fell back asleep.
*Annabella’s POV*
It had been a few of weeks since prom and graduation had been last weekend. It was a tearful but happy goodbye and we all promised to stay in touch and see each other, starting with Gabe’s pool party today. I hadn't seen him for the past week because he had been at some hockey conference but he had gotten back last night and was having the party today. I changed into my bikini and threw on my sundress over it and headed over to pick up Katie. She still hadn't told me what actually happened the night of prom even though I had come up with some scenarios in my head… We got to Gabe’s at around 2:30 and the party was in full swing seeing as it had started about an hour ago. We walked through the house, saying hi to people on our way up to Gabe’s room so I could put my bag down, and then headed out to the huge backyard. I saw Gabe talking with Gally and some guys and I've gotta admit, they were gorgeous.
Alex was the first to notice us so he smacked Gabe and he turned around and smiled at me and I smiled back. He excused himself from the conversation and the two of them came over. “You taste like beer.” I said after Gabe kissed me. He just laughed as Alex and Katie hugged. “So how was the conference?” I asked as Gabe put his arm around my shoulder. “Amazing. We met so many players and learned so much.” Gally said with a smile on his face. “Yeah two of them are here actually, come on, I’ll introduce you.” He said taking my hand and leading me over to where the guys they were talking with were, Katie and Alex following close behind us.
“Hey Gabe.” One of them said. He had blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He was tall and tan and really hot. “Hey Beau, Brendan, this is Annabella Lapierre and Katie Marshall, girls, these boys are Brendan Gallagher and Beau Bennett.” Gabe said taking another drink of his beer. “Wait, Lapierre?” Brendan asked and I smiled at him. “Jake Lapierre’s little sister.” I said laughing. “Wow, I knew he had an older sister, but not a younger one.” He said drinking whatever was in his cup. Gabe and Alex then excused themselves to go and mingle while I stayed with Brendan and saw Katie swooning over Beau. I was laughing as I looked at them and Brendan joined in. “He’s a charmer.” He said sitting down and patting the seat next to him. “Well Katie is easily charmed.” I said grabbing a Mike’s Hard Lemonade out of the cooler to my right. “So Lapierre… must be cool having a brother in the NHL.” He said as we continued to talk. “Well I’m sure your sister can say the same Mr. Montreal rookie of the year.” I said laughing. “How did you know?” He asked. “I’m from Montreal and I’m the biggest Habs fan ever. I know everything.” I said laughing at his reaction of realizing he should have known that.
Brendan and I talked for what seemed like hours until I excused myself to go to the bathroom. The one downstairs was occupied so I headed to the upstairs one, but on my way up there I heard noise coming from Gabe’s room. I tried to talk myself out of it but by the time I was out of the bathroom the sound had gotten a bit louder so I opened the door and was horrified at what I saw. I stood there shocked for a minute as I looked at the scene in front of me- Gabe in his bathing suit and Tara without her bikini top on and Gabe on top of her. As soon as he saw me he looked shocked and tried to talk but I shut the door and headed downstairs.
I didn't cry, not there. I went back outside and walked up to Brendan, “You wanna get out of here?” I asked him as I put my sundress back on over my bikini. He looked a little confused at first but then agreed. I took his hand as we left and saw Katie looking at me with a ‘what are you doing?’ expression but I ignored her. As we got into Brendan’s car, because Katie had my keys, I saw Gabe open the front door and look around, but Brendan hadn’t noticed and I wasn’t going to bring it to his attention and Gabe looked up just in time to see us pulling out of the driveway.
My alarm went off at 9 am on Friday morning. Since I was a senior we got out of school about a month before everyone else and it was nice getting sleep in everyday, but today I had things to do because tonight… was prom night. As I got up and got in the shower I started thinking about prom last year and senior year. It had gone by so fast, but it had been one of the best years of my life. When I said that Bryerwood would win the championships again this year, I was right. The game was last Saturday and they won 7-3 and Gabe was the happiest I’d seen in the 2 years I’d been at Bryerwood. At first no one liked that we were dating because they saw a Mel repeat flashing before their eyes but I made sure hockey was first for Gabe, right after school. I made sure he put it before me because I was just as serious about his career as he was. I got out of the shower and headed over to Katie’s house around 11. We were going to get our nails and hair done then come home and chill and do our makeup and prepare for the best night of our lives. We got to the salon at around 12:30 and our manicures took a little longer than expected because Katie was being indecisive about her color and kept making me choose until she finally settled on a color a tad lighter than her dress while I stuck with the classic French manicure. By the time we got back to Katie’s it was close to 3 o’clock because we had stopped for a late lunch on the way home. We chilled out for a couple of hours because the guys weren't picking us up until 7 o’clock, just like last year. At 5 we started getting ready, doing our makeup first and then putting on our dresses and making sure we had everything, including a change of clothes for tomorrow morning.
It was prom night and I knew what Gabe wanted and I wanted it too. We had planned it for his birthday but his family went on a trip that weekend so it obviously didn't work out and I didn't know what was happening with Katie but she had a change of clothes too. Just as I put on my heels and Katie closed her purse, the doorbell rang and we heard Katie’s mom and my mom talking to Alex and Gabe at the door. Katie went down first because I realized I’d left my phone on her desk and I heard Alex telling her how beautiful she looked. They weren't dating, but in my mind they should have been at this point. Over the past couple of years they had developed a really strong friendship and there was definitely a spark there. As I got to the bottom of the stairs I felt all eyes on me. Katie was smiling, Alex’s eyes were wide, and Gabe looked blown away. He walked up to me and wrapped his arms around me, “You look… breathtaking babe.” He said before he gave me a kiss. “Well you’re not so bad yourself captain.” I said giggling. Then our moms did exactly what they did last year- took 5 million pictures and then let us leave to go to dinner. It was the exact same thing as last year, except this time I was Gabe’s girlfriend instead of just his prom date.
Once we got to prom we mingled with our friends, laughed, and danced and when the time finally came to crown the prom king and queen I wasn't expecting much, I mean I knew I was in the running but the other girls in the running were amazing girls. When Gabe’s name was called for king I don’t think anyone was surprised at all and as he stood up there and they put the crown on his head I couldn't help but laugh at how he had to squat because of how tall he was. After they had put his crown on his head they opened the envelope for who was to be queen and when my name was called I didn't quite believe it, but Katie did. She and Alex were yelling and clapping and as I walked up to get my crown Gabe wouldn't stop smiling and laughing at me.
After they gave me my crown we stepped out into the middle of the room for our dance. “I told you that would be us in a year.” He said as the music started. “I never said you were wrong.” I answered as he spun me. “I can’t believe we’re graduating. I feel like I've only been here for a week.” I said as we continued to dance. “Well you were only here for two years… but they were the best two years.” He said giving me a kiss. I had been his girlfriend for a little over a year now, but he still knew how to make me blush. “Well I’m glad I could make them fun.” I said smiling up at him. Eventually the dance ended and then the room was filled with dancing and laughter once more.
When we got back to our table after talking to a few more people Katie and Alex were gone. I checked me phone and saw a text from her saying they decided to leave early and get ice cream. “Where are Gally and Katie?” Gabe asked as he came up behind me and put his arms around my waist. “Apparently they went to go get ice cream.” I said not believe a single thing that note had said other than that they left early. “And you don’t believe them?” He asked kissing my neck. “Nope. I know Katie and she only eats ice cream one place and that place is closes at 10 and last time I checked, it was 11:45.” I said looking at my cell phone. “Well I’m sure everything's fine.” He said as I turned around and leaned on his chest. We stayed like that for a few more minutes as our senior prom came to an end. Every year they had it at a hotel in case people were tired or drunk or something so almost everyone got a room, including me and Gabe.
At around midnight we headed up to the room and as soon as he shut the door his lips were on mine. Even though I knew this coming, I was still nervous. Gabe and I had talked about it a lot because we wanted to make sure we were ready, I mean it was the first time for both of us and we were both nervous, but soon the nerves were gone because this was the guy I loved… I was ready for this and I wanted it.
-The next morning-
*Gabe’s POV*
I woke up the next morning hearing my phone vibrating on the nightstand next to me. I picked it up without looking to see who it was and thinking I was in my own room. “Hello?” I said as I kept my eyes closed. “Hey so Katie and I just wanted to say sorry for ditching last night, but we wanted to go somewhere else.” I heard Gally say on the other end of the call. That’s when I remembered last night was prom and I opened my eyes and looked next to me to see my beautiful girlfriend, still asleep on my chest, with the covers pulled over her petite body. “Eh it’s okay. Nothing much happened afterwards anyways.” I answered closing my eyes once more. “So you didn't stay at the hotel?” Gally asked alluding to something else. “I’m not discussing my sex life with you Gally.” I said laughing. “So you did!” He yelled and laughed. “Bye Gally.” I said as I hung up the phone and saw it was 8 am… damn he was up early, too early. Annabella started to stir in her sleep and turned to her back was to me and I did the same. I turned so the back of her was pressed to my chest and I wrapped my arms around her body. I felt her nuzzle in closer to me and I smiled… damn I love her I thought as I kissed her head and fell back asleep.
*Annabella’s POV*
It had been a few of weeks since prom and graduation had been last weekend. It was a tearful but happy goodbye and we all promised to stay in touch and see each other, starting with Gabe’s pool party today. I hadn't seen him for the past week because he had been at some hockey conference but he had gotten back last night and was having the party today. I changed into my bikini and threw on my sundress over it and headed over to pick up Katie. She still hadn't told me what actually happened the night of prom even though I had come up with some scenarios in my head… We got to Gabe’s at around 2:30 and the party was in full swing seeing as it had started about an hour ago. We walked through the house, saying hi to people on our way up to Gabe’s room so I could put my bag down, and then headed out to the huge backyard. I saw Gabe talking with Gally and some guys and I've gotta admit, they were gorgeous.
Alex was the first to notice us so he smacked Gabe and he turned around and smiled at me and I smiled back. He excused himself from the conversation and the two of them came over. “You taste like beer.” I said after Gabe kissed me. He just laughed as Alex and Katie hugged. “So how was the conference?” I asked as Gabe put his arm around my shoulder. “Amazing. We met so many players and learned so much.” Gally said with a smile on his face. “Yeah two of them are here actually, come on, I’ll introduce you.” He said taking my hand and leading me over to where the guys they were talking with were, Katie and Alex following close behind us.
“Hey Gabe.” One of them said. He had blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He was tall and tan and really hot. “Hey Beau, Brendan, this is Annabella Lapierre and Katie Marshall, girls, these boys are Brendan Gallagher and Beau Bennett.” Gabe said taking another drink of his beer. “Wait, Lapierre?” Brendan asked and I smiled at him. “Jake Lapierre’s little sister.” I said laughing. “Wow, I knew he had an older sister, but not a younger one.” He said drinking whatever was in his cup. Gabe and Alex then excused themselves to go and mingle while I stayed with Brendan and saw Katie swooning over Beau. I was laughing as I looked at them and Brendan joined in. “He’s a charmer.” He said sitting down and patting the seat next to him. “Well Katie is easily charmed.” I said grabbing a Mike’s Hard Lemonade out of the cooler to my right. “So Lapierre… must be cool having a brother in the NHL.” He said as we continued to talk. “Well I’m sure your sister can say the same Mr. Montreal rookie of the year.” I said laughing. “How did you know?” He asked. “I’m from Montreal and I’m the biggest Habs fan ever. I know everything.” I said laughing at his reaction of realizing he should have known that.
Brendan and I talked for what seemed like hours until I excused myself to go to the bathroom. The one downstairs was occupied so I headed to the upstairs one, but on my way up there I heard noise coming from Gabe’s room. I tried to talk myself out of it but by the time I was out of the bathroom the sound had gotten a bit louder so I opened the door and was horrified at what I saw. I stood there shocked for a minute as I looked at the scene in front of me- Gabe in his bathing suit and Tara without her bikini top on and Gabe on top of her. As soon as he saw me he looked shocked and tried to talk but I shut the door and headed downstairs.
I didn't cry, not there. I went back outside and walked up to Brendan, “You wanna get out of here?” I asked him as I put my sundress back on over my bikini. He looked a little confused at first but then agreed. I took his hand as we left and saw Katie looking at me with a ‘what are you doing?’ expression but I ignored her. As we got into Brendan’s car, because Katie had my keys, I saw Gabe open the front door and look around, but Brendan hadn’t noticed and I wasn’t going to bring it to his attention and Gabe looked up just in time to see us pulling out of the driveway.
@TazerKaner ok, I kinda know the feel (exams are coming up for me too) that's awesome though, I'm excited! :D
5/13/14