Modern Cleopatra: A Summer Love Story [COMPLETE] 📔

LAST WINTER | CHAPTER II : A Catch

"This is your car?" Cleo exclaimed abrasively as Gab walked up to the vehicle before them. Their date had ended about three hours later, when Cleo had remembered she was teaching a writing workshop the next morning. Gabriel had offered to drive her home, and when they had arrived at what Cleo assumed to be his car, she was awestruck. It was a deep navy blue, with camel interior. It was also a Porsche.

"Yeah, why?" Gab turned to look at her, pretending not to know why Cleo was so shocked.

"Because," Cleo said, walking up to the two-seater and putting her hand on its impeccably spotless hood. "People work all their lives just to have enough money to buy this kinda ride. How the hell can you afford this at twenty eight years old?"

Gabriel smirked and walked over to the passenger side. He opened the door for her.

"All in due time." He declared, trying to be mysterious.

Cleo wasn't budging.

"Um, I don't think so." She said sharply. "I'm gonna need a little more information."

Gab rested a buff arm on the top of the open door. He looked Cleo over and then rolled his eyes, ultimately giving in.

"I work for my father. We have... a lucrative family business."

"Is this the part where you tell me you're in the mob?" Cleo asked, only half joking.

Gab chuckled.

"No, no. Definitely not the mob. We're a family of mechanical engineers, but we're businessmen, mostly. The engineering degree just comes in handy when we're overseeing projects The company is called KashCorp. Come on," He told her, gesturing for her to get in the car. "You can google it when you get home."

Cleo stared him down curiously as she walked across the front of the car, getting into the shotgun seat. Gab smiled at her through the passenger window as he closed the door and made his way to the driver's side of the vehicle. The leather felt expensive beneath Cleo's skin, and it smelled like a mix of new car and cigarettes. The Porsche was in immaculate condition, and when Gabriel climbed in next to her, she felt compelled to speak again.

"So... this is your life, then? Riding around the city in some mid-life crisis car?"

Gabriel's laugh bellowed throughout the tiny space as he started the engine.

"No, actually. This car is one of many. But I took it tonight because I thought you'd like it best."

Cleo didn't miss a beat. "You mean you thought it'd be the one to impress me most?"

Gab winked at her as he pulled out of his parking spot.

"Something like that." He answered plainly. He was a little too smooth for Cleo's liking when it came to money and status, or he was trying really hard to be for the sake of affecting her. Either way, Cleo didn't care much for it.

"Well," She told him matter-of-factly. "First thing you should know about me is that a hot car doesn't really phase me. Unfortunately for you, I'm not that kind of girl."

"That's good," Gab told her as he hit the highway. "I'm through dating materialistic women. That's not what matters in the end, anyway. But," he added, taking a sharp turn, the Porsche growling as he did, "it sure can make things just a little bit more fun."

And with that, he hit the gas, shifting the standard car into high gear. They were hurtling down the highway now, and even though Cleo was mostly terrified, a tiny part of her was enjoying herself. It was the first time she hadn't thought about Theo in a while, and she let herself enjoy the moment, yelping as Gabriel moved in and out of the highway's lanes, cars parting like the sea for his little speedster to pass on through.

When they finally pulled up to Cleo's front door, she felt like she could breathe again, taking a long, proper breath, grateful to have survived the ride.

"That," Cleo told him, shaking her head, "was way too much. Way too much."

"You did well." Gab told her.

"What do you mean?"

"I was sure you'd hate that. Miss Control Freak."

Cleo rolled her eyes.

"You surprised me." Gab stated. "That's a good thing."

"Yeah, well, this," Cleo said, gesturing towards the car's lush interior, "was all very surprising too. But I have to admit, I did have a nice time."

She looked over at Gab now, her expression genuine.

"Thank you. I haven't been taken on a date this nice in... maybe ever."

"Jeez," Gab snorted. "Who have you been dating?"

Cleo shrugged, opening the car door and climbing out of the vehicle.

Gab followed suite.

"Can I walk you to your door?"

"Sure," Cleo responded, and Gab slammed the Porsche's driver door shut, walking around the front of the car to meet Cleo by her building's entrance.

"Can I see you again?" She heard Gab inquire as he followed her up her building's front steps.

Cleo smirked, and turned to face him.

"Do you really want to?" Cleo asked matter-of-factly. "I mean, I did tell you I'm still in love with someone else. You're either stupid or stupidly confident."

"The latter." Gab said, his dark eyes sparkling. "Besides, you're a catch. Sharp-witted, smart, funny, sweet. It wouldn't say much about my intelligence if I didn't come after you, now, would it?"

Cleo was going to retort, say something aptly sharp and witty back, but suddenly she found herself leaning in and kissing him. It was a small kiss, a brief moment, just a brush of the lips, and Cleo wasn't sure exactly what had compelled her to do it. Perhaps it was Gabriel's generous words, or maybe she was just so grateful to have had her mind taken off Theo that she felt she needed to pay Gab back somehow, rewarding him for all the effort he had put into that night. Truth be told, he had behaved like a gentleman the entire time, and Cleo secretly knew he had been restraining himself from leaning over and kissing her all evening. She could feel his desire from three feet away. When she pulled back, she surveyed the dazzled look on Gabriel's face and immediately got a thrill out of the effect she had on him. It gave her a tiny little confidence boost, and after everything, it was an ego bump she direly needed.