CHAPTER ELEVEN

AJ paced around his apartment trying to convince himself not to walk over to Gabby's place. A part of him didn't want to turn down her invitation but she needed to know that they couldn't be anything more than just neighbors. He ran both hands through his hair and took a seat on the couch.

"I'll just stay here…no harm in that… maybe I'll tell her I feel asleep on the couch and lost track of time…."

He sighed heavily what would happen the next tine she ran into him. Would she be angry, emotional… she probably wouldn't talk to him ever again.

"Wait a second… why am I even worried about it!" he yelled before slamming his hands on his coffee table and tossing his hair back out of his face. With a deep breath he grabbed his apartment keys and headed for the door.

"I'll just go for a second… long enough to tell her how I'm feeling and then I'll get out of there." He said as he opened his door and stepped back into the hall. As he locked his door he replayed how he was going to approach the situation over and over in his head. There was a sense of pride in his chest as he drew closer to her door. He smirked with his new found confidence and lifted his hand to knock when he heard the most heart breaking sound from the other side of the door… Gabby's timid cry of sadness. His beaming pride quickly melted and the realization that he wasn't strong enough to fight against such innocence soon set in.

"Gabby?" he called out before gently knocking. "Hey it's AJ… are you alright?"

Gabby gasped, backed away from her door, and wiped her tears from her face. What was she going to do?

"I like AJ but Karl is my cousin…" she said to herself. "Then again… what Karl does something to hurt him? He doesn't seem like the type who would purposely try to kill someone…"

She took a deep breath and slowly unlocked her door. When her tearful eyes met his he was awestruck. Although she was sad about something, the slight red to her cheeks made her face glow and AJ's heart sore with wanting and anger at whoever brought on these tears.

Gabby dropped her gaze from him for a moment. "Oh no…maybe he heard Karl over here and he's here to silence me."

She wiped her eyes again and then met his gaze, "Hey."

"Hey…" he nearly whispered. "You need someone to talk to?"

They stared at each other for a brief moment until Gabrielle stepped aside to let him in. He didn't move at first, he just looked at her trying to figure out how she hid those long slender legs for so long. His tongue gently wet his lips as his eyes traveled from her ankles back to her face. He wanted to make her feel better… no… he needed to make her feel better.

Gently he took a step into her place, gently brushing past her. Gabby caught a tingle in her nose from his cologne making her cheeks burn more red this time. He always smelled good around her, in fact he always looked good as well. Once he was completely past her she shut her door and locked it. Just as she turned around to thank him for coming he did the unthinkable…

AJ wasn't sure what came over him, whether it was lust or a simple need to brighten her day but he couldn't control himself anymore. He knew he had to go for it and he did… as she turned around he found himself pressing her against the door…. his lips locked to hers. At first she wasn't sure how to react. Men had never kissed her at random like this nor did she expect AJ to be the first one… but his lips were so soft yet strong and passionate. Her hands gently rested on his shoulders as he began to pull away.

He opened his eyes and stared into hers wondering if she was upset with him for doing that.

"I'm sorry, I just-, " he was cut off when she pulled him back into her embrace kissing him back. He moved his hands to her head, gently cradling her as his tongue begged for entrance to her mouth. Gabby felt her heart beginning to race. She slowly opened her mouth letting a moan escape it and AJ's tongue exploring it. A new sensation took control of her body, one she wasn't use to at all. It warmed her skin and yet relaxed her at the same time. Soon she found herself lost in a trance as AJ took control. His hands traveled down her body as her head began to rest in his hand. His lips gently moved to her exposed neck placing small butterfly kisses all over it.

He then reclaimed her lips with his own, roughly kissing her before gently releasing her. Gabby could feel her lips swelling and her sweet spot between her thighs pulsing with excitement. She had never felt something so good in her life or addicting…

AJ smirked to himself as he finally had the answer to the burning question inside of him. Gabby in fact liked him a lot… and he couldn't deny his inner feelings for her. Her face turned pink as she straightened herself up and headed to the kitchen to finish cooking.

"You OK?" he asked her.

"Mmhm," she responded sweetly. "I needed that,"

AJ smiled to himself, "Glad I could help."

She smiled and mixed the sauce before getting them down some plates. She didn't know what to do about this situation but she knew she needed more information from AJ about the night of the accident.

"AJ… I need to ask you something."

"Shoot. " he said as he walked into the kitchen. She shut off her stove and reached for the paper towels on top of the refrigerator. Her hand just grazed them when something shot through her shoulder. Blood splattered all over her walls and even into the spaghetti sauce. AJ watched in horror as another shot came from the window and missed her head by a hair… it all happened so fast…

Gabby turned and looked at AJ as blood poured from her shoulder to her belly. "I don't feel so good… ." she said before she collapsed to the ground.

"Gabrielle!" he yelled as he got down on the floor with her and cradled her in his arms. "Look at me! Look at me!"

Gabby could feel her consciousness fading as AJ held her hand and begged her to stay awake.

"Listen girly… I just began to really adore you…please don't leave me ok? I'm going to grab the phone and call the ambulance you stay awake."

Gabby barely nodded before he got up and grabbed the phone. Another shot came flying past his head as he got back down behind the counter and called the police. He wasn't sure who was doing this or why they would want to hurt someone like Gabby but he damn sure was going to find out.