A/N: Hey guys! So I know some of you are super talented with art! I made the current cover for HGP and I have no design skills whatsoever (lmao) so I was hoping maybe some of you could help a gal out and design some for me? This one is getting kinda old, tbh, and I need something more eye-catching to attract more readers! I will pick one and the rest will get features in my chapters and then sometimes I might even switch them up and alternate between covers.
ALSO, if you have not already, please check out my other stories. I have like three or four at the moment. two similar to HGP in that the main character is plus sized, but the other ones are not like that. Two are a mystery and then one is a raunchy romance (aka smutty) and it would mean the world to me if you could check them out!
As always, please vote, comment, and share so that I am more motivated to update sooner and more frequently! Y'all are what drives me to keep going with this story until I am satisfied with an ending.
ALSO I have thought of an ending for this book that will be coming fairly soon but don't worry because there will be a sequel as well as another series starring Kurt and Haley?!!!?!?!!?!??!?!?!?! YEET I am so excited you guys, much more to come. Much love!
GABBY
I wake up to an unidentified liquid dripping on my forehead. I open one eye, still half asleep, and quickly shut it again once the liquid manages to hit me straight in the pupil.
"What the Hell?" I moan, dragging my right forearm across my face in an attempt to wipe it dry. I open both of my eyes again and force myself to sit up to face my would-be torturer. Leo stands above me grasping a wet rag that he's twisted so that excess water drips down. His jaw is prominent and his hair is wild and at this very moment, he looks like someone I could spend the rest of my life with. Shaking the thought out of my head along with the water he's managed to continue dripping on me, I growl, "What are you doing?"
He gives me a secretive grin. "Get up. Get dressed." Then he leaves the room.
I'm tempted to defy him and go back to sleep but the other half of me is wildly curious as to what he could be waking me up at dawn for. I let my curiosity get the best of me, rolling out of bed and walking to the closet that has been neatly arranged for me. I decide on a white, off the shoulder top and jean shorts with some black flip-flops. It's devastatingly simple yet sultry. I pull my hair into a high ponytail, finding it pointless to waste precious time ironing it and only put on light makeup--mascara and lipgloss. I somehow manage to be ready in a record time of ten minutes, topping off my look with some sunglasses that I wear like a headband in case I decide that I need them later on in the day.
When I finally find Leo, he's sitting in his room. I've only been in it a few times from when I was last here, but it looks different now. More mature. The walls are painted a dark blue, almost navy. The floor is a distressed wood and there is none of the typical teenage boy filth adorning it. His room is almost immaculate, unlived in. His bed is neatly made, the black comforter tucked to perfection. It's king-sized and placed in the center of the room, giant and demanding of attention. Aside from that, the room is minimalistic. There's a bookshelf filled with a few books and some other knickknacks. There's a simple table with a computer and a rolling chair. There are a beanbag and a couch and a television. And that's all.
"Not one for decoration, huh?" I invite myself in, plopping myself on the beanbag. He's sitting on the couch with a book in hand and looks humiliated as if I didn't already know that he was capable of reading. "What're you reading?"
"Nothing." He mumbles, shielding the book from my curious eyes.
"Obviously it's something."
"Nothing." He repeats, this time a little more forceful. His eyes are wild, pleading for me to drop it. I decide to show mercy and change the subject.
"What did you wake me up so early for? To deny that you're reading a book?"
"No." He grins and then he's back to his usual smoke and mirrors, the cocky boy that I thought only existed in a crowd. He used to be different with me when we were alone, but he seems to have his act built to perfection all of the sudden. Why isn't he being real anymore? Or, worse, what if this is the real him? He seems to sense that I'm reconsidering waking up so early for him and he clears his throat. "Sorry." He apologizes, "Sometimes I forget who you are. To me, I mean. You're special."
"Special," I repeat, the words foreign on my tongue.
"Yes. And a special girl deserves a special day. So, follow me."
In spite of my better judgment, I follow the devastatingly handsome boy out of the house and straight towards the water. "Where are we going?" I call out over the wind, but he doesn't seem to hear me. He turns back to me and gives me a giant grin, so bright and hopeful that it manages to ease every ounce of uncertainty that I'm feeling. I'd follow this version of Leo anywhere, I suddenly realize, and that scares me.
KURT
"Bye, baby." I hang up with Corrine, letting the phone slip from my fingers and onto the bed. I stay in this position for a moment, frozen in place and wondering how everything got so fucked up. I want Haley beside me in this bed but instead, she's sleeping alone. Maybe it's because I'm craving her touch or her company, whatever the reason, I soon find myself standing outside of Haley's closed door. I bring my knuckles up to the wood separating me from the one girl that knows me inside and out, but I stop myself.
If I knock on this door, everything will change. I'll have to pick between Corrine and Haley and I don't know at this very moment if I'd be able to decide. Who I'd choose. If I do this, if I knock, I risk tearing our family apart yet again. I risk destroying my mother's marriage. I risk losing Haley forever.
But if I don't do this, I regret it. I never have Haley in my arms again, never feel her soft skin pressed against mine. I never get to make her laugh, not in the way that she did when we were lovers. I'll never truly have her as mine. I'll have to watch her fall in love with someone else. I'll have to sit through holidays with him on her arm. I'll have to see the posts on social media about how she's 'never felt this way about anyone.'
If I don't do this, I don't just risk losing Haley forever, I lose her.
So I do what any rational man in my position would do--I knock.
GABBY
"A sailboat?" I ask, skeptical. This is where he's brought me--a sailboat? Perhaps to murder me? To push me overboard and feed me to the fishies? We're currently sailing so far out that the beach is almost a speck in the background. Perhaps that's a bit dramatic, we're not that far out...yet. Am I getting murdered?
"A sailboat." He repeats in affirmation. Then, a little nervous, "you don't like it?"
"No, that's not it. I love it. I just didn't know you sailed."
He beams, actually beams. In this very moment, he looks radiant. Absolutely stunning. If I could freeze time and dissect all of the emotions that this smile has inflicted on me, I think that one of them would possibly be love. "My uncle taught me." He explains, grabbing my hand and pulling me along like a little boy would his first love.
Leo doesn't speak about his father much, though I know that he's alive and well. He travels often. Whenever his father is mentioned, Leo shuts down or gets furious. I don't know much about him, but I can only assume he has done something horrible to instill such ugly emotions in Leo. His uncle, however, he seems to love dearly. He was Aaron's father, before he died. Leo doesn't speak much to me about his uncle, but when I have heard him mentioned, Leo's eyes sparkle like those of a little boy, with adoration twinged with sadness.
"Want to talk about it?" I say, knowing that he'll understand the meaning of my words.
"Not really, if that's okay." He gives me a half smile that doesn't reach his eyes and I know I've struck a nerve.
"That's absolutely okay." I give him a smile back and we sit in silence as we sail. There's a special kind of beauty to this silence. Our understanding of one another has seemingly expanded without a word. After a comfortable amount of time has passed, Leo decides to once again strike up a conversation.
"Hey, remember that time in high school? When I walked in on you and Aaron making out?"
"God, don't remind me." I cover my face with my hands and feel my face get hot.
"I've got to admit, I was jealous." He shrugs, walking towards me.
"Don't you need to be steering the boat?" I give him a cautious look, eyeing the steering wheel.
"You really do know nothing about sailing." He chuckles, not answering me. I decide to drop it.
"Hold up, you were jealous? Didn't you call Camille over for a booty call literally minutes after you walked in? You totally did!" I exclaim, the memory rushing back to me in a wave of emotion. "I was jealous too if we're being honest here."
His smile grows wide and something in my stomach shifts. Butterflies? Maybe. Nope...not butterflies...
I quickly rush towards the edge of the sailboat before puking my ever-loving guts out.
LEO
How does this girl manage to look beautiful with puke drizzling down her chin? I want to express everything that she makes me feel, but I know it's too soon for that. She wants to take it slow. She deserves slow and steady. She deserves consistent and I will be that for her. Even if it takes years, I will earn her trust. I will move mountains for this girl.
"You sure you're okay?" I ask gently as I guide her off the boat and onto the dock. We head up towards the marina parking lot and she gives me an embarrassed nod.
"I'm good." She assures me. "I guess I just got seasick."
"That happened to me the first few times I sailed."
"Glad to know that it gets better."
"Everything does with time." I give her a grin before stepping to the passenger side of my car and opening the door for her. "Mental note, don't take girls sailing on the first date."
"Oh, you plan to take more girls on first dates, huh? So much for being serious about me." She says, but by the smile on her face, I can tell that she's not being serious. I give her a playful eye roll before buckling my seatbelt and pulling out of the parking lot. "Where to next?" She questions as we drive past where we'd turn to get to the mansion.
"It's a surprise, Gabrielle. Ever heard of a surprise?"
"No, that's a foreign concept to me apparently." She gives me a goofy smile and crosses her eyes.
"Well, then I suppose I'll just have to educate you."
And, for the record, I fully intend to.
A/N: Kinda a filler but not rly bc their relationship progresses? there is only gonna be between 5 to 10 chappys left and yay im so excited to almost be finished with my first novel wha wha whaaaat this doesnt feel real. thanks for chilling with me on this crazy ass ride. love u all.