Lahat ng Kabanata ng Gasoline: Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 20

The air was warm and balmy, the perfect night for a walk, and as Ariana watched Hael put on his boots, she gathered her courage.Hael sauntered off the porch; his way of moving was so seductive that Ariana could feel the now-familiar pull in her gut signaling her desire for this dangerously attractive man, and God, when he grinned like he was doing right now, it made the butterflies in her stomach take flight.Hael Wilder was twenty years old, two years older than Ariana, and no doubt very experienced if the gossip mill was right about him. The man screamed sensuality in everything he did, from spearing meat up with a fork and bringing it slowly to his mouth, to walking with that predatory roll of his hips, the way he was doing now. Hael was over six feet by a few inches, and Ariana had already seen him half naked when his friend Max and he fixed up his family home, so she knew he was all muscle. Not like a bodybuilder, more streamlined, if there even was such a thing.Heat pooled low

The boys were enough to tucker anyone out, and after a day filled with new places and too much chocolate, they had finally crashed, and Ray put them to bed.Ariana sat on one of the oversized couches, getting swallowed up instantly, before the tears started to fall. At first, it was soft sobbing, but as the memories of her childhood in this house started replaying themselves in her brain, Ariana finally broke down, huge ugly breaths, snotty nose, and big tears.Hannah wisely stayed in the kitchen, trusting that Ray would know what to do, and very quickly the pink mohawk was bobbing down the stairs and racing into the lounge. They had such a deep connection that if Hannah didn't know Raymond was gay, she would bet they were the perfect couple. She dried the last of the dishes, keeping the kitchen as clean as possible. It was one of Jack's absolute rules in any house he was in, and he wasn't afraid to start cleaning other people's kitchens if they didn't meet his standards. Ariana would

Ray sauntered through the front door bearing gifts for everyone, pastries, hot coffee for the adults, and fluffies for the boys. Luckily, Hannah wasn’t up doing breakfast already.“You’re a lifesaver,” Ariana groaned, grabbing one of each, still dressed in her nana sleep nightshirt, “ Giirrll, how you supposed to get a man sleeping in something like that? Especially since yours truly has given you a whole wardrobe of designer EVERYTHING to wear?”Ray was shocked, one perfectly manicured hand splayed across his chest as he looked at Ari."I think today I can be excused for any fashion faux pas, don’t you?”Ari looked bleary-eyed across the table at the perfectly dressed clothes monster, raising an eyebrow, “And don’t think I didn’t notice you wearing the same clothes you left in last night, dirty man whore.”“What's a man whore?” Little Jacob was on the stairs, still in his pajamas, all wide-eyed, waiting for an answer. Luckily, Ray was fast with replies, appearing like a fairy right n

There she was again, in her room with classical music playing, dancing without a care in the world. I don't know much about dancing, but I reckon my neighbor was doing ballet tonight. Last night she was singing into her hairbrush and jumping all around her room. Fuck knows what that was, but I thought she was pretty amazing.Mum and Dad were going at it again as I sat in the tree outside my window, and I put my headphones on to escape the cruelty they showed each other. At least it wasn't me getting wailed on tonight; my ribs were still tender from the last time Dad used me as a punching bag. Of course, blasting my music in my ears meant watching my neighbor dance completely out of rhythm, but I'd take that over the Maw and Paw Wilder fight show that the rest of the neighbors had to put up with on the daily.Ariana Scott had become my guilty pleasure. I knew if I got all my chores done, stayed out of my parents' way as they liquored up and chased the dragon with a needle to the easiest

Ariana sat on the loveseat on the porch with Ricky, trying to work on a joint math project. It was so hot that Hael had lost his shirt half an hour ago, finished mowing his lawns, and started mowing theirs too. Every time he went past with the mower, he would glare at Ricky so hard it was messing with Ricky's mind, and he'd excused himself three times in the past hour to use the bathroom just so he could breathe freely. Of course, it was a complete coincidence that Ariana had arranged for the study date to be at her house on the exact day Hael mowed his lawn. Ariana hid a secret smile behind her hand as the mower stalled right in front of her.As gracefully as she could, Ariana unfolded her long legs, stretching so her midriff peeked out from under the boho top she was wearing. Of course, Hael groaned lowly, and a frisson of excitement coiled in her belly at how easily she could elicit a response. Standing slowly, she grabbed a glass and the pitcher, poured Hael some cold homemade lem