Chapter 24 Distracted

After leaving Diane at class he went to have lunch with the guys at Sovereign. "Hey, guys what's up?" He greeted them and sat down. "Well if it isn't the groom to be, are you ready for your big day man?" Mike asks. "Hell yeah, I wish it would get here already so that I can get on with the wedding night. Hey, Justin you okay man?" Gabriel asks punching his shoulder and Justin sighs heavily. "As okay as I can be I guess." He said sadly.

"Come now man, I know it's hard but you will get through this. One a my breda has HIV for ten years now and im still look like me and you. Stop worrying man and just trust God seen." Marlon said punching Justin's other shoulder. "I will try," Justin mumbled. "So what do you guys have planned for the rest of the day?" Gabriel asks. Mike was the one to answer. "Marlon and I have to go back to the auto shop but Justin doesn't want to come with us." "I would rather just go home," Justin mumbled again pushing his plate of food which he had not touched away from him. Gabriel's heart filled with compassion as he looks at his friend, Justin had a defeated look on his face. "You guys do what you have to, Justin you're coming with me okay, now eat." He said pushing the plate back towards Justin.

An hour later Gabriel and Justin were on their way to one of Gabriel's complex. Gabriel stop at a stoplight and the car behind him ran into the back of his car. "You have got to be kidding me," Gabriel said angrily. "What is this idiot blind or something?" Justin sneered. Gabriel pulls over to the side of the road and he and Justin step from the car. "What was that all about?" Gabriel shouts as the girl step from her Rav 4. She was a tiny little thing. She looks to be about nineteen or maybe twenty and couldn't weigh more than about a hundred and ten pounds. She was looking at him with her eyes wide with panic, shock, and what looks a lot like fear. "I'm so sorry I wasn't paying attention, I'm so sorry." She said with trembling lips. "Big help that is," Gabriel said looking at the dent in the back of his vehicle. "Hey prince come here a minute." "What?" Gabriel asks walking over to him.

"I think we should just let her go. I mean there's no way she will be able to pay for this amount of damage." Justin states. "I can't just let her go. She could have killed herself or somebody else for that matter." "We'll make sure that she has learned her lesson, then we'll let her go," Justin said with a weak smile, they then walk back towards the girl who was still shaking and biting her nails.

Gabriel stood in front of her and folds his hands across his big muscular chest. "Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" He asks in a stern tone. "I ….I…I'm." She tried to speak between sobs. "Am I going to go to jail?" She asks with a panic-filled voice, her entire body shaking. "Please let me try and pay for it. I swear to you I will never talk on my phone while driving again. Please don't call the police." Gabriel looks at Justin and Justin nods his head.

"Okay I'm going to let you off the hook, but just this once," Gabriel said firmly. Her expression turns from panic to shock. "Please don't joke, just let me try and pay for it." "I'm not joking, I can get my car fixed but you have got to be more careful. You need to pay more attention to the road and less to your cell phone. You may not be so lucky next time." Gabriel said seriously. "Are you really letting me go?" "Yes, I'm." "Thank you, sir, thank you so much. I promised this will never happen again." She cried as Justin walks over to her and hand her a device.

"Attach this to your phone and you will be able to have a conversation without holding the phone in your hands." He explains as she took the device from him with shaking hands. "Thank you… thank you very much and I'm very sorry about your car." "Remember to drive safely," Gabriel said to her as he walks back towards his car. As they drive away Gabriel turns to Justin. "Why did you do that?" "Because there's no way she's not going to talk on her phone while driving, these young ladies are glued to their phones. I was just trying to save her life or someone else life, that's all, seeing as though mine is practically over." Justin comments. "That's not true; you have years ahead of you but you did a good thing, that's if she remembers to use it." He said with a chuckle.

Gabriel left Justin and his car at the auto shop. He rented a Chevy Avalanche and went to get Diane. She was waiting for him in the parking lot of her class. He stops a few feet away from her. She saw the vehicle and move out of the way but she didn't move towards the vehicle. Gabriel smiled to himself because he knew that she didn't know it was him. He moves the vehicle closer to her and once again she stepped back out of the way this time with a scowl on her face.

He drives up and stops right at her feet and rolls downs the tinted glass. "Going my way beautiful?" He asks licking his lips. Her face lit up when she realized it was him. "Baby, I didn't know it was you." She said in surprise. "I know." He laughs. "I can't believe it was you all this time." She said punching him on his arm. "Where's the PAJERO?" "A young lady ran in the back of it so I had to leave it at the shop." "Was she hurt?" Diane asks in concern. "No," he answered as he lean over and kiss her passionately. "I miss you baby girl. So what delicious meal do you have in mind for me tonight? I absolutely love your cooking." He said licking his lips again. "Well, I have a great night plan for you." "Hmm, give me a hint." He whispered seductively. "Okay first we're going to stop at the supermarket, then we're going to go home and cook fry rice and stir fry chicken. Put Jasmine to bed and relax in the hot tub, we may not be able to have sex but we can still have fun." She smiled massaging the front of his pants and he gave her a seductive smile. "I love the way your mind works."

"Having fun?" Dana asks when Diane took a seat beside her. "O my goodness this is great! My feet hurt like hell though but this is so awesome. I can't believe Gabriel booked this exclusive nightclub just for my bachelorette party." She said taking a sip of her non-alcoholic Champagne. "He has money and he ain't afraid to spend it." Dana laughs. "So is Jasmine okay with the wedding?" Diana asks. "Oh yeah, she loves him, he's her own personal doll, she loves to comb his hair and have a tea party with him and her other dolls but seriously I can't believe how many people are here." Diane said looking around. "mostly family and close friends, all here to help you celebrate your last night as a free woman because tomorrow night this time you will no doubt be on the verge of round three in some epic lovemaking. Your man has been waiting a long time." Diana laughs.

"You look great by the way." Doreen states. "Thanks, he took me and Jasmine to the Spa today, got treated from our heads to our toes and then some," Diane said with a wide grin then begin biting her lips and a worried look crosses her face. "What?" Dana asks.

"Sometimes I have to wonder if he has really been waiting or has he been getting it someplace else," Diane said with a heavy sigh. "Come on, stop that now. I really don't think he's cheating" Diana states. "But is it really possible for one man to wait so long for one woman? Especially a man like him, who is so used to getting it anytime he wants with whomever he wants." Diane asks but it more sounded to them like a statement than a question. "Of course it's possible, especially if the man is as in love as Gabriel is with you," Doreen said

"And that's the other thing. A man like him, in love with me, I mean come on, his nickname might be Prince but what you ladies don't know is that everything he does reflects royalty. From his designer clothes to his rotating hanging press which is operated by remote control, no searching for anything for him it's just pressed the remote and pick what you want. The man wears twenty thousand dollars suit and outfits like we wear jeans and T-shirts." She said putting her hands on her head.

"Oh God what have I gotten myself into? This man is way too much for me." She groans. "Is that why you have been trying so hard to change him?" Dana asks. "Well no, it's just, I'm just trying to bring him down a notch or two; everything with him has to be first class. Restaurants, gifts, clothes, shoes, damn sometimes it's all just too much and it makes me uncomfortable." Diane pouts.

"Well, I suggest you get with the program because he's a high profile kind of guy, high roller, if you know what I mean and you may end up pushing him away if you keep trying to change him, so for God's sake, stop it. Now I'm going to dance, this party is hopping." Diana said getting up and dancing onto the dance floor.

"Do you think he has strippers at his party?" Diane asks. "Stop worrying about what he's doing and let's have some fun," Dana said dragging her onto the dance floor.

Gabriel dropped his gun on the ground and lay flat on his back gasping for breath, while waiting for his breathing to return to normal he reflects on his day. He and his friends went to the hospital earlier to visit Alex, where he told him of his upcoming wedding. He twitched his finger and the doctor said that it was a good sign because that means Alex could hear what they were saying.

After he left the hospital he went to get Diane and Jasmine, then they all went to the spa together. They got a full body treatment and were feeling great by the time they left. Then they all went to church... where Pastor had prayed for them. He then drops her off at home where she and her sisters were going to get dress and head to the club he had booked for her special night and even though he couldn't stand to leave her he knew he had to, just one last time because after tonight he was never going to spend another night without her. Tomorrow she will be his wife, his wife.

He couldn't believe he was actually getting married tomorrow. By this time tomorrow night he will already have said goodbye to his sexual frustrations. "Surrender maggot?" Mike asks pointing his gun at him. "Never," Gabriel said and smiles as Mike clutch his stomach and fell to the ground beside him. "Blast, I forgot it was you. Damn you're good at this, but how did you get to your gun so fast?" Mike asks. "As if I didn't see you coming from a mile away." Gabriel laughs. "Damn, these little fuckers' stings don't they?" Mike said rubbing his belly and examining the little bead ball that came from the gun.

"And at close range too, imagine being shot from across the lawn," Gabriel said rubbing his shoulder. "Somebody got you?" Mike asks surprise. "Marlon, he might be thick but the dude is fast." "Not as fast as you," Mike states. "Tell that to my shoulder." Gabriel chuckles.

"You maggots are supposed to be dead, not over here yapping away." Justin said pointing his gun at them. "Well I'm just wounded but since I shot him in the gut he's supposed to be dead by now," Gabriel said looking at Mike. "Oh it's going to take more than a bullet to the gut to keep me down," Mike said scrambling to his feet.

"Stay down maggot or I'll blow your head off," Justin said and Mike falls back to the ground. "And den I can blow off your own, finish off Prince and go claim mi victory prize over deh so." Marlon said from behind Justin. "Damn," Justin mumbles. "Maybe you shoulda spend more time a watch your own head back." Bro Josh said from behind Marlon. "Looks like we have a standoff, boys." Gabriel laughs. "Well, it ain't over till it's over," Mike said.

And as the words left his mouth, Josh, Marlon, and Justin all fall to the ground, one after the other, and Steve which was also Mike's close friend blows the mouth of his gun and smiles victoriously. "And now it's over, your turn pretty boy." He said but before he could point his gun at Gabriel, Gabriel pulls his trigger and Steve fell.

"Don't call me that," Gabriel said getting to his feet. "But hey, thanks, you saved me a lot of trouble by taking those guys out for me and now for my prize." He said walking away. "Damn, I was this close." Steve groans. 'Less talking, more shooting. Mike laughs.

"So, what's next?" Gabriel asks putting the victory gold belt around his waist. "We bathe, dress, and head to the nightclub that we booked for you," Mike said. "Okay then, let's do this but hey Mike, why didn't you try to take me out?" Gabriel asks. "I succumbed to my injuries." Mike laughs which made everyone else burst out laughing as they all got to their feet.