I swear people have something against me getting some sleep. Either it was the stupid alarm, Ava calling or like right now the fucking door. I threw the covers off me punching the pillow a few times before getting off the bed, putting on my fuzzy slippers and walking out of my room. It was the day after my birthday and I was exhausted. We had stayed up almost all night before everyone left at dawn leaving me to clean up their mess. Gabriel had offered to stay but Vincent needed a ride home after his car refused to start so we reluctantly said goodbye. I had cleaned everything up for three hours straight before taking a shower and falling on my bed to get some much needed sleep. I saw on the clock in my living room that it was only two in the afternoon. I had only been asleep for a few hours and someone was already here to nag me.

My gifts were still in the living room unopened. I'd get to them later. The person knocked again just as I turned the knob. I yanked the door open with an angry face. Gabriel was standing on the other side of the door with an innocent smile on his face. It was great seeing him but I didn't have the energy to show it.

"Gabriel I'm too tired right now." I groaned leaning against the door.

"Is that my T-shirt?" He asked with a smirk eyeing my sleeping attire closely.

He was referring to the T-shirt he had given me that day at the hospital. I wore it to bed a lot now.

"Why you want it back?" I asked raising a questioning eyebrow.

"No keep it. You always had a fondness for my clothes."

"All girls prefer their boyfriends clothes don't feel so special." I replied rolling my eyes.

"But I'm not your boyfriend." He said his voice getting sad.

That statement made me sad too. It hit me like a brick that he was right. We weren't together anymore . I had to change the topic quick before I became and emotional mess.

"What do you want Gabriel? As you can see you woke me up." I asked.

"I came to see you and see if you needed help cleaning up." He replied.

"I already did that after you guys left. Took me only three hours but whatever." I said brushing it off as if it wasn't a big deal but it really was.

"Oh okay. I'll be going now." He said and with a sad look he turned to leave.

I didn't want him to go.

"You're welcome to stay but I won't be much company. I'm still pretty beat." I called out to him and he turned to me with a smile.

"It's okay I'd be happy to stay." He replied too quickly and I chuckled at his enthusiasm as I stepped aside to let him in.

He took off his shoes by the door and hang his leather jacket on the hanger before he walked in. It took me a few seconds to realize what was happening. Gabriel was in my home. I know he was here yesterday but everyone else was here too. Now it was just me and him. What would happen? There was a lot of options to that but how much of it was I ready for. I guess I was about to find out.

Gabriel made himself comfortable in the biggest sofa I had that faced the TV. I sat next to him making sure to maintain some distance between us. I looked at him from the corner of my eye admiring how good he looked. He was wearing blue rugged jeans and a black sweater that hugged his torso and arms perfectly. He looked fine with a capital F.

"You're home is beautiful." Gabriel complimented when we sat in awkward silence for a few minutes.

"Thank you. It's all thanks to Kendi. She did an amazing job." I replied.

"Oh yeah how are your sisters?"

"They are both good. Kendi has gained a bigger following over the past few years and Zawadi is somewhere in the country getting justice for those who don't have the voices to speak out for themselves." I explained feeling very proud of my sisters.

"That's really good."

"What about your family?" I asked.

"Well mom and dad retired and are currently enjoying their hard earned money somewhere in the coast. Tom is still in the military but he got a higher ranking can't remember which one and Justin took over my dad's and mom's business with the help of Beth." He explained.

"Let's hope Justin doesn't mess that one up with his goofy self." I replied with a chuckle and he chuckled too.

"Yeah we all hope but so far he's doing a pretty good job."

"Okay good. So do you want to watch a movie? I just want to stay in, be lazy and relax." I suggested.

"Sure." He replied.

"Good. You pick because I know I'll be out in a few minutes. You don't mind do you, I did warn you." I asked handing him the remote.

"No it's okay am just happy to be here with you." He replied giving me a megawatt smile and I smiled back feeling my chest grow in volume at the warmth of his words.

"I'm happy you're here too." I replied softly.

I knew we had much to discuss but currently all I could think was just sleep. I was that tired. I grabbed the shawl over my seat wrapped myself in it and leaned back . I didn't care to see what movie he had picked because I knew I wouldn't watch it anyway because I had already began to doze off.

Before I could completely fall asleep I felt Gabriel pull me into his arms and lay my head on his lap. I smiled at the gesture because I had been in a very uncomfortable position. I didn't want to alarm him so I pretended to be completely asleep. I turned around and snuggled into his stomach. His sweater had risen a little exposing his stomach and I couldn't resist but place a small kiss on the exposed skin. To him it was like my lips just brushed against his skin. Am sure he felt it because he tensed a little bit before he relaxed. His hands was lightly caressing my face and soon enough I drifted off completely to dream land.

When I woke up a few hours later it was a little dark in the room meaning it was dark outside. I was still on the sofa but Gabriel wasn't there with me. My stomach growled and I realized I had been woken up by my empty stomach. I sat up rubbing my eyes to clear my sight. Where was Gabriel? Maybe he had gotten bored and left. I wouldn't blame him though. I hadn't been a good host sleeping the whole time he was here. It was his fault though, I had warned him. Though he could have at least woken me up to tell me he was leaving.

"Good you're up." He commented coming from my balcony startling me a little.

"I thought you had left." I replied feeling very happy that he was still here.

"I couldn't." He replied and I smiled.

"Why are the lights off and what were you doing in the balcony?" I asked.

The only light available was coming from the Tv and it was on mute.

"Those questions will be answered soon but first go take a shower and wear what I put out for you. I'm sorry I went through you're stuff but I had to, to make this evening perfect." He replied.

"Gabriel what's going on?" I asked feeling very confused.

"Just trust me." He requested.

"But I'm hungry." I whined.

"I know and I'll feed you soon. Just do as I asked."

"Okay fine." I replied reluctantly feeling super excited about what he had up his sleeve. I got up from the sofa and headed towards my bedroom.

I had seen this movie very many times and I hoped it would end in a totally romantic dinner followed by an even more romantic gesture.

I frowned at what I found laid out before me. It was an off shoulder long sleeved cropped cotton top and matching shorts. Sure it was classy but I just wore this when the gang came over and I had to dress up but not look like I was trying too hard or not trying at all. I had around ten dinner date dresses in my wardrobe. Why didn't he choose any of those? I shrugged and decided to trust him. I took a quick shower, brushed my teeth before finally getting dressed. I decided not to put on any make up. What was the need if we were just going to stay indoors and I'd have to take it all off later when I would be going to sleep.

Putting my fuzzy slippers back on I decided to join Gabriel in the balcony where all the noise was coming from. The doors opening up to the balcony were closed and the curtains drawn so I couldn't see what was going on inside.

"Gabriel why is the door locked?" I asked when I turn the knob but the door remained closed.

"That's because I didn't want you barging in until the surprise was ready." He replied.

"This is my house you know." I said trying to sound pissed but I was really just excited.

What was he planning?

"And done." he announced and after a little shuffling the door opened. "Come in my lady." He invited doing a fake bow and I smiled.

He stood aside to let me in and let me tell you I liked what I saw. I liked it a lot. My jaw literally fell to the floor in shock.

My balcony which had just been plain with a few potted plants courtesy of Kendi was now transformed into something amazing. There were fairy lights wrapped around the metal railing and on the ceiling. The extra mattress I kept in the guest bedroom for when everyone stayed over was laid out in the floor with pillows and blankets. In front of the mattress on a two different trays there was ugali, goat stew and kachumbari. It looked so delicious. Someone had been busy. My laptop was hooked to a projector which was currently showing my movie collection on the blank wall on the balcony.

"Where did you get the projector from?" I asked him.

"Your neighbor saw me preparing all this and said I could borrow it to make the night more romantic." He replied and I nodded.

I had nosy neighbors but they were good people.

"Thank you Gabriel all this looks amazing." I replied sitting down at the edge of the mattress.

"You're welcome. I wanted to do something special for you, just the two of us. Call it an extended birthday celebration." He explained.

"I like that idea. Can I eat now? I'm starving and this really looks good." I replied practically salivating all over my plate.

Gabriel chuckled"Sure ahead."

That was all I needed before I dug in. The best way to enjoy ugali, as every Kenyan knows is to use your hands and I did just that. The meat was so tender it practically fell apart in my mouth. This man really knew how to cook. We ate in comfortable silence that didn't need to be filled with unnecessary chatter. Gabriel was a wiz in the kitchen and this meal was proof.

Once we were done eating I offered to clear the mess we had made because Gabriel had cooked. Once I was done putting everything away I grabbed a bottle of champagne that had remained last night plus two glasses and took it with me back to the balcony.

"Up for a night if drinking with me?" I asked propping myself next to him.

"Sure I have the day off tomorrow so why not." He replied as he took the bottle from my hand and opened it before pouring it in the glasses and handing me one.

"I have a few days off too. It was demanded of me to take a few days off to celebrate my birthday. Apparently I work too hard and deserve time to myself." I commented with a chuckle.

"Speaking of work, you decided to not pursue a master's and became a guidance counselor instead. How's that working out?"

"Why you disappointed I decided not to continue studying?" I asked with a raised eyebrow as if he had offended me.

"No no I didn't mean that." He spluttered "Shit, sorry what I meant is.."

He ran his hand over his face trying to find the right words. His face dropped as he fumbled over his words and I couldn't take it anymore so I burst out laughing .

"I was messing with you Gabriel calm down." I said in between laughs looking at his flushed face.

He looked so cute and confused trying to come into terms with the fact that I had been joking.

"That wasn't nice. Stop laughing." He said biting his lip to hide a smile of his own.

"Okay sorry. I love what I'm doing right now." I explained failing to find other words to explain my career choice.

There are so few certified psychiatrists in the country and as much as I wanted to be one of them it was just too much work and I was already fulfilled in what I was doing and that was enough for me.

"I was at the graduation ceremony." Gabriel announced out of the blue making me choke a little on my saliva.

"What!" I asked amidst coughs as I rubbed my chest to soothe the ache caused by me almost swallowing my own tongue.

"I saw you during graduation day. I had come to celebrate with everyone else but when I saw how happy you guys were I didn't want to spoil the mood so I left and met up with the guys later." He explained and I just sat there staring at him shocked.

I can't believe that Gabriel had been there for our graduation. I wish I had seen him but then another part of me was saying it was for the best that we hadn't seen each other. We've both grown so much apart and that for me was good. We both deserved to find happiness alone before we found it in each other.

Gabriel was looking at me with a smile on his beautifully sculptured face and I found myself smiling back at him.

There's something that had been bugging me and I needed to ask him. I just didn't want him to interpret it wrongly so here goes nothing.

"Do you have my ring?" I asked softly.

Gabriel didn't even hesitate when he answered.

"Yeah I do but you can't have it back."

A painful feeling clutched at my chest making my body feel numb. My stomach contorted in pain and I felt as if I was going to start crying any minute or even worse pass out. Was I reading too much into things? Didn't Gabriel want me anymore?

"Baby calm down." He said holding my face with his hands and looking directly into my eyes. I didn't even notice when he took my glass from my hand. "You didn't let me finish. You can't have it back because when I ask you to wear it again I want to do it properly and I want you to wear it in the correct hand." He explained and I felt myself relax in relief.

I didn't know how much I needed to hear him say those words until he actually did. It reversed the effect of what I had been feeling when I assumed he didn't want to be with me anymore. I felt light and happy.

"I love you." I blurted out without thinking as it was the only thing my muddled brain could come up with at the moment in reply to his comment.

Gabriel was going to propose and even if it wasn't now he was still going to and this time I was going to say yes but first I had to tell him how I really felt.

Now it was Gabriel's turn to look at me shocked and mouth wide open. It's as if he couldn't believe those words were coming from me.

"Say it again." He whispered in shock.

I crawled into his lap straddling him and out my hands around his neck as I played with the little hairs on his nape. Looking into his eyes I poured my heart out to him.

"I love you Gabriel. I don't know when I started feeling that way towards you but my heart belongs to you and you alone. The past three years have not been the same without you and as much I missed you and wanted you back I'm glad we took that break." He gave me a disapproving look and I laughed it off. He looked so cute with a furrowed brow and a pout on his lips. Took everything in me not to kiss the pout away because I needed to finish talking.

"As much as you may not agree with me. I needed this time apart to grow on my own and realize what life without you means. I also realized along the way that I was in love with you or at least I have been from the very beginning. You are it for me Gabriel." I finalized with a smile on my face and he smiled back at me.

Gabriel didn't reply and I didn't need him to because I already knew how he felt about me. No sane man would wait three years for the girl he loved to love him back. But Gabriel had and that proved to me more than his words ever could how strong his feelings for me were.

He leaned in and knowing what he wanted I met him halfway as our lips met in perfect unison. His hands were on my ass gripping tightly as if he was afraid I'd disappear. Unlike all the other kisses we'd ever shared this one was sweet and perfect as we relayed all our feelings to each other our lips danced together in perfect sync.

"I love you more Miss. Daring." He whispered against my lips making me grin before he joined our lips again in another kiss.

I take it back. I did want to hear him say those words to me. They made me feel like I was floating on cloud nine and I had my man right here next to me. Forever.

THE END!!!!!!!

Just kidding.. One more chapter to go then an Epilogue(maybe).

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Love @Lyssah.