Falling For My Ex's Dad by Oma Green

Chapter 153: What If This Ruined Everything Gabriel's POV Tina moved like she'd been here a hundred times. And honestly? She had a few times in the past, during nights I didn't care to remember.

"Con, sit," she urged, easingdown onto the edge of the bed.

I slumped back with a groan, the world tilting slightly. Tina was right-I was drunk. No, fuck, I was wasted.

My pride didn't want to admit it, but my blurry vision, spinning head, and the way my limbs felt too heavy to move? Yeah, I was gone.

Moments later, she returned. Music played low from the speakers-sultry, slow, seductive.

The lights dimmed.

Tina stood in front ofnow, one hand resting on her hip. And for the first ttonight, I actually looked at her.

She wore a nude-colored gown, so close to her skin tone that for a split second, it looked like she wore nothing at all.

"I remember you liked a striptease," she purred, swaying her hips to the rhythm. "Let's see if you still do." I watched her move-confident, sure of herself. She let the dress slip off her shoulders. It slid down her body and pooled at her feet like silk. Her bra was lace, matching her panties, hugging her curves perfectly-designed to entice.

And then... It happened.

Her face blurred.

And in its place-Clairessa.

Fuck.

It was her dancing now.

My Clairessa, moving the way she did that first night, her slender body like silk, meant just for me. The innocence in her eyes, until passion took over. I could still remember the taste of her skin, the heat in her breath as her hands slid lower, caressing her breasts, tugging at her nipples, drivingwild with pleasure. No. This can't be happening.

I blinked, shaking my head, trying to erase the vision, but it lingered. Still her.

Still Clairessa.

Tina-no, Clairessa-climbed into my lap, straddling me. Her perfhit me- sweet and heavy-but it was wrong. Too strong. Too artificial. She didn't smell like vanilla and strawberries. She didn't smell like rose petals-soft, sexy, warm.

She didn't smell like her.

"Gabriel," Tina whispered against my ear, her lips grazing my jaw, "lettake care of you tonight. You need this." My hands landed on her waist. They should've pulled her closer, but instead, they stayed still.

She rocked against me, kissed my neck, and tried to drawin. "Kiss me, Gabriel," she breathed.

I brought my face close to hers, squinting through the haze. I was longing for clarity, I needed to be sure.

I cupped her cheek, tucked her hair behind her ear... locked eyes with her, searching her face, but all I saw...

"Clairessa..." I groaned.

Tina froze.

She pulled back, wide-eyed. "What did you just say?" I blinked, the haze lifting for a moment. "What? No, nothing. I'm... I'm confused." "You just said Clairessa," she hissed. "You just calledClairessa." "No," I lied, dragging a hand down my face. "I didn't" She got offfast, arms crossed, fury in her eyes. "Don't bullshit me, Gabriel. Who the hell is Clairessa?" "No one you need to know about," I snapped, hoping to end it.

Her laugh was bitter. "You can't fool me. I knew something was off the second I saw you tonight. The cave? Strippers? You drunk? That's not you. This is about a woman, isn't it? She broke your heart." "No woman breaks my heart," I muttered. Who was I trying to convince-her or myself? I was in denial.

She narrowed her eyes. "You used to say that. I believed you. Until tonight. You never-never-mix up names in bed. So who is she?" "She's not-" I started, but the words choked in my throat. "She means nothing to me. Not anymore." Tina stared atlike she could see straight through the lie.

"Then why are you here with me, thinking about her? Saying her name?" I looked away. "It's complicated." "It's not," she retorted, stepping toward me, her voice softening. "You want her. That much is obvious. So why not just go to her?" Because she lied. Because if I find out she really did what I think she did-I'll lose my mind.

Those were all the words I wanted to spill out. Instead, I stayed silent.

The only sound in the room was the low beat of music and the truth we both couldn't avoid.

Tina slowly sat beside me, placing her hand on my thigh. "Gabriel... how about you focus only on me? Maybe that's why fate had us run into each other again tonight," she murmured.

"Maybe I'm here to help you forget her. To erase her. Let there be only me." I looked at her-her body, her eyes, the desperation in her words.

She tried to convince herself she could take Clairessa's place. But she couldn't replace someone who was irreplaceable.

"Gabriel..." she whispered again, crawling onto my lap. "Lethelp you forget her." I swallowed hard as she eased down, her body pressing against mine. Her lips found my neck, planting hot, wet kisses across my skin.

"Do you like this?" she whispered. "My lips on you." Her lips drifted down to the V of my chest before she unbuttoned my shirt and slid it off my shoulders. Her fingers explored the bare skin eagerly, tracing lazy circles across my chest.

"Mm... keep going," I forced out, desperate to feel something-lust, need-but it wasn't working.

She was doing everything right-touchingin all the ways a man should crave.

But I felt nothing.

Her kisses didn't melt me. Her touch wasn't soft enough. Or maybe it was just that, it wasn't hers.

Nothing felt like Clairessa.

Nothing tasted like her.

I wanted to lose myself in the moment, to pretend this was enough.

But hcouldn't. All I felt was the hollow ache of her absence the emptiness where passion should've been.

She reached for my belt, unbuckling it hastily. I wanted to stop her. My mind screamed: Don't.

But the alcohol was settling deep in my veins, makingdrowsy. I was losing control my body felt heavy, sluggish.

"What if I was wrong about Clairessa? What if this ruined everything? Tina didn't know. No one could know.

Clairessa had madeincapable of desiring anyone else.

This wasn't seduction-it was desperation, a vengeful need to numb my pain. But I was only self-destructing.

"Tina..." I muttered, my voice strained.

I grabbed her wrist, stopping het?!?! "Let's not. I... I can't do this. Not to her. Not to you. Not to myself." "Why not?" she pleaded, softer now. "Just lettake care of you. Lethelp you forget she exists, just this once." Her hands slid up my thighs, pulling down my pants as she began caressing my bare skin. Her touch moved in between my legs, her desperation evident.

She was trying to awaken something that wasn't there, her hands slipping to the sides of my briefs, ready to pull them off.

And then cthe guilt. The regret. The raw, gut-punching truth: IPI did this, I'd never forgive myself. "Don't..." I let out, trying to push her away, but my body was too far gone.

My hands felt weak, and my mind... it started to drift, floating further away with every second.

Her face kept shifting-Tina, Clairessa, Tina-flashing back and forth like a twisted nightmare.

"Gabriel..." she whispered again, her voice coaxing, seductive. "Soon, you'll feel my tongue wrap around your big cock..." I wanted to push her off, to run far from this. But the darkness draggedunder before I could.