Chapter 5: Discovery

That was the beginning of several weeks of instant messaging between the two adults. Seth tried not to act like a teenager even though he felt like one again. Gabriela worked hard at not letting her excitement show through in her words every time.

How much could you really learn about someone communicating through a computer? Gabriela asked herself that question several times and still didn't have an answer. She did know that she wanted to discover more about Seth, though.

It didn't even matter how often she told herself he could be lying. She read the reports about the predators and the scammers. Seth was neither and she'd bet on that without any proof. He wasn't that kind of person and she'd never believe otherwise. Her instincts told her to trust him. Gabriela went with them.

Some nights they typed for hours while others they only had a few minutes. Seth often had evening appointments showing houses or meeting with clients at his office. Gabriela tried to stay up late on those nights even though she didn't always know when he'd get home. Those were the times they'd send off an e-mail just because. She felt like a young girl at times but enjoyed it.

They had a conversation on how hard it was to read emotion into typed words. Gabriela found that she could tell Seth's moods from the way he greeted her and replied to her questions. She knew there were times she was quieter and imagined it showed in her responses as well. The problems came when one or the other attempted to tease or joke and it didn't come over that way. Both knew how hard their form of communicating was. The key was being open and honest if they didn't understand a statement or question.

One thing they did know was that they wanted to pursue what they had so far.

Gabriela often looked outside and wondered what Seth was doing at that very moment. She thought about him all the time. They'd exchanged photos through the computer so she knew what he looked like. She'd learned he lived in Florida and owned a real estate company in his initial e-mail to her.

His life sounded so much different from hers, though. At times that worried her. It didn't include worrying about paying bills or cutting corners. Seth was wealthy and she wasn't. Gabriela felt out of place at times when he talked about things she'd never heard of.

None of this made it easy for her when friends wanted to set her up on blind dates. In the end, she just made up an excuse but she really didn't like that. However, telling them she was interested in a man she knew only through the computer sounded a bit lame and gullible. If nothing more became of her relationship with Seth, she would appear a bit silly.

Later, if things progressed, she would tell them. Now he was her secret and she was going to enjoy every moment of it.

How could he explain to family and friends that he'd met a woman online and was interested in her? Or that she lived in another state and they'd never met in person? Seth knew he didn't owe the answer to those questions to anyone. He was an adult and could decide for himself whether to pursue anything with Gabriela. There wasn't any doubt in his mind he would, though. She fascinated him.

He pictured her sitting in bed with her laptop with her legs crossed. Seth knew there were times his mind took him places he wasn't sure she was ready to go yet. The conversations were never predictable or boring but they hadn't talked about anything sexual. If they lived closer, he knew he'd have been on her door step long ago.

Tonight he stared at the monitor and longed to talk to her. She'd sent an e-mail that morning saying she was going to dinner with her daughter and wouldn't be online until late. Seth replied that he'd wait no matter what time it was. He needed those minutes with her to end his day. A grin broke out over his face when he saw her sign in.

"I made it home. Ate like the pig that I am, too," she wrote.

Seth grinned at her words and pictured her slender figure. "Right, I've seen your picture remember? You're far from a pig, Gabriela."

"Nicole took me to this new place with a huge buffet. She made me try everything, I swear."

"I'm sure you only took a bite or two of the things that looked good," he replied.

"Well, there were some disgusting dishes and one even had liver in it. No way was I trying that."

Seth imagined her face as she typed and laughed. They'd talked about foods before and she'd mentioned her total distaste for the intestine.

"I promise I won't ever fix liver for you."

"You'd cook for me, Seth?"

"Of course I would. Then I'd bring you out to the hot tub with some wine so we could relax."

"Mm, but I'm not sure how much we'd relax there."

"No?" Seth held his breath at the flirty tone in her voice.

"Imagine it, Seth," she wrote. "You and I, naked in the hot bubbly water, just the moon and stars for light, our bodies colliding..."

"Your soft skin under my fingers, pulling you closer, our lips touching..."

"Straddling your body as we kiss..."

Gabriela waited for his reply and wondered if she went too far. It was so hard to judge a relationship when you couldn't see the person. She'd thought about Seth the night before and decided to take things to the next level. If he didn't approve of her flirting, she'd have to rethink it all.

"Do you know what you're doing to me, Gabriela?"

She smiled to herself and went on. "I hope I'm making you want the same things I do."

"If I was there right now, you'd see how much I want you."

They didn't go much further that night even though both were thinking about it. This was new territory for them and they needed to find their way through it. It didn't stop either from laying in bed for long hours aching for the other.

Shelby and Dallas were spending Sunday afternoon with Seth. Father and daughter relaxed in the backyard where the youngest member of their small family kept busy with a myriad of toys. His laughter brought smiles to their faces as they watched him running across the grass.

Several times Shelby had looked over at her dad and wondered what was different about him. He seemed happier in the last couple of weeks to her. Yet there wasn't anything she could pinpoint to make that change.

"Hey Dad, you been getting some lately?" she asked.

"Excuse me?"

"You're smiling more and look happier, so I figured you must be getting laid."

"Shelby, I'm not sure that's anything a daughter should be asking her father," he said with a glare.

"Come on, Dad, I'm an adult. So, are you?"

Seth looked at the way his only child wiggled her eyebrows at him and burst out laughing. "When do I have time to date?"

"You don't have to date to get any. There are always hookers —"

"Whoa, I'm not that desperate, Shelby." Seth stopped her before she went on.

"Well, you look different so I thought it was a woman. Guess I'm wrong," she said with a shrug.

He looked at Shelby and thought about Gabriela. They'd taken their online relationship up a notch with the intense flirting. It still amazed him the things she could do to him with her words.

"Would you be all right with it if I met someone?"

"Why wouldn't I be, Dad?"

"No reason, I guess," he said and dropped the subject.

"Grandpa, look!"

Seth turned to his grandson and smiled. His family meant the world to him and he'd do whatever he could to protect them.

"Too bad you're not getting laid, though," Shelby said as her dad stood to chase after Dallas.

He only laughed but his body tightened as he thought again of Gabriela. Seth made sure he kept his back to his daughter for several minutes until he got himself back under control. Somehow, he'd have to change the situation between Gabriela and himself real soon.

Dallas and Shelby left after dinner and Seth went inside to check the computer. His pulse raced when he saw Gabriela was online.

"I've been thinking of you," he wrote.

"Seth, I thought your daughter and grandson were with you today."

"They were but you were still on my mind," he replied. "You're always with me."

"I can't stop thinking of you, either."

"Gabriela, something has to change between us. I'm going crazy here."

"I'm not sure what you're saying Seth," she typed.

"Me either, really, but there has to be more than the computer. Can I call you?"

"Oh Seth, are you sure?"

"I need to hear your voice. Please?"

He watched as a series of numbers appeared and groaned. "I'm dialing."

Gabriela picked up the telephone with a shaky hand and answered. "Seth?"

"Oh god, Gabriela," he whispered. "Thank you for this."

"I was so afraid when you said something had to change. I thought that you wanted to end things."

"No, god no, if anything, it's the opposite, I want more."

"Me, too," she said without any hesitation.

"You sound so sexy."

"Hmm, I wonder if you might be biased at all." The sassiness in her voice came through making him laugh.

"Not me," he replied. "You're thinking of all those other perverts that answered your dating ad."

"Oh, Seth, don't remind me of that. I still feel embarrassed about it."

"Gabriela, it was meant for us to meet, somehow. There's nothing wrong with what you did. Remember, I'm one of those perverts that sent you an e-mail."

"You're far from a pervert, Seth."

His wicked laugh sent chills down her spine. "Are you so sure of that, baby?"

She caught the way the nickname rolled right off his tongue and loved it. "Seth, I feel ... you make me so..."

"Tell me Gabriela."

"I imagine us together, touching and teasing, making love, tasting each other."

"I'm so hard right now."

Her groan sent chills through his body as he pictured her next to him. Seth looked down at the bulge in his jeans and closed his eyes.

"My nipples are tight and I'm dripping for you."

"Honey, please, touch one for me, now. Do it."

She followed his heated words as if in a trance. Soft fingers brushed the aching nub as Gabriela imagined his hand there. "Yes, Seth, touch me."

Words of passion flowed as they took each other higher. Gabriela's sweet voice had him freeing his aching member so he could stroke himself for her. Seth's promise of where his tongue would go soon had her flying for him. Their cries of desire and longing mixed over the airwaves as they crashed together.

"Oh god, Seth, I can't believe I did that," she said when she caught her breath.

"Baby, you are amazing. That was wild."

"You make me forget everything and let go, Seth."

"Can you picture us together then? Baby, we need to work on that."

"Yes, I think that's a good plan for the future," Gabriela replied.

They talked for a while longer before Seth said he needed sleep. He had an early morning appointment to look at property a couple of hours from town. It still took them another fifteen minutes to hang up.

Both knew they'd taken another step in their relationship. Neither slept much that night.

Seth sat in his office Monday morning and thought back over the night before. He wondered at the new turn in his life. It occurred to him he should feel embarrassed at what he'd done on the telephone with Gabriela but he didn't. She made his blood boil with just a few words. It was on his mind daily that he wanted more with her. Distance was a factor now, but that could change. He couldn't wait to get home and call her.

Water dripped between her breasts as Gabriela raced to answer the telephone Monday evening. What if it was Seth and she missed his call, she asked herself as she grabbed the receiver.

"Hello." She let the word roll off her tongue almost as a question.

"Hi honey, I thought for a minute you were gone."

"No, I was in the shower."

Seth felt his pulse take off at the idea of Gabriela naked. They'd exchanged photos on the computer but nothing with nudity. Yet he could imagine her quite well in his mind.

"That image does things to me..."