Severed [GB + SB]

Twenty: The Visual Is Where It's At

SATURDAY. Afternoon. Still.

"You ready to head out?" Gabe wasn't exactly a ball of delight, but he wasn't mopey like the rest of them. Kota had barely been able to give his team report, Owen practically spat out his — neither of them had much to say, and the proposed discussions of both Rocky and our living situations were tabled. Sean swung over, checked on Kota and Nate, kissed me, then took off. I girded myself for some uncomfortable conversations, but then Gabe appeared and was now tugging me towards the door.

"Where are we going?" I wasn't even offering token resistance.

"Shopping," he said, calling back loudly over his shoulder, "since you've got a big date tonight with a bunch of Tomas." We were passing along the side of the house heading for the front, him practically dragging me along behind him.

"Is Victor—"

"Nope."

"So how are we—"

He held up his hand, spinning a ring of keys around one finger, and continued forward without looking back. "Mr. B."

I had nothing else to say so I let him lead me to Owen's charcoal gray BMW that always felt like a small bit of sanctuary to me, and then we were driving. I stared out the window, not paying much attention, until Gabe pulled up to a speaker outside a fast food restaurant and started placing an order that included enough food for both of us. After he'd said thank you and pulled forward, I asked "Couldn't we just eat at the mall? Owen will kill us if we eat in his car."

"Not going to the mall," he said, and that was the end of the conversation for awhile. He picked up the food and drinks, had me hang on to everything rather than use the drink-holders, and then hummed along with the radio until we arrived at our destination, which was... a warehouse?

"Gabe, what's going on? Where are we?"

He turned off the car and smiled weakly. "Don't worry, this place is safe. It's an Academy building, sometimes used as a safe house but mostly just for meetings and training. We have permission to be here. Can you carry the food and drinks? I have to grab some stuff from the back." Next thing I knew, he'd punched in a code and we were inside the building with the alarm turned off then re-armed, and Gabe was leading me down a hallway lined with doors until the second to last door on the left. On the way, he pointed out a bathroom and a kitchenette stocked with water, juice, and snacks.

So very Academy to have a sketchy looking warehouse out by the Port of Charleston supplied with juice boxes and Kind bars, with a stash of blankets and pillows in case of an emergency sleepover.

The room he took me into was lit up by the skylights above but had no other windows, and the floor, ceiling, and all but one wall was completely paneled in blonde wood, with the long wall lined in mirrors behind a barre. There was a heap of mats in one corner, and Gabe dragged one to the middle of the room and spread it out, gesturing for me to sit. He dropped the bag he'd been carrying off to the side, took his drink from me and set it down on the floor near the bag. I knelt down, sitting back on my heels, put the bag of food between us and waited.

"Eat, Trouble," he said distractedly, sending something on his phone. He finished and then plopped down, only then noticing I hadn't even put a straw in my drink yet.

"What's going on, Gabe?"

"I picked up your outfit for tonight ages ago," he said, carefully not looking at me as he punched his straw into his drink. "I'd always intended to sneak off with you like this, but today... it seemed like an even better idea to get away."

"Why are we here?"

"Two reasons," he said, then slurped his coke loudly before reaching for his bag and pulling out a pair of shoes. A very high-heeled pair of strappy red shoes. "First, these are your shoes for tonight, a pair of Yves Saint Laurent Tribute platform sandals, burgundy red patent leather, with a five inch heel. Not only are you going to need to walk in them, you're going to need to dance in them. And second, I want to make sure that when you hit that dance floor in the club, you feel sexy, confident, and beautiful when you dance circles around everyone else out there. Now eat your lunch so we can get started. We've only got about three hours before I need to start getting you ready."