Everyone's a Winner with a Heart That Small

Gigi was woken up by the sound of someone clearing their throat somewhere near her. She cracked one eye open to see Ezra and Cora both peering down at her. She grumbled a few choice words under her breath then turned over, snuggling herself into John's bare side.

"Excuse me, but what the fuck is he doing in your bed?" Ezra asked, irritated. He crossed his arms over his chest and Cora put one hand on his shoulder.

Gigi sighed and rolled onto her back while John propped himself up on his elbows. He rubbed his eyes, just now noticing how pissed Ezra seemed to be.

"Dude, calm down. Nothing happened. Look, I have pants on," he said, throwing the comforter off of his body. Ezra seemed to relax a little when he saw that John was indeed wearing his jeans.

Gigi rolled her eyes. "What the fuck does it matter anyway?"

Ezra's eyes grew wide. "Are you kidding? You barely know him!"

"You've said yourself he's a nice guy!"

"That didn't mean I wanted you to fuck him so soon!"

"I didn't fuck him! God, you are so annoying!"

"Whoa, whoa," Cora interrupted. "I don't think this a conversation you should have right in front of the poor guy"

Gigi got up from her bed and pulled on a pair of shorts. "I don't think this is a conversation we should have at all. Come on, John"

Ezra just watched frozen as John got up from the bed as well and grabbed his tee shirt off the floor before following Gigi out of the room. A few seconds later, he heard the front door slam shut and he turned back to Cora.

"Can you believe her?"

Cora shook her head. "I'm not getting in the middle of your little cousin argument"

"But she barely knows him, Cora!"

"If I give you my honest opinion, promise you won't get mad at me?"

He just looked at her, waiting for her to give it.

"Promise?"

He rolled his eyes. "Promise"

"I think you kept telling her he's a nice guy. Ezra, you gave her your approval to date him. The way you're acting now is a little bit crazy"

"Crazy?! But she was in bed with him!"

"Yeah, she was. And they were sleeping! What a horrible thing!"

He rolled his eyes at her sarcasm. "Okay, point taken"

"I'm sorry but I think she's kind of got the right to be mad at you right now"

He sighed. "I overreacted"

"She's 23, sweetie. Fully capable of making her own decisions. Just give her some time to be mad at you then apologize. It'll be fine"

Gigi marched down the front steps and out to John's car, climbing into the passenger seat. When he got into the driver's seat and shut the door, he looked over at her.

"You okay?"

"He just makes me so mad sometimes! When I wanted nothing to do with you, he was the one saying, 'Oh, G, he's a nice guy. Give him a chance.' And now when I actually take his fucking advice, he pulls this shit!"

"He's just concerned about you because he loves you"

"Yeah, well, I wish he'd cut it the fuck out"

"Maybe he just doesn't want you to get hurt again"

Gigi froze. "What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing, it's just, uh.....You know, you always kind of change the subject when we talk about relationships. I just.....assumed"

She scowled and turned her head to look out the window. She didn't think it was any of John's business what had happened in the past. Plus, talking about it at all made her really upset and she didn't want John to see her cry.

"Look, I'm sorry. It's none of my business"

When she didn't respond, he sighed and backed out of the driveway then headed towards town.

"Please don't be mad at me"

She sighed. "I'm not mad at you, John"

"You sure?"

She gave him a sideways look and a small smile. "I'm sure"

She didn't know where they were going but she realized that in her storming out of the house, she'd left something inportant.

"Hey, John?"

"Hmm?"

"Where are we going?"

"I thought we'd get lunch"

"I kind of forgot to grab shoes when we left"

He chuckled. "It's okay. I'm sure we can find you some"

"Is there a dollar store around here?"

"Yes?"

"Go there. They have cheap flip flops"

"I can afford nicer shoes that that, Gigi"

She rolled her eyes. "I happen to like cheap flip flops. Reminds me of home. Plus, who said you were paying anyway?"

"I said"

"I can buy my own one dollar flip flops"

"I was just trying to be a proper gentleman, G"

She laughed. "You are so not a proper gentleman"

He gasped in fake shock. "That really hurts me"

"Aww you want me to kiss it better?"

He grinned and nodded his head.

"Where does it hurt?" she asked playfully, leaning across the center console.

He tapped his finger on his lips and grinned even wider.

She laughed and kissed his cheek instead. "Maybe when you're not driving, Casanova"

"Can I get that in writing?"

"You don't need it"

He took his eyes off the road for a second to look over at her and his heart stopped when she gave him one of those dazzling smiles.

Forget falling; John had already completely fallen. Hard.