Page 52 of Losing Hope

Nodding, he addressed the bartender. “I’ll take a Ketel One, rocks. A double.”

“You want to talk about it?” Ben took a slow sip of his drink, brows raised as he peered over atGage.

The bartender came over, placed a fresh tumbler in front of Gage, and walked away. “Not really.” He raised the glass to his lips, the ice cubes clinking as he took a large drink.

“Yeah, guess that wouldn’t be the manly thing to do.” A light chuckle followed Ben’s reply.

“Nope.” Another clinking sip of his drink followed. “I’m surprised you’re still here. I know you hate these things as much as Ido.”

“There was a girl.” He grinned broadly as he shrugged.

“Isn’t there always?” Gage shook his head and smiled sardonically. “Hopefully, your night ended better thanmine.”

“She’s playing hard to get, but the feisty ones usuallydo.”

“Did you at least get hername?”

“Yep. Jill. Gorgeous blonde. Owns a spa or something. She came with Drew’s friends, Mika andRae.”

“Good luck with that.” He scoffed lightly. “I’ve got my own blonde to worry about.”

“Since you brought it up, man, Hope didn’t look too happy when I saw her leaving. I didn’t even know you knew each other. When did that start?”

Gage shrugged and blew out quickly. “Eight daysago.”

Ben’s hand slapped loudly on the bar as he let out a loud guffaw. “Eight days? Shit. What’d you do? Love her and leaveher?”

He shook his head while running a hand over the scruff lining his chin. “Something like that.” He turned his head and looked at him seriously. “I think I fell in love withher.”

“That’s a bad thing?”

“Isn’t working out to be a good thing.”

Ben’s hand clapped onto his shoulder and squeezed lightly before letting go. “I’m sorry. Genuinely. Can I do anything?”

“You know her father, right?”

“Yeah, sure. I mean, I guess so. Our families have been friends for as long as I can remember, so we’ve spent time together. He the problem? Doesn’t want her dating some military grunt?”

Shaking his head, he told Ben, “I wish it was that simple. There’s some history, and it’s not the goodkind.”

“She feel the sameway?”

He raised his eyebrows. “About me? You mean, is she in love with me?” He nodded his head. “Yeah, I think she is. But she loves her father more. And what daughter wouldn’t?”

“Her mom’s gone. Did you know that? A car accident a few yearsago.”

He scoffed and took a large gulp of his drink. “Yeah, that’s the fucking problem.”

“Wait, what? You lost me, man.”

Gage raked his fingers through his hair and grimaced. “Never mind. It’s a long story, and I just don’t want to go there again.”

“Another drinkthen?”

“Yep, might aswell.”

Looks like drowning his sorrows wins for the night.

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