Page 10 of After All The Wreckage
“Hey, you must be Rory,” he said.
His voice was deep, even gruff, with a rasp to it that sent a shiver down my spine and made my legs shake. He took a step toward me, sticking his hand out. “I’m Gage.”
And all I could think was that it was the best name I’d ever heard in my life. It fit him. Dark and stormy. Like the bad boy on a motorcycle your parents wouldn’t want you to date.
When I took his hand, the lightning I’d felt in the air seemed to shoot through me, and I let go, jumping back almost as soon as I’d grabbed it.
“You okay?” he asked, but he rubbed his palm on his jean-clad thigh as if he’d felt it too. When I simply nodded, he turned to the others, saying, “Hey everyone, this is Rory. Rory, that’s Shay.” He pointed to the blond-haired-angel girl. “Harriet’s son, Maverick.” He aimed a hand at the dark-haired toddler. “And my brother, Monte.”
My eyes widened in surprise. Monte and Gage looked nothing alike. Gage looked like the tavern owner, Holland. They both had the same black hair, square features, and big build, but Monte looked like a little cherub.
I raised a hand in greeting. The song ended and “Broken” came on. My heart flip-flopped like a fish out of water.
I turned to Gage. “Did my mom tell you I like The Guess Who?”
One brow rose, and I wondered how he could do that. It made me want to practice it in a mirror until I could do it as well.
“Wait, you know The Guess Who?” he asked with surprise.
“Only the best band of any decade.”
He put a palm to his chest, a grin taking over his face that made those gray eyes light up like the sun had come out from behind the clouds.
“A girl after my own heart.”
And I fell hard and fast with no chance of stopping myself.
? ? ?
NINE YEARS AGO
The second time I fell for Gage, it was because of a fictional character.
“I can’t believe you didn’t watch any of the episodes. You won’t even understand what’s going on!” I shoved Gage’s shoulder with my fist. I couldn’t help it. I seemed to be drawn to touching him whenever we were together. It felt wrong and right and sort of decadent.
“I’ve been a bit busy, Pipsqueak. College applications, basketball, and now finals.”
“Plus, Lori Martinez,” Shay said dryly from the other side of me.
Lori was his girlfriend. Whenever I saw them together, it made me feel like I’d eaten a live eel.
Gage approached the ticket booth and said, “Three forVeronica Marsat eight.”
My heart scrabbled out this weird pattern because he was buying tickets for us even though I knew it wasn’t a date. I was with GageandShay. He was taking two thirteen-year-olds he basically considered little sisters to a movie because neither of their parents were able to bring them. While Gage didn’t understand my obsession withVeronica Mars, he did understand single parents who worked way too hard and had succumbed to my beg with hardly a blink.
Gage bought our popcorn, drinks, and Reese’s Pieces before leading us into the darkened theater. We’d come early enough that we had our pick of seats and ended up right in the middle. I had my best friend on my left and the guy I adored on the right. What could be better? Almost a year ago, I’d thought moving to Cherry Bay was the worst thing to happen to me. Now, I was terrified it was all coming to an end.
With my parents’ divorce final, Mom and I were moving back to D.C. this summer. Mom had gotten the money from her share of the house and business, and it had been enough to start over with a condo and an office of her own downtown. If it weren’t for the hours she spent each week commuting because of me, I might have pleaded with her to stay in Cherry Bay.
“You okay?” Gage asked, leaning in to nudge my shoulder with his.
The warm sparks that always covered me when he was near hit me like a shock wave. I looked up into his eyes that were almost black in the dark of the movie theater. He was the most beautiful person I’d ever met, and I craved every single moment I got with him. Which, in nine months, had been almost as rare as the times I’d spent with my father. But I would have traded every moment with Dad for a single extra minute with Gage.
“Yep,” I finally responded, determined to not let anything ruin this day. I ripped open the Reese’s Pieces bag and poured some into my popcorn container, carefully mixing it up.
“What the hell are you doing?” he asked with a frown.
“Donotdis this snack perfection until you’ve tried it, Gage Palmer,” I said in my very best adult-sounding voice. I shook the container at him, and he made a face.
