Page 36 of Surviving Lies

And then there was a knock on our door. My head snapped up, searching for Lanie, our eyes connecting immediately. We both knew who would be behind that door.

Macie sped to it before any of us could say a word. Once she had it open, I heard the distant rumble of his deep tenor.

“Hey, I’m here to see Becca. Can I come in?” Gage’s voice reverberated throughout the apartment, and everyone stopping what they were doing. Ava looked over my shoulder, trying to get a look at the person attached to the voice. They granted her wish as Macie came walking down the hall with him.

Standing in front of us was one of the most gorgeous men I thought I’d ever see in my life.

His shoulders seemed broader than usual as he stood in the narrow hallway. His normally perfect hair was a bit mussed tonight, making him seem boyish and super sexy. He had a shadow of a beard on his face, that perfect amount that wasn’t quite full but just enough to be there. His jeans were tight around his thick thighs and hung low on his hips. The dark T-shirt was fitted just enough to stretch across his chest perfectly, as if it was made for him.

His eyes. Those caramel-brown eyes that stared only at me. My knees felt like they were going to buckle.

“Hey, Becca,” he said in that sultry, porn star voice. I realized all I – along with all of my roommates – was doing was staring at him.

“Oh, hi, Gage.” I quickly recovered and ran over to him, but then didn’t know how to greet him. Did we kiss? We weren’t acouple, per se. It was awkward, so I grabbed his hand and turned around to do the introductions. “You know Lanie,” I started. Lanie gave a small wave. “And this is Macie, and that’s Ava. All of us are making our next-to-nothing shirts for tomorrow’s festivities.”

He looked around at the mess on the tables. The scraps of the cloth spread across the floor, scissors scattered here and there. Plus the bottles of wine and half-filled glasses we were enjoying. “I remember those. Yeah, you girls are pretty creative with what you come up with, that’s for sure.” I had almost forgotten that he had gone through four years of this already; four years of girls throwing themselves at him, I was sure. There had to be so many girls who got their hearts broken by Gage Parker at Blue Ridge University. “So, making shirts to cover an important part of your body, under the influence. I think I see now why all the girls come dressed the way they do at the tailgates,” he said, letting out a laugh afterward.

“Yeah, probably not the best combination. But haven’t had a mishap yet.” I looked up at him to find his eyes staring into mine.

“Let’s hope tomorrow isn’t the first,” he offered quietly for only me to hear. He turned toward the girls and said, “Can I borrow Becca, just for a few minutes?”

Macie and Ava nodded as if on autopilot; they hadn’t recovered from their initial viewing of Gage yet.

Lanie had a concerned look on her face. Her eyes were trying to bore a hole through my head without Gage noticing. At first, I didn’t understand her unsaid words. But then ...

Fuck!

“Why don’t we head up to my room?” I offered. Suddenly nervous, I needed to be away from the prying eyes and ears. I had forgotten I was going to have to tell him about talking to Ty.

I pulled him toward the stairs by his hand. Letting go as I started heading up, I heard Gage rumble a low growl behind me.

“Seeing your ass at eye level, knowing I won’t be able to keep you upstairs, is unfair, Becca.” He reached out and rubbed his hand along my backside, a finger trailing between my legs as I reached the top step.

There was a landing at the top of the stairs, a small hall that branched off toward some bedrooms, mine being one of them. He was one step behind me, hand still on my ass, when I turned around to guide him to the correct door.

So quickly, he had me pinned against the wall, one hand behind my neck, the other still on my ass. His mouth nestled against my ear, his warm breath making bumps rise on my skin when he spoke.

“I’ve fuckin’ missed you, Becca. These days we haven’t seen each other have been torture.” His tongue dipped in my ear, and he definitely felt the shivers that went through my body as he pushed his hips against mine. A tiny gasp escaped my mouth as my lips parted. He took advantage of that and slipped his tongue inside. Our tongues battled each other, a fight neither of us cared who won.

But then I withdrew. My tongue slowed first; then my hands pulled from his hair as I created a space between our bodies. He tilted my head to look up at him, the question in his eyes.

“Let’s go in my room.” But he could tell by my voice it was not an invitation into my bed.

He followed me, and I closed the door. I wasn’t the cleanest of girls my age, and I became embarrassed by the pile of clothes outside my closet.

“Sorry, I’m still unpacking,” I offered as I gestured to the mess on the floor. Not completely untrue. He wasn’t looking around the room, though. He was only looking at me.

“I was busy this week, getting my schedule set up with my professors,” he said. His voice held a note of seriousness; he’d picked up on the mood, I guess. “I wanted to reach out, to see you.” He hesitated, but then went on. “I didn’t know if I should text you or call. This is kinda new for me, too. I wanted to see you, make sure we were OK.”

A nervous smile came across his face. He thought he fucked this up by not reaching out this week. To be honest, it bothered me a little. But I let it go because of what we were. I didn’t want to be “clingy.”

“After the way we left things on Monday,” he continued, “after ...”

And he was then at a loss for words.

“You mean after you made me come with your hands pond-side, in public. An earth-shattering orgasm that made my knees weak as I walked to class. An experience I haven’t stopped thinking about since.Thatway we left things on Monday?”

We were staring at one another when his nervous smile morphed into a wide grin. He stood by the door, hands in the pockets of the jeans that appeared to have been made for him. It caused the waist to hang low on his hips, the band of his boxer briefs peeking out the top as he stalked toward me like a lion coming for its prey.

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