Page 9 of Surviving Lies

“Relax, the guys are bringing the table and other game things around from the cars. Be patient.” And then I lost her, Xander stealing her away to a dark, shadowy corner. I was walking away, alone with my thoughts and my warm beer, when a familiar voice came from behind me.

“Why the sad face, Not Rebecca? You’re at a party, a college party. No reason to be so glum.” I stilled at his voice near my neck, stunned at the shiver it sent down my spine. He reached out and touched my shoulder, fingers toying with the strap of my dress, and I was positive that he saw his effect on me. “So, I either scared you or you’re cold. And considering it’s at least eighty degrees out here, I’ll have to go with the first.”

I turned to look at him, stunned again by his beauty, determined to not allow him to continue affecting me this way.

“Neither, actually.” Finding his eyes, I fought for the courage to continue with my intended comeback. I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry. “I’m just very happy to see you again.”

There, I did it.

And he liked it. His smile warmed his face, and his eyes crinkled with approval as the grin took over.

But I quickly regretted it. I decided to not flirt in front of Ty, and I was already doing it.

“Ugh, listen, Gage, I am glad to see you again, but I shouldn’t be. I recently broke up with my boyfriend, and he’s here. It’s kind of awkward today. We talked, and it didn’t go well. And I just don’t think it’s a good idea for us to, you know, I don’t know, um ... I’m not really in a position to move on or do anything with anyone else right now, so I don’t want to lead you on.” I turned my face away from looking at him, too embarrassed to see his response. I was moving away, thinking he would not want to talk to me anymore, when I felt his hand reach out for my arm, touching me gently.

“Hey, it’s OK. There is such a thing as being friends, ya know. And I appreciate you being honest with me. That’s not always the case with girls I meet here.” He looked around and gestured to the crowd as if I would know what he meant. “I could use a friend. I just moved back to the area. Haven’t been here for a couple years since graduating, so I don’t know too many people anymore. I’m living one street over. Do you live in this complex?”

I stared at him, rendered speechless by him once again, not a minor feat.

I nodded, finally.

“Yeah, me and Lanie, the girl who stole me from you earlier, we actually just moved in today, right over there.” I gestured to the unit down the way. But Gage wasn’t looking where I pointed; rather, his gaze remained on me instead.

“I can’t lie, I’m disappointed to hear about the ex, but at least it’s not a boyfriend. Is he a frat brother? Maybe I know him.”

But I didn’t want that. I wanted to keep Gage, even if friends only, all to myself.

“He is, but he’s a pledge, so he’s not really allowed to hang out. I guess you know all about that. I hear you’re a frat brother.” His brow ticked up at that information, and he seemed curious why, but the moment passed.

“So, you’ve already done some digging on me, Becca, Not Rebecca?” His wide smile made my belly do weird things. I needed to look away to calm the emotions bubbling up in me uncontrollably.

“I didn’t, but Lanie already doesn’t trust you, and her boyfriend is Xander, so she got the inside scoop.” His smile lingered as he guided me farther out in the yard by the elbow, seeing the pledges setting up the pong table and other games. I quickly looked around, wondering if Ty was out here, if he could see us. Gage caught on. He leaned in close.

“Is he out here? Did we get caught, Becca?” His eyes were full of mischief as we continued toward a keg they moved outside. “I know Xander, so Lanie is his girlfriend, huh? I heard a bit about all the shit that went down with them last year. Crazy stuff.”

I turned toward him with a crazed enthusiasm at the fact that he was aware of their story. “Oh my God, you’re telling me! Lanie was my roommate last year, too, so I lived it with her, and let me tell you, that guy was one crazy motherfu—”

“Hey, Bec.”

Ty’s voice was full of a lot of things, but mostly hurt.

I turned in time to catch him staring at Gage before his eyes moved to mine, looking for confirmation of his fears. He looked like he wanted to come closer, possibly kiss me, to stake a claim on me he no longer had.

“Hi, Ty! They released you from prison?” The extra zeal in my voice may have come across as forced when I spoke. But I stood my ground, not moving closer to him when my feet wanted me to.

“Nope, just grabbed a quick sec to say hi,” he said as he was already heading away from us.

“This is Gage. He’s a brother of yours.” I tried to make it seem so much more innocent than it was.

“I know who he is. We need to know who all the alumni are.” And that was it; he didn’t even say hello to him. It made me wonder if that would get him in trouble or something. “Have fun, Bec. Don’t get too drunk, OK?”

There was a silence now between Gage and me. It wasn’t necessarily awkward, but it was longer than it should have been. He finally broke it.

“So that’s the ex-boyfriend.” He looked at me, trying to read me as he stood with the lip of his cup perched against his lower lip, ready to take a drink. I nodded, not really sure what else there was to say. “Well, OK then. Definitely appears he doesn’t want to be your ex, but I guess that’s a discussion for another day. He said have fun and not to get too drunk, so those are my orders, I guess.” He grabbed my cup, filled it at the tap, and turned me around to face the yard. “Which game do you want to play first? There’s pong or flip cup. Personally, I like flip cup, but I will let you choose since you’re the lady of the hour.”

I didn’t think Gage would ever truly know how grateful I was to him in that moment, and for the rest of that night. He was a gentleman and so much fun to hang out with. I could truly forget my worries about Ty and me and enjoy the rest of the party.

But it definitely felt like something bigger was yet to come.

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