Incomplete

by L. A. Fiore

  I know. But all is good. :)

  Gage only threw in the last line to not let on how much the situation was really bothering him. Then he drained his beer, disturbing Velvet when he got up and went to the kitchen to grab another one.

  Despite his words, she suspected he did feel the blow off of his birthday. She had. Not wanting to pry, she replied,

  I’ve been there.

  Gage was finding he was there more times than he could remember. It was getting late, he was tired, both physically and emotionally, even if he didn’t want to admit the latter.

  It’s getting late. Have a good night, Tilly.

  She suspected all wasn’t good. In his shoes, it wouldn’t be good for her either.

  Happy birthday, Gage. Night.

  Gage tossed his phone onto the counter, snatching another beer from the fridge and draining half of it in one pull. Taking a deep breath, he stretched his neck from side to side, trying to relieve the tension building there. It didn’t work. He thought of the woman he just chatted with, how easy the conversation had been. Why didn’t he have that with his own wife anymore? His lips tipped up when he remembered her saying, at forty-six they must have to blend your food and administer it with a straw.

  Fuck it.

  He drained the rest of his beer before retrieving another. With steady steps, he grabbed his cell off the island and walked to the living room. Launching Friendly Words, he tapped the screen and brought up the message thread.

  You there?

  Tilly was shutting things down to head to bed when her phone buzzed. Friendly Words was still up, so she saw the message waiting from Gage. She’d just been thinking about their chat. With how her evening started, it had been nice to end the night with nothing more than easy banter. And it was easy to talk to him. Maybe that was because of the anonymity...no expectations, no judgment, just two people talking. It was nice. Settling back on the stool, she replied,

  I’m here.

  Gage felt a sense of relief when her message popped up and dropped his ass onto the couch.

  It’s getting late, but I have to be honest, I don’t wanna stop chatting. Does that make me sound like a stalker? Or a fucking weirdo? :P

  Tilly chuckled reading his message because she was a weirdo, too, then. A conversation where none of the everyday bullshit got in the way. She started to type back, stopped, but then thought fuck it.

  I don’t want to stop chatting either. Talking with someone where there’s nothing expected of me, nothing needed from me, just talking for the purpose of talking. It’s nice.

  Gage completely understood what Tilly was saying. He typed out.

  I couldn’t agree more. ;)

  Tilly walked to the fridge for a bottle of water and settled back down at the island. She was laughing as she typed.

  With that being said. I’ve warned my kids about talking to strangers on the internet. So, Gage, how do I know you are really who you say you are and not an alien trying to tap into my brain? Trolling a word game app fits with that scenario. ; )

  Gage laughed, causing a sleeping Velvet on the chair to stir. She shot him a look of disgust before laying her head back down.

  Well, Tilly, I could say the same about you. How do I know you aren’t sitting in a padded room, eating your own hair, while singing show tunes, huh?

  Tilly laughed out loud, biting her lip to keep it down, so she didn’t wake her family.

  Well damn. You figured me out. I thought I was being stealthy. Though, it’s not show tunes, I’m partial to commercial jingles.

  Gage laughed harder this time, getting a muffled growl from Velvet. “Sorry, girl.” He apologized and added, “But she’s kinda fucking funny.” Velvet didn’t seem to care about Tilly’s humor as she rose, spun and laid back down in the exact same spot she had been.

  Good to know. Although, tapping into your brain, I might like to do cause how in the fuck are you coming up with such high point words? Is it the hair consumption? Pic exchange?

  Gage threw the last in there to settle Tilly’s nerves. He wasn’t there to make her feel insecure; he wouldn’t do that to anyone.

  Tilly had just taken a sip of her water when she read his message and almost spat it out. All that hair consumption, he was funny. She wasn’t sure why, at his suggestion of swapping pics, she didn’t even think twice. Maybe because she was old school and liked knowing what the person looked like she was talking to.

  I suppose the prudent thing, that would be a high earning point word, would be to exchange pics. Fair warning, as my kids like to say, I’ve only just entered the twenty-first century, my selfie taking skills are limited.

  Gage smiled at the screen and typed out.

  I’d say, ladies first, but if you’d like me to go first, I understand. As for my selfie taking skills, I suck. :P

  Tilly grinned and replied,

  I appreciate your gentlemanly ways with ladies first, but I think I’ll let you go first. ; )

  For some reason, Gage didn’t want to look at her response. After he had sent the message, he felt a pang of guilt hit his gut. But what they were doing wasn’t wrong. And it wasn’t like he’d be burned at the stake seeing a pic of another woman. It made her human. Jesus, they were adults. But his heart rate picked up slightly when he snatched his phone off his thigh, waiting to see a pic of her. Instead, he read her message. He smiled. With that smile on his face, he opened his image gallery and started scrolling. He came across a few pics of himself that his daughter had taken when she’d stolen his phone last weekend. Only to leave fifty new pics of random shit on his phone. He chose the one where he was standing up against his truck, looking off in the distance. He opened his and Tilly’s message thread, typed out, deal, and added the pic along with it.

  Tilly sat at the counter and was surprised at the rush of excitement she felt waiting to see a pic of him, to put a face to the personality. When the picture came through, her first reaction was to laugh. Smartass. There was no way that was him, not the image looking back at her. For one thing, he didn’t look forty-six. Sure his hair was peppered with gray, but his face was not the face of a forty-six-year-old. And to add to that, he was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. Soulful brown eyes and a body carved from muscle. He did say he owned a landscaping business. The man in the picture certainly had the body of someone who worked hard labor for a living, but this man was sitting at home alone on his birthday. His wife chose her friends over him. She called bullshit.

  A picture of yourself, Gage. There is no way that’s you. What did you type into Google? Because now I’m going to need to Google that too. I’m close on the alien thing, aren’t I?

  Gage chuckled. He wasn’t full of himself in the least, but he knew he looked good for his age. If anything, the woman’s number on the crumpled up napkin sitting in the garbage at the coffee shop was proof enough.

  I’m going to take that as a compliment, but that’s me. I’ll send you another, but I’ll make sure to tuck in my antennas.

  This time, Gage went upstairs to the master bedroom and stood in front of the long antique stand up mirror nestled in the corner of his and his wife’s bedroom. He snapped the pic, then quickly realized that he could have grabbed that off the internet too. Taking the stairs two at a time, he found a piece of paper in the junk drawer next to the dishwasher and wrote, Hi Tilly, on it. Back upstairs, he stood, again, in front of the mirror, but this time holding up the piece of paper. Once he snapped the pic, he looked it over. Not too bad for not being a selfie kind of guy. He sent it without a message attached.

  Tilly read his message, grinning at his comment of tucking in his antennas and entertaining the possibility that the man she was joking with was really the man in the picture. Well shit. She couldn’t deny it; the man was fucking hot. She didn’t move until her phone buzzed again. This time, he was standing in front of a mirror with a piece
of paper with her name on it, but she was too busy looking at his face and working her eyes down his body. She gulped, then stood and walked away from her phone because it wasn’t just excitement she felt. She was a warm-blooded woman with a pulse, and damn, he was beautiful. She almost didn’t want to send a picture of herself, not after seeing all that he had going on. Her hair was up in a messy knot. Her face was clean of makeup since she’d spent most of the day baking. She was wearing her “We’re All Mad Here” tee and yoga pants. But a deal was a deal. She held out her phone and took a picture, studied it and knew it wasn’t getting any better without time in front of the mirror.

  He bet that this Tilly F wasn’t who she said she was because he waited for four minutes and still didn’t get a response, so he typed back.

  You there?

  I’m here. A deal is a deal, but damn, you’re not even photo shopped.

  She sent her picture then walked away from her phone again because she was feeling restless, but it wasn’t an unpleasant sensation.

  Her message came up before the image finished loading. Photo shopped, funny. Gage watched the bar as it rose slowly. He felt a sensation move through his gut. One he hadn’t felt in a long time. One he liked. Her picture popped up and he sucked in a breath. She was beautiful. His wife was a stunning woman but there was something about Tilly. A realness to her that drew him in. With a messy bun full of brown hair sitting on top of her head, shining hazel eyes stared back at him. Her skin was flawless, lips pink and full… Gage took a deep breath. And not a stitch of makeup on. Jesus. From the angle, he could tell she wasn’t a skinny woman, had generous curves. Just the way he liked his women.

  I should be asking you what you’ve been searching on Google. Damn, you’re gorgeous.

  Tilly heard her phone buzz. She read his message and dropped down onto the stool. He thought she was gorgeous? She felt those words, and in a way she knew she probably shouldn’t, considering the man offering them, but she’d be lying to herself if she said it didn’t make her feel something. Maybe it would have been safer if he was an alien.

  Your age is showing. Might want to get those eyes checked. ; ) But thank you for saying that. Not going to lie, that felt good.

  Gage read the last line. Those seven words let him know that her husband didn’t compliment her the way he should, because his wife was beautiful. He moved his eyes from his phone and looked around the bedroom he shared with his wife. Fuck. What was he doing? He was married, she was married. Yeah, all they did was chat about their families and exchange pictures. But something felt wrong. But that wrong also felt so fucking good.

  I’d like it noted that I have perfect vision, ask my eye doctor. ;) And, no need to thank me, I meant every word. It’s after midnight, I should get some sleep.

  When was the last time Luke had complimented her? Too long when a simple comment from a stranger could cause a rush of warmth to move through her. She liked how it felt.

  Perfect vision...okay. ; ) Your birthday is over. Glad I was able to share a little of it with you. I should get some sleep, too. Good night, Gage.

  There was a strong pull inside that Gage was fighting. He didn’t want to end their chat, but it was for the best, so he did just that typing back.

  I’m glad you were able to also. Night, Tilly. ;)

  Tilly read his message; she couldn’t stop the smile. She shut off the lights, went upstairs and got ready for bed. She slipped into bed next to her husband, but it was thoughts of Gage that she fell asleep to.

  Gage backed out of the app, stripped down to his boxers and climbed into a cold empty bed. He closed his eyes and when visions of Tilly skated through his mind, his cock twitched. That sensation had him sitting up. This was a woman he’d just met. What the fuck. One he’d only exchanged a few words with. Okay, more than just a few words, but still. Could the attraction he felt have to do with what he was lacking in his own marriage? Curiosity got the best of him as he reached for his phone on the nightstand. A few seconds later, he tapped on the Open Book icon then began to search for Tilly. He didn’t know her last name, but he scrolled through the Tillians and Tillys. It didn’t take long before he found a Tillian living in West Chester, PA. He touched the small pic. The profile appeared and the small image, now bigger, was a picture of Tilly with what Gage suspected to be her two kids. They were all dressed up, wide smiles on their faces, and standing in front of a school. He noticed that her daughter had the same color hair, and only a few facial similarities of Tilly. Her son had her nose and eyes, but his hair was much darker. His finger started moving the screen. The posts all seemed to be about her kids and recipes or jokes she had reposted. When he wasn’t finding much info about her life, he tapped on photos. Her profile must have had a privacy setting as only a few images popped up. One was of her and a man, her husband? Gage was man enough to say he wasn’t a bad looking guy, but where Gage was rough around the edges, her husband wasn’t. He had more of a clean-cut appearance. What he did notice in that picture was there seemed to be a forced smile on Tilly’s face. She was still gorgeous, but her eyes weren’t shining and her grin wasn’t wide, like both had been when she had sent him a pic. He tapped on the image and saw the date on the picture was from eleven months ago. Had she been suffering in her marriage for that long? Was she just caught off guard by the person snapping the picture? Did it really matter? No. They were both very married. Gage backed out of the app, set his phone on the nightstand and sunk back down into bed. He didn’t find sleep until a while later, and even knowing it was wrong, Tilly was on his mind when he did.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Gage pushed the last bite of the carrot cake around on his plate. His wife and parents were discussing his daughter’s grades. He might be physically there, but his mind was elsewhere. A place that it had no right being. The last time he spoke with Tilly was Friday night. He’d grabbed for his phone numerous times yesterday to send her a message, but he didn’t want to be too forward. He even locked his cell away in a locker at the batting cages when he went out with his daughter so he wouldn’t reach for it. There’d been a hint of excitement when he went to retrieve it, thinking there might possibly be a message waiting for him. But nothing. As Saturday fell into the night, he thought he might have scared her off. Maybe exchanging pics so early was too much. Or, maybe she felt guilty.

  Gage didn’t know why he hadn’t heard from Tilly, but he did know it was eating him up inside. Something he didn’t find settling well in his gut. Was it the lack of conversation in his own marriage that caused the pull to Tilly?

  “Do you not like it?” Heather asked in a low voice when his parents’ attention turned to Scarlett.

  No, he didn’t like it. Her favorite was carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, not his. Not to mention, he wasn’t a fan of eating cake at eleven in the morning, but his parents had already made plans. So, he took what he could get.

  Gage directed a smile her way. “Just full from breakfast,” he lied.

  “How’s business going?” His dad asked, removing himself from the conversation between the girls when they moved it to anti-aging facial creams.

  Gage nodded. “It’s going good,” he told him and added, “Hired two new guys, hoping that I can take a few days off here and there.”

  His father gave him hard eyes, tilting his head, he challenged, “Just make sure you can afford it. Can’t go loaning you money anymore.” Then his father looked at his watch and said to Gage’s mother, “You ready? We’re meeting the Berks at noon.”

  Gage felt the dig about money hit him. He pushed the plate away from him when his stomach began to turn. Jesus, it’d been ten fucking years since he had asked his dad to loan him money. One of the lawnmowers had died, and at the time, Gage didn’t have the money to replace it. His dad lent it to him, but he paid back every damn penny within four months. The great Charles Sutherland liked to remind his son of the time he needed help, not a
comforting memory, but a reminder that his father was better.

  “Oh, yes,” His mother cooed and rose from her seat. “Look at the time.”

  Gage rose and said his farewells to his parents before he turned to Heather who was cleaning up the table. “Gonna take Velvet for a walk.”

  “Good idea, she doesn’t get out much,” she replied, looking at the small dog sitting at Gage’s feet.

  He thought about responding to her comment, but knew not only would he take out all the issues between them, he’d top that with the anger he had toward his parents. In the end, Gage hooked up Velvet’s leash and walked out the back door. The farther he got from his house, Gage’s mind filled with all that was going on in his life. He couldn’t fault his parents for leaving early because they had plans. Heather had originally planned to have cake on his actual birthday and not two days later. The distance that grew between him and his parents, he didn’t have the right to point fingers. There were many times, he didn’t pick up the phone to call them. But they didn’t do the same in return as they were living their retired lives to the fullest. As long as they stayed involved with his daughter’s life, that’s all he cared about.

  When his wife came home early on Saturday morning, he heard about how great her time in the city was. How they should think about moving there. He didn’t want to move, he liked where they lived. Not to mention, that would take their daughter away from the life she was building. Disturbing everyone’s foundation just so Heather could have what she wanted. Normally, Gage would give in to her, he always did, but recently, he’d stopped that, finally voicing his own opinions. This only blew up in his face because he’d come to realize that the saying, happy wife, happy life, was one hundred fucking percent true.

  Taking the path at the end of the block that opened up to a large field, Gage let Velvet off her leash. A game she loved to play was to sprint until she heard his whistle, which had her running back to him. He took a seat on the large oak timber, picking up the nearest twig, and tossing it through the air as he told an excited Velvet, “Go get it.” She took off. Gage pulled his bottom lip between his teeth and whistled. The full sprint she was in, stopped, and she turned and came full speed toward him. Rustling her head, he told her to sit. Without delay, she did, laying by his feet, enjoying the fresh Sunday afternoon air.