by L. A. Fiore
Gage opened his mouth to ask her what she was doing when he heard a male voice.
Luke strolled to the end of the bed, his focus between her legs. “You waited up for me.”
Tilly’s mouth opened, but nothing came out. She hadn’t been caught, but this was worse. She’d been cheating for weeks. She was cheating now, and here was her husband catching her in the act and he didn’t know. What was wrong with her? How did she think this was going to end? The thought of her splitting up her family, forcing her kids to live a childhood like the one she had, lost in the cracks of a divorce, she swore she’d never do that to them, but here she was. Tempting fate. Her eyes burned, the guilt, the shame and the pain because when her husband disappeared into the bathroom, she didn’t even acknowledge Gage when she turned off her phone and put it in the charger. She wanted to curl up on her side, wanted to weep because she was a horrible person, a selfish person, but even as she berated herself, a part of her didn’t want it to end...she wanted a man who wasn’t her husband.
Luke walked into the bedroom wearing his boxers, but all Tilly saw was Gage. When he turned off the lights and walked to the bed, it wasn’t Luke in her mind. Even while her husband fucked her, it was Gage she saw. It was only later, after Luke was asleep, that Tilly rolled onto her side and gave in to her tears. There was a special place in hell for women like her.
Gage slipped his hand out of his boxers, eyes focused on the slow moving ceiling fan above. What in the fuck was he doing? Jesus. Her husband walked in. For fucks sake, her husband walked right in on them having phone sex. They could’ve been caught. He thought of his wife. His daughter. Jesus, he even thought about his parents. What would he tell everyone? These thoughts quickly drifted through his mind, but it stopped on Tilly. His head started to throb, and his blood began to run cold. It had nothing to do with her husband almost catching them, it had to do with her husband slipping into bed with her right now. Touching her body. Tasting her lips. Feeling her pussy wrapped around his cock. But… it was his right. She was his wife, not Gage’s. Guilt began to swarm Gage like flies on shit.
He thought of his wife, Heather. He couldn’t decipher why or what had him doing it, maybe the guilt had hit him with such force, but he picked up his cell and typed out a text.
I miss you.
Sadly, he did. Even doing what he was doing, he missed what they used to have. He waited with the thread open, waiting for the response. So, when it came through a minute later, he read it.
Miss you too, honey, but I’m going to be later because I’m grabbing a quick bite with the girls before I head home.
He didn’t even bother texting her back. He just put his cell on the nightstand, rolled over and struggled to fall asleep.
_______________
“What in the fuck are you doing?” Gage spat at Kyle who looked to him with a puzzled expression on his face. He was doing exactly what Gage had taught him, trimming closely to the garden beds’ edge, leaving an inch space of dirt before the grass started.
“Go ahead, Kyle, you got it.” Dom told him, giving a tight shake of his head when he saw Kyle’s mouth open. “You?” Dom pointed at Gage and told him in a hard voice. “Come with me.”
Gage took a deep breath and followed Dom over to the truck. It wasn’t lost on him why he was flipping his shit so easily in the past week. He hadn’t heard a word from Tilly. Then again, he hadn’t reached out either. Considering what they were doing was wrong, it was for the best. However, Gage was more than struggling with the distance between them.
“You gonna tell me what the fuck is going on?” Dom spit out, before taking a swig from a water bottle.
Gage grabbed one out of the cooler for himself, and then leaning his back against the warm metal, he lied, “Nothing.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit, Gage, known you too long, so I know something is fucking up. You’ve been a fucking joy for months, this past week, no one can even look at you. What the fuck?”
“What the fuck you want me to say?” Gage growled.
“The fucking truth,” Dom bit out.
Gage ground out, “She’s in my fucking head, my every fucking thought. Jesus, I can’t even take a fucking piss without thinking about her.” He tossed his half empty bottle of water into the tailgate so hard that the remaining water splashed up and over the side.
Dom whispered as realization hit him, “Friendly Words girl?”
“Yeah.” Gage snapped and started toward the driver’s door. He didn’t want to check, but the pull… it was strong—like a fucking magnet—that it had him flinging the door open and snatching his cell from the cup holder. Pressing the small button on the side, the lock screen lit up, only displaying the time. Forcefully, he tossed it into the cab and slammed the door shut.
Dom came up behind him. “If you break it, you’ll never get that message.”
Gage rested his elbows on the open window and placed his sweaty forehead in his hands. Speaking lowly, he started, “We’ve been talking on the phone for about four weeks now. Last week, we started to have phone sex, and her husband came in,” Gage paused and wiped his hands down his face before he whispered, “Almost caught us, haven’t heard from her since.”
“Fuck,” Dom breathed.
Gage closed his eyes, “Yeah.”
“Where’s your head at?” Dom easily asked.
Gage knew exactly where his head was. Wanting Tilly. Not only in text and talk, but more. He confessed, “Wrapped up in her.”
“Heather has no fucking clue?”
Gage lifted his head, angled toward Dom and told him. “She wouldn’t fucking notice if I gained a hundred pounds and painted the whole fucking inside of the house neon green.”
“Jesus, that bad?” He asked.
Gage turned and put his back to the truck, his eyes going to Arty and Kyle working in the flower beds. “Worse than that. Barely see her at night or in the morning, usually just notes are left. Scarlett has been spending the nights at Rachelle’s cause what teenage girl wants to sit around and watch her parents’ marriage fall the fuck apart.”
Dom looked at his watch and uttered, “It’s almost six, do yourself a favor and message her. If not for you, for all of us who have to deal with you.” He started to walk away but stopped. Turning, he told Gage, “You know I got your back, no matter what, but you gotta figure this shit out before you get any deeper, buddy.” Then he rotated on his foot to leave Gage alone with his thoughts.
It didn’t take him but five seconds to turn, reach an arm through the open window and snatch his cell. Tapping the screen, he brought up her number and hit the message icon. He didn’t even take the time to open up Friendly Words and messaged her there.
What’s going on here, Tilly? It’s been a fucking week, haven’t heard shit from you. If this is all one-sided, or some kinda fucked up game you’re playing, I need to know, now!
He didn’t even check to see if there were any mistakes in the text before he hit send. Closing out of the texting app, Gage leaned back against the truck, holding his cell tightly in his hand.
_______________
Tilly looked outside as she waited for the popcorn. The leaves were changing colors, drifting from the trees to settle on the browning grass. The chill of fall was in the air; winter was right around the corner. It had been a week since Luke walked in on her and Gage. She’d spent the past week with the weight of guilt heavy on her shoulders, but if she was being honest, that weight paled to the heartache. She missed him. She shouldn’t miss him, but with Gage in her life, she was happier.
They had both been given the chance to stop the madness, to put the brakes on their relationship that had gone from friendly banter to something forbidden. She should be thanking her lucky stars that her foray into cheating had ended so, well, simply. But she wasn’t feeling lucky or thankful.
She moved into the living room,
putting the popcorn on the table. The kids were watching a movie. Luke was home, distracted but home. She settled next to him on the sofa. If she thought the spontaneity of that night would have brought them closer, despite where her thoughts had been, she would have been wrong. He hadn’t touched her since, except for absent touches, exactly what she had grown to expect from him. There was a time when those little acts of affection had meant the world to her. How sad was that? And worse, why had she let herself settle for so little from her husband? And not just the sex, but connecting with him on any level. She couldn’t remember the last time they’d had a conversation that revolved around more than his schedule. It took talking to a stranger, falling for him, for her to realize she had slipped into a rut. It wasn’t all Luke’s fault. She could have tried harder. Fuck, she was sitting with him now and was struggling to not think about Gage.
“I have to work this weekend.” Luke said. “I’m just going to get a room at the hotel because it’s going to be a late night.”
And there it was. Her life. Candice had said it, what about her? She had needs, wants. She’d tried to find that in her marriage, but it only worked if both were willing to try. She’d been trying for both of them. She didn’t have to try with Gage. He felt it, too. He wasn’t her husband, but he made her feel alive. He made her feel cherished, desired. And that might be wrong when she wore another man’s ring on her finger, but it sure didn’t feel wrong.
She missed their stolen moments, was coming to realize she needed them like she needed air. Like an addict, she needed a fix. She should fight it, but she couldn’t stop the jump her heart did when she thought about him, the racing of her pulse, the ache of longing. A life that only two months ago she had been content with, now left her feeling edgy and unsatisfied. And she knew in that moment, sitting there, it wasn’t the wife or mother, but the woman who was willing to risk it all to see if the grass was truly greener.
She abruptly stood.
“Are you okay?” Luke asked, his focus moving from his phone.
“Yeah. I need to water the garden.” She lied, but she didn’t want company. She didn’t wait for a reply and walked from the room. She passed her phone, and like she did for the last week, she reached for it. When she saw a message from Gage, she felt both giddy and guilty, but she continued outside, her hands shaking a bit when she opened her messaging app.
Reading his words, her eyes burned, but not because she knew this was wrong or that he was pissed and had every reason to be; they burned because she knew she wanted to see for herself if things looked better from the side he sat on. She knew the consequences of her actions, but she didn’t hesitate when she replied,
I want to learn for myself if the grass is greener.
The cell buzzed in Gage’s hand. He slid the screen open and saw a message from Tilly. He opened it, read the words. A sensation coursed through his body so fast, it almost knocked him over. Faster than he ever had, he typed back.
I want to know if the flowers smell sweeter.
A tear escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek, but a smile curved her lips when she added,
I want to know if the sun is brighter.
Gage didn’t back out of the thread, so he saw when Tilly’s message popped up. Only three words came to mind, and only one word was needed to let him know if the course of his life was about to change direction.
Let’s find out.
With her family inside, Tilly typed the word that would change everything.
Yes.
CHAPTER SIX
Gage had his ass to the old wooden picnic table, his feet to the bench. Legs parted, he rested his elbows on his knees and wrung his sweaty hands as he watched the gray clouds rolling in, a low roar of thunder warning of the impending storm. His heart was beating a little faster than normal. A buzz of excitement was running through his veins as the knot in his gut twisted with nerves.
They had this day planned for over a week. As much as Gage told Tilly he’d come to her, she wouldn’t allow it. They agreed to meet in the middle, at a park. What they didn’t account for was the storm that was threatening, as if mother nature knew the turmoil and restlessness both had felt over the past week. Their conversations had never had moments of silence, but after they arranged to meet, there were many muted moments, both thinking about the step they were taking and how there would be no going back. Even their continuous texting lagged as they grew closer to the day.
He pulled his cell from his back pocket, brought up their message thread and looked at the time stamp. She would be pulling in any minute. Putting his phone back in his pocket, he wiped his hands down his thighs. He chose faded jeans, a medium blue button down, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and his gray and white Nikes. Normally, he threw a hat on, but today, he took a couple of minutes to mess with his hair, even throwing a little product he found in Heather’s cabinet in it. Glancing at his watch, he felt a slight pang of guilt hit him in the chest. He was wearing the Casablanca Theorema watch that Heather had bought him two Christmases ago. The sensation left his chest, though, when he heard another rumble causing him to look up just as the sky opened up, and a black Pilot pulled slowly into the parking lot. The pelting of the rain drops resonated off of the metal awning that he sat under, matching the intensity of his heart rate.
_______________
A storm was brewing, the air practically hummed with electricity, one almost as wild as the storm raging through Tilly. Her foot shook as she pressed harder on the gas pedal, her knuckles were white with how tightly she held the steering wheel. Her heart was like a jackhammer behind her ribs, her blood rushed through her veins; her pulse pounded at her throat and between her legs. It wasn’t fear or even nerves. It was anticipation and excitement. Not once did she think to turn back. Right or wrong, she wanted Gage Sutherland and to hell with the consequences.
She pulled into the parking lot just as the rain started. Her eyes landed on the man sitting on a table, his head lifting with the sound of the thunder. She hit the brakes, hadn’t even reached a space, the tires screeching as she came to an abrupt stop when she got her first look at him. In that moment, there were too many emotions sweeping through her and then their eyes met. All the crazy settled. She threw her car in park, turned it off, and climbed from it. A crack of lightning flashed across the sky, followed by another loud rumble of thunder, as if the gods themselves were shouting a warning. She didn’t heed it. Slamming the door, she started toward him. The rain was pouring down, but she didn’t even feel it. Her focus was on the man who was slowing making his way to her.
Gradually, Gage put one foot to the ground, the other following as he kept his eyes locked to the ones staring back at him. Just as slow as her steps, Gage followed. Once he stepped from underneath the awning, the battering of cool rain drops didn’t soothe the burn coursing through his veins. Even with bright bolts of lightning casting a glow across the gray skies and thunder rumbling through the air, neither halted their steps to take in Mother Nature’s beauty, too engrossed in each other; the world around them was a blur. When Gage finally reached Tilly, a sudden pile of emotions drifted up his chest, landing in the back of his throat. In that jumble of feelings, guilt was nowhere to be found. Gage took a quick second to drift his eyes down her body. He knew she was a lot shorter than him, but having her in front of him, she looked so small. She was dressed in faded jeans and a burnt orange sweater with a dipping neckline. Her frame slightly heavier in person. He didn’t fucking care. Her hazel eyes were much brighter, causing her face to appear younger than her pictures. The soaked material of her sweater clung to her breasts and curves. Gage’s hands twitched with the need to touch her. His eyes landed back on hers.
Tilly had trouble pulling air into her lungs, standing so close to him. He was tall, her head having to tilt back to keep those brown eyes in her sights. This close she could see the laugh lines at the corners of his eyes and around his m
outh. The small scar that ran over his one eye, cutting through his brow. The way his hair was more peppered at the temples. Her eyes moved down his chest to where the cotton was soaked to his muscular frame. Standing here with him was like having every wish she ever made granted, like finding the gold at the end of the rainbow. Her hands itched to touch him, confirming he was really here and not just in her imagination, her dreams, where he’d been from almost the moment they met. “You’re even more beautiful in real life.”
“Fuck,” He started, his voice low and raspy, getting stuck behind all the emotions. “So are you.” He lifted a hand, slowly drifting the back of his knuckles to glide across the wet of her cheek. Her eyes closed, and she tilted her head into his touch. Her skin was so smooth, the flush growing darker the longer he touched her. Gage ran the back of his index finger down her cheek, running along the column of her neck, stopping at the heart pendant laying against her skin. A crash of thunder soared through the air, causing Tilly’s body to jolt. Or was it from his hands on her body?
Gage’s palm opened, and he moved it to wrap around the back of her neck. Her eyes opened just as Gage’s head descended toward her. All the weeks of anticipation, of wanting, of dreaming for this moment. It was only a matter of seconds, but it felt longer, the suspense of feeling his mouth on hers, to finally be able to taste him.
Drops of water clung to her lashes. Sheets of rain falling, soaking them where they stood. Neither felt anything other than the heaviness of sensations zapping the air between them. Gage brushed his lips across Tilly’s. They both froze, recognizing the moment when the choice was taken out of their hands. Her fingers curled around his wrist, the other moved to his waist, clutching the wet material to keep herself steady. Her lips parted in invitation. He began with light sweeps of his lips on hers. Once. Twice. Until all regard crumbled and his arm wrapped around her waist, roughly pulling her against him. His hand at her neck tightened when his lips pressed firmly against hers.