Silent Love [Part 2]_Forbidden Series

by Kenadee Bryant

“Seriously?” I ground my teeth and made for him again. I ended up chasing him around the kitchen and even in the living room for the next few minutes. Right when I thought I had him, he would either shove me to the couch or hold the bowl above his head knowing I couldn’t reach that high. Curse my shortness or curse his tallness.

  “Gage!” I yelled as we came to a stop with him on one side of the couch and me on the other. Macey and Dylan sat there staring at us, amused. We were definitely entertaining them.

  “Carter!” He mimicked back at me.

  “I am going to slap you so hard,” I warned him.

  “Princess, you are as terrifying as a butterfly,” Gage deadpanned.

  “Hey, I can be terrifying.”

  “Sorry, Car, but you can’t,” Macey said, sending me an apologetic look.

  “Traitor!” I hissed at her.

  “I want my cereal back!” I looked back at Gage.

  “Too late.” I watched wide-eyed as he tilted the bowl and drank the rest of the milk. Apparently, he’d eaten the rest of the food as we’d been running around.

  “You evil, evil person!” I shook my spoon at him. Somehow, I still had it in my hand.

  “Mmmm.” Gage smacked, even licked, his lips as he finished.

  “I can’t believe you did that.”

  “Well, you started it by eating my cereal first.” I opened my mouth to say something when Dylan spoke instead.

  “You two are so weird. It is freaking cereal. Who cares? Plus, it isn’t even that great!” He threw his hands in the air. This time my hard gaze wasn’t on Gage; it was on him. Gage was glaring at him too.

  “Take that back!”

  “No.” Dylan stuck his tongue out at me.

  “Real mature.” I scoffed.

  “Says the one who just chased Gage around the house over cereal.”

  “I will thump you, Dyl!”

  “She’s scary, isn’t she?” Gage joked. Tired of dealing with him, I went back to the kitchen and put my spoon in the sink. Gage could clean it up. Heading back to the couch, I passed Gage and shoved his shoulder, although he didn’t even move an inch. Damn him and his muscles. Instead of him being hurt, my shoulder ached.

  “You are such a child,” Gage muttered once I passed him.

  “You are,” I bit out and fell back against the couch. It was a weak comeback, but it was all I had. I ignored Gage as he went and washed the bowl. I even ignored him when he called for me to clean up my spoon. He stole my food.

  Since Dylan and Macey were taking up one side of that couch, that left me and Gage on the other side. I was still slightly annoyed with him, so when he did sit down beside me, I tilted my body in the other direction. My eyes were glued to my cell phone, although I had already seen most of the stuff on the screen.

  “You aren’t ignoring me, are you?” Gage asked a few minutes later. I kept on ignoring him, skipping from app to app. “You are. Why?” He kept on asking me for a good two minutes before the poking started. At first it was only on my arm and every few minutes, then it changed to being poked harder and down to my waist.

  “Stop it,” I hissed, swatting at his hand.

  “Why are you ignoring me?” he asked, poking my side roughly which caused me to squirm.

  “Gage, seriously, stop.”

  “Am I annoying you?” I could just hear the grin in his voice.

  “Yes, you are.” I slapped his hand once more.

  “You are violent.”

  “You make me violent.” We sat there and bickered back and forth like an old married couple. Whatever I said, Gage just had to have some sort of comeback, and I couldn’t let him have the last word.

  “Do you think they will ever stop?” I heard Macey ask Dylan. I could feel their eyes on us, but it did nothing to stop our bickering.

  “Probably not. We may have to intervene.”

  “Maybe if we mention that we are going to go eat?” Macey supplied. They were oblivious to the fact that we could plainly hear them.

  “You know we can hear you,” I said, looking over at them.

  “Are you two done yet? We want to eat before the fight,” Dylan asked, sending both Gage and I a look, like it was all of our fault. Like they hadn’t been sitting there for the past hour talking.

  “Yes, let’s go,” I said, moving away from Gage and up off the couch. My stomach was once again growling. It was seriously a miracle I wasn’t fat with how much I loved to eat.

  “Fat-ass,” Gage muttered under his breath as I stood up. I whirled around to face him.

  “My fat ass will sit on you if you don’t shut up.” He put his hands up in surrender and shut his mouth for once. Happy I finally shut him up, I grinned and turned around. Mace and Dylan were up and waiting for us. Grabbing my bag, we trailed out of Dylan and Gage’s apartment and headed to grab something to eat.

  Even though Gage and I were bickering, I wasn’t angry at all. In fact, my insides were singing for some odd reason. I didn’t want to admit it, but I liked arguing with him; it was entertaining, and he actually could take as much as he would give. It was nice knowing both of us could hold up against one another. It was like Gage opened up something inside of me and made me this person who talked back, who made sarcastic comebacks.

  It was weird but exciting in a way. I acted different around him, unlike the shy, quiet girl I was around others. I wasn’t even like this around Ethan sometimes. I was self-conscious around Ethan, and with Gage I…wasn’t, surprisingly. I didn’t seem to care around him. It scared me how I changed around him.

  As we walked down the hall to the stairway, Gage softly shoved me to the side before shooting me a small smile. He walked up beside Dylan, leaving me next to Macey. Maybe feeling this way wasn’t all that bad.

  Chapter Two

  “I just can’t believe he won!” Macey practically yelled as she got ready the next morning. I rolled my eyes but smiled. It was surprising, well, to us at least.

  Yesterday, Gage had had a fight, which Macey and I tagged along to, and he won. His competitor was this huge burly guy that was more like a bear than a person. The moment I saw him come into the ring, I wanted to pull Gage right out of there. Dylan kept telling me Gage would do fine, but how was I supposed to know that? The guy looked like he could squish Gage like a bug.

  Although Gage’s opponent was huge and apparently “amazing,” Gage had no problem taking the guy down. Of course, he had to taunt the guy for a few minutes until he got tired of dodging the man’s punches. Within minutes he was down on the ground, and Gage was declared the winner. I shouldn’t have been so surprised that he won, but I just couldn’t help myself. This definitely proved the point, “never judge a book by its cover.”

  Gage just walked out of the ring like nothing had happened and headed for his room to change. Everyone round us were either groaning or yelling, handing money to the person they bet on. Dylan acted like it was no big deal and led us back to the room, not batting an eyelash at the guy lying in the middle of the ring groaning.

  Now it was the next day, Saturday, and Macey was still talking about it. I think the reason she was so fascinated was because last time she didn’t see much of the fight, given she was trying to find me, and she didn’t know Gage then either. It was very impressive, I had to say.

  Along with going to the fight with the two boys, we ate dinner together, which turned out to be a lot of fun. Macey got along great with Dylan and Gage, and surprisingly, Gage wasn’t rude to me—something I did not expect. It was like something small had changed between us the night of the party last week. I still wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not.

  I was lost in thought as Macey went on about the fight. Lately, my mind tended to slip off into no-man’s-land. I was busy not listening to Macey and she was too busy talking animatedly for either of us to notice the front door opening until two loud voices reached our ears. I turned my head turned toward the sound to find Luke and Ethan striding through the door like they owned the place.
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br />   “How did you get in here?” Macey asked, standing up and putting her hands on her hips, staring the two boys down. Of course, neither cared.

  “I have a key, remember?” Luke held up the key my parents gave him when we moved in. I’d almost forgotten he had it, honestly. Both boys ambled toward the couch and wasted no time in getting comfortable and making themselves at home. Because we had the same furniture that they did, one person had to sit in the chair beside the couch that held three people. For a dorm room, we actually had nice furniture that held more than two people.

  “What are you two doing here?” I asked, glancing over at Ethan in the chair and Luke on my other side.

  “We had nothing to do, so we decided to come hang out with you guys,” Ethan replied.

  “No hot dates on a Saturday?”

  “Car, it is noon,” Luke pointed out.

  “So? You don’t need to have a date at night. Girls expect day dates too, you know.”

  “Aww, are you jealous? You want us to just hang out with you,” Ethan said in a babyish tone.

  “I am not jealous, just wondering.” I shrugged. The thought of Ethan going out on some date did make my insides clench, but I ignored the feeling. There was a moment of awkward silence, but I quickly quenched it.

  “So, how was the game last night?” As I predicted, both boys immediately dove into details.

  “It was a good game. The Ducks were pretty good. They had a great defensive team that stopped us from scoring multiple times. Definitely well matched,” Luke said. I knew they won because Luke had texted me about it, but I knew they liked to give me the details of what happened. At least I liked football, or I would have no clue what they were going on about.

  “Number fifty-four was quick, dude. Did you see how fast he got to the ball? I would have hated to be put on him,” Ethan said to my brother.

  “How many touchdowns did you score?” I asked Ethan. Knowing him, it was probably most of them.

  “I made five.” He grinned at me and leaned back in the chair, a proud smile clear on his face. My eyebrows shot up. Five touchdowns were amazing—most people only got one or two.

  “Wow, that is…wow.” I breathed out. I think that was a record for him as well. There was no doubt Ethan had talent when it came to catching a football.

  “Caught every ball I threw him,” Luke said, his tone just as proud. They definitely made a great team. Without one, the other wouldn’t do as well. They came as a package deal, almost like Mario and Luigi.

  “I’m so proud of you guys. I’m glad you won.” I smiled at the both of them.

  “Good job,” Macey said, but kept her gaze on her cell phone. I watched from the corner of my eye and saw Luke frown at her.

  “So what did you girls do?” Luke asked a second later. Macey’s head shot up to look at me. Her eyes silently asked what we should say.

  “Nothing much, honestly. Just studied forever and went to go eat dinner,” I said. Part of it was true, at least. If they knew we went to an underground fight, they would have our heads. I didn’t think either of us wanted a lecture today. Plus, it would sour their good mood from their win.

  “Boring!” Ethan stated.

  “Well, sorry, not all of us can go and play football and win,” I shot back at him, rolling my eyes.

  “That is true. No one is like me.”

  I scoffed at that but didn’t say anything in return. After a few minutes, I stood up.

  “I am going to get something to drink. Do you guys want anything from the kitchen while I’m there?” I asked.

  “Water for me,” Luke and Macey said at the same time.

  “Bring me a snack,” Ethan said.

  “A snack? What kind?”

  “Surprise me.”

  I stared at him for a good few seconds before turning and heading for the kitchen.

  As I got to the kitchen and went over to the fridge to get everyone drinks, I somehow missed Ethan getting up and following after me. Just as I was pulling my head out of the fridge, Ethan decided that was the moment to announce his presence. Hearing his voice made me jump in surprise, which resulted in me hitting my head on the fridge.

  “Ow!” I rubbed my head and shut the fridge door forcefully. I glared over at Ethan knowing he probably did it on purpose.

  “Oops, sorry.” He shrugged, but I could see he was fighting a grin.

  “You are so rude,” I mumbled, setting the drinks on the counter. Going over to the cabinet that held our treat stash, I was stopped by a hand on my arm. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Ethan staring down at me. He was close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off his body.

  “Carter, I actually came in here to talk to you.” His voice was low, like he didn’t want the others to hear. Confused, I turned to face him.

  “What’s up?” I asked. From my angle I could see how bright blue his eyes looked today. I just wanted to drown in them.

  “I uh…” He brought a hand up and rubbed the back of his neck. I raised an eyebrow at him, noticing that he was nervous. He only rubbed his neck when he was nervous or when things were awkward. It made him look so cute.

  “Ethan, what is it?” I asked, slightly worried. Was something wrong?

  “You know, I never got the chance to apologize for the way I acted last Friday at the party. I was drunk and not in the right frame of mind,” he started to say. At his words, my heart sunk a little. He regretted dancing with me. He was saying he was drunk and not responsible for his actions. My face fell at the thought of him not liking dancing with me. I mean, I thought he’d had a good time…well, had some fun at least before he left me for another girl.

  “I shouldn’t have left you when that other girl came up and started dancing with me.”

  His words broke through my thoughts. “Wait, what?” I interrupted him. I thought he was talking about dancing with me, not about what happened after.

  “I shouldn’t have danced with that other girl. I was having such a great time with you, and when she suddenly appeared, my drunken mind didn’t realize what I was doing.” He stared down at me.

  “I am so sorry, Carter. I really am. By the time I came back around, you weren’t there anymore, and when I tried to find you I couldn’t.” He tried to find me! my inner voice screamed. “All week I wanted to come and apologize, but I couldn’t figure out what to say or when to say it. Every time I tried to, you were busy or someone was around you. I know it is a little late, but I hope you can forgive me.”

  I looked up at him, my heart beating hard in my chest. Here he was, apologizing for leaving me on the dance floor. I had thought he just didn’t want to talk about it, and that was why he didn’t bring it up. I told myself I didn’t care, but deep down I did. Now, hearing him apologize, my heart soared. His eyes were shining down at me, pleading for me to forgive him.

  “Carter, please say something.” I hadn’t even noticed I didn’t reply.

  “Ethan, it is okay. I figured you had been drinking and weren’t thinking properly.” I was still hurt seeing him dancing like that with that other girl, but I couldn’t resist him when he stood right in front of me looking like that. He was apologizing when I thought he wouldn’t; that was what meant more to me than anything.

  “No, it is not okay. I shouldn’t have done that to you, Carter, and I want to make it up to you.”

  “Make it up to me?”

  “Yes. Would you like to, um…” He glanced around to make sure neither Macey or Luke had walked in to the room. He lowered his voice even more and leaned closer to me. “Would you like to go out to eat with me tomorrow?”

  Would you like to go out to eat with me tomorrow? LIKE A DATE? I screamed inwardly. Did Ethan just seriously ask me out? The way he said it and was now rubbing his neck and avoiding my eyes made me think he meant it in that way, instead of a friend way.

  I stared at him trying to see if he was messing with me, but his eyes were clear and looking right at me. He was waiting for my answer. He is liter
ally asking you out right now! This is everything you have ever wanted. Why haven’t you said yes? My inner voice was yelling at me. I just stood there like an idiot, my mouth opening and closing like that of a dead fish.

  “I-I uh…” Damn it, Carter, get the words out! “Um, yeah, sure. I’d love to,” I finally said, but my voice was all high and squeaky. I bet my face was bright red too.

  “Really?” His face lit up, and his hand dropped from his neck like he was surprised I said yes. I was just surprised I managed to respond at all.

  “Yeah.” There goes my high voice again. “I’d love to go out to eat with you.” It was like my mouth was moving on its own. Both my mind and heart were going a million miles a minute.

  “Great! I was thinking we would do something tomorrow and then go out to eat. My way of making it up to you.” The whole thought of spending the entire day with Ethan made my knees weak, and I was glad I was able to stay upright.

  “That sounds good.” A smile appeared on my face.

  “Maybe we can get together around—” he started to say, but Luke’s voice interrupted him.

  “Hey, where’s my water?” he yelled. I stifled a groan at my brother’s timing. Of course, he had to interrupt whatever Ethan was saying and interrupt our moment. The best moment I had ever had with Ethan.

  Ethan sighed and closed his eyes. He obviously wasn’t happy with my brother either. Perfect timing, Luke. Perfect timing. I couldn’t help but giggle at how annoyed he looked. At my giggle, his eyes snapped open and a smile appeared on his face.

  “Guess we better go out there before they come in here,” he said.

  “Yeah, I guess.” I didn’t really want my brother to walk in and see Ethan standing so close to me. Who knew what he would do to us?

  “I’ll text you more about the details. Your brother would skin me alive if he knew I was taking his sister out.” My heart skipped a beat at his words. He was referring to it as a date! I had to force myself to stay calm and not freak out. That would have to wait until they were gone.

  Ethan leaned even closer, and I almost thought he was going to kiss me. My pulse started to go crazy the closer he got. He is going to kiss me! I screamed internally. He stopped a few inches away from me before disappointedly pulling away, a big smirk on his face. I stood there frozen with my jaw hanging open like a freak. As he pulled away, I looked down and saw he had the two waters in his hands.