Silent Love [Part 2]_Forbidden Series

by Kenadee Bryant

  “Now we don’t have to worry about breaking up a fistfight tonight,” she reasoned. Although I didn’t like that Gage and Dylan left, I knew things tonight would have turned out not so good if all four guys were in the same room.

  I just couldn’t help but already miss Gage already.

  ***

  My afternoon classes passed quickly, much to my contentment. I was looking forward to going with Gage to his fight. Sure, I normally didn’t like fighting, but for some reason it was fun going. Maybe Gage was starting to rub off on me.

  When my last class of the day, math, got out, I quickly made my way toward Gage’s dorm building. Not sure if he would be there, I sent him a quick text saying that I was on my way. I was slightly early since the professor let us all out ten minutes early. While that didn’t sound like much, it was when you had already been there over an hour. No one could take more than an hour of math in one sitting, or at least I couldn’t.

  My flats slapped against the concrete as I walked, and my school bag banged against my thigh every so often. It was slowly starting to get cold here, which I was excited for. For some reason I had a feeling this winter would be a good one. I normally was not a fan of the cold because I was always cold, but it was always nice when you get to wear a sweater and jeans, or sit at home drinking hot chocolate.

  Like every girl on campus, I was taking advantage of the warmer weather while it lasted. I wore a pair of white shorts and a cute long-sleeved flowery top. I also had on a pair of simple black flats. I knew that only in a few more weeks it would start to get too cold to wear shorts, so why not make the most of it now?

  It didn’t take me long to reach the dorm building. I was coming from the east side, so I couldn’t see Gage just yet. Coming around to the front, I noticed a figure leaning against the wall. Their hands were in their front pockets and the person’s head was leaned back against the building.

  Gage.

  A smile spread across my face at the sight of him. The small worry that he wouldn’t show up disappeared. Taking a minute to look at him, I slowly made my way toward him. My heart was beating hard and I didn’t know why. The closer I got to him, the faster my pulse raced. Taking a calm breath, I came to a stop in front of him.

  Gage looked like he just stepped out of a magazine as he leaned against the building. If it was even possible he’d gotten more attractive since I last saw him a few hours ago. His brown hair still looked perfect while mine probably looked like a bird made a nest in it.

  “Ready to go?” His deep voice broke me out of my trance. I couldn’t find my voice, so I just nodded. When he pushed off the wall and stretched up, I just noticed how tall he was. Why have I just noticed that now? I wondered. Not really knowing what I was doing, I followed alongside Gage as we headed for his car.

  “Where is Dylan?” I found myself finally asking after a few minutes of walking.

  “He still has class so he will come later.” I remembered that Dylan never missed a fight, so why were we heading out so early?

  “Your fight is later tonight?” He nodded. “Why are we leaving so early? It is only three-fifteen?” I glanced at the time on my phone in my hand.

  “Because we are going to continue with your training today.” I winced at that. I could still remember how sore I was the next day, and how Gage totally kicked my butt that day.

  “Do I have to? I came along because I thought you were going to fight, not me.” I groaned. As much fun as it was getting my ass handed to me by Gage, I wasn’t in the mood.

  “Who said you had a say in this?”

  “Me, the one whose body is going to be tortured.”

  “You over exaggerate.” Gage just waved me off. I didn’t get a chance to say anything else before we reached his Jeep.

  “Why are we even doing this now? Can’t you ‘overtrain’ or whatever it is called?” I asked as we started driving to the gym where the underground fighting was held.

  “There is nothing else to do, and it is boring just sitting around waiting for my fight tonight. It is at six, so we have a while.” He shrugged. “Plus, I can get some training in.”

  “Wait, hold up. Training? Are you going to train with me, as in use me to be your punching bag?” I stared at him with wide eyes. No way was that going to happen. I would break under a good punch from him. I’m what the Italians call fragile.

  “Yeah, I am going to pretend you are my opponent and go all out on you.” He deadpanned. I raised my hand up at that.

  “How am I supposed to know?” Gage shook his head at me while sighing loudly.

  “Ask me again why I put up with you?” he asked glancing at me than back to the road.

  “Because of my award-winning personality.” I flashed my teeth at him in a smile while batting my eyelashes. “Or my stunning good looks. Or that fact that I am just plain awesome. Take your pick.”

  “More like none of the above.” He muttered under his breath, but I caught it.

  “Hey!” I shoved his arm.

  “Don’t make me crash my car, Carter.” He warned me, but I could see he was trying hard to fight a smile.

  I turned to look out the window as we made our way to the gym that wasn’t too far from us. While the gym wasn’t in a terrible neighborhood, considering it was so close to campus, but it still didn’t look great. A tad bit rundown, but that meant nothing. Sometimes the best places were the ones that might not look the greatest. And sometimes the best-looking places were the worst.

  It didn’t take long for Gage to pull into the parking lot and park. Grabbing just my phone, I put my bag in the backseat of his car out of sight. While I did that Gage jumped out and rounded the back, grabbing what looked like a gym bag.

  I was still impressed by how they made this place look so rundown when the inside was in great condition. It of course looked worse at night, but in the daylight, you could almost see the beauty the building used to have in the day. People definitely made sure no one would look twice at this place unless you knew what it was really for.

  When we entered and went down the stairs leading to the fighting/gym area, I could hear the metal of punching bags squealing, meaning they were in use. A few grunts and groans could be heard as well. What sounded like rock, or some kind of metal played softly in the speakers; loud enough to be heard but soft enough you could comfortably talk to someone instead of yelling.

  Just like last time I was here “training” with Gage, there weren’t too many people around. When we headed toward the lockers, everyone we passed gave Gage a nod of either recognition or a nod of respect, not sure which. He nodded back to a few of them but didn’t say a word. Maybe Gage was more popular here than I thought.

  “So what exactly are we going to do here?” I asked as we came to the lockers.

  “I am going to teach you more about some basic fighting techniques. Nothing too extreme.” As he started taking a different outfit of his gym bag, I realized I had nothing to change into. I couldn’t do this in what I was wearing. Sure, last time I was kind of in the same thing, but I knew better this time around. My clothes had been soaked and I felt even more disgusting having to wear them home.

  “Uh, Gage?” I asked as he had his back to me.

  “Hmm?” He didn’t even look over at me, busy doing something with his clothes or bag.

  “I, uh, don’t have anything to change into.” I didn’t know why I suddenly felt so shy about saying that. This time he did turn around and looked me up and down. I felt hot under his gaze and almost covered myself up even though what I was wearing was not revealing at all. The only thing showing were my legs, and they were nothing to brag about.

  He didn’t say a word as he continued looking over me. His eyes did stray to my bare legs a few times, but before I could really think about it, he’d move them away. Gage’s gaze made me feel small. I wasn’t super attractive by any means; I just had average looks. I knew I wasn’t ugly but standing next to someone as hot as him, I felt very inadequate.

&n
bsp; All of my insecurities were coming up full force. It didn’t help when I remembered what happened with my last boyfriend. Being cheated on and thrown aside like trash really does a number on you. You can’t help but think that something was wrong with you and that was why they cheated. That maybe you weren’t as great as you had thought or hoped.

  When my ex, Quinton, cheated on me, I had thought for the longest time that it was because I wasn’t good enough. I was nowhere near as pretty as the girl he cheated on me with, Rebecca. She was like Amy, perfect in every way possible while I was like her adoptive, less attractive and boring sister. It was obviously a mystery as to why I got him as a boyfriend.

  So, standing here with Gage staring at me like that, I once again felt not good enough. Not good enough for a guy like Gage to give me a second look. I wanted to be like Amy or even Macey and act all confident and sexy right now, but I couldn’t. I was just average Carter who had nothing to brag about, and had no idea how to even woo a guy.

  “Hey Chris!” Gage’s yelling brought me back to the present. Wondering who he was yelling to, I followed his gaze to a nice-looking guy that was standing in front of a punching bag.

  “Yeah?” he called back taking a step away from the bag and facing our direction. From here I could see how big his arms were, and they were coated with sweat. There was something weirdly hot about that.

  “Is Tiff still around?” Gage asked.

  “Yeah, I think she just went into the changing room. Why?”

  “Just need to ask her for a favor,” was all Gage said. The guy, Chris, just nodded and returned to his work out.

  “Who is Tiff?” I asked. A sudden wave of jealousy came over me, making me pause. What the hell?

  “She is going to help you out.” Just as he said that, I noticed a very pretty blonde come walking out of a hallway, which I guess led to the dressing rooms. As Gage called her over to us, I couldn’t help but stare at her. She was beyond gorgeous. What looked like really long blonde hair was pulled into a tight ponytail. A pink form-fitting tank top hugged her curves and showed off her amazing thin body. Black yoga pants encased her long, thin but probably muscular legs. Everything about her screamed “woman” to me.

  “Hey Gage.” She beamed as she came to a stop in front of us. Now standing beside her and Gage, I felt even uglier than before. When she smiled I caught a flash of perfectly straight white teeth. Her eyes were an amazing shade of green, which normally didn’t happen with blondes.

  “Hey Tiff. This is Carter. Carter, this is Tiffany.” I noticed how friendly he was toward her and it made me even more jealous. He wasn’t like that with me, not even now.

  “Oh, this is Carter,” she said and raised an eyebrow at me. I waited for the rude remark to come, or some kind of sneer, but instead I was surprised when she smiled widely at me and came to give me a hug.

  I was crushed against her and awkwardly stood there, not really knowing what to do. It wasn’t every day a stranger hugged you.

  “It is great to finally meet you.” I looked at her confused. Had Gage been talking about me? Just the thought of that made my heart rate pick up. “Everyone was talking about you from when you pinned Gage down a few weeks ago. Once I heard someone managed to get Gage off his feet, I just had to meet you.”

  “Tiff.” Gage hissed but she just waved him off.

  “Ignore him, he is always in a pissy mood.” There was something about her I could not help but like. Maybe it was the fact that she didn’t seem to care, and she kind of had this bad-ass feel to her. “What did you need?”

  “Carter here doesn’t have anything to change into. Can she wear something of yours?” I looked over at Gage with a raised eyebrow. There was no way I could fit into something of Tiffany’s; she was way too skinny and taller than me, and had bigger boobs.

  “Of course! I think I have something perfect for you to wear. Come on.” She didn’t even wait for my reply before grabbing my elbow and pulling me after her. I looked over my shoulder at Gage, but he didn’t seem concerned of leaving me in her care. I guess if he liked her I should too. Gage didn’t seem like the type to like or trust people easily.

  “Finally, another girl here! Gosh I swear it is always just guys here, or if there are girls, they are just random sluts,” Tiffany said as she dragged me into the dressing room. “And finally, Gage has a girl, never thought I’d see the day but I had hoped.” I had no idea what to say so I stayed quiet.

  “You don’t talk much, do you?” she asked.

  “Oh no, I do. I just didn’t know what to say. You just surprised me,” I admitted.

  “Don’t worry, I get that a lot. Sometimes I come off a bit strong.”

  “I like it.” And I wasn’t lying. While Tiffany did seem talkative and straightforward, I seemed to like that about her. She seemed to have a strong head on her shoulders, which was good.

  “I knew I liked you.” She smiled over at me. “Anyways let’s get you changed.” She let go of my arm as we came to a bench that held a single black bag.

  “You don’t have to—” I started to say but she cut me off.

  “It is okay. I always have another outfit with me just in case. Now let’s see.” She bent over looking in her bag as I stood awkwardly off to the side. Yup, awkward was my middle name.

  “I think this will fit you.” She got back up and thrust clothing at me. I looked at the bundle then back at her. I wasn’t quite sure they were going to fit. “Go try them on,” she urged. Sighing inwardly, I headed for an empty stall right across from where we were.

  Taking off my blouse, I grabbed the tank top Tiffany gave me. Tugging it on, I found it did fit me but was form-fitting. It clung to my upper body like a glove. It didn’t feel tight and it wasn’t; it was just one of those materials that just clung to you. Sliding my shorts off, I grabbed the pants. Just like with the top, they weren’t as small as I thought they’d be.

  The pants were just like the top though; they clung to my legs like no one’s business. It was a little snug in the waist area but nothing terrible. They weren’t too tight to where I couldn’t breathe, and I was reminded of how I feel when I put leggings on at first. I almost didn’t want to leave the stall, afraid of how frumpy I might look. I knew I would not look as good as Tiffany did in this outfit. I bet I had some fat hanging out unattractively.

  “Come on out!” Tiffany said from the other side of the stall.

  “Okay, one second.” Taking a deep breath, I braced myself for hating what I would see. When emerged from the stall, I heard a wolf whistle coming from Tiffany who was standing a few feet away.

  “Wow, girl, you look hot!” she exclaimed. I blushed. Biting my bottom lip, I went over to a full-length mirror off to the side. Once again, I braced myself to see my image.

  When I did look at myself, I was shocked. All the fat I thought would be hanging out wasn’t. It was like the pants and top sucked it all in. I thought I looked good. The yoga pants hugged my legs, making them look longer than they really were and thinner. The tank top hugged my body, making my curves stick out more, and surprisingly my boobs looked bigger too.

  “Woah.” I breathed out. Who knew her outfit would really fit me?

  “Gage is not going to be able to take his hands off of you,” Tiffany said from behind me. She had her arms crossed over her chest and was grinning smugly.

  “I don’t think so. He doesn’t like me like that,” I said and frowned at myself in the mirror. Even when I looked like this he wouldn’t do anything. I felt a pang in my chest at that. Did I want Gage to think of me like that? Maybe I did.

  “Don’t worry, he will,” Tiffany reassured me. I forced a smile at her and turned away from the mirror. I grabbed my clothes so I could put them with Gage’s stuff. “I can’t wait to see his face.” Tiffany practically bounced as we headed back toward the gym area.

  “Thank you for letting me borrow these,” I said. I wanted to thank her now before we got out there.

  “No problem. You can ke
ep them too if you want. I have so many at home.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Definitely. Plus, it looks better on you than me.” She sent me a wink. I gave her a smile back feeling like I just made a new friend.

  The closer we got to the gym, the more excited Tiffany became and the more nervous I felt. I had no clue why I was. It was like I was worried that Gage would not approve of what I was wearing, which was stupid.

  When we stepped out, my eyes searched for the familiar body. Immediately they landed on Gage’s form; he was now wearing a loose white tank top that showed his arm tattoo off. He had on a pair of those sweats that looked like they were meant for soccer, that hugged his muscular legs. He was over talking to that guy named Chris.

  Tiffany led us toward them, and I felt butterflies in my stomach for some reason. When we got closer, both guys’ heads snapped up to look at us. Gage’s brown eyes found mine, but they didn’t stay on my eyes; instead, they traveled down my body. Forcing my arms to not cover myself up, I tried to act like his gaze wasn’t affecting me. Beside me I could see a smug grin on Tiffany’s face as she looked at Gage.

  It was like Gage’s eyes were burning through my clothes and leaving a hot trail behind. I felt like I was on fire as his eyes raked me up and down. I felt so exposed in this outfit even though a lot of me was covered up.

  I came to a stop a little bit away from Gage, expecting Tiffany to do the same. Instead she went right up to that guy Chris and gave him a kiss. That made sense. All the jealousy I felt toward her disappeared that instant.

  “Doesn’t she look good, Gage?” Tiffany asked smugly. I wanted to tell her to stop, but I couldn’t find the words to do so. I wanted to hear Gage’s reply almost as bad as Tiffany did.

  There was an awkward silence. I shifted from foot to foot not liking the way no one was saying anything, and doubled with Gage’s stare, I was feeling a little uncomfortable.

  “So are we going to train?” I finally said, my voice coming out all squeaky. That finally seemed to do it because Gage cleared his throat and looked anywhere but at me. I could see his cheeks were a slight pink and the tips of his ears were too. Pride swelled inside me that I was able to make him look at me and get embarrassed for checking me out.