by Sarah Curtis
Gage gave Cassie's hand a tug to lead her down a side hall. "We'll use the back entrance."
Security manned the door but ushered Gage through without incident. Gage waved to an incredibly good-looking guy and a stunningly beautiful woman. "Come on, I'll introduce you to Jack and Alexis."
Alexis was petite yet curvy, about Cassie's height with a pile of brunette curls atop her head and gorgeous light-brown eyes. Jack was ridiculously handsome with wavy, longish, light-brown hair and green eyes.
The introductions were made, and Alexis said, "It's so nice to finally meet you. Gage has told us so much about you and your organization."
Cassie gave her a smile. "Thank you."
After a while of idle chitchat, Jack said, "Why don't I escort these ladies up to the VIP dais so you can finish getting ready."
"Cassie will be staying backstage during the performance," Gage announced.
"What! Why?" Cassie demanded.
"If you think I'm going to let you run around in that dress without me by your side, you're out of your fucking mind."
"Let me!" Cassie shouted. "You can't tell me what to do."
Gage crossed his arms over his chest. "I think I just did."
"Well, I don't have to listen to you."
"You don't and there will be severe consequences for you."
Cassie crossed her own arms over her chest and tapped her foot. "I'm not your child, Gage."
His gaze perused her slowly from head to toe before coming back to linger on her breasts. He gave her a predatory smile. "I'm very aware you're not a child."
Cassie growled, "You're unbelievable."
"No, what's unbelievable is that fucking dress."
Jack chose that moment to interfere. "She won't leave my side all night."
Alexis also announced, "I'll stick to her like glue."
Jack looked at Alexis and said, "You're not helping."
Now, Alexis folded her arms over her chest. "And why's that?"
Jack was quick to reply, "Because the two of you together will have every dick in a mile radius panting after you within three seconds."
Alexis rolled her eyes. "Now you're being ridiculous, Jack."
"You know how I feel about you rolling your eyes at me, sweetheart."
Gage must have thought it was prudent to interrupt them at this point. "Okay, Jack, Cassie can go with you if you promise not to leave her side."
Cassie glared at Gage. "Well, thank you very much."
Gage pulled her into his arms and enfolded her in an embrace. "Sunshine, I won't be able to concentrate on the show if I know you're out there strutting around and any guy can hit on you."
Cassie pushed herself from his hold. "I do not strut."
"Yeah, Sunshine, you do. I'm a guy. I would know."
"You are –"
Now, Alexis must have thought it was prudent to interrupt. She took Cassie's arm and steered her away. "Come on, Jack."
As they made their way through the light crowd of the nightclub, Alexis said, "This place will be a lot busier in about an hour, it's still early yet." At Cassie's nod, she continued, "So you and Gage, huh."
Cassie looked at her with a frown. "What do you mean?"
"Aren't you guys dating?"
"No. We're just friends."
Alexis looked confused. "Gage wasn't acting like just friends."
Cassie sighed, "It's complicated."
Alexis seemed to accept that as an answer. They walked up the stairs to the VIP dais. No one was around yet, so they had it all to themselves.
Jack handed Cassie and Alexis a glass of white wine. "I thought I heard Gage say something about Sam and Derek coming with you." He said, to Cassie.
Cassie took a sip of her wine then nodded. "They were going to until they found out how early we had to be here. Now, they're going out to dinner first before dropping Kyle off at my house to spend the night with Logan."
At Alexis's look of confusion, she said, "Kyle and my son Logan are in the same class at preschool. That's how I met Sam."
"I didn't know you had a son," Alexis said, taking a sip of her wine.
"Yeah, that's the complicated part of mine and Gage's relationship. He's Logan's father."
Alexis gave wide eyes at Cassie. "You and Gage have a son together?" She turned to Jack. "Did you know that?" She asked him accusingly.
Jack shook his head. "I knew he knew Cassie from way back, but I didn't know they had a son."
Cassie knew Jack and Gage were good friends, so she didn't want Jack to think Gage was keeping secrets from him. She placed her hand on his arm to get his attention. "Gage only found out about Logan a few weeks ago." Jack gave her a hard stare. She didn't want him thinking badly of her so elaborated, "We lost contact five years ago and just reconnected at Mase's party."
Jack gave her hand a pat. "I know the story. I know Gage is an idiot." He gave her a devastating grin. "So, no worries."
Cassie gave him a grateful smile.
The concert was about to start. Mase had shown up, a beautiful brunette on his arm, soon followed by Sam and Derek. They were a festive little group as Gage took the stage. He was alone without his band. This was a solo, impromptu performance where people from the audience could request what song they wanted Gage to sing.
Cassie stood transfixed as Gage took the stage, guitar strapped to his chest. The audience cheered and shouted and several women declared their love for him. Her heart beat a quick tempo as Gage looked up at the VIP dais, his eyes locked on her, then he blew her a kiss. The already loud audience went wild. Cassie noticed several people turned their heads to look up at the dais, but with such a large crowd, they would never know who Gage blew a kiss to.
"I'd like to thank everyone for being here tonight." Cassie heard Gage shout from the stage. He went on to describe all the great things Tail Wagners did and the website they could go to for donations and adoption.
Cassie clapped and cheered loudly. It felt great hearing all the recognition her aunts organization received. Then Gage asked for requests. The crowd shouted so many songs it was hard to differentiate between them. Gage laughed, then waved his arms in the air for silence before pointing to someone and asking their request.
After about an hour, Gage pointed to someone who shouted, Love Lost. Gage strummed the first few chords before saying into the microphone, "This song is very special to me."
Cassie held her breath, her heart beating wildly as she waited to hear what he had to say.
"A long time ago, I fell in love." The crowd went wild, and Gage held his hands up for silence. "But I was too stupid to realize it, and I let the girl of my dreams get away."
"I'll be your dream girl, Gage!" Someone in the audience shouted.
Gage walked closer to the edge of the stage and looked up at the dais, his eyes locking on Cassie's. "But, just recently, I found her again. So instead of singing Love Lost, I'm going to sing a song I recently wrote, that's a continuation of Love Lost and that I hope better portrays how things stand. I call it Second Chances."
The crowd went wild as Gage strummed out the chords. He started singing, and Cassie strained to hear every word.
Sitting in the sunlight, I see her once again
Her golden hair is glowing, and so is her creamy skin
She looks at me, I look at her, and the years just melt away...
What I wouldn't give for second chances
you pressed against me
Is it time for longing glances
you're all that I see
>
I NEED YOU
I WANT YOU
Please say you want me...
because you're what I need
Looking back I know I've made mistakes, and she paid the price
I lived a life of carefree, and she sacrificed
She sees me, I see her, but I can't bring back yesterday...
What I wouldn't give for second chances
you pressed against me
Is it time for longing glances
you're all that I see
I NEED YOU
I WANT YOU
Please say you want me...
because you're what I need
Because you're all I need
Because you're my world to me
Tears ran down Cassie's cheeks by the time Gage was done. She quickly excused herself and made her way to the restroom. She stepped inside the farthest, unoccupied stall and cried gut wrenching sobs. She cried for all the years they lost. She cried for all her heartache and loneliness, and she cried for the future of them that would never be.
She left the stall and splashed cold water on her face, then patted it with a paper towel. She was a wreck. Her face was splotchy, and she had raccoon eyes. She wet the paper towel and took care of the mascara then rummaged in her purse for her lip gloss.
She left the bathroom and almost ran straight into Alexis. "Are you alright?" She asked, grabbing Cassie's arms to steady her.
Cassie nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine."
"If you ever want to talk, you can always call me."
Cassie nodded again not knowing what to say. Her emotions were too chaotic at the moment.
"Come on, we'd better get back before Jack freaks out."
That made Cassie giggle. "Yeah, the last thing I want to do is deal with Caveman Gage if he finds out," Cassie placed her hand over her heart and gasped, "I went to the bathroom alone." Cassie shook her head. "Honestly, I don't know how I survived to the ripe old age of twenty-four without him."
Alexis agreed. "I've often wondered the same thing."
They arrived back at the dais incident free, and Cassie decided she needed another glass of wine. One hour and three more glasses of wine later, she was twisted.
Chapter Eleven
After the show, Jack escorted Cassie backstage to meet Gage. She giggled the whole way there. At some point along the way, she stopped to remove her shoes. Her feet were killing her. Looking glamorous was not easy at all. She swung her sexy, red (but uncomfortable), high-heeled sandals in her hand as she hummed a tune, off-key.
"What the hell happened to her?" Gage asked, walking toward them (very sexily she might add).
"She might have had too much wine." Jack gave her a lip twitch. She gave him a full-blown smile.
Gage grunted and pulled her to his side. "Come on, Sunshine, time to take you home."
She looked up at him and smiled. "You were fab-u-lous," She said, enunciating each syllable.
Gage gave her a smile and a quick forehead kiss before turning back to Jack. "We're out of here, man." He held out his hand. "Thanks again for everything. I owe you one."
"You don't owe me anything." Jack shook his hand. "It went to a good cause."
"I can feed my puppies for weeks and weeks with the money we made tonight." Cassie gushed.
Jack and Gage both laughed. "I think you can do a bit more than that, Sunshine." Gage led her to a chair. "Let's put your shoes back on then we can go."
Cassie pouted. "But my feet hurt."
"Well, I can't carry you in that dress, not without flashing everyone from here to the car, so you have to wear your shoes." He strapped on one shoe before starting on the other. "You can take them off again when we get in the car."
"Okay."
* * * * *
Gage took her hand and helped her to her feet. She was a bit unsteady, so he wrapped his arm around her waist. He led her through the hotel and out the front doors. He handed the valet his ticket and took a twenty for him out of his pocket, all the while, holding on to Cassie so she didn't fall.
"That was the best concert ever," Cassie said, giving Gage more of her weight.
He gave her a squeeze. "Even better than Rascal Flats? I know how much you loved that concert."
"Even better than that. And do you know why?" She looked up at him and smiled.
He smiled back, then kissed her forehead. He couldn't help it, she was adorable. "No, why?"
Cassie sighed, "Because I got to stare at you the whole time." She kept talking not realizing what she just revealed to him. "I really liked your song even though it made me cry."
"My song made you cry?"
Her head rested against his chest. He felt her nod. "Your T-shirt is really soft," she said, rubbing her cheek against his chest some more.
Gage wanted to stay on topic. "Why did my song make you cry, Sunshine?"
"Because it will never come true."
"Explain that to me." He really wanted to hear her answer. People tended to be more sharing and truthful when drunk.
"I'll never be able to give you a second chance and that makes me sad."
"Why can't you give me a second chance, Sunshine?"
Cassie picked her head up and looked at him. She had tears in her eyes and seeing them made his heart hurt.
"Because you'll end up hurting me again. I'll never be enough for you and in time, when you figure that out, you'll be gone again, breaking my heart all over again." Cassie giggled. "I said the word again a lot of times."
Gage wanted to keep her on track. "What do you mean, you'll never be enough for me?"
But before she could answer, the valet pulled up in his Escalade. He put Cassie in the passenger seat and buckled her in before handing the valet the twenty and getting in himself. He buckled his seat belt and looked over at her.
Her head rested against the side window, but her eyes were trained on him. She smiled. "You really are the most handsome man in the world. I'm glad Logan looks just like you."
The car behind them honked their horn. He put the truck in drive and pulled out, whispering, "I want a little girl that looks just like you."
Cassie stumbled on the stairs twice before Gage scooped her up and carried her the rest of the way to his bedroom. She giggled the whole time. "You should've taken me home. I've never been away from Logan all night before."
"He'll be fine. I called Laurie and told her we would be there in the morning."
Cassie tipped her head back and looked up. "Your ceiling is really high. I wonder how they painted it."
Gage chuckled. "Tall ladders, I would assume."
Cassie laughed. "That makes sense." She kept talking. "I really like your bathtub. Can I take a bath with the jets."
"I don't think that's a good idea, I'm worried you'll drown."
"You can hold me up."
"That's really not a good idea."
They made it to the bedroom, and he set her on her feet. "Why?"
"Touching you while you're naked would be hard on my self-control."
Cassie pouted. "Well, I can't wear my dress. I'll ruin it."
Gage smiled. "Now, that's a good idea."
Cassie gave him a dirty look. "I like my dress."
"I'd like it in shreds," Gage said, under his breath.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Why do you need self-control, anyway?" Cassie walked to him and placed her hands on his chest.
Gage he
ld on to her wrists to keep her hands from roaming. "I already told you, I won't fuck you, I'll only make love to you."
"What's the difference?"
"There's a considerable difference, and you know it."
She pressed closer to him. "Please, I miss you."
"Do you miss me or the sex?" He asked, grabbing her hair and tilting her head back.
"I miss you. I miss the way you feel, your power and strength. I miss the way you smell, your scent on my skin, in my hair," she tipped her head back farther rubbing her chest against his, "between my legs."
Gage growled, "You're making this hard, Sunshine."
Cassie pushed against him with her stomach. "I like you hard, Gage."
Gage pulled her ridiculous scrap of a dress over her head. Her tits were on full display. He closed his eyes, but the damage was already done. The sight implanted in his brain. He led her to the side of the bed and sat her down so he could remove her shoes. "I don't want there to be any regrets in the morning." He laid her down and tucked the covers around her, kissing her on the forehead. "Go to sleep, Sunshine."
"Gage." She grabbed his arm before he could move away. "Sometimes what you think is a regret, ends up being something wonderful."
"Are you talking about Logan, baby?"
"No," she closed her eyes and snuggled her head into the pillow, "I was talking about you."
He watched her until her breathing evened out, and he knew she fell asleep. She had just admitted, in a round-about way, that she didn't regret their time together. Did that mean he was getting to her? Was he breaking through?
Gage walked into his closet and stripped off his clothes. He took a long, cold shower, dried off, and pulled on a pair of boxer briefs before climbing into his bed and pulling Cassie into his arms. She snuggled close, muttering something in her sleep and his arms around her tightened. He refused to give up. He refused to let go. He would show her his love every damn day, until her head and her heart were so full, there would be no way for her to deny how much he loved her. And then she would be his.