by D L Lane
Danica stared at him as if she hadn’t heard what he said, then she gave him that slow, sleepy smile and nodded her head.
“Yeah?” he asked.
“Sure. I’d love to.”
“You’d love to what?” Breck asked as she and Mase came strolling over—hand-in-hand.
Danny turned to look at her sister. “Huh?”
“You’d love to what?”
“Oh, uh…” She glanced at Gage then back to Breck. “I’m going to watch a movie tonight with Gage.”
“Oh, hey, man,” Mase said, his eyes shifting to him, “you’re going to that new action flick?”
“Naw. I was thinking about watching something at home. We’ve got our game tomorrow, and since we’ve got practice, we couldn’t make it until the late showing and”—Gage shrugged—“just doing the movie night thing at my place.”
“Cool,” Breck said, “what time should we be there?”
All of his excitement drained from him. Not that he didn’t love Breck as a friend, but he didn’t want company, yet, he couldn’t be rude. “Um, I don’t know. Seven-ish?”
“Sounds good,” Mase said, holding out a fist to bump, which he did.
Gage’s gaze jumped around the group. “It’s settled then.” He started to go, maintain the chill attitude that he didn’t feel when a thought hit him. “Oh, hey. I can come to pick you up, Danny.”
“It’s okay,” Mase said. “She can ride with us.”
Another blow to his plan, but he wasn’t going to let his disappointment show. “All right.” He looked over at Danica, who was smiling, but he knew her well enough to know she wasn’t as happy either. “I’ll see you later then.”
“See ya,” she said.
Mason gave Breck a quick kiss. “Meet you after practice, babe.”
“Have a good one,” she said.
“I will. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
After one more kiss, a bit more lingering, Mason pulled back, tapped the tip of Breck’s nose with his fingertip, and then joined Gage as the two of them headed to the locker room.
~
Danica had taken extra time getting ready to see Gage. Starting with going over her clothing options, which putting all the rejected items back into her closet was going to take forever. Regardless, she was happy with what she finally picked—too-tight jeans and a pretty pale blue cashmere V-neck sweater. After an hour at her vanity, her makeup was perfection, and her long, flowing hair looked good.
While she’d occupied her time with clothing, makeup, and hair, Danica had to admit she’d been a nervous wreck the whole afternoon, and still was as she, Breckin, and Mason walked into the large foyer of the Harrison’s home. It wasn’t as if she’d never been there before; she had been, many times, but this time… Well, this time was different.
He asked me out! Okay, maybe not technically, but she was going with it.
“Hey, guys. Go on back to the media room,” Gage said, shutting the door behind them.
Breck and Mase were doing their usual cuddle-walk thing they did, but Danica lingered back a bit, waiting…
“Danica?”
That sandpaper-smooth voice wrapped around her like a warm blanket as she turned. “Yes?”
“You look”—those silver eyes took her in, from the chunky Sketchers on her feet, up her denim-clad legs, waist, chest, and loitered a moment before inching up to her chin, lips, eyes—“gorgeous.”
Heat zipped up her spine, overtook her neck, and spread across her cheeks. “Thank you,” she said as she did the very same to him, starting with his black Jordan’s, up to his muscled frame, and ending on his extraordinary eyes. “You look”—smoking hot—“good.”
Aah, I’m so lame! You look good? Really?
Gage’s lips twitched. “I’ll take ‘good’.”
“Hey! You guys coming or what?”
Her sister’s voice made her bristle. Why are you interrupting our moment?
Putting a pleasant smile on her face, Danica spun around. Breck was sticking her head out the archway down the hall. “Coming!”
~
Mase and Breck were cuddled up on the end of the sectional; a blanket tossed around their shoulders as Mason absently played with the ends of Breckin’s hair. Without paying any attention to what she was doing, Breck plopped some popcorn into her mouth—the two of them engrossed in the movie.
Gage’s attention went to Danny, who was seated next to him, on his left, but at a respectable distance.
He sighed. If they’d been alone, they could have had ‘the talk’ already and could be snuggling. Or maybe even kissing. Who cared about the movie if that were to be the case? All the clashing swords and screaming would blend into the background.
Heck, if his lips were on hers, all the sound would probably disappear.
When Danica brought her sock-covered feet up, arms wrapping around her knees, he glanced over at her. Her eyes were wide, obviously watching something he hadn’t been paying attention to on the big screen in front of them.
“You okay?” he asked.
Her blue, blue gaze slid to him. “Yeah. It’s just sort of— I don’t know.”
“Scary?”
“Not really.”
She wasn’t a good liar. Danica was freaked.
“Come here,” he said, holding out his arm for her.
Her manicured brows lifted. “Really?”
“Sure. I’ll keep you safe.”
“From a bunch of vampires?”
He chuckled. “Come on, Danny.”
She put her feet down, then scooted closer until he had her curled up beside him. When the warmth of her body met his, Gage tried hard not to smile, but he might have been failing as he glanced at her. “You good?”
“I am,” she said in her sweet voice, right before she put her palm on his chest. He wished he wasn’t wearing a shirt so he could feel the sensation of her flesh against his.
Breathing in the candy scent of her hair, he attempted to keep his concentration on the actor who was going primeval on some vamps, but more times than he’d like to admit, he dropped his attention to her.
Maybe I should just tell her now. We’re not alone like I’d hoped for, but I could whisper how I felt by her ear.
They were halfway through the movie when he pulled his gaze from the TV and looked at her for the nine-hundredth time. He frowned. Danny was sleeping, a peaceful, contented expression on her face.
Gage smiled, love for her expanding in his chest. Danica looked like an angel, and she’d fallen asleep in his arms. No, he wouldn’t wake her. He’d let her rest. They had time, and he’d find a better moment to tell her what he wanted to anyway.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
At the sound of something hitting the glass doors behind them, Gage and Mason both jumped up, dislodging the girls they’d had in their arms.
“What the—” Spinning around, ready to murder someone if they were dumb enough to break in, Gage rounded the sectional with Mase on his heel.
“Who is that?” Breckin screeched.
Gage could see someone dressed in black, white palm smacking the glass, making growling noises. Then, when he got closer to the door, he saw who it was.
“I’m going to kill him,” Gage grumbled, unlocking the French doors, and opening them up, the outside motion light going off when he did.
“Oh, man. The look on your faces was priceless!” Phillip Granger hooted as he strode over to the open door, slipping the hoodie off his head.
“What are you doing here, acting like an insane person?” Mase asked, his face still stone-cold serious. “You scared my girl!”
Gage glanced over his shoulder at Danny, who was on her knees, chest against the back of the couch, peeking over with a pale face and wide eyes. “It’s okay,” he said. “It’s just Granger.”
Turning back around, he got in Phillip’s face. “You frightened Danica, too, and that’s not cool, dude!”
“I’m sorry.” Phi
llip held up his hands. “I heard you guys talking about watching movies tonight, and thought scaring you would be funny.”
“It wasn’t.”
In the distance came the sound of sirens.
Gage shook his head before scrubbing a palm down his face. “You better get inside, Phillip.”
“Why?”
“I’m assuming you jumped the fence to get into the back yard, and when you did, you set off the silent alarm.”
Phillip’s topaz eyes went round. “No way!”
“Yep. I’d say we’ve got two minutes before Cedar Point’s finest arrive, and you should be inside, not out here in the dark dressed like a serial killer.”
Grabbing the idiot by the front of his dark zip-up, Gage pulled him inside, knowing all his plans for the night were, once again, going down in flames.
Chapter Seventeen
With the game blaring on his TV, Gage grabbed the fish food and dumped a few flakes into the water—the googly-eyed goldfish darting to the falling food, tail fanning.
“I hope that stuff tastes better than it smells, Spike.”
Yes, he named his fish something silly, but whatever. Since his therapist suggested he get a pet, and he wasn’t home enough to take care of a dog, he’d grabbed a few fish from the pet store in Seattle. Two of them didn’t last but a few weeks, although the one he had left had been swimming around the large bowl for six months. And the truth was, watching him glide through his underwater kingdom was relaxing.
Ding dong!
“That would be my dinner.”
Like the fish cared.
Ding dong!
The sound ground on his nerves. “I’m coming!”
Five quick steps and he opened the door. “Hi, Chief Harrison,” Jerry the Jerk’s teenage son stood there, smiling, a large box from The Snack Shack in hand.
“Hey, Jimmy.”
“Here you go.” The boy handed the cardboard square to him, which Gage took, then twisted to place it on the console table by the door so he could grab his wallet and pull out a few bills.
Once he had the money, Gage handed it over.
“Thanks,” the kid said, counting out the stack, his brows knitting. “This is too much. The pizza was only eleven eighty-nine.”
“I know. The rest is your tip.”
“Really?” Jimmy’s brown eyes went wide.
His father might be a giant pinhead, but he was a good kid and was never in trouble.
“Really, Jimmy.”
“Thank you, Chief. I’m saving to get my own car, so I don’t have to use my mom’s.”
“You’re welcome. And that’s a noble goal. Keep working, and you’ll get there.”
“I will.”
“Have a good night, and be careful driving. It’s supposed to rain.”
“Yes, sir. You have a good night as well.”
Making sure the kid was back in his car, Gage watched him pull out of the driveway, then he turned off the porch light, shut the front door, grabbed his box and took his meal to the couch, yelling, “Can’t you catch!” when the Seahawks wide receiver fumbled the ball.
Flopping down on his leather sectional, he flipped the lid open, taking a whiff of the spices, grabbed a large slice, and grumbled under his breath, “They pay you way too much,” as if the player who messed up could hear him before he took a perfect bite of pepperoni with extra cheese.
When the commercials about trash bags started, Gage went into the kitchen, grabbed a two-liter of Coke from the fridge, then took the entire bottle with him. Why bother with a glass when he was the only one there?
Stepping back into the living room, he paused, catching a piece about one of Seattle’s landmark hotels, but it wasn’t what the commercial was about that held his attention but the spokeswoman.
Jenny.
Chapter Eighteen
Before
“So, son. How are your classes going?” Gage’s father asked one evening over dinner.
“Pretty good.”
“Senior year, it will go by fast.”
“I just can’t believe my baby will be graduating and heading off to college soon,” Mom said, a note of sadness in her tone.
“Speaking of college.” Dad put his fork down and met Gage’s gaze. “Have you given any more thought to your major?”
“I’m thinking of criminal justice.” He shrugged. “I don’t know, though.”
“That’s a fine choice,” Mom said, then took a sip of her iced tea.
“Whatever you decide, your mother and I will support you,” Dad said.
“Thanks. I know you will.”
His father cut a piece of meat. “So, what are your plans tonight?”
“I’m going to go get Danny and take her to youth group.”
We’ll take a detour by the lake, so we can finally talk.
“Doesn’t she usually go with Mason and Breckin?” his mother asked, picking up her glass of wine.
“She does, but Breck is sick with the flu or something, and Mrs. Lorry is in Colorado helping her mother who’s had some kind of back surgery. I guess Mr. Lorry is working late, so Mason is going over to stay with her.” Gage grinned. “You know him. He worries about Breck all the time. But I guess I would want to check on my girl too, if I had one.”
And I soon will.
“Aw, I’m sorry to hear she’s not feeling well.” Mom frowned. “But it’s good she has Mason if her parents can’t be there to take care of her.”
Nodding, Gage slipped his gaze to his father. “If she’s not better in a day or so, I’m sure Mase will insist she come and see you, Dad.”
“I’ll make sure to tell the front desk to fit her in if she calls for an appointment.”
“You’re that busy?”
“Colds and flu are raging, son, so yes, the clinic has been inundated.”
Gage traced his fingertip down the condensation on his glass.
“What is it, honey?” Mom asked him, always the observant one.
Tell them about Danny and what your plans are. “I’ve been thinking—”
One of the pocket doors into the dining room opened, and Sonoma, their housekeeper, stepped in. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but someone is here to see you.”
Dad leaned back in his chair. “I didn’t hear the doorbell ring?”
“No, sir. I was taking the trash out and ran into her pulling up to the gates.”
“Ran into who?”
“Young Ms. Lansing.”
Gage started to rise. “I’ll go see what she needs.”
“Sit and finish your dinner.” His father’s green eyes went from him to Sonoma. “Tell Jenny to come join us, and will you please get her a place setting?”
“Of course, sir.”
“You were about to tell us something, Gage. What was it?” his mother asked.
“It’s nothing we can’t talk about later.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, Mom.”
Jenny walked in, a tentative smile on her face. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your dinner.”
“You haven’t, dear,” his mother assured. “Come, have a seat. Sonoma is getting you a plate.”
“Oh, okay.” Her gaze shot to Gage. “I guess I can eat if you don’t mind?”
“We don’t mind in the least,” Dad said.
Gage got up and pulled out a chair for her, which Jenny took. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Sonoma came back in bearing china, a crystal glass, and silverware, which she placed down for Jenny. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Ms. Lansing.”
“Everything smells wonderful,” his friend commented.
“Don’t be shy. Grab a bowl and serve yourself.” Dad picked up the platter of beef. “Would you care for some roast?”
“Yes, thank you.”
Gage and Jenny had hung out over the years, but having dinner with him and his family was a first, and he couldn’t help but wonder why she’d stopped by.
He hadn’t known she was back in town, and when she wanted to see him, she usually called.
“So, dear,” his father said, “how is your mother doing?”
“Much better than she was a few months ago when I came home to help her out after knee surgery.”
Dinner began again, chit-chat swirling around the table, Jenny talking about taking summer classes, wanting to get ahead of the game, which his father thought to be a useful endeavor.
“I didn’t have a break since the fall semester started, but that’s okay.” She grinned—the dimple on her right cheek appearing.
“What brings you home to visit, then?” Mom had asked the question he was interested to know.
“I’m pregnant,” Jenny blurted out, and the room went deathly still, including Gage’s heart. In fact, the only clue he had that he was indeed alive was when he dropped his dessert fork, the clatter meaning his ears were working, so he must be breathing.
After a few heartbeats, his father asked, “How far along are you?”
Jenny looked at Dad, then over to Gage, to his mother, then back at his father. “A little over three months.”
Gage’s mind whirled into the calculations, knowing there wasn’t any way around the numbers and his monumental mistake. A mistake fueled into flames by his feelings for Danny. She had called him in late May, panic in her voice.
“Gage?” Danica’s voice quivered, making him grab the remote, turn down the volume on the TV, sit up straight, and grip the handset.
“Danny? What’s wrong?”
“Do you think you can come over?”
“Of course, but are you all right? Is everyone okay, Breckin, and your parent’s?”
“Everyone is fine. But something happened, and I’m home by myself, and I-I—” She sniffed. “Can you just come?”
“I’ll be right there.”
The moment he hung up the phone, he raced out of the house, hopped into his car and sped to the Lorry’s, Danica meeting him at the door with tear-filled eyes.
Hugging her, and stepping inside the foyer, taking her with him, he asked. “What happened?”
“The door,” she said into his chest.
Not happy about doing it, he let her go, turned and closed the front door, then took her chilled hand, leading her into the den where they took a seat on the couch. “Tell me, Danny.”