“It was just supposed to piss Ethan off, not go this far.” I grunted, swinging at the bag. Dylan had to hold onto the bag tightly or he’d be shoved backwards.
“Gage, I swear you are stupid.” He shook his head at me.
“What?” I stopped punching and looked at him.
“You like Carter, and don’t deny it.” He held his hand up when I tried to interrupt him. “This fake dating thing was stupid because it wasn’t going to work anyway. Both of you are bound to fall for one another. Just grow some balls and ask her out for real before something ruins it.”
“Dylan—” I started to say, but he cut me off with a firm look.
“Let go of whatever your deal is and ask her before someone else does. I mean it, Gage.” With that, Dylan stepped back and walked off. I stared after him wondering what that was all about.
But as I went back to working out on the punching bag, his words echoed through my mind. Before someone else does. Just the thought of someone else touching and dating Carter pissed me off. No one was allowed to be with her unless it was me.
Dylan’s words were all I thought about the rest of the night, and the more I thought about it, the more he started to make sense. It was the first time I was admitting to myself that I actually liked Carter, as more than a friend. She was something completely different from any other girl, and I liked it. I liked how she had become feisty and vocal. She had touched me in some way that now if I was away from her, I missed her presence. Dylan’s advice clicked into place in that moment.
I needed to ask Carter out for real before it was too late. And hopefully she would say yes.
***
Carter
When I called my mother on Sunday night to tell her Gage wanted to meet them, she flipped. I had to literally pull the phone away from my ear so I wouldn’t lose my hearing. And just like every parent, she had to yell over the phone at my father to tell him the news. When she started to ask me what Gage liked to eat and whatnot, my mind went blank.
I knew stuff about Gage, but apparently not that much. I didn’t know what his favorite food was, or if he was allergic to anything. My mom kept pressing, wanting to get a jump-start on planning our dinner even though we weren’t coming over until Saturday. With no answers for her, I told her I’d ask Gage if there was anything he’d want to eat and get back to her.
It was now Monday morning and I was running late to my English class. My alarm hadn’t gone off, so I was once again rushing out the door with a haphazard outfit and my hair everywhere. After class I would ask Gage about the dinner with my parents. I didn’t know anything like that about him, and it made me upset that I didn’t. But I guess this was the perfect opportunity to ask.
I crashed into my English class with exactly four minutes to spare. Thank the lord the professor wasn’t there yet, but unfortunately everyone else was, so all of their eyes went straight to me when the door slammed shut behind me. Blushing like crazy, I ducked my head and went up the stairs to my usual seat. When this class first started about two months ago I was seated far away from Gage, but over the last few weeks that had changed. Instead, I was sitting right next to him, at the end of our row. It was nice sitting next to someone, so you didn’t look or feel like a loser with no social skills.
As predicted, Gage was already here and seated comfortably. When I came up the last few steps, he raised an eyebrow at me.
“Someone’s late,” he commented as he moved his legs so I could get by. See? A lot had changed; he wasn’t trying to trip me anymore.
“My stupid alarm didn’t go off,” I grumbled as I fell into my seat next to him.
“You look really tired. Did you get any sleep last night?” Gage asked, turning to face me, a mask of concern on his face. Because I had gotten up late I didn’t have time to hide the horrible bags under my eyes.
“I didn’t, and that is because I had to listen to Macey and Luke going at it late last night.” I made a face as I spoke. Let’s just say it was the worst night of my life; it’d been super long. “I spent most of the night trying to block out the noises with my pillow.”
“Well, that is…”
“Gross, disgusting, horrifying, scary, take your pick,” I said, taking out my English notebook and textbook.
“Those are some good adjectives,” he commented, sending me a grin.
“I try.” I shot him a sarcastic smile just as the professor walked in.
Our conversation ended there, but throughout the lesson I could see from the corner of my eyes Gage looking at me every so often. It almost looked like he had something to say, but he held back. I did try to focus in class, but with a hot guy staring at you, it was near impossible to do so. I was afraid of how I looked since I didn’t put any makeup on and didn’t do my hair. I knew I looked like crap, so that didn’t help the situation as well.
When class finally did end, I immediately turned to Gage to ask him for the information I needed to know. I fired each question off one by one.
“My mom wants to know what kind of food you like. Are you allergic to anything? Don’t like something?” I rattled off as I got my things together.
“I like anything honestly, just not a huge seafood fan. I am allergic to bees, some medicines, and bullshit.” I couldn’t help but laugh at the last one.
“Don’t worry about seafood; my mom hates it too. Okay, it’s good you aren’t allergic to any foods. I’ll tell my mom.”
“What day are we meeting them again?” Gage asked as he stood up and waited for me.
“This Saturday. Is that okay for you?”
“Saturday, it should be.” He shrugged. As I looked into his face, I wanted to know what he was thinking about because I couldn’t read his expression.
“I’ll tell her we are definitely on for then.” Gage just nodded and headed down the stairs, with me trailing after him. He didn’t say anything else as we left the classroom and headed out of the building.
“Hey, are you okay?” I asked, touching his arm. He seemed quieter than normal, which made me think something was up.
“I’m good.” Gage sent me a small smile. “I gotta go to class. I’ll see you after, okay?” Still worried about him, I nodded.
“Yeah.” I watched him walk away wondering what was going on. He seemed a little off. Still worrying about him, I headed to my next class as well.
***
The rest of the week flew by. Classes were picking up and midterms would be here soon—something no one was looking forward to. Gage was still acting kind of weird around me, but it was nothing terrible. He seemed more withdrawn and quiet instead of his usual rude and collected self. I wanted to believe it wasn’t anything to do with me, but that little voice in my head made me think otherwise.
All of us were busy with schoolwork, so we didn’t hang out too much during the week. However, when I did see Luke after we went bowling, he made a comment about Gage. He said: “He isn’t terrible.” His exact words I tell you. So, having all of us go bowling last Saturday had been a good idea.
It was finally Saturday morning, which meant it was the day Gage was going to meet my parents. A day I was dreading, yet excited for. I wasn’t worried that Gage wouldn’t make a good impression; I was just worried that my father would do or say something that would cross the line. My father had the tendency to do that.
We were supposed to head over to my parents’ house around noon. It was only nine, and I was already stressing out on what to wear. I didn’t want to look like I was trying too hard or not hard enough. Of course my parents could not care less, but I didn’t want Gage to think something else. So yes, you could say I was a little stressed about tonight. Okay, “little” might not be the right word; I was more like “extremely nervous.”
I let out a frustrated groan, as I didn’t see anything to wear. I made my way to my bed and flopped down on it. I covered my eyes with my arm, just wanting this day to already pass by. Why, God, why did Amy have to say something about this to my parents?
If she hadn’t, none of this would be happening!
“What is all the groaning about?” I heard Macey’s voice as she entered my room. I didn’t even move to look at her.
“Can you go to lunch for me instead?” I asked.
“You make it sound like you are going off to your death.” Even though I couldn’t see her face, I knew she was rolling her eyes at me.
“Might as well be, Mace.” I sat up and looked at her perched on the side of my bed. “There is no way this is going to work out. What if my parents do something that Gage doesn’t like? What if he does something and they ban me from seeing him? What if they realize we are fake dating?” I only paused for a second to catch my breath.
“Wow, you are really overthinking this, aren’t you? Carter, everything will be fine. Your mom will love him no matter what, and your dad will give him the third degree for a while, then he will calm down like he normally does. By the end, your mom will be so in love with Gage and your father will tolerate him. Then you can ride into the sunset.”
“How can you be so sure?” I asked softly, playing with my fingers.
“Because you two were meant to be together.” She put her hand up to stop me from saying anything and continued. “There is just something about you guys that makes me know you were meant for each other. No one can deny this thing you have, and I know soon you guys are going to tell each other your real feelings instead of hiding behind this fake dating thing.”
“How do you know I have feelings for Gage?”
“Car, I know you better than you know yourself. You have clearly fallen for him but won’t admit it to yourself. You keep saying that you guys are fake dating even though you don’t want to be.”
“He won’t feel the same way about me, Mace,” I said sadly.
“You never know unless you try. You never did anything with Ethan; you never told him how you felt and now he is with Amy. You should say something to Gage before it is too late. Sure, you may get hurt, but isn’t that worth it just to know?” I knew she was right. I should say something to him about how I felt. Even if he turned me down, at least I would know how he felt. I didn’t want this to be another Ethan episode, where I never told him how I felt and I had to watch him love someone else. Because I didn’t think I could watch that again.
“So, don’t stress about him meeting your parents, it will work out. Get out of bed and come watch some TV with me before you have to get ready in a little bit.” With a pat on my knee, she stood up and waited for me by the side of my bed.
I sent her a smile and got up. I pulled her into a hug while whispering “thank you” into her ear. Not saying anything, she pulled away and smiled back at me.
“Let’s go watch a little TV before we get you all dressed up.”
***
About an hour or so later, I was sitting in front of Macey’s vanity while she did my hair. I had about forty-five minutes until Gage would be here to pick me up. Mace had taken it upon herself to get me all ready for our lunch with my parents. I was once again glad she was great at this sort of thing so I wouldn’t have to worry about getting ready on top of everything else.
“Gage is not going to be able to keep his hands off of you.” Macey beamed as she moved onto my face to finish it up.
“Don’t make me look slutty or anything because my dad will literally lock me in my old room.” She laughed at that.
“Hasn’t he done that before?”
“Yeah,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I was going out on a date with Quinton when I came out wearing a dress that was ‘too revealing’ in his mind. So, my dad literally shoved me back in my room and didn’t let me come out until I was dressed in loose jeans and a plain t-shirt, along with a baggy sweatshirt.”
“I remember that! You sent me a picture of it and you looked like a hobo.” Macey cackled.
“He seriously made sure that I looked terrible. I was just happy Quinton didn’t dump me right then and there.”
“Mr. Miller sure does know how to make things interesting.”
“More like humiliating,” I muttered.
“Your mom handles him pretty well, though.”
“Yeah, my mom is like the only person to talk him down or to make him let us do stuff. But it is so gross how touchy, lovey they are with each other. I mean, they’ve been married for twenty-something years, and it is gross.” I shivered just thinking of my parents and how they acted around each other.
“It is gross, and my parents are the same way. I think it is their generation or something,” Mace said as she put some lipstick on my lips. “Okay, you are done!” she exclaimed a second later and stepped back. She tapped my arm for me to open my eyes.
When I opened my eyes, I saw she had done a great job at making me look presentable. She covered the dark circles under my eyes, which I had thanks to this crazy week, and the one or two zits that had appeared. My eyes were done in a soft smoky pink-grey color, and the eyeliner was on point. It wasn’t overly done, and I liked that. My cheeks had soft blush on the tops and that was it, nothing extreme. Mace finished the look with light pale pink lipstick that was gorgeous. Yes, my friend was amazing.
My hair was done simply. She had put some light curls in it and only pulled up half of it, to braid it to the back of my head. The soft waves fell down my shoulders, and a few pieces framed my face. All in all, I didn’t look terrible. Now to get dressed before he showed up. We couldn’t be late to my parents’.
“Okay, we need something simple yet cute.”
We were almost making this out to be a date, but it was more important than a date, in my opinion. A girl always thinks about the day her boyfriend meets her family and how it will go. To someone like me, for whom family was everything, it was a big deal that they liked Gage. I guess I was old-fashioned, that I wanted that approval from my parents.
“Here you go. Put these on, but don’t ruin your hair or makeup.” With that, Macey shoved the outfit into my hand and left the room.
I was once again glad that Macey and I were the same size and that I could wear her clothing. I didn’t own anything cute like what she gave me, so it was only logical to borrow her clothes. What she had given me was a gorgeous white dress. It was simple yet so pretty. Thankfully it was warm outside, so I wouldn’t freeze to death.
I pulled the dress on, as well as the green jacket type thing Macey had also given me. At first, I didn’t think it matched, but once it was on and I looked in the mirror, I thought different.
Almost like Mace had a radar, she came into the room right then. She looked me over and nodded her approval. She then went over to closet and grabbed a pair of cute combat boats that I have been wanting to steal from her for forever. Once I had put the shoes on, she grinned.
“Perfect!” I had to admit it as well; I looked good. I was definitely planning on stealing this outfit and never giving it back to her.
“What time is it?” I yelled over my shoulder as I headed back to my own room to grab my bag.
“It’s eleven. When did Gage say he would be here?”
“A little after eleven.” I made sure I had everything in my bag and I was ready to go. With nothing to keep me occupied, my worrying thoughts were coming back as I waited for Gage to show. A small voice in my mind was telling me he wouldn’t come, but I didn’t want to listen to it. He’ll show, I thought fiercely.
A few minutes past eleven, I started to worry Gage would bail. The stupid voice was making me doubt him, but no matter how many times I tried to convince myself that it was only a few minutes, the voice would start back up again.
Right when I really started to worry, the knock on the door finally came. I let out a huge sigh of relief as I got up and went to answer the door. Opening it, I found Gage on the other side running his hands through his hair, almost nervously. I looked over his attire and my mouth went dry.
Gage Harper cleaned up well. Gone were his normal regular t-shirt and jeans, replaced by a light grey dress shirt under a dark blue swea
ter with the sleeves rolled up. Gone was his ripped jeans and in their place a pair of dark-washed jeans with no holes. His hair was styled back instead of his usual sexy, messy style.
While I was looking him up and down, he was doing the same to me. I actually felt underdressed. I found myself smiling at him. He wanted to look good for my parents; that was so sweet.
“You clean up nicely,” I commented, really liking this look on him.
“Thanks. Dylan said I should look nice and said this worked.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. I found it very cute that he was nervous.
“You look really nice. Don’t worry. You will definitely impress my parents looking like that,” I said. I noticed his sleeves were pulled up just enough to hide his tattoos. Probably a good idea.
“You look really pretty, Princess,” Gage said, sending me a soft smile. I almost melted under his gaze. The way he was looking at me made my knees weak.
“Okay, lovebirds, you better get going.” Macey butted in behind me. With a firm push on my back, she basically shoved me out the door.
“You ready to go?” I asked, fixing my bag on my shoulder.
“Yeah.” I could tell from his tone that he was, in fact, nervous. Not really thinking about it, I brought my hand down and laced my fingers through his. With a smile, I tugged him after me.
It didn’t take us long to leave the building and reach the parking lot. I didn’t even get a chance to offer to drive before Gage was already pulling me toward his Jeep. I could tell he was nervous, as he fiddled with the keys before he finally started the car and backed out.
I wasn’t sure what to say as we drove in the direction of my parents’ house. I wasn’t sure if I should say something encouraging to calm his nerves or to not say anything at all. Music played softly in the background, and Gage kept his hand on my thigh the entire time, like I was centering him a little bit.
Thankfully there wasn’t much traffic as we drove. For a Saturday that was surprising. I gave him directions to my parents’. A little bit later, we pulled up in front my parents’ house. The familiar brick of my house was a welcome sight for me, but not so much for Gage. I watched him gulp as he stared at me house.
Silent Love_Part Three Page 3