From Ashes

by Molly McAdams

Page 27

  Author: Molly McAdams

  My confusion only intensified, and by the time Cassidy got back from getting groceries with Jackie the next day, I was completely dumbfounded. She hadn’t said a word the entire way back to our place last night, hadn’t gotten up for our morning hug before or after my run that morning. And I cut breakfast with Ty short so I could be home when she got back. She still didn’t say anything and kept taking the groceries I was trying to help put away out of my hands and doing it herself. After she finished putting everything away, she walked into her room and shut the door.

  I finished the rest of the homework I had for the weekend and decided to order pizza so she wouldn’t have to cook that night. After hanging up the phone, I walked over to her room and knocked on the door.

  “Yeah?”

  I turned the knob and pushed open the door, worrying when I saw her curled up in bed. “You feeling okay, darlin’?”

  She sighed and turned so she was facing me. “What’s up, Gage?”

  “Uh—I ordered a pizza. ” It sounded more like a question, but I was so damn confused I didn’t know what to say or do anymore.

  “Thanks, but I’m pretty sure I can fend for myself when you’re out. I’ve been known to get in the kitchen every now and then. ”

  Man, with that tone, she’d skipped snarky and gone straight California bitch on me. “Um . . . I’m not going out. ”

  Her eyebrows shot straight up and she mashed her mouth together tightly before forcing a smile that looked pained. “So your date’s coming here. Did you want me to leave?”

  “Cass, seriously? It’s Saturday. ”

  “Yeah, I know. ”

  “So . . . ? It’s movie night. ”

  “Wow, um . . . ” She shook her head slightly and her whiskey eyes got even wider. “I’m sorry, but I’d rather not be watching movies with you and your date. ”

  Holy shit, she really thought I had a date with someone other than her? I knew this wasn’t exactly a date, and she lived with me, but these were my nights with her. She had to know I wasn’t about to let someone come between us and our night together, much less another girl. I mean honestly, it’s not like I was subtle with everything I felt about her. I was pretty damn pathetic when it came to Cassidy; anything involving her and I was there with a smile on my face. Not that I cared; I was in love with the girl, and everyone knew it even if I hadn’t told them. Shit, even the guys last night were talking about how I couldn’t stop looking at her, and she’d been right there. “Darlin’,” I said softly, “you are out of your damn mind if you think I have a date with some chick tonight. ”

  Her face scrunched up and she looked so damn cute I had to force the corners of my mouth not to turn up. She had been upset because she thought I was going on a date. Everything from last night through today finally made sense, and yeah, it felt damn good to know she’d been jealous. “But last night . . . you told everyone—” She stopped and tilted her head to the side. “You don’t have a date?”

  “Oh no, I do. But apparently my date would rather spend the night alone in bed than on the couch with me, a movie, and a pizza. ”

  “You didn’t go out with the guys because of our movie night?” she asked softly.

  God, I was in love with this girl. “Uh, yeah. Now are you gonna come out there with me, or do I have to throw you over my shoulder, hold you down on the couch, and force you to watch a movie with me?” Damn if my pants didn’t get tighter thinking about pinning her down on the couch.

  She failed miserably at hiding her smile and slowly got out of the bed, making her way toward me and the door. When she passed me she paused and turned her head up to look back at me. “Thanks, Gage. ”

  Chapter Eleven

  CASSIDY

  GLANCING DOWN AT my watch, I almost sighed in relief when I saw there were only five minutes left of my shift. It was Friday and, for whatever reason, this Friday seemed like a Monday. We had angry customers in the drive-thru who yelled at Lori because it took her almost three minutes to get their six-drink order out to them, then a snotty kid threw his hot chocolate on the ground because it had whipped cream—seriously, what kid doesn’t like whipped cream?—and his mom demanded we make him another for free, even though she’d never mentioned anything about the whipped cream before I’d made the drink. Lori had gotten emotional after the six-drink order, and we’d traded spots right after, so she had gone out to clean up the mess while I started on another hot chocolate, and in her barely two months of preggo glory . . . she proceeded to get morning sickness, right there in front of everyone. This, incidentally, made said snotty kid throw up right next to her as well. If that hadn’t been enough, the mother started yelling that she was going to sue us for causing her child to throw up from, and I quote, “forcing that awful whipped cream into my baby boy. ” I hadn’t meant to, but I was so over the day already I’d snorted out a laugh when she said that, and she decided to take her anger out on me. Said that it wasn’t saying much for Starbucks if they’d let a drugged-out child with track marks make their customer’s drinks as she pointed to my tattoo of Ursa Major on my arm. Yay me.

  I was just slipping off my apron and punching in my code when Stacey walked in with an older woman I’m assuming was her mother. Stacey looked amazing; she was glowing and couldn’t stop smiling, exactly the way a girl should look the day before her wedding.

  “Hey! Didn’t expect to see you today, but I must tell you, you missed one awesome day. ”

  “Really?” she asked, her eyes getting bright.

  “No. It was awful, be glad you weren’t here. ”

  “Oh. ” She scrunched up her nose at me and smiled. “Well, we’re meeting up with my girls to get our nails done but I’m glad I caught you before you left. I was wondering if you’re going to bring a date tomorrow. I know things with Tyler ended a few months ago, so I didn’t know if you planned on bringing someone else . . . ” She trailed off.

  “Huh. I hadn’t even thought about that. I guess I’ll just go by myself. If this is about the price for catering, I’ll totally eat for two if you want me to. ”

  She and the older woman both laughed. “No, it’s not that. Well, I was talking about you with Russ, and he said there were a few guys from his fraternity coming who are single, and that I should set you up with one of them. ” My eyes got wide but she kept talking. “Obviously, I would have rather talked to you about this first, but Christian, one of his frat brothers who’s coming, was sitting right there and one thing led to another, they got on your Facebook page . . . safe to say Christian is dying to meet you now. ”

  “Uh . . . ”

  “He’s really cute, Cass, he’s twenty-two, he’s a baseball player—”

  “I’m taking Gage,” I blurted out when I saw his truck pull into a parking spot.

  Stacey sucked in a deep gasp and her eyes got wide. “Oh my God. Really?” She squealed. She actually. Freaking. Squealed. “How come you didn’t tell me about this? Oh, Cass, when I get back from my honeymoon you are telling me everything!”

  Oh crap. “Um, well, it’s new. ”

  “Cassidy, this thing with Gage is not new. It may have taken forever, but it sure as heck isn’t new. ”

  Gage got out of his truck and started making his way in, so I hurried around them so Stacey wouldn’t get a chance to say anything to him, especially since Gage knew nothing about Stacey’s wedding or our relationship, which was so new, you could practically say it was nonexistent. Since it was. “Yeah, well . . . ” I smiled and hugged her hard. “We’re being kind of quiet about it right now because of Ty, so—” I broke off when Gage walked in and smiled his heart-stopping smile, dimples and all. “See you tomorrow, Stace!”

  Gage’s arm had just settled around my shoulders when Stacey called out in a singsong voice, “Good-bye, Gage Carson, I’ll see y’all later. ”

  His smile stayed but you could see the confusion in his features at the
way Stacey was speaking. “Bye, Stacey. ” It came out more of a question and he cocked his head to the side as I hurried us out the door. “She seemed like she was in a good mood,” he stated as he opened the passenger door for me.

  “Uh, yeah . . . something like that,” I mumbled, and tried to figure out how I was going to ask him to the wedding and keep him out of the loop about our “relationship. ”

  “GAGE?” I TIMIDLY called from the hallway. I knew he would come with me, but if I was being honest with myself, I was afraid he’d see just how much I wanted him to be my date to this stupid thing.

  “Yeah, Cass?” The door to his bedroom swung open to reveal Gage in nothing but mesh shorts, his hair still wet from a shower, a few drops of water running down his broad shoulders and chest.

  I failed at stifling a gasp and tried to focus on his eyes. That didn’t help either; I could get lost in those dark green-and-gold eyes. “Um . . . ” I realized I was biting my lip and looking at his well-defined stomach again. Get a grip! This is not the first time you’ve seen him half-naked. I mentally shook myself and looked at the floor instead. “So Stacey’s getting married tomorrow, and before everything happened, I’d already RSVP’d with a plus-one for Tyler. But since that’s obviously not an option, I was wondering if you’d maybe be my date? As a friend, I mean! Go with me as a friend. ” Okay, this was going exactly how I hoped it wouldn’t. I’d managed to get lost staring at his body, I’d asked him to be my date, and I knew my entire face was beet red from embarrassment.

  He didn’t say anything, but I could practically feel his silent laughter making its way through my body. I sighed and turned back toward the living room. “Don’t worry about it, I’m sure you’re busy tomorrow. ” No, he wasn’t. Tomorrow was Saturday, our movie night.