Page 21 of Hard To Stay

Gage nodded towards the dance floor. “Care to dance with me, beautiful?” His voice was low and smooth and I could smell the clean fresh scent of body wash. But it still didn’t compare to Brad’s woodsy cologne that I had come to love. Once I took a minute to appreciate him, I decided that he really was quite attractive. Although, given his actions earlier, he already had one strike against him. He instigated that showdown on purpose, but Brad wasn’t innocent, either. There was obviously some bad blood between them.

The scuffle tonight had me seeing Brad in a new light. One I wished I could shut off and block out. It had me wondering how well I actually knew him. The more I thought it over, the more I realized that whoever this Samantha was, really didn’t bother me. I believed him and his friends when they said he was no longer with her. Now Emily, that was a completely different story. The mere mention of her name had me feeling unsettled.

Regardless of why their relationship ended, it was clear to me that he wasn’t over her. That’s why every time my traitorous body started to entertain the idea of anything more than friendship, I had to shut it down. My life was still under serious construction at the moment and moving beyond anything more than friendship with Brad would be like ignoring those flashing yellow safety lights that read, ‘proceed with caution’. He was a big fat ‘do not enter’ and I needed to remember that.

Gage gently grabbed my arm, tugging my conscience back to the here and now. He lifted his eyebrow playfully. “So, about that dance?”

“Sure, why not?” I said, placing my drink on the bar. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sawyer’s gaze bounce back and forth between the two of us. He looked like he was about to say something but Faith pulled on his arm and whispered into his ear.

My lip-reading skills were as strong as ever because I could clearly make out the words. “Brad’s going to have my ass.”

Well, Brad wasn’t here at the moment now, was he? I thought to myself. No, it was Brad’s temper tantrum that put us all in this position. Brad would have to deal with the consequences and get over it.

Gage’s hand latched onto mine as he pulled us towards the dance floor. We claimed a small, vacant space in the middle of the crowd. My eyes glanced around the room, watching everyone sway to the beat of the music.

He placed his hands on my hips and drew me tight against his hard chest. I closed my eyes and tried to pretend it was someone else holding me. Gage was a good dancer, and he was cute enough, he just wasn’t the one I wanted pressed up against me. I folded my arms around his neck and forced my thoughts to concentrate on the music. But every time Gage’s hand traveled up my back, every slow caress of his hands had me on the brink of tears. Brad’s face was all I saw; his touch was the one my body craved. How did it get to this point? When did I allow him to slip through the cracks?

A new song boomed through the speakers causing me to pull away. Gage tugged on my hand, “One more, please.” He drew out the word, batting those thick eyelashes that probably had most women dropping their panties when he put on the charm. Begging a woman for more than just a second of his time, was probably a record for him.

I pressed my lips together, finding it hard to say no. He was a good distraction, but leading him on would be wrong. “One more, then that’s it.”

“Deal.” he said, smiling just before he pulled me back towards his chest.

When the song ended, he spun me around with his strong arm supporting my back and dipped me. I could feel a smile erupt on my face.

“See, now that wasn’t so bad, was it?” he asked, his eyes bright with amusement.

I shook my head and gave him a polite smile. In another time or another place, I would probably be interested, but seeing that I had met Brad first, I just wasn’t capable of allowing my head to go there.

Sweat was beading down my forehead and my hair was stuck to the back of my neck as we headed back toward the bar. I weaved through the crowd in need of a drink when my feet came to an immediate halt. Brad stood there with his hands in his pockets and his head slanted to the left. Anger darkened his eyes as his gaze flickered to where Gage’s hand rested on the small of my back. A slight twinge of guilt passed through me.

“Lexi, I would like to speak with you… alone, please.” His face was pulled tight, but he kept his voice steady. It looked like he was on the verge losing control by the way his jaw flexed back and forth. As much as I wanted to tell him no, it was as if my heart had a mind of its own.

I simply nodded my head when he reached for my hand and laced his fingers through mine. Tingles pricked my arms at the way my hand felt inside his. My heart was thumping so hard in my chest I thought it would jump out of my skin.

He led me down a dark hallway past the restrooms until he found a small corner in the back that was quieter and less crowded. My nervous fingers fumbled with my too short top, and I suddenly worried that I might be showing off too much skin.

“I’m sorry you had to see that. I shouldn’t have let him get to me. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

The events of tonight had taken me by surprise making me wish I could put it all behind me. Things were getting weird between us and I just wanted everything to go back to the way it had been. Go back to a place where things were comfortable because comfortable meant safe. It was impossible to ignore the shift in our relationship over the past two weeks, but I pushed those feelings aside and gave him the reassurance he needed.

“I know.”

“I don’t ever want you to be afraid of me.” The waver in his voice did something to me.

My small fingers wrapped around his strong ones and gave them a squeeze. “I’m not.” I said, trying to hide how nervous I was. I wasn’t sure what he would think if he knew how fast my feelings for him were developing. But at the same time, I didn’t want him to think that I was some fragile little girl who got frightened every time somebody raised their voice. I knew Brad would never hurt me. Well, at least not physically. And certainly not intentionally.

His relief was apparent. “Thank God. Now that we got that out of the way…” He sighed. “About Samantha…” He ran his free hand through his hair pulling on the ends like he was uncomfortable with the words that came next. “I broke it off with her weeks ago.” He tilted his head to the side. “Besides, do you really think I would be spending so much time with you, if I had a girlfriend?”

I just shrugged my shoulders. “I guess not.”

His eyebrows pulled together. “That’s it?”

“You’ve never given me a reason to doubt you. If you’re telling me that you’re not seeing anyone, then I believe you.”

His lips kicked up into a smile. “You’re making this way too easy. What’s the catch?”

“There is no catch. Are you trying to say you want me to give you a hard time?”

---