Page 31 of Reckless
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“No, it’s okay. I was just expecting a delivery. I thought…” She squeezed out the door, shutting the dog in, and tightened a cardigan around her. “Is everything alright? It isn’t…”
“No, no, all is fine. Mom’s doing really well today, actually. Well enough to give me a lecture.”
A smile played on her lips before she pressed them together. “Well, you should probably listen. Babs is always right.”
I almost snorted. If only she knew.
I changed the subject. “So, how was your head this morning? You suffer from a hangover?”
She smiled up at me sweetly. “Not too bad, surprisingly. You?”
“No, not me. I’m fine.”
“I suppose you’re used to it.”
From the way she was staring at my lips, I wasn’t sure if she meant the booze or the kiss. Either way, I wanted to reassure her she wasn’t like any other woman, that she meant more to me.
“If you aren’t doing anything, how about you let me take you out tonight? Not for drinks, well, maybe champagne. Dinner, and I get to surprise you with the place.” An idea was already forming in my mind, and I hoped I could pull it off. Leaving Mom wasn’t something I wanted to do, but I would only be gone for a few hours, most of them while she slept.
The soft smile on her lips faded, a frown taking its place. “I don’t know, Gage. Last night was fun, but you’re going to leave again after Babs…” She put her hand over her mouth and her eyes filled. “Oh god.”
Even as what she was about to say slammed into me, I stepped forward, wanting to comfort her as well as myself. As I gripped her shoulders, my fingers got caught in her silky hair, and a yearning slammed into me I hadn’t felt since I was barely more than a kid.
Swallowing, my heart pounding, afraid she would slip away from me again, I said, “It’s okay. Look, I enjoyed your company last night. You make me forget about ‘when,’ plus we both need to eat, so why not do it together?”
Both of us could act as breezy as we wanted, but we both knew this would mean something more. Dinner was a date, it couldn’t be anything else with us, especially after that kiss last night.
“Actually, that sounds nice.” She stepped aside. “Come in. Prince Charming is friendly, a little too much so. I’d like to get changed if we’re going out.”
I laughed. “Prince Charming?”
“Yes, he’ll charm you into giving him food if you have any. You’re safe with him.”
I followed her in, barely having time to flick my eyes over the décor before I was straddling about fifty pounds of pure energy. When the novelty of me finally wore off, and the prince trotted off to gulp down a gallon of water, I noticed the furnishings looked nothing like I would expect of the girl I left behind.
That girl had been expressive, dotting her room with posters and even graffiti of her favorite bands and actors and fashions. This place was all wrong, with neutral furniture and minimalistic tables. There were a few photographs. Some recent ones of her with her mom, older ones of her father and brother, none of anyone outside her family. That made me question who she spent time with now. All my friends had skipped town as soon as they could, and I wondered if the same went for her.
Was she lonely?
“You can help yourself to a drink or something. I won’t be very long.”
I nodded but didn’t go into the kitchen. Instead, I found myself drawn to the bookcase where one thick spine caught my eye. Her high school yearbook. I dragged it from the shelf, sure I wasn’t wading through her privacy since this was a time we’d shared.
I peeled the pages open, my nerves spiking, and delved into memories I hadn’t thought of in a very long time.
The faces looking back at me were so vivid in my memory that it was almost like I was back there again. Lee Flood, a hopeless nerd who was smarter than anyone in the school but who only wanted to be a jock. Shadow, whose real name was Adrian Myers, earned his name on the football field. “What a legend.”
I fell backward in time, remembering names and faces I hadn’t given a second thought since heading to New York. Turning the page, Kelly’s familiar face, the slightly more youthful version of her, smiled back at me and my heart broke open wide. I’d never truly let her go, that was more apparent now than ever before. Kelly Cavendish still got under my skin, and I itched all over for her.
Mom’s words echoed in my head.You could take her with you, get her out of this town.
What if she didn’t feel the same? What if she still didn’t want to go? What if I ended up playing that damn song at the start of every concert for the rest of my life and never found out? I couldn’t seem to shut down the “what ifs.”
“Dammit.” I raked a hand through my hair.
Whatever “if” I’d gotten rolling with my offer of dinner, it was already licking with flames.
