Page 46 of Reckless
“Oh.” I laughed, my face heating. “I forgot about that. Guess this is like old times.”
Baa-meh!
He was a hungry little fella. To cover my embarrassment and make him happy, I leaned over and offered my pellets. They were gone in a second, replaced by a nice swipe of goat slobber. Eww. I wiped it on his head, petting his wiry hair and fingering baby horns.
So cute.
“Yeah…” His face broke out into a grin. “Except this time you’re feeding this baby goat, not me with a caramel apple.”
I felt my face heat to the color of a Red Delicious. My eyes were drawn to the barn. “I’m sure I could find an apple,” I mumbled.
He barked out a laugh. “We’d shock the Amish into seclusion. Maybe instead, we should go to George’s.” George’s was a restaurant named after George Washington and decorated in Revolutionary-era motif. “If I remember right, they have the best chicken and waffles ever, and I miss home cooked food.”
“I’m sure you eat better in New York, but we can go. As soon as you load up this baby goat. I want him.”
“Like you need another animal. You have how many?”
“Ten. But I’m missing the King and the Huntsman, and then there’s the magic mirror. I’m thinking that one will be named M&M.”
Gage rolled his eyes, took my hand in his, and led me away from the goat pen, much to baby goat’s dissatisfaction. Tinybaa-mehsrang out behind us, which escalated in pitch until we neared the parking lot and weren’t in view anymore.
He continued our conversation about food. “I stay on a pretty strict diet. High protein. Low carb.” He rubbed his hand across his abdomen. “It’s not hard work, because I can have anything delivered in New York or on the road. But these abs don’t sharpen themselves.”
“Your abs are amazing. And it must be nice to never have to think about preparing a meal.”
“In most cases, I would agree with that. But when it comes to waffles, no one can beat George’s.”
“We have a lot of memories there.” I didn’t remember the food, mostly the company.
He hooked an arm around my shoulders. “Like the time we went to that mystical place afterward to get our tarot cards read.”
“I remember. Whose idea was that, because it sure as hell wasn’t mine. Did the psychic tell you that you’d be in a rock band touring the world?”
“Actually, no.” Gages voice took on a softness that suggested all joking was gone. “I was told my life would be filled with great love.”
His words were a slap. The psychic had told me the same thing, and it had been true. But also hadn’t been. She probably told everyone that because it was what they wanted to hear.
“I suppose you do have a great love, don’t you? The whole world loves you. It doesn’t get much better than that. Not to mention, you’ve been voted hottest man before and the camera seems to love you too.”
He groaned. “Don’t remind me. Hottest man at some teen awards show.”
“Who would’ve thought that I’d be kissing the world’s hottest man?” I elbowed him.
This was such an enjoyable moment that it’s contrast showed me what a standstill I’d been at—my life had pretty much come to a complete halt. My friends had grown up and gone out into the world and carved out their own lives. And I’d stayed, maybe not because of Mom, but because the future was so scary, the past so painful, that I’d hidden so I wouldn’t have to take the risk. Now, for the first time, with Gage smiling down at me, I could feel a small sliver of hope.
Click. Click. Click.
I dragged my eyes away from Gage as a series of clicks made that small sliver turn into a knot in my stomach.
A photographer, standing in the parking lot, photographing us arm in arm.
“Shit,” hissed Gage next to me.
I quickly stepped away and dropped my eyes in order to disengage the man, but the clicking continued.
“Hey, Gage, is this your new girlfriend?” The man’s voice was light and very friendly, as if he knew Gage intimately. “Does this mean you won’t be going back on tour?”
“Please stop photographing.” Gage flung his arm around me and pivoted to the side, obscuring the man’s view of me, but it didn’t seem to bother him. The clicking never stopped, the man intent on producing an image that could be shown all around the world.
