by L. A. Fiore
Gage held her eyes for a beat when he told her, “After the holidays, I’m leaving Heather.”
She couldn’t stop the sob that moved up her throat, not from sadness, but him confirming he was leaving his wife. Tears hit her eyes. “You are?”
He squeezed her hand and whispered, “I’m in love with another woman.”
Sitting there, she was overwhelmed hearing his declaration. It was what she’d fantasized about, hearing him say those words. She understood them, because she was in love with another man. “I want to leave Luke, but I can’t afford to take care of myself, let alone my kids.”
“Do you trust me?” Gage asked her out of the blue.
“Of course I do.”
He kept her eyes and told her, “Then let me handle that and we will figure it all out after Christmas.”
Tears burned her eyes. “I thought I’d lost you. After Hershey, I thought I’d lost you.”
“You’ll never lose me; I’ll always be here.” His voice was low and raspy.
She leaned closer and dropped her voice, “I love you.”
Gage smiled at her, leaning into the table, and whispered, “I wanna fuck you so bad, but I don’t think we have the time.” He chuckled.
“And with Thanksgiving in two days, sneaking away is going to be hard this week.”
Gage nodded, not wanting to agree, but it was the truth. “What about Friday?”
Her body warmed. Her kids would be home, but they usually hung with friends and she and Candice did their Black Friday shopping, but this year, Candice would understand if she ditched her. “Yes, I can make it work.”
“Good.” He grinned then shot her a wink and asked, “Wanna go make out in my truck?” His lips tipped up in a sly grin.
Her hand flew in the air. “Check please.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“We always go shopping. It’s our thing, Tilly.” Candice’s shrill voice had Tilly pulling her phone from her ear. Turkey had been consumed, some even indulged in seconds. Her family was in the living room passed out from all the food. Tilly was in her office, looking out at the light snow falling.
“I know. I’ll make it up to you.”
“You’re going to see him, aren’t you?” Her tone accusatory.
Tilly thought about lying, but she was doing enough of that. “Yes. I am.”
“You’re going to ditch me for a fuck.”
Anger stirred, not just at Candice’s tone, but her words. “He’s more than that.”
“He’s married,” Candice bit out. “And so are you.”
“Thank you for pointing that out.”
“Don’t you think you’ve run this affair as far as it should go?”
Tilly stood, her anger growing stronger. Candice didn’t seem to have a problem with Gage when it didn’t impact her. When it did, all of a sudden, it was a problem.
“He isn’t a fuck, and it isn’t just an affair, Candice.”
Candice snapped, “So then do something about it. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.”
Tilly couldn’t stop the laugh because those words from Candice, talk about hypocritically. “Coming from the woman who coined the phrase.”
“We’re not talking about me.”
“I am doing something about it, but it has to be handled with care because there are more involved than just him and me.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Candice demanded.
Normally, Tilly would share exactly what she meant, but with the push back she was getting from Candice, the unveiled hostility, she wasn’t inclined to. “It means, like I said, it’s more than an affair.”
“I said it before, and I’m saying it again. You’re playing with fire and when this blows up in your face, I won’t be above telling you I told you so.”
There was a knock on the door. “Mom, can we have pie now?” Justin asked.
Tilly ran a hand through her hair, calling back to Justin. “Yes, I’ll be right there.” She waited to hear his footsteps move down the hall before she hissed to Candice, “It feels really good to know you have my back. If this blows up in my face, don’t worry, I won’t need you to throw it in my face because I’ll be picking up the pieces of my life.” She hung up without waiting for a reply.
_______________
Tilly clutched the bed sheets into her fists, her back arched as she dug her feet into the mattress as Gage sucked her clit into his mouth. A groan rolled up his throat when he moved his tongue, pushing it deep inside her pussy.
“Oh God,” Tilly moaned, grinding on his face.
Gage ran his tongue through her folds and back to her clit, drawing circles, bringing her closer to the edge of her release. With a steady momentum of his tongue, his hands gripping her breasts, thumb and index fingers teasing her hard nipples, Tilly let out a guttural moan when she came in Gage’s mouth.
“Fucking beautiful,” Gage uttered between licking up all she gave. When he had his fill, which he never would, he moved up and between her legs. With a slow steady push into her pussy, his eyes on her hazy ones, he whispered, “I love you.”
Tilly had trouble finding words, feeling so overwhelmed by what he made her feel, both physically and emotionally. She didn’t want to leave this room, wanted to stay right here with him forever. Her hips lifted in invitation, her hand reaching out to touch his face. Her voice breathless when she vowed, “I love you.”
Gage held her hazel eyes as he hovered over her the entire time he drove into her with solid thrusts. Pouring his heart out with a simple look and the connection of their bodies.
Tilly moved into his thrusts, drawing her lower lip between her teeth to bite back the moan, taking greedily what he was offering with his body and his heart.
After two rounds of life altering sex, they were sitting on the old mattress of the hotel room with a pizza between them.
“She was that pissed, huh?” Gage asked, before taking a bite of the black olives, mushrooms and sausage slice in his hand.
Tilly took a huge bite and talked around it. “She was. Never had a problem with you until it impacted her shopping spree.” The words were only just out of her mouth, and she felt bad. “That’s mean of me to say, but it feels that way.”
Gage swallowed then teased, “Maybe we should hook her and Dom up, they can bite at our asses together.”
Tilly wiped the drip of grease from her chin. “I get where they’re coming from. In their shoes, I can’t say I wouldn’t feel similarly, but it’s not just a fling. They don’t get that.” Tilly took another bite of pizza. “I guess I understand that though.”
Gage spoke around the bite in his mouth. “Yeah, I get it, too.” He swallowed some of his hefty bite and asked, “You said Ashley’s Christmas concert is the Thursday before Christmas, right?”
Tilly smiled around the pizza. He remembered. Her own husband didn’t remember his children’s events. “You remembered that…” she shook her head and added, “Of course you did. Yes, that’s right.”
Gage tipped up one side of his lips, winking at Tilly before taking a gulp from his soda. He moved the bottle from his mouth. “I’m still taking the girls to the mall this weekend. How’s Monday looking for you?”
“I’ve freed up Monday,” she said, meeting his eyes, and grinned, “I’m yours all day.”
Gage raised his brows, “Just how I like it.” He winked, took a bite of his pizza and asked, “You still wanna go up to King of Prussia to the new mall and do some Christmas shopping?”
She lowered her pizza and tilted her head. “You’re offering to go Christmas shopping?” She was smiling on the outside, but inside, she was feeling so much more. Luke never took her shopping, not voluntarily. Maybe how they went about this was wrong, but Gage and she were so right together. “I’d love to.”
“Well,” Gage gulped dow
n his mouth full and told her, “Yeah, that was my plan for Monday, to take you to King of Prussia and do some shopping.” Gage looked Tilly in the eyes. “Unless you wanna spend the day in bed, that works too.” He ripped off a piece of crust with his teeth and smiled.
Her focus shifted to his mouth, her blood warmed remembering how skilled he was with that mouth. She reached for her soda and took a long drink. A day in bed sounded perfect. Shopping with him, though, doing something so simple, sounded perfect too. “How about shopping then bed?”
Gage chuckled, shaking his head, and then he muttered, “Women and shopping, always has to come first.”
Tilly laughed and put her pizza down. Wiping her hands on her napkin, she never took her gaze from him. “It really isn’t just a fling,” she said softly. “It’s not just about sex.” She looked down for a second, swallowing the emotion before meeting his gaze. “I’ve never felt this way.” She didn’t want to lose the lighthearted mood with her sentiment, so she teased, “I will be forever grateful to the word Equate.”
Gage grabbed for a napkin and wiped his hands, sliding the pizza box to the other side of the bed, and moved into Tilly. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he brought her to her back and hovered over her. “One day, Tillian Forester, I’ll get to eat pizza with you naked whenever I want and look into those beautiful eyes every damn day.” He kissed the tip of her nose, smiling down at her.
She stared up into those eyes. Sometimes the things we wanted most weren’t the grand gestures, but something as simple as eating pizza, naked, no sneaking, no hiding. Just them being them with no strings attached. She wanted that, too, so much. “I want that day, Gage Sutherland, and the countless others that follow.”
Gage smiled at Tilly before he took her mouth and brought them both to their third moment of life altering sex that day.
_______________
Gage had just walked out of the master bedroom, leaving his wife to put away the towels he just helped her fold. He wasn’t two steps down the stairs when he pulled his cell from his back pocket and typed out,
They canceled the trip, so she’s not going.
Tilly was working in the kitchen, her thoughts on the upcoming weekend. His wife was going skiing with friends. She wanted all four days with Gage, but she managed to get two days away. Luke hadn’t even questioned her. Ever since her meltdown, when she said she needed time, he didn’t question it. When her cell buzzed, she knew it was Gage. They’d been talking about what they were going to do over their long weekend, that was when they weren’t in bed. Reaching for her phone, the smile on her lips died reading his message. The anger surprised her, the accusations that formed in her head, Heather changing her plans. It took a second and some deep breathing for her to realize what she was doing. And even knowing she was being unreasonable, she still felt angry.
Our weekend is off?
Gage reached the kitchen and started a pot of coffee, he needed it. Actually, he needed more than coffee, a good stiff drink would help, but he didn’t feel like running to the liquor store. He had just hit brew when his phone chimed. She wasn’t just upset, she was pissed. It’s gotten to the point that Gage could read Tilly and her moods from simple words written across a screen.
Yeah, baby, it is. I’m sorry.
Tilly was still holding her phone, resisting the urge to toss it across the room, when his message came through. It wasn’t just anger reading the confirmation that their weekend was off. She was sad, no, it was more than that. It was the reminder, too, that she was the other woman, that his wife still held the power. Thinking those thoughts was terrible, she could rationalize it all, that she was being crazy, but it didn’t stop her from feeling it. From being kept from the person she wanted, by the one who had him and didn’t appreciate what she had. Her eyes burned. She dropped her phone on the counter and stepped away from it because mixed with all those feelings was the reality that a weekend home, in her life, only left her wanting. She tried to pull it all in, taking a few minutes to let the disappointment soak in, before she messaged him back.
Not going to lie. I’m really disappointed, but a part of me understands.
Gage was staring at the brown liquid drip into the pot when his phone went off. He went to reach for it on the counter but stopped when Heather walked in. “I was thinking since I’m not going away, we should.” She came up behind her husband and put her arms around his waist, he tensed.
“I was going to catch up on some work this weekend while you were gone.” He lied, he was becoming a natural at it. He pulled open the cabinet above the coffee maker and grabbed a mug.
“Oh, I’ll have some, too,” Heather cooed then moved away from Gage to the fridge to grab her almond milk. “It’s winter, what could you possibly need to catch up on?”
“Just…,” Gage’s words faltered, “Just a few upcoming projects on the schedule after the winter breaks, was going to check out the properties, water drainage when it snows.” Jesus, the lies were just pouring out of him, like the coffee from the pot he had tipped over his mug.
Heather moved in next to him. “Maybe soon then, just me and you.”
He looked down at his wife, she was smiling up at him. Guilt he hadn’t felt in a while hit him so hard, he took a deep breath, trying to catch it. “Sounds good.” He coughed out before he took his coffee and his cell to the living room to message Tilly back.
_______________
“I’m sorry I was a bitch about Black Friday. I just miss you,” Candice offered, as she and Tilly shared breakfast at their favorite cafe.
Tilly had been surprised to get her call. They had barely spoken in the past few weeks. There was a part of her that got it. There was a time when all of Tilly’s free time was spent with Candice, but the kids were busier now, she had a part-time job. And yes, there was Gage. He was a priority in her life. “I’m sorry I’ve not been around as much.”
Candice reached for her coffee; her focus fixed on Tilly. “How are the kids?”
“They’re good. Busy. I’m looking forward to when Justin gets his license, and he can help with the driving. With two, I’m in the car a lot.”
“And Luke?”
“Luke is still Luke. Spends ninety hours a week working.”
Tilly waited because she knew Candice was really interested in Gage, but was trying to be polite. She could share, at one time she would have, but she wasn’t feeling that generous. An argument could be made that she was still a little annoyed by Candice’s freak out, but the truth was, she didn’t want to fuck up what was happening between her and Gage. He was leaving his wife. A part of Tilly felt awful about that, but a bigger part of her wanted a chance with him, a true chance. One that didn’t put the people they loved at odds with them, one where they didn’t have to sneak around to see each other. She knew it would be strange the first time Gage came to the house, the kids knowing who he was, and being old enough to realize there had been more to their meeting at Hershey. It would be a tough conversation, but one she wanted to have. She didn’t want to keep things from her kids, didn’t want to hide how she felt. She hadn’t set out to break up her marriage, she hadn’t set out to break up his. It happened. She was ready to pay penance for that as long as at the end of it she got Gage.
“Are you still seeing Gage?”
Tilly took a bite of her croissant to give herself a minute before she had to answer. She was going to lie. For the first time, she wasn’t so eager to be candid with Candice, because it was only a matter of weeks before all the pretense would be over, until she and Gage no longer needed to hide what they had. She wanted that, wanted him, more than she’d ever wanted anything, and she didn’t want to do anything to fuck it up, but she was lying enough. “Yes.”
“And how’s that going?” Candice asked. Maybe Tilly was reading into it, but she thought she heard a thread of disgust in her tone.
“I don’t expect you t
o understand it. Sometimes, I don’t. I know what I’m doing, and a part of me knows I shouldn’t be doing it, but I like him.” Tilly leaned back and laughed. “Hell, I admire him and respect him.” She leveled determined eyes on Candice and emphasized her next words. “And I love him. Not a fleeting kind of thing, he makes me happy in a way I’ve never been. I should feel badly about that because we met at the wrong time, but the point is, we met, and we connected and strong enough that we’re both willing to take the risk to see where it goes.”
Tilly didn’t miss the censure this time in Candice’s words when she lowered her voice and asked, “And Luke, your marriage?”
“What marriage? I might have a ring on my finger, but that’s about all I have when it comes to my marriage.”
“He deserves better than that,” Candice admonished.
Tilly’s temper stirred, listening to Candice defending her husband, when she knew as well as Tilly that Luke stepped out of the marriage a long time ago.
Leaning forward, her voice hard, she said, “What about what I deserve, Candice? I may be stepping out on my husband, but at least I showed up in the first place. I put in the effort. I tried to make it work. Month after month, year after year, when instead of growing closer, we grew more distant, I still tried. When I pursued a career, something to fill the gap, something for me, instead of his support, I got shit from him that I wasn’t home, caring for his kids and his house because that is what I am to him.” Anger dripped from her words when she asked, “Why do you think he spends so much time at work? He wants the illusion of the wife, the kids and the house in the suburbs because that image fits with the successful man he wants people to think he is. The one who has it all, the one to be envious of, but it’s a lie. No different than the lies I’ve told, and no less painful because I’m the one who eats alone, the one who sleeps alone, the one who, even with a ring on my finger, is perfectly, utterly and heartbreakingly alone.”
