Gage's Obsession

by C. J. Snyder

  They thought I was out for my normal morning run, “It was good, no crawfish this morning though.” Little did they know that the run I took, had thrown my entire world into a whirlwind. Mom sat the heaping plate down in front of me and I eat like I haven’t had food in my entire life, my mind is thinking about the fiery little red head that ran into me this morning.

  Shifters, we are all over the world and can shift into almost anything. Ours just happens to be the most common, the Wolf.

  Dad stirs his coffee, staring at me with purpose over his coffee cup, “Getting excited for tomorrow?”

  My heart feels like it’s going to beat out of my chest, providing the right answer here is crucial, they are excited, not so much for me. Shoving a fork full of food into my mouth and giving a quick nod, “Mmmhmmm.” I mumbled as I kept shoveling food into my mouth to avoid further conversation.

  “Thanks for breakfast, Mom. I need to go shower and get my ass to school” I quickly get up, putting my dirty plates in the sink.

  “Gage! Watch your mouth.” Mom looked at me with a scowl on her pretty face, as she points her eyes in the direction of the living room where my Grandparents are sitting.

  CHAPTER 2

  Presley

  Holy Moley he’s a big dude. How did I not see him? When I finally got enough courage to look up at his face, he was just stunning. Absolutely gorgeous, honey colored eyes and that chiseled jaw line that you only read about. His voice was enough to melt even the coldest hearts. Warm and deep.

  Big solid chest and I know this because I slammed right into it. He probably spends a good part of his life in a gym. Hell, he probably knows how hot he is. He is distracting me and he’s not even in front of me anymore.

  “Oh, Miss McDermott, how nice it is of you to finally join us.” The Dean of students, Mr. Wilson, tilts his head with irritated narrow eyes and a scowl.

  This is my 4th school in the past year and a half. I am a Military brat and my Dad is a perfectionist. So now while he is stationed at the Coast Guard station on a 49 foot ship that is never gone for more than a day or two at a time. I am meeting up with yet another Dean.

  Be nice, Pres. Stay Calm, Pres. Things I have to tell myself when these meetings happen.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Wilson. I ran into a bit of a wall,” chuckling at my own wit “on my way here.”

  The guy in front of me now is about a quarter of Gage’s size, in his mid to late 60s, gray hair and wire framed glasses and oh, staring at me. He must have asked me a question that I apparently didn’t hear. His thin fingers are tapping in a rhythm on the pile of papers that I provided him to prove that I am the perfect student to enroll into the Prep school.

  “Miss McDermott, if you cannot pay attention to what I am telling you, how are you going to succeed here?” That scowl he wears must be permanent.

  “Your father has provided multiple letters of accomplishments from many different professors from your last school,” scoffing at the amount of papers he has sitting on his desk, “but that doesn’t grant you the ability to completely ignore the fact that you are distracted and not paying attention to what I am explaining to you”. Now, he is tapping his fingers together and blinking rapidly at me.

  I mentally shake myself out of my own head. I need to focus, and I do not need any distractions. “Distractions destroy actions,” I can hear my Dad say, “If I can’t move forward with them towards my purpose, then I need to leave them alone.” Rolling my eyes and huffing, I mouth the words mockingly.

  “I’m so sorry, Mr. Wilson. I’m feeling a bit off today. I think it’s the humidity.” Yah, that’s a great excuse, Pres. I catch myself before the eye roll started.

  Fidgeting is nervous habit of mine, my legs start to bounce and I twirl my hair between my thumb and forefinger and focus on the ceiling. Ew, popcorn ceilings.

  “MISS Mcdermott,” Mr. Wilson states sternly by slamming his flat hand on his desk , that startles me and he has my attention again.

  “Do I have your attention?” Man, he looks so irritated, wonder who pissed in his cereal this morning. “you are going to need to pick an activity as an elective. This is a requirement, not a choice. Look at the list and chose one that will suit your needs”.

  Handing me a printed flyer full of electives, I look at him and then back down at the paper and then back up to him in disbelief. There is nothing on there that even remotely interests me. I am not the ‘cheerleader’ type and that all that I see.

  Cheerleader

  Cheer camp

  Cheer competition

  Dance class

  “Mr. Wilson, are there any other options? I am just not the type of girl to want to join Cheer, anything”. I gingerly hand him back the list and sit back roughly to the chair back.

  Don’t get me wrong, I like little outfits and having a good time, but this is everything that has to do with little outfits and loud environments with prissy little girls. Who care about nothing but themselves and their position in the school hierarchy.

  I swear he rolled his eyes at me. “You have already done every other elective that schools have to offer, so either you pick one of these, or I will do it for you” he says with an aggravated huff.

  I mean, he’s right. I’ve done everything from Band to show Choir. Math club, art club, book club. You name it, I’ve done it. Guess I’m stuck with becoming a Cheerleader.

  I tell him to sign me up for Cheer and start to gather my books back into my bag when I hear him state:

  “You will need to meet up with the Captain of our football team in the next few days. They have all the music and needed videos to show you how our Cheer team performs”

  I feel panic start to materialize in my chest “The football team has that? Why wouldn’t the cheer team have all the needed info?”

  What is with this man and the rolling of his eyes and let out an irritated huff. “We don’t do traditional here, Miss McDermott. The coach for the team handles both the football players and the cheerleaders”

  That took me by surprise, they are normally two different entities. Taking a deep breath and wanting out of his office as quickly as possible, I ask who the captain was so I could track him down and get the needed information.

  “His name is Gage Santiago, big guy – can’t miss him”

  With my bag slung over my shoulder, “Yah, We’ve met already, Mr. Wilson.” I make my way back into the hallway. Stopping for a brief second, I glance down at my schedule to figure out which way I need to be going. Without looking up, I start walking again and run into a wall.

  “We really need to stop meeting like this.” The wall states with a deep sensual voice.

  Oh god, it’s Gage. I’m not ready for another encounter with him this morning..There he stands, in all his 6ft 2in glory. That wall I ran into was nothing less than his hard-muscular chest, he smells like a musky sandalwood. Like he rolled around in the forest earth before heading into the building this morning. Its intoxicating.

  “Oh, geesh. I’m sorry, Gage.” Seems like running into him, in the most literal sense, is the MO for today.

  I briefly close my eyes and hope he doesn’t think that I’m some stupid little girl. I feel the need for him to like me. I also silently strongly remind myself that he is a distraction that I do not need or want right now.

  “Where you headed, Presley?” the deep male voice resonates through my entire body shaking me to my core We just met for fuck’s sake.

  Anxiousness bubbles up to the surface of my chest and I reach for a piece of my hair to twirl, “Actually, I was headed towards the football field. Looking for you, since I was told that you are the team Captain,” I can feel myself starting to ramble and my palms are beginning to become a little clammy while in his presence “I’m being forced into being on the Cheer squad and I need all the videos and instructions to, um, conform”

  He looks down at me and gets this half smile on his face, the only way to describe it is heart melting sexy. This smile goes from the middle
of his lower lip to the very edge of his left cheek. It has the power to melt even the coldest hearts. .

  “Oh, were you now?” Gage raises an eyebrow and does a small tilt of his head. My heart just did a flip.

  Oh, dear god, he’s dangerous. The musky scent intensifies as he studies me. I take a couple small steps back just to , get some distance between us. . No distractions, Presley. Get your head on straight, girl, I mentally yell at myself.

  “I need to get to my first class, would you please have those ready for me by tomorrow?” . Palms are a full on cold sweat now and I unconsciously wipe them on my jeans. Out of nowhere and eerily silently, a huge male comes walking up behind him and claps him on the back.

  Kangee loudly gets his attention “Hey Gage, we got practice in 10 mins, man. What are you – oh who is this?”

  Gage chuckles with amusement, or is that irritation, and makes quick introductions. Tall, Dark and Native is named Kangee. Our current Wide Receiver and best friend to Gage.

  After 3 grueling long classes, I make my way to the football stadium. The players are going through down and backs on the field. I spot both Gage and Kangee in the mix. Deciding that I’m probably going to be here for a while, I take a seat on one of the bleachers and watch them in action.

  It’s a great day to be a spectator. A little overcast with a cool wind. Thankfully, it had already rained earlier, so the humidity let up by mid-morning.

  My phone lite up with my father calling, again, to see how my day was going. Insert signature eye roll here, why he couldn’t just wait until I got home, was beyond me.

  I was just hanging up the phone and shoving the blasted thing back into my bag when Gage sauntered over to me with Kangee dancing around with headphones in and singing loudly in tow.

  “Hey trouble, been waiting long?” Gage asked with that wicked half smile of his.

  Gage sat down next to me and scooted close enough that his thigh touched mine. Electric shock sizzled at the touch and I automatically scooted a couple inches in the opposite direction to avoid contact

  “No, actually. Only about 30 mins.” Looking down at my hands, wishing I had something to fidget with as all of a sudden, I am super nervous.

  “All the information that you need, is back at my house. Why don’t you come back and get it?” Gage’s eyes widened in suspense as he waited for me to answer.

  At this, Kangee let out a loud laugh which resulted in Gage shooting him daggers. “Thought you were listening to music, man?” Gage was annoyed at his antics and as a matter of fact, if looks could kill, Kangee would have died right then and there.

  My anxiousness quickly spirals to irritation, “I’m not sure why you didn’t just begin with that this morning, but I can come get them” Looking in the other direction to help curve my mounting irritation with this man, . If I don’t go and get those documents and videos, I’m never going to be able to get where I need to be to be successful.

  A jolt of lighting went through my whole being suddenly and the breath that I take makes me feel like I am drowning and just coming up for air, still irritated that he pulled this, I look over and Gage is touching my arm.

  “Are you paying attention?” Now, It seems it is he who is irritated. Kangee is in the background jumping from one bleacher to another singing at the top of his lungs.

  I mentally kick myself and try to make myself as small as possible to get away from his touch as I can’t think straight when he’s this close to me, let alone touching me.

  “Yah, yes, I – no, I didn’t hear a word you said” He was definitely irritated, but I couldn’t tell if it was me, Kangee or the combination of both as he stood up, dusted off his uniform shorts and shoved his hands in his pockets

  “Alright, well, I will meet you here after school – cool?” This was not good; my brain was screaming distraction! Run as fast as you can in the opposite direction! But my body had another idea. I was running straight into the path of destruction.While looking at his beautiful face, “Yah, that sounds good”. Getting up , I grabbed my trusty bag and leaped down the bleachers to the playing field

  I needed to put as much distance between myself and that man as I could get Wiping my palms on my jeans again, my anxiety was at an all time high because of him, however, I had a feeling that I was going to like spending time with him.

  CHAPTER 3

  Gage

  Looking over at Kangee and tugging those blasted earphones out of his ears, “I can’t believe that worked. I got her to agree to come back to the house”

  Kangee laughs and slaps me on the back and does spins as if he’s dancing ballet “If she finds out that you had that material in your pack the entire time, she’s going to kill you” ending in a bow, I give him an irritated look. How does he have so much energy all the time?

  Giving him more side eye, “Well, she won’t find out,” looking at him with seriousness,” if no one tells her.”

  Kangee smirks and slings his shoulder pads over one shoulder. “I’m not going to say shit, Mr.” wiggles his fingers in quotations, “serious” with that, he tosses his pads into the back seat of his 1970 Roadrunner.

  A car named Roadrunner for a Raven – cliché much? Sighing heavily, We must keep up human appearances, plus it was his Dad’s when he was younger. as any hand me down vehicle, it has rust spots, primer on the front end where gloss black should be. The red racing stripes are faded. But, man, does it purr.

  Kangee starts up the engine, rolls down the window and flips me off laughing as he peels rubber out of the parking lot.

  I like the feeling of freedom that walking provides me. That same freedom that I felt slipping through my fingers the closer I get to my 18th birthday. Mood goes to somber real fast.

  Most people are excited to hit that 18 year mark. For male shifters, it’s different.

  If you haven’t come across that one perfect female by that time, then what is happening to me, happens to everyone. What it looks like from the outside is a huge birthday bash. But what it really is, is a mating ritual.

  Don’t get me wrong, I love to fuck, it’s the one thing I excel at. Matter of fact, women seem to only want me for what I can do in the bedroom. I am more than just a side piece. That alone is frustrating. In a daze of frustration and irritation, I arrive home.

  Taking a deep breath to calm the rising anxiety, I enter in through the front door to a madhouse. Uncles, brothers, sisters and the rest of the clan are in the living room watching a football game. Yelling and cursing at the television. Ducking just in time as an empty beer can comes flying past my head.

  “Hey man! Watch it!” Picking up the can and chucking it back over in the direction it came from.

  “Sorry, Neve. The Saints, they ain’t doing to well, no”. My Uncle Victor piped up. He’s a Louisiana Cajun, so when he talks, you have to really pay attention to what he says. I shake my head as I walk towards the kitchen, smacking my palm against the wall as I go

  “Well, at least they aren’t playing the Steelers, Uncle”. Smirking, I duck again as another can flies towards me. They are serious about their football.

  In the kitchen, I find my Mother and Grandmother deep in conversation. They both get quiet when I enter in the room.

  “Ah, there he is! My Birthday boy.” My mom comes over and lays a fat mom kiss on my cheek. My grandmother waves me over to provide her a kiss and then goes back to sipping her coffee. My Grandmother. Don’t be fooled by her fragile act, she is a tiger in a wolf’s clothing. She is considered a Wise Woman of our Clan. She is sacred and she isn’t afraid to use that to her advantage.

  The sweet aroma of coffee leads me over to the pot, grabbing a cup and filling it up, I walk over to where grandmother is sitting at the table and join them.

  “So, what were we talking about?” smiling at Mom over the rim of my coffee cup.

  Mom perks up and starts chattering about the party and who all is going to be there. The number of women of the clan who are in attendance. Her voice starts to f
ade out as my mind starts to wonder back to the fiery little red head who has been clouding my thoughts..

  From the moment she ran into me and I felt the connection between us, all I’ve been able to think about is how to get her alone. How I want to taste what that full bottom lip of hers, bite on it like she does.

  I feel my eyes glaze over while I imagine pulling her tight little body close to mine and feeling her full breasts pressed against my chest.

  Taking a sip of my lukewarm coffee, “I have a friend stopping by in a little bit, just wanted to give you a heads up since we have so many people here”. Watching my Mother, I could see the gears working in her head, She knows that I never give any type of warning when someone is coming over. They just show up.

  Excusing myself to head upstairs to jump into a shower before Presley arrives.

  The steaming water hits my back like a ton of bricks, but it feels amazing. I stand there with my hands and head against the wall. Wondering how in the world I am going to break it to my family that not only do I not want to marry within our clan, but I want to bring an outsider into it.

  Doesn’t seem fair that this day and age, that they would even consider telling me that it wasn’t allowed.

  Not even a quarter a way through this amazing, refreshing shower, someone starts pounding on the door.

  “Gage, man, hurry the fuck up,” my cousin Rhett yells. “I’ve gotta piss, man, come on!”

  Lightly pounding my head against the wall “Alright, Alright! Damnit”. Reaching down I hit the tab to turn the shower back into a steady stream from the tub spout and then turn off the water.

  More pounding “If you don’t hurry up, I’m going to piss myself. Right here,” heavy pounding accenting every word,” in this hallway”

  Wrapping a towel around my hips, I whip the door open angrily,. “Here! Christ!”

  Pushing past him, I stomp like an insolent child and enter my room slamming the door with all the frustration I’ve had building up. Childish, I know, but it felt damn good. Quickly thinking that I need another release for my aggression.