With one last look around my room I was ready to go. I wanted to stay in my room all day, but I knew I had to leave. We can do this. It won’t be that bad, I thought to myself. Heaving a sigh, I dragged my feet out of the room and into the living room where Macey was waiting for me.
“The boys are downstairs waiting for us. Is Gage meeting us there or downstairs as well?” she asked as she rummaged through her purse.
“He and Dylan are going to meet us there. I thought it would be wise if they went in separate cars.”
“Carter, everything will be fine. This is the perfect way for them to get along, and an even better time for you to ask Gage to meet your parents.” Macey knew I hadn’t asked him yet, and she had been trying to get me too all week. I was so nervous about asking him. If it were up to me, this never would have happened.
I was stuck in my own thoughts as we both made our way downstairs to where everyone was waiting for us. I was trying to think of a good way to ask Gage. Should I just say, “Hey, come with me to meet my parents,” or should I go all subtle and be like “So my parents may want to meet you, but if you don’t want to you don’t have to.” To say I was a little stressed about this would be an understatement.
I didn’t even realize that we were out of our building and meeting up with the rest of the group. It wasn’t until Macey nudged me on the arm did I come back down to the present.
“So are the dogs—” my brother started to say, but with a swift jab to the gut from Macey’s elbow he corrected himself. “I mean are the guys going to just meet us there?” he asked, wincing from Macey’s hit. I didn’t say anything about the comment but just narrowed my eyes at him. “They are meeting us there. We should probably get going.” I wasn’t sure if Dylan and Gage were there yet, but I didn’t want them to wait for us.
“Fine.” Luke grunted as he took Macey’s hand and started leading us toward the parking lot. It was only then did I remember that Ethan and Amy were here as well. I felt my heart squeeze at the sight of them, but it wasn’t bad; it was almost like someone pinched me instead of punching me straight in the heart.
“It is going to be nice to finally meet the Gage Harper in person,” Amy said as we walked side by side.
“What do you mean by that?” I asked turning my head to look at her, confused as to why she said his name like that.
“Oh, nothing. It is just that Gage is well known around campus.”
“What is he well known for exactly?” I’d always wondered why everyone knew of Gage and why my brother and Ethan hated him, but I hadn’t found out why. I wasn’t sure if it was because he was an underground fighter or something else.
“He’s known for sleeping with basically the entire girl population on campus,” Amy said right before her words registered. She clamped a hand over her mouth like that would take back what she said. It felt like someone had actually hit me in the stomach.
Sure, I knew Gage got around, but if he was known on campus for sleeping with every girl, that had to be true, right? Why did it hurt when she said that? Yes, I had a tiny little crush on him, but it was nothing. It would fade soon…right? But what if he was using me to get into my pants? What if that was all he wanted, and if he didn’t would he just leave me?
“Carter, those are probably all just false rumors. Most of the things people say around here aren’t true.” Amy placed a hand on my arm. I didn’t want to feel hurt by her words, and I was confused by how much I was. It shouldn’t matter to me anyway; our relationship was fake and would end soon.
Her words did little to comfort me, but I didn’t want to let those plague my thoughts today. I already had enough to worry about and I didn’t need her news to cloud my mind. So, with that, I pushed all of that to the back of my mind and locked it away. It was stupid to even think about. It shouldn’t matter to me; it was his life and he could live it how he pleased. Just because we were “dating” didn’t mean it was my business.
“You are right. That probably isn’t true,” I said, but even to my ears I didn’t sound convinced. Amy sent me an apologetic look before she walked up ahead to walk with Ethan. I knew she didn’t mean to tell me that, especially when she thought I was dating Gage, but a part of me was mad. I was still mad that she told my parents about him and got me into this whole mess. I used to like how Amy would just tell you how it was, but lately she had been bugging me.
I walked behind everyone as we headed for our cars to go bowling. I already knew this was a bad idea and after what Amy said, my mood soured. When we reached the parking lot, we decided that we would take Ethan’s Range Rover since it had a little more room than the Jeep.
The ride there felt like it didn’t take long, as the car was filled with chatter. I stayed silent in the back while everyone else talked, but I added my thoughts in a few times. I could feel Macey’s eyes on me, silently making sure I was okay. I was trying to not let myself overthink this whole thing and just believe it would all turn out okay. It was a lot easier said than done of course.
When we entered the bowling alley, my nervousness skyrocketed. I looked around for Gage and Dylan but when I didn’t see them, I knew they weren’t here yet. I sent Gage a quick text saying we were here as we all headed to pay.
“He’s coming, right?” Ethan suddenly appeared next to me. I rolled my eyes at him.
“Ethan, please be nice to him.” I looked over at him and pleaded.
“Car—”
“Ethan, please. Just try for me.” I looked at him with puppy-dog eyes, hoping it would do the trick. He let out a sigh through his nose and looked up at the ceiling.
“Fine, I will,” he muttered. I grinned at him.
“Thank you.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He waved me off, but I could see a small smile on his face.
“You guys, how many games do we want to play?” Luke called out, interrupting us.
“I say three,” I said going over to him, Macey, and Amy.
“That sounds good to me,” Luke agreed, and everyone else voiced their opinion. I gave my brother twenty dollars to pay for Dylan and Gage. When they found out they would be pissed, but I pushed that aside for now. Luke raised an eyebrow at me when I handed him money, but I just waved him off.
While my brother paid and they got us our shoes, I glanced around for Gage and Dylan. Right when I thought they wouldn’t show up, I heard my name being called. I turned in that direction and saw Dylan bounding toward me, almost like a puppy. I didn’t even have time to say anything before I was picked up and twirled around. A laugh escaped my lips. When he finally put me down, I grinned up at him.
“Hello to you too,” I said as he smiled down at me. “Got to say, though, that is a good way to greet people.”
“It is my new thing.”
I just laughed and shook my head at him. He moved to the side, and I caught sight of Gage behind him. My eyes greedily took him in. He was wearing a simple dark grey-blue t-shirt that had the sleeves were rolled up a little, showing off his arm tattoos. He paired it with a pair of dark black skinny jeans. Normally the skinny jeans would look weird on a guy, but of course Gage pulled it off. His brown hair was styled messily across his forehead. He looked very handsome.
“Hey,” I said softly as I looked at him. I ignored the stares from my friends as I looked at Gage.
“Hey,” he replied, a smile slowly appearing on his face. When I saw his smile, all my doubt went away. Just one look at him was enough to calm some of my fears and chaotic thoughts.
“I’m glad you guys came.” It got quiet for a moment. I remembered to introduce them to the other properly. Turning around to face everyone else with Gage and Dylan at my sides, I started the introductions although everyone knew who they were.
“That is my brother, Luke.” I gestured to my brother who had his arm wrapped around Macey and had her glued to his side. I watched as my brother gave both Dylan and Gage a nod in greeting. I stifled a smile as I continued.
“You guys already know Macey. T
hat is Ethan and Amy next to him,” I finished. Macey and Amy said hello while Ethan just copied my brother with a nod in greeting.
“Anyway, we just paid and are getting our shoes, so grab yours and we can get started,” I said clapping my hands to break the tension. God, if you are listening, please let this turn out okay, I pleaded silently.
Everyone kind of just stood there staring at one another. Thankfully Macey spoke and grabbed Luke’s arm.
“Okay, we are going to go to the lane and get some balls,” she said tugging Luke after her and grabbing Ethan’s arm on the way. I sent her a silent thank you as she led them toward our line, while us three went to grab our shoes.
“What can I get you, pretty lady?” the older gentlemen behind the counter asked. I raised an eyebrow at him not entirely sure if he meant that in a sweet-grandfather way or a pervert-grandfather way. I crinkled my nose at the grin he sent me.
“Size seven shoe please,” I said taking a step to the side to be near Gage. This guy was beyond creepy.
“Size ten,” Gage said in a low voice, staring right at the guy. He could tell he was making me uncomfortable, as he suddenly grabbed my hand and laced his fingers through mine. I squeezed it as a thank you.
The guy didn’t even take his gaze off of me as he got all three of us our shoes. Before I even reached for my pair, Gage beat me to it and handed them to me. The further away from the creepy guy, the better. I didn’t get a chance to say thank you as Gage pulled me away, his grip on my hand firm. The moment we were out of the guy’s sight, I relaxed.
We didn’t say anything as we headed toward the rest of the group. My hand stayed in Gage’s and I made no move to remove it. His hand was perfect to hold.
“I am so ready to school you all!” Dylan announced once we reached the table. He had a wide grin plastered on his face and his eyes were twinkling.
“No way, dude, this is my game,” Luke said, a smile on his own face as he stood up. I was happy to see my brother smiling and trying to be nice.
“We shall see,” Dylan said smirking as he went to sit down and put on his ugly bowling shoes.
“Carter, Gage, what do you want your names to be?” Amy asked as she sat in front of the little screen where you put the players’ names in.
“Uhm, my name?” I asked as I finally let go of Gage’s hand to take a seat.
“You can’t use your regular name, Carter. We are all having funny nicknames.” Amy rolled her eyes at me. “So, Gage, what name do you want?” She turned to look at Gage who was sitting next to me taking off his shoes.
“I don’t care.”
“Fine, I’ll give you guys one myself.” She huffed and turned back to the screen. I ignored her as I slid off my booties and put on the ugly bright yellow and red bowling shoes. These shoes definitely made my outfit now, I thought sarcastically.
It only took me a minute to grab a ball and to put it with the rest. Because there were seven of us the rack was pretty full, but then again Macey and I grabbed the same color ball—the pink eight-pound one. While I was getting my ball, Gage and Dylan had brought over two extra chairs and were sitting next to me.
Our table was silent and the awkwardness was starting to sink in. No one really knew what to say. The boys were tense around one another, and because we told them to behave themselves they decided not to say anything.
“We are playing three games, boys, so you better get ready for us girls to whip your butts,” Macey said grinning at everyone and breaking the silence.
“But there are four guys and only three girls, so just by that us guys will win,” Luke said.
“You think us girls can’t beat you guys?” I asked crossing my arms.
“Of course. Men are superior,” Ethan said smirking. At his words, Amy leaned away from him narrowing her eyes.
“Men are not superior to women.”
“Then why were men made first? It went Adam and Eve, not Eve and Adam,” Dylan added.
“God made man before woman, because you always make a rough draft before the final masterpiece,” I said with my own smirk. See? Spending hours on Pinterest and Facebook was useful. Beside me Gage choked back a laugh.
“Okay, fine, how about we make a bet on that?” Ethan said looking at us girls.
“What kind of bet?” I asked raising an eyebrow.
“We will play the first two games boys against girls, and at the end of those two games, we will see who has the most points. The third game can be just for fun,” he said.
“What do we get when we win?” Mace asked.
“When you lose, you will pay for the winner’s dinner,” Luke said.
“And?” Amy prompted.
“And what?”
“The losers have to take their girlfriend or boyfriend out for a date. And no going-to-the-diner date, something fun and unique,” she said with a grin. I went to open my mouth, but Dylan said something first.
“But I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“Then you’ll have to ask a girl out and take her on a date.” Amy shrugged. I couldn’t help but laugh softly at Dylan’s expression.
“Don’t worry, Dyl, any girl would be lucky to go on a date with you.” I reached over and patted his arm with a smile.
“So do we have a deal?” Ethan asked glancing around at everyone, including Gage, who hadn’t said a word. Us girls looked at each other for a minute and communicated through meaningful glances. Macey shrugged and Amy nodded. I had a feeling we were going to lose, but a chance for Gage to take me out or for me to take him out? Hell yes.
“Okay, we are in,” I voiced our agreement.
“Are you two?” Ethan turned to Dylan and Gage. I looked over at Gage silently hoping he would say yes.
“Why not?” Dylan agreed. Gage glanced over at me as I waited for his answer.
“Sure,” he said not taking his eyes off of me. I grinned, glad he said yes.
“Let’s all shake on it,” Luke said holding his hand out for his girlfriend. With all of us rolling our eyes, we went and shook hands with everyone. When I got to Gage, he had a small smirk on his face.
“Get ready to take me on a date, Princess,” he said softly so only us two could hear it.
“You better start thinking of a date place,” I shot back. I was going to try and win so Gage would be the one to take me out.
“We’ll see about that,” Gage said dropping my hand and crossing his own over his chest. I just shook my head at him and turned to the screen to see who was up.
Luke was up and out of his seat, his name up first. When I started to read the names, my mouth flew open.
“Wait, why am I Belle from Beauty and the Beast?” I asked.
“Amy and I decided on doing Disney princess theme, so Luke and I are Mulan and Shang. Amy and Ethan are Rapunzel and Flynn. You and Gage are Belle and Beast. And lastly, Dylan is Mushu.”
“Beast, seriously?” I raised an eyebrow at that.
“What? You two match it perfectly!” Amy said. “All of us fit the princesses.”
“Macey doesn’t!” I pointed out.
“Yeah, well, Mulan is her favorite princess and there were no other ones she fit.”
“I for one am fine with Mushu. He is the best!” Dylan interrupted.
“He has a thing for Mulan,” Gage whispered in my ear. I giggled at that. Never would have thought Dylan liked Disney movies.
“Plus, Car, you kind of are Belle. You love books and you have brown hair,” Ethan said.
“Wow, like fifty percent of the population.” I gasped dramatically. But it was true. If I had to be a princess, Belle would be my number one. Hello, she gets to use a huge library in the Beast’s home. Who wouldn’t want that?
“Well, so is Flynn Rider, but you don’t see me complaining.”
“But Flynn Rider is hot,” I said. What? He was, for an animated character.
“You know he is not real,” Gage said looking at me like a weirdo.
“Doesn’t make him any less ho
t.”
They didn’t say anything else, as it was Ethan’s turn to bowl. Macey and Amy had made it so every couple went right after one another. So Luke and Macey first, then Amy and Ethan, then Gage and I, followed lastly by Dylan.
When it was Gage’s turn to go, I bit back a loud laugh as I watched him walk to get his ball. His bright shoes looked ridiculous on him, and never before would I ever picture Gage in bowling shoes. He didn’t seem like the type to just go bowling on a Saturday night.
All of us were silent as Gage bowled and hit every pin but one. It was only our first turn and he already got a higher score than the rest of us. Hell, even Luke and Ethan didn’t knock down that many. When he went back for his second time, he hit the last pin easily. Gage turned and walked back to our table like he didn’t just do great. We all stared at him, not expecting him to be good at this.
I kept staring at him while Dylan got up for his turn. All Gage did was send me a wink and look ahead at Dyl. Okay, maybe he was right; I should get ready to take him out. If he played that well for both games, the guys would do pretty well.
The sound of Dylan’s ball hitting the ground made me turn to look at him. His ball spun and hit the pins, knocking all but three down. Luke and Ethan sat up straighter to watch if he would get the rest. If he got this, us girls had a lot of making up to do. Just like Gage, he easily hit the rest down and came back to take a seat.
The three of us girls looked at each other, silently asking what the hell did we just did. The guys smacked hands with Dylan and Gage, wide grins plastered on their faces. Yup, we were screwed.
***
Surprisingly, us girls did really well in the first two games. All three of us scored at least one strike or more, although we did end up in the gutter more often than not. We tried to get bumpers, but the boys wouldn’t let us and there was apparently a rule that if you were over a certain age, you couldn’t get them. Stupid, right?
Silent Love [Part 2] Page 22
