***
Now
“Thank you, Ms. Harper, for letting me stay and eat dinner with you guys,” I said, hugging Gage’s grandma.
“You are always welcome to come over, sweetie,” Rose said, hugging me back tightly. “Take care of my boys for me,” she whispered in my ear.
“I will,” I whispered back as we pulled away from one another. Deciding to tag along with Gage and Dylan was a good decision. At first, I was scared that I was intruding on Gage’s family time, but after being around his grandma for a few minutes, that concern disappeared.
Grandma Rose was different than most grandmas; she reminded me a lot of my own. She was sarcastic and had lots of witty things to say. She cursed like Gage, and I knew that he was where he probably got it from. Being in her house, I felt like I was back at home. The house was almost like I imagined my house would be when I got older.
Being able to come here and play games while learning a little about both Gage and Dylan took my mind completely off of Ethan and Amy. What happened this morning was put in the farthest place in my mind, and I was determined not to think about it again until at least tomorrow. I wanted the rest of today to continue being nice and fun, not cloudy with the thoughts of those two.
“Come back soon, you guys,” Rose said as she pulled away from Gage, who was the last to hug her. Making our way down the front steps toward the car, I waved at her over my shoulder. Silently, I hoped that I would be seeing her again. I got in the passenger’s side, forcing Dylan to sit in the back and grumble about it.
I had a soft smile on my face as we drove away. It was nice being around a family atmosphere. My parents were currently overseas seeing my aunt and uncle Neena and Liam. It would be a few weeks until I saw them again, so seeing Rose kind of helped that feeling.
“Man, I am so full.” Dylan groaned in the backseat. I grinned turning in the seat to look at him.
“Well if you hadn’t eaten three pieces of lasagna as well as three slices of pie, you would feel okay.”
“I didn’t eat that much.”
“Yeah, you did. I know because we all counted. You probably would have eaten more if Rose didn’t stop you.” It was true; Dylan had just kept eating and eating until Grandma Rose literally had to force the plate from his hands. He was like he had a never-ending stomach. Rose had apparently planned ahead of time because there was plenty for all of us to eat and even some left over after his whole eating escapade.
“I wanted that last slice of pie,” he grumbled under his breath.
“He always eats like that. Don’t worry, you get used to it,” Gage said, staring at the road.
“So is it a regular occurrence for your grandma to pry the plate from his hand?” I asked.
“Usually.”
I smiled and shook my head. For the next few minutes all of us were silent, stuck in our own thoughts. The silence of course didn’t last long.
“I want ice cream!” Dylan suddenly whined in the backseat.
“We literally just had dessert a few minutes ago,” Gage said, looking at him through the rearview mirror.
“So? Come on, there is a great ice cream parlor not too far from here.” Dylan kept saying please every five seconds, until finally Gage snapped at him.
“Fine, we will! God, you are like a five-year-old.” He muttered the last bit.
“He is, isn’t he?” I grinned over at Gage. “How is he not fat?” I asked, confused as to how he could eat so much without gaining weight. If it were me, I would instantly gain weight.
“I ask myself that all the time.”
“You know I can hear you, right? I’m not deaf.” Dylan poked his head in between the seats.
“We meant for you to hear us.” The two started bickering back and forth. Who knew being around these guys would be so entertaining.
Not even five minutes later we were pulling up to the ice cream parlor Luke and I had gone to on our first day of school. Gage barely parked before Dylan flew out of the car and headed inside.
“He really is a five-year-old, isn’t he?” I asked staring after him.
“I worry about that kid sometimes.” Gage sighed.
“You sound like you are his father.” I nudged him with my shoulder as we headed inside.
“Someone’s got to be,” was all he said before he headed for the counter. I stared after him, silently wondering who Gage really was. At times he had this bad boy, mysterious vibe about him. Other times he seemed like a guy who cared for those around him, like today.
When I first met him, he was beyond rude. He clearly didn’t care for me or anyone for that matter. But now that I had broken down a few of his walls, I could see he did care for others, like Dylan and his grandma. Although he was nicer to me, he had his moments. I almost wondered if it was a way for Gage to keep people at a distance.
Now that I thought about it, Gage was only nice to Dylan and now me. Around others he was closed off and rude. He clearly didn’t care what others thought of him, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous. I wish I wouldn’t care about what people thought of me, but it was hard. Having such a great family, people are always looking at you and expecting you to be this perfect princess. I almost wished I could be like Gage, who didn’t care and did what he wanted. I mean, he snuck us to the top of the Empire State Building. If it was anybody else I would have refused, but with him I felt like I could do anything, like I was free.
“Princess, want anything?” Gage called out to me. Realizing I was still standing in the middle of the place just staring at Gage, I ducked my head in embarrassment. Feeling a few people’s eyes on me, I scurried over to his side. Pushing aside my embarrassment for just a second, I scanned the flavors of ice cream.
Like any normal person I wanted every single flavor. Choosing my favorite ice cream was such a hard thing to do in my opinion. Not wanting to keep Gage or the lady waiting, I quickly ordered the first thing that came to mind.
“Can I get a single scoop of the rainbow sherbet?” I asked. The girl didn’t even say anything as she started getting my order. It was clear she didn’t want to be here any longer. It was only five o’clock, so the post-dinner dessert rush would probably start soon.
“Sherbet, really?” Gage asked as he paid.
“What is wrong with sherbet?” I asked, offended.
“It is not even ice cream.” The lady handed him a bowl that had two scoops of what looked like mint chocolate chip and what looked like coffee.
“Yes, it is! Anything can be ice cream. It has to say ‘ice cream’ in the title.” He led me over to an empty table near the front of the store. I glanced around to see Dylan was sitting at another table flirting with some girl. So much for him hanging with us. I took a seat across from Gage and set my bowl on the table.
“Your reasoning is invalid,” I said, taking a spoonful and putting it in my mouth. “Sherbet is amazing.” Gage just stared at me like I lost my mind.
“How can you hate ice cream?” he almost yelled at me.
“I don’t hate ice cream! I just wanted sherbet today.” I pointed my spoon at him. “It is slightly healthier anyways.”
“You don’t need to be healthy,” he said taking big bite of his ice cream. “You are skinny enough.” I felt myself blush at his compliment, if you could call it that.
“What kind did you get?” I asked suddenly.
“Mint chocolate chip and coffee.” I only heard coffee and immediately grabbed my spoon. I went to take some of his only to have him move it away.
“Hey!”
“You can’t have my ice cream.” Gage shook his head at me.
“Why not?”
“Because it is mine.”
“You can have some of mine and I’ll have some of yours,” I offered.
“No.” I looked at him and a plan formed in my head. With a sly smile I leaned all the way across the small table. My plan was to distract him for a split second, so I could steal some from his bowl.
�
�Gage.” I tried to make my voice sound low and husky like I had heard girls do. I probably sounded like a smoker instead of sexy. My thoughts were right as Gage raised an eyebrow at me.
“What are you doing?” he asked looking at me like I was a weirdo.
“I, uh…” There went my plan. Damn, I really needed to learn how to flirt or be seductive. “Nothing.” Not wanting to look at him, I looked out the window to my left. I am just so smooth, aren’t I?
We both sat quietly for a few minutes before I noticed Gage slide his bowl toward me. When I turned to look at him, he gestured for me to take a scoop. I couldn’t stop the full-blown grin that spread across my face. I think Gage was getting a soft spot for me.
I happily stuck my spoon in his coffee-flavored ice cream and when I tasted it, I almost moaned. I hadn’t seen it when I ordered or else that was what I would have gotten.
“Okay, since I shared, pass yours along too.” He pointed his own spoon at my bowl. I didn’t even hesitate to slide it toward him. I sat there waiting to see what he thought of my choice, but his face remained expressionless.
The next little bit, we sat quietly together just enjoying our ice cream and each other’s company. I kept peeking up at Gage every so often, trying to understand the butterflies I was feeling in my stomach. Just looking at Gage made my chest ache and my pulse skyrocket. Maybe it was because he was now being sweet to me or that he let me tag along to hang out with his grandma. I didn’t know what it was, but sitting here looking at Gage, I knew I was starting to feel something toward him.
Our little moment was cut short as the front door of the parlor dinged, signaling new customers. Like everybody else, my eyes went to see who it was, only to freeze in my spot. Of course this had to happen. It was like my life was one big drama TV series. I swear someone above really hated me or something. It was just my luck that Ethan and Amy would show up here.
I couldn’t bring myself to look at them anymore. Tearing my gaze away from them, I looked down at my sherbet like it was the most fascinating thing on the planet. I prayed to the God above that neither of them would notice me and just leave. Maybe for once something could go my way.
“Carter?” Never mind. I guess that was too much to ask for. I wanted to pretend like I didn’t hear Amy, but Gage had already looked up. I almost kicked him under the table but refrained from doing so. Pushing down the hurt I felt, I looked up to see Ethan and Amy heading our way.
As they got closer, I noticed they were holding hands. My heart clenched at the sight, but I made sure my face didn’t show it. They don’t know that you know they are together. Play it off. “Oh hey, Amy.” I forced a smile at her. “And Ethan. What are you guys doing here?” I asked trying to act like I didn’t see them holding hands.
“Uh, we are just…getting some ice cream,” Amy stammered out, clearly not knowing what to say to me. The look on both of their faces showed they hadn’t planned on seeing anyone they knew.
“Are you guys…” I trailed off, gesturing between them two.
“Well,” Ethan said bringing a hand up to rub his neck, the tell sign that he was nervous. “Kind of.”
“We have been seeing each other the last couple of days,” Amy put in. I didn’t believe that from the looks of them. They wouldn’t be holding hands so soon. They are dating. Dating. I couldn’t help but think, my heart slowly crumbling. If this continued, I’d have too many pieces to put back together.
They stood there staring at me waiting for my response. Amy looked kind of nervous and Ethan looked ashamed. He kind of should be; he took me out not even a week ago. The silence was starting to become deafening. All I wanted to do was yell, but instead I made myself stand up with a smile on my face.
“Congratulations!” I said with a wide grin, pulling Amy into a hug. She seemed surprised by it, but quickly recovered and hugged me back.
“Really?” she asked, pulling back.
“Of course, I am so happy for you guys!” With every word I spoke I felt myself breaking. The guy I had been in love with for years was now dating my best friend. My best friend was dating my crush. No matter how I put it, it didn’t sound any better to me. What hurt the worst though was I knew deep down was they had been seeing each other behind my back for a while. They were probably just sleeping together at first but still. That was why Amy has been avoiding me and why she has skipped out on meeting up with Macey and me. She had been busy with Ethan.
I knew I should have seen it coming. I mean, they were perfect for each other. Both were popular, and both were gorgeous. With her being a cheerleader and him one of the best players on the team, it made sense for them to get together. They made sense.
“We have been wondering when you guys would start dating,” I found myself saying even though it was a huge lie. I never wanted to think about my best friend dating Ethan.
I cleared my throat all awkwardly. Everyone could tell there was some kind of tension between the three of us.
“Does anyone else know?” I asked.
“Not yet. We were going to tell you guys tomorrow night,” Amy said.
“Well I won’t say a word until you guys say something.” I sent her a smile, but I bet it looked more like a grimace. “Macey will be extremely happy.” I sat back down in my seat, afraid my legs would give out.
Looking at Amy, I noticed how shy she was being. Normally she was really outspoken and confident, but standing in front of me she looked different than usual. I studied her and noticed how she wasn’t wearing revealing clothing or lots of makeup. In fact, she looked like the same girl we first met in high school before she got really into her looks. I also noticed the hollowness of her cheeks and the slight bags under her eyes. I had been so obsessed with myself lately that I hadn’t even noticed how Amy was doing. She looked so different than usual and it almost scared me. My hate for her dimmed slightly in that moment.
“I’ll let you get back to your ice cream. I hope you guys have a good night,” I said noticing Ethan shifting on his feet beside Amy. I bet they wanted to leave just as bad as I wanted them to. Just when I thought they would leave, Ethan had to say something.
“What are you doing here with him?” Ethan asked, nodding at Gage. I hated to say it, but I had completely forgotten he was sitting across from me. I shouldn’t have put it past Ethan to not say anything about Gage. I mean, he was the one who told me to stay away from him.
As he glared over at Gage, I couldn’t stop myself from feeling somewhat happy. Here I was hanging out with Gage, the person Ethan didn’t want me near. In a way it was like I was doing something against his wishes while he did something against mine, although he had no clue I was upset about Amy. I almost felt like a rebel. “We are on a date,” I heard Gage say as I was brought back into the conversation. As the words registered my eyes widened, and I looked over at Gage who was staring right back at Ethan.
“A date?” Ethan asked, bewildered. Next to him, Amy sent me a confused but happy look.
“Yes, a date, which you are interrupting,” Gage bit out. He clenched his jaw as he sent Ethan a hard look. I placed a hand on Gage’s arm just as Amy did the same to Ethan. We both had enough common sense to know that nothing good would come out of these two fighting. I hated to say it, but I knew Gage would win that fight.
“We are going to get going. See you tomorrow, Carter,” Amy said with a tight smile. Hand in hand with Ethan, she jerked him after her as they left the ice cream parlor. When they disappeared through the door, I let out a huge breath and sagged down in my seat. It felt like that encounter took five years off my life.
“What was that about?” Gage asked after a few minutes of silence.
“They are dating,” I said numbly.
“So who is she?”
“One of my best friends.” I stared down at the table slowly twirling my spoon in my melting sherbet.
“Your best friend is dating your crush,” he stated, but his tone changed when he said the word “crush.”
“How did you know he was my crush?” I asked, my head snapping up.
“Carter, you are the easiest person to read. When they walked in your face looked like someone kicked a puppy.” I sighed, knowing he was probably right.
“It is stupid I know. How can I like Ethan? He is my brother’s best friend, and he grew up with me. Now on top of that he is dating Amy.” I groaned. I had no clue why I was just spilling this to Gage all of a sudden. “I just want to get over him, now more than ever. Or at least get him back in a way for dating my best friend,” I muttered.
I did want to get him back in a way. He probably had no clue about my feelings, but he should have at least asked me if it was okay. I knew he didn’t need my permission to date someone, but it would have been nice for a little heads up. I wouldn’t be so blindsided or hurt right now. Or Amy should have told me. I knew for a fact that Amy had some kind of idea that I liked Ethan. Like what Gage said: I was easy to read. You would think she would have picked up on it when Ethan was around or when we would talk about guys at sleepovers. Sure, I made sure not say his name directly, but I hinted at it multiple times.
“You want to get him back?” Gage asked, suddenly snapping me out of my thoughts.
“Kind of. I mean, not in a bad or vengeful type of way. But yeah.”
“Date me.” I looked at him like he had grown three heads. Date him? What?
“Huh?” I asked, confused and caught off guard.
“Date me. Ethan doesn’t like me. Did you see his face when I said we were on a date? He clearly doesn’t want you near me, so it would be a perfect way to get back at him,” Gage said, shrugging.
The idea sunk into my head and I realized that I was thinking about doing the same thing not even a month ago. I had planned on using someone to make Ethan jealous but decided against it because I didn’t want to use someone like that. As much as the idea appealed to me, I couldn’t do that to Gage. I would not use him to get back at Ethan; that just wasn’t me.
“No, I can’t do that.” I shook my head.
“Why not?” he asked like it wasn’t that big of a deal.
Silent Love [Part 2]_Forbidden Series Page 10
