It felt like my entire body was doused in ice-cold water. I could hear Dylan yelling through the phone, but it was coming out all muffled. My mind wasn’t working as I stood still in the middle of my bedroom. My hand was clenching my phone so tightly I was afraid it would snap.
“Carter! Carter!” Realizing that it was still Dylan yelling my name, I tried to snap out of it.
“Y-yes?” I stuttered out.
“You need to come over. There’s a lot of blood and I don’t know what to do.” I could clearly hear the panic in his voice.
“I’ll be there in just a minute. Make sure to have the first aid kit out,” I said before hanging up. I could feel myself shaking and my mind was racing. I had to hurry. The only thought I had at the moment was to get to Gage and make sure he was okay. With that, I scrambled around my room grabbing my bag, my phone, and running to the bathroom to get our first aid kit. If it was as bad as Dylan made it out to be, I’d need both.
Making sure I had everything I needed, I snatched my keys up from the counter and ran out the door. All I could keep picturing was Gage lying on the ground with blood pooling out of him. As soon as I left my building, I hightailed it to Dylan and Gage’s dorm building. Thankfully, not many people were out, so I was free to run without dodging people. I might have looked like a crazy person running across campus, but I could not care less.
The moment their building was in view I picked up my pace, my breath coming out in pants. I really needed to get into shape. Now is not the time to be thinking of that!
I booked it up the stairs, briefly remembering what room they were in. When I saw apartment number seventeen, I grasped the door handle and barged in. I should have thought more about their door being unlocked, but in that moment, I forgot about that detail quickly.
“Dylan! Gage!” I yelled, looking around the living room. Where the hell were they?
“In here!” Dylan yelled from what I think was the bathroom. My feet quickly took me in the direction I heard his voice. My heart was pounding in my chest and clenched painfully. What if he was really hurt? How could I stitch him up if it was terrible?
When I reached the outside of the bathroom, I could hear noises. I took a deep breath, schooling my features. If I was freaked out, then he would be too. I had to stay calm and collected. Nodding at my thoughts, I entered the bathroom. I almost closed my eyes hoping that there wasn’t a crapload of blood because I would pass out.
“Hey! I brought the first aid—” I started to say only to stop dead in my tracks. I stared at both boys. Dylan was leaning against the sink with his arms crossed over his chest, and Gage was sitting on the toilet seat. My eyes took in the entire the bathroom only to come up empty. There was not an ounce of blood anywhere.
“Wha—” I stared at Gage, who looked up at me in surprise. He looked basically fine besides a small-looking cut above his eyebrow. I could see his cheek was slightly swollen, but that was it. There was not a lot of blood or anything to freak out over.
“I…” I trailed off, not finding any words.
“What are you doing here?” Gage asked, looking up at me. He looked down my body and I couldn’t help but blush. I bet my hair was in a bird’s nest from running all the way here, and my face was probably all red from running up the stairs and being frantic.
“I…I…uh, Dylan called me,” I stuttered out. I looked at Gage again to make sure nothing else was wrong with him. Nothing else seemed wrong aside from the one scratch and swollen cheek. I looked over at Dylan, who was standing there with a Cheshire grin spread across his face. Slowly, it started to sink in. Dylan faked that Gage was seriously hurt to get me here.
“You!” I growled out, pointing at him. From the corner of my eye I saw Gage staring between us, completely confused. “You little!” Dylan seemed to realize how pissed as I was and even had to decency to look guilty.
“I didn’t think you’d rush right over.” He held his hands up.
“What is going on?” Gage asked, standing up.
“I am going to kill your best friend; that is what is going on.” Narrowing my eyes at Dylan, I lunged for him. He easily dodged my move and ran out of the bathroom. “Dylan, get back here!” I yelled, turning to chase after him.
For the next few minutes I chased Dylan around their apartment, all the while screaming profanities at him. I wanted to strangle him for making me worry for Gage.
“You little shit! He is completely fine!” I yelled at him, running around the couch.
“I didn’t know you would take it seriously!” he yelled over his shoulder at me.
“Why would I not when you call me screaming about blood and that he is severely hurt!”
I continued chasing him for another few minutes before Gage suddenly stepped in front of me, making me come to a stop. He stared down at me completely confused. Dylan stood on his other side like he was using Gage as a shield to keep me away from him.
“What is going on you two?” Gage asked.
“Your little friend called me screaming that you were hurt and bleeding badly. So I ran all the way here worried sick only to find out you are fine!” I pointed over Gage’s shoulder at Dylan, who was looking kind of scared at the moment. Good.
“Wait, why did you call her?” Gage turned around to look at his best friend.
“It was a joke. I thought it would be funnier.” He rubbed the back of his neck, looking guilty.
“So Carter was who you were screaming to on the phone a little bit ago?”
“Yes. I was really convincing, wasn’t I?” He grinned at the both of us. I couldn’t see Gage’s expression, but I knew he was rolling his eyes while I was scowling.
“You are a dick,” I said, crossing my arms.
“I’m sorry, Carter. I shouldn’t have played that prank on you, but come on, you have to admit that was pretty good.” I shook my head at him, more than pissed. Turning around, I went to sit down on the couch. I was out of breath and my feet were hurting from running so much in heels. I didn’t even know I could run in heels, but apparently when your adrenaline was up, you could do anything.
I couldn’t believe I fell for that. I should have known something was fishy with Dylan, but being the nice person I was, I had to be all caring and worried. The couch dipped beside me, making me look at the person who sat next to me. Gage.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine. How are you? How did you get that cut?” I gestured to his face.
“Just a fight. Guy got lucky.” He waved me off like it was no big deal.
“Did you clean it and everything?”
“It’s not my first cut, Princess.” Gage smiled at me. I smiled back, glad he was okay.
“So you had a fight today?” I sat the first aid kit on the ground beneath my feet. He sent me a look almost asking if I was stupid. In my defense, it was word vomit.
“Why are you all dressed up?” Dylan asked, walking over to sit beside me. I ignored him and kept looking at Gage. I was still angry at him for playing me like that. “Carter! You can’t still be mad at me!” he whined.
“Yes, I can.”
“Carty, I was playing! Please don’t be mad at me.” He grabbed my shoulder. Turning, I faced him, only to grab his shoulders and push him to the ground. He fell butt first. “Oww!”
“Sorry, man, but that is what you get,” Gage said shaking his head at his friend.
“My own best friend didn’t even stick up for me,” Dylan muttered. I stuck my tongue out at him. As he continued sitting on the floor pouting, I started to feel bad. Curse me and my kindness. Sighing, I reached a hand down to him.
“Come on, get on the couch.”
“Are you going to push me again?” he asked, looking at my hand as if it were a snake.
“No. I won’t as long as you don’t do it again.” I gave him a pointed look.
“I won’t. Well, at least not to you,” he muttered under his breath. Smiling, I wiggled my hand at him again, waiting for him to grab it.
Once he grabbed my hand, I helped him back onto the couch next to me. I felt slightly bad for pushing him off so rudely, so I gave him a wide smile and patted his leg to let him know I wasn’t angry at him.
A few minutes passed in silence as all three of us just sat there staring at one another.
“So why are you dressed up? Had a hot date?” Gage asked, breaking the silence. There was a hint of something in his tone I couldn’t place.
“No,” I lied, shaking my head. “I was with Macey earlier.” I had no idea why I decided to lie. For some reason I couldn’t bring myself to say I was out with Ethan. Gage stared at me for a minute as if waiting to see if I was lying, but I kept my face blank. Something inside of me was telling me not to say anything about Ethan to both Gage and Dylan.
“Oh.”
I rolled my eyes at him, although I was curious as to why he wanted to know.
“Smooth,” I heard Dylan mutter over to Gage. I glanced over at Dylan to see him shaking his head, which made me smile. Although what he what he did wasn’t nice at all, I couldn’t stay mad at him for too long.
“Well, since Gage is not lying on the bathroom floor bleeding, I think I’ll head back home,” I said, standing up. It was a little after five, and I bet Macey was wondering where I was.
“Wait, you are leaving already, Car? I thought we could make cookies, watch movies, and play with each other’s hair!” Dylan whined, looking at me pleadingly.
“Aw, don’t worry, young one, we can set up a day where we can do all of that.” I patted the top of his head. “We can even talk about boys.” I sent him a cheeky smile, playing along.
“Boys?! Oh goody!” Dylan made his voice all high and girly while clapping. Gage just sat there staring at his best friend like he lost his mind. I couldn’t help but giggle at Dylan. He definitely knew how to make me feel better.
“But seriously, I better go. Macey is probably wondering where I ran off to.” I grabbed the first aid kit from the floor.
“Fine, go ahead and leave me by my lonesome self.”
“I’m here too, you dumbass.” Gage grunted.
“Oh yeah, there you are,” Dylan said in a bored tone.
“Boys,” I muttered under my breath. “I’ll see you guys later?”
“Definitely.” Dylan stood up and pulled me into a tight hug. With his head near mine it was the perfect opportunity to get back at him, even just a little bit. Reaching up with one hand, I smacked the back of his head. He jerked away from me, cursing while rubbing the back of his head.
“What was that for?”
“For being stupid,” I said simply, grinning. I moved away from him to look at Gage, who was now standing up. “I’m glad you are okay.”
“Maybe I need to get hit more often and have you come running to my rescue.” He grinned at me. I blushed seeing how weird it probably was that I came running like a bat out of hell.
“Yeah, well, that is all you are going to get.” I smirked at him hoping my cheeks weren’t as red as I thought they were. Feeling Dylan’s gaze on us the entire time, I took a step around Gage. “Put ice on your eye in a little bit. It’ll make it feel better.” Sending both boys a small smile, I made my way to the door.
“Bye, you guys.” I quickly left, not trusting myself. If I stayed there any longer I’d be there for hours, and I’d probably do something I’d regret. With the door shut behind me, I sighed. What was I doing? I was literally just with Ethan, a guy that I really liked, and then I came running immediately to Gage when I heard he’d been hurt.
Walking back to my dorm room, realization came in. I literally just kind of flirted with Gage when I just barely went on a date with Ethan! Did that classify me as a slut? I mean, it wasn’t like it was a date-date with Ethan, but it felt like it, especially after him kissing me on the cheek.
While I should have been home pining after Ethan, I was instead making sure a guy I had barely known for a month was okay. What was wrong with me?
***
“Why can’t I do this?” I muttered, pulling my hair as I stared down at the piece of paper in front of me. We were now in our second month of school, and apparently both my art and photography teachers thought it would be nice to make each student turn in a portfolio at least once a month. The first month they wanted us to get comfortable, and the minute we entered the first week of October, they pounced on us telling us about a portfolio that was due in two weeks.
It’d also been about two weeks since my date with Ethan and Dylan’s stupid prank regarding Gage. Time had passed somewhat slowly, and not much was going on. Things were normal between Ethan and me. Neither of us really brought up our so-called date. Thankfully, things weren’t awkward and I was more than happy about that. It would have made my brother suspicious as well. Everything seemed to be like it was before school started.
Things between my brother and Macey seemed fine; they were both acting like they used to. Amy wasn’t around as much as usual, which Macey and I couldn’t seem to understand. When I did see her, she would make up some excuse to leave, leaving me baffled. I thought I did something wrong, but with her not talking to me, I couldn’t do anything about it just yet.
During the week I had seen both Gage and Dylan, and even talked to both over text a few times. During our English class, Gage decided to sit next to me instead of a few seats down, which surprised me, but I didn’t say anything, secretly glad. At times he was his normal rude self, but he had stopped being totally mean to me which was nice. Of course, around others he was more or less back to his old self. If someone so much as looked at him longer than necessary, he would snap at them. I wouldn’t classify us as friends just yet, but we were getting there. My mission of getting him to like me was succeeding.
School had kept us all busy along with Ethan and Luke’s football games and even Gage’s fights. I hadn’t been to another one of Gage’s fights since I went with Macey. Ever since I went over to his place thinking he was hurt, I hadn’t hung out with either him or Dylan. I felt bad, but with school, going to football games, and now two big projects I had just been staying home working.
I was currently sitting on my bed with my notebook in my hand, staring down at it. For the past hour I had stared at the blank sheet, nothing coming to mind. For my art portfolio I had to draw, sketch, paint whatever I thought was beautiful. According to my professor, it would be anything from a sketch of a book to a portrait of a family member.
Usually I had no problem drawing, but these last few weeks I had been really uninspired. My mind wouldn’t think, and my hand wouldn’t draw. Every time I did think of something I’d either shoot it down, or when I start drawing it I’d end up throwing it away, not liking it.
The topic of something being beautiful to me was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I thought so many things were beautiful, and it was hard picking one thing. If I did do a portrait of someone, it would probably end up terrible.
Along with that topic for art, my photography class was somewhat the same. I had to take five photos of something that brought me happiness. With those photos I had to put them on a poster or in something like a binder with small descriptions of each picture explaining why it brought me happiness. I swear both professors got together and thought of the idea. Professors are sometimes out to kill you.
Both topics didn’t sound hard at all; in fact, they were probably the easiest thing to create something for, but it made me sit and wonder what really brought me happiness and what I think was beautiful. Every person had different answers, but it hit home for me a lot harder than I would have thought. I didn’t think they meant for me to think this hard about it, but I couldn’t help myself.
I had been procrastinating on these projects and they were due in a week and I still had no idea what to do. That was why I had shut myself in my bedroom hoping for some inspiration. Once I got an idea, I could finish all of them in a matter of hours but no luck so far.
Of course, when I was supposed to be focusing on my schoolwork, my mind decided to wander. The first thing I thought of was Gage, which surprised me. Normally Ethan’s face came to mind when I was bored, or just on a regular basis honestly. The past four years, all I had ever thought of was Ethan, but now that Gage was in the picture, it seemed my thoughts wandered to him more often.
I could see his face right now in my mind as I smiled softly down at my notebook. His soft brown hair that curled slightly at the tips; he had that perfect messy hair down to a tee. The strong jawline that I swear could cut a finger on. I could even see the small smile on his face. The dimples on his cheeks I didn’t even know were there until the other day. Gage rarely smiled, but when he did, man, it could light up the world.
I didn’t know why I was thinking about him, which I had been doing a lot lately. Just randomly the image of him would pop into my mind, making me smile. I had only known him for a month, but he had already left a big impression on me. I wasn’t sure what that impression was, but I didn’t care.
A soft knock on my door jerked me out of my thoughts. I yelled “Come in!” and glanced over as the door opened. Macey’s dirty blonde head popped in.
“Hey, I found something at our door for you.” A smile appeared on her face as she opened the door wider and stepped inside. Following right behind her was the exact same person I was just thinking of.
“Gage.” I breathed out. His tall figure entered my room, and it felt suddenly really small. He had his hands stuffed in the pockets of his jeans, which made his shoulders look wider than they were. I was shocked to see him here.
“I found him standing at the door all awkward,” Macey said grinning over at Gage, who looked uncomfortable under her gaze. I stifled a laugh knowing Mace probably already said something weird to him before coming to my room.
“Uh…” I looked over at Macey, giving her the “get out” look. She held her hands up and nodded, understanding me.
“Well, I’ll just leave you two to talk.” She moved around Gage and went for the door. Just as she was about to close it, she stopped. “Don’t be too loud, okay? At least turn the music up.” She winked at the both of us before slamming the door behind her. I didn’t throw my pillow fast enough and it ended up hitting the closed door and falling onto the floor. My cheeks were flaming, and I knew I looked like a tomato.
“What are you doing here?” I finally asked after a few seconds of silence. Gage made his way over to my desk chair and plopped into it. It felt weird having him here in my room…again. I couldn’t believe he remembered what room we were in from that night over a month ago. It was so weird to think it had been over a month since I ran into Gage late at night and ended up patching him up.
I watched as he looked around my room taking everything in: everything from the few drawings I had put on my walls, the pictures along my desk with my family and friends, and two stuffed animals I had on my bed I had had since I was a little girl. His brown eyes took everything in, almost like he was trying to memorize it all.
“I just, uh, I haven’t seen you in a while,” he finally replied after a long time. I hid my smile seeing how nervous he was, and hearing that he wanted to see me. This was a totally different Gage than the one I met a month ago. And I had to say I liked this one better. “What are you doing?” he asked, changing the subject. I let the change happen.
“Just trying to figure out my art project. I have that and my photography one due in a week and I have nothing.” I sighed looking back at the paper, silently hoping something would have appeared when I wasn’t looking. Of course, nothing was there, but one could dream.
“What do you have to do for them?” He leaned forward looking at me, resting his elbows on his knees. I raised an eyebrow at him surprised that he wanted to know.
I rattled off the assignments and told him my issue with not having any inspiration lately. He listened silently as I talked. Once I was finished, he leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms over his chest. He seemed to be thinking, so I stayed quiet.
“Well we need to find you some inspiration,” he said suddenly, standing up.
“What?”
“I have an idea.” He came toward the bed and held a hand out for me. I glanced at it then back at him. Seeing my look, he stared right at me. “Trust me.” Not even giving it a second thought, I grabbed his hand. I did trust him; I trusted him more than I trusted some people who had been in my life forever.
Since it was Wednesday and I had just gotten out of class two hours ago, I still had on my clothes. It was odd that I didn’t change the moment I got home like I usually did, but I saw now it was for a reason. I was casual in just a pair of jeans and a light teal shirt. My hair was pulled into a messy bun on the top of my head.
Even though I didn’t want to, I had to let go of Gage’s warm hand to grab my shoes, my camera, and my bag. While his hands were rough and calloused from fighting, they were still somehow soft. After glancing around the room to make sure I had everything, I followed Gage out of my room.
“Hey Mace, we will be back in a few, okay?” I said as we came out and saw her sitting on the couch munching on some food while watching TV.
“Where are you guys going?”
“It is a surprise I guess.” I shrugged when Gage didn’t say anything.
“Okay, well, don’t be late,” was all she said as she turned back to the TV. Shaking my head, I gestured for Gage to go first out the door. “Have fun!” Macey shouted before the door closed.
“You aren’t going to tell me where we are going, are you?” I asked as we made our way down the stairs and out the building.
“Nope, you will find out soon enough.” He smirked down at me. I stuck my tongue out at him. “You are such a child,” he commented.
“It is not fun to always be an adult you know.” Sometimes I just had to let loose and act like a little kid.
“I’m almost twenty-one. I can’t be a child all the time.”
“Well, old grandpa, I am going to teach you how to be a kid,” I said.
“Oh yeah? And how will you do that?”
“That is for me to know and for you to find out.” It was my turn to smirk at him. While he shook his head, I could see a smile on his face.
In no time we were in his car and heading wherever we were going. Apparently, I loved cars because I was just as in love with his Jeep as I was with Ethan’s Range Rover. I wondered how he bought this car, but it probably was just a present from his parents or something. At that thought I realized I didn’t know much about Gage. I mean, I knew he was an underground fighter, but that was about it. I didn’t know anything about his parents, if he had siblings, where he grew up—nothing.
Although I really wanted to know, I put all my questions on the back burner. They would have to wait for another time. I knew if I brought them up now everything would be ruined, and I was looking forward to where he was taking me. He seemed almost as excited as I was, and I was definitely not going to ruin that.
With some new hit song playing throughout the car, both of us were quiet. I looked out the window and noticed we were going toward the city, which made my curiosity even stronger. Trying hard not to ask Gage again where we were going, I turned to look at him to take my mind off of it.
He sat in the driver’s seat with one hand on the steering wheel. He was wearing a quarter-sleeve shirt that was a dark blue, along with his usual blue jeans. His hair was styled perfectly once again. Gage looked so relaxed as he drove with his left arm draped over the wheel and his right hand on the gear shift, even though this was an automatic car.
From where I was sitting I got his whole left-side profile. The strong, deep jawline, the high cheekbones, the small and semi-pointed nose that may have been broken a few times. Because it was three o’clock, the sun was at the perfect point where it shone in the car, creating a halo around us. It wasn’t too bright where I couldn’t see Gage, but it was enough to make him look even better.
Without him looking at me, I lifted my camera up and aimed the lens at him. I messed with the lens for a few seconds wanting to get the shot perfect before I clicked the button. My camera snapped at least two pictures of him in a matter of seconds. By the time he heard the noise, I was done taking the picture.
“What are you doing?” he asked, looking between me and the road.
“I am getting inspiration,” I said as I stared at him through my camera. When he looked back at me, I snapped another picture. In this one, though, he had a soft smile on his lips.
“Well stop! I don’t like photos,” Gage said, his voice low.
“Get used to it. If it makes you feel better, you don’t look particularly ugly,” I offered, lowering my camera to my lap.
“Oh thanks,” he said dryly.
“No problem.” I grinned at him before looking out my window.
We continued our drive toward the inner city. Thankfully it wasn’t rush hour or too much traffic; it didn’t take long to make it downtown. I gazed up at the huge buildings towering over us. No matter how many times I had been downtown, I couldn’t get over how big and beautiful it was. It was always great coming here and people-watching. Seeing all the tourists and feeling that vibe. We turned down a street and I knew where we were.
“That’s my father’s building.” I pointed out to the left where a huge building stood, glass windows shining in the sun. At the mention of my father, I remembered I needed to call him later.
“Your father has a huge building,” Gage commented.
“He does. My grandfather built it up from the ground when he was young, and after he couldn’t run it anymore, my father took over,” I said. “Even my mom worked there for a while until she got pregnant with my brother. After college, Luke will start working there full-time, so he can learn.” Luke worked there sometimes during the summer to learn a little here and there, but my father didn’t want him to start until after graduation. He wanted Luke to experience his youth before having to focus on work.
“You aren’t going to work there after college?” Gage asked.
“No, I didn’t get that gene from my father. I’m the odd one out. My brother is following in my father’s footsteps, and instead of being a writer like my mother, I’m into art and photography.”
“If you wanted, would you work there?” No one had ever asked me that question. Most just assumed Luke would be the only one to work there and I would do something different. A few did think it was weird of me to want to do something with art and taking photos. They wanted me to be like my brother and father. Thankfully, though, my parents were super supportive and let me decide what I wanted to do with my life.
“If I was good at math and into business stuff, I would. I would love to work at our family business, but it isn’t for me. I’m just glad Luke likes that stuff because if not, neither of us would take over after my father.”
“I think it is cool you are doing something different from your whole family.” I sent Gage a smile. He didn’t know how much that meant to me.
Not even ten minutes later Gage found a parking spot on the side of the street and stopped the car. I glanced around and noticed we were in front of the Empire State Building.
“Why are we here?” I asked as I got out of the car. My camera was strapped around my neck and my bag was over my shoulder.
“We are going to find you some inspiration, and I know a perfect spot.” He sent me a wicked grin. For a split second I was worried what he had in mind. I had been to the Empire State Building, and I knew there was nothing in there that could help me.
He grabbed my hand and led me through the moving doors. The place was pretty busy with people bustling from one thing to another. A few tourists stood here and there taking photos.
“Okay, where to now?”
“Have some faith in me, Princess,” Gage said. He looked around for a minute before he found what he was looking for. “Follow my lead,” he whispered down to me.
He pulled me after him in the direction of a door where a security guard stood. I stared up at him as if he were nuts. We couldn’t go through that door; the guard would catch us. I barely had a second to think before Gage started yelling.
“Sir, there is a pregnant woman outside giving birth!” he yelled at the guard. I stood there frozen. What the hell was he doing?
“What?” the guard asked.
“There is a woman giving birth right outside. She is crying and screaming for help. You have to help!” Damn, Gage was a good actor. He looked frantic and his tone was pleading. I glanced at the guard, who was starting to panic. His eyes were wide as he glanced around. “Hurry, sir! Please!” Gage pleaded.
Not needing any more encouraging, the security guard ran toward the entrance of the building. Before the guard was even gone from our view, Gage yanked open the door and pulled me in after.
“Hurry,” he whispered, tugging me after him as we ran up the flight of stairs. I had no idea what was going on, but I didn’t need to be told twice what to do. I ran behind Gage who was taking the stairs two at a time. I did not want the guard to come back and catch us.
For some reason, though, as we ran up the stairs, I found myself laughing; I didn’t know if it was because I was going crazy, or the thrill of tricking a guard so we could go through this door. I heard Gage’s laughter mixing with mine as we continued our ascent.
I realized as we moved upwards that we were heading for the top of the building. I didn’t even know you could go up here, and seeing as Gage tricked the guard, I didn’t think we were allowed. We couldn’t back now, though, or else it would be all for nothing.
Halfway up, we slowed down, and I felt my legs weaken. I hadn’t gone up so many stairs before and my calves were starting to burn. My breathing was coming heavy, but I seemed to be the only one. Ahead of me, Gage seemed unaffected. Damn him and his fitness. I wanted to stop, but I forced myself to keep going.
Finally, after what felt like an hour, we seemed to reach the top. A door stood in front of us, and I couldn’t be happier to finally be done with the stairs. If only I had some water. With a hard shove from Gage, the door finally opened, and we were hit with a gust of wind. It was slightly chilly though.
Gage grabbed a brick off to the side to hold the door open as I exited the stairwell. Once I was out on the roof, my breath caught in my throat. I could see the entire city from up here. From being so high up the wind was blowing, but I ignored it, too entranced by the view.
I had no idea that New York City was so beautiful. Off to my left I could see the river, and beyond that Staten Island and even Brooklyn. I could see the traffic below us, but the cars looked like ants from up here.
I slowly made my way over to the right side by the edge. As I leaned over the balcony, the wind whipped my hair in its bun. I shivered but ignored it as I stared out at New York City. This was beyond amazing! I was so focused on the view I almost didn’t notice Gage staring at me, nor him taking out his phone and snapping pictures of me.
“This is…incredible!” I yelled. I turned around and grinned like a maniac at Gage. “How did you know you could come up here? Well you can’t, but still.”
“I came up here a couple of times with Dylan and someone else.” He shrugged as if it was no big deal. Pushing aside the need to know who this other person was, I ran up to him and wrapped my arms around Gage’s body. I pressed my face tight against his hard chest and breathed him in. This was one of the coolest and sweetest things anyone had ever done for me.
It took him a few seconds to respond to my hug, and he was soon wrapping his arms around my waist. I breathed in his minty, citrus scent—the smell that could only be described as Gage Harper.
I forced myself to pull out of his embrace although it felt amazing. I sent him a small grin.
“Thank you,” I said sincerely.
“It is no big deal.” He rubbed the back of his neck while shrugging again.
“It is to me.”
“I hope you find some inspiration,” Gage said, looking deep into my eyes.
“Definitely,” I breathed out. Trying to ignore my pounding heart, I went back over to the balcony and lifted my camera. I just had to take pictures of the scenery.
As I snapped photo after photo, I could slowly feel something coming back to me. Ideas were starting to pop up into my mind. All of this was because of Gage. Gage, who probably broke the law to bring me up here so I could try and find something to help me with my projects.
Gage was leaning against the wall with me gazing out at the city, a serene look upon his face. I couldn’t stop myself from grinning at him.
“We have to take a picture,” I said suddenly.
“What?” He looked down at me with a raised eyebrow.
“We have to take a photo to document we were here,” I stated. I started taking out my cell phone from my bag. “Let’s turn so we have our backs to the city.”
“I don’t want to take a picture.”
“Suck it up because we are.” Grabbing his arm, I forced him to turn around with me. With our backs to the city, I lifted my phone up trying to get us in the picture. “Lean down a little,” I instructed, as Gage was too tall compared to me. Groaning under his breath, he leaned down so his face was next to mine.
Grinning like an idiot, I pressed the side button on my iPhone snapping multiple pictures of us. I didn’t care about looking foolish. Right now, I only cared about this moment. I lowered my phone and sorted through the photos. I was pleasantly surprised at how well they turned out. You could see the clear blue sky in the back along with a few skyscrapers. Our faces were squished together, but both of us were grinning. That was what shocked me—seeing Gage smiling genuinely while looking in the camera. My own smile was large, and my cheeks had a red tint to them. When I looked at the last photo, my breath caught in my throat. Instead of looking at the camera, Gage was looking down at me with a soft smile on his lips. I, of course, was oblivious to it.
My pulse quickened as I stared at it. It had to be my favorite picture of the three we took. I didn’t want to admit it out loud, but I loved the photo. Gage’s voice broke me out of my thoughts.
“Can I see your phone for a second?” he asked. Keeping my head down so he wouldn’t see my face, I quickly handed it over to him and headed to the other side of the building to take more photos. I did not want him to see how red my face was, or how much that picture affected me. I needed to get myself together!
“Here.” Gage tapped me on the shoulder while handing me back my phone. I glanced at it wondering why he wanted it but shrugged it off. With his smoldering gaze on me, I turned back around. Gage’s body was almost pressed against my back, his heat radiating off him onto me, and I stared straight ahead.
A wide smile started taking over my face. Seeing that Gage went through all of this for me made my insides flutter with butterflies. Taking a peek at him over my shoulder and seeing him looking content, I realized something: I did find something that was beautiful and brought me happiness.