“There are these things with paper and words. Plus, this magical box thing that has people trapped in them, telling stories.”
I barked out a laugh, which immediately turned into a groan of regret. Really, I should have known better, but my head was too full of noise.
“No, seriously,” she said, her face softening, “when Gage came to get Will, he was asking about you.”
My eyes went wide and the butterflies in my chest started to flutter.
“Oh?” My voice sounded strangled and strange, even to my ears. From the grin on Madison’s face, she noticed it too.
It took a few times for me to clear my throat to say anything else, and of course, Madison let me suffer through my embarrassment.
“So, umm, what did Gage say?” I tried to act casual but the fact that I immediately started to choke as I downed the aspirin ruined any chance of that.
“Oh, my god,” Madison chortled as she threw herself back and across the bottom of my bed. “You’re worse than a teenage boy, Dad! Just talk to him already. Tell him how you feel!” She let out a frustrated huff and I could sympathize with her frustration.
I paused, realizing it wasmyfrustration that was making her frustrated. I didn’t like it. The last thing I wanted was to be a cause of distress for my daughter.
“I didn’t say I liked him,” I tried to argue. The roll of her eyes told me I wasn’t the only one who thought it sounded like a weak protest. But the truth was, Madison was the last person I should be discussing my love life with. Not that I had many other options than my thirteen-year-old daughter, which frankly, was embarrassing on its own.
But I had let our conversation the night before go to my head—along with the champagne. I never should have kissed Gage. I knew better than to do something so impulsively foolish. Or I thought I had.
I had no problem admitting to my feelings for Gage, considering most of them were safely in the friend zone. But then there were others that were so out of left field, I didn’t know what to do with them.
A chuckle escaped my lips as I realized I needed friends my own age and that the irony of the situation was, if it weren’t about Gage, I might have even sought him out to confide in. He was easy to talk to and a good listener. He even had a kernel of wisdom every once in a while.
I really hoped I didn’t ruin our budding friendship, not to mention our newfound working relationship, all over a stupid crush, too much alcohol, and a teenage girl’s advice.
“What time is it?” I rasped, still unable to focus well enough to make out the small digital display of my watch.
Madison sat up and patted my leg again. The smirk on her face making me wary.
“Almost nine, so you better hurry up and get ready. Don’t want to keep Gage waiting, do you?” she asked with a wink as she got up and started to walk out of my room, laughing at my expense.
My face heated in embarrassment.
Is this my life now? To endlessly be tormented by my daughter?
I let out a sigh. It was no use thinking about Gage. He made it perfectly clear last night there was nothing between us. Nothing but the door he closed in my face after I kissed him.
In a childish maneuver, I grabbed one of the pillows and tossed it towards the door.
Just before she crossed the threshold, she paused and looked back at me.
“By the way, it was Gage who told me to make sure to bring you the water and aspirin when you woke up. He’d even brought the aspirin with him, for me to give to you. He told me to tell you that he had a good time last night,” she said as she wiggled her eyebrows.
My throat went dry, and the butterflies started to take flight again.
He didn’t mean… No, he couldn’t have meant the kiss. Obviously, he must have meant the party, and the night in general. Until I went and made it weird, of course.
I threw back the covers and lumbered toward the bathroom. I couldn’t decide if I needed the world’s coldest shower or a blistering one to clear my head.
What am I supposed to do now?
Gage
Looking around the room, I wasn’t surprised to see Will and I were the first to arrive for breakfast. While it wasn’t like Trent to not be absurdly early to everything, the man hadn’t even been out of bed yet when I had gotten Will from Trent’s room. But I would have thought Madison would have woken him up right after I left, when I reminded her about our breakfast reservation.
I frowned and hoped everything was alright. I wasn’t sure how Trent handled his alcohol, as it was the first I’d even seen him drink. While he’d seemed mostly alright, I couldn’t help but worry about the state he would be in when he woke. As I perused the menu, my mind couldn’t help but wander and worry about Trent.
