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Dom looked at his watch and uttered, “It’s almost six, do yourself a favor and message her. If not for you, for all of us who have to deal with you.” He started to walk away but stopped. Turning, he told Gage, “You know I got your back, no matter what, but you gotta figure this shit out before you get any deeper, buddy.” Then he rotated on his foot to leave Gage alone with his thoughts.
It didn’t take him but five seconds to turn, reach an arm through the open window and snatch his cell. Tapping the screen, he brought up her number and hit the message icon. He didn’t even take the time to open up Friendly Words and messaged her there.
What’s going on here, Tilly? It’s been a fucking week, haven’t heard shit from you. If this is all one-sided, or some kinda fucked up game you’re playing, I need to know, now!
He didn’t even check to see if there were any mistakes in the text before he hit send. Closing out of the texting app, Gage leaned back against the truck, holding his cell tightly in his hand.
_______________
Tilly looked outside as she waited for the popcorn. The leaves were changing colors, drifting from the trees to settle on the browning grass. The chill of fall was in the air; winter was right around the corner. It had been a week since Luke walked in on her and Gage. She’d spent the past week with the weight of guilt heavy on her shoulders, but if she was being honest, that weight paled to the heartache. She missed him. She shouldn’t miss him, but with Gage in her life, she was happier.
They had both been given the chance to stop the madness, to put the brakes on their relationship that had gone from friendly banter to something forbidden. She should be thanking her lucky stars that her foray into cheating had ended so, well, simply. But she wasn’t feeling lucky or thankful.
She moved into the living room, putting the popcorn on the table. The kids were watching a movie. Luke was home, distracted but home. She settled next to him on the sofa. If she thought the spontaneity of that night would have brought them closer, despite where her thoughts had been, she would have been wrong. He hadn’t touched her since, except for absent touches, exactly what she had grown to expect from him. There was a time when those little acts of affection had meant the world to her. How sad was that? And worse, why had she let herself settle for so little from her husband? And not just the sex, but connecting with him on any level. She couldn’t remember the last time they’d had a conversation that revolved around more than his schedule. It took talking to a stranger, falling for him, for her to realize she had slipped into a rut. It wasn’t all Luke’s fault. She could have tried harder. Fuck, she was sitting with him now and was struggling to not think about Gage.
“I have to work this weekend.” Luke said. “I’m just going to get a room at the hotel because it’s going to be a late night.”
And there it was. Her life. Candice had said it, what about her? She had needs, wants. She’d tried to find that in her marriage, but it only worked if both were willing to try. She’d been trying for both of them. She didn’t have to try with Gage. He felt it, too. He wasn’t her husband, but he made her feel alive. He made her feel cherished, desired. And that might be wrong when she wore another man’s ring on her finger, but it sure didn’t feel wrong.
She missed their stolen moments, was coming to realize she needed them like she needed air. Like an addict, she needed a fix. She should fight it, but she couldn’t stop the jump her heart did when she thought about him, the racing of her pulse, the ache of longing. A life that only two months ago she had been content with, now left her feeling edgy and unsatisfied. And she knew in that moment, sitting there, it wasn’t the wife or mother, but the woman who was willing to risk it all to see if the grass was truly greener.
She abruptly stood.
“Are you okay?” Luke asked, his focus moving from his phone.
“Yeah. I need to water the garden.” She lied, but she didn’t want company. She didn’t wait for a reply and walked from the room. She passed her phone, and like she did for the last week, she reached for it. When she saw a message from Gage, she felt both giddy and guilty, but she continued outside, her hands shaking a bit when she opened her messaging app.
Reading his words, her eyes burned, but not because she knew this was wrong or that he was pissed and had every reason to be; they burned because she knew she wanted to see for herself if things looked better from the side he sat on. She knew the consequences of her actions, but she didn’t hesitate when she replied,
I want to learn for myself if the grass is greener.
The cell buzzed in Gage’s hand. He slid the screen open and saw a message from Tilly. He opened it, read the words. A sensation coursed through his body so fast, it almost knocked him over. Faster than he ever had, he typed back.
I want to know if the flowers smell sweeter.
A tear escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek, but a smile curved her lips when she added,
I want to know if the sun is brighter.
Gage didn’t back out of the thread, so he saw when Tilly’s message popped up. Only three words came to mind, and only one word was needed to let him know if the course of his life was about to change direction.
Let’s find out.
With her family inside, Tilly typed the word that would change everything.
Yes.
CHAPTER SIX
Gage had his ass tothe old wooden picnic table, his feet to the bench. Legs parted, he rested his elbows on his knees and wrung his sweaty hands as he watched the gray clouds rolling in, a low roar of thunder warning of the impending storm. His heart was beating a little faster than normal. A buzz of excitement was running through his veins as the knot in his gut twisted with nerves.
They had this day planned for over a week. As much as Gage told Tilly he’d come to her, she wouldn’t allow it. They agreed to meet in the middle, at a park. What they didn’t account for was the storm that was threatening, as if mother nature knew the turmoil and restlessness both had felt over the past week. Their conversations had never had moments of silence, but after they arranged to meet, there were many muted moments, both thinking about the step they were taking and how there would be no going back. Even their continuous texting lagged as they grew closer to the day.
He pulled his cell from his back pocket, brought up their message thread and looked at the time stamp. She would be pulling in any minute. Putting his phone back in his pocket, he wiped his hands down his thighs. He chose faded jeans, a medium blue button down, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and his gray and white Nikes. Normally, he threw a hat on, but today, he took a couple of minutes to mess with his hair, even throwing a little product he found in Heather’s cabinet in it. Glancing at his watch, he felt a slight pang of guilt hit him in the chest. He was wearing the Casablanca Theorema watch that Heather had bought him two Christmases ago. The sensation left his chest, though, when he heard another rumble causing him to look up just as the sky opened up, and a black Pilot pulled slowly into the parking lot. The pelting of the rain drops resonated off of the metal awning that he sat under, matching the intensity of his heart rate.
_______________
A storm was brewing, the air practically hummed with electricity, one almost as wild as the storm raging through Tilly. Her foot shook as she pressed harder on the gas pedal, her knuckles were white with how tightly she held the steering wheel. Her heart was like a jackhammer behind her ribs, her blood rushed through her veins; her pulse pounded at her throat and between her legs. It wasn’t fear or even nerves. It was anticipation and excitement. Not once did she think to turn back. Right or wrong, she wanted Gage Sutherland and to hell with the consequences.
