Last Call (29 page)

Trying to watch the film suddenly became the most hilarious viewing party ever. While the girls and I hooted and hollered over the sexy men, the guys groaned, laughed and then began their "Oh whatever, I'm way hotter than that" commentary.

Chris and Sara barely made it halfway through the movie before they slinked out of the room. Candace and Tony laughed when they walked by, but followed them thirty minutes later. I overheard the phrase "Let me show you my moves, baby" as they left the room; Candace waving goodbye over her head.

"It's you and me and the eye candy, huh?" Gage asked, stretching his legs out a little more.

"Told you this was a boy movie. You guys just didn't take into account how sexy we would find it. I imagine Chris and Tony are getting pretty lucky tonight."

"I already got lucky," he admitted.

"You did? How so?"

"I'm sitting here with you, aren't I?"

I bit my lip and smiled at him shyly. He was full of compliments that made me tingle from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. He pulled me up onto his lap so that I was facing him. My legs stretched out to the side.

"This was a great night," he smiled, kissing my neck softly.

"I agree. I'm so glad you could hang out with Sara and Candace."

"Yeah, Sara scares me a bit, but I like them both. I can see why you love them."

I chuckled and kissed him full on the mouth. "Want to check out my room?"

"And see how the vision lives up to reality? Hell yes."

I flicked off the TV and pulled him down the hall to my room. The candlestick lamp on my bedside table was on and the room was glowing with a warm, soft light. I let him enter first and then shut the door behind us with a sigh as I leaned against the door.

"What?" he asked. He turned to face me and I saw how his sexy grin made his eyes crinkle.

"I have to admit that seeing you in here is fulfilling a fantasy of mine."

"Which one?"

"So you assume there’s more than one?" I smirked. "Conceited much?"

He stepped up to my body and pinned me to the door. His hands slid down my arms and clasped my wrists; swinging them up over my head.

"Savy, if you tell me you don't have more than one fantasy with me in it, I’ll be heartbroken." He pressed his forehead to mine. "You've been the feature star of my dreams for weeks, and I'm going mad."

My knees went weak at his confession and at his use of the nickname
Savy
. The slight pressure of his hands forcing mine against the door caused tingles to run through my arms. My tongue darted out and I trailed it across the crease in his lips.

"I can't wait for the phone call to become a reality," he muttered; letting me go and running his fingers back down my sides, skimming my ribs and landing on my hips.

"There are other things we
can
do, you know."

"Hmmm, what kinds of things?" His voice definitely had a mischievous lilt to it as his arm snaked around my waist and he pinched my ass.

I giggled as I popped the button from his jeans. "Well – there’s second base, and third, before you head home."

"I have a feeling this is gonna kill me," he grumbled with a throaty laugh.

"You know what they say…what doesn't kill you makes you stronger," I laughed. He pulled me towards the bed and began to kiss me deeply.

Falling onto the bed, we continued to kiss. And then we kissed some more. Hands explored skin and shirts came off as his hands seared into my feverish skin.

Slowly his jeans were removed, shortly followed by my shorts, and finally my bra went and I was very content while Gage lingered at second base taking great care to arouse me slowly. My breasts were heavy with desire after he sucked, licked and kissed their every inch. His hands kneaded them as he pushed my nipple up and into his mouth, forcing a low moan out of me. Each time he sucked it between his teeth, a wave of ecstasy shot down my abs and into my core.

I slid my hands down into the back of his boxers; my nails lightly scratching over his backside. His erection pressed against me as our hips slowly moved together. When Gage rolled back to his side and splayed his hand on my hip bone, he stopped and looked at me as if asking for permission to continue.

My pulse was racing, my body throbbing and ready to explode, so I reached over and gently slid my hand into the front of his boxers; leading by example.

Soon our phone sex was coming to life and it was better than I could have imagined. It was more than the sexual desires he brought out in me, it was also the way my heart felt. The way my soul sang as he whispered sweet nothings into my ear.

We stopped short of the ultimate release I knew we both craved, and I contentedly snuggled up in his arms under the covers.

"I want to be inside of you the next time I have to listen to you climax," he breathed; his voice raging with passion.

I pulled out a large t-shirt and slipped it on. Lying there, his palm lay on my lower abdomen and his fingers slowly rubbed circles on my sensitive skin. My bottom was tucked against his upper thighs, and the evidence of his body's need for me was pressed insistently against my lower back.

"I’m impressed by my iron will," he muttered, a few minutes after we were all settled in.

"You’re very strong. I would have caved if it weren't for you," I mumbled sleepily.

A slight poke at my back told me what he thought of that. "Yes, I’m a man of steel." His voice was proud and I laughed.

"Just like Superman."

"Mmmmm, yes," he yawned, squeezing me. "I’m Superman and you are totally my kryptonite, sweetheart. Rest assured that one of these nights I’m not going to be able to resist you."

"I can't wait," I admitted, a slight smile creeping up my face when I thought about the first dream I’d had of my Aussie Superman.

"Neither can I Savy. Neither can I."

Saturday - May 18, 2013

Four Weeks until "The Wedding"

Art Show and Time Flies

The art gallery open house was an overwhelming success. I spent the majority of the first hour welcoming alumni, professors and local distinguished guests, and then answering questions about the exhibit and different mediums used in various pieces.

Gage showed up as handsome as ever in dark slacks, a white shirt and a royal blue tie. In his arms he carried a beautiful bundle of white lilies tied with a blue ribbon that matched his tie.

He stood to the side when I was busy working and never once seemed irritated at having to wait for my attention. I caught him studying a few paintings and sculptures, his face changing from admiration to perplexed, depending on the piece.

I grabbed a quick moment with him about halfway through the night when he asked me about a certain piece that was close to the doorway to my workroom. Taking the opportunity when nobody was looking, I pulled him through the door and attacked him hungrily with a kiss.

"Wow," he teased after a few minutes. "If I’d known that art galleries were going to get you so excited to see me, I would’ve taken you to one for a date."

I laughed, feeling my cheeks turn pink.

"You look absolutely stunning, by the way. They need to hang you on the wall out there." He pulled my arms out to the sides and stepped back to look at me with appreciation.

"
You're
the piece of art. You should get dressed up more often, Gage." I flicked his tie and pulled him back to my lips again.

"So why all the kisses?"

"I just wanted to thank you. This can't be fun for you - standing around while I'm stuck talking to people - and yet I haven't seen you yawn or roll your eyes once. You don't have to stay, you know."

"Are you kidding me? I wouldn't miss your big day. Some of the stuff here is really good, too. I mean, like that sculpture thing with the ribbon things sticking up…"

"That's a girl in motion." I laughed.

"Girl in motion? That artist has you fooled. That’s just trash thrown together," Gage joked, poking me in the side playfully.

"I thought you just said you liked it?"

"I lied." He placed a kiss on the tip of my nose and pulled me to the door. "Come on, sweetheart. You can't hide in here with me all afternoon. The crowd needs your expertise to explain what they're looking at."

Later that evening after a romantic candlelit dinner and stroll along the river, Gage and I ended up back at his place slow dancing to "Hey Pretty Girl." The lights were down low, and my head rested contentedly on his chest.

"I love this song," I admitted, sighing.

"It's your song," he murmured, stroking my back. "This feels so right, Savy. Do you feel it?"

God I loved the way
Savy
sounded on his lips. I swallowed hard as I listened to the words being sung. It was all about how the singer wanted to build a life with the girl he was singing it to. It was about getting married and having children. It was about life. I stopped swaying and looked him in the eyes as I spoke.

"I do," I whispered and his eyebrow cocked slightly. A blush stained my cheeks as I realized what I said.

"I do too," he admitted, and bent his head slowly to kiss me. It was a long, slow kiss filled with limitless possibilities of a future.

"Speaking of I do's," I hinted when he finally pulled his lips from mine, "my cousin Mary Anne is getting married on June fifteenth back home, and I have to go."

"You say that like you're being forced to go. I thought most women loved weddings?"

"This one is…shall we say…complicated."

He frowned at me lightly; his eyes searing into mine like he was trying to read my mind. "How so?"

"Well, she’s marrying my ex."

"Ohhh,
that
kind of complicated."

"Mmmhmmm," I agreed.

He stopped dancing and asked softly, "Do you have lingering feelings for him?"

My heart stopped. The easy answer was no, but there was never an easy answer when it came to matters of the heart.

"That's complicated too. I'm not in love with him anymore, but there are lingering issues that need to be resolved," I admitted somewhat reluctantly.

He pulled me back into his arms and held my cheek pressed to his chest. I felt his heartbeat racing under his shirt. If he was mad or disappointed in me he didn't say. I just let him hold me and waited for the moment when he would say he was done.

"Gage," I whispered after a while. Suddenly I was terrified that he might actually be mad. "I wanted to ask you to the wedding. I want you to meet my parents."

"You do?"

"Yes, of course I do." I pulled him to the couch and sat next to him. "I'm sorry I waited to tell you about this. Daniel - that's my ex - dumped me a long time ago and ended up with Mary Anne shortly afterwards. It’s made for some messy situations, but I have to tell you that ever since I met you…um, ever since we started seeing each other, I have truly started to see things clearly. I haven't been in love with him for a long time. Honestly I'm not sure if the relationship was real love in the first place. I just needed some time to get over the betrayal, and I'm more than ready to do that now."

I couldn't sense what he was thinking as he sat there listening to me. He ran his hand through his hair and leaned forward onto his elbows.

"It's because of you that I'm ready now," I added, touching his forearm lightly.

"All this time…I knew there was something going on in your head. It’s what kept me from asking you out sooner." Grabbing me quickly and pulling me over to straddle his lap, he added, "It's what stopped me from making love to you," he said boldly; kissing my lips swiftly.

"It did? I thought you just wanted us to go slow."

"Savannah, I don't care how strong a man is - when they’re in the positions we've been in, ‘taking it slow’ wouldn't be an option. But I
knew.
I hung back because I could tell you were keeping something from me. You never talked about your past relationships. So if we go to this wedding, are you going to get closure?"

I thought for a moment. "Yes, that’s my plan."

"Then I'm in. I want to meet your parents, Savannah, and I want to know all about your past. I'm one hundred percent committed to this relationship with you. You've become that drug I told you I wanted to crave. I need you," he whispered; causing my heart to stop.

I hugged him tightly and breathed a sigh of relief. I knew there were other things I still needed to tell him - skeletons in the closet to reveal. After Charleston I was sure that I’d finally be able to put the past behind me and focus on a future. A future that seemingly looked brighter and brighter because of the man holding me in his arms.

After the showcase, the four weeks until Charleston and the wedding flew by. Now that the work on the gallery showcase was done, I was able to see Gage in the early afternoons before he had to go to the bar.

There were picnics in the park, bike riding on the greenways, and we went to the movies. Normal things couples did when they were dating. I visited him at the bar a few times late in the evening when he would have more time to chat, and every time I was there I enjoyed watching him more and more. Now that I wasn't playing coy, I enjoyed openly admiring the way he moved around behind the bar. It was as if he owned it. He threw drinks together with flair and kept engaged conversations with his customers.