Connection - Part Three
This episode is part of a larger story, Soft Touch. If you haven’t yet, you can go back and read it from the beginning right here.
“Oh, Jamie.” Aiden stares at me with wide blue eyes equally full of laughter and dismay. “Oh, my god.”
“No, listen-”
“Your head is an empty ginger house full of nothing but – roaming – chaos demons. I don’t know.” Aiden turns his accusatory eyes on the ghost in the kitchen with us. “I should never leave you unsupervised with Kasey, that much is for sure. I go into Mugshot to get us coffee, and by the time I come back you two have launched an ambush on an innocent stranger.”
“Oh, put yourself in my shoes!” My voice comes out muffled, since my face is buried in my hands. “How was I supposed to know? Nobody said anything about Logan’s little brother coming on the trip!”
“Because no one knew that was going to happen. Except Gage.” Kasey is perched on the kitchen island across from me, her thoughtful gaze on the afternoon growing dark beyond the windows. “Sounds like he took everyone by surprise. Not just you, Jamie.”
“Oh, god. I feel so bad.” I leave my face in my hands, speaking in a small, faint voice. “So bad. I didn’t even get the chance to apologize to him.”
Aiden pauses in making the hot chocolate, hearing the distress in my broken voice. He turns to kiss my forehead, then softly cuffs my chin when I look up at him. He’s a reassuring sight, his sweet, smiling self framed by the first droplets of rain blown against the windows.
“You’ll get a chance later, Linden,” his deep voice murmurs. “He’s staying at Noah’s house, remember? No way we don’t see him again before this trip is over.”
“I think we need to see him again,” Kasey says, with finality. “He might be able to tell us what’s going on here. That conversation he had with Logan…”
We all lapse into uneasy silence, looking at each other with worried eyes.
“Okay,” Kasey begins delicately, “I know it’s fucked up to spy on people, but, um – I’ll be right back.”
She vanishes. I look helplessly at Aiden, who lets out a huff of laughter and turns back to the hot chocolate.
The saucepan sighs contentedly, relaxing on the flames. It looks like it wants to groan in protest when Aiden turns the stove off, but it begrudgingly pours out its contents into the mugs, then lets Aiden put it in the sink. It brightens up at being filled with hot, soapy water for a soak.
I understand why it wants to be warm. Dusk is falling, bringing with it autumn cold, stormy clouds, rising winds. The borrowed sweater of Aiden’s that I’m wearing is the only reason I’m not shivering.
I automatically follow Aiden as he picks up his mug and heads for the door. By the time I rouse myself from my thoughts I’m already sitting on our bed, slowly sipping from my hot chocolate, watching Aiden cross to the branch window.
“I think our ruby tree is going to flower soon,” I tell him distractedly. “There are so many buds coming in. I guess it doesn’t mind the changing seasons.”
Aiden steals a glance at me, seems to see I’m not really thinking about that.
He raises his hands to make a temporary barrier for the window that can’t close. Frosty blue magic sparkles to life in his eyes, and his fingers begin to glow golden.
Before he can do anything else, a dark shape scrambles down from the branch and springs up onto the sill. Aiden stops, looking down at the windswept bundle of fur gazing pleadingly up at him.
“Ah.” He looks over his shoulder to fix me with a grin. “The orc is back.”
“Oh, stop it,” I groan, to a deep huff of laughter. “At least now we know how he’s been sneaking in. Not that it helps us any, because we’re never getting rid of that branch.”
Aiden turns back to the rusty red tomcat, considers for a second, then sighs and beckons for it. “Come on, then.”
The cat gratefully, speedily drops into our bedroom, and Aiden seals the window. A few swirling amber leaves bounce against the invisible heat barrier, then spin away into the deepening darkness falling over the garden. The raindrops that hit the barrier sizzle and vanish, and the rest start tapping forcefully against our glass windows.
The tomcat sits down in relief, then begins grooming his very windblown fur. Aiden and I have a silent, conspiratorial conversation with our eyes.
“Autumn isn’t the nicest time for the hotel here, huh?” Aiden sets his hot chocolate aside, slowly, casually drifting across our bedroom towards the cat. “It’s right on the beach. When the wind is up like this… I mean, it must be howling, right?”
“Yeah, I’d rather be at Noah’s place.” I get to my feet slowly, then reach for the dresser even slower. “Gage got the better end of the deal, if you ask me.”
“I think so, too.” Aiden cautiously bends over the tomcat, who pauses in his grooming to look up at him in suspicion. “I still can’t believe you yelled at him.”
“The poor guy! That must have been, like – scary!” I let out a sigh of pure anguish, running a hand through my hair. “Some stranger shouting at him?”
“Aw, Linden-” Aiden looks up, his ocean eyes full of smiling tenderness. “I – I don’t think you have to worry about scaring anyone.”
I pick up the little bottle from the dresser and slowly hand it to Aiden. The tomcat glances between us warily, then freezes in alarm when Aiden puts a few drops of flea-prevention medication on the back of his neck. The cat holds perfectly still for a second, then bolts under the bed, where a moment later his huge, indignant eyes peer out at us from the darkness.
“Sorry, buddy, but that’s the price you pay for access to the house.” I sit back down on the bed, lift my feet from the floor in case of retaliation from below, and look worriedly up at Aiden. “Babe… if Gage thought Noelle was in immediate trouble he would say something, right? To Noelle, or to Noah?”
Aiden sits down beside me, drawing my fingers away from my mouth before I can nibble my thumbnail into tatters. “I barely know Gage, but – yeah, I think he would.”
That thought lets me get a deep breath or two. And while I’m still mortified about the first impression I made on Gage… through the anxiety I know that Aiden is right. I don’t think I scared Gage at all, nor did he give me any reason to think he’s upset with me.
“Do you think he was serious?” Aiden suddenly blurts out. “About what he does for work?”
“If he wasn’t, he came up with all that stuff to say really fast.” Just remembering that part of our conversation makes a deep blush rise to my cheeks. “He said I could look him up by his stage name if I didn’t believe him.”
“Apparently he said the same thing to Noah.” Aiden pulls out his phone to show me the text. “Noah said he refuses to look it up, and he already believes him anyways.”
“Okay, well – you know what? I’m looking it up, just in case.” I snag my laptop from the night table, glancing down at Aiden’s phone to read the name from Noah’s text. “He said I could, so I’m going to. I’m inclined to believe him, but I need hard facts, because I refuse to look like a fool even one more time today.”
“It’s nice how your goals are always so optimistic, Jamie.”
I let out a startled laugh before I manage to give Aiden the scowl that deserved. He grins back at me, then lifts his eyebrows when I open a new tab and start typing.
“Really, you’re gonna do it? Oh, man.” He quickly moves to sit beside me so he can see. “Guess this is happening.”
“I just want to make sure-”
I break off with a sharp gasp as the search results pop up. A bunch of links from different websites appeared, all with titles that leave no doubt. Much more attention-grabbing are the videos with revealing thumbnails that popped up, and – even more prominently displayed – the image results.
“Oh, my god!” I gasp, blushing violently, then reflexively slap my laptop to face away from us.
“Holy shit,” Aiden laughs, a deep blush spreading across his cheeks. “That was, um – well, we can give Gage one point for honesty. And hey, Jamie, you were right to believe him! So you didn’t look like a fool-”
Aiden stops as Kasey reappears, unfortunately right in front of my open laptop.
“Jamie,” she begins, then gasps when she gets an eyeful of what’s pulled up on my screen. “Jamie!”
“No!” I wail, diving forward to seize my laptop. “It’s not what it – we weren’t-”
Kasey’s mouth drops open into an enormous grin. “Was that a picture of Gage posing naked with just a little gym towel over his-?”
“No!”
“Yes it was!” Kasey bursts into delighted giggles, fanning her face. “Whew, he’s so smokin’ hot. He knows his angles, huh? That’s a cute wink he does, too. Let me see it again, real quick? And also maybe play the video on the top left?”
I close my laptop, set it aside, and press my palms to my eyes. “You were right, Aiden. I shouldn’t be allowed to do anything without your supervision.”
Aiden turns victoriously to Kasey, pointing at me. “You heard it, I heard it, we all heard it.”
“Doesn’t anyone want to hear what I saw on the snooping quest you sent me on?”
I fan my face with my hands, trying to cool off my burning cheeks. “No one sent you, Kase-face! And we don’t want to hear what you learned on your inappropriate, unsanctioned-”
Kasey drops down to sit on the bed across from us. “Noelle and Logan are at the hotel.”
“Doing what?” I ask immediately.
“Noelle is unpacking, and Logan is checking his emails. Noelle was talking to Logan, saying she just realized that pushing the trip back means she can’t surf with Noah as much as she could have. She seems upset about it, like now she feels bad.”
Aiden pushes the ghost glasses further up his nose, frowning. “But it was Logan’s fault they had to move the trip! What did he say?”
“He was telling her that she shouldn’t feel bad-”
“Oh, good,” I murmur, relieved.
“-because it’s not a big deal.”
“Oh – what?” I sputter indignantly.
“He was saying there are other things she and Noah can do together, anyways.” Kasey nods in agreement when Aiden and I both scowl at her. “Yeah, I was glad to get out of there. Especially with the wind coming off the ocean. Poor Noelle was wearing like three sweaters, inside their room, but I don’t think Logan noticed.”
I glance unhappily at Aiden, twisting the malachite necklace in my fingers.
“Gage is in the guest room at Noah’s house,” Kasey goes on, drawing our eyes back to her. “He looks like he just took a shower. He unpacked his stuff, too. He just brought some clothes and the basic things, and some, um – photography equipment. A regular camera and a video camera. Work stuff, I guess.”
She says this part with a twinkling glance at my now-closed laptop, then adds – “He’s sitting in bed reading, now.”
Aiden looks at her curiously. “What’s he reading?”
“Old letters from Noelle. That’s like the only other thing he brought, so far as I can see. He had a stack of them in his backpack, tied up with some string. They’re all in French.”
There’s a brief silence, broken when I ask – “How does he seem? Gage?”
“Exhausted from the long trip, now that he’s finally in bed.” Kasey shrugs her shoulders. “It’s hard to say much more than that. He had his head down over the letters, and he was pretty quiet.”
Silence falls again, stirred only by the growing rush of rain against the roof.
I look at Aiden, lost in thought. Wondering what exactly Gage meant when he told Logan I know exactly what you’re doing.
I only have the vaguest possible picture of what’s going on, and I don’t want to decide anything without all the information I need again. But I certainly have my instinctive opinion on Logan, and I’m finding myself suddenly, deeply relieved that Noelle chose this moment to come back to Ketterbridge.
I think maybe her brother came back into her life at just the right time.
~~~~
“I’m kind of surprised that Noah said we could come over,” I tell Aiden, as we walk up the driveway together.
The night is cloudy, and blustery with the wind, but the rain has temporarily slowed to a light drizzle. Noah, Raj, and Mel’s house glows warmly against the cold landscape, silently welcoming us as we draw closer.
“I thought him and Noelle went surfing this morning. I figured they were spending the whole day together.”
“Maybe they did,” Aiden answers, glancing up at the moon and glinting stars overhead. “I didn’t hear from him ‘til he invited us, and that was only like an hour ago.”
There’s no time to discuss it further. We’re already at the door. Aiden lets us in, and I close it after myself, then pause in surprise. I’ve been so worried about everything going on that I’m almost startled by the sweet, warm picture that meets us.
Gage is stretched out on his stomach, on the rug by the fireplace, balanced on his elbows. His huge hands are folded around Niki, who’s seated upright in front of him. He appears to be having a deeply serious conversation with her. She listens with rapt attention to every word, occasionally starting to smile and giggle, then staring at him in fascination again. Occasionally she looks over her shoulder at Noah, who’s cross-legged behind her, grinning enormously at whatever Gage is saying.
Melanie is curled up on the end of the couch. Watching all three of them with a peaceful smile on her face, relaxing in the firelight. Music is playing from Noah’s speakers. Softly, but with a beat, as always.
Everyone looks up when we step in from the windy night. A welcoming chorus of greeting rises up, which Aiden and I answer with a grin and a wave. Even Nik joins in on the noise, reaching her little arms towards us.
Gage listens intently to her little babbles, then gets to his feet.
“She said attack them,” he explains, coming towards me and Aiden with an apologetic expression on his face. “I’m more of a lover than a fighter, but I’d do anything for her. And so.”
“Nope,” Noah says quickly, catching Gage’s arm before he can get too far. “She didn’t say attack them, she said Abam, which we think is her trying to say Aiden.”
Aiden stops still, then puts a hand over his heart, his blue eyes blinking fast.
“Oh, okay.” Gage sits back down, smiling into Nikita’s face. “Can you say Gage?”
I have to fight down a laugh when Nik’s attempt sounds much more like grapes.
“Were you really going to attack us, Grapes?” Aiden asks solemnly.
“Sure, but very gently.” Gage looks at Aiden, reconsidering. “Although I really do believe that even if I threw myself at you full force I’d bounce off your chest like a ping pong ball, Aiden, and you’d still just be standing there.”
Noah bites his lip, holding back a laugh. “Is that how you’d attack, dude? Just throw your whole body at the enemy?”
“I don’t know, I guess I’ve never attacked anyone,” Gage says thoughtfully. “But yeah, think that’d be my plan. Surely it’d be a lot for them to deal with at once? I’m long.”
“You are long,” Melanie giggles from the couch. “Maybe your plan isn’t too bad. I can see someone getting very tangled up in all those gangly limbs.”
Gage winks at her. “Many have.”
“Quit makin’ my wife laugh, dude,” Noah complains, failing to cover up the fact that he’s laughing himself. “That’s a job for me and my husband.”
“Wow, those are so nice, Jamie!” Melanie sits up some more, her eyes falling on the bouquet in my hands. “Beautiful.”
“They’re for Gage,” I explain, holding them out to him.
Noah lets out a sputter of laughter. “You been here two days, and you’ve already got my friends bringing you flowers?”
Gage turns around on the rug to face me, considerably surprised. “What – seriously? That’s for me?”
“I made it at work. It’s all flowers and plants native to this area, to welcome you to Ketterbridge.” I blush sheepishly, then add - “And to apologize for how stupidly I introduced myself yesterday.”
“What?” Noah laughs, glancing between me and Gage. “What did you do, Jamie?”
“Oh, I thought Gage would have told you by now.”
Noah looks curiously at Gage, who’s gazing at me with furrowed eyebrows.
“Not sure what he’s talking about,” he says, in answer to Noah’s questioning stare. “I liked very much how he introduced himself yesterday. Now he’s being even nicer by bringing me some flowers. Here I am thinking, folks around here are so nice, and he’s apologizing. I’m baffled and concerned.”
Noah lets out a snicker of laughter. “One thing you should know about Jamie, is that he’s ready to cry if he feels he’s been rude to anyone, even by accident. Especially when it’s to people he likes.”
“Is that so?” Gage turns back to me, his brown and green eyes warmly sympathetic. “Well, he’s got no reason to feel that way ‘cause of anything to do with me.” He gets to his feet, stretching his long arms out, then comes over and accepts the bouquet. “I will take the flowers, though, because that’s nice. What have we got here, some violets, and green daisies, and primroses?”
Aiden starts to look very impressed, then pauses in surprise when I answer – “No, actually, none of that is right. Green daisies aren’t even a thing. I don’t know why I started nodding, you just really sounded like you knew what you were talking about. Were you just guessing?”
“I was like, maybe I’ll just be right,” Gage says, with a shrug of his shoulders. “Don’t know why I thought that. They’re real pretty, though, thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” I tell him, suppressing a helpless laugh.
Melanie is doing the same thing. “There’s a vase in your room, Gage, if you want to put them out.”
Gage gives her a thumbs-up, then turns to head for the stairs. After a few paces he does a double-take, realizing that Nik is crawling after him as fast as she can.
“Oh, shit!” Gage turns around, sinks to his knees, and sprawls out flat on the floor, holding the flowers out to her. “I’m so sorry, little angel of frowning, I didn’t realize you wanted them. They’re yours.”
“She doesn’t want the flowers,” Melanie laughs, as Nik, panting and giggling, reaches past them to grab Gage’s face. “She just doesn’t want you to leave.”
Gage takes a moment to digest that piece of information, then limply rolls over onto his back like it killed him. Nik begins giggling harder, trying to climb onto him. He makes no attempt to stop her, even when her knee goes directly down on his face, but fortunately Raj chooses this moment to come in through the back door, his cheeks glowing from the cold. He picks up Nik and pops a kiss onto her cheek, then looks down at Gage in confusion.
“You alright, brother?”
“No. Your baby killed me.”
“Oh, then she’s grounded.”
“No!” Gage protests imploringly, snapping upright. “I’m not pressing charges. Love isn’t a crime, not in my book.”
“You got away with it this time, child,” Raj growls at Nik, glaring sternly into her face. She giggles happily, spreading her tiny fingers on his cheeks. “Gage, if you were trying to escape, now’s a good time.”
“I just need to put these flowers in some water.” Gage gets up to show Raj the bouquet. “Aren’t they nice? They’re carnations.”
“No, they aren’t,” I put in.
“Eventually I’m gonna be right,” Gage tells me, in a knowing, meditative tone. “There are only so many kinds of flowers.”
“There are so many,” I answer faintly, feeling Aiden tremble with silent laughter behind me. “So many kinds.”
Nik starts to twist around in Raj’s arms to look at Gage again, so Aiden steps in to cover him, holding out his hands, earning another enthusiastic Abam! from her. Between Raj and Aiden there’s enough distraction for Gage to quickly slip off with his flowers.
“I put the cooler out back with some drinks for everyone,” Raj calls to him. “Help yourself when you come back down!”
Gage nods appreciatively, already headed up the stairs. I sit down beside Noah, who’s still sitting on the rug in front of the fire.
“Seems like the family doesn’t mind having Gage here, huh?” I ask.
“Are you joking?” Mel giggles, accepting a drink from Raj. “The biggest problem so far has been that between him and Noah and Raj my sides are aching almost constantly. Besides, it’s like having a babysitter always available, given how much he likes to hang out with Nik.”
“I’m glad.” Noah’s grey eyes are full of relief. “Realized a little late I didn’t exactly clear this with you, that I only asked about Noelle.”
Mel gets to her feet, smoothing her hand over Noah’s long hair.
“We trust your judgment,” she says affectionately, then goes over to join Aiden and Raj with Nik.
Noah smiles after her, his grey eyes full of warmth unrelated to the firelight. But his face grows more serious as he turns back to me. A faint knit forms between his brows, a shadow falling across his face.
“How did it go this morning?” I ask quietly, watching his expression. “Surfing with Noelle?”
A muscle in his jaw flexes. “We couldn’t go. The storm last night went through to this morning.”
“Oh…” My shoulders sink unhappily. “Tomorrow, then?”
“More rain,” he answers flatly, looking into the fire. “So that’s that.”
“Shit.” I draw back, crestfallen for him. “I’m sorry, man. I was really hoping you two would get to go.”
“Me, too.” He lets out a sigh, rubbing his jaw, then lowers his voice to a very quiet volume. “It doesn’t matter. I’m more worried about this Logan thing. Do you have your unbiased opinion for me?”
I let out an incredulous laugh. “An unbiased one? No, I absolutely don’t. We’re so far past that being possible, all thanks to you.”
“Fine, fine. But you have an opinion.”
I twist the heist ring around my finger, wincing. “Yes, but I – I don’t want to rush to judgment, and you know I don’t like to say anything bad… besides, I don’t know him that well, I’ve only met him once-”
“Shit,” Noah sighs, screwing his face up. “I was hoping it was just that I personally can’t stand him. I’m guessing Aiden feels the same as you?”
I flinch apologetically. “Yes.”
“And so does Ralph,” Noah growls, then lets out a pained sigh, tilting his head back. “The fuck is Logan’s deal, honestly? I checked with Ralph, by the way, and stocks isn’t a job title. So he didn’t even explain that in a way that made any goddamn sense. And he kept her busy basically all goddamn day, I didn’t even see her. Felt like he did it on purpose.”
“What are you going to do?” I ask nervously.
“I don’t know… I’m just playing nice with him, at least for now…” Noah glares into the fire, biting the inside of his cheek. “It’s my own fucking fault. If I hadn’t let me and Noelle go this long without talking… but I did, and now I’m in no position to tell her anything. She has no reason to listen to me right now, and even if she did, I don’t even know how to talk to her about shit, anymore. Like, I want to ask her to stay in Ketterbridge for longer than this short-ass trip Logan has in mind, and I don’t even know if that’s something I should do, or how to, um, approach it…”
He trails off, stares miserably down at the rug for a second, then clears his throat.
“At least Gage is here,” he says, turning his eyes back to the fire. “That’s been really good. At least an old friend turned up at the same time as an old enemy.”
I hesitate, deciding whether or not to say something, then take a deep breath as I make up my mind. “Noah… I’m not sure if Gage has said anything, but I think he’s on your side about all this. About Logan and Noelle.”
Noah’s eyebrows draw together in confusion. “What do you mean?”
The front door opens again before I can answer, to let in two new windblown arrivals.
“Hey,” Ralph calls, as Tycho enthusiastically trots over to greet me and Noah. “Thought with everything going on you might need some…” He trails off, taking stock of everyone in the living room. “Company. Nevermind.”
“No, come in, dude,” Noah says, brightening up. “I’d have texted you, but I thought you were still busy. How was Julian?”
“Beat me at poker again. I’ve got to figure out how he’s doing it.” Ralph shrugs his shoulders out of his jacket, pushing his wind-tousled blonde hair out of his face. “Man, it’s like a party in here. Got the music going and everything. Seems I was right to bring a joint.”
“We’re hanging with Gage,” Noah explains, to an immediate, enthusiastic grin from Ralph.
“That so? Then I showed up at the right time. Where’s he hiding? Not in here, there’s nowhere that could hide arms and legs that long.”
“He was just upstairs, I think he went outside to get a beer.”
“I’ll go find him,” I offer, standing up. “I want a beer, too.”
I leave Noah with Ralph and let myself out through the kitchen door. The backyard that I created whispers warmly to me in greeting as I step out to meet it. I flash it an affectionate smile, then look to my right.
Gage is leaning against the house by the cooler, his huge hands cupped around the cigarette that he’s trying to light.
“Jamie, perfect timing. C’mere and help me?”
I come over and stand at an angle where I can block the wind, which brings me into close proximity with him. I use the opportunity to take a longer look, now without panic or outrage blurring my vision. Taking in his height and his wide shoulders, his perpetually tumbled-up dark brown hair. The thin, threadbare cotton shirt he’s wearing, in a dark shade of sumac. Just like the last time I saw him, all of his clothes are softened from a lot of wear.
I blush deeply, remembering that I know a great deal about what he looks like under those clothes. Everything that I saw when we looked him up flashes unbidden through my mind.
“Thanks,” he murmurs, straightening up with his lit cigarette. “I don’t smoke them too often, so I splurge on the good tobacco for when I feel like it, roll ‘em myself. You want to try it?”
“Sure,” I mumble, taking it from him without meeting his eyes. “Thank you.”
He watches me, his brows slowly furrowing, then breaks into a sudden grin.
“You looked me up, didn’t you?”
I close my eyes, breathing out smoke that must make my flaming cheeks really look like they’re burning. “I – I just wanted to see if you were serious!”
He let out a snickering laugh, still grinning broadly at me. “Nice. Which video did you watch? Hopefully one of the ones I posted myself?”
“I didn’t watch any! I saw that you weren’t joking and I closed the tab!”
Gage lifts his eyebrows. “Really? You have more restraint than me. If you change your mind, watch one of the ones that I posted myself, yeah? Those are the ones I do independently, and I think they’re my best work.”
“Oh, as if I didn’t get us off to an awkward enough start already!” I let out a sheepish laugh, hanging my head. “You really are being so kind about it. That whole thing was – it felt like dive-tackling someone who doesn’t try to get out of the way, and then still missing them and hitting a brick wall instead. Do you know what I mean?”
Gage lets out a soft, warm laugh, taking his rollie back and bringing it up to his mouth. “You could call that making an unforgettable first impression. And for the record, it wouldn’t make anything awkward if you watched ‘em. I don’t mind. My job is to put sexy energy out into the world. It doesn’t work if you don’t watch.”
I let out an incredulous laugh, shaking my head at him. “I was wrong about basically everything when I stormed up to you yesterday morning, except when I said you had no shame. Were you born this bold? Seriously, I’m asking. I want to know.”
Gage smiles, leaving the cigarette in his mouth and tucking his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “The opposite. I was really shy, as a kid. For most of being a teenager, too. Painfully shy.”
“Really?” I draw back in disbelief. That’s startling information, for several different reasons. I choose one at random to point out. “But it sounded to me like you and Noah got along really well when he was in France.”
“The Raunier siblings are an exception,” Gage murmurs, leaning back against the wall. He smiles at me again, somehow without moving the cigarette in the corner of his mouth. “It’s the lucky shy kid who finds their exception. How’s that for a sagely piece of wisdom?”
“Pretty good, actually,” I laugh. “Guess that’s not one of those things that just sounds smart in your voice.”
Gage leans down and opens the cooler, extracts two bottles from it, and knocks them open against the wall.
“What do you say, Jamie Keane? You want to have a cold beer? With a fellow queer? Who’s not from ‘round here?”
I let out a helpless laugh, accepting the frosty bottle from him. “Cheers.”
“Cheers.”
He clinks his bottle against mine, then turns his gaze up to the Ketterbridge night sky. I fall silent for a moment, taking in everything that he told me. Realizing that I’m surprisingly relaxed, despite the things we were just talking about. Something about Gage’s peaceful, contemplative, warm voice makes every conversation seem perfectly ordinary and easy, no matter the subject matter.
“I really like it here,” he says suddenly. “Ketterbridge, I mean. Although it could just be Raj and Mel’s cooking, and the nice room with the really soft bed they gave me. Or the cute baby, or the breakfast we had at that diner, or people bringing me surprise flowers. Or getting to see Noah again. Or getting to see Noelle again. Could just be any of those things.”
I breathe out a laugh, accepting the cigarette from him. “I can tell how much Noelle missed you. I’m guessing things were a lot less chaotic without you there.”
Gage lets out a little laugh of his own, shaking his head as he drops his gaze back to me. “Noelle is perfectly capable of creating her own chaos, believe me. Don’t tell her I said so, but she’s a wild girl. You just haven’t seen her get one of her ideas.”
“One of her ideas-?” I begin, then break off as the kitchen door swings open.
Noelle steps out into the blustery night, tucking her hair out of her face. Her expression brightens when she spots me and Gage.
She comes over to join us, her eyes turned into two upturned arches by her smile. “Hey, you two!”
“Bug!” Gage straightens up from the wall, beckoning to her with his beer. “I’m glad you’re here, I need to talk to you about something important.”
She stops before him, caught by surprise. “Oh?”
“Yeah, I’ve got to ask you for something.” He crinkles his nose up apologetically. “I’m sorry, and you can say no if you want, but I’ve got to ask.”
Noelle tilts her head to the side inquiringly, puzzled and curious.
“Look, I know Logan was thinking you guys should just do a short trip, but…” Gage hesitates, then lets out a sheepish laugh. “It’s just so nice, you and Noah and me all together again, you know? I don’t see why we should cut it so short. Besides, I don’t know when I’m coming back to France. Who knows when we’ll all get a chance to hang again?”
He pauses, searching her face, then adds – “I was also kind of hoping you’d have time to show me around Ketterbridge a little. After hearing about it for so long… I dunno, I’ve just been excited to see it.”
He stops hopefully, and Noelle smiles up at him.
“Aw, Gage! Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.” Her smile fades into a faint, irritated frown. “I was surprised when Logan said that, honestly. We hadn’t talked about it yet, and I assumed we were staying here for a while. That’s why I brought all my work stuff. So I could keep going on my big project while we’re here, instead of having to rush back to it. I wanted more time with Noah, and now that you’re here, too…” She stops, then smiles up at Gage again. “I’ll just tell him I want to stay longer. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
Gage’s eyes fill with grateful relief, then lift to look past Noelle as the door opens and Noah comes outside. He stops where he is when he sees Noelle with us.
She turns around to wave at him. “Hey, Noah! There you are. Somehow I said hi to everyone before you.”
“Hey,” he says, with warm surprise. “I didn’t know you were coming over.”
“I’m glad I did,” Noelle laughs, as Gage hands her a beer. “I didn’t realize there was a little party going. What a nice vibe, over here.”
Noah glows with a pleased smile, hearing that. “It’s not really a party, but stay and hang.”
“Gladly. This is way better than the creaky hotel. Had to get out of there.” Noelle accepts the cigarette from Gage, looking at Noah. “Did I miss Nikita? I was afraid I’d get here after her bedtime.”
Noah waves an inky hand up at the window of the nursery. “I just tucked her in, but you can go see her in her crib, if you want.”
Noelle takes a sip from the bottle Gage handed her. “Let me have a beer and hit this cigarette first, like the fun aunt would.”
“You’re taking to that role awful naturally,” Noah snickers, accepting the cold bottle that I offer him. “What were you guys talking about?”
“Gage suggested that we make this a longer trip, and I was just telling him that I think we should, too.” Noelle catches Noah’s eyes, an apologetic look coming into her own. “I don’t know why Logan said we weren’t staying for that long. I’ll tell him I want to. We’ll have plenty of time to do everything.”
Noah pauses, taken aback. He just barely gets hold of his expression before relief can go flooding across his face.
“Oh,” he says evenly. “Cool. I’m glad.”
“Should we surf tomorrow?” Noelle suggests hopefully. “Since we couldn’t go this morning?”
Noah smiles, but shakes his head. “It’s gonna be raining nonstop.”
Noelle looks a little crestfallen. She leans back against the wall, silently tapping her fingers on her beer.
“Well-” she says abruptly, with sudden determination in her voice, “Is there supposed to be lightning?”
Noah blinks in confusion. “No, not that I saw.”
Noelle breaks into a dimpled grin.
“I have an idea,” she says, and Gage smiles.
Want to leave a comment? I would love it if you did, and you can do so on the Tapas episode!