<Chapter 29
Chapter 29
Gage
More Rewards?
I finally had her. After days of aching for it, craving it, begging the universe for a break, I finally had Bree in my hands. Her mouth had been on mine, her body pressed against me, her lips giving me a taste of something so damn perfect I thought I’d dreamt it. And then that f*****g b***h showed up and ruined everything.
The second Gabriella slinked off, Bree pulled back. She wasn’t soft anymore, wasn’t that flushed, open girl who had kissed me back like she wanted me just as bad. It was like a shutter came down behind her eyes. She folded in on herself, like she was suddenly bracing for a storm.
“Don’t mind her,” I whispered, my voice rough from trying to reel her back in. I wanted nothing more than to dive back into that kiss, to drown in it, to hold on to what we’d just had.
But Bree shook her head, her arms crossing tightly over her chest, hugging herself like she was cold. Her gaze dropped to the ground. “But she’s right, Gage.”
Her words were soft, broken, but they hit like a sucker punch.
“No, she isn’t,” I said immediately, a creeping edge of panic wrapping around my ribs. “She’s not right, Bree. Don’t let her get in your head.”
She couldn’t just flip a switch like this, couldn’t just retreat when I’d finally gotten past her walls. We’d just shared the best f*****g kiss of my life, and I wasn’t ready to lose that. I couldn’t.
“She’s just making drama to stay awake,” I tried again, forcing calm into my voice even though I felt anything but. “She’s jealous, Bree. That’s all it is. She’s probably f*****g jealous because you’re so much better than she is.”
Bree rolled her eyes, biting down on her bottom lip like she was trying to keep it from trembling. Her shoulders hunched even tighter, and my chest ached watching her fight to hold herself together. She looked like she was on the verge of breaking.
“Please, Gage, don’t bullshit me,” she muttered, voice low and unsteady, ducking away from me as she started walking toward her hut.
“I’m not bullshitting you,” I said quickly, falling into step behind her. Each second she pulled further away felt like quicksand sucking me under. “What would I get out of bullshitting you, Bree?”
“What every guy wants,” she huffed, not looking back. Her arms were still locked tight around herself, like she was warding me off and clinging to herself at the same time.
My jaw locked hard. My fists curled at my sides. “So you think all I want is to get laid?”
The words tasted bitter. Acidic.
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Why was she acting like this? Why was she tearing herself-and us-down before it even had a chance to breathe? It didn’t make sense. None of this did.
Sure, I wouldn’t lie-s*x with Bree? It’d probably ruin me for anyone else. Something told me it would be magic. But that wasn’t what this was about. That wasn’t what had my chest caving in and my hands shaking from needing her.
I wanted more. So much f*****g more.
I wanted to call her mine. I wanted to wake up with her hair all messy on my chest, spend entire days just laughing with her, making memories until we were drunk on each other. I wanted to squeeze every ounce out of this summer, make it the kind of thing we’d talk about ten years from now. And when the camp ended? When the season changed?
We’d make it work. Long distance didn’t scare me. She’d text me in between her classes; I’d call her every night, FaceTime until we fell asleep on the phone. It wouldn’t be forever. Once I got drafted, maybe I’d end up on a team near her. And if not? Once I was making real money, I’d fly her out whenever she wanted. And when she graduated, we’d figure out the rest. The house, the marriage, the kids-I wanted all of it with her.
I needed all of it with her.
But right now, she couldn’t even see that far ahead.
“I don’t know,” she groaned suddenly, stopping short and spinning to face me. Her eyes glistened in the low light, her expression torn. “Why didn’t you touch me?”
Her words hit me like a foreign language. I froze, eyebrows furrowing. “What do
you mean?”
She looked down, hugging herself tighter, her voice small. “When we kissed. Why didn’t you touch
me?”
“I touched you, Bree,” I said softly, still trying to wrap my head around where she was going with this. “I held you. I can still feel your hair between my fingers.”
“Not like that.” Her cheeks flamed, her voice hitching. “Don’t you find me attractive?”
That felt like an actual punch to the gut. Like she’d ripped my chest open and poured salt in the
wound.
“Are you kidding me?” My voice cracked from the force of it. “Of course I find you attractive. Bree, I think you’re the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. There’s not a single thing about you I
don’t want.”
“Then why didn’t you touch me? Don’t you want to?” she asked, finally lifting those blue eyes to mine, looking so damn fragile I almost fell apart on the spot.
And then it clicked.
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Gabriella’s giggling. Her phone aimed at us. The nasty little implication behind her words. Bree pulling back like she’d been burned.
My chest ached with anger and something even deeper-something raw, protective, and
desperate.
“There’s nothing I want more, Bree,” I said, taking a slow step toward her. My voice dropped, steady and low. “But I don’t ever want to freak you out. I don’t want you to feel like I’m pushing, or crossing a line. This isn’t about getting laid for me. I don’t give a f**k about that compared to you. If all we ever do is kiss like we just did? Then I’m the happiest guy alive.”
“But-”
“No buts,” I cut in firmly, closing the space between us until I could feel her warmth even though we weren’t touching. “f**k what Gabriella thinks. f**k what anyone thinks. This isn’t about them. This is about you and me. And I want you, Bree. I want us. Not just as friends. I want everything with you.”
My voice dropped further, all my cards on the table. “Tell me… what do you want?”
Bree
I looked up into his eyes, into that stunning green that always seemed to catch the light, no matter where we stood. There was so much emotion there, so much care, that it almost made me stumble back. He wasn’t hiding it-he wasn’t guarding himself the way I was. He let me see it all. The honesty, the want, the tenderness.
I knew what I wanted. God, I knew. But could I really have that? Could I really have Gage for myself, keep him in my orbit when he shone so much brighter than anything in my life?
My mind spun with a thousand thoughts at once, my insecurities roaring to the surface louder than the blood pounding in my ears. I shouldn’t think I could do this. I shouldn’t think I could handle a guy like Gage. He deserved someone whole, someone confident, someone who hadn’t been dragged through the mud and left there to rot.
But I wanted him anyway. I wanted him so badly it made my chest ache. More than I’d ever wanted anything. Even Oliver.
I thought I’d loved Oliver with everything inside of me. I thought I’d given him my heart in its entirety. But the hurt he’d put me through had shattered me into pieces I still couldn’t put back
together.
“I’ve been hurt, Gage,” I whispered, the words barely audible. My voice felt like it would break if I forced it any louder. Still, I knew he heard me. His focus on me was that intense, that unwavering.” And I haven’t been dealing with that so well.”
“That’s okay,” he whispered back, stepping closer like I hadn’t just admitted how broken I was. His hands slid up to rub my upper arms, warm and steady against the night air. “Hurt is part of life,
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Bree. And I can’t promise I’ll be perfect, but I’ll try my hardest to be that for you.”
More Rewards
The dam in my chest cracked at his words. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes before I could stop them. He was just so goddamn good. All of him. His heart, his honesty, the way he never seemed to flinch away from me no matter how messy I was inside. He was everything perfect wrapped into a body that looked like sin, and somehow he was looking at me like I was the prize.
But the more I thought about him, about what being with him might mean, the more my stomach
twisted with fear.
If he got drafted-when he got drafted-and if he became the star he was meant to be, people would dig. They always did. All it would take was one curious reporter or one nasty fan doing a quick scroll through old f*******: posts, and they’d find it. They’d find the story Jenna and Oliver had spun about me. They’d drag it up and twist it even further until it wasn’t just a rumor-it was a
scandal.
It wouldn’t just ruin his reputation. Could it ruin his career too? Could something like me-a girl with a past, a girl who made one mistake and trusted the wrong people-be enough to hurt him like
that?
The thought made me nauseous.
If that happened, I’d never forgive myself. I’d never be able to look him in the eye again if I knew I’d
been the reason he lost everything.
Maybe that’s why my brain kept searching for an out. Maybe we could just have this for now. Maybe we could just be two people enjoying each other’s company while we had the time. Two people who happened to meet at a summer camp, who found solace and warmth in each other for a few weeks. And then when camp ended, so would we.
He’d go back to his life, and I’d go back to mine. Maybe one day we’d bump into each other, years from now. He’d have a wife, the mother of his kids, the perfect family he deserved. We’d catch up, and I’d smile through the hollow ache in my chest, and I’d be happy for my friend.
At least, that’s what I told myself.
I looked back up at him. He was searching my face like he could read every thought racing through me, like he was trying to figure out what demons were clawing at my insides.
I swallowed hard, knowing that whatever I said next would ruin me completely once this summer
ended. It would be my undoing. But right now?
“Gage?” My voice came out softer than a sigh.
“Yeah?” he asked, that beautiful grin already tugging faintly at his lips, like just hearing me say his
name was enough.
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“Kiss me?”
The smile spread fully this time, lighting up his whole face. His hand came up to cradle my chin
with a gentleness that made my knees weak. He leaned down, and then his lips were back on mine -soft this time, slow and deliberate, like he wanted to savor me.
I closed my eyes, letting myself get lost in it, letting myself feel. For once, I didn’t try to analyze it, didn’t try to run. I just let myself have him.
enjoyed every kiss he gave me that night. I enjoyed the way he walked me to the hut Rachel and I shared, his shoulder brushing mine, his hand occasionally skimming against mine like he wanted to hold it but didn’t want to push. I enjoyed the low chuckle in his chest when I teased him about being dramatic as he grumbled about leaving me at the door, swearing he wanted to come inside
and hold me all night.
But the best part was when he finally did pull me into his arms. He wrapped me up tight, his warmth seeping into every frozen corner of me. He held me like I mattered, like I was something precious. His lips brushed the top of my head as he whispered for me to sleep tight, promised he’d
be there in the morning, ready for our stupid early run.
It felt like a dream.
But dreams have a way of breaking.
The illusion shattered the second I got inside.
I checked my phone, not expecting much-just maybe a text from Rachel or a random camp announcement. Instead, my heart plummeted to the floor.
Gabriella had posted a video in the camp f*******: group. My name tagged. The video wasn’t long, but it didn’t have to be. You couldn’t see Gage’s face, but you could see me-clinging to him desperately, kissing him like he was my entire world.
Before I could even process it, a message popped up.
One that made my blood run cold. One that made fear lodge so deep in my throat I could barely
breathe.
Oliver: You certainly moved on quickly. It would be too bad if the Dean found out what you’ve been doing with your spare time, wouldn’t it, Bree?
And then came the photo.
One I hadn’t known existed. One he had clearly taken of me while I was asleep. Naked. Wrapped in
a sheet, my body exposed for anyone to see.
Me: You wouldn’t.
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