“I know that cutting my dad out of my life is terrible. I’d never done that, cut off contact with a family member. Family means everything to me,” I say. “But I realize now that my dad never saw me as anything other than an extension of himself—a way to make himself look good to the world. And yeah, maybe it’s harsh, but I don’t want anyone like that in my life, even if that person is family.”
I look down at our joined hands. The feel of her soft skin and how her light complexion contrasts with my dark tan send warmth through me. The knot of nerves inside of me starts to loosen.
“Gage, I…I don’t know what to say. I’m so sorry that happened. You deserve to be loved and accepted by your dad. I’m sorry that he’s so caught up in things that don’t matter.”
“Me too,” I say through a breath. “But the rest of my family is loving and accepting. My mom and relatives are all supportive of what I do. My brother and sister tease me from time to time, but that’s our normal sibling dynamic. I give them shit too. I can feel how much they love me despite how we bicker and tease. And they have my back no matter what. That’s what matters.”
Becca offers a soft smile. There’s still a gleam of sadness in her eyes as she looks at me though. “It sounds like you have the most amazing family.”
A long moment of quiet passes between us. I realize that we’re still holding hands. I catch her looking down at our hands. She lets out a nervous laugh. “Sorry, I guess I got a little carried away.”
“Don’t be sorry,” I say before squeezing her hand. “I needed that.”
As painful as it was to talk about my dad, it also felt good to tell Becca. She listened patiently while letting me talk, making me feel supported and comforted.
“I didn’t mean to turn this into a therapy session.” I slip my hand out of hers.
“You didn’t. We’re friends. I’m happy to listen to you, Gage. Always.”
She gazes at me with something extra in her eyes, something I can’t quite place or name.
“I wanna cook for you.” It’s not until the words are out of my mouth that I realize how weird and random that sounds. But I want to spend more time with Becca. I want to see her outside of her ice cream shop. I want to do more than just film sexy videos together. I want to make her feel comforted and cared for and doted on.
I swallow hard, my nerves crackling inside of me as I wait for her to say something. I brace myself for a “what are you talking about?” or a “no, thanks.” But instead, she beams at me and says, “I would love that.”
Chapter16
Becca
When I arrive at the door of Gage’s apartment, I stop myself and take a deep breath.
I don’t know why I’m so nervous. We’re friends. Friends invite each other to their places. Friends cook each other meals. I do this with Tori all the time.
You’re not sexually attracted to Tori.
Andthat’sthe difference. Gage is my friend, but there’s no denying how attracted I am to him. And the fact that he gave me a mind-bending orgasm a handful of days ago that I still think about…still fantasize about.
Just this morning before getting out of bed, I was so turned on thinking about riding Gage’s rock-hard dick that I had to break out my vibrator. I’ve never come that quickly before while pleasuring myself.
This is more than just sexual attraction though. It’s how he opened up to me last night about his dad. Just thinking about how his dad lashed out at him sends a wave of anger and frustration through me. I can’t believe he would be so narrow-minded. Gage carved out a culinary career for himself using TikTok. So many parents would be thrilled to have a kid like him who is brilliant, talented, and industrious.
That anger and frustration inside of me are eclipsed by pure warmth. The fact that Gage chose to tell me something so personal and painful means everything. It means he trusts me. It means he cares about me.
God, this guy. He is freakingamazing. He’s handsome and physically perfect. But he’s also sweet, thoughtful, kind, hardworking, supportive, and nonjudgmental, with a killer sense of humor. I bite back a laugh, remembering his unicorn jizz joke. If I could build a dream guy, it would be Gage.
I shake my head, banishing those thoughts, and refocus on the moment. I can’t be thinking about my friend like that.
I swallow and knock on his door. A few seconds later he answers, flashing that killer crooked smile. His eyes fall to the bottle of wine in my hand. He raises his eyebrow at me. “I told you not to bring anything.”
“You’re doing all the cooking,” I say. “It’s the least I could do.”
He chuckles and thanks me while gesturing for me to come in. He takes the wine bottle, and I kick off my sandals. He gives me a quick once-over.
“You look really pretty.” His voice is raspy and low when he speaks. It makes my knees weak. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a dress.”
I play with the hem of the mint green sundress I’m wearing. “That’s because you’ve only seen me in my ice cream shop. I dress for comfort when I’m at work.”
“And outside of work, you dress to kill.”
