Saving Us (The Billionaire Brothers of NY Duology #1)

14. Gage

CHAPTER 14

Gage

A s Harper and her friend approached us, a panic settled into my bones. Jared didn’t know anything about her. I wasn’t planning on telling him any of what happened this past week. The way I acted at the club both surprised and concerned me.

I didn’t know her.

Well, I’d kissed her. And touched her. Gone down on her and almost made her come.

But I didn’t know her.

And this was why I was no good at the “just sex” thing, no matter how hard I tried.

“Hey, Jared, so listen. Those two girls are going to come up to us because I know one of them, just a warning.”

He pulled his eyes from the game to follow where I was looking. “Which one do you know? And how well?” His elbow hurt my ribs.

Then I noticed that Harper was physically being dragged by her friend to our corner of the bar. She looked mortified as they approached. But her friend was all smiles and full of laughter while pulling her along.

“Well, look what we have here,” her friend said as they got to our corner. “Harper tells me you are the one and only Gage.”

She stuck her hand out to me, and I took it. And by the redness in both their eyes, and the tiny slur to her friend’s speech, I made the determination she’d consumed quite a bit of alcohol. The girl with Harper was taller, with blonde curls and deep brown eyes. But in addition to her good looks, I could tell it was her personality that got her what she wanted, whenever she wanted it.

“And don’t worry, she gave me the abridged version of what you two did. I don’t know all the details.”

Harper pulled her friend’s hand from mine and pushed her out of the way.

“Vic, what the hell?” She tried to be quiet, but she wasn’t.

So, Harper was drunk as well. She turned toward me, and a pink blush crawled across her cheekbones.

She was fucking adorable.

“Hey, so this is my best friend, Victoria. Vic, yes, this is Gage.”

That blush was now spreading from her cheeks to her chest. Her chest that was on full display in her floral sundress. The dress was covered in these big pink flowers, which made sense to me knowing her, and you’d think it was innocent enough. But her tits were basically hanging out of it, and it barely covered her ass.

“Who’s your cute friend over there?” Victoria asked.

“Harper, Victoria, this is my friend Jared.”

Jared came around from his stool to meet the girls, shaking each of their hands. He might have a serious live-in girlfriend, but he still knew how to make a first impression.

“Nice to meet you, ladies. Would you both like to sit down?”

They both mumbled a “thank you” as we gave them our seats. I pulled out my chair for Harper, and her body grazed against mine as she sat. Her hair was cascading down her back in soft curls, blonde highlights on the tips. Something I hadn’t noticed before now. The temptation to reach out and run my fingers through her hair, to knot it in my hand and pull her against my chest, was strong. I wanted another look at that long, slender neck.

“Right, Gage?” Jared asked.

“Huh?”

He knew he caught me completely checked out. His eyes motioned to the two beautiful girls with us, now waiting for my response to a question I hadn’t heard.

“I said, Sullivan’s is such a great bar. We come here quite a bit, you and I.”

Harper fidgeted in her chair, adjusting how she was sitting so she could see both Jared and me as we talked. As she spun around, her shoulder rubbed against my hand holding the back of her wooden stool.

Her skin was like velvet, and instinctively, my finger rubbed against her. She momentarily froze but then leaned into my touch.

“Yeah, we do come here often, though not much lately. I was away most of last fall and this is our first time out since I got back.”

Wow, having just realized that it made me think more and more that I was becoming a workaholic. But Jared was no different. We saw each other at the office several times a week, but it was all work there.

“Well, Harper and I come here a lot, too. I’m surprised we haven’t run into you guys before. I definitely would remember seeing either one of you.”

Victoria turned herself so her body was almost completely touching Jared, and we had no room to move away with the crowd surrounding us. She didn’t know she wasn’t getting anywhere with Jared, but this would be fun to watch.

“Can I get you guys anything?”

Finally, the bartender came to take our order. It had been over thirty minutes since we got our last beers.

“Yeah, we’ll?—”

But I was interrupted by the curly blonde.

“Theo, keep ‘em coming man, hook us up,” she said, flashing him a thousand-watt smile with her bright red lips.

Oh, she was a firecracker. If she had long dark hair, with some red highlights, emerald green eyes, and was a shit ton prettier, she just might remind me of someone back at brU.

But then I looked at Harper, sitting quietly in her chair, looking around the bar. Her thick hair wasn’t adorned with anything, nor was her face, yet she was stunning. Much prettier than her friend. She seemed to have a natural glow about her that didn’t require much enhancement, very different from how she needed to dress at the club.

“So, you guys know the bartender? That makes going out to the bar a whole different experience,” I said.

Victoria smiled in my direction. “It doesn’t hurt, that’s for sure. We know him from the club.”

“Oh, you guys work together? Jared,” I motioned to them with my fingers, getting his attention. “They both work at The Velvet Rope. Have you been there? It’s a cool place. It’s where we just had Nate’s event this weekend.”

“I have not,” he said, as an intrigued look came over his face. He smiled at the girls, his award-winning smile. “But I think I need to get there.”

I swear, him and Victoria would be perfect for each other. But I liked Delia.

“Yes, we work together, besties at work. We have fun,” Victoria said.

Four beers were slammed on the bar behind them, and they turned, waving to their friend. Grabbing the bottles, they each handed us one, and we prepared to make a cheer.

And of course, it was Victoria who chose to speak.

“To wooden bar tops,” and she slapped the wood next to her. “May we all have sex on them one day!”

She and Jared clinked their bottles. But what they missed was the look of horror on Harper’s face.

I, on the other hand, did not.

“Jesus Christ, Vic, are you fucking serious!” Harper cried out as she slammed her beer down, She almost fell from her chair as she launched herself from her seat, landing in my arms, and stormed away, toward the back of the bar.

In tears.

A hush came over the three of us, though Jared was left utterly confused.

And I just lost some respect for her best friend.

Victoria was standing on the rungs of her stool, searching for where Harper ran off to.

“Shit,” she murmured. Then she looked at me, the apology clear in her teary eyes. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I think I should go find her.”

As she started getting up from her seat, I stopped her.

“Are you good with me going?” I asked.

All she did was nod. Checking with Jared, our unspoken communication was clear. He would stay with Victoria while I did what I needed to do.

Heading toward the back, I had no idea if she went to the restroom or the patio. Looking out the back door first, a quick scan didn’t turn up anyone in a pink flowery sundress. Moving down the dark hallway, I noticed a line for the ladies’ room, and saw a hint of pink a few girls up. Moving past the girls in line, I reached out and pulled on Harper’s finger, gently, to let her know I was there.

Her head snapped my way as a lone tear fell from her eye. She wiped it quickly, hiding her face behind a curtain of hair as she looked at the ground.

“Hey,” I said, moving close to speak as privately as we could. “Can we go talk somewhere?”

She glanced up, as her arms wrapped around her waist, making her look completely vulnerable and closed off at the same time.

“Well, I actually really have to go to the bathroom, bad,” she said. A soft laugh followed.

But then the girl behind us barged in on our conversation.

“Hey, is this guy bothering you, hon?”

Both Harper and I turned to her.

“No, I’m fine, but thank you,” Harper said.

I smiled at them both. It was refreshing to see girls standing up for each other.

“Okay, will you meet me on the patio when you’re done?” I asked.

She nodded, and I left it at that.

It was only about ten minutes before I saw her walk through the door and start looking around the large space. I made sure to not miss her so she wouldn’t get nervous. Walking right up to her and taking her by the hand, I led her to the back of the patio where there was some room.

“Are you cold?” I asked. But I was already taking off my sweatshirt and offering it to her. There wasn’t much sun where we were and no patio heaters in this area. She took it from my hand and pulled it over her head.

It was almost as long as her dress.

“That wasn’t cool what she did, I’m sorry that happened.” I lifted her chin to make sure she heard my words. “Don’t be embarrassed about telling her about us,” I said. I couldn’t help a smile from forming when I said that. “It kind of makes me feel good knowing you did.”

That got her to smile as well.

And fuck if that didn’t make my heart swell.

And as crazy as it sounded, I felt as though from that moment on I wanted to make her smile at least once a day.

“Thank you for saying that, I just don’t know why she did that. We had a lot to drink at brunch, I’m going to blame it on the alcohol. She isn’t normally mean.”

Harper looked away as soon as she stopped talking. She’s had trouble keeping eye contact with me since getting here.

“Listen, Gage, about the other day at the shop. I don’t…do that. I don’t usually hook up with people I don’t know.”

She still wasn’t looking at me. So, I reached for her chin again. Her wide, blue eyes stared up at mine, and I wanted to toss all this talking bullshit out the window and kiss her right then and there.

But that wasn’t what she needed.

“And I know I was the one that got you to come to the shop, and that looks bad, like it’s what I wanted. But it was more that I just wanted to see you again.”

I waited to make sure she had said all she wanted to say.

“And I’m pretty sure that’s one of the things I’ll like most about you once I get to know you,” I said.

Now it was my turn to pull my eyes from her because this was not in my plan for the day. I wasn’t expecting to ever see her again. Yet here I was pledging to get to know her.

And I was suddenly okay with that.

“Our start has been anything but conventional. The club incident alone needs its own conversation. But I’d like to think that the universe keeps putting us in one another’s path for a reason,” I said.

She let out a bit of a sigh, which wasn’t quite the response I was hoping for.

“You don’t agree?” I asked her.

“I think I do, but I have a few questions.”

And she went back into her defensive mode, her arms around her middle and refusing to look at me.

I could add obstinate or headstrong to the list of characteristics my head was keeping on her.

Then I noticed a big chair open up near a space heater. Grabbing her hand, she let out a small yelp, unsure of what I was doing as I pulled her toward the seat. The race was on to get to it before anyone else, and we won.

“C’mon, let’s sit down and talk, it’ll be more comfortable.”

“But it’s only one chair,” she said.

Sitting down, I pulled her down with me. The chair was wide enough that both our bottoms had cushion, and I simply pulled her legs across my lap so we could talk.

“Are you okay with this?” I asked, as my arm went around her back to support her.

“Well, it is more comfortable. I stand so much at both my jobs, sitting is a luxury.”

We settled in to the chair and savored the heater’s warmth for a moment.

“Do you want a drink?” I asked.

“I’m good.”

“Okay, you have questions,” I said. “What are they, Harper?”

She was wringing her hands together, showing me she was nervous, but so was I. I’d promised myself I was steering clear of this. Of any girls that were potential for a relationship.

And Harper was one hundred percent a relationship girl.

“Well, the night at the club, I was getting mixed messages. Like, a lot of them. You were acting like you’d never really seen me before, even though the day before your hand was knuckle-deep inside me.”

Well, shit. She wasn’t mincing words.

“And then you fight some asshole, which, by the way,” she said, raising her voice and staring straight into my eyes, “I’d have been fine even without your help; I handle that shit all the time.” She settled back against my arm before continuing. “That spells out: ‘I care for her,’ or something along those lines. But then you leave with that blonde tramp, and fuck if that didn’t mess with my head right after you did the most chivalrous thing anyone’s ever done for me.”

I felt like an asshole. A complete and total asshole. When she said it like that, there was no reason she should ever talk to me again.

And she had yet to ask a question, but she obviously needed to get this out, so I let her keep going.

“And then let’s get to the tip and the note,” she said.

“Wait, you’re mad at me for the tip I left you?” I asked, genuinely surprised.

Harper put her face in her hands and took a moment to collect herself. My hand went behind her neck and turned her toward me, our faces almost touching.

“Hey, relax,” I whispered against her cheek.

She let her forehead drop to mine.

“I sound like such a brat right now,” she said. Her words tickled my cheek, her lips were so close to me. “And no, I’m not mad at you for the tip you left me. Well, yeah, I guess I am. It was unnecessary, Gage. Way too much. I actually want to give it back to you.”

She pulled her head from mine, but I didn’t let her go far as my hand came around and held her cheek. She tilted into my hand.

“That will be a discussion for another time. I’m still curious what your question is?”

She chuckled at that and pulled away.

“You’re distracting me, that’s part of it,” she said, then laughed. “My question is, what does all this mean? We fooled around, but were you going to ever call me after that? You have yet to even ask me for my number. You fight someone in my honor but go home with another woman. Where does this leave us?”

All very valid questions, and ones I wasn’t sure I had the answers to. But she deserved something from me after my actions over the past few days.

“Well, for starters, that girl meant and means nothing to me. I’m sorry last night even happened.” And I was. “And I know I’ve done nothing but think about you since I was ‘knuckle-deep’ in you, so if that means anything.”

That got her laughing, and I laughed along with her. She turned her body more toward me on my lap, opening up more. Getting comfortable.

“That actually means a lot,” she said.

“Listen Harper, I’m going to be completely honest. I was not looking for a relationship. I just got out of a couple things that were very complicated, and they kind of fucked me up.”

Her look remained serious, but her eyes softened at my words.

“A relationship was the last thing I was looking for, but you keep showing up. And I can’t stop thinking about you. But I don’t know where that leaves us.” My damn heart was surpassing my brain and going in for the kill. “But if you’ll have patience with me, I’d like to figure this out with you.”

Her eyes searched mine, for what I wasn’t sure. Maybe to detect if I was being honest with her or not. But then she leaned back against my arm, seeming to be satisfied with what she saw.

“I think we can do that.” Her small smile grew wide.

“Yeah?” I questioned.

“Yeah,” she replied.

Her hands gripped my face, and she moved in closer. Her lips rubbed gently against mine before she talked in a hushed whisper. “I’d like to see where this goes.”

And then she kissed me.

My arm went around her waist, pulling her in while the other went in her hair, keeping her in place. I didn’t want her backing away from me anytime soon. This needed to last.

“Harp?”

Our lips came unlocked immediately to find Victoria and Jared standing over us. Victoria’s eyes were red, possibly from her drinking or maybe she’d been crying.

Jared, on the other hand, had a smirk on his face, one of complete disbelief in all the stories I’d been feeding him today.

And we’d been interrupted, again.

“Hey, Vic,” Harper said as she got off my lap.

“Honey, I’m sorry, like really sorry.”

Her words were apologetic, and her voice was full of remorse. I felt bad for her. Then she looked at me.

“Gage, I’m, uh, sorry. I don’t even know you. I hope we can try this again when I’m not a drunken lunatic.”

I nodded as I noticed her tears flowing again. Harper pulled her into a hug, and they shared a few quiet words. Jared came to me, and the smirk hadn’t left his face.

“Favor, pal,” I said, standing.

“Yep, I’ve got ya covered. I already know where she lives. She’ll get home safe.”

After shaking hands, Jared escorted Victoria away as she waved to us both.

Harper turned toward me once we were alone again. Well, as alone as we could get in a bar full of people. She gestured to the chair, and we returned to our seats, her on my lap. I liked the look of her in my sweatshirt. The idea of her in any of my clothes was a welcome thought.

But then the doubts filtered in, even while still looking at her bright smile and big blue eyes.

Should I be doing this right now?

So soon after the divorce…and Becca.

Thinking about Becca as I looked at Harper, I realized something. Becca was never mine, she was never meant to be mine, and I knew that going in. It was my own fault for allowing my emotions to cloud my judgment. But Jared was right about me when he said I was no good at casual. And this beautiful creature sitting on my lap didn’t deserve any games from me. I couldn’t play with her heart. This had to go slow so that I could make sure I knew if I was ready.

Ready for anything at all.

“What do you say I walk you home?” I asked her. “Well, I guess I need to know if you’re walking distance from here first.”

“I’m about six blocks, just north of Washington Square,” she offered with a smile. “And I’d like that.”

Standing, she offered her hand to pull me up. I took it and pulled her into an embrace as I stood, her looking up at me as our bodies came together.

“I’m only walking you home. I’m not coming inside. We need to start fresh and do this right, don’t you think? And give me your phone, so I can put my number in it.”

Her smile grew wide again, and I noticed a small dimple on her left cheek I’d not seen before.

Fucking adorable.

“I think that’s sounds perfect, Mr. Parker.”