Chapter 12
(Gage)
Two days of being stuck indoors and his boys were more than ready for an afternoon out.
After Song had revealed that he’d never been to Blondies before, they’d jumped at the opportunity to take him.
With the trip to New York just a few days away, this would be the perfect opportunity to destress and have fun while also teaching Song something new.
The way his face had lit up when they’d announced that was where they were headed and the happy dance he’d done was everything.
Gage loved making his boys happy and seeing them thrive.
Last night, he, Walker, Zachy, and Cooper had been treated to a taste of what was in store for them in New York when the band had invited them to listen to some of the material they’d polished for their upcoming shows.
With Ajay as the new frontman, the lyrics were delivered with clarity and soul deep emotion that elevated it to a whole new level.
The vibe was different too, as the band members playfully interacted with one another during the songs, which just pushed the energy level higher.
The best part was seeing smiles on their faces instead of the fury and disappointment Gage had witnessed the night he’d seen them play at the bar.
With the clear forecast holding, they’d be all set to leave on Monday morning, something both boys were extremely excited about.
The three-and-a-half-hour drive was bound to be a blast, with the boys already choosing games they could play in the backseat as well as the movies they planned to watch during the ride.
Getting the upgrade to add the rear-seat entertainment system was one of the best decisions he’d ever made and more than worth the money as far as Gage was concerned.
“Holy crap, this place is huge,” Song declared as they pulled up in front of Blondies and parked several spaces away from the nearest car.
“Yup,” Zachy said. “And look at how few cars there are; it’s gonna be awesome to have the place mostly to ourselves.”
Zachy had a point there. Most nights the place was hopping with families eager to taste the food and test out the lanes.
“Let’s find a table and get you guys out of that winter gear,” Cooper suggested. “Then we can get our bowling shoes and balls sorted out.”
“Yay,” Song cried, grabbing Zachy’s hand and skipping with him to the door while Gage retrieved the bags containing his and Zachy’s bowling gear.
In time he hoped Cooper and Song would fall in love with the game enough that they’d want their own shoes and balls too.
Watching Cooper keep up with them and guide them to a spot where they would have easy access to the bathroom was proof of how far he’d come as a daddy and caretaker to their boys, even if the man still struggled to see it himself.
He might have stumbled in the beginning, but he’d watched, he’d asked questions, and he’d come to realize that being a Daddy was more than imposing rules and making sweeping declarations about what was good for their boys.
Gage arrived at the table to see Zachy and Song carefully placing their gloves, hats, and scarves in the pockets of their coats before folding them and stacking them in the corner of the bench, leaving plenty of room for them to sit beside them.
“What size shoes do you wear?” Cooper asked Song.
“Nine,” Song replied.
“Okay, I’ll be right back.”
While Cooper went to get their shoes, Zachy pulled his from his bag and put them on while Gage did the same.
While both boys had put fluffy socks on to keep their feet warm inside their boots, they’d wore thinner socks beneath them more suited to wear with their bowling shoes.
Gage watched as Zachy showed him how to choose a bowling ball that fit his fingers without being too heavy.
The way they interacted, not just when little but also when big and learning from one another or working on dinner prep together, continued to cement them as a family.
“So, I got us two lanes,” Cooper explained when he returned. “That way Song and I can have the railings up.”
Zachy giggled at that and leaned closer to Song. “Papa Cooper hates getting gutter balls.”
“No, Papa Cooper hates when Daddy Gage starts calling him Gutter Ball after every other ball winds up in the gutter,” Cooper explained.
“And the gutter is…?” Song asked, eyeing the lanes.
“The wells along the sides,” Zachy explained, taking him over and pointing it out to him. “The rails keep the balls from going in them, so you have a better chance of hitting the pins. Once you get the hang of aiming for the arrows in the lanes, you won’t need the rails anymore.”
“You keep saying that, but I’ve yet to see it play out that way,” Cooper declared.
“Maybe today will be that day,” Gage replied, slinging an arm over his shoulders. “If you’ll just let me help you with your form a little.”
“Every time you call yourself helping me with my form, it turns into flirting and you getting me too turned on and too flustered to aim where you tell me to.”
“Not my fault you’re easily distracted.”
“Because you have made an art form out of being a sinfully sexy distraction, and you know it,” Cooper grumbled.
“Everyone needs a hobby.”
“I thought bowling was your hobby?”
“It is,” Gage shot back, winking at the exasperated look on Cooper’s face. “And getting you all wound up happens to be a part of the game.”
“Funny how I didn’t find anything along those lines in the rules when I researched them,” Cooper grumbled, but it was all good-natured bantering.
“We’re ready,” Zachy declared once they’d found a comfortable ball for Song. “Can Song go first?”
“Of course he can,” Gage declared, putting their names in the console so they appeared on the screen above their lanes.
With Zachy behind him, carefully positioning him and explaining to Song how to hold his hand through the swing and when to release the ball, Song was soon ready to try bowling for the first time.
Having watched and listened to him play the drums, Gage knew he had power, all of which was on display in his release. The ball hit the wood and spun even as it rolled down the lane, the spin kept it spiraling towards the pins in a slightly angled throw that managed to knock down six of the pins.
“Yay!” Zachy cheered, hugging him as Song looked a little perplexed and in awe.
“Was that good?” Song asked, squeezing Zachy back.
“That was so good!” Zachy explained. “And you get another try to knock down the pins. If you get the last four, you get a spare ball, and that means extra points.”
“Cool. Okay, so should I throw it down the side this time, since the last four are all clumped together?”
“Sort of,” Zachy explained. “If you hit the rail, it makes the ball ricochet off and spin in a different direction, which might make you miss them. You see those three arrows to the right of the center one?”
“Uh-huh?”
“This time you want to aim for the center one of those three,” Zachy told him, stepping back so Song could try again.
He got three of the four and another big hug from Zachy, who did a snoopy dance around him first in celebration.
“That was awesome!” Song declared as the last pin was swept off the wood so the pinsetter could set up the next batch.
Zachy took his turn next, sending a rocket down the middle to smash all the pins in one go.
The lights flashed on the LED screen over their lane and played a video of terrified pins quaking right before a fiercely scowling ball smashed into them.
The word "strike" flashed across the screen while Zachy did a tushy-shaking dance.
“Way to go!” Gage cheered, sweeping Zachy into a hug when he spun and did a shimmy.
Cooper was up next, and as he had the last time they played, he pinged the ball off the rail like they were playing pinball, which sent it spinning towards the other rail. It bounced off that one and clipped two pins before thudding into the corner and dropping out of sight.
“Okay, Wreck-It Ralph, let’s tone it down a bit,” Gage encouraged and slid a hand down his arm.
“Remember what we talked about last time. You want to keep your wrist straight when you release the ball, not twist it. The twist is what’s causing the ball to go left or right instead of straight.
Let’s try having you take a step left too because it seems like you’re twisting to see the center arrow. ”
As he spoke, Gage guided Cooper into a better position and leaned in to murmur in his ear, trailing fingers down his back until Cooper shivered and blew out a long breath. “Relax. You’re thinking too hard; just breathe and turn it loose at the end of your swing.”
This time, when Cooper threw the ball, it didn’t smack the rails, and while it didn’t carve a straight path over the wood, its curved, wobbling path still allowed him to knock down three of the pins before vanishing into the depths.
“Much better,” Gage praised.
“It felt different that time.”
“Because you didn’t twist your wrist as much when you threw it,” Gage explained. “Just keep working on straightening it, and you’ll see a big difference.”
Nodding, Cooper went back to his seat as Gage picked up his ball and got nine with the first throw, cleaned up the final pin with his second.
As the game progressed, it quickly became apparent that Song was already catching on with Zachy’s gentle coaching, which was as flirty as the way Gage worked with Cooper.
Their celebrations were positively adorable, especially when Song came super close to a strike, taking out nine pins with the ball in the eighth frame.
He might have missed the last pin, but it was by inches, as the stubborn thing wobbled but didn’t fall.
“Oh my gosh, I love this!” Song declared, hugging Zachy and shimmying with him. “We get to play another game, right?”
“I think so,” Zachy said, turning to look at Cooper and Gage with those puppy dog eyes that always melted Gage’s heart, especially when he folded his hands beneath his chin and cocked his head, only to have Song do it to.
Talk about doubling the effect, damn. Those two were a force to be reckoned with as they batted their eyes and smiled brightly.
“As many as you’d like,” Cooper said before Gage could say anything. “But I think we’d better get some treats between games to keep us fueled, don’t you?”
“Cheesecake, cheesecake!” Song and Zachy sang.
“There will definitely be cheesecake bites, but there will also be real food too,” Cooper told them, his tone gentle but firm.
“Could I have yummies that aren’t fried?” Song asked without hesitation. “I loved the ones we had the other night, but sometimes all the breading can be too greasy for me.”
Cooper’s face lit up at Song’s request. “Of course you can; let me grab a menu so you can choose some things that will work better for you.”
“Thank you.”
“Always,” Cooper said as he slid an arm around him and pressed a kiss to his forehead.
Gage watched Song snuggle into his embrace, as comfortable and at ease with expressing his needs to him as Zachy was. It pleased Gage to see that and to watch as Cooper gave Song the positive reinforcement needed to ensure that Song would continue to speak up whenever he needed to.
Song and Zachy rolled their final frames while Cooper hunted up a menu. When he returned with it, Zachy sat beside Song while he studied it, leaving Cooper and Gage to finish their final frames.
“I’ve been watching you today,” Gage murmured, sliding an arm around Cooper’s waist and tugging him close.
“No shit, I’ve felt your eyes boring holes through my jeans every time I’ve bent to throw the ball.
“True, but so not what I meant in this instance,” Gage remarked, giving his thigh a pinch that made him yelp.
Out of the corner of his eye, Gage saw two heads pop up, gazes zeroing in on Cooper, eyes bright as they giggled before turning their attention back to the menu.
“I was talking about the way you’ve been with the boys, not just today, but ever since we got snowed in,” Gage said. “You can stop worrying about not being able to handle two of them. The way you’ve been dialed into their needs and the shifts in their moods has been on point every step of the way.”
When Cooper opened his mouth, Gage was certain he was going to protest or offer some excuse about how it only seemed that way because he was off from work at the time, but his partner surprised him in the most pleasant way.
“I guess it’s kind of like what you’ve been telling me about bowling,” Cooper replied.
“When I stop overthinking, I don’t get in my own way.
It felt good to have Song ask for what he needed, even when it was such a simple thing as to see the menu so he could look for options that were better suited for him. ”
“It’s those simple things that build the trust they need to come to us with the big ones,” Gage reminded him. “Each time their needs are met in such a positive and nurturing way, it boosts their faith in us and makes it easier for them to speak up the next time.”
Cooper nodded. “Building blocks.”
“Exactly.”
“Create a solid foundation, and it will withstand a major upset,” Cooper reasoned, turning his ball in his hand.
This time, when he released it, it didn’t ricochet off anything; it rolled only slightly off kilter, smacking into the pins and taking out eight of them.
“Nice!” Gage praised, as Zachy and Song cheered and clapped.
On his second throw, Cooper took out one more, the closest he’d come to knocking down all ten pins, which got him swarmed and hugged by their boys, who enthusiastically squished him with happy hugs.
Gage caught sight of someone just on the edge of his peripheral vision and turned to see an older couple watching with twin looks of approval.
The men looked to be in their sixties, both gray and grinning as they held hands and nodded at Gage before heading to a nearby lane.
Adding to the squishy hugs, Gage squeezed the three of them tight, hoping to still be celebrating moments like this well into the future.