Chapter 8
Logan
Gage was so fun to tease. He was a walking meme with those faces he made, and he made fun noises, too—a damn near irresistible combination.
That was my story and I was sticking to it.
Something about this man let me lower my defenses. I’d been hella nervous even asking him out because he seemed so put together. Most of the time, white-collar guys like him wouldn’t go for guys like me. I’d been completely surprised at his delight and instant agreement to a date.
I blamed my nerves for the info dump after picking him up.
That wasn’t the right way to open a date, but he was such a good listener, I found myself pouring out things I normally wouldn’t share until we’d been dating at least six months.
Then I’d been nervous all over again, thinking he’d lump me into the same boat as his brother.
Thank god he hadn’t. Rather, he’d wished Cooper could be like me.
Which was…wow. I’d take the incredible compliment.
Maybe I hadn’t completely botched this date so far. He still seemed genuinely into it, and the conversation hadn’t stalled and died. I’d take the success and run with it for as long as I could.
He hadn’t lied either when he’d said he liked all cuisines. He ordered Korean without needing any help and was quite confident in not only his choices, but also in the pronunciation.
I had to ask, because few Americans could correctly pronounce Korean words. “How often do you eat Korean?”
“Actually not often.” He looked around in interest. “And it’s my first time at this place. Smells amazing.”
“Oh, it’s great, for sure. I’m usually the only white guy eating here, which also says a lot for the authenticity. But how do you know Korean?”
“Don’t let me give you the wrong idea,” he warned, grinning. “I speak maybe ten words, most of them food. Asher and Riggs watch a lot of Korean dramas, and I occasionally get persuaded to watch a show with them.”
“No kidding? I’ve never tried watching any.”
“Well, maybe that should be a date night. I’ll show you an episode or two of some favorites.”
“Sounds fun, let’s do it.” I loved how we were already planning future dates. Said a lot about how much he enjoyed this one.
“So what else do you do, aside from be a good grandson to your grandmother and run a bar?”
“For fun, you mean?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I read quite a bit. I know I don’t look like a reader.”
“I figured you did, because you like Dungeons and Dragons.” Gage drew imaginary circles on the table, like he was mapping out some Venn diagram.
“I’ve discovered geeks have overlapping circles.
If you like tabletop games, you read, and if you read, you game.
Somehow anime or Asian dramas have an overlapping circle as well. ”
I couldn’t refute him. “Guilty on most charges. I do have outside hobbies too, though. I love to kayak, camp, and hike. I’ll hop on the bike and do long rides sometimes, just let the wind and sun wash over me.
It’s a good way to de-stress. Recently, I’ve been working on my spare bedroom.
It has become a sort of catch-all for stuff, but with Erin moving in soon, I’ve got to get it into shape. ”
Gage paused. “Wait, when you said soon, how soon did you mean?”
“About six weeks.”
“Whoa. That’s soon.”
“Yeah. She’ll be eighteen right before she starts her senior year. One of those August babies. She’s relieved she can move in with me at that point, because at least in her senior year, she can be her authentic self. It doesn’t give me a lot of time to unearth that bedroom, though.”
“It really doesn’t. Need help painting or anything?”
Wow, what a lovely offer. Seemed Gage had not only good looks, but also a good heart, and it was sexy as hell. Look at him volunteering without even realizing how bad my spare room was. “I will not turn you down. Frankly, I’m at the stage where I’m losing energy, but I’ve got to get it done.”
“Then just tell me a day and time. I’ll make it happen. Do you have a color picked out?”
“Erin chose a very cool green and I think it’s a great choice.”
“Green, eh? Hard to go wrong with green.”
“Agreed.”
“Is she one of those kids who has to have things just so?”
“Well…hard to tell, since she’s never had any kind of control over her environment. My plan is to paint, shove furniture in there, and let her do whatever decorating she likes.”
“That does sound saner,” Gage agreed. “Because teenager.”
“Exactly. All right, now, what do you do for fun?”
“Aside from reading and tabletop games? I like the old game shows, those are a comfort watch for me. And I do outdoor activities as well. Love to swim. Hiking’s always fun. I don’t have a lot of experience with kayaking, but I love anything water, so we should do that together before winter hits.”
Something else in common! Oh, you could bet I’d be taking advantage. Especially if it resulted in this man wet. I needed a wet Gage in my life, for sure. “I’m all for it. I’ve got two kayaks, so just name the day.”
“Excellent.” Gage extended his hand across the table, taking mine, his thumb softly brushing over my knuckles. “I haven’t been on a bike in years, but I do love a good ride.”
The feel of his hand on mine shouldn’t have been this evocative, but dammit, his touch sent sparks of pleasure up my arm. He was just so distracting. Wait, was that an innuendo? I squinted at him suspiciously.
He grinned—like, gremlin grinned—completely unrepentant. “Innuendo too soon?”
“You are not as advertised. You’re a little shit, aren’t you?”
“I am. I’m not even sorry.” Using his free hand, he circled his face with his pointer finger. “This should be taken as a promise and a warning label all at the same time.”
He had mischief and sass in him. Right, now I knew we’d get along great, because he could dish it out and take it. My kind of people.
“Granted, the face has gotten me into things I do not necessarily want,” he tacked on, nose wrinkling up. “I, uh, do have one weird thing I’ve been roped into.”
Why was he blushing? “This I’ve got to hear. What?”
“Two friends of mine write webtoons. Do you know what those are?”
“Considering I read an unhealthy amount of them, yes.”
Gage must not have expected my response. Oh look, a milder version of the Pikachu face was back, dropped jaw and all. “Really?”
“Sure do. What’s their author name?”
“I have no idea, to be honest. I’d have to ask. The only reason I’m involved is they like to use live models for some of their art, and I’ve gotten voluntold to be a model.”
A slow grin took over my face because somehow I could picture this. “Like, shirt off and in compromising positions kind of modeling?”
“I see that lecherous thought running wild in your head and stop it. The poses weren’t that smutty.
” Gage made a face. “I was paired up with Ash last time, and let me tell you, the awkwardness was just…no. Told him I’d never do it with him again.
I’m somehow getting voluntold again, though, because they want me to model some other character they have in mind.
How they’re already planning another series on top of working a full-time job is what I’d like to know. ”
“I would pay money to be a fly on the wall.”
“Don’t say that in their hearing,” Gage warned. “Otherwise you’re the next victim.”
“Who, me?”
“The walking temptation on legs? With those tats, your build, and the sexy-nice voice wrapped up in a bad boy package? Yes, you.”
His flattery seriously boosted my ego. I thought of myself as nice looking, but I was also aware the long hair, tattoos, and my resting bitch face normally gave people pause.
It almost made me shy those very things were what he liked best about me, enough to rattle those traits off without pause.
If my look worked for him, I could definitely use it to my advantage. Anything to tempt this man further.
The conversation stayed easy and flowed throughout dinner, and we got ice cream on the way home, making active plans for the next date.
It was always a fantastic sign when mid-date you planned the next one.
I hadn’t had a date go this well in years, so I was cautiously optimistic that perhaps Gage and I could build something.
I’d love to have a long-lasting relationship.
With our ice cream eaten, we got back in my Jeep and headed for his house. “Gage, are you ask culture or guess culture?”
“I’m sorry?”
Ah, didn’t know those terms. “I mean, do you prefer it if someone asks you directly, or for them to give you a broad hint? Guess culture will say something like, ‘I need to be at the dealership to get my car at four o’clock’ and then expect you to pick up on the hint they want a ride.
Ask culture will straight-up ask you, ‘Can you take me to the dealership at four?’”
“Oh! Oh man, I’ve never gone from being so completely confused to something making perfect sense so quickly. Ha! So there’s terms for that?” He seemed delighted by his newfound knowledge. “I’m ask culture. Definitely.”
“Okeedokalee. So am I. Then let me just ask. What do you want from dating? Do you want more of a hookup situation or an actual relationship?”
Gage considered me for a long second. “I’m going to be very blunt. I stopped dating for years because every man I met only wanted to hook up.”
“Whoa, sounds like your turn for story time. Literally every single man?”
Gage let out a long, resigned sigh. “A few I tried to wrangle into actual dates, and it sorta worked for short stints, but for the most part? Yeah, every single man. I’ve learned the hard and painful way to not have sex on the first date.
It somehow sets the wrong tone. Or maybe it puts us on different pages.
My date seems to hear ‘casual sex is fine, no commitment required,’ and that’s all they expect of me afterward.
When really, I wanted the intimacy to be a stepping stone into something more. ”