Chapter 14 Tori
Tori
Christmas Day will always be
Just as long as we have we.
~ Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
I shake my head and focus on the aisle ahead of me, glancing at Gage as I walk forward in the measured rhythm we practiced at rehearsal.
His gaze is like a magnet, pulling me forward until I reach the front of the sanctuary and have to turn to take my place next to the other bridesmaids.
Stephanie barely moves when she whispers, “Bobcat.”
I have to stifle my laughter.
Noelle makes her way to my other side and then the music changes. The guests stand when the first notes of Pachelbel’s Canon sound through the organ pipes on the back wall.
I glance at Carson. His eyes are riveted on Alyssa and he’s wiping under his eyes with the back of his hand.
From just behind Carson, Gage’s eyes meet mine.
His face is stoic and unreadable. I wish I knew what he was thinking.
I tear my gaze away from his to watch as Alyssa and her dad reach the front pew and then Alyssa’s dad hands Alyssa to Carson.
The ceremony passes in a blur, my mind swirling with happiness for one of my lifelong friends mingled with questions about Gage and the way he’s been looking at me ever since I entered the sanctuary.
The pastor announces, “You may kiss the bride!” and Carson lowers Alyssa in a dip and kisses her. The guests cheer.
Mendelssohn’s Wedding March plays through the organ pipes.
Carson and Alyssa hold hands and run down the aisle together, Noelle and Liam barely grab Noelle’s train in time to chase after them.
We’re supposed to file out in order, but their exit set the tone.
Gage and I look at one another. He extends his arm and we jog down the aisle laughing.
The reception is in the fellowship hall.
Alyssa and Carson stand at the entry, greeting guests as they file past them. The rest of us mingle inside until all the guests have filled the hall and found their places for the dinner. I’m seated between Noelle and Stephanie at the long head table.
“He’s looking again,” Stephanie says with a nudge of her elbow.
“Stop,” I whisper to her, but I’m smiling and looking straight at Gage.
“This is so happening,” Steph whispers. “You two are going to detonate.”
“Stephanie!” I whisper-scold her.
“I predict an explosion. Spontaneous combustion. A smoldering chemical reaction. The heat passing between the two of you …” She fans her face.
Noelle tips forward so she can address Stephanie from the other side of me.
“Steph.” That’s all Noelle says and Stephanie leans back.
“Okay. Okay,” Stephanie mutters.
The power of the teacher voice. I need to take lessons from Noelle.
We finish dinner and the DJ invites Alyssa and Carson onto the dance floor for their first dance to First Day of My Life by Bright Eyes. The band slows the tempo and every eye in the room watches Carson twirl Alyssa out and draw her back in, holding her tight and swaying to the beat.
A low voice from behind me catches my attention.
“You look beautiful tonight, Tori.”
I don’t turn around. I can’t. My nerves feel like electrical wires. Maybe Steph was right.
Gage’s breath skates across my cheek when he leans in closer. He’s right behind me, his chest brushes my back.
“Did you hear me?” he asks in a low whisper that sends chills down my spine.
I nod.
“Good.”
He steps back and I fight the urge to follow him.
Green light. Green light. Green light.
I pivot, staring up into Gage’s eyes as the last lines of Alyssa and Carson’s first dance fill the air.
“You look good in a suit,” I say. And then I add, “Handsome,” to make sure he knows I’m not just saying he looks good, friend to friend.
He stares intently into my eyes and I have no doubt in my mind what he feels right now. This tension and awareness has been building between us all day—maybe all month.
“And now,” the DJ says, breaking through the moment. “Will the bridal party join the happy couple on the dance floor?”
Gage extends his hand and I slip my palm against his.
I’ll thank Alyssa later. This could be me and Mitch. That was the original line up. Meddling friends aren’t such a bad thing after all.
Gage leads me onto the dance floor with a confidence that has me floating along behind him as if I’m the princess in my own private fairy tale.
I’m wrapping my arms around Gage’s neck and looking up into his eyes when the tempo hits me. Bruno Mars’ Uptown Funk.
I look down, blushing, and drop my arms from around Gage’s neck.
He takes his pointer finger and places it gently under my chin, tipping my face up until our eyes connect.
Then he starts singing the opening beat. “Doh. Doh-doh-doh. Doh-doh-doh. Doh. Doh.” His hips are swaying and he’s smiling.
I smile back and then I start dancing along with him.
Green lights. All the green lights.
Halfway through the song, my arms are over my head and I’m chanting the lines to the song, my eyes fixed on Gage. He’s a great dancer. I don’t know why I’m surprised.
Our friends join us and we all dance in a group, but Gage doesn’t leave me. We dance side by side or facing one another until the song ends and we’re ushered off the dance floor to make room for the father-daughter, mother-son dance.
I walk to the head table and take a sip of water. Gage follows behind me.
“Tori?”
“Hmm?”
“Can we talk somewhere?”
“Sure. Is everything okay?”
He nods. I take a step toward the door and Gage places his hand on the small of my back, leading me through the crowd.
Stephanie’s across the room, and she spots us. Her face lights up. My eyes go wide in a look of warning. It would be just like her to call my exit with Gage to everyone’s attention. She smiles, turning to Noelle and whispering into her ear.
Noelle and Stephanie watch me leave with Gage. I don’t know what they do next because the door shuts behind us and Gage points to a spot on a cement terrace that looks out over the lawn behind the church.
The night is cloudy, but the moon and the lights on the church property light our way.
Something tickles my cheek and I look up to see snowflakes falling.
“It’s snowing,” I smile up at Gage.
I tip my head up to watch the flakes fall like miniature feathers from a down pillow, reflecting the moonlight and lamplight on their descent. On an impulse, I stick my tongue out and catch one.
Gage smiles down at me. “You’re something else.”
I shake my head, self-awareness coming a beat too late. “Sorry. I love snow. We don’t get enough of it.”
Gage steps a bit closer. “No, Tori. I didn’t mean what you thought by that.”
He lifts his hand and places it on my shoulder.
I glance at the spot and turn my head back to stare up into Gage’s eyes.
He’s touching me as if we do this all the time—sneaking out of our friends’ wedding to be alone somewhere secluded, standing only inches from one another, his hand resting on my shoulder, his touch warm and firm, yet gentle.
Gage’s eyes convey an intensity I’ve never seen in him before, coupled with a calm focus. It’s mesmerizing.
A snowflake lands on his cheek and melts. Another few settle in his hair. We could move so we’re under the eaves of the terrace, or we could go back to the fellowship hall, but we’re just standing here letting the snowfall have its way with us.
“I meant,” he says softly. “You’re not like anyone I’ve ever known. You delight in details most of us overlook. You care for everyone around you. And you have this way of making every situation better just by showing up.”
I feel my brows draw together. “That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever …”
Gage doesn’t let me finish. His finger raises and rests on my lips. “And,” he smiles, dragging his finger slowly off my lips and down my chin in a movement that has me shuddering. “You make me …” His eyes search mine. “You make me feel things. Things I haven’t felt for anyone before.”
He cups my jaw.
I tilt my head just the slightest into his palm.
Green light, Gage.
“And do things …” He smiles softly. “Things I’d never do. Like running in that crazy race, and doing the scavenger hunt. You make me step out of my comfort zone.”
“I didn’t make you,” I say quietly.
“I did them for you, Tori.”
The carvings.
“Gage.” I breathe out his name.
“I really like you,” is his answer.
“I like you too,” I admit. “A lot.”
“I haven’t been my best,” he says, a look of apology filling his features.
“You’ve been pretty great,” I correct him. “And I love my gifts.”
“Your gifts?”
“The ornament? And the carving.”
“You like that carving?” His thumb brushes gently across my cheek.
“I love it. Did you find it at the co-op too?”
“No,” he says, shaking his head lightly and looking off into the night.
His eyes come back to mine and he says, “I made it for you.”
“You … made it? For me?”
He nods.
“Gage.”
“Tori?”
I nod. Answering his unspoken question.
And maybe I rise on my tiptoes first, or maybe he leans down before I move. I don’t know how it happens. We’re like two poles of a magnet, unable to resist the inevitable pull between us.
Gage’s hand is still cupping my jaw when our lips connect in an inevitable kiss. His mouth is warm and soft, and the way he brushes his lips against mine draws out a soft sound from me. He chuckles softly and I grin into our kiss.
“Sorry,” I say, shyly. “I haven’t kissed anyone in a while.”
Gage rests his forehead on mine, staring into my eyes and then closing his and breathing out my name, “Tori.”
I cup his jaw. He’s clean shaven for the wedding, but his skin is still rougher than mine—manly and slightly rugged. I run my hand along his face.
“Gage,” I whisper. And then I place a kiss on his cheek. It’s light and careful, a gesture of affection belying the desire boiling up inside of me.