“Make me think of another man when I’m with someone! It isn’t right.”
“Didn’t you talk about Gage flirting with a waitress in front of you at our last session? Why is it okay for him to look and not for you?”
“I … I guess because I don’t want it to be. I’ve always wanted those ‘only have eyes for you’ relationships where even if a supermodel was walking bymy boyfriend would make me feel like I’m the only one in the room.”
“Does Avery maintain eye contact when he talks to you?”
Her mind flashed back to last week when the team went out for drinks after the game. She was having an in-depth conversation with him about the Phillies baseball team when the waitress came over to drop off his refill, bending so her cleavage was on full display for the table. Avery’s eyes never left her.
Too much time must have gone by because Marley spoke again.
“Do you think he’s interested, too?”
“No, I can’t imagine he is. I’m sure he would have said something by now. I’ve known him for years. Wait. What do you mean ‘too’? I’m not interested in him. We’re only friends.”
Then, she was thinking about the one time it was obvious he was flirting with her. They were on senior trip in high school when he was blatantly checking her out in her bathing suit and complimented her on it. She caught him staring a few more times that night, but she had a boyfriend back home at the time.
Sometimes she wondered how her life would have turned out differently if they were both single during those moments.
Marley brought her back to earth when she said, “You’ve been zoned out and smiling for the last two minutes. I was timing it.”
“I … yeah, I know. I was just thinking about … something for my book. And anyway, Avery has a girlfriend right now so it’s not gonna happen anyway.”
“Whether he has a girlfriend or not, your face lights up when you’re talking about him. Come to think of it, your face actually lights up when you’re talking about any of your friends. When you’re talking about Gage? You get pale and you look like you’ll never get to eat candy again.”
Okay, well yeah that sounded like hell on earth.
4
“THANKS, ELI!”
The server smiled and walked away from their table at the stuffy steakhouse after taking their order. It was the kind of place where the lighting was just a little bit too dark and a bit pretentious. Fourteen dollars for a cup of soup was just rude. But, this was the kind of place Gage enjoyed being seen. For what? Hailey wasn’t quite sure. She would have been happy with a decent cheeseburger at a neighborhood bar.
“Do you know that guy?” Gage asked with a sneer on his face.
“The server? No, we just met him.”
“You said his name like you knew him.”
“Well, he introduced himself to us. You heard his name, too.”
“I forgot his name immediately after he said it.”
She somehow managed not to roll her eyes.
“Yeah, most people do. But servers really like it when you recognize they’re a human instead of just treating them like a servant. Whenever a table remembers my name I always give them a little bit better service. The worst is when you get to a table and they cut you off while you’re introducing yourself to say their order. It’s dehumanizing.”
Hailey was under the firm belief that everyone at some point in their life should work at a restaurant or in retail. It is ridiculous how poorly some people treat service workers. But, the sneer didn’t leave Gage’s face.
“Kind of just sounded like you were flirting with him.”
Was he serious?
Despite some of the things she was dealing with, Hailey had a bounce in her step when she made her way into the restaurant earlier. She genuinely enjoyed seeing Gage, for some reason, and looked forward to the physical affection when he showed it. She was thankful she had someone’s arms to lay in at night or share hugs and kisses with. Despite everything else, Gage was at least willing to do those things.
But, he was making it harder and harder to keep that bounce.
She let out a deep sigh before responding. She knew where this conversation could go and the best way todeal with it was to change the subject.
