After Midnight

Chapter 4- Star

As I stare out the window, Laura walks in and informs me that she invited the boys from two doors down for drinks before heading to the lake. I take a deep breath and start to get dressed. I pull out a red bikini and dark black shorts. I head to my bathroom and slip on my clothes. I pull my hair back into a sleek ponytail and grab my makeup case. I adorn my eyes with black eyeliner and black mascara, and I coat my lips in a nude gloss. I roll down the top of my shorts, leaving them unbuttoned, and slip on my black Michael Kors sandals.

The doorbell rings, and I begin to feel anxious. I hear Gage's voice as he enters the house, and my heart starts to flutter. I take one last look in the mirror before heading to the living room. As I make my way down the hall, I can hear the laughter ensue between everyone.

"Umm, so where's Star?" I hear Gage asking Laura.

"hahah. He has a thing for your friend." I hear one of his buddies state. Laura starts to giggle, and I make my way to the room.

"I'm right here." Gage quickly sits up straight and smiles. "Hey," he says.

"Hi," I reply, trying to keep my tone neutral. I can feel my heart racing as I catch his gaze.

Rubbing the back of my neck, I sit next to Gage on the couch, and look at Laura, knowing she did this on purpose. Gage's scent is familiar—a mix of sandalwood and fresh laundry. "What's up?" I ask, trying to sound casual. Gage looks at me and shrugs. "Not much. How was your day?" he asks, turning to face me with a small smile. I smile and slowly look away. I notice Laura being very chatty with Ace, and I can already tell how this night will end for her.

"So, how old are you guys?" Keenan asks.

"19," Laura responds for both of us. "We took a year off school to work."

The boys nod their heads. Gage's phone goes off, and I see a sigh of defeat cover his face. So I decide to pull the same stunt he pulled on me. I grab his phone and answer.

"Gage's phone." A girl's voice responds on the other end. "Hi, is Gage there?" I hesitate for a moment before responding, trying to come up with a clever response. "Sorry, he's busy saving the world right now. Can I take a message?" I begin to laugh.

"Who the hell is this?" I hear the girl scream from the other end, and I try to hold my laughter.

"Oh, I'm nobody, and you are?"

"I'm his girlfriend!" She spews.

I glance at Gage, who appears to have heard what she said, and he shakes his head in the negative. I look at the other boys, and they make hand gestures, explaining that the girl is crazy. I smile and say,

"Umm, he never told me he had a girlfriend. I'm pretty sure that would have come up in our late night talks." Gage starts to laugh, and I smile.

The girl screams into the phone, "Are you kidding me? Put him on the phone," I laugh and hand him the phone. He grunts as he takes it.

"Hello?" He nonchalantly says.

I sit back and watch the show as he argues with this girl on the phone. "Whatever, Lisa." He states. "You and I were never together. Whatever you think happened, never did." He listens as she screams at him; Ace motions for him to put the phone on speaker, which he does. The girls shrieks fill the room, and Laura and I just look at each other.

"What was I, just an easy fuck for you?" She questions him.

"That's exactly what you were." He states it with no emotion. My stomach becomes knotted, and I find myself sinking into the couch with the realisation that he is the bad boy with a bad reputation. I look at him and wonder how I didn't see it before—the way he carries himself with a certain arrogance and the tattoos peeking out from under his shirt. But despite all that, there's something about him that draws me in and makes me want to know more.