The Current Between Us (15 page)

“
Tell her, indeed, it is the gallery guy, unless there’s more than one? Then I think I’m entitled to know who my competition is so I may fire him,” Gage said while looking straight at him. Trent didn’t say a word, just held the gaze and listened. It sure sounded like Gage flirted with him, and for the second time tonight his heart connected to Gage, doing another strong pull toward the guy. Being flirted with soothed his nerves and made him smile. Trent hadn’t realized until that minute how much he needed someone to flirt with him, someone to want to be with him.

“
Oh, Trent, he sounds sexy as hell. Tomorrow! I can babysit tomorrow. Tell him right now, I can be there right after work!” she said.

“
Tomorrow it is, then. It’s been a pleasure talking to you, Auntie Crazy. I can’t wait to meet you,” Gage said into the phone, leaning all the way across the table now. Trent never said a word.

“
I’ll bring clothes and spend the night. I can leave for work from your house. You can stay out late,” she added.

“
It’s a work and school night. I’ll be in early.” He finally got something out to add to the conversation. At that point, Gage leaned far across the table. His full lips were still spread in a big, arresting grin, his slate blue eyes sparked with amusement.

“
I’ll still stay there. It will be easier. So what time? Never mind, I’ll just come right after work. When does Rhonny leave?” she asked.

“
She has class at six, I think,” he said, and it took everything in him to tear his eyes away from Gage to check on the kids playing.

“
I’ll be there somewhere around six tomorrow evening. And Trent… Yay! He is so yummy! Good job! I’m high fiving you right now! Trent, listen to me! Get laid! Don’t wait! Do you hear me?” With that Gage laughed and Trent disconnected the call.

“
See why I call her Auntie Crazy?” he asked.

“
I think her points may have merit, with a definite solid outcome theory,” Gage said, wiggling his eye brows, making them both laugh.

“
Let me get the kids to eat, it’s getting late.” Trent called them down under strong protest. When he finally wrangled them to the table, they all sat together talking about the playground slides, and the new friends they met tonight as they ate their dinner. When it was time to leave, Gage walked them to the truck, stayed with his back leaning against the bed of the truck with his arms crossed over his chest while Trent got Em and Hunter buckled in their car seats. With nothing left to occupy him, Trent shut the door to the backseat and turned to Gage. An awkward silence fell between them as they stood staring at one another and Trent felt the stain of a blush heating his cheeks again.

“
I enjoyed tonight, thank you for letting me tag along,” Gage said quietly, tucking his hands in his slacks pockets.

“
I can’t imagine how you enjoyed this.” Trent replied, and following Gage’s lead, he tucked his hands in his pockets.

“
I’m looking forward to tomorrow night, Trent,” Gage said, taking a step away from the truck, backing out into the parking lot. When Trent didn’t reply, Gage gave a quick wink, before turning and heading to his car. Trent tracked him the entire way, feeling breathless, and warm all over. When Gage turned back to him, before getting in the driver’s side, he lifted his hand in a small wave.

“
Me too,” Trent finally said, watching Gage pull out of the parking lot.

Chapter 10

Work started bright and early Monday morning, but something about clearing the air with Gage made everything a little less complicated in Trent’s life. The job definitely got better, he seemed to make far fewer mistakes, and didn’t quite have the problem of meeting Gage’s direct stare today. The heavy weight of the last few days lifted, and in its place a sense of contentment settled.

One thing he did notice, Gage seemed to stare at him quite a bit today. While Trent had stayed vigilant on his avoid-Gage-at-all-cost regime, he never noticed how much Gage might be looking at him, but today, every time he turned around, Gage
’s eyes were on him.

On his knees, Trent worked the wiring to the wall sockets his crew had installed on Sunday afternoon. Remarkably, everything managed to stay on track, even with the unexpected electrical panel change. It said a lot to Gage
’s involvement with the job. As he tucked the wire into the socket, his phone vibrated at his belt, alerting him to an incoming text. He sat back on his heels, palming his phone to see an unknown number. He clicked the message to read it.

Your ass is what my dreams are made of
… it looks good bent over like that. It’s driven me crazy for five straight days. I thought you should know.

Trent read the message and looked over his shoulder to the glass walls of Gage
’s office to see him sitting at his desk, feet kicked up on the corner, staring at Trent. Gage’s sexy grin was in place and he winked at Trent.

I
’m sorry, who is this?
Trent teasingly texted back, and then turned back to finish screwing the cover over the socket. As he moved to the next socket his phone vibrated again, alerting him of another text.

As I suspected! I
’m sure there are many men paying homage to that tight ass of yours. I’m your date for the night and I need your address to pick you up.

He didn
’t look back at Gage this time, but texted back quickly.

I can meet you, just tell me where.

He didn’t get a second before a new text came in.
Oh no… I’m picking my date up this evening. I asked, you accepted, it’s the proper thing to do. What’s your address?

Trent replied back quickly.
Really, it’s not necessary. I can meet you.

Sexy, and that
’s just one of the many names I’ve come up to describe you over the last five days…don’t make me come out there and force your address out of you. Just tell me where you live. I made dinner reservations for seven. Sports coat required. I should pick you up no later than six thirty.

Trent couldn
’t help but love the little name Gage used on him. The last few years battered both his heart and ego pretty badly, but Gage had already begun to mend those broken pieces, without even realizing it, healing his soul from the inside out. After a second, he allowed himself another quick look over his shoulder. Gage still sat in the same spot, his eyes focused on Trent and the grin spread again across his lips. His heart tripped. Oh dear God, Trent was in over his head. A call came through to Gage’s office. Trent watched him pick up the phone on the first ring. After a minute, Gage rose and shut the office door.

Then the windows darkened, blocking anyone from seeing into the office. Those moments happened several times a day, and they were all so mysterious. Only once, in passing, did he hear any mention of anything related to a possible report. He assumed all this secrecy went along with the investigation. It was how he imagined it would all go down, the private conversations, held in out of the way, remote locations
… Wrapped up in thoughts of double agents and secret missions, Trent worked until jarred back to the real world with another incoming text.

Your address,
… still waiting.
Well, the text blew the image of Gage posing as James Bond, hiding in some seedy back room gathering his information through extreme interrogation tactics. He texted his address with the disclaimer he could absolutely meet him anywhere and finished working the sockets in the main showroom.

He saw glimpses of photo
’s matted and framed, being placed around the room for hanging. They were beginning to arrive daily, and he heard the official grand opening was scheduled for Thursday, three days from now. After today, they were moving upstairs to finish Gage’s personal space and then on to the basement to rough it out for storage, both would be done by the end of the week.

Gage stayed locked up in his office for the rest of the afternoon, and Trent decided to take off a little early to get a haircut. On a whim, he swung by Men
’s Warehouse and picked out a new suit, something a little more modern than the years old versions hanging in his closet. As he drove home, the early rush hour traffic didn’t bother him like it normally would. Every one of his thoughts stayed centered on Gage. His anticipation levels were all in overdrive, and he knew the pull his heart felt wasn’t a good sign. He tried hard to rein in the runaway thoughts of future dates or of the times he and Gage might take the kids to the park, or to the movies…

Those daydreams were dumb, and he knew the intensity of this emotion coursing through him was all one-sided. He also knew the signs of already being too emotionally attached. He lectured himself on keeping it casual and easy going. Gage wouldn
’t stick around for any real length of time. But damn, fantasizing came easy after seeing how well Gage handled his children. It did something special to a man’s heart to watch his love interest help his son open a ketchup packet or wipe food from his daughter’s face.

As he pulled into the driveway, Trent grounded all his flights of fancy. He would keep it casual tonight. If this were his one night with Gage, he would enjoy the evening and hold it as a fond memory. Exactly like his dinner at McDonald
’s last night.

Regardless of what the future held, Em
’s birthday inched closer, and if he played his cards right, he could keep his mind occupied long enough to get through the day without the funk that usually followed.

Em, Hunter, and Rhonny were at the kitchen table doing homework when he walked in with his new suit over his shoulder. The kids jumped down from their seats, running toward him, both hugging a leg before he could make it too far out of the entryway. Em
’s homework consisted of coloring and she brought the page with her for his inspection.

“
Daddy, I’m drawing this for Mr. Gage because Rhonny said Auntie Crazy’s watching us so you can see him again tonight. I’m doing what he told me to do with the colors. I don’t have two pinks though so I used green and pink,” she said, shoving the hair out of her face as she spoke.

“
Very nice work,” he said as she grabbed the paper back and ran to the kitchen table.

“
I have to finish before you leave,” she said, crawling back on the chair in the kitchen.

“
How was your day at school, Hunter?” Trent asked. The little guy still hugged his leg. “You okay?”

“
Thomas said his dad was stronger than my dad, and he could beat you up,” Hunter said. It caught Trent’s attention and he looked down at Hunter a little closer seeing the worry on his brow. He knelt down on one knee, keeping Hunter in the circle of his arms.

“
Did he say why he says that?” Trent asked.

“
No.” Hunter offered up nothing more as a response.

“
How did you respond to Thomas?” Trent asked, hooking his finger under Hunter’s chin, lifting his worried face to where he could see his eyes.

“
I told him you were stronger and had bigger muscles and you could beat up his dad,” Hunter said, his voice growing with conviction as he spoke.

“
Well, son, that’s one way to answer his question… What happened then?” Trent asked, trying to hide the relief he felt. He worried about the gay thing when it came to the kids; he didn’t want them to be targets of harassment.

“
The teacher told us to stop, but, Daddy, I know you can beat him up. Your muscles are bigger than all the dads in my class,” Hunter said seriously.

“
Hunt, I don’t want to fight anyone and I think those other dad’s feel the same as I do,” Trent said.

“
I knew you were gonna say that, but you can still win. I know!” Hunter said, apparently done with the conversation as he turned and ran back to the table.

“
Hi, Rhonny, I’m going to get dressed. I’ll be out in a little while,” he said to Rhonny. Her textbook was open, but her eyes were on him and Hunter. She smirked as they spoke, clearly she’d already heard this story from Hunter.

“
Rockin’ haircut, Trent. Lookin’ hot and I agree, your muscles are bigger!” Rhonny said. He didn’t even turn back around to look at her because he knew the wiggly eyebrows and suggestive looks he would see.

“
Thanks… I’ll be out in a little while,” he said, making his way down the hallway and shutting his bedroom door behind him.

****

Manscaping took much longer than Trent remembered. He’d spent almost an hour making sure everything was shaved, combed, plucked, and tucked in the right way. His hair took the most time, and he wondered how such a short, easy cut could be so cumbersome to fix, but he followed the stylist’s direction to a tee and it turned out pretty well. Rhonny had come into his room about thirty minutes ago to do a visual inspection before leaving for class. She worked a minute with his hair, fixing a few problem areas that didn’t do what they were supposed to do. Auntie Crazy texted to let them know she was running late but was close by, and both Em and Hunter were on his bed, watching Sponge Bob, chatting nonstop, all excited about his date.