Summer Swing (29 page)

“So you are selling the company?”

“I don’t really have a choice, Ellie. I’d have to drop out of school to take care of it right now, and I don’t want to do that.”

“I don’t blame you. What about your mom? She’s finally okay with it?”

He frowned, and I knew the answer was no.

“Gage, why would she expect you to quit school?”

“I don’t know if that’s what she expects, but I think she was just hoping I could handle it all. I just can’t. I can’t do both the business and
school right now. But anyways…
what about you? I hear you’re moving into Dawn’s old place. Are you?”

“Yeah, I am. I really don’t want to pay the extra money each month, but I
’ll save time and
other
money without the commute. Plus I
found a roommate to split the cost with.”

“A girl or a guy?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“A girl,” I smiled. “
You’ve met K
a
i
le
y, right? I went to school with her?”

“Oh, yeah. So…when is she moving in? Right away?”

“
Actually no, not
until the end of
August
.”

“Hmm,” he replied, cuddling closer to me.

I was a pretty happy girl that night. Moving was exciting to me, and I was so thankful I had Gage back—at least for a couple of days.

             
             
             
             
             
Chapter
Seventeen

Sometimes I don’t understand what my life is trying to tell me. When I think everything is going great and it’s finally smooth sailing, there always seems to be something that tries to knock me in the water. I hate being knocked in the water. I panic and don’t know what to do. Why can’t I be knocked into something else, like a snow bank?
–
At least something that I’m familiar with. Not the water. I
hate water, and I don’t know what to do in it
.

The
week that Gage was in Portland was
sort
of a baffling one
, and it kind of started off the run of bad luck I
seemed
to be having
.
I didn’t understand how there could be so many great little moments in my life countered by a couple of big not-so-great moments. Such is the balance of life I suppose, but why couldn’t I struggle with things I was capable of managing? Disagreements with parents I could handle; arguments with my
siblings
were
all right
. I’d even take on another injury.

Instead I was knocked for a loop unexpectedly in the two areas I put the most effort into: my job and my love life.

Gage helped me move into my new house. He even stayed with me for the week until he went back to Medford that Saturday. I pretty much chose to put aside my job for the time being, just so I could spend the maximum amount of time with
him that I could
. I didn’t get
the sports bar review finished
and chose to throw something else together for that Friday morning’s show. It turned out okay, but I was disappointed with myself for slacking off on it.

Gage and I had a huge fight that
Wednesday
about Tyse. I still wanted to go to the game
,
but because Gage was in town, I felt I shouldn’t even bring it up. It did come up, however, when
Gage had asked
what I’d
originally
had planned for that
day
when he saw “
[email protected]
” on my calendar. When I told him, a
t first
he
didn’t really say anything about it. I knew he didn’t want to go to the game because it was hard for him to watch his old team when he wasn’t able to play with them anymore.

But
Gage’s main issue was that I’d become friends with Tyse. I’d told him about my lunches with Tyse, and the night we
went out with Wyatt and Dawn. But a
pparently
he
already
knew
all about it
because of Wyatt, and I later found out that’s why Gage had come up to Portland for the week. Wyatt had given him reasons to be concerned.

At first we only discussed the issue, and Gage expressed that he didn’t like me hanging out with Tyse, even if he was just a friend. I could understand his reasoning, but I also countered with my own
, even going as far as to say that Tyse needed me as a friend and I thought I was good for him.

“Not if he’s trying to shag you, Ellie,” Gage had said to me. “Those kind of motives aren’t acceptable, and I’m not gonna stand for it.”

“Shag me?” I laughed. “Gage, we are
friends
. The guy barely let me
hug
him.”

Of course that initiated another sort of argument, and Gage was even more insecure about my friendship with Tyse. I was very frustrated because I couldn’t make him see my point
of view
.

So after that I seemed to completely shift my focus. I worried that Gage didn’t trust me, and I worried that
he
was going to start pulling away from me. I spent more time on being his girlfriend that week than I did on the rest of my life. I even took a
personal
day from work on Thursday, just so I could spend the entire day with him. Things were good again
after that
, and I was happy.

He stayed a bit longer on Saturday than he had planned, but it was nice to know he had a hard time leaving me. It made me feel loved, and I was glad that he felt the same way that I did. There were a few things he finished with the sale of his dad’s business, and then he returned to Portland on Tuesday again
to stay with me for a few more days
.

That
Friday I found out that Belinda would be filling in on the morning show for Gina’s maternity leave. I was pretty crushed, and because Gage had gone back to Medford, I felt even worse.
My roommate had also moved in
earlier than I’d expected, so when I came home that Friday after work, I was surprised that Kailey was already moved in. It was also her birthday, and she’d decided to throw herself an impromptu birthday celebration at our house. It was only six o’clock
,
but she already had about five friends over. They’d apparently helped her move in and were enjoying a few beers when I got there.

Over the next two hours another five people showed up, and even though it wasn’t a huge party or anything, I was kind of annoyed. However, I guess the idea of blowing off some steam was kind of appealing, so when the girls started mixing drinks in the blender, I found myself joining them. For me that was really bad. I never drank alcohol
for two reasons: 1) because I didn’t believe that it was healthy—for your mind
or
body—and 2)
because it just didn’t seem to agree with me
in the first place
.

That night
I was okay after a couple of drinks
, but during the third, and a few shots of other miscellaneous things, I c
ould feel myself drifting away…

W
hen I woke up the next morning, Tyse was sitting in a chair in my room. I had one
massive
headache, and I wasn’t even sure if I really saw him there, but after rubbing my eyes a few times, I partially sat up on the bed.

“
Why are you
here?” I barely mumbled.

He didn’t reply at first, and then he leaned forward in the chair and put his elbows on his knees. “You called me last night.”

“What? I did?”

He slightly nodded. “Uh, you were pretty out of it.”

“Oh my gosh, I drunk dialed you?” I asked. I was completely horrified. How could I let myself go like that? What was wrong with me?

“The party was k
ind of out of hand,” he said
. “Your roommate is pissed at me because I sent everyone home.”

I was almost tempted to head out to the front room to see the evidence of a wild party, but I felt like garbage and just stayed put.
I tried to picture the scene and what Tyse might have witnessed when he first arrived.

“Tyse, please tell me the truth. Was I completely humiliating?”

With a smirk he replied, “The truth?”

“Yes,” I said firmly. “Don’t hold back.”

“Not a problem. The truth is that you really weren’t too out of control. You were kind of funny, though. Maybe you’ve been working on that outrageously funny list or something. But the good times didn’t last when you couldn’t hold your liquor anymore. And I was really lucky I got to be the one that held your hair while you barfed in the toilet a
half-
dozen times.”

“Oh
my gosh
,” I murmured.

“And what was cooler was that you threw up all over my pants, too. These are Gage’s shorts I believe,” he added, glancing down at his legs. My clothes are in the laundry, along with yours.”

“Oh, no…” But that caused me to look under the covers at what I was wearing. At least I was dressed, but not in the clothes I was wearing the night before.

“You
decided to take your clothes off
because you puked on yourself, too
,” Tyse told me.

I looked at him with wide eyes.

“Don’t worry, it was
only
me
that you stripped in front of
,” he partially smiled.

“Oh
my gosh
,” I groaned, covering my face with my hands. “What in the world was I thinking?”

“Uh, I don’t believe you were.”

I looked at him and let out a huge breath of air. “I am so sorry. I’m sorry I called you… I don’t even know why I did…”

“Well I’m glad you called me,” he said, standing up from the chair. “I don’t really want to think about what the rest of the night might have been like for you.”

I was really embarrassed, and I even wanted to cry. Why would I ever drink like that?

“I’m
gonna
see if my clothes are dry,” he stated, leaving the room.

I pulled the covers over my head and moaned, and that’s when I remembered what Gage had told me before he left. That’s why I really wanted to drown my sorrows; that was the real reason behind my reckless behavior.

I
stayed
in my bed for another
couple of
minute
s
, still with my face buried under
the covers
,
until I heard Tyse ask, “Ellie? Are you okay?”

I didn’t answer at first because I was still really humiliated that he’d had to witness me throw up over and over. I was sure he thought I was a complete idiot.

“Ellie,” he said again, and I felt him sit on the bed next to me. “I’m sorry, but I wasn’t really born with a filter. You wanted the truth.”

“I know. I appreciate it. I’m just…” I sighed and pulled the covers off of my face. “I’m just embarrassed. I’m sorry you had to see all of that.”

He paused for a few seconds as I wiped the tears off of my face
,
and then
he
asked, “Can I get you anything else?” He handed me a pair of aspirin and a glass of water.

“Oh… Thank you…”

I sat up on the bed cross-legged and downed the pills. If Tyse felt really annoyed about being there he didn’t
act
like it, but I was thankful he was
with me
.

“Gage pretty much broke up with me,” I told him out of the blue.

He didn’t say anything, but I could tell he was surprised.

“He suggested we see other people once he goes back to school.”

Tyse shifted on the bed and then asked, “Why? I mean did he give you a reason?”

I slightly shrugged. “I guess so, but it wasn’t a reason that I understood.”

“Well what did he say?”

“Just that it would probably be better if we dated other people.”

“
Better?
He
wants to date other people?”

“Well, he kind of deflected it on me first, claiming that he was sure
I
wanted to date other people, and he didn’t want to hold me back if I did. It didn’t even matter that I declined feeling that way. He just decided it was better that way.”

Tyse didn’t respond at first and I finished drinking the glass of water. Finally he said, “Well if you told him you didn’t want to date other people and he decided for it to be that way anyway, then
it’s just something
he
wants to do. I’m sorry
Ellie
,
but—”