Summer Swing (31 page)

“So where do you wanna go?” he asked once we were seated in his truck.

“I don’t care, you’re driving.”

“Uh, it was your idea for dinner, so since I
am
driving, maybe you should just choose. You’re the city’s guidebook, aren’t you?”

“Okay, then head south
and I’ll point the way from there.”

“All right.”

I was glad that he was surprised with my restaurant choice. I think a
Texas-style barbecue was the last thing on his mind. But it was really casual, I knew the owners, and there was baseball on the
big screen
. I thought he’d be pretty happy with that, but other than an occasional glance at the game that was on, he pretty much kept his attention on conversation with me.

“How many ribs can you eat?” he asked. “That’s probably a dozen for you, isn’t it?”

“Are you keeping track?”

“Yeah, I am. I’m not sure if you can keep the barbecue down.”

I laughed, knowing he was teasing me. “Oh, well probably better than alcohol. And I’ve had four, by the way.”

He slightly smiled with a nod. “I can honestly say I’ve never eaten ribs on a
date before. I mean, well, I know
this isn’t exactly a date or anything, but you know what I mean.”

“
No girls are brave enough to handle ribs in front of a guy?”

“Uh no, definitely not. I told you
,
girls where I’m from
are a little different.”

I guess I was confused because of where he was “from.” But I guess that didn’t mean he didn’t date girls of a different social status. After all, a hot guy is a hot guy, and I couldn’t imagine someone
not
being attracted to Tyse.

I replied, “Uh, m
eaning that anything less than a swanky restaurant isn’t good enough?”

“Yeah
that
,
and the fact that they’re so obsessed with their appearance that it would be appalling to get even a dab of sauce on their
face
.”

“Hey, I eat mine with a fork and knife, so I guess I can say I’m being a bit prissy.”

“Would you normally eat it with a fork and knife?”

“
Yeah, usually
.
At home probably not.
I guess it depends.”

“You like restaurants like this? I mean is this, uh, your type of thing?”

“I think I’ve probably had four or five birthday parties here growing up. My dad and the owner, Gerald, went to school together. The only time I’ve ever gone out somewhere
‘
upscale
’
was probably
a few
years ago for my parents’ twenty-fifth anniversary.”

“Does upscale interest you?”

“Mm, not exactly. I think it would be fun to dress up once in a while and go somewhere nice, but I do prefer things that are a little less stressful.”

“Less stressful? You mean without the pressure of being in a stuck up restaurant, wondering if you’re dressed okay?”

With a smile I replied, “Yeah, exactly.”

“Hmm, I think you’d fit in just fine. Sometimes the right company helps
. You know, being there with someone that’s familiar with it. You let them take care of the snobby aspects of it,” he smiled.

“Good point. So find a guy that can handle snobby, right?”

He barely nodded. “Yep.”

We both ended up watching the baseball game for a few minutes, and Tyse ordered another serving of ribs and wings for us. I had a few wings, but I was pretty much done with the meat and moved on to
finish
my coleslaw and cornbread.

I got a little worried that
I had made
Tyse felt a bit slighted, and I hoped he hadn’t felt
that
a rich guy was the type of guy I was looking for. Gage wasn’t wealthy, and I’m sure Tyse knew that, but I guess I didn’t want to come across sounding like a snob myself.

“So are you still
gonna
throw back some barbecue tomorrow night?” he asked me.

I suddenly remembered the baseball party. “Oh gosh, is this what they’re having there? I didn’t even think about that!”

“Nah, I think it’s just hamburgers and hot dogs and stuff. And whatever side dishes everyone brings.”

“Is it a potluck?”

“A what?”

“A potluck. Uh, where everyone brings something to share with everyone?”

“Oh. Yeah, I guess it is.”

“Oh. Well what should I bring?”

He shrugged. “You don’t have to bring anything. Wes and I grabbed some chips and soda after our meeting this morning. We’re good to go.”

“Oh, okay. Well if you think of something I should bring, just let me know.”

He shrugged again, but assured me that I didn’t have to bring anything.

I had a really fun time with Tyse that night. After we were too full to eat another bite, he took me back home and I in
vited him in to watch a movie
. If Kailey had been home I probably wouldn’t have, but since she was out with friends for who knew how long, I figured I’d take advantage of that.

We actually ended up watching the Bob Dylan documentary that I kept forgetting to give him, and it was interesting to hear Tyse add to it with things that he knew. After that I decided that I probably should bring something to the barbecue the next day, so I convinced Tyse to help me make
chocolate-fudge
brownies.
I even melted some caramel to drizzle over the tops of them, and I felt like I could officially contribute to the potluck. I let Tyse eat one to make sure they were decent, and he was amazed.

“I can’t wait until tomorrow,” he said. “Do you really have to share these at the barbecue? I just
want one more. Please?
”

Of course I had to give in
, and then I packed him a couple more to take with him
.
It was eleven-thirty when he said he should probably head back to Wyatt’s.

“The game is at two, right?” I asked him.

“
Yep
.”

“Oh hey, I meant to ask you… A
re you still working early mornings?”

“No, Friday was my last day. I’ll be heading back to California Monday or Tuesday.”

Hearing that kind of stunned me. “Really? So soon?”

He shrugged. “Baseball will be over. What do I have to stay for?”

I wanted to say “me,” but would that sound weird? I didn’t want him to leave, and knowing that I’d probably never see him again kind of made me panic.

“Well, what are you going back for?” I asked instead. “College, right? You’re enrolled for fall?”

“Yeah, that starts the first week of September.”

“That’s in a couple of weeks. What about a job or anything? Will you be working when you return home?”

“Yeah, I got Nate’s shop I can put in hours at.”

“Oh, yeah,” I remembered.

With a smile he asked, “You gonna be around on Monday? Maybe you can meet Nate officially.”

“Uh, sure. I’m off at three.”

“Hmm, okay, I’ll keep that in mind. I don’t know when he’ll be heading this way, so I’ll let you know if that works out.”

“Okay.
But what about you?
Will I see you again
on Monday
before you leave? Even if Nate’s schedule doesn’t coincide with mine?”

He
studied me for a second. “Sure, I’d like that. I’ll make it work.”

So he left my house that night knowing I’d be at his game the next day. It was an odd feeling because it already felt like I’d said goodbye to him. I still had Sunday to see him, and hopefully at least a goodbye on Monday, but my heart already felt the loss.

Chapter Eighteen

I wasn’t expecting a phone call from Gage the next morning. I’ll admit that I was excited that he’d called, that he’d been thinking of me, but it really hurt at the same time. He didn’t really say anything too earth shattering, but he did tell me that he
still
loved me and that he was sorry for hurting me. It almost sounded like my sister had called him up and unloaded a gigantic guilt trip on him or something.
I could just picture her sticking her nose in my business and chewing him out like that.

I was just about to ask if that was the case when he said, “I’m heading that way this week again. Can we spend some time together?”

My heart soared with joy. Yes, I definitely wanted to see him. Maybe being together would remind him of what he was missing.

“I’ll
be working with Rick and Wyatt for a couple of the days—I need the money before I head back to school. B
asically
I’ll be heading right to Eastern
after that, so I’d like to spend a
week
in Portland with you first.”

“Yeah, I would love that, Gage.”
That was my honest-to-
goodness initial response because I really did want to see him. But at the same time I still felt slightly wounded, and I wasn’t sure if the time together would be better for us, or worse.

“Okay. I’m thinking I’ll probably get there on Wednesday, and then head east on
the next Wednesday
. That way I’ll have a
few
day
s
to settle in before classes start
the next
Monday.”

So that was the plan for the week, and I was looking forward to it. He broke my heart on Friday, but maybe it could be mended on Wednesday.

“So what are you up to today?” he asked.

“Oh, uh, not much really.”

Not true at all. Was I lying to him? If I told him I was going to Tyse’s game, and then
to
a barbecue with him, he’d probably never want to speak to me again. I decided it was better to just keep Tyse’s name out of it this time. I didn’t feel that I was
lying to
Gage
; I only wanted to avoid a misunderstanding.

“I’m putting away a few more things right now,” I added.

“You all moved in and stuff?” he asked.

“Yeah, pretty much. I’ve come across a few of your things. You can take them when you come if you want.”

“Mm, sure.” He paused for a few seconds and I thought I heard the rustling of papers.

“What’re you up to?” I asked.

“Oh, just looking through some, uh, major league baseball information. Just draft info and such.”

“Draft? Like to be picked to play in the majors?”

“Uh, maybe. Just looking
at
where some of the minor league teams are and stuff.”

“What do you mean, minor
? I thought you just said major
.”

“Well the major teams own all the minor teams. If
you get drafted by a major league team
, you play on whatever team of theirs that they want you to play on.
If you’re lucky you can work your way up in a few years, but
the majority of players
barely make it past A-level.
”

I
paused briefly before I asked,
“Are you considering
continuing on
with baseball?”

“Uh, well, not really. I don’t know. I’m just informing myself for now
. I really have no desire to work at my dad’s company anymore. I don’t know what I want to do, Ellie. For now I’ll just finish up this stupid degree and get one more
season
of ball in. I’ll see from there.
”

That was news to me. The last time we’d discussed it he was fine working for the guy that he’d sold the company to. I had no idea he wanted to pursue baseball. Maybe Gage was struggling with more than I thought he was, and if that was the case, maybe Dawn was right. Maybe he just wasn’t thinking straight because of the decisions he was trying to make.

“Gage, you can do anything you set your mind to. I agree that you shouldn’t work at your dad’s company if you don’t want to. Do something that you’re happy with.”

He sighed. “Yeah, I’m not really sure anymore. My mom is kind of having a hard time with it.”

“With the fact that you don’t want to work in the company?”

“That I sold it. She’s pretty
upset
about it, and she’ll hardly speak to me anymore.”

“What? Are you serious?”

“I can hardly be around her. Her sister has been here off and on for the past couple of weeks, and even
she’s kind of fed up with her. I don’t know, but I don’t really want to talk about it right now.”