“It’s Auntie Crazy and Gage together,” Hunter yelled down the hall. He could only imagine what Sophia might say if she got the chance to get Gage alone. If they arrived at the same time, it gave her the chance. Hunter and Emalynn were clearly bouncing off the walls. He could hear their shoes pounding on the hardwood floor. On a deep breath, he shrugged his suit jacket on and walked over to his dresser’s mirror, adjusting the open collar of his shirt under the jacket. He chose to go tieless tonight, and after one more scan, he decided he looked as good as he possibly could. It wasn’t Gage good-looking, but he looked the best he could and turned away, forcing himself to lose the nerves and get out there to face Gage.
He rounded the corner of his room, listening to the kids talking over each other in order to get Gage’s attention. Sophia stayed quiet, which was incredibly odd, maybe even a first. As he stepped out of his room, he saw all four of them standing inside the entryway. They all turned toward him as he walked down the hall. Sophia stood all doe-eyed and the kids were overly excited. Em held Gage’s hand, her colored sheet of paper in his other hand, and he realized he needed to make this fast and get them out of the house before his family ran Gage off.
Gage looked stunning as Trent knew he would. He wore a soft black suit which matched his build perfectly as if the suit were made specifically for him. In contrast, he wore a tieless white French cuff dress shirt, the collar left open by three buttons. The cufflinks were some sort of black stone. Trent always thought of Gage as ruggedly handsome. His reports took him to some of the most remote parts of the world. He worked hard, spending hours and hours in the sun, resulting in his dark, deep suntan and blond sun streaks all throughout his hair, but the suit he chose to wear tonight accented and transformed him into a proper, polished gentleman and Trent’s heart did another little dip.
Gage’s eyes were focused on Trent, but Emalynn chatted away, telling Gage a story about something and it gave him a minute to just be lost in Gage while walking down the hall toward them. When he reached Em, he placed his hand on her hair and she stopped talking as he stood there a moment holding Gage’s gaze.
“You look extraordinarily handsome tonight,” Gage finally said, and Trent tucked his hands in his slacks pocket to give them something to do. He could have sworn he heard a female sigh right before a picture snapped causing them both to break their stare and turn to Auntie Crazy.
“Sorry, I promised Rhonny I would capture the moment when you first saw one another. She almost skipped class tonight to see this! She should have, it was greatness.” Auntie Crazy snapped another picture.
“Daddy, can we ask Gage to come to my birthday?” Emalynn asked, looking so excited at the idea. “I asked you before I asked him. Isn’t that what you said I had to do last night?”
“We’ll see, Emalynn,” Trent said. All he could do was smile down at his little girl’s upturned face. She looked so excited and proud of herself for remembering his directive this time. “And… Yeah, I think we should be off. No more pictures, Sophia,” Trent said, moving to the front door.
“I have to get one more. I promised, Trent,” Sophia said, angling the camera to her eye. Gage let out a laugh as Trent rolled his eyes and turned to the door.
“I would apologize, Gage, but this seems to be my life,” Trent said, opening the front door for Gage. Both children and Sophia followed along behind them.
“There’s no need for apologies. You have a charming home and family, Trent. Goodbye everyone. Sophia, it was a pleasure to meet you. Emalynn, finish the lovely drawing for me. You’re doing a great job. Hunter, goodnight, buddy,” Gage said before walking out the door.
“You all are staying in this house, and put the camera down, Sophia. I’ll be back later. Call me if you need me.” Trent shut the door in their faces before they could make a run for it and follow them out, but Sophia quickly opened it again, snapping another picture from her phone.
“That’s it, I promise,” Sophia called out and slammed the door back shut. Gage’s grin grew as they heard footsteps in the house racing to the front window. He heard Hunter going wild with muffled oohs and ahhs, but Trent stayed focused on watching the front door to make sure no one else came out. After a minute, he turned back to Gage who stood on the porch, close to the steps, with his hands in his pockets, and his crooked grin still on his face.
“I’m sorry. It’s no wonder there are hardly any second dates. They don’t know how to act right at all. I’ll have to work on it,” Trent said, moving closer to Gage.
“I think they’re charming and love you very much,” Gage said, staying rooted in his spot in front of the steps leading down to the sidewalk.
“They do love me, but I think charming is a nice word for wildly inappropriate and crazy as hell,” Trent said, coming to stand right in front of Gage. He would have led them down the steps, but Gage didn’t move. He stayed there, blocking the path.
“It’s all fine. I was nervous when I came in but they’re so comfortable and easy to be around, they helped settle me down,” Gage said. The breeze blew gently, with a bit of a nip in the air as the night grew dark, yet Trent didn’t feel any of it. Gage’s words confused him and his gaze went immediately to Gage’s face, searching. He couldn’t wrap his mind around how Gage could possibly be nervous. And then Trent’s own anxiety struck him in full force, he could feel the need to fidget and ran his hand down the front of his lapels before he dropped his hands back in his pockets, matching Gage’s stance as he stood directly in front of him.