Babes Stripping For Love

Bree was not happy when she rejected his proposal, she could see how much she had hurt the man. Gage had done nothing wrong but help her, love her, taking her in when she was in need. And he had loved her. Maybe he still does, but Bree was keeping her foot down, she wanted independence.

His timing was all wrong, Bree had gotten out of her shitty marriage with her husband and had just managed to live on her own. Deep inside Bree was not sure if she was ready to be married again though she cares deeply about Gage. It was still too fast too soon.

The days after the dreamy seaside vacation was bad, she was sad a lot. But she managed to keep her smile for her little Hazel. Though Bree was not fooling Mrs. Mancini, her neighbor had told her to reconsider Gage. “Look, I’ve lived long enough to know what love is when I see one. I can see it in his eyes, honey, the man practically has cartoon hearts over his eyes, and you too, though you pretended not to.” She tried to cheer Bree and knocked some sense into her when Hazel was napping and they were conversing over coffee.

And her co-workers were telling her the same thing, more or less. Cassidy, Dee and Jojo, even Rocco, then there was Elvis saying in his brute clumsy ways that she should get back together with Gage. “He’s a good man, you should… um, you know kiss and makeup.” Rockford slapped his shoulder and told him that he needs to work on his words.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

“What he’s trying to say is that you should evaluate your situation, and yes, I think both of you haven’t been in a good state of mind without one another. You should assess your feelings and regroup.” Rockford’s words were not better and it would make Bree laugh if she was not too sad.

Hazel had been the only one who was putting sunshine in her life, and lately, she has been asking about Gage, and Bree had been distracting her with their short shopping excursions. Though Gage’s lawyer had managed to make her ex pay alimony, Bree was still careful about their spending, she mostly bought food, clothes, and well-needed educational toys for Hazel.

“You looked like shit, woman. And I hate it when mommy and daddy are fighting.” Cassidy was the perfect reminder that people were still watching her and they surely noticed that Gage was coming less and less to the club. At least the term mommy and daddy for both Bree and Gage was cute.

“He did not flee when things didn’t work between him and Jade, you know,” the young med student fed her information that Bree didn’t need nor want, but she kept on talking anyway.

“Boss man must’ve loved you,” Cassidy paused to study Bree’s face and then gasped when she noticed it. “Oh, shit, he did… you’re the one who’s going to make him drop to his knee aren’t you?” then she gasped louder when she saw it. “Damn it, woman! what is wrong with you?!”

“What? what?!” Dee whispered loudly as she reached their table moments after entering the small coffee shop, arriving later than scheduled between the three of them.

“I think Bree here, has a confession to make.” Cassidy squinted her eyes as if her action could make Bree blurt out the truth.

But it did, or maybe Bree was getting tired of keeping it to herself.

“I need both of you to make this stay between us, obviously ended at Rocco,” Bree looked at Dee knowing she couldn’t keep a damn secret between her and her bartender boyfriend. But Bree trusted them, they all had helped her in the past and they had become her best friends and she knows that they deserved the truth.

“I rejected his proposal, that’s why things have been a bit rough between us.”

“Girl, you’re making us take sides, that’s what you did,” Dee huffed, though only slight irritation was shown. The girls could never really get mad at Bree, she was too sweet of a woman to be mad at. Dee explained her words, referring to her little fights with Rocco because he was taking Gage’s side and Dee was taking Bree’s side, both blindly doing it without knowing any truth behind the rift between the said mommy and daddy.

“So? what now?” Cassidy asked but her question remained unanswered when Dee rudely make a call on her phone.

“What? it’s Rocco, he texted saying it’s urgent.” Dee rolled her eyes as if she needed to start explaining further to both of her besties. But her further explanation wasn’t demanded when she whispered for Bree and Cassidy to hear as Dee recited Rocco’s words from the other line, “Gage has been in an accident, he’s in a hospital, Rockford was called in for Gage’s emergency contact then he called Rocco.”

Bree paled immediately, her heart pounding so fast and she could feel her eyes burning with unshed tears.

“He’s still in emergency care, it was a single accident, his seatbelt saved him,” Rockford explained to all of them when the women arrived at the county hospital where Gage was taken. His family was nowhere to be seen and Bree was glad because she was not ready to face them.

Five hours later Bree was still in the hospital with Cassidy and Rockford, she had called Mrs. Mancini and told her about what happened. Bree made her promised not to worry Hazel with the news. Then Dee assured her that she’d drop by her apartment and check on little Hazel with Rocco before their shifts.

“They’re running scans and more tests, he should be moved to intensive care soon.” Rockford relayed what the doctor had explained to him less than five minutes earlier. But Bree was too distraught to care, the guilt was digging deeper into her mind.

“Tell me, Rockford, why are you his emergency call?” Bree wanted to know if she was too presumptuous when the time came for her to visit him. Would Gage want her to be there? her mind wonders and Rockford managed to see right through her.

“He didn’t want his parents to be upset should anything happen to him, both of them had a history of high blood pressure, and he said he didn’t want to worry his siblings. The man trusts that his lawyer and I would do what’s best with any emergency.”

From then on Bree knew that Rockford wasn’t just his bodyguard, he was someone more than he lets everyone believe he was. Bree was going to reconfirm her thoughts but Cassidy hadn’t come back from her coffee run yet.

“But he would want you to be by his side when he wakes up, Bree.” Rockford put his hand on her shoulder while he also told her that he had called his family and they were going to arrive in the next couple of hours. Before Bree could think Rockford was gone then he came back moments later saying that he was going to take her to see Gage.

Her hands were cold, she was a nervous wreck, barely able to put one step over another but she followed Rockford anyway up until she saw him. Her visions blurred and her heart pained to see the love of her life bruised face and hooked up to machines and his veins pumped with IV fluids. Yes, Bree finally confessed to herself right there and then that she loves him, that she was glad that he was alive.

The guilt was weighing over her head, Bree was still not sure about being by Gage’s bedside with her previous rejection that created the gap in their relationship. But she bravely put her hand on his and Rockford quietly stepped out of the room when Bree saw Gage opening his eyes and that’s when the wounded man saw her cry.

“Bree…” his thumb caressed her hand, she had entwined their hands and put them against her lips. Her eyes were red, tears traced down her cheeks.

“I’m so sorry, I love you, I love you so much that I was too afraid to ruin everything.” The sudden fear of losing him made her confess, her mind was taken back to all the good times they had, how he had shown her so much affection and how she had taken it all for granted. But not anymore she was going to be there by his side, be there for him like he had done for her many times before.

“Tell me,” his voice was so scratchy that she lowered herself down and kissed his forehead telling him what he needed to hear. Gage had not expected to be in an accident, but if him being hurt was making Bree come to her senses, he would certainly do it all over again.

“I love you, Gage, I’m so sorry that I was too scared to admit it.” She wiped her tears and kissed his knuckles.

And still as stubborn as ever Gage wanted her to explain what happened.

“Maybe we should wait until you’re better?” she replied and he couldn’t hide his disappointment at her words. Gage didn’t want to wait, he waited too long for someone like Bree to come into his life and with the possible tumor in his brain that his doctor had just explained earlier he knows he needed to know now.

His last headache was so sudden and severe that the extreme pain had caused him to blackout in the middle of the road and his car hit a tree. There were no life-threatening wounds on his body except the one that was on his brain.