"i only knew a handful of people there , other coworkers , and though we were all pretty close , i was immensely grateful that gage had agreed to go with me . it would have been awkward without him , especially when christian introduced himself ; after one look at gage 's arm around my waist , he smiled politely and walked away . stace was right , that guy was seriously cute , but he was no _ ..." What is the word in the blank space (_)? The answer is
gage