Until Sage (Until Him 2)

Please don’t be Bigfoot. Please don’t be Bigfoot, I pray inwardly, and then slam my foot on the brake when two deer run out of the woods and across the road. “Oh my God.” I hold my hand to my chest, feeling my heart beat hard against my palm. I pull in a breath then let it out slowly as I take my foot off the brake and start to drive forward, going much slower than I had been before.

It’s now seven, which means I’m late. My stomach tightens, and my palms start to sweat then my breath leaves on a whoosh as I come over a slight incline in the road, spotting a house, which is not a house at all, but a cottage. A white stucco cottage with bright blue, red, and yellow trim around the windows, and doors that make it look like it belongs in a fairy tale.

Pulling up slowly, my foot automatically hits the brake when I see Sage standing outside next to his car like he was just about to leave. I don’t know how long we stare at each other through the glass of my windshield, but it feels like a lifetime, and before I even realize he’s moved, he’s at the hood of my car then at my door, opening it up.

“Put it in park and turn it off,” he barks, making me jump.

“Sage—”

“Now,” he demands, and I fumble with the shifter to put my car in park then hit the button to shut down the engine. As soon as the lights go out, he unhooks my seatbelt and pulls me out of my seat.

“Sa—”

His name ends on a whimper as his hands take hold of my face gently and his mouth crashes down on mine. My toes curl in my ballet flats, and my arms wind around his neck so I don’t fly away. I don’t know how I did it, but I had forgotten what it’s like to have him kiss me. I forgot that it feels like the world around me has disappeared, leaving nothing but him and me. Feeling his tongue touch my bottom lip in a silent request for entrance, my mouth opens and I moan down his throat while digging my fingers into his shoulders, trying to keep myself from falling.

“Goddamn,” he growls, dragging his mouth away from mine and tucking my head under his chin. “Fuck me.” Hearing his heart beating wildly, I close my eyes and suck in a deep breath before whispering.

“I’m sorry I was late. Bigfoot ran across the road.” Pulling my head away from his chest, my eyes open and I find him looking at me curiously.

“Bigfoot?”

“What?” I frown.

“You said Bigfoot ran across the road,” he says, and I shake my head, trying to get my brain, which is totally fried from that kiss, to work again.

“A deer ran across the road, not Bigfoot. Though I thought for sure it was going to be Bigfoot. I didn’t know your house was in the middle of the woods.”

“I should have told you. I… fuck, I didn’t even think you’d show.”

“You gave me a million dollars in Monopoly money,” I reply quietly, feeling a smile lift at the corners of my mouth. I don’t know of another man who would put their ego aside and do what Sage did. I don’t know of another guy who would care enough to even try to win back someone they barely know.

“You know I’m sorry, right?” he asks, and I force him to let me go so I can take a step back, because he can’t be this close when I say what I need to tell him.

“Please.” I hold up my hand when he takes a step toward me, and I watch his eyes flash right before he lifts his chin and crosses his arms over his chest. “I should have forgiven you the first time you apologized. It wasn’t right of me to tell you I accepted your apology and not actually accept your apology. It also wasn’t right of me to lie about who Chris really is to me.”

“Who is he to you?” he questions, and I can hear an edge of jealousy in his tone but I ignore it.

“My best friend. He’s been my best friend since I was five.”

“Is that all he is to you?”

“Yeah, that’s all he is to me.” I smile weakly, watching his body relax slightly. “What I’m trying to say is I’m sorry, too.” I pause, wondering how to tell him how I feel without telling him how I feel. “I just didn’t want to get hurt again. I know it’s stupid, since we don’t really know each other, but you hurt me, and I didn’t want to end up hurt again.”

“Come here.” He opens his arms but doesn’t move to reach for me again, and I know this is when I need to go to him. This is me silently letting him know I forgive him—really forgive him.