by Peyton Banks
Even birthday celebrations.
He’d taken what he could get, knowing that stepping over that line would mean one of them would have to leave. And somewhere, in the back of his head, he’d wondered if she’d wanted to say something… do something… to give them a chance.
So, he had a chance. Now.
He just had to figure out if opening that door was going to have her walking away from him or into his arms. And if she said no, would that ruin the friendship they had and make his life that much emptier than it had been when she was gone?
4
Call it nervous energy or whatever else you like, but Sage was up early the next morning. Tiptoeing around the main room so she didn’t wake Noah up before his alarm, she managed to find everything to get a pot of coffee started and had barely filled the water and measured the grounds into the basket when she heard a door open behind her.
“Are you hungry?”
Turning around she stopped just short of making a sound. The sight of Noah crossing the room, dressed in a pair of loose-fitting sleep-pants and tight tank-top was enough to short out a few nerve centers in her brain.
When he came to a stop on the other side of the kitchen counter, he stifled a yawn and leaned forward, bracing his hands near his hips. “Still half asleep?”
She heard the curious rise of his voice at the end of his question, but she was a little too busy trying to keep her cheeks from heating at the sight of him.
He was always a man who knew how to dress. He wasn’t a label hound or a guy who spent much time looking in a mirror. Instead, he was the kind of guy who was always checking in with others and making sure they were okay. And he gave compliments much easier than he took them directed back at him.
But there he was, standing in front of her completely at ease in his own skin. In fact, it was the most skin she’d ever seen of his.
Wow.
Those arms.
“Sage?”
“Hmm?”
Then he started laughing. A full throated, head back laugh. “You,” he gestured in her direction, “get dressed, we’re going out for breakfast.”
He turned and headed back to his room and left her shaking her head.
If she wasn’t careful, she was going to fall for him.
Taking hold of the filter she lifted it out carefully and dropped it back into the can on the countertop. When she heard the plastic lid snap back in place she started back toward her room, and heard the shower turn on in his bathroom. Her mind instantly took her to thoughts of the warm water washing suds off his arms.
Yeah, it wasn’t about keeping herself from falling, it was about keeping her heart safe from breaking when it was time to move out.
* * *
The café was just down the street from his duplex, so they walked there side by side as the crisp air tightened the skin over her cheekbones and made it almost impossible not to smile as they carried on an easy conversation.
When they were shown to their table, Noah asked her a question she had been hoping to avoid for a little longer.
“Have you got an idea of where you’d like to work? I’d be happy to be a reference for you.”
“I’ve got a few ideas.” She fiddled with the end of the spoon, straightening it to match the bottom of the fork on her napkin. “And thanks, that means a lot.”
And it did. Noah’s reputation in the local marketing community was amazing. So was hers, but she was the one who needed a job and the one who had been let go from an agency. It wasn’t because of anything negative on her part, but some wouldn’t make that distinction. Let go was let go.
“I have a few calls that I’m waiting for, but there aren’t a lot of openings.”
She didn’t have to look at him to know that he read between the lines of her answer. After all, he worked in the same industry and he was still an integral part of it. He knew that there just weren’t any openings that would fit her experience or job history. She’d have to take a huge pay cut and likely be reduced to something closer to a gopher position for people who didn’t have her same skills.
“However, I do have another possibility.” Her heart kicked a little harder in her chest. He was a good friend. The best she’d ever had. So, she knew he’d want the best for her, but this was like that dream where she shows up naked to school or to the office. This was the moment you reveal your secret to the one person who could crush your heart with a look.
Opening up her burgeoning dream was a risk, but if she couldn’t bear to say it in front of Noah, then what was she doing?
“Remember back when we were doing that overhaul of the marketing plan for Palisades Market?”
The smooth skin between his eyebrows furrowed for a moment. “The upscale market with the image problems. Yikes. I remember that. Don’t tell me you’re working for them.”
She laughed then and the waiter brought over their plates. When he turned his back, Sage gave Noah’s bacon a quick glance, but turned her gaze back to her own veggie omelet. “Remember when the voice actor didn’t show up for the first recording session?”
He nodded, and she watched him pick up two of his three bacon strips and set them down on the edge of her plate. “She had an audition for a play and blew us off. No call, no show. Great memor- wait a minute. You stepped in for her.”
“For the test commercial for us to show to the company. Yes, I did.” She picked up a strip of the bacon and brought it up to her lips. “Thanks.”
He watched her take a bite before he shook his head. “I figured it was easier to give it to you than we wrestle over it and it breaks into a thousand tiny bacon bits.”
She nodded and swallowed, feeling the scratch of the bacon in her throat. Apparently eating while she was nervous was a bad idea. “I got a chance to do a couple of those at the agency in New York before…”
Sage blinked back some tears that welled up.
“Anyway. One of the technicians asked me if I wanted to make some money.’”
Noah tilted the syrup container a little too far and a large glop of maple mess flooded the bottom edge of his plate. “You can’t say things like that. I hear it and I worry about what kind of offer he made and when can I beat him up if he was rude to you.”
She reached across the table and touched her fingers to the back of his hand. He was so warm and touching him felt… just right.
“He was a nice older man. He’d worked for everyone pretty much through his career. He told me he’d just done a gig for a startup company, showing their people how to use recording equipment to narrate eBooks.”
The smile that spread across his lips made her feel a little lightheaded. “So, did you?” Noah used the side of his fork to cut through his short stack. “Did you make a little money?”
“Enough.” She took a sip of her coffee and set it back down. “I paid him to show me how to use his equipment,” she laughed at his pained look, “stop with the wincing. I’m going to tell Herb that you’ve got a dirty mind. After I knew that I really liked what I was doing and the pay was… really decent, he showed me where to buy the equipment for myself and I had just completed my first book on my own home set up when they told us the company was splitting up. So, what I need to ask you is if you’d help me find a place to rent where I could also set up my studio.”
He wiped at his mouth with his napkin and set it back down in his lap before he looked up at her with his dark eyes looking straight into hers. “My mind isn’t dirty. My mind was worried.” His explanation rang with the truth. His voice, coupled with his eyes, told her he meant what he said. “Worried,” he continued, “and maybe a little jealous.”
“Jealous? Ha!” She laughed off the idea. “Herb will laugh when I tell him.” She reached down into her purse and pulled out her phone. Unlocking it, she pulled up a picture. “Here. This is Herb and his wife Jo and their two youngest grandkids.”
She watched him take the phone and look at the photo before handing it back.
“See?
No need to be worried about me. Herb was a complete and total gentleman. Can you help me find a place where I can set up my recording studio?”
Noah held out the phone and she took it back with a smile.
“I think I know just the place.”
Noah held the door open for the delivery guys and watched as they brought the crates in from their truck. It wasn’t hard to see the worry on Sage’s face. She wore her heart on her sleeve when she wasn’t in front of a room making a presentation for her bosses or clients. When she did that she was always in control, but he knew that was just her ‘on’ mode. He had one too. You couldn’t be in the kind of industry that they’d worked in without developing that kind of persona.
But waiting for these guys to safely stow the crates in his apartment was giving her hives. He didn’t blame her at all. Knowing what she had in those crates, he’d be nervous too.
He was still mulling over the idea in his head. Narrating books.
He couldn’t help but smile even more as the idea really took root.
It made sense. She always had a book in her bag or was reading something new. Sage’s voice was perfect for that kind of work, that’s why having her read the commercial when they couldn’t find their voice actor was a no-brainer. He bet she was great at it, but he also knew if he asked her to share one of the recordings with him so he could hear her, she’d probably wave him off. She was hesitant about self-promotion, that’s where he was worried about her going to work literally for herself.
Then again, maybe she’d changed in the months away.
The thought hit him square on the chest and a little on the chin. Sure, they’d kept in touch, but maybe they were both just trying to be ‘on’ when they talked on the phone and the few times they’d had a chat over video. Was it wrong that he wanted to be able to help her with that aspect of her work?
And maybe he wasn’t really jealous of just the thought of Herb helping her out. He wanted to help her. He wanted to be the one she went to with her problems.
She’d been right, though. Herb had been a big help and he’d given Sage a way to do right by herself. He owed the man a debt for that, taking care of her. Helping her find a way to broaden her horizons.
As he watched her sign the delivery papers for her crates, Noah watched the way her eyes lit up like sparklers and her smile made the four men grin back in response.
He’d help her however he could, but he was also beginning to realize that as amazing as he’d already thought she was, there was so much more to discover, and he wanted the chance.
Maybe, just maybe, she’d find more inside of him too.
5
Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
Noah laughed at himself as he pulled into the garage after work. In advertising, a catchy phrase is always a plus. You come up with something cute and catchy and you’re halfway there, but what was a gift horse?
And why would you look in its mouth?
It couldn’t have come from the war with Troy. They would tell you ‘to’ look that horse in the mouth and then set it on fire.
Maybe it was just the idea of not looking too closely at the gift you have. Just be happy that you have it. Looking too deeply into it was just the right formula for doubt to set in and worry to fill in all the extra spaces.
Noah reached across to the passenger seat and picked up the paper wrapped bouquet of flowers he’d picked up. Hooking his keys onto a beltloop, he picked up the pastry box from the floor and set it on the hood for just a second as he locked the doors with the fob on his keyring.
He wasn’t going to think about how amazing it was too literally come home to Sage in his space. He wasn’t going to think about how easily the words ‘going home’ had taken on a completely new meaning.
And that was why he was struggling not to look too closely at the way the gift of her presence in his life had changed everything in so many ways. Looking too closely meant that he’d have to face the chance that things could change just as quickly.
Moving through the garage, he unlocked the backdoor and locked it tight behind him. He’d always been careful with his locks but having Sage upstairs meant he had to do everything he could to ensure her safety while he was gone.
Walking up the stairs he heard her singing in the kitchen. He didn’t need any CCTV to know where she was.
She was making something with at least two pans, because she just started some kind of drum solo. If he was lucky, she was wearing one of her long skirts that came down to the bottoms of her calves. The way the end of the skirt flared when she moved always made him a little breathless and seeing her feet peek out from under the flared hem made him melt a little inside.
Having her barefoot in his home made him smile like an idiot. And no, it wasn’t a caveman thing, it was about the fact that she felt comfortable there. Their musical interests might not be exactly the same, but there was enough of a crossover that it wasn’t that big of a deal, but he was really going to have to introduce her to a wider variety of music. She’d already shown him the finer points of music for meditation and he was surprisingly fine with it. Although it might have something to do with the fact that she liked to meditate sitting in the sunlight of the living room.
He could meditate on her all day long.
Watching her dance in the kitchen wasn’t a problem either.
As he reached the top of the stairs, he had a perfect view of her shimmy and shake as she belted out something from Phil Collins. If he’d been paying attention to the lyrics, he probably could have recognized the song, but his eyes and the rest of his attention was on Sage.
Lifting the lid off one of the pots, she leaned over and drew in a deep breath. He could smell it from where he was standing too.
“Smells good.”
She yelped and almost dropped the lid of the pot. What she did do is catch the hot edge against her palm. “Ow!”
Still, Sage tried to hold onto it.
“Let it go,” he dropped his bag and keys on the ground, leaving everything else on the counter, and took the lid away from her. “Sorry about that.” He dropped the lid onto the counter and walked her over to the sink with his hand gently around her wrist and his other arm around her waist. “I shouldn’t have surprised you like that.”
He turned on the water and tested the temperature on his wrist before taking her hand in his and submersing both of their hands under the water. “Let me know when the sting lessens, and I’ll get some burn cream from the bathroom.”
“N-no need.” Sage cleared her throat and looked up at him over her shoulder. “It-it’s okay.”
She tried to pull away, but it was a half-hearted effort at best, and he felt her leaning into him, her back and shoulder cuddling closer against his chest.
The fear and worry that had his heart pounding in his chest had slowed and in its place was a warm and gentle feeling. “If you’re hurt, Sage. Let me help.”
Her eyelids closed and he saw the hint of green and gold on her eyelids. When she opened them again, he saw the way the warm brown of her eyes took on the slight glint of gold he’d seen moments before.
“I don’t feel any pain,” her voice was soft, trembling, “it’s okay. It was… probably just a shock.”
“I shouldn’t have surprised you.”
“You didn’t,” she shook her head, “I mean, you shouldn’t have. Normally, I hear the door when you come home, but I was probably making too much noise. That’ll teach me.”
“I’m not complaining.” He turned her hand in his, looking down into her palm. There weren’t any welts or color on her skin. Relief helped ease the rest of his worry.
She sighed as he gently folded their fingers together. “You know, if you’re not careful, I’m going to end up being your roommate for a long time.” The timer on her phone pinged and she pulled away. “Sounds like it’s almost time for dinner.”
As he watched her move around the space, he smiled even more. “I’m fine with that.” He cau
ght her curious look. “You, staying here. And it’s not just because the nights you cook actually end up looking like a feast on the table.”
She met his gaze with a wide-eyed look. “Flattery, Mr. Franklin. Flattery.”
He held up his hands in surrender. “I’m just telling you the truth.” Noah laughed as she bumped him with her hip toward the sink. He turned on the water and made quick work of washing his hands. “And you know you don’t have to make dinner as much as you do. I’m happy to help.”
She rolled her eyes. “You mean order out.” Before he could manage to stammer out a response, she turned to get their plates from the cupboard. “Calm down. I’m not complaining, Noah. I just like doing things for you, okay?”
Sage moved out of the kitchen area and crossed over to the table they shared together every night for the last couple of weeks.
The words on the tip of his tongue were the same they had been since the moment he held her in his arms at the airport.
I love you.
I hope you feel the same way.
And I’m too chicken to say anything because I’m afraid you don’t.
She turned back around, and the sudden movement caught his eye.
Tilting her head to the side, the soft light over the table cast a warm golden glow over her hair.
“Well, are you ready?”
He could barely manage to swallow the lump in his throat. He knew he was going to have to say something to her, sooner, rather than later. Or he might lose his chance, or his mind.
He wasn’t sure which one would be worse.
6
Sage looked up at the sign she’d hung up above her workstation. The large mustache on Teddy Roosevelt’s face looked like it could walk away on its own if it only had legs. The printed text beside his recognizable and bespectacled mug was:
