Loose

by Coo Sweet

  “Damn, man! How many times you hit that? She got you caught up like this already?” Peyton gushed.

  Sage tried to temper his friend’s excitement with a nonchalant flap of his wrist.

  “Naww. It’s not like that. I’m just saying there’s more to her than what you see,” Sage explained.

  Peyton hit him with a smug smile.

  “Right,” Peyton drawled. “She’s got that deep shit going on, huh? And that’s what attracted you to her? Okay, I feel you.”

  Sage sighed, “I wouldn’t expect you to understand. You being such a player and all.”

  “Oooo…ouch,” Peyton actually looked hurt. “So you’re saying I’m not capable of real feelings, man? That what you think of me. Like I don’t have a heart or something?”

  Sage took his eyes off the road for a second. Glanced at Peyton to see if he was really serious.

  He was.

  Sage immediately felt bad. He softened a little.

  “No, man. I’m not saying that at all. But you’re the one who’s always preaching about keeping things loose…not getting too serious. Wanting to be casual about your dealings with the ladies. Am I lying?” said Sage.

  “Nope. But that doesn’t mean I don’t understand you falling for her, Sage. Believe it or not, I do know what it’s like to long for somebody.”

  Peyton’s voice almost cracked. He faced forward and crossed his arms over his chest.

  Now Sage melted.

  “Hey…I’m sorry. Okay? That’s not how I meant it,” Sage said. “We cool?”

  Peyton wouldn’t look at him. He didn’t want to risk having Sage see the sadness in his eyes.

  “Yeah. We’re cool,” he said softly.

  The gym vibrated with noise from true fans of the game of basketball. It also crackled with the electricity from true fans of the game of hooking up, and no one repped that time honored tradition better than Peyton.

  Still showing signs that he felt the sting from their earlier conversation, Peyton turned down Sage’s offer of conciliatory refreshments. Instead, he went off to try his luck with not one, but a pair of cuties from the opposing team’s side. The girls had caught his eye, and ear, when he overheard them complaining about the lack of “nice asses” on their school’s basketball roster.

  While Peyton was off fulfilling his duty to lonely-hearted teen girls of America, Sage sat next to Raven and squirmed on the bleachers. He couldn’t keep his leg from bouncing, and his neck might as well have been on a swivel the way he kept swinging it around to check out if they were being checked out.

  “Would you be still? You’re making me dizzy. What’s your problem?” said Raven. She shot Sage an elbow after he bumped her for about the tenth time.

  “Owww. Dang, girl. Watch that.” Sage massaged his ribs and gave her a wary look from the corner of his eye. “Sorry. Just can’t get comfortable on these hard-assed seats.”

  But the bleachers weren’t really his problem. His problem was being there with Raven. This was the first time they’d attended a school function together. Sage was sweating the very real possibility of being ambushed by a round of Serenity’s supernatural sabotage.

  The last thing he wanted to do was freak out. He pictured himself acting like a big nut-job in front of Raven and his peers from school. That was bad enough, but something else weighed on him too. What if Jasmin was somewhere in the stands? How would she react to seeing him with Raven? Especially after he’d tried so hard to convince her they weren’t a couple.

  Sure, she’d cut off all contact with him, looked through him like he was invisible in the single class they shared, had demanded he not even think about her. Like that was going to happen. Yeah, he was definitely at the top of her shit list, but in spite of all that, he wasn’t giving up on her.

  Deep in his bones he knew they’d shared some kind of spark that first day they met, and just like the line in that ancient R&B song his dad loved said, sparks turn into flames. So Sage wasn’t giving up. He would let Jasmin have all the time and space she needed, and he would keep holding on to the possibility of them being a couple someday.

  He didn’t care if he had to go through the specter of Serenity or the eye of Hurricane Raven to make it happen.

  A small crowd of students milled around the gym after the basketball game. Sage leaned against the wall outside the ladies’ room, waiting for Raven to exit. He snapped to attention when he heard a familiar voice.

  Jasmin and her friend, Neva, were headed in his direction. The girls were yakking so much they didn’t even notice him. Sage glanced toward the restroom door, saw the coast was clear, and stepped directly into their path.

  “Hey, Jasmin,” he said.

  Startled, both girls stopped abruptly. Jasmin looked like she would rather have been anywhere else but there. Neva rolled her eyes and slapped her hands on her hips. She placed herself squarely between Jasmin and Sage. Jasmin shook her head. She stepped from behind her friend.

  “Hey, Sage. How’s it going,” Jasmin said.

  “I’m cool. You?” he answered.

  “I’m good. Excuse us.”

  She and Neva walked around Sage and proceeded in the direction of the ladies’ room. Sage touched Jasmin’s arm.

  “Could we talk for a minute?” he asked. Neva made a move like she was prepared to rip off the arm Sage held Jasmin with.

  Jasmin shook her head as if to say I’m okay, really. Neva rolled her eyes and backed off.

  “Sage, I don’t think there’s anything to talk—-“

  “Please, just for a minute?” he begged.

  “Uh-uh. Come on, Jas. You don’t have to do this,” said Neva. She tried to lead Jasmin away. Jasmin gently removed Neva’s hand from her arm.

  “Neva, it’s okay. You go ahead. I’ll be right there,” Jasmin said.

  Neva hesitated, threw her hands up in surrender, and walked into the restroom.

  “What do you want, Sage?” Jasmin’s voice was flat. Her face devoid of any curiosity for what he might say.

  “I just want to know what’s wrong. What did I do to make you cut me off like you did?” Sage asked.

  “Sage, I--“

  Before she could finish, Raven strutted out of the restroom. Neva was hot on her heels. Raven wasted no time in attaching herself to Sage’s arm. She flashed Jasmin a smile sweet enough to rot teeth.

  “What are you doing, baby? Charity work with the handicapped?” asked Raven.

  Jasmin and Neva exchanged an amused look. Did she just go there? Really?

  “Oh, you mean this date with you?” snapped Jasmin. Neva cracked up. Sage stiffened a little, anticipating Raven’s reaction. Sure enough, Raven took a step in Jasmin’s direction.

  Sage held her back.

  “Come on, now. No drama. All I did was say hello,” he said.

  Raven composed herself. She plastered that fake smile back on her face.

  “You’re right. Why should I let these tricks spoil a great night?” Now it was Jasmin’s turn to do the holding back--when Neva took a step toward Raven.

  “Chill, Neva. I got this.” Jasmin stepped closer to Sage. She looked right into his eyes, dared him to look away.

  “Tell her the truth, Sage. You didn’t stop me just to say hi,” Jasmin challenged him.

  Flustered, Sage ignored her. He tried to steer Raven to the exit.

  “Whatever, Jasmin. Come on Raven, let’s get out of here,” he said.

  “Oh, hell no! What’s she talking about?” Raven said. Sage got persistent, pulled on Raven’s arm. She shook him off.

  “She’s tripping, Raven. Let’s go,” said Sage.

  Jasmin smirked as beads of sweat popped
up on Sage’s forehead, and he started to jiggle his keys in his pocket.

  “What’s the hurry, Sage? A minute ago you wanted to play twenty questions,” Jasmin said. She turned to Raven.

  “Your boy wanted to know what happened to me and him. Why I stopped speaking to him. You tell him, Raven.”

  Raven fidgeted from all the eyes trained on her. Suddenly, being the center of the ring wasn’t so appealing to her.

  “Tell him what? I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” Raven snapped, trying to play off her discomfort.

  “The note, Raven. Tell him about the note,” said Jasmin.

  Sage’s eyes narrowed. Raven strained under the weight of her lies.

  “Her ass is crazy, Sage! What note?” Raven said.

  Jasmin glared at Sage.

  “I asked you more than once if you and Raven were a couple. You said no…but Ms. Psycho here made it very clear that was a lie,” snapped Jasmin.

  Raven lunged in Jasmin’s direction. Neva and Sage jumped into action to keep the two of them apart.

  “Who are you calling psycho, bitch! I don’t know anything about a note to you. That shit could have come from anybody,” Raven huffed.

  “It could have, but you were the only one staring me down whenever Sage and I were together,” said Jasmin.

  They were a safe distance apart, but both girls’ heaving chests and fiery eyes indicated the war of words could easily escalate into You-Tube-video type violence.

  “This is a bunch of bullshit! Let’s go, Sage,” Raven said.

  Sage didn’t move. His eyes darted back and forth between the girls, like he was using some kind of visual lie detector to glean the truth. Despite the scrutiny, both girls held their ground. Neva, on high alert now, took Jasmin by the arm.

  “Come on, girl. She’s not worth it. Neither is he.”

  Jasmin shook off her friend’s hand.

  “Do me a favor, Sage. Stay the hell away from me. And keep your pit bull on a leash when you take her out in public.”

  Raven flipped Jasmin the bird. Sage didn’t say a word, but the wounded look on his face read like a book. He let Raven steer him to the exit.

  Jasmin and Neva hung around the gym for a while longer.

  “Uhhh! What does he see in her? I thought he was cool. I just don’t get it,” Jasmin said.

  “Don’t feel bad. I’ve known that boy since junior high and he’s always been a little different. I don’t think he’s ever had a real girlfriend. I mean as far as I know. He’ll mess around with you for a few weeks…then boom, on to the next one. He’s definitely got commitment issues,” said Neva.

  “Really? I didn’t get that impression. I mean he came at me pretty hard, but it seemed sincere. So you think he was just trying to hit and quit it or something?” asked Jasmin.

  “I wouldn’t be surprised. And Crazy Raven is a piece of work, too. She’s been through so many boys at our school I’m surprised her cooch hasn’t dropped dead from exhaustion and demanded a proper burial. You ask me…they’re perfect for each other. Matter of fact, have you heard the rumor?”

  “No. What?” Jasmin asked.

  “Miss Raven has been skipping P.E. lately. She brought a note in and the teacher’s been excusing her from dressing out. A lot of people think it’s because she’s pregnant. And Sage might be the daddy,” Neva said, with a smug look on her face. A look she promptly dropped when she saw the hurt in Jasmin’s eyes.

  “Uh-uh…you serious? Wow. Glad I didn’t get too caught up. The last thing I need is drama like that.” Jasmin blinked her eyes rapidly like she was trying to rid them of some debris.

  “Exactly. Now take a tip from me. Consider yourself lucky, and keep it moving,” said Neva. She gave Jasmin a sympathetic pat on the back as they headed for the door.

  Sage and Raven were parked in front of her house. From the looks of their body language, tension hung heavy as a wet blanket between the two of them.

  “You don’t believe me do you?” Raven asked.

  “I didn’t say that, but you did try to fight her once before,” said Sage.

  “Fine, believe what you want. So is this it? You don’t want to see me anymore?”

  Before he could answer, Raven had yanked the door open and was almost out of the truck. Sage grabbed her arm.

  “Come on, Raven. Chill. Look, I like hanging with you. Never thought I’d hear myself say that, but I do. I just don’t want you to turn into fists of fury every time we happen to run into Jasmin. Think you can manage that?”

  Raven tried not to smile, but couldn’t help herself.

  “Maybe. Long as we don’t run into her too much,” Raven said, easing back into the seat. She leaned toward Sage and kissed him.

  “I was having a good time until she came along. You?” Raven asked.

  “Yeah, I was. I’m glad your granny let you out tonight,” said Sage.

  “Well…she’s still at work. You want to have some more fun?”

  Raven teased him with a hand across the crotch of his jeans. Sage squirmed under her touch. He took her hand and kissed the top of it.

  “You’re dangerous. You know that?” he said.

  Raven winked at him. “And don’t you forget it. Now answer the question. Do you want to come in?”

  “It’s tempting, but I don’t think so. We have to be more careful, Raven. I don’t want to cause any more trouble with you and your grandmother. That cool with you?”

  Raven poked her lip out.

  “Not really, but you’re right. My nosy ass neighbor is probably peeping at us right now. Taking notes and shit to give to Granny,” Raven said.

  “Exactly. And I do not want that to happen, but I promise we’ll spend more time together. Okay?” said Sage. Then he got really quiet. His face and mood shifted south.

  “Hey, what’s wrong? Why so sad?” Raven asked, taking his hands in hers. He tried to shake the worry bubbling up in the pit of his stomach. He kissed her. Hard. To keep her mouth and her mind off his increasingly funky demeanor.

  “Who’s sad?” he lied. "Here I have this fine specimen of the female form sitting next to me. Why would a brother be sad?”

  Sage planted a flurry of kisses on her face and neck to distract her even more.

  His feelings were the last thing he wanted to discuss right then.

  Raven ate it up. “Boy, you’re so crazy! Let me out of here,” Raven giggled. “Bye, Sage.”

  She pulled away, her face glowing like Christmas morning. After she climbed out of the truck, Sage watched her walk to the house and let herself in. Once she was safely inside, Sage took a long look at himself in the rearview mirror before he started the truck and drove off.

  Man, what are you trying to prove? Stop this shit right now, he thought.

  Chapter 15

  Jasmin and Neva headed to the entrance of the school. Laughing and skipping around like best buds on the playground at recess. Neva stopped to retrieve something from her backpack. Jasmin picked at her hair and idly scanned the crowd around them. Her face fell when she spotted Sage and Raven a short distance away.

  At the same time, Neva found what she’d been rooting around for.

  “I’m ready. Let’s go.” Neva started to move, but Jasmin was stuck on pause. She kept staring in the direction of Sage and Raven. Neva still hadn’t noticed them.

  “What are you looking at?” Neva craned her neck to see what was so interesting. When she finally caught on, she sucked her teeth loudly.

  “Oh, look. It’s Freak and Freakier. Sure are getting cozy, aren’t they? It won’t last. Trust me. Come on, girl. Let’s get to class,” Neva said.

  “Yeah. Let’s
do that,” Jasmin huffed, whipping her head so hard it was a miracle she didn’t strain a vertebrae in her neck. The girls walked away not nearly as chipper as they had been. They were in no mood for laughing and skipping. Recess was definitely over.

  If Jasmin felt like she was wallowing in the pits of hell, then Raven was floating in heaven, and she clung to her illusion of true teen-aged bliss every step of the way. Hell, the girl positively glowed. Even in the shadows of the overcast sky above her.