by E M Lindsey
“Uh,” Will finally managed to say.
“Okay, I know that crying dudes in empty parking lots are probably more of a private thing,” Sage told him, taking a step forward with his hands up in surrender, “but I had to check when I saw it was you. And this might be a stupid question but, are you okay?”
Will’s face settled into something like a smile, and he felt his overwhelming rage and frustration start to cool. “It’s nothing. Just one of the worst nights of my life is all.”
Sage’s lip quirked into a half grin and he closed the distance between them. He was close enough to touch, if he only reached out, but he kept his hands firmly at his sides. “That sounds like an existential problem.”
Will licked his lips, almost like he was trying to hold back, but the words broke free in spite of his efforts. “My parents died…uh…a few nights ago. Plane crash. And in two days, a case worker is going to be here with the little sister I’ve never met because my parents named me her guardian. Which, of course, is in spite of the fact that my dad disinherited me like eight years ago and we haven’t spoken since.”
Sage looked like he’d been slapped across the face with a metal shovel. He took a step back, blinking, then clenched his hands into fists like he was trying to stop himself from reaching for Will. It was incredibly endearing, and part of Will felt disappointed when Sage held himself back. “Jesus Christ, man. Are you serious?”
Will swiped at the lingering tear tracks on his cheeks, sniffed, then shrugged. “I guess I am. Part of me keeps thinking that this is some stress coma I fell into when the café opened, but I don’t think I’m going to be that lucky.” He glanced around, then sank back to the parking block and rested his forearms over his knees.
After a beat, Sage joined him, forcing him to budge up and make room. Their hips pressed together, knees knocking, and it was the first time physical contact felt right in a long, long while. “My mom died when I was a kid,” Sage told him in a quiet voice. “I wasn’t really close to her—I had a pretty complicated home-life—but I remember how shocked I felt. Like that sort of fucked up belief you have that your parents are immortal and can’t actually die.”
Will sniffed again, then nodded, leaning gently into Sage’s side. “Yeah. My parents cut me off right after I graduated with my bachelor’s, and we hadn’t talked since then. But I never thought…” He trailed off, dragging a hand down his face and grimaced at the tacky feel of drying tears on his cheeks. He waited a moment to see if humiliation would set in. What kind of man just started sobbing in the middle of an empty parking lot like this? Only, something about Sage witnessing all this wasn’t humiliating—it was comforting. The man’s presence was strong and intense—he was a huge guy, and at first glance, looked a little terrifying. But instead of wanting to run, Will found himself wanting to curl up in his arms.
Sage didn’t reach out to hug him, but he did shift a little closer, so they were pressed all the way from knees to shoulders. The warmth brought Will back down a bit, made his brain feel less like it was trying to break through his forehead.
“It’s never easy,” Sage murmured.
Will bit his lip, shaking his head. “So…yeah. So that happened, and then I locked my keys in my car, and the one person with an extra set is refusing to drive over here and help me out.”
Sage’s brows dipped, making him look a little menacing. “Seriously?”
Will gave a half-shrug, a resigned sigh escaping his chest. “He’s a jerk, what can I say. He’s angry at me because I wouldn’t skimp out on café supplies and give him twenty grand out of my business loan for some vintage car he thinks he’s going to make a ton of money on.”
Sage’s hands clenched into fists for a tense second, then he relaxed, slapped them on the tops of his thighs, and pushed to his feet. “Okay. Easy enough.”
With a frown, Will found himself rising too, moving a step back to really take the other man in. Sage’s face was drawn with purpose, and he was glancing around the parking lot like Will’s keys might appear out of thin air. “What uh…what are you talking about?”
“Wait here,” Sage said, his gruff tone cutting Will’s words off.
Will stood there, a little stunned as Sage broke into a run, then disappeared through a door in the back of the building next to his. Unsure what was happening, and unable to do anything but comply with Sage’s request, Will stood there until the door swung back open with a loud creak.
Sage appeared a second later, a busted old wire hanger in his hands and a slight smirk turning up his lips. “I’m kind of not great with people, but I can fix things.”
Will’s eyes widened when he realized what Sage was implying. “You’re going to break into my car,” he said flatly.
Sage shrugged, then walked to the window. “Luckily, your car isn’t one of the newer models without an old-school locking mechanism. My boss drives one of those electric bastards and we ended up having to break a window.” When Will made a noise of surprise, Sage looked back over his shoulder with a grin. “The window replacement ended up being cheaper than having a new electronic key cut.”
Will let out a surprised laugh. “Well, this might be the first time anyone’s ever said I’m lucky to own this old beater.”
Sage chuckled and shook his head. “Trust me, if anyone can find something good in something falling apart, it’s me.” Winking, he turned back, jamming the wire into the gap between the window and the door. Sage fiddled with it for a good five minutes as Will’s heart thudded in his chest, hoping against hope that Sage would be able to pull him out of this mess, even if the method was unconventional.
Just when Will was certain it wasn’t going to work, he heard a loud click. Sage pulled on the door handle and looked back with a triumphant grin as it swung open. “Wow,” Will breathed, taking a step forward. “Do I want to ask how in the world you knew how to do that?”
Sage looked a little sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. “It’s complicated.”
“Right,” Will said, letting his disappointment color his tone. He shook himself out of it, though. Sage had just pulled him out of the fire—regardless if the means were a little dodgy—and it meant Will could get home and start getting ready for Molly’s visit. “I honestly don’t know how to thank you.”
Sage’s grin softened to something very small, but very sincere, and it made Will’s heart thump hard against the inside of his ribs. “It was nothing. Your night was already shit, and there wasn’t anything I could do about your parents or your sister. Or about the asshole friend of yours who took your keys—though if you want, I’m pretty good at making people nervous.”
“I have no doubt about that,” Will said with a faint smile, nervous himself, though it was for a totally different reason. “But it’s fine. I’m handling him. It’s…he and I are also, you know, complicated.”
Sage’s face went through a short series of expressions, and Will was certain one of them was disappointed. “I get that. Trust me. If you ever need help, if someone’s crossing lines with you, I’m just next door. And I work a lot, so I’m almost always there.”
Will felt a warmth spread from his belly through all four limbs, and it took every ounce of his self-restraint not to throw himself into Sage’s arms right then. “Thanks,” he managed to say. “You’ll be coming back to the café, right? For more chai?”
“You haven’t seen the last of me,” Sage said, and gave Will a mock salute before walking backward toward the three cars left on the other side of the parking lot. “I’m serious though, anything happens, and I’ll be there. If I’m not, one of the guys will know how to reach me.”
Will swallowed thickly, then nodded. “Have a good night, Sage.”
Sage’s eyes went relaxed in the corners, and his jaw unclenched. “You too.”
Will turned away, forcing himself to get behind the wheel and close the door. He scrambled behind his seat for his keys, then sat there for a good ten minutes trying to compose himsel
f. He didn’t know what it meant that he was feeling all these things right in the midst of his parents’ deaths, and potentially getting sudden custody of his sister. He should be overwhelmed with all of that—and he was—but he was feeling something else now too. Something he’d never felt with Joe, not even in the beginning when he seemed like he had the potential to be a decent guy.
When Will blinked, the image of Sage’s face sat behind his eyelids, and for just that moment, he let himself want.
Chapter Six
Tony and Derek sauntered into the room, four mason jars stuffed with cash and coins in their hands. Sage hurtled forward to grab the cards out of the way just seconds before Tony dumped the contents onto the center of the table, grinning around at the guys. “Nice haul.”
The jars were a little contest they played at the shop every time they held a Flash Friday sale. The tattoos would cost whatever the date was—since it was the thirty-first, each tattoo was thirty-one dollars—and they created a betting pool on which design would be chosen the most from everyone’s flash sheets.
Everyone had immediately narrowed in on Sage’s two tiny sparrows with a text banner between them. He had to put a dollar in the jar for every one of those he did—and a bonus fifty cents every time a person got their significant other’s name with it.
The jars of cash then became poker money, and it made the night a little less stressful since no one had to play with their own funds. After a week like that, everyone was ready to unwind. James had already grabbed barbeque from their favorite place up the street, and Mat and Lucy had just gotten back with the two cases of beer.
“Okay, math guy,” Tony said, winking at Sage, “you get this all sorted out so it’s done right.”
“Don’t act like you idiots can’t count dollar bills,” Sage grumbled as he began to sort the money. “I’ve seen all your asses at the strip club.” There was a tittering of laughter as Sage quickly divided up the money between the eight of them. “Who’s got Matty?” he asked.
“He can partner with me,” Wyatt piped up, surprising everyone at the table. Wyatt normally kept to himself, even when he did make the occasional appearance in the main house. He was somewhat of a recluse, and the most anyone knew about the guy was that he was from Quebec, he mostly spoke French, and he used to be a teacher.
Mat was flushing, but he didn’t protest, so Sage shrugged and added Mat’s stack of cash to Wyatt’s. “Alright. You have to bet double since you’re a team, and each winning hand is split evenly.” He hesitated, looking at Wyatt’s closed eyes, then said, “All the bills are ones, and all the coins are quarters. We don’t bother with chips. Big blind’s fifty cents, small blind’s a quarter, standard bet’s a dollar. No wilds, and no bets over three bucks.”
“That works for me,” Wyatt said with a small grin. He shifted his chair slightly when Mat joined him, and leaned in to say something too softly for Sage to make out.
Sage’s gaze rose to James’, who gave him a shrug, and Sage decided it wasn’t really his place to ask. Mat was the straight one in the group, so he didn’t think there was anything romantic happening, not that it would have been any of their business anyway. Of course, the group was worse than a knitting circle, so Sage quickly finished passing out the cash before anyone got any ideas about starting gossip.
“Alright, assholes, ante up. I don’t want to be here all night, and daddy has a new TV to buy,” James said, clapping his hands.
Everyone booed him and he laughed as they threw their quarters into the center of the table. Sage cut the deck, then passed the cards over to Derek who grinned at him and started to deal. The atmosphere settled into something comfortable and warm, and Sage was reminded of just how much he loved being home.
Sage glanced down at Sam filling his plate and grimaced. “Gross, man. Why are you like this?” he demanded.
Sam scooped up a pile of coleslaw on his piece of fried okra and shoved it in his mouth, chewing messy and toothily at his friend. “You love me.”
“Yeah, which is the literal only reason I tolerate your nasty-ass eating habits.” Sage leaned against the counter and picked at what was left of his mashed potatoes with the edge of the plastic fork. “Hey, you still need that sitter Wednesday?”
Sam let out a bone-deep sigh. “Yeah. May’s caseworker called me and said I have to head down to Denver for some meeting or whatever. She wouldn’t give me details, but I swear to god, ever since I filed that fucking petition, it’s been one thing after another. I don’t know why they’re suddenly giving all these fucks. I’m wondering if I should just withdraw it and keep doing what we’re doing.”
Sage frowned. “What? Dude, no. That’s your girl, and you deserve to be her dad. Legally. Government agencies are always dickheads. They just like to see people squirm.”
Sam nodded, but he looked a little uncomfortable as he slid his plate onto the counter and rolled back a bit. “Yeah. Just…they’ve been asking me a lot of questions about my legs recently. More than they ever have. I thought it was bad when I first picked her up, but I’m starting to get freaked out that they’re going to turn me down because of my chair.”
With a frown, Sage tossed his plate on top of Sam’s and crossed his arms. “They can’t do that, can they? That shit can’t be legal.”
“I think it is,” Sam said, his tone a little morose. “I need to look into it more, but I remember them saying some shit about how disability could factor into my application for guardianship.” Licking his lips, Sam shrugged and leaned over his thighs, keeping his voice low. “I have some savings, and I might drop it on a lawyer, you know? Get some actual advice. I don’t think I could afford a full retainer, but I thought the whole legal guardian adoption thing was going to be way less complicated.”
“Well, if you need anything,” Sage started.
Sam waved him off. “Nah, man. I’m good.” He spun his chair and then looked back over his shoulder. “Another round?”
Sage shook his head and followed him back into the living room where the guys had stopped playing. Mat and Wyatt were busy counting their spoils—having collected more than two thirds of the pot between them—and Sage couldn’t help but smile. He’d gone out early, but his heart wasn’t really in the game.
Every time there was a lull in conversation, his brain went back to the other night. He couldn’t get the vision of Will crying on a parking block out of his head. Normally, he would have never gotten involved. He hadn’t been lying when he told Will he thought strangers crying in parking lots were none of his damn business. However, Sage also couldn’t stop thinking about Will since earlier that evening after he’d gotten rid of his non-date clinger. Will had been the first person to make him feel like opening up in years, and though he had no intention of acting on it, he also wasn’t about to let the guy suffer.
Of course, hearing that his problems were a little deeper than a bad date or stubbed toe complicated matters. Sage was a fixer. Sage got by in life and dealt with his past trauma and loss by being there and solving problems for his friends and family. When he was presented with a problem he couldn’t resolve, it left him twisted up inside. It felt like a miracle when Will had something Sage could take action on. Breaking into his car wasn’t going to bring Will’s parents back or make the situation with his sister any less difficult to handle, but he made the guy smile by the time they parted ways, and that was something.
“You look a million miles away,” came his brother’s voice from his right.
Sage turned his head and shrugged. “The other night was kind of weird and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it,” he confessed. “I helped some guy break into his car after he locked his keys in it, and he told me his parents just died.”
“Holy shit,” Derek breathed. “Someone we know?”
“The dude who owns Masala, that new café a few doors down,” Sage told him. “I was heading out to my car and saw him sitting on the ground, crying.”
Derek gave him a careful look
. “Were you okay with it? Hearing about his dead folks?”
Sage rolled his eyes. “Dude, mom died when we were kids. I’m way over that shit.”
“You know I’m not talking about her,” Derek pointed out.
Sage was both annoyed and also appreciative that Derek never beat around the bush when it came to Ted. Everyone else treated the situation like glass, but Derek forced him to confront the reality of it whenever the need arose. “It was fine.”
“It’s just…your trip back there wasn’t that long ago and…”
“I’m being serious,” Sage said, cutting his brother off. “I just felt bad because there wasn’t anything I could say.” He contemplated telling Derek everything else Will had confessed that night. About not having spoken to his parents for years, about the little sister, but it wasn’t his story to tell. “The only thing I could do was get his keys out for him.”
Derek’s mouth quirked up into a small smirk. “I bet he had questions about that.”
“He did,” Sage said with a huffing laugh, “but he was too polite to ask. He’s nice.”
Derek’s eyes went wide. “Are you interested in him? I don’t think I’ve heard you call anyone nice in…maybe ever?”
Curling his hand into a fist, Sage punched his brother in the arm. “Shut the fuck up. Nice doesn’t mean I want to drop to my knees and blow the guy. He’s not my type.”
Derek’s lips thinned. “Do you even know what your type is? You dated like one guy before you met Ted, and you haven’t dated since then.”
“Being in a relationship didn’t mean I couldn’t get it up for other dudes,” Sage defended, now a little annoyed at his brother. “I mean, physically he’s attractive, but he’s kind of…I don’t know. Clean.”
