by E M Lindsey
“Easily done,” Will said. His gaze flickered to the bathroom and he sighed, shoving his phone back into his pocket and pulling out his keys. “I have a feeling she fell asleep in there. I should let you head out.”
Sage grabbed his cup from the table and took a sip of the now-tepid drink. “That number doesn’t just go for tutoring, okay?” he said as Will made his way to the bathroom door. “If you need to talk or…or anything, just use it.”
“Okay,” Will said. His tone suggested he probably wouldn’t, but Sage hoped that maybe it would settle in the back of his mind. At the very least, he hoped it would make sure Will didn’t feel so alone.
Chapter Ten
“Okay,” Sage said, clapping his hands together as he stood in front of Will at the pastry counter, “you know my bosses? Kat and Tony?”
“The ones with the baby,” Will confirmed, frowning at Sage’s question. Sage had been tutoring Molly for nearly three weeks now, and Will had become very acquainted with the enthusiastic artists from the shop. Kat often came in for her morning caffeine fix with Jasmine—who always got a little banana shake with extra coconut whip—and sat in the corner, signing little animal books to her. They hadn’t talked much, but she was always the sweetest when she came in.
Her husband was an entirely different story. Just as kind, but far more enthusiastic and seemed to thrive off making people laugh. He had practically started up a coffee club of Will’s early morning, elderly regulars who seemed to schedule their trips in whenever Tony would have Jasmine with him. Will was always a little intimidated by the man, but he couldn’t hate the fact that he made everyone smile, and seemed to drive in more business than drive it away.
Sage smiled at the look on Will’s face. “I see they’ve made an impression.”
Will snorted, shrugging as he turned to get Sage’s tea. “Something like that. Why, did they complain about the coffee?”
“Jesus, no,” Sage said, choking a little. “They’d probably rather cut out their own tongues than bad-mouth anything you do here. I brought them up because they graciously offered to host a little sleep-over tonight and wanted to invite Molly to join.”
Will’s brows dipped in confusion. “Uh.”
“Okay, that sounds creepier than I meant it to. They’re babysitting,” Sage clarified, rolling his eyes a little—likely at himself. “They’re babysitting for Sam and another friend of theirs, and I thought you might want to take advantage of it. Get some grown-up time while Molly gets a play-date?”
In truth, the very thought of grown-up time where he didn’t have to follow Molly around, cleaning up constant messes and clutter, sounded like literal heaven. His throat got a little tight. “I don’t know,” he said with some hesitation. He knew them, but he didn’t know them, and he’d developed an irrational fear of something happening to Molly while he wasn’t around.
“Hey look, it doesn’t have to be all night,” Sage said. “She can go over and eat pizza and watch movies, and all of us can grab a beer. Sam and a few of his friends are heading into Denver for drinks, and I thought it might be nice to tag along.”
Will shook his head. “A night out is fine, but I don’t think I’m comfortable being so far away,” he admitted.
“Okay,” Sage said, tapping his chin. “Then you and I go grab a drink at Ruby’s place. Her beer is amazing, and you’re like ten minutes away from Kat and Tony’s.”
Will hesitated again, but he couldn’t come up with a good reason to say no. In fact, he didn’t want to. “Let me ask Molly when she gets home from school, but yes. If she’s up for it, yes.”
Sage’s eyes lit up. “Hell yes. It’ll be amazing. I can even pick you up if you want.”
Will laughed. “Ruby’s is literally two blocks from mine. I think I’ll be okay.”
Sage flushed, but he shrugged and looked utterly unapologetic. “Just trying to do something nice.” He gave the counter a pat with his free hand. “First round’s on me. See you at seven? I’ll have Tony text you with details.”
Will didn’t get a word in before Sage breezed back out the door, and though he should feel nervous, instead he felt excited. He was desperate for some time to himself, but he hadn’t felt comfortable venturing out with how chaotic his life was. He’d been dodging Joe for the last few weeks, but it was getting more and more difficult. Twice now, he’d disappeared into the back when Aaron warned him the other man had come into the shop, and Saturday night he’d showed up at Will’s apartment just past midnight. It was a miracle he hadn’t woken Molly, and he only left after Will threatened to call the cops.
He wasn’t entirely sure where Joe was now, but he felt a sense of calm and safety knowing he’d be with Sage at the bar instead of on his own. He didn’t know Tony or Kat as well as he might have liked, but if Sage trusted them, he was willing to take the risk.
That afternoon, when Molly trudged into the café with her bag slung over her shoulder, Will got her started making cupcakes with some rainbow unicorn batter. It perked her up, and he hoped it would soften her to the idea of staying with Kat and Tony for a few hours.
“Molls,” he said as he added some buttercream to the piping bag, “do you know Sage’s friend Kat?”
“Jasmine’s mom?” Molly asked, her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth as she carefully measured scoops of batter.
“Yeah,” Will said. “She’s nice, right?”
“Yes,” Molly said. She swiped her hand over her brow, smearing batter over her eyebrow. “She teached me how to spell my name and how to say some stuff in sign language. Jasmine’s deaf. Did you know that means she can’t hear?”
“I did,” Will confirmed. “I actually took sign language in college.”
Molly looked a little surprised as she glanced up at him. “It’s pretty fun. Jasmine’s not too good at it, but Kat said it’s because she’s just a baby.”
“I’m sure she’ll get better,” Will said with a little grin. He shuffled his feet, then cleared his throat. “How uh…how would you like to go over there tonight? Kat’s babysitting some kids and thought you might like to go over and eat some pizza? Watch some movies?”
Molly frowned at him suspiciously. “Without you?”
“Well,” he said, feeling his night out slipping through his fingers, “I was going to have dinner with Sage, but…”
“Okay,” Molly said brightly. “Will you pick me up later?”
“Of course,” Will said easily, trying to hide his relief. “It won’t be too long.”
Molly considered him a moment, then turned her back to grab the tray of cupcakes, walking them carefully to the oven. He held the door and helped her ease it inside, then set the timer before handing off a towel to wiped up her mess.
“I like Sage,” she said after a minute. “Do you like him?”
“Of course,” Will answered easily. He wasn’t sure exactly what he felt for the other man—they didn’t get a lot of personal time together outside of tutoring Molly, but what little time they had to talk, Will found himself growing more and more fond. “He’s a nice guy.”
Molly bit her lip. “Baba said that boys shouldn’t love other boys. He said it’s bad and that Allah would punish people who do that. Do you…do you think so?”
Will tried to quell his frustration, leaning his elbow on the baking table. “I think that Allah wouldn’t care about that kind of thing. I think it’s more important to him that people are kind, and love each other, and do good in the world.”
Molly hummed. “I think that it’s okay if you love Sage.”
Will choked a little on his breath of air. “I don’t…Sage and I are just friends, Molls.”
She shrugged. “Well, it’s okay if you want to love him. I think he’s nice.” With that, she flounced out of the room, leaving Will standing alone, trying to process his shock.
“Holy shit, dude, you’re actually nervous about this,” Mat said, smirking at Sage who was fussing with his hair for the fifth time since his s
hower. “I need to record this for posterity.”
Sage turned around and glared until Mat put his phone down. “I will murder you and hide your body. No one will miss you.”
Mat rolled his eyes but pushed up from the bed and put his hand on Sage’s shoulder. Sage towered over him by four inches, and at least fifty pounds of muscle, and he didn’t have anywhere near Mat’s natural smile. Just looking at the guy often made him calmer, and it was one of the reasons he and Mat ended up growing closer than Sage was to anyone else in the shop.
“It’s going to be fine, you know,” Mat told him. He tugged Sage to the bed, forcing him to sit, and stood in front of him to comb his hair back into place. “It’s just drinks, right? Or is this an official date?”
“Just hanging out,” Sage muttered, staring down at the hole in his sock where his big toe poked out. “I’m so not ready to date.”
“You sure about that?” Mat asked, but there was no mocking or pressure in his tone this time. Just a gentle nudge to consider that maybe, he was actually taking a step forward.
“I don’t know,” Sage answered after a moment. He scrubbed his fingers over his closed eyelid and sighed loudly. “We haven’t really spent a lot of time together, but we get along, and he makes me feel… I don’t even have the words for it, you know?”
“Good?” Mat offered. “Calm? Happy? Like you want to date him?”
Sage clenched his jaw and pushed up, heading for his dresser to change his shirt for the third time. “I’ve never even really dated before. I was too afraid of getting an STD when Derek and I were squatting, and my first year of college, I dated one guy before Ted. Then he and I just sort of fell together. Study buddies to fuck buddies to getting engaged. I wouldn’t know where to begin.”
Mat snorted. “You could ask James. He’s a serial dater.”
“Dude’s only ever in it to get laid, and I’m so not ready for that,” Sage retorted.
There was a funny look on Mat’s face when Sage looked at him. “You’d be surprised. But either way, don’t over think it. Go out for some drinks, some conversation, actually consider how it feels. If it sucks, no harm no foul. Just go back to teaching his kid and getting free lattes.”
Sage tucked the front of his shirt in, the low V-neck showing off some of the ink over his chest. He ran his thumb over the newest piece on his neck—a shark Derek had insisted on giving him a while back when Derek’s blind date had tried to kiss Sage at the bar—and he really looked at himself. He never thought he was unattractive. As kids, he never had trouble getting a girlfriend, and after he was with Ted, he would find numbers scribbled on receipts every time they went out. His self-esteem was healthy, but his abject fear of losing people he cared about kept him from opening up.
Will was different, though. Will was the kind of guy who could casually touch Sage and not send him into waves of tension. He made Sage smile without any effort, made him want to stick around, to listen to his obnoxious customer of the day stories. Will just made things feel easy.
Sage wasn’t unfamiliar with that feeling. It was like that with Ted too, and that in itself was a little terrifying. “Alright well, I should head out before he thinks I stood him up.”
Mat tossed his boots over, and Sage caught them by the laces with one hand, shoving his feet in and not bothering to tie them. “Be safe. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Sage gave him a flat look as he grabbed his phone and fired off a text to Will. Running late, can you order a pitcher of the house lager? Tell Ruby to put it on my tab. He shoved his phone into his pocket and reached for his jacket.
“Except sucking dick,” Mat clarified as Sage headed for the door. “I wouldn’t do that, but you should. Go suck all the dick.”
“I hate you,” Sage muttered without any heat, then grabbed his keys, leaving Mat in his apartment waiting for the rest of the guys to pick him up for their trip to Denver. Sage was actually glad he wasn’t going along. He would have been happy to drag Will out of the house and help him get social, but Will wanting to stay close to Molly was more than enough excuse for Sage to bail on their group.
He knew that even if they crossed the line into dating, it would never be simple. Molly would always be around—and Sage didn’t hate the idea. He adored her, and in the wee hours of the morning when his thoughts of the future weren’t so rigidly controlled, he let himself think about what it would be like to have a family. Maybe not necessarily with Will and Molly—though he couldn’t deny any longer, the idea was appealing—but having a family in general. Ted had always balked at the idea, and Sage had still been reeling from his shit childhood, so he was happy to agree to no kids.
But he was older now, and maybe a little fucked up still, but the idea wasn’t so terrifying anymore. He was no longer convinced that he’d do nothing but fuck up a child’s psyche. He knew it was ridiculous to consider Will and Molly an option for his future, but the idea that once scared him, was now freeing.
He reached Ruby’s bar in a handful of minutes, parking at the tattoo shop and walking across the street, and he found Will already inside with a pitcher of beer on a high-top table. Sage grinned as he crossed the room, and immediately took the glass Will offered, pouring himself half and taking a long drink.
“Sorry I was late,” Sage offered once he’d swiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Mat was over at my place fucking around.”
Will’s brows dipped. “Did you want to invite him? I wouldn’t mind.”
Sage waved him off. “Nah. He’s going with everyone to that bar in Denver. One of my regulars is a bartender there so they get cheap booze, and no one fucks with them.”
Will laughed softly, shaking his head. “Sorry just…I can’t imagine anyone fucking with you guys. You’re all…” He waved his hand up and down Sage’s body. “Large and covered in tattoos. It’s a little intimidating.”
Sage felt himself blushing. “Is that bad?”
“No. It’s definitely not bad,” Will said, smiling softly. He fiddled with the glass between his hands, which Sage realized was filled with water. “Just not something I’m used to.”
Sage eyed Will’s water again. “Can I grab you something other than beer? I didn’t even ask if you liked it.”
“No. I…” Will let out a soft ha and shrugged. “I don’t actually drink.”
“Is it the religious thing?” Sage asked, unable to stop himself. “Just, I kind of noticed you don’t swear either, which made me feel bad. My mouth is…foul. I can try to cut back if you need me to.”
Will laughed, the smile lighting up his entire face, and he laid his hand flat on the table. “No, no, you’re fine. Seriously. I meant it when I said haven’t been practicing in years, but…I don’t know. It was just something I grew up with. I kept the parts of my culture that were important to me. The stuff that made me feel good.”
Sage blew out a puff of air. “You know what, let’s go do something else. I can’t imagine it’s in any way fun to sit in a bar when you don’t drink.”
Will shook his head. “No seriously, it’s fine. I like it here. I come in for onion rings sometimes, and I hang out with Ruby when she’s not busy.”
Sage pushed his glass away and pushed himself to stand and offered his hand out. “Trust me?”
Will gave him a careful look, then shrugged. “I guess. That’s kind of a waste, though,” he said, nodding at the pitcher that was almost completely full.
“Ruby will forgive me. I have an idea, and I think it could be fun.” His grin threatened to split his face in half when Will finally took his hand and let Sage drag him out the front doors.
Sage felt a surge of triumph when Will didn’t balk at the sight of the motorcycle. It was technically James’ though he hadn’t modified it enough to ride with his prosthetics yet, but it was his pet project and everyone had a set of keys. Sage took it out the most, the feeling of cruising up and down the winding roads freeing.
“A bike,” Will said, leaning into Sage�
��s arm. “Do you know how to ride it?”
Sage let out a small laugh as he pulled the keys from his pocket. “Yes, I do. I took my driver’s test and everything.” He shuffled his feet a little, feeling vulnerable and yet strangely safe sharing these little pieces of himself with Will. “I usually take it out when I’m feeling overwhelmed by people. It makes me feel…I don’t know, like I’m part of something bigger than small-town life.”
Will’s gaze softened. “I think I can understand that.” He blew out a puff of air, then threw his arms wide in a surrendering shrug. “Okay, I’m in.”
Sage’s eyes widened, and a small laugh bubbled up from his gut. “Yeah?”
“Yes,” Will said firmly. “Not too far out. I want to be close to Molly in case anything happens, but I’m up for a short drive.”
As Will climbed on behind him, Sage couldn’t say he hated the feeling of Will pressed against him, arms curled around his waist, chin resting on his shoulder. He took the bike up the high road, all the way to the top of the hill which overlooked the city, then pulled to the side for a breather.
“You did well,” Sage told him as he eased the kickstand down. “You been on one before?”
“I had a friend who rode one back in college,” Will told him with a little shrug. “He was kind of a douche, and eventually he got on it wasted and wrecked it, but he took me out a few times during our sophomore year. I always liked how it felt a little bit reckless.”
“I’ll probably get one of my own eventually,” Sage told him, fiddling with the handle bar. “James’ll eventually get this thing modified for his prosthetics, so we’ll all have to come up with new ways to entertain ourselves.”
Will chuckled softly, leaning against Sage in a way that shouldn’t have been so comfortable. “I think it suits you. I mean, tattoos, piercings, tight jeans, boots. Might as well throw in a bike and a leather jacket.”
