Page 135 of Hidden Ties

TWENTY-FOUR

Sage glanced at Kent’s shadowy profile in the back seat of their Uber. He had been acting strange since she came out from behind Twister’s beer stall.

“I had a really good time,” she said softly, cognizant of the driver being able to hear.

“I did, too. Thank you for going with me.”

The formal stiffness in his voice made her glance in his direction again, trying to read his expression. Something was definitely off with him.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, I just have a slight headache.”

Fiddling with the bandage wrapped around her wrist, she turned to look out of the window. “The beer was good, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. Did Twister’s beer bring back old memories?”

Was he angry because she was friends with Twister?

Pensively, she thought back to the numerous moments which she sat watching them experiment with their brews while the two men had argued good-naturedly over the ingredients.

“Yes.” Sadness welled within her that those precious times were gone. “I can understand how you don’t like him. Myparents didn’t like him, either. They became friends with him after he saved my life when I was little girl.”

“What?” Kent’s head jerked toward her.

“From what my parents told me, he liked to party a lot. The parties would drive them nuts with them having to be up so early and having two little girls to put to bed. I had a habit of doing things I shouldn’t. My mom said I drove her crazy trying to keep up with me. One day, Mom was home alone with Glory and me. I must have decided I didn’t want to take a nap. We had taken a camping trip. Mom went down for a nap, too, and me being a precocious four-year-old, I must have decided I wanted to go back to the campgrounds. Mom said she hadn’t unpacked the bags from the camping trip yet.”

Reminiscing about her mother telling her the story numerous times brought a biting sting of pain she still felt at losing her mother.

“Mom said I dragged out mySleeping Beautysleeping bag before I snuck out of the house. From what she told me, I had actually filled a bag with snacks. My house was two blocks from a busy highway. Twister was driving home, saw me, and brought me home. He recognized me from when he saw Glory and me playing in our yard. Mom said she cried for two days, it frightened her so bad. I could have made it to the highway, or someone could have taken me and hurt me. After that, Mom nor Dad cared how many parties Twister threw. Mom said he quit having so many and started coming over to hang out with my dad. He became like a second dad to me. If my car would break down, or I needed a ride to school or piano practice, he would volunteer to take me.”

The car pulling up in front of her apartment brought their conversation to an end. They got out, and the vehicle drove off.

“I’ve already booked the ride to where I’m staying.”

She didn’t know whether to be sad or relieved that he didn’t expect to be invited inside her apartment. The girls were at their grandmother’s, and Glory would remain in her bedroom until morning, so she could have invited him in for a drink, yet she had the feeling he wanted to leave and was only being polite to walk her to the door.

Dismally, the happiness she had experienced when Kent had introduced her as his girlfriend had turned bittersweet. He was being too polite, as if already distancing himself from her.

When they reached her door, she took out her key as he considerately waited for her to go inside.

She turned toward him, awkwardly nervous. “Thank you for inviting me. I had a really good time.”

“I did, too.” Leaning down, he brushed a kiss on her cheek. “I’ll see you Monday. Good night.”

“Good night.”

She clicked the door shut behind her, then bolted it. Wiggling her feet out of her tennis shoes, she walked to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water. She was taking a sip when she heard a knock on the door. Setting the glass down, she padded back to look through the peephole.

Kent was standing outside.

Opening the door, she started to ask why he had come back when his hand came out to take her by the neck and pull her toward him.

His mouth swept down on hers without giving her a chance to get a single word out. There wasn’t anything exploratory about the kiss. There was nothing soft. Kent claimed her mouth as if they had kissed a thousand times before.

Dazed at the unexpectedness of his kiss, she blindly reacted, her arm circling his neck as she sank into the whirling sensations he was lurching her into. Trustingly, she allowed him to part her lips to thrust his tongue inside, making the sensations whirlfaster. She was unaware he had lifted her off her feet and was holding on to her by the waist until he set her back down on her feet, breaking the kiss.

She blinked up at him; it took a few seconds for her to come to her senses.