Page 24 of Broken Hearts (Hibiscus Hearts #1)

“So, how long have you and Sage been hooking up?”

I glance up to see Owen leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest and a huge smirk on his face.

“What?”

Owen laughs, pushing off the frame as he walks through the office and out the back door. I hear the sound of the fridge opening, and moments later, he’s back, two Coronas in his hand. He pops both caps before handing one to me and says again, “How long have you and Sage been hooking up?”

I take a long pull of my beer, stalling a little, not because I don’t want to admit me and Sage are hooking up, but more because I don’t know how to explain it to him. I kind of don’t want him to think it’s just a hook-up, even though that’s exactly what it looks like. What Sage probably thinks it is too.

Owen waits, the smirk still on his face even as he takes a sip of beer. Blowing out a breath, I stand. “The shop closed?”

I ask him. Owen nods, laughing a little as I turn and walk outside, collapsing into one of the chairs around the firepit. “You going for a surf?”

“Dude, stop stalling!”

Owen says, letting out another laugh. “You know it’s pretty obvious you like her, so it’s not like a big deal.”

I take another sip before eventually saying, “She’s Mitch’s daughter.”

This earns me another laugh. “Ah yeah, I know! You kinda make a point of letting everyone know that.”

“Fuck,”

I groan, scrubbing a hand down my face.

“What, are you seriously worried about that?”

Owen asks, sitting forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “That like, Mitch wouldn’t want you to…I don’t know, do whatever it is you two are doing.”

I shrug, trying not to think too much about what Mitch would think of this whole situation. I mean would he care? Would he hate the idea of me and Sage together?

“Nate,”

Owen says, all laughter and teasing gone now. I look up to find him watching me. “You know Mitch would be okay with it, especially with you.”

“Maybe,”

I eventually say, knowing it wouldn’t change anything anyway because I’m not sure I could walk away from Sage even if I wanted to. And even though I know it’s gonna hurt like hell when she leaves, I still can’t make myself stop whatever this thing is between us.

I want her and I am powerless to stop that.

“Soooo?”

he says, sitting back as he takes another sip of his beer.

“So, she’s leaving,”

I say, putting my feet up on the firepit.

“Is she?”

“Of course she is,”

I tell him. “She lives in New York. She has a life there. Why would she stay here?”

“Um, I don’t know,”

Owen says, waving a hand around. “Because of you?”

I scoff, shaking my head because I know that is never going to happen. “Don’t think so,”

I mutter, taking another sip of beer before I change the subject. “So what’s with you telling Sage to say hi to Sloane? You ever gonna drop that?”

Owen laughs, shaking his head at me. “Nah, man. Why would I when it’s so much fun?”

“Not sure Sloane sees it that way,”

I say, raising a brow at him.

He laughs again, mirroring my pose as he stretches out his legs. “Sure she does. She loves it just as much as I do.”

Now it’s me laughing. “You’re an idiot you know that? Sloane’s never gonna give your rich ass a shot.”

Owen lets out a loud laugh, his head falling back. “Yeah, she will,”

he says. “But back to you and Sage. Why don’t you just ask her to stay?”

I shake my head, knowing there’s not a chance in hell I can do that. Why the fuck would she want to stay? She has no connection to this place, especially now that Mitch is gone, and I already know I am not a good enough reason for her to stay either.

“What?”

Owen now asks. “You don’t think so?”

“Dude, she’s leaving,”

I say again. “Just let it go.”

It’s after ten when I finally hear a knock at my door, practically running to answer it.

“Hey,”

Sage says, as I open the fly screen.

With a grin, I pull her into my arms, kissing her deeply, trying to push my earlier conversation with Owen out of mind. I already know this is temporary and as much as I might not want Sage to sell The Pipe Dream and just stay here, it’s not ever going to happen.

“Ooooo,”

comes a sing-song voice, just as I hear Alana call out, “Nate and Sage, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”

Pulling back, I notice her, Daisy and Sloane all standing by the firepit watching us, huge smiles on their faces.

“Shit,”

Sage mumbles, burying her face against my chest. “Sorry, they wanted to walk me home.”

Chuckling, I drop a kiss on the top of her head. “It’s okay, although I would’ve come and got you.”

Sage lifts her face to me, and I can’t resist leaning in for another kiss, ignoring the cat calls and wolf whistles this gets me as I flip the three of them off.

“BYE!”

Alana shouts. “Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do!”

They all dissolve into fits of laughter, as though this is the funniest thing ever.

“Text me when you get home,”

I call as they turn and walk off, the three of them once again singing that stupid kissing thing as they disappear into the darkness. “So, I take it she guessed, huh?”

I ask, turning back to Sage.

“Yes,”

she groans, dropping her forehead to my chest. “Alana just…ugh, I don’t know, she’s like…”

I laugh, guiding her inside. “I know exactly what she’s like,”

I tell her.

“She claims it was obvious,”

Sage says, following me into the living room. “Like she knew it was gonna happen.”

“Course she did,”

I say with a snort. “So how’d the lei-making thing go?”

Sage blows out a breath as she flops onto the couch. I take a seat beside her, pulling her against me as she rests her head on my shoulder. “Good, I guess,”

she says with a shrug. “I mean, we mostly talked about this, obviously,”

she adds, gesturing between me and her.

I sink down, dropping my head on the back of the couch as I smile. I can’t even imagine the interrogation she faced with the three of them. Alana is bad enough, but when they are all together, jesus, waterboarding is probably less painful.

I guess at least it stopped the conversation from drifting to Mitch and the memorial service.

“What’s the story with Owen and Sloane?”

she asks, lifting her head. “I told Sloane he said hi, and she didn’t seem that impressed.”

Chuckling, I tuck her hair behind her ear, my thumb tracing along the shell. “No, she wouldn’t be. Owen isn’t exactly her type.”

“Oh?”

she asks, curious. “Why’s that?”

My thumb strokes across her cheekbone. “Because Sloane is like me, and Owen isn’t,”

I tell her.

Sage narrows her brow. “What, you mean she’s…”

She trails off as I nod. “And Owen?”

“Owen is like in a whole different world,”

I say. “And for Sloane, that can be hard to…well, you know,”

I say, shrugging.

“But you and Owen are friends, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, but it’s…I don’t know. Different, I guess.”

Sage pouts at that, an adorably confused look on her face as she says, “But it shouldn’t matter.”

Smiling, I close my hand around the back of her neck, pulling her close as I brush my lips against hers. “I know, but it still does,”

I whisper, trying to ignore the thought that Sage and I are the same as Owen and Sloane. From two different worlds.

“Do you think they genuinely like each other, though?”

I laugh now, kissing her again. “Yeah, I don’t know. I think Owen probably likes her.”

“I think Sloane likes him too,”

she says, pulling back a little. “She acted all pissed off when I told her he said hi, but I could tell she was also kinda secretly happy about it.”

“Okay, little matchmaker,”

I say, chuckling. “How about we forget about Owen and Sloane hooking up and focus more on you and me and what we’re gonna do for the rest of the night.”

This earns me a smirk, as Sage rests her hand on my chest. “Well,”

she starts, “am I staying here or are you coming over to my place?”

Grinning, I lift her hand, kissing her knuckles as I say, “Well, you’re outta condoms, so I’m thinking we should probably stay here.”

“Wait, what?”

she asks. “I didn’t…I thought they were…”

She trails off, her confusion suddenly morphing into understanding and then embarrassment. I grin, connecting the dots at the same time Sage does.

“Oh my god!”

she moans, covering her face with her hands. “They were my dad’s.”

I can’t stop the laugh, tugging her hands away from her face. “It’s not that big a deal.”

“Yes, it is!”

she says, slapping at my chest. “We had sex using my dad’s condoms, holy fuck.”

I’m laughing harder now as I pull her closer. “It’s not like he’s gonna find out,”

I whisper, my mouth at her ear. “And I mean, they were there, so…”

Sage groans as she buries her face against my neck. “Nate! Stop! I cannot believe my dad was having sex,”

she mumbles.

“We’re having sex,”

I point out to her.

She lifts her head, hitting me with a look that only makes me laugh again. “Yeah, but you and me are like…I don’t know, supposed to be having sex.”

Chuckling, I drop a quick kiss to the end of her nose. “Well, in that case, we should probably go have sex then,”

I tell her.

She rolls her eyes at this, but she’s smiling as she stands, holding her hand out to me. Sliding my fingers into hers, I let her pull me up from the couch. Together, we walk back to my bedroom.

“You know,”

she starts, her hand still in mine. “We could’ve still done this at my place.”

Confused, I raise a brow in question.

Sage licks her lips, her cheeks darkening a little. “I mean, I’m on the pill,”

she whispers. “And I’m…well. Shit, are you sleeping with anyone else?”

“What? No,”

I say. “Are you?”

“No,”

she replies, shaking her head. “Just you.”

“Me too,”

I reply, my words low.

“So, I mean…”

She shrugs now, as though she isn’t sure whether she should say it.

I’m not sure if it’s what I think she’s trying to say or what it might mean if she is. And I’m definitely too scared to ask. “We barely know each other,”

I whisper, even though that no longer feels true.

And it’s like Sage can read my mind when she says, “Do you really believe that?”

“No,”

I reply even as I’m nodding my head.

Sage steps closer, both of her hands resting against my chest. I know she can feel my heart pounding against my ribs like it’s trying to break free. When she looks up at me, her eyes are dark, and I watch as she licks her lips.

“I…I trust you, Nate.”

Her words are barely audible, but I still hear them loud and clear, as they echo inside my head.

I trust you.

No one has ever said those words to me.

Ever.

And I can’t even begin to describe what hearing them makes me feel as I grab her face in my hands and crush my lips against hers. Sage groans into my mouth, her hands curling into my T-shirt as I kiss her hungrily, desperately, our teeth and tongues clashing as I try to get closer to her.

We tear at each other’s clothing, only stopping our kisses to pull things off, our hands and lips constantly touching some part of each other.

When we’re both naked, Sage puts her hand against my chest and pushes me down, so I am now sitting on the bed. I watch as she moves to straddle me, her eyes locked with mine.

“Are you…”

I pause, swallowing hard. “Are you sure?”

She doesn’t answer, just kisses me deeply as she grips my dick, lifting her hips before she slowly lowers herself onto me. “Fuck. Fuck, Sage, I…”

I don’t know what to say. Have no idea what I’m even trying to say, because I don’t think I have ever felt anything like what I feel in this moment right now.

Overwhelmed.

Consumed.

Crazy.

And before I can find the words, she’s kissing me again as she moves against me, her body riding mine, nothing between us. It feels amazing and perfect, and I never want it to end, even as I drop my hand between us, my thumb pressing against her clit.

“God, Nate,”

she breathes into my mouth, never stopping her hips. “Yes.”

I wrap my other arm around her waist, guiding her movements, the two of us falling into a steady rhythm together as we both stop talking and get lost in this moment. The room is filled with the sounds of us, of our bodies moving together, our heavy breaths, our moans; everything.

And when I finally feel her pussy start to tighten, I’m powerless to stop myself from coming, my balls tightening as I thrust up into her, groaning at the way she clenches around me, at the way I explode inside her. At the way I claim her.

She slows her movements now, riding out her orgasm as I continue to jerk inside her. When she eventually stops, she drops her forehead to my shoulder, her breath warm against my skin. I run my hands up her back, her skin hot and slick with sweat.

Eventually, she lifts her head, her hand cupping my cheek. “Are you okay?” she asks.

I don’t even know what to tell her. How can I possibly explain what I’m feeling right now? How I am so much more than okay, but at the same time completely fucking unraveled.

“Yeah,”

I eventually croak out. “Are you?”

“Uh huh,”

she says, letting out a breath. “Yeah.”

“Sage, that…that was…”

She smiles now, her thumb brushing across my lips as she whispers, “Yeah, I know.”

“Are you sure I should wear this?”