Page 34
CHAPTER 32
TO SEE HER HAPPY
DAVID
David Hughes woke up to the unmistakable feeling of long hair tickling his skin. On instinct, he opened his arms, a lazy, sleepy smile spreading across his face as he felt a warm body wriggling closer to him.
He cracked one eye and looked down at Sage, who had her face buried in his armpit.
“That can’t be pleasant,” David murmured, his voice rough from sleep.
Sage let out a muffled snort before lifting her head up to look at him. “It’s actually quite nice in here.”
He couldn’t contain the sunk-down-into-his-bones happiness he felt when he looked at her. All soft from sleep and relaxed, with her own happiness wide open for him to see.
“You graduate today,” he said, bringing a hand up to thread his fingers through her soft hair. “How are you feeling?”
“More excited about being done than about wearing the silly hood and hat.”
David shook his head. “Don’t undersell it.” The sun filtering through Sage’s curtains shone golden on the bare skin of her shoulders, revealing a few freckles that had crept up as spring moved into summer. “You just accomplished something incredible and today we’re going to celebrate that.”
Daisy chose that moment to bound up from where she’d been curled up asleep at the foot of Sage’s bed. She stuck her wet nose right under David’s chin before twisting to lick Sage’s face. Within seconds they were all a giggling, wrestling mess as they tried to escape the tiny dog’s enthusiastic onslaught of affection.
“Okay, okay,” Sage shrieked, leaping up out of the bed in all of her naked glory. A grimace crossed her face, as she bent over with her hands on her knees. “Fuck, my quads are killing me.”
“You could stretch after we work out,” David commented mildly. “Or you could keep complaining about it.”
Sage muttered something under her breath even as she bent one knee and tilted her hips to the side, her nose wrinkling as she half-heartedly stretched.
David stared at her, letting his eyes trail all over her golden skin. He loved the bikini tan lines that cut across her chest, and the little triangles of pale skin over her breasts. He loved the soft curves of her hips and the strength of her thighs. He loved the triangle of curls between her legs that matched the brown of her eyebrows.
“Stop it.” Sage’s hands were braced on her hips as she glared at him. “We both know there’s no time for funny business today, and yet you’re laying over there looking all hot and hard and ready to eat me for breakfast.”
David glanced down, and yep . Her assessment was accurate.
He pressed his palm against himself and groaned. “What if I’m really fast?”
Sage’s eyes narrowed, but he could see the smirk curving the corner of her mouth. “Don’t go too fast, now. We’re supposed to be celebrating, for fuck’s sake.” And with that she launched herself at him.
Twenty-seven minutes later, David held Daisy’s leash in one hand and Sage’s hand in the other. It was one of those mild Charleston mornings that reminded David why he’d moved back. Why he’d always known he’d end up here.
They followed the sidewalk toward the coffee shop they’d taken to frequenting on weekend mornings. David wanted to treat them to pastries before Sage went off and started graduation prep. Apparently her sister was good at doing hair, whatever that meant.
He cleared his throat, squeezing Sage’s hand in what he hoped was a gesture of reassurance. “I heard some news yesterday.”
“Hm?” She looked up at him.
“I got an email that Harding is looking for an assistant coach.” He watched her face carefully. “Apparently Coach White was fired.”
If he hadn’t known Sage’s face like it was his own, he would have missed the fleeting flinch that tightened her expression. Her eyes darted down for a second before lifting to meet his gaze. “Figured that was coming,” she said, her voice softer than he was used to hearing.
Again, he squeezed her hand. “And how are you?”
She shrugged, tipping her head against his shoulder for a brief moment. “Okay, honestly. I think a part of me wanted to let the universe take care of it, you know? Hoped that eventually it would all catch up with him.”
“So what changed?”
“I thought about some kid like me. I thought about him doing it all again, and I hated knowing that I could’ve stopped it.”
David let out a harsh exhale. Something in him loosened, knowing that the man who’d hurt her was finally beginning to face the consequences of his actions.
It had taken every ounce of his self control to step back and trust Sage when it came to Evan White. So much of him wanted to drag that goddamn horrible excuse of a man through the mud until there was no remote possibility of him ever working or coaching again.
But he knew Sage. As excruciating as it was to do nothing, he knew that it wasn’t his choice to make. So he’d cared for her and supported her in the ways that he could, trusting that she would do whatever she needed to.
And, damn it , she had.
“You’re incredible, Lefty.”
Her expression softened and then she squeezed his hand, returning the reassurance that he’d offered to her. “I’m just trying to do the right thing.”
David shook his head, voicing something that he hadn’t realized had been bothering him. “It shouldn’t have been up to you.” He quickly added. “Not that you aren’t more than capable of handling someone like him. But it’s a goddamn tragedy that things like this fall on the shoulders of the people who survive them.”
Her fingers tightened again. “You’re a good one, David Hughes.”
* * *
David stood in the shade of one of the many magnolia trees that grew outside of the auditorium in the northwest corner of Southeastern’s campus. It was only noon and he already regretted wearing a jacket with his shirt and linen slacks.
Sage had left him twenty minutes earlier to go get ready for the ceremony, leaving David with nothing but a vague description of her mother and sister — who had brought her boyfriend along — and instructions to find the four of them seats together.
Did he feel like he was too old to be going through the stress of meeting someone’s mom for the first time? Yes. Was it also completely worth it because it was for Sage Fogerty? Also yes.
He shifted his weight, frowning at the constant stream of people walking past. There had to be a rule somewhere that said that girlfriends weren’t allowed to leave their conspicuously older boyfriends alone to meet their mom.
“Coach!”
David looked over, smiling at the sight of Jordan walking toward him. He looked as neat and put-together as ever, wearing a black suit that was just a little too baggy on him. His face was bright, brighter than David was used to seeing.
The two men shook hands. “Congrats, Jordan,” David said, giving what he hoped was a supportive squeeze before letting go of Jordan’s hand.
“Thanks, Coach.” His blue eyes darted around, a sign that David had learned meant that he was nervous. “I, uh,” Jordan swallowed. “I actually wanted to ask you something.”
“Of course.”
“Well,” Jordan began, rubbing his palms together. “I want to say thank you, you know, for everything this year. I know I wasn’t doing good at the beginning of the season, and you helped me. You made me a better player. And, I don’t know if you knew, but I’ve been studying business, and I really don’t want to do that. I don’t think I could sit at a desk and look at a computer all day.” It looked like he was steeling himself, gathering courage for whatever he was going to say next. “So I was wondering, only if it works for you, if you’d ever be interested in having a graduate assistant, because I think I might want to be like you. I mean, I might want to coach.”
David’s throat bobbed, overcome with admiration for this young man who’d battled and grown and changed so much in the past year. He thought David had made him a better player? No, Jordan had made David a better coach and a better man.
“I’d be honored to have you on the bench with me, Jordan,” David said, and it was the truth. He’d love to give Jordan the opportunity to learn about coaching, and it was an incredible honor that he was asking him . That David had been the kind of coach worthy of learning from.
Over his shoulder, David caught a flash of color and a group of three people — two women and a man — walking toward the entrance to the auditorium.
David turned to Jordan. “I’ve got to run,” he said, already starting toward the group. “But text me and we’ll sit down and talk it through, okay?”
“Okay,” Jordan replied, looking curiously at David. His eyes darted over to the group, who’d caught sight of David and were now very obviously moving toward them. His pale brows shot up. “Is that Sage’s —”
“Yep.”
A rare smile split Jordan’s face in two. “Can I tell the guys? They’re going to lose it.”
David let out a sigh, rubbing a hand across his already sweaty forehead. “Fine. Now get out of here.”
He could have sworn he heard a laugh as his ex-player walked away, but his attention was immediately pulled to the group who approached him.
“David,” a woman around his age said, extending a manicured hand for him to shake. “It’s great to meet you.”
Brinley. Sage’s older sister. She looked like she belonged in Charleston with her curled hair and bright dress. She also looked at David like she thought it was, actually, great to meet him. That was a good start .
“Brinley,” he replied. “It’s lovely to meet you too.”
Her pink painted lips quirked into a grin. “And this is my mom, Cheryl.”
David turned to the willowy woman who stood beside Brinley. He recognized her from the conference tournament. Bracelets covered her thin wrists, and her silver-blonde hair was pulled back in a braid. Her dress reminded David of butterfly wings, fluttering around her slender body.
“It’s a real pleasure to meet you, Ms. Fogerty.” David offered his sweaty hand.
Her eyes narrowed, but she returned the handshake. “Mr. Hughes.”
He saw so much of Sage in the roundness of her cheeks and the stubborn glint in her green eyes.
“And,” Brinley said loudly, obviously trying to interrupt whatever silent weighing was taking place between David and her mother, “This is my boyfriend, Rohan.”
The two men exchanged a quick handshake, and David immediately liked him. He was tall, handsome, and had a bright smile that practically shone against his warm brown skin.
“Well, I’ve got us all seats,” David said, itching under the continued hostile looks coming from Cheryl Fogerty. “Should we head inside?”
Cheryl turned to her daughter. “Brinley, why don’t you and Rohan head inside. I’d like to have a quick conversation with Mr. Hughes.”
David caught the moment Brinley’s eyes widened. “Mom, I don’t think —”
“We’ll be fine,” Cheryl interrupted.
David gave Brinley quick directions to their seats, and then he was left alone with his girlfriend’s terrifying mother.
“I can’t say that I’m happy to meet you, Mr. Hughes.”
David forced himself to take a deep breath. “Ma’am, I —”
“I know all about men like you. Men who see someone beautiful like Sage and think that they can take advantage of her.”
A wave of frustration rose in him. “Ms. Fogerty.” He forced his voice to remain even. “Respectfully, I care about your daughter. I’ve been lucky enough to count her as a friend this past year, and you should know that there is nothing, nothing , I wouldn’t do to see her happy.” He made sure that Cheryl was looking him in the eye before he continued. “And that includes walking away. If she ever asked me to leave I’d go, if what waited on the other side was her happiness.”
Something shifted in Cheryl’s expression and she looked down. David waited. After a long breath of silence Cheryl looked up, a look on her face that reminded David of his own mother. “All that I want is what’s best for her.”
David nodded. “Me too. Sage is incredibly capable and stronger than I’ll ever be, and there’s not a doubt in my mind that she’ll succeed in whatever she decides to do. I plan to stand by her side as she figures it all out, and if at any point she needs me, I’m going to be there for her. I’ll be there, ready to reassure her that accepting my help is not a sign of weakness but of strength.”
He thought about Sage, about the fact that she had a job and a path forward, one that she’d found all on her own. About the pride and excitement in her eyes when she talked about what was coming in the future. He thought about all of the times she said “we” when she talked about what came next, like there wasn’t even a glimmer of doubt in her mind that David was a part of it. A part of her life.
There was one other thing he wanted to tell the mother of the woman who’d carved a place into his life and into the spot behind his ribs that sometimes felt like it might burst when they sat together on the couch lost in their own books. Or when they went to the Humphrey Center in the late hours before the building closed, just the two of them and a basketball, the sound of their teasing and laughter shattering the silence.
“Do you think I don’t realize how lucky I am that she’s decided that I’m worth it? That I’m worth the lectures and disapproval she’s going to have to put up with because she’s with me? An older man?” David shook his head. “I won’t ever forget that.”
Bells pealed out, signaling the top of the hour. David held Cheryl’s gaze. Her mouth tightened for a moment and then relaxed. Her expression almost looked like resignation.
“We should go inside,” David said, nodding toward the rush of people crowding the doors.
Cheryl nodded.
As he led the older woman through the crowd, he felt something in him loosen before clicking into place.
* * *
It seemed fitting that they celebrate Sage at The Grove.
It had been Maggie’s idea to congregate there. Probably because she hadn’t been able to get out of her shift, but hey, none of them were complaining.
David watched fondly as Sage threw her head back in laughter as she talked with her sister and Rebecca. She wore a dress that was green just like her name. It was flowy from her waist down and reached right above her knees. The top was tight against her skin, cut low enough in the front that it left the tan curve of the top of her breasts exposed. She looked beautiful, her outfit doing nothing to help his increasingly urgent need to get his girlfriend home and into bed as quickly as possible.
The gathered crowd was a mixture of his friends — well, their friends, now — and Maggie, Ms. Fogerty, Brinley, and Rohan, her boyfriend, representing Sage’s side. David’s mom had tried to come down for the party, but David had put the brakes on that idea. No matter how much his mom was begging to meet his girlfriend, he wouldn’t take away from this moment in Sage’s life.
“It all worked out for you in the end, didn’t it?”
David cocked a brow at Chuck, who came to stand beside him. “I’d sure as hell say so.”
“She’s pretty fucking great,” Chuck said, pointing his beer at Sage, who was now gesticulating wildly as she told a story.
David wasn’t used to seeing her with painted nails, but found he was rather fond of the blue that Brinley had picked out. He couldn’t wait to see her long fingers wrapped around his —
Chuck elbowed him in the side. “Get your head out of the gutter.”
David opened his mouth to protest, but his friend rolled his eyes.
“Don’t even try, man.”
Relenting, David shrugged. “Wouldn’t you if you had a woman like her?”
Chuck seemed to consider his question for a moment before shrugging. “Well, she’s not exactly my type.”
“Who’s not your type?” Tommy sauntered up to the group, looking like an absolute tool in a pink button down and pressed khaki pants. He’d done something new to his hair, which was swooped over to one side of his head.
Chuck cast a quick glance over at him. “The comb over isn’t working for you,” he said, reaching out a hand and dislodging the hair from the tight hold of whatever product was holding it in place. “Stop trying to look like Keaton. You look just fine the way you are.”
“Fuck off,” Tommy muttered, trying to flatten his hair back down.
Sighing, Chuck grabbed Tommy by the shoulder. “Alright. Let’s go to the bathroom and get that shit out of your hair. I promise I’ll fix it.”
David shook his head as he watched the two of them walk away.
A soft hand curled around his wrist. “Hi.”
He turned to see Sage grinning up at him. Her eyes seemed greener than usual, maybe due to the sparkling copper on her eyelids or the glow of the string lights that hung from the oak trees above them.
“God, you look stunning.” David leaned forward to press a quick kiss to her forehead, but was redirected by Sage, who used the tight grip of her fist on the front of his shirt to guide his mouth to hers.
His low groan was swallowed as her tongue pressed into his mouth. He met her in kind, and the crowd around them faded into the background as he kissed her. Her lips were perfectly cool against his and her tongue was hot and quick like she was trying to win.
It was the kind of kiss that left him ravenous for her.
When they broke apart, David let out a laugh.
She tilted her head to one side. “What?”
“I just keep thinking about that first night,” David admitted, wrapping his arms around her lower back and pulling her body flush against his. “You were supposed to be my ‘ hop back on the bandwagon again’ hookup. A way to get out of a dry spell.” He shook his head, feeling a piece of hair flop forward onto his forehead. Time to call Jordan about another haircut. “I’d say that in the end it worked out alright.”
Sage’s smirk widened. “And there I was just trying to find a big man to take me for a ride on his big —”
David’s eyes widened as he smacked a palm over her mouth. “You are a goddamn menace,” he whispered, pulling his hand away just as her tongue darted out to lick him.
He knew her tricks.
“Come say hi to my mom,” Sage said, ducking under his arm and cuddling up against him.
David’s fingers brushed the soft skin of her bare shoulder as he took a long drink from his Corona. “She still scares me,” he admitted, even as Sage started pulling them both over to where Keaton and Ms. Fogerty were locked in what looked like a very intense conversation.
Sage rolled her eyes at him. “Man up, Hughes. She’s a hippy; she doesn’t believe in violence.”
Grumbling, David followed her, steeling himself for another conversation with the mother of the woman he was unconditionally obsessed with.
* * *
At midnight, David Hughes was regretting wearing the formalwear that he’d thought was appropriate for attending his girlfriend’s graduation.
He was sweating in a way that was beyond socially acceptable, a situation that wasn’t at all helped by his girlfriend’s body, which was pressed flush against his as they danced to some alternative song from the nineties that they somehow knew all of the words to.
He tossed his head, fighting a losing battle against his hair. He could reach a hand up to more effectively push it back, but he didn’t want to let go of his grip on Sage’s hips.
He’d stopped after two beers, but he still felt drunk off of her and the music and the sweaty bodies of their friends surrounding them. Other bar patrons also occupied the small dancefloor, but their group had staked claim to the center.
It was the kind of night that left his face sore from laughter and his feet sore from dancing. He’d not only survived his conversation with Cheryl Fogerty, but had even gotten her telling stories about how Sage, as a four year old, had been determined to climb up onto their roof. While he wasn’t sure he’d completely won her over yet, he no longer feared that his life was at risk. Not that he’d blamed her. Sage was a goddamn gift and deserved all of the love and protection in the world.
If he had to jump through hoops to prove that he was worthy of her then he would. No questions asked.
She was worth that and so much more.