Page 21 of Love Legacy

Sage

I pull up to my parents’ house, parking in the driveway behind my mom’s car. I go to get out of the car, but Naomi stops me. “Wait.”

I pause, letting the car door close slightly. “Yes, Naomi?”

“What if your mom doesn’t like me? I’m not even dressed up. I look like I just rolled out of bed.”

I playfully roll my eyes. “Naomi, even when you roll out of bed, you look beautiful. Either way, my mom doesn’t care. Plus, I know she’s going to love you.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because you’re extremely important to me.

So, by association, she’ll love you. Now come on, I say, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before getting out of the car.

We head to the front door and I let us in, kicking my shoes off in the front hallway before making my way to the kitchen.

“I’m home!” I call out, rounding the corner to see both my parents standing in the kitchen, my dad cooking and my mom sitting at the kitchen island, pouring herself a glass of wine.

Melody gets up from the bar stool she was sitting on, walking over to me with open arms. “Sage! It’s so good to see you, honey,” she says, pulling me down for a tight hug.

I’m 5’10,” but Melody is 5’3” on a good day.

Our height difference is comical at times, especially since she always insists on pulling me down to her level to hug me. But this woman gives the best hugs.

“Hi, Mom, I missed you. I’m glad you guys were home today.”

I finally started calling them Mom and Dad, when I was eighteen. It was a tough adjustment at first, but they truly are my mom and dad. They’ve cared for me in a way no one else has. They chose to be my parents and have lived up to the task every day since.

She releases me, turning to Naomi. “Oh my goodness, you’re even prettier in person! You must be Naomi. Sage has told me so much about you,” she says, pulling Naomi in for one of her famous hugs as well.

I blush, a little embarrassed that my mom revealed I’ve been telling her about Naomi. “Mom! You weren’t supposed to say that.”

Naomi gives me a smile before turning her attention back to Melody. “I hope it was all good things?”

“Don’t worry, I don’t think Sage could say a bad thing about you, even if she tried.” Melody gives me a wink before steering Naomi into the living room to sit.

“You’re going to have to watch out, I think your mom’s attached to Naomi,” Ken calls out from the stove. “You know how she gets when she likes a girlfriend of yours.”

I roll my eyes, walking over to him. “Naomi is not my girlfriend. But I remember how she was with Katie. You would have thought she went through the break up, not me.”

I give him a peck on the cheek, leaning in to smell what he’s cooking. “Are you making short ribs?” I ask in disbelief. “What’s the occasion?”

Braised short ribs and crawfish etouffee are my dad’s two best dishes.

They’re also reserved for special celebrations only because of how labor-intensive they are.

So to see him cooking short ribs just because I decided to drop home while in town for an appointment at Wild Thorn caught me off guard.

“Naomi coming home with you.” He holds his hands up in surrender when I narrow my eyes at him. “I didn’t choose to make this, your mother insisted.”

“Of course she did.”

“I know you said you two weren’t together, but for what it’s worth, I don’t think I’ve seen you this happy with anyone since Katie.”

“James and Ryan basically said the same thing while we were there.”

“So what’s the deal then? Why aren’t you two together?”

I sigh, taking my mom’s spot at the kitchen island. “Because of Naomi.”

He raises an eyebrow. “You’re trying to tell me that woman isn’t into you?”

“I think she is? It’s complicated. She’s very religious. Or I guess was very religious. She told me she has some kind of feelings for me, but whether or not she’ll act on it? I have no idea.”

Ken puts the lid on the pot, leaving it to simmer before walking over and pulling me in for a hug. “I have faith that everything will work out, Sage.” He kisses the top of my head, rubbing my back.

“Thanks, Dad.”

A loud laugh echoes from the living room. “You should probably go check on those two, thick as thieves already. I’ll call you guys when the food is ready.”

I give him a smile before climbing down from the bar stool and heading into the living room.

Naomi and Mel were sitting on the couch, going through photos on her laptop, which was placed on the coffee table.

The bottle of wine they brought in with them was already empty. “You guys are having a blast.”

Naomi looks up at me, wiping the tears from her eyes from laughing so hard. “Sage, teenage you is a riot.”

“Oh god, Mom, what did you show her?”

“The lip-sync videos you and Delilah made in your mullet era.”

When I was fourteen or fifteen, I went through a pop-punk phase.

I was convinced I was going to be the next Avril Lavigne.

So I attempted to cut my own hair similar to hers.

I failed and ended up with something closer to a mullet, and then I dyed it with blue, pink, and black streaks.

The blue ended up turning green in my hair, and the black bled a lot.

It looked awful, but for some reason, teen me loved it.

Delilah, a couple of our friends, and I made mock music videos with instruments we borrowed from the school at the time. I think she was the only person with actual musical talent. The rest of us were awful, hence the lip-sync videos.

Mel insisted on keeping photos and videos from that era because she said, “One day, you’ll look back on this and be utterly horrified by what you wanted to do as a kid,” and she was absolutely right. Now in retrospect, I’m completely embarrassed that it happened.

“Yeah I’ve definitely made some better decisions,” I say, taking a seat next to Naomi and slinging my arm across the back of the couch behind her. She leans into me a little, her back resting against my side.

“So, how long have you guys been together?” Mel asks, watching us closely.

Naomi sits back up quickly, and I pull my arm down from the back of the couch. “Oh, we’re not—it’s not like that,” she stutters, getting a bit flustered.

My mom rests her hand on Naomi’s knee. “Sweetie, I see how the two of you look at each other. There’s a lot more than just friends there.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” she mumbles under her breath.

“Because you both are horrible at hiding your feelings. And if I’m going to be honest, Naomi, if you’re not out yet, that closet door is made out of glass.”

“Mom!” I say, giving her a pointed look. “ Stop," I mouth.

“It’s okay, Sage. She’s not wrong. Or at least not entirely. I mean, we’ve talked about it. I do like you, which means I must not be entirely straight. I’m just not sure where exactly I fall. Still trying to figure this all out,” she rushes out, tension visibly melting from her shoulders.

Mel gives her a smile. “Well, whatever you decide, know you have plenty of support from us.”

I can see tears begin to well up in Naomi’s eyes, but she blinks them away quickly. “Thank you, Mel, that means more than you know

After a full and hearty dinner, Naomi and I make the drive back to campus.

My mom sent us on our way with my warm clothes, some wine, and an insulated bag full of leftovers from tonight’s dinner and dinner from the day before.

She was snoring softly from the passenger seat, having fallen asleep shortly after we got into the car.

It was pretty late. After dinner, my mom insisted that we stay for dessert, which turned into more storytelling about my youth. When my dad decided to call it a night, we took that opportunity to make our escape, promising Mel we would come back and visit again soon.

I pull up to Naomi’s apartment building, putting the car into park. I turn to her, shaking her gently. “Hey, Georgia, we made it back,” I say softly, rustling her out of her sleep.

Her eyes flutter open as she stretches out in the seat. “Hmm, the ride back went a lot quicker than the ride there.”

I laugh softly. “Well, maybe that’s because you slept the whole ride.”

Naomi grabs her purse and after-care goodie bag from the floor. “Thank you for today, Sage. For supporting me with this little act of rebellion. For introducing me to your parents. It was such an amazing day.”

I smile, leaning in to press my lips to hers, lingering for a moment before pulling back. “I’ll gladly do it again with you. I’m pretty sure my mom’s ready to adopt you too, so you’re always welcome back there.”

Naomi turns to exit the car, pausing with her hand on the door handle. “Sage? Do you want to come upstairs?” she asks, biting her lip nervously.

“It’s late, Naomi, I should probably get going.”

“You could always just spend the night?” she asks hopefully. “Alex is spending the weekend at her boyfriend’s place, and I don’t remember Maeve saying she was going anywhere, but her car’s not in the lot.”

I look at Naomi in disbelief. If she was implying what I thought she was, this would be a huge step in whatever you would call our situationship. “Are you sure?”

She nods. “Positive, Sage.” Well, I’ll be damned.

I grin wide. “Let me park my car, and I’ll come upstairs.”

Naomi sits back, directing me to the overnight guest parking for the complex.

I park my car and head up to her apartment, walking hand in hand with Naomi.

Once inside, I hover in the kitchen, not sure where to stand or where to sit.

I don’t want to push Naomi into more than she’s comfortable with, so I’m willing to let her set the pace.

She lingers in the hallway once the door is closed.

“We don’t have to do anything, Naomi, if you’re too nervous. We can just hang out and watch a movie if you’d feel more comfortable with that,” I call out from the kitchen.

After a few moments, Naomi rounds the corner, looking nervous as hell. “Sorry, I had to take a moment and collect myself. This is a big step for me.”