Page 68 of Hidden Desire

Stassi laughed. “With you?”

Natalia shrugged. “Any better offers?”

Ariel grinned, and Stassi realized that was one of the things Natalia and Ariel had most likely been discussing. “No, thank you! I don’t know this song.”

Natalia shrugged and then reached for Ariel’s hand and escorted her onto the floor. Stassi was fine with that—it was how it should have been anyway. She didn’t want Natalia to merely offer because she felt sorry for her; it was misplaced and unnecessary. Stassi ate and drank her beer, letting her eyes drift out to where Natalia and Ariel danced. When she saw her, she nodded her head to the music, not paying much attention.

Sage was talking to Lena and a couple of other women she recognized from the hospital. Stassi stared, mostly thinking how good Sage looked. She cringed when the thought crossed her mind. Out of all the places they could have gone, why did it have to be the same club? She heaved a sigh, her heart racing as she stared.

Then, as if Sage could read her mind, she turned and met Stassi’s gaze. Sage lifted her hand to wave, but Stassi was motionless. Then Sage walked over to the table, leaving Lena and the other girls behind.

“Hey!” Stassi’s throat was dry, so how she got the words out was beyond her.

“Hey!” Sage looked over to the dance floor before turning back to her. Sage opened her mouth, but when words didn’t come out, she closed it. “I…I really should be going.”

“Sage!” Stassi jumped up. Sage turned around and stared. “I’ve missed you.”

“I…”

“Stassi? Do you need us to beat someone up for you?” Ariel asked. Stassi cringed as she turned back to Sage. Sage gave a weak smile, then turned away and walked back to Lena and her other friends. Stassi gawked in her direction before looking at Ariel.

“Why did you do that?” Stassi asked. “We were finally going to talk. Or at least I thought,” she muttered.

“I’m sorry,” Ariel replied. “It just looked awkward, and I wanted to save you.”

Stassi grimaced. “I don’t think I need saving—not from Sage, not from anyone.” She shook her head. “I’m going home.”

“I brought you,” Ariel asked.

Stassi threw up her hands. “I’ll get an Uber or something. I just really need out of here.” She tossed down some money and then hurried towards the front door. She wanted a few minutes alone with Sage, hoping they could actually talk and figure some things out, but now it felt like that wasn’t ever going to happen.

Stassi tossed around in bed. She couldn’t get Sage out of her mind since getting back to her apartment, and there was no chance she was going to get some sleep. It was amazing how much she had changed since she started working at the hospital. That was only a few months, but it felt like a lifetime with all of the obstacles they had to face. When she started, she was more driven to make sure she had the finer things in life. But now, she just wanted to be with Sage.

She sat up in bed and stared at the alarm clock. It was four o’clock in the morning. Hours and hours of tossing and turning never made the clock move any faster. She laid back down and closed her eyes. She was glad she had the weekend off, but she didn’t want to spend it tossing, unable to get any sleep. She closed her eyes, silently vowing that she wouldn’t open them until it was morning. A trick that didn’t work. She sat up in bed and tossed her covers back. There wasn’t any point in laying down if she was going to still be wide awake.

Stassi went to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of milk. She sunk down at the kitchen table and stared aimlessly. She was exhausted, but nothing seemed to help to bring her into a slumber. She took another sip of her milk, and her mind went back to Sage. She looked extra hot at the club, but maybe it was because Stassi was on the brink of forgetting what it was like to be in Sage’s bed. Stassi dropped her head to the table and rested it there, her eyes closing, nearly nodding off until Sage’s smile popped into her brain.

“Ugh!” she groaned, sitting up and forcing herself to down the rest of the milk.

She got up and put the dirty cup into the sink, then left the kitchen and went to the living room. Maybe a little TV would do the trick. By the time she fell asleep, she wasn’t sure what time it was, but her last memory from the television was an infomercial for a vacuum cleaner. It did the trick.

The next time Stassi saw the time, it was just after ten o’clock. She yawned and stretched out, shifting on the couch to try to get comfortable. She sat up and tried to stretch again. Then Sage popped into her mind again.

“Dammit,” she grumbled. A few minutes without thinking about Sage would have been ideal. She was out picketing, most likely, as Stassi’s thoughts went to her. She hated that they felt the need to continue to fight for a cause that didn’t seem to be making any change—just hurting everyone involved. How much longer would they be able to make it?

The hospital had worked to fill most of the positions. All temporary help, of course, but if they could pay people to come in from other employers, then why worry about making right with the employees they already had? It was a vicious cycle, and Stassi despised seeing her co-workers running ragged to try to prove something that wasn’t even going to change.

Stassi had only one more hope that maybe her father could still make that difference. He had to eventually hear the voice of reason. Right? The phone rang, and he answered on the second ring.

“Martin Hewitt,” he began.

“Hey, Dad, it’s me.”

“Oh. Sorry for the formality. I didn’t notice the name. I’m really pretty busy, though. Will this take long?”

She touched her temple, wanting to ease the ache in her head. The harder she tried to convince him things were not on a good path, the further they seemed to be drifting apart.

“Did you see the media coverage of the strike?” she asked. “These people aren’t giving up. Isn’t it time that someone listens? I mean, I just don’t see how anyone could think this is good publicity.”

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