Page 15 of Serpent Darling
Sadie crossed her legs tightly to alleviate some of the tension her memories inflicted. She tried desperately not to recall Jagger's hard body pressed to hers the night before and the evidence of his lust barely concealed by his sweatpants at seeing her yesterday morning. Instead, she checked her phone to see what time it was. It was already 10:18am.
Shit,Sadie thought as she rested the side of her head against the glass of the window beside her and looked out at the main road leading towards the wrong part of town.
I wanted to get there early enough to talk to Jag before we opened.
As she had that thought, the roar of a motorcycle sounded in the distance. She picked her head up and turned slightly so her full attention was on the road, the view a little hazy as she looked past her own reflection in the window. In less than five seconds, Jagger was pulling into the coffee shop's parking lot on his all-black bike.
“Oh, my god," Sadie started to panic, smoothing her hands down her black jeans to wipe the sweat that had quickly begun to pull from her palms. She had on another black and neon Serpent Pit crop top that Camille insisted looked better on her than should be allowed and an old Renegade Rebels jacket that Jagger had given her in college when he got too built to wear it any longer swung over the back of her chair. She barely resisted the urge to throw it over her head and hide.
She sank into her seat and watched him from the window as he took off his helmet and looked up.
Holding her breath, Sadie watched him toss his hair out of his eyes as he lifted a hand in greeting. She exhaled shakily and lifted a slight wave in his direction, which was rewarded with a wide grin as he made his way to the front door. Once inside, he went to the counter and got a coffee and breakfast sandwich before sitting in the seat across from her.
"Hi," Sadie mumbled, taking another sip of her coffee, a super sweet concoction with milk and caramel flavoring. At least she was grateful that her hands had something to keep them busy other than reaching out and grabbing at him like a cat in heat.
"Hey, Sweets," Jagger said and took in her appearance.
She really shouldn't look that sexy this early, his internal self mused. Sadie's eyes flashed with something he couldn't quite place, but he hoped it was a realization.
She let out something between a cough and a laugh, thinking of how far gone she was when thinking about him last night with the stranger.
"What?" He asked, his fingertips grazing her knee under the table. She could feel the heat from his hand through her jeans instantly. "Are you okay? I thought you said you liked it when I called you that."
Sadie nodded quickly and looked away from him. "So, what are you doing here? You have coffee at your place."
Then, Jagger bit into his breakfast sandwich, and with an exaggerated moan, he said, "But I don't have this delicious food there." He took another bite, already halfway done with how quickly he inhaled his food. "I should have gone grocery shopping the other day, but this week has left me…" He paused, and his eyes were way too intense for this coffee shop setting when he looked at her. "Distracted."
One of the workers came by and asked if they needed anything, causing Sadie to almost jump out of her skin. "No, we're good!" she chirped, her tone friendly.
"So what are you doing here by yourself, Sweets? And how’d you get here this morning if your car is still parked at the bar?" He used her nickname again, but she was more prepared this time.
"I took an Uber since I was supposed to meet with Travis here before my shift, but I don't know where he is. I know he had some pre-game meeting with the others, but he said he needed to talk, so I dragged myself here when I could have stayed in bed a little longer," she said in a huff and folded her arms across her chest.
Jagger put down his coffee while she elaborated on her morning and grinned, "It's always nice staying in bed."
Sadie rolled her eyes. "That's what you took away from that, huh? And why are you so flirty lately?" She asked before she could help herself.
Jagger broke out into a laugh. "My best friend isn't giving me much of a chance to be anything but that. Did you forget it's Sunday? You're dressed like it's Saturday night and you're trying to make rent in one shift."
Sadie flipped him off, her powder pink nails contrasting her attire, and he laughed again.
“At least I showed up this morning so you don’t have to walk or take another Uber now,” he smirked.
“You’ll give me a ride?” She asked before her mind caught up with her mouth.
Jagger leaned forward, the sound of his leather jacket - a matching set with hers - creaking as his forearms rested on the table. He had given her that jacket as protection. So everyone knew she belonged to him. To the Renegade Rebels, anyway.
“You can take a ride anytime, darling.”
Sadie visibly gulped and Jagger winked at her as he sat back in his chair when suddenly her phone rang, and she was thankful for the interruption.
It was Travis.Finally.
She pressed the green accept button and said, "Travis? Where are you? It's been an hour now. Should—" Sadie paused, and her eyebrows shot together in concentration.
Jagger looked at her and mouthed, "Everything okay?"
Sadie nodded at Jagger and spoke into the phone again, "Hello?"
