Page 16 of Serpent Darling
What is that?She thought, listening to the weird sounds against her ear. She looked at Jagger again and held her hand over the speaker part of the phone so as not to be heard.
"I think I hear voices," she whispered-shouted across from him.
Jagger reached over and grabbed the phone from Sadie's ear before she could protest what he would do. He hit the speakerphone button and placed it on the table between them, both leaning their ears towards it. There was shuffling and what sounded like crying. Then a loud bang, and what sounded like a woman giggling.
Jagger realized what was happening before Sadie did and reached for her phone to end the call. He wasn't fast enough, though, because she snatched it before he could touch it and listened intently.
She didn't realize he was trying to keep her from being hurt. But when Sadie heard the loud moaning of Travis's name by whoever was with him, and she gradually realized that they were having sex, she didn't have that reaction. No, not at all.
She started laughing.
When Jagger tilted his head to the side and stared at her like she had lost it, it only made her amusement flow harder. Relief flooded her body, and she realized that her and Travis were both interested in other people and that this breakup could happen easily.
"Have fun!" Sadie yelled at the phone, drawing the eyes of the other patrons in the shop.
Sadie didn't think he could hear her, but almost immediately, she heard the rustle of fabric and then, "Sadie? Sadie?! Oh, shit - "
Jagger finally succeeded in grabbing the phone a second time and ended the call as Travis realized he'd been caught.
"You okay?" He asked and slid her phone across the small table back to her.
She smiled and nodded her head. "Yeah, I am. Honestly, it's a good thing. We weren't working, and I've felt that way for a while."
Sadie slid the phone into her jacket pocket behind her as Travis's name began flashing on her screen. "Looks like he feels the same way now, too."
Jagger sat back in his chair and threaded his hands behind his head. Sadie dropped her eyes to the table so as not to look at his biceps flexing through his jacket. "At least you guys didn't move in together. Didn't he ask you a few months back?"
Sadie shuddered at the memory. "Yeah, but I could never be with him that much. He was so perfect and made me feel like I was always walking on eggshells."
"I remember you being pretty perfect when we met," Jagger snorted. "You still are to most people; I just know you better."
Sadie's face softened. "Yeah, you know me better than anyone else, Jag."
They stared at each other, the outside world fading away as they were filled with a multifaceted understanding.
Sadie was the one who broke the tension first, rising from her seat. "Well, that's it then. Glad I didn't have to continue sleeping with him," she said while slipping her jacket on. "Not that it was horrible, but it was… was…" She buried her face in her hands and groaned. "Ugh, I sound like such an asshole."
"Vanilla?" Jagger grinned, standing with her and picking their coffees off the table.
Sadie nodded. "Yeah, it was so boring. I'm not some delicate flower. Sometimes I just want it a little rough, you know?"
Sadie missed this.
Especially the way that they used to be open enough to talk about things like this.
A wicked smile played on Jagger's lips as he disposed of the garbage on their way out to the parking lot. "I'll keep that in mind, Sweets."
Sadie eyed Jagger's motorcycle hesitantly as they walked through the parking lot. She hadn't ridden on the back of it in years, not since they were in college together.
"Come on, it'll be fun," Jagger said, nudging her playfully. "Just like old times."
Sadie shook her head. "I don't know...I like my car. It's safe and reliable." She thought about her old white Porsche which was safely parked at The Serpent Pit waiting for her. Jagger had fixed it up for her when they first moved here since he knew she needed something to get around town in. The car had been abandoned in the back of the Serpent Pit, likely stolen at some point.
Or at least that's what Sadie always assumed but she knew better than to ask questions she didn't want the answers to.
"Yeah, but nothing beats the freedom of riding," Jagger argued. He took his helmet off the bike and turned to Sadie.
"Here, let me get this on you properly."
