Page 52 of Broken Hearts

I tilt my head to the side, a smile on my face. “You cooking me dinner?”

She laughs, nodding as she says, “As thanks for the surf lesson.”

I push my hand through my hair, knowing she has no fucking idea that she has already thanked me in so many ways. “Can you cook?” I tease.

She smirks at that, straightening as she turns to go back inside. “Guess there’s only one way to find out.”

Grinning, I cross the yard, practically sprinting up the stairs to the apartment that already feels less like Mitch’s and more like her place. She’s only been here for like a week, but somehow it feels longer than that.

She’s going to leave.

I ignore the thought that pops into my head as I walk into the apartment. Sage is in the kitchen, some music playing as she stands at the open fridge.

“Do we need to go food shopping?” I ask.

She grabs two beers, hitting me with a smirk as she says, “No, we don’t. I’ve already done that.”

I take the beers from her, opening them both before I hand one back and say, “Okay, so what’s on the menu then?”

Sage takes a sip of her beer before asking, “Is there anything you don’t eat?”

Our eyes lock and I can’t stop the smile as I lick my lips and say, “Nope.”

I watch as color creeps over her cheeks and she takes another sip of her beer. “Okay,” she breathes out before turning back to the fridge.

Grinning, I step behind her, my hand sliding onto her hip as I lean in and ask, “Anything I can do to help?”

She glances back at me over her shoulder, her eyes dark. “I’m cooking for you, remember?” she whispers.

“I can still help,” I tell her, my grip tightening a little.

She nods, her gaze still locked with mine as she says, “Can you cook the burgers then?”

With a grin, I close the distance, brushing a quick kiss against her mouth. “Yep.”

We work side by side in the kitchen, Sage getting all the ingredients for burgers together as I cook the meat. It’s easy and comfortable and all of the awkwardness and anger from last night has long gone. Now, in its place, it’s like there’s this underlying current between us, but it’s not animosity; it’s something different – heated and electric, almost.

When the burgers are done, we grab our plates and another beer each before heading out to the balcony to eat. We sit, both of us taking a bite as we stare out at the setting sun.

“So,” I eventually start, “thoughts on your first surf lesson?”

Sage laughs. “I loved it. I can’t actually believe I could do it, but yeah, I really loved it.”

Chuckling, I reach over and squeeze her thigh. “I wouldn’t say youcoulddo it,” I tease. “But it was a pretty good effort.”

Sage’s mouth drops open as she lets out a scoff that only makes me laugh harder. “Well, maybe I’ll just have to keep practicing,” she says, almost indignantly.

My grin widens as I take another bite, chewing slowly, before I say, “I mean, yeah, that would help.” Sage reaches over and slaps my arm at that, and I burst out laughing, shaking my head as I concede, “Okay, fine, you were pretty good, actually. Much better than me when I first started.”

Sage smirks at that, a proud look on her face as she nods once and says quietly, “Well, I did have a good teacher.”

I swallow hard, my heart once again pounding in my chest as we sit side by side, staring at each other, our half-eaten burgers in our laps. “I mean, you’re a pretty good student,” I whisper.

She smiles, a cheeky grin on her face as she says, “I believe the exact words were ‘natural talent’.”

I burst out laughing now, the tension dissipating a little. I don’t know what this is between us, how we can so rapidly swing from fighting to being friends to kissing to me wanting to tear her clothes off, but I know I want more of it.

More of her.

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