Page 67 of Under the Ink

“Idid.”

“Then why did you leave so suddenly?”

Crap. She’d thought Sage was asleep when she’d gone back to her room. When she’d unraveled herself from the bedding and his arms and pulled her jeans back on, he’d seemed like he was still sleeping—but, even if he’d been fully awake and she’d had to awkwardly say goodbye, she wouldn’t have stayed.

Not in a million years.

“I needed my sleep. I can’t sleep next to someone.” So that was a partial lie. She hadn’t exactly tried, so how would she know for sure?

“That’s fair. But we could’ve had lots more fun after getting a little rest.” Sage swirled the spoon sitting in his cup before taking it out. Placing it in his mouth, he then pulled it out as if he’d been licking ice cream off it. “But you weren’t interested, were you?”

It was time to just come out and say it. “Look, Sage. I like you. You’re a nice guy and I feel like we work well together. I hope we can always be friends—but that’s all we’ll ever be. Friends.Justfriends.”

She couldn’t quite read the change in his expression, but when he shifted his beautiful blue eyes back up to look straight into hers, she caught a glimmer of the man she’d seemed to meet that first night back in that old garage in Winchester functioning as a quasi-studio. “Not even fuck buddies?”

Naomi allowed herself a little time to play through that scenario—because, deep down, she had to admit that, with all the scary parts removed, shehadenjoyed herself and maybe wouldn’t hate doing it again. It would maybe—

No. Nope. Something like that could quickly become something she had little to no control over. The other night had been bad enough.

“Not even that. I can’t do this again. I just can’t.”

This time, Sage touchedherhand across the table. “But why not?”

“Does there have to be a reason?”

The light in his eyes faded, but he took her hand in his and gently squeezed. That she let him spoke volumes to her—and that was definitely a reason she wouldn’t voice.

“I just…um. Just know that I’m here if you change your mind.”

She gave him a sincere nod, drawing a breath in through her nose. But if her brain had any say in the matter, she would never change her decision.

But, at some point on Shock Treatment’s Punish This tour, her heart had stopped listening to her head.

OMAHA, NEBRASKA

JULY 12

“When did you say you’ll be here?”

“Our concert in the Springs is next week—on the seventeenth. So I figured we’d be at your house the day after.”

“Yourfriend,” his dad said, a knowing tone in his voice. “She’ll have to sleep in the guest bedroom. You know your mom won’t let you sleep in the same room.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Perfect. Then how about I let you work out the details with your mom?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Although his father’s voice became muffled, Sage could still hear his dad call, “Honey!” And even though his dad had called Sue his mom, she wasn’t his biological mother. Most of the time, she seemed quite maternal and felt motherly…but there were times when he knew for certain he hadn’t come from her womb.

In all fairness, he sometimes felt the same way about his dad.

But, biological or not, Sue was the only mother he’d had for most of his life.

“Sage. So good to hear from you, honey. How’s the tour going?”

“It’s fantastic. Best one yet.”

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