Page 46 of Courtside

“This is the greatest thing I’ve ever eaten.” David was looking down at his plate like his mind had just been blown. “Seriously, how did you make this?”

Sage felt the sides of her neck flush. “You literally just helped me cook. You put stuff in the pan and stir it. That’s it.”

David scoffed, arching a thick brow at her. “Sage, if I tried to make this by myself the entire complex would be on fire.”

“You can’t be that bad at cooking.”

“No, I’m really that bad,” David said after swallowing another bite. “My mom tried to teach me, but I’m worthless. I can bake chicken, boil pasta, make toast, and fry eggs. That’s it.”

“What a cliche,” she teased, kicking out her foot under the table until she connected with his leg. “The young, successful bachelor who doesn’t know how to cook for himself.”

David laughed, a low, rich chuckle that reminded Sage of the night they met. There was an easy smile on his face, wrinkling the skin at the corners of his dark brown eyes. Then his gaze narrowed in on the vase of flowers that sat in the center of the table. The blue glass vase held a bouquet of orange, red, and pink dahlias she’d found at the farmer’s market the previous week.

“Who got you the flowers?”

“I did.”

David tilted his head. It obviously wasn’t the answer he’d been expecting. “You buy yourself flowers?”

Sage let out a quiet sigh. She hated having to explain things like this, the little parts of her life where she took her own happiness out of the hands of the world. “I love flowers, so why would I wait around for someone else to buy them for me when I can get them for myself?”

She watched David, who looked at the bouquet with a thoughtful expression on his face. After a moment, he looked up at her with a smile. “Makes perfect sense to me,” he said, and his voice was so kind that Sage felt the sudden burn of tears in her eyes.

She looked down, blinking furiously until she’d regained control over herself.

What the fuck, Sage?

David must have sensed not to press the topic, because he shifted the conversation to the team, asking Sage’s opinion on one of their conference opponents.

It was too easy to forget who David was. As they ate breakfast tacos in her brightly lit kitchen, he was just a beautiful man who shared her passion for basketball and scratched absently at his beard as he listened attentively to every word she said.

When they finished eating, David cleared his throat, rising from the table and reaching over to gather up Sage’s empty plate. “Dishwasher?” he asked as he carried the plates to the kitchen.

“Yeah, that’s fine,” she said, although she usually hand-washed when it was just her.

David busied himself tidying the kitchen, a focused frown on his face as he searched for where to put away the salt and pepper shakers.

“Those can stay on the counter,” Sage offered, leaning against the counter and definitely not looking at his ass.Definitelynot.

“I should head home.” David wiped his hands on the colorful batik towel that hung from the handle of her oven. He whistled, and Daisy came prancing over from where she’d been curled up on a blanket that Sage had folded into a makeshift bed. Scooping up the wriggling dog, he gave her a kiss on the top of her head before turning to smile at Sage. “Breakfast was amazing, thank you.” He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but then closed it, shaking his head with a quiet chuckle. “I was going to offer to return the favor, but I’ll spare you the pain of suffering through my cooking.”

Sage snorted a soft laugh in response. “You’re welcome anytime,” she said, the offer completely sincere. She liked having David in her home. More accurately, she liked David.

“What you said earlier,” she blurted out, not entirely sure what she was going to say even as her mouth was opening and forming the words. “You too. I mean, me too.” She felt her cheeks flood with heat. “Fuck. I mean that I like being around you too. And your ass is perfect. Literally perfect.”

David looked at her, wide eyed and blinking, like he wasn’t sure what to say.

“So we should be friends,” Sage continued. “Friends who hang out and eat together. Who find the other attractive. People do that, right?” She took a breath. “What do you say?”

David nodded. “That…that would be good.”

Sage sighed, surprised at the relief she felt hearing David’s agreement.

“I’m going to head out,” David said, nodding his head toward the front door. “Thanks again for breakfast.”

“And thank you for everything with the car,” Sage replied.

She followed him to the front of her apartment, standing aside as he opened the door.

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