Page 78 of Courtside

David was speechless, his insides a complete wreckage in the aftermath of Sage’s admission. “Goddamnit, Sage,” he said, his voice grating from his chest.

Her head tilted back, giving him the first glimpse of her face. Her eyes were brutally green and red-rimmed, her expression soft and sad, but somehow more settled than before.

She offered him a small smile. “It’s really fine. It’s all turned out okay.”

David shook his head. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”

“I think I needed to go see him tonight to prove to myself that it was all a lie, you know?” She leaned absently into him, her eyes drifting shut for a second before she looked back up at him. “The second that I saw him tonight it was like I went right back to being that girl again. Everything that I’ve made of myself just disappeared the moment he said my name, and Ihatedthat, David. I hated that he could do that to me after all this time.”

There was so much to say. A million things he wanted to say to her, reassurances and condolences and, more than anything, the need to convince her that she burned so brightly that no one —no one— could take it away from her.

Instead, he settled for simply being there. She’d asked for him, and he was going to do exactly that: be there with her. “I’m glad you’re safe now,” David said, letting out one small bit of truth.

“Me too,” she said, settling her head back into the crook of his arm. “I’m just glad I’m here with you.”

David took a deep breath. “Me too, Lefty. Me too.”

They settled into silence. One minute bled into the next, and his fingers kept trailing over her skin, brushing through her hair. He couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.

Eventually Sage’s breathing slowed, her body softening against his. He craned his neck to catch a glimpse of her face — she was sound asleep, her lips parted and her features finally relaxed.

He shifted carefully, pulling his phone from his pocket with his free hand. He set an alarm for early enough in the morning that he’d be able to get back to his room before the rest of the team was up. Tossing his phone down, he settled back and let his eyes drift shut.

Before exhaustion pulled him under, he let himself, for just a moment, indulge the hurt. There were questions he hadn’t asked, anddamn ithe wanted to trust her more than anything in the world. But had something happened between Sage and Evan in that car?

And if it had, what did that mean for him?

CHAPTER21

KIND AND GOOD

SAGE

Sage settled into her seat on the plane. She’d kept her headphones in on their walk through the airport, sending the silent signal that she wanted to be left alone. She’d grabbed a seat between two strangers, sacrificing the loss of personal space for what was hopefully going to be a blissfully quiet trip home.

She needed a fucking break.

Ideally, she needed at least twenty-four hours alone. She couldn’t even begin to sift through the events of the previous night, not until she had the time and space to fully process and parse through it all.

She’d barely woken up when David’s alarm had gone off. She’d felt him carefully disentangle her hands, which had clung to his t-shirt like she was afraid he was going to leave her. She’d ignored the numerous texts from him throughout the morning, needing to put herself back together before she could return to the comfortable friendship that had existed between them.

Embarrassment heated her skin. She’d shown him too much. It was a moment of excruciating weakness that had brought her to text him, but in that moment she’d needed… Well, she’d neededhim, and she knew that he’d show up at her door. She never planned to tell him everything. But it had been so nice, even for just a little bit, to settle against his warm, strong body. To pretend like his comfort was hers to take.

The flight passed quickly, her audiobook of one of her favorite Westerns serving to block out the rest of the world.

Once they got back to the Humphrey Center, she had a bit of work to do to make sure that all of the equipment was put away. She could feel David watching her as she went through the familiar motions, but avoided eye contact by keeping busy.

As she drove home, her phone rang. She glanced at her screen, sighing. She debated ignoring the call, but decided at the last minute to answer.

“Hi Mom.”

“Sagey!” Her mom’s voice filled the car, and for a second her eyes burned with emotion at the familiar warmth that only her mom could summon.

“What are you up to?”

“Oh, I just finished changing the chickens’ bedding. School starts back up tomorrow, so I’m trying to finish up all of my chores before going back to work.”

“Nice.” Sage could picture the robin’s egg blue painted chicken coop nestled in the top corner of their sloped backyard.

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