Page 47 of Aftertaste

Sage:Storm?

My stomach rolled as he typed back, butterflies taking flight.

Storm:You got it.

I typed out a message then deleted it. Doing it over and over again, not really sure what to say to him. I was nervous. I only ever got nervous when I was about to take a test. But this was a different kind. A kind of nervous that I’d never felt before.

Sage:Why are you messaging me?

Storm:Read the first message I sent.

I read it again, not sure what he meant by it.

Sage:…

Storm:I want to take you out.

I felt the smile break out on my face and couldn’t help immediately messaging back.

Sage:Is that a question or are you telling me…again.

Storm:It’s a question.

Sage:I don’t think it’s a good idea.

Storm:You won’t know unless you try.

I huffed out a breath. I was being real with him. It wasn’t a good idea. We were from completely different worlds. He was rich, and I…wasn’t. He was a star athlete and I was a nerd. And then there was the small matter about our schools being intense rivals with everything they were involved in.

Sage:Storm…

Storm:Sage…

I could almost hear his voice in my ear and I shivered.

Sage:This is a bad idea.

Storm:Never said it wasn’t.

Storm:Doesn’t mean I don’t want to do it though.

I blew out a breath and glanced up, seeing the time on the clock above the board at the front of the class. There was only a couple of minutes left until I had AP English.

Sage:I don’t know.

Storm:Think about it.

Think about it. I could do that. I could think about it then explain that our worlds didn’t mesh. He’d understand, right? He’d get it because of who he was. People like him didn’t go out with people like me.

The bell rang and I shot off one last message.

Sage:Okay :)

Patience Is Overrated

Storm

I never was good at waiting. When I was a little kid, I wanted what I wanted right away, and I almost always got to have it, no questions asked. But as each day passed and I hadn’t heard back from Sage, I was getting antsy—impatient.

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