Page 50 of Aftertaste

“I don’t want the girls from my school.” He stepped closer, his chest pressing against mine. “I wantyou.”

My breath halted, my eyes glassing over. “I…” I wasn’t sure what to say. No one had ever been so open with me before. It was scary, but intriguing all at the same time. My brain didn’t know how to react. Should I have continued to walk away and give in before anything really started? Or should I take a leap of faith and dive head first into the unknown.

Storm bent at the knees, bringing his face level with mine as he whispered, “From the second I saw you sleeping on that bed, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you, Sage.” He paused, his tongue coming out to swipe at his lips. “I want you, Sage. Just you. No one else.”

I bit down on my bottom lip, my stomach churning as he groaned in response to my movement. I wasn’t even aware I was doing it until I heard his reaction. And that was all I needed to spur me on and take a chance. “Okay,” I whispered, flicking my gaze between his eyes and his lips. “On one condition.”

“Anything.” He pushed closer, his arm wrapping around my waist and holding me tight against him.

“Kiss me.”

He answered me with his lips, but not with his words. His mouth pressed against mine, soft and gentle to start with, but as I wrapped my hand around the back of his neck and pushed my fingers into his light-brown hair, he pressed harder.

His tongue swiped along my bottom lip, demanding entry, and I gave it to him. I gave him all of me. Everything fell away as our tongues danced to a beat only we could create. He branded me with one single kiss, and I knew I’d never be the same.

Not after this.

Not after him.

A Picture Speaks A Thousand Words

Sage

I looked at the picture of me and Storm, the smiles on our faces and intensity in our eyes almost too much to bear. I’d never experienced anything like it, and I wasn’t sure I ever would again. Thalia had snapped it when Storm had taken us to one of the Lakemere Prep parties last weekend. She said we looked like we were obsessed with each other, and I had to agree. There was just something about Storm that had me enraptured with everything he did.

It had only been ten days since our first date, but we’d been almost inseparable since then. I’d met most of his teammates, and not one of them cared that I was from the other side of the bridge. Maybe my insecurities were all inside my head?

I shrugged at myself, not caring. It didn’t matter what anyone else thought about us. What mattered was whatwethought.

“Sage?” Mom shouted, and I squealed, scared that she’d see what I was looking at and ask questions. “Dinner is here.”

There was a time when I shared everything with my mom, but over the last couple of years, we’d grown apart. Maybe it was because I was in the midst of high school, or because she was working more and more hours. Either way, we weren’t as close as we used to be, and the last thing I wanted was to tell her about Storm on the first night we had together in over a month.

Mom walked into the kitchen, a smile on her face as she held up the white bag full of our food. She’d promised us takeout two weeks ago, but yet again, that had fallen through because she’d had to go in and cover someone else’s shift.

“Smells delicious,” I said, locking my cell and pushing it into the back pocket of my jeans. It vibrated and my fingers tingled with the need to see if it was Storm, but I managed to stop myself. He knew I was spending some time with my mom, and he had an extra practice at school then a meeting with his coach. But what if something happened? What if he needed me?

“Hello?” Mom waved her hand in front of my face. “Earth to Sage.”

I blinked, shaking the thoughts from my brain. “Sorry.” I chuckled, trying to act easygoing, but all I wanted to do was check my cell.

“It’s okay, sweetie.” Mom smiled the same small smile she always did. “You’ve got a lot going on with school, huh?”

I nodded, deciding blaming schoolwork for my brain being somewhere else and not here was the best way to go. “Yeah.” I opened several of the takeout boxes, chose what I normally ate, then sat at the small table that separated the living room and kitchen. We always had four chairs around it, but we never used more than two.

It had been me and Mom against the world for as long as I could remember.

“I get it.” Mom sat next to me, digging into her food. “I remember what it was like to be a high school junior.” She placed her hand over mine. “It won’t be long until you’ll be leaving for college.”

“I know.” I placed some food in my mouth, trying to keep myself occupied. I didn’t want to think about when school would be over. I didn’t want to think about in a few months when this year would end and Storm would leave.

He’d already told me about the scholarship offers he’d gotten, and almost all of them would mean he’d leave the state. I may have only met him two weeks ago, but there was something in my gut that told me we were at the start of something special. Something that only happened once in a lifetime.

“Don’t look so sad,” Mom said, tying her light-brown hair in a messy bun. “You’re gonna have an amazing time at college. You’ll have adventures you never thought possible.”

“I know.” I looked down at my food, feeling my cell vibrate again. I shook my shoulders, needing to get out of the frame of mind I found myself in. “I’m excited,” I said, putting some pep into my tone as I stared up at her.

The dark circles under her eyes paired with her yawn spoke of how exhausted she was, yet she was still trying to spend time with me. It wasn’t easy being a single mom, but she’d tried as hard as she could, and the least I could do was spend some real time with her.

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