I only ever watched this movie once, years ago, with Shanti, so it’s like I’m watching it for the first time, and it’s even better having Sage say half the lines and giggling beside me.
“Oh, oh, this is my favorite song.” She sings along with Tiana, and I spend the whole time watching her rather than watching the movie.
When the VooDoo man comes on screen, Sage watches with wide eyes as if she can’t miss a second.
“When I watched this as a kid, I was amazed that Lawrence kept calling Naveen Sire, you know because that’s my brother's name, but then I learned it’s what you call a king.” She turns to me. “Isn’t that cool?”
No. Her brother isn’t a damn king.
“Mhm.”
She turns back around and tells me this is her favorite part and to pay extra close attention, so I do.
“And I got friends on the other side.” She makes her voice deeper.
I lean into her ear. “He’s got friends on the other side.”
She loses her shit and is surprised I know this part, but it’s honestly the only song I know since she sings it all the time.
“Shake my hand,” Sage says and holds her hand out to me. “Come on, babe, won’t you shake a poor sinner's hand?” She nods for her hand, and I have no idea what’s happening, but I take her hand just in time, and she tilts her head back.
“Yes! Are you ready?”
I break into a laugh at how much of a damn character she is. She sings the rest of the song before we sink into our seats to watch the rest.
“Oh, this is my favorite song.” She whispers to herself, and she says this about every other song that plays, but I don’t tell her that. “Look how she lights up the sky.”
The ceilings light up with stars, and one shines brighter than the others, like on the screen. Sage looks up again, and the star rivals her eyes. “I adore you. I love you.” She looks over at me and puts her hands up in defense like the frog. “Just translating.” She laughs as she says the lines with Naveen, but I physically can’t look away from her.
God, she’s so pretty. She’s literally perfect.
My heart suddenly races as a heat wave washes over me, and my eyes travel along every inch of her face. Her dimples deepen as she sings, and a fist comes around my heart.
“And I love you, Evangeline,” she whispers, and when pink spotlights light up the room, she lets out a soft gasp. “Ou, can we dance with them?”
I blink, and when I look at the screen, the frogs are dancing under a pink light. I hate dancing, but she’s watching me hopefully, so I rise to my feet, and we dance.
The lights around us change on cue with the movie, and Sage looks like this is all she has wanted in her entire life. We sway softly, and I watch her as she watches the ceiling change colors.
I love her.
I clear my throat and look away from her because it’s starting to physically hurt to look at her. I don’t know what the hell it’s like to love someone, but I don’t think I’m supposed to say that shit on thefirstdate. Idoknow, right now, I never want to be apart from this woman, and I desperately need for her to always have this smile on her face.
The lights cut, and shadows scurry around us. When I turn to the screen, a shadow grabs one of the frogs, and Sage pulls me back to sit down for the rest of the movie.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Liam
“That was so much fun!” Sage walks into her apartment, and I follow close behind her before she sinks into the wall. “I wore my cute heels, though, and my feet hurt.” She tries to take them off, but I grab her hand when she stumbles.
“Here.” I give her my phone to hold and kneel down to take her heels off. I unwrap the string around her calf and kiss the mark it left her. When I slide her first heel off, I kiss her foot softly before grabbing the other one.
“So sweet.”
I glance up at her, and she has my phone pointed at me. “Are you recording me?”
“Mhm.” She puts her other heels on my chest, and I shake my head at how she smiles behind the camera. I start unraveling the string around her calf but glance up at her dress and slowly push it up.
