Turns out, very fucking hard.
I somehow managed to fuck this dinner up so badly. Everything is ruined. The green beans are a disgusting pile of mush. The potatoes that River assured me were foolproof to make somehow aren’t cooked all the way through, even though I didexactlywhat his stupid sheet of paper said. And this Beef Wellington is the bane of my fucking existence. I somehow managed to burn the puff pastry while simultaneously notcooking the fucking meat inside. It’s still so raw that it’s mooing at me.
I have never really been a crier. I get upset and sad, sure, but I don’t cry. This fucking dinner has the back of my eyes burning like a bitch though. I just wanted to make tonight special and perfect. I wanted Emma to arrive and have a nice meal waiting for her, so that I can show her that I’m in this. That I want her for more than a few hot kisses here and there. And I’m fucking it all up.
There’s a soft knock on my door and I try to take a deep breath to compose myself before I answer it. Emma is there in a soft white t-shirt and skinny jeans looking fucking edible. I let out a shaky breath and try to smile. “Hi.”
“Hi.” She says. “You gonna let me in?”
“Oh, um.” I turn to look behind me at the mess in my kitchen. “Maybe we can just go out tonight.”
“Sage.” She chuckles. “What are you hiding in there?”
“What? Nothing!” I say and reluctantly step aside. She clocks the evidence of my failure immediately and slowly turns to look at me. “Sage?—”
“I fucking ruined dinner, okay?! Are you happy now!” I snap and try to get away from her, but she snatches my wrist and pulls me against her chest, wrapping me in a tight hug. I try to fight the affection, but I’m a soup sandwich and melt into her as her hands stroke down my spine.
“Hey.” She soothes. “You tried to cook me dinner?”
I nod against her. “Yeah.” I say weakly. “But I ruined everything. Nothing over there is edible.”
Her fingers stroke through my hair and I feel like putty in her hands. “Oh, babe.” She hums. “We’ll order a pizza, okay?” I can feel myself nod again against her hair and she starts rubbing those fingers against my scalp. “You go grab a bottle of wine and two glasses and get settled on the couch and I’ll get the foodordered. Sound good?” Another nod. “You precious thing.” She coos and I can feel those tears burning again. I tried so hard, and I messed it all up and she’s still— Fuck she’s still so sweet and perfect and I just want to kiss her all over.
“Okay.” I manage to get out before I do what she told me to. She joins me soon, setting her phone down on the coffee table.
“Food will be here soon.” She says softly and runs her hand through my hair again. “You tried to cook for me.”
I roll my eyes. “I failed to cook for you.”
“But youtried.” Her eyes go misty and I find myself stroking her cheek with my thumb. “Thank you.” She whispers. “That means so much to me, Sage. I— just thank you for trying.” She shifts, turning to look straight into my eyes. “Sage,” she starts, “there’s tulips on the counter.”
I nod weakly. “I got them for you.”
“You remembered my favorite flower.” She says a little wetly and it makes me smile.
“Of course I did.” I say, smoothing my thumb across the red abused skin on her lower lip. “I remember all your favorite things, Emma.”
Her eyes rim with moisture and before she can respond I pull her in and kiss her slowly, softly. Tenderly. I want to show her what she means to me. Show her that she is worth everything, and I will do whatever I can to make her know how special she is. I don’t have the words right now, but I do have this. So I kiss her more, and I pull her close and I let us get lost in each other until our food finally arrives.
We eat, we laugh and talk, and just— Have so much fun. The wine I poured for us is gone and before I realize it, our plates are discarded on the coffee table and we’re a tangled mess of limbs on my couch. Emma is under me, her soft panting breaths against my mouth arekillingme as she rubs herself against my thigh. I can tell she needs more, that she wants more, but doesn’tknow how to ask for it. I find myself asking her the same thing I did yesterday. “What do you need, baby?”
Her eyes flash, heat searing my face as she pulls me down closer to her mouth. “You.” She breathes. “I needyou.”
CHAPTER 15
Emma
Amillion different emotions flit over Sage’s face until it settles on a look of pure hunger. “You need me, Emma?” She asks and her voice sounds like she swallowed gravel.
I nod, heart pounding in my chest as I rub against her thigh again. The move presses just right, making heat coil in my stomach. I feel wild, feral. Possessed by the need to have her touching me. “Please.” I beg.
That word has her moving. She scoops me up and with fast moving feet carries me to her bedroom. She closes the door with her foot and drops me on her bed. I let out a little ‘oof’ as I hit the mattress and quickly scoot up and settle against her soft pillows at the base of her headboard.
Her eyes follow me the entire time, tongue swiping her bottom lip. “You are so beautiful.” She says, her eyes tracking across me. “Can I get you naked, baby?”
A whimper leaves me and I don’t have time to answer before she’s on top of me. Her hands pulling at the hem of my shirt. “Fuck, please baby. Can I take these off of you? I need to see you, need to feel your perfect skin.”
“Yes. Please. Oh my god.” I wheeze. I don’t think I have ever been this horny in my goddamn life.
