My hand slides to the side of her face, angling her the way I need her, while my brain is misfiring from the unexpected perfection of this kiss—the one I didn’t steal, but she chose.
Chancing it, I slide my tongue along the seam of her lips, and she opens for me. The combination of the brine from the oyster and the wine she was drinking makes the perfect combination of salty and sweet. A groan releases from my throat at the same time she breathes out a soft moan. Kissing her is addicting, like our bodies somehow know the steps to a dance that’s just for us.
"Excuse me." The nurse, who I forgot was even in the room, clears her throat. Pressing one more chaste kiss to Sadie’s mouth—and one to her forehead—I pull back and turn to face her.
"We’re basically done. We just need to give her a shot, so you should probably wait outside." She hands me a stack of papers. "I preprinted the paperwork. Care instructions are in there. She’ll be out in a minute."
Looking back at my girl, I see her fingers are pressed to her lips and her cheeks are flushed. She’s gorgeous, hair mussed a little from our kiss.
"Sade, I’ll be right outside." She nods, still dazed. I hope that means she was as affected by that as I was.
Pushing into the hallway, I lean against the opposite wall and pull out my phone. I’m not sure how long we’ve been here, and I need to check on Benny. Nora was supposed to let him out for me, so hopefully I’m not returning to a disaster tonight.
When I slide open my phone, there’s a text message waiting from Coach Perkins.
Perkins: Paperwork’s official. Pack your bags, O’Reilly.
My heart plummets, and my ears ring like a record’s just been scratched. I knew this was coming, but a part of me still didn’t believe it would happen. My mind races through all the people I need to tell, the arrangements that will have to be made, and to the woman I just shared the best kiss of my life with—she was always going to leave, but now I’m the one moving a half a world away.
The door to Sadie’s room opens, so I tuck the phone back into my pocket.
"Hey, gorgeous. Do you come here often?"
Sadie rolls her eyes but smiles. "Sure do. I’ve been told I’m potentially deadly to be around. Want to walk me home and take your chances?"
Taking a few steps to close the distance between us, I interlock our hands. "I think you might just be worth it."
seventeen
Sadie
One-Legged Stool
"Order for Sadie," an adorable barista calls, placing my iced black coffee on the counter at the Brewhouse while I scroll through my painfully empty inbox.
Grabbing it and heading out the front entrance, I squeeze past a couple that seem to be on their first date. There’s a pang in my chest at the sight of them, an emptiness I think has been there for a while, one that I’ve been effectively stuffing down in order to prioritize more important things. I haven’t had time for a relationship for longer than I can remember, and honestly, I haven’t wanted one. Not a real one anyway, not one that requires effort and time.
A companion might be nice. Someone to share things with, someone who doesn’t come with expectations. But that’sprecisely the problem—the chasm between what most people want and what I can offer is too wide. Wanting someone who gets it has always felt too far away, too impossible to find.
And then there’s Max. The tension between us has been mounting, so I wouldn’t say I’m surprised that we kissed last night. But I rarely make a habit of making out with people willy-nilly, and that kiss was the kind that altered my brain chemistry. It’s the soul-bending way our bodies knew exactly what to do, as if we'd kissed a thousand times before, the way he initiated it simply because he'd known I needed a distraction. He wanted to ease my pain, my fears, and that alone is foreign—that alone is cause for trouble.
Past relationships, heck even past hookups, haven’t felt that way. They’ve always felt forced or awkward—all teeth, no tongue. But that’s the beauty of them because they’re also easy to leave behind. I don’t lose sleep wondering if I made the right choice or if I could see playing the balancing act that is juggling a full-time career with another person’s wants and needs. There’s a sneaking suspicion in me that Max wouldn’t be easy to leave behind, that walking away would hurt if our friendship continued to grow.
There’s only one way to ensure that doesn’t happen—avoid him like my life depends on it.
As I stroll down the cobbled sidewalk that outlines Mage Square, a light flickers on from inside Black Kettle Bindery. The door flies open, and a beautiful woman with long strawberry-blonde hair that I recognize from yesterday pushes a sidewalk sign directly into my path. I’m forced to sidestep her, narrowly avoiding a collision.
"Sorry, I couldn’t see around this monstrosity." The woman straightens, smoothing out a pale yellow dress that brushes the tops of her knees. It looks like something a fifties housewifewould wear, fashionable in a way that I admire—it’s a risky move, a quirky choice.
"Oh, it’s okay." I stop, sipping my coffee. "You're Olive, right?"
"Yep." She bumps her hip into the sign, scooching it a little further toward the center of the walk. "And you're… oh, my gosh—"
Her hand flies to her mouth, and I can't tell if she's shocked to see me or trying to smother a grin. "You're Sadie. Max's friend."
My skin prickles.Max's friend?Howie's cousin would be more accurate. It puzzles me that she'd tie me to her brother-in-law instead of my literal family.
"I thought you were closed today. With all this going on, I thought every store was." I swing my hand behind me to the tents that are still set up and the vendors carting fresh food in for the last day of Lobster Fest, attempting to change the subject of who I am or whom I belong to.
