Page 63 of Reckless

Just Sage.

When I finally ease back, it isn’t because I want to. It’s because if I don’t, I have a feeling neither of us is getting any sleep tonight.

She stays close, our foreheads almost touching, her hand still resting against my chest while she searches my face with a smile that’s softer now, but no less amused. “There,” she says quietly.

I furrow my brow in confusion. “What?”

“I knew you could do it, champ,” she teases.

I huff, knowing she is mocking me. “What?”

She laughs under her breath. “You finally got your shit together.”

I can’t help it. I laugh—a real one. The sound surprises me almost as much as it surprises her. “So that’s what all this was?” I ask. “A performance review?”

She tips her head, pretending to think about it. “I’d say your first attempt needed… significant improvement.”

“I was buffering, remember?”

“You absolutely were.”

I tilt my head, letting a cocky smirk creep across my face. “I’d say I recovered.”

She makes a face. “You eventually recovered.”

“I think you’re being very harsh, young lady.”

She snorts. “I think I’m being generous, and what are you trying to be with that young lady shit? My father? A broody old teacher? Maybe an HR manager?”

I snort out a laugh. “What?”

“I’m waiting for you to hand out a written warning.” She giggles at her own joke, then reaches up and smooths a hand over the front of my shirt where she’d wrinkled it earlier, her fingers lingering for a second before they curl lightly around the fabric. “For the record…” she says, her voice quieter now, “… that kiss was worth waiting for.”

Something warm shifts inside me. The kind of feeling I’ve spent most of my life avoiding because I never saw the point in letting anyone get close enough to create it.

Now, I can’t imagine wanting anything else.

I brush my thumb lightly across her cheek. “So…”

“So?”

“I finally got my shit together?”

She smiles. “I think you’re getting there.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You bet your ass you will.”

I make it as far as the first step before a grin spreads across my face. I stop beside her car in the driveway, sliding my hands into my jeans pockets, tipping my head back toward the night sky, and shake it at myself. A quiet laugh escapes my lips before I can do a damn thing about it.

I have spent years planning operations down to the second.

I have anticipated outcomes before other people even realized they were making decisions.

Apparently, none of those skills translate to kissing the woman I’ve been quietly falling for.

I shake my head again, still smiling to myself as I head toward my bike.