29. Sage
29
SAGE
T he sun shining on her face pulled her from sleep. She had vowed she would stay awake the entire night, determined to make the most of their game of pretend. But in the end, she had fallen asleep against him. And ever the professional, Leo had left sometime in the early morning hours, effectively ending the most perfect game of pretend.
The morning was bleak. The buzz of excitement finally left the building and most people were in one of three camps: sleeping in and hopefully sleeping off the hangover, still out partying, or up early to catch a flight at the unholy hour of seven am. Sage and Leo were in the latter category.
Lily (in camp one) had sent a text to the pair of them at two in the morning stating she was so happy to have worked with Leo and the agency and that though the job was finished, she would use them again in the future should she require their services and bid them both a safe trip.
They silently made their way through airport security, avoiding eye contact, careful not to brush too close to one another in case their bare skin might touch and ignite some explosion of the tension growing between them.
She couldn't help but rub that spot on her neck and shoulder where his lips found a thousand times last night. She caught him looking at her hand on her neck once but quickly averted his eyes.
Last night didn’t happen. It was all pretend.They agreed to treat it as such. She was also not delusional. All good things had to come to an end.
When they checked their tickets Sage realized this was goodbye. He’d be heading to the terminal on the south end and she’d make her way to the gate at the north end.
He must have realized this too. “If it’s alright with you, I will send Tess over to grab my things. It’s just a few toiletries and a pair of shoes or two.” He patted his suitcase at his side. “I pack light.”
“Always ready for another job?”
“Part of the job,” he said.
Her voice was scratchy. A lump was stuck in her throat. She needed a soothing, calming mint tea. But finding peace and quiet in an airport was about as likely as finding a four-leaf clover in the desert.
“Well, thank you for taking care of…this job.” She wanted to say “me” but that felt too vulnerable.
“It was fun, you know, despite the whole kidnapping thing. ”
Sage laughed, but it didn’t sound real. “Right, other than that minor detail.”
“Sage, I?—”
“It was good reconnecting. Thank you for your professionalism.” And she turned and walked toward her gate.
She tried to remain distracted on the flight and failed, so she caved and bought wi-fi where she spent the entire flight on social media (super healthy) responding to comments, posting, and overall engaging with the community more than she had in the last few months.
It didn’t help calm her racing mind.
Roz picked her up from the airport (along with Squash). Roz had been incessant in her questioning of the whole “You got kidnapped for crying out loud!” situation.
And when Sage had updated her on everything—other than the whole “let’s pretend to be together for the most perfect night” thing—Sage convinced Roz to spill her news. They chatted about all of Roz’s updates regarding the whole fake dating situation, painting at a Spanish wedding, and her other drama.
“So, what are you going to do?” Sage asked because she certainly didn’t want to be asked the same question. Best to keep Roz talking.
“I don’t know!” Roz said. “It’s all a mess.”
“I know the feeling,” Sage mumbled.
“Well, what are you going to do?” Roz asked, taking a turn way too fast and slamming Sage’s head against the window. “Sorry.”
Sage rubbed her temple. “I don’t know. Probably do some more chatty streams. Maybe go live on IG. Get some new merch branding done. Anything to shift attention away from the whole Jared debacle.”
“I meant about Leo.”
Sage shrugged “His sister is coming to grab his stuff?—”
“That’s not what I mean.”
Sage tried to look dumb but she was afraid she only came across as guilty. “What are you talking about?”
Roz only rolled her eyes. “Okay, be that way. I won’t pull it out of you. That’s something you gotta work on. Speaking of work. Wanna do an eBay party?”
Sage groaned. “Some other time. Next week? Next month? How about next year?”
Roz came to an abrupt halt in front of Sage’s home. She patted her shoulder. “Whenever you’re ready.”
The trio of friends had decided to throw an eBay party where they would scour the house for things Sage didn’t want to keep and would list them, making a little profit for a girl’s trip. Sage had the idea of using the money for something fun and the girls were hesitant at first until the first day they came over to help clear away George’s things and realized how big of a task it was. “Well crap,” Roz had said. “We all will either need a vacation or therapy after this job.”
Tavy had snorted. “Why not both?”
Sage stared at the old house now. Home. Despite all the changes these last few months, the pain in her heart after losing George, and the strange housemate turned friend turned something else turned stranger again, this house still made her chest feel warm. It was her place. Her sacred refuge .
“Thank you,” Sage said.
As soon as she laid her head down on her pillow, ready to take the world longest dissociation nap, her phone buzzed. She was not proud of how she grappled for the phone. It clattered to the ground and she pounced on it like a cat.
It was just a notification that showed Leo had stopped sharing locations with her. A text followed shortly after.
LEO: A local guy will be by on Thursday at three to disassemble and remove the cameras. Don’t worry, they are all disconnected.
Sage simply liked the text, threw her phone across the room, and tried to sleep.
She allowed herself to mope for the rest of the day. She rotted in bed, watching trashy TV and TikToks while replying to more comments. Lily must have slept off the hangover because she texted Sage letting her know that the activity on social media is most helpful considering the firestorm LilyTech still had to handle with the whole Jared thing.
Yeah, the whole Jared thing.
No big deal.
He was in jail.
He wasn’t going to get her.
She was safe.
So why did she still feel uneasy?
Little bit of trauma, she thought. Tomorrow she would get out of bed and clean the house. Everything was better when she organized and cleaned. It was a big house and it would take her all day and that would be great because she wouldn’t be able to let her mind wander to Leo, busy in D.C. or wherever. She wondered if he would come back this way for the marathon he’d signed up for. Would he let her know he was back in town?
Morning came and she almost reneged on her promise to clean, but she could hear George’s voice in her ear. “Happiness comes from our actions. So make tea and make yourself happy!”
Right, George. Absolutely right.
She made a big pot of tea and got to work tidying the kitchen. Clearly Leo had made himself home here because, despite her rather infrequent use of the pots and pans and other utensils, they were not where she originally kept them. She wiped down her teapots—she had seven, which was a totally normal number—and glared at the little pink teapot. It mocked her. She stashed it in a cupboard. One day she’d be able to look at it the same again—maybe when she could look at it without being reminded of Leo, which would be rather hard because last night Sage had been determined to memorize every inch of him.
She was a mess.
She sipped her tea and filled the sink, ready to start wiping down the cabinets when the doorbell rang. She nearly jumped out of her skin. Sure, she had Shania Twain blaring, but she wasn’t that loud. How had she missed the sound of someone driving up?
She grabbed her trusty golf club—sitting conveniently next to the front door—and swung the door open, ready to attack. Squash grumbled from the couch.
“Oh hey,” said the stranger walking up the porch steps. “I’m Tess.”
“Oh.” Sage lowered the club and swung the door open more. “Hi. I’m Sage.”
Tess laughed. It sounded a little like Leo, and it made Sage’s throat constrict. “I know,” Tess said. “I’m here to grab Leo’s things.”
“Oh, right.” Sage stepped out of the way and allowed Tess in. “I guess you know the way since you stayed with Squash. Thanks for that, by the way.”
Tess snorted. “Leo gave me the redacted version of events but even that sounded awful.”
Sage groaned. “I still can’t even look at any kind of soup without my stomach tensing.”
Tess paused at Leo’s doorway. “Leo’s a fantastic cook which is sad the clam chowder took you out. I have a feeling he won’t be making that any time soon. It’s my favorite. ”
“I have to admit I’ll miss his cooking,” Sage said through a choked laugh. And his fun facts, the way his wet hair would curl at the ends, the way he’d bark out laughter when Filbert said something inappropriate, and the silhouette he’d cast against the fireplace…
Tess leaned against the four-poster bed, staring at Sage. “He’s cooked for you?”
Sage snorted. “Yeah. I mean, he lived here for like two months.”
“Did he ever make the popcorn? ”
Sage could feel her mouth salivating at the thought. “With the coconut oil? To die for!”
“I have to agree.” Tess tossed his clothes into a bag. “Thanks again for letting me steal your time. I gotta run to the post office if I’m gonna make it before they close. Weirdest break-up ever,” she mumbled the last bit to herself.
“We weren’t—” Sage cleared her throat. “We aren’t. It was a job for him, you know?”
Tess paused at the front door. “Sure it was.” She winked and slung the bag over her shoulder.
With the last bit of Leo’s presence officially out of the house and en route to D.C., it felt like the whole thing was behind her.
Sage decided to mope around for the rest of the day feeling sorry for herself.