“The rehearsal dinner is this evening, so I figure we’ll be pretty busy later. But we can grab a bite to eat now and spend some time together alone.”
“That sounds great.” she sat up in the bed, stretching her arms over her head.
Her back arched as she did it, thrusting her breasts forward, and I felt my morning erection twitch in my pants. I was just thinking about skipping lunch to take full advantage of the fact that we were already in bed when I heard the unmistakable sound of her stomach growling.
Sage’s cheeks turned red as she covered her belly with her hands. I chuckled.
“Okay, I’m going to go to my room to take a quick shower and change, and we can meet downstairs in twenty minutes. Then, we’ll feed that monster.”
“Shut up,” she said, but she was smiling.
I left the room, heading down the hall to my own. I saw Michael walking toward the elevator with his sister at his side.
“I’m just saying, men are such jerks,” Summer said to Michael as I walked up behind them.
“Present company excluded?” I asked, and she jumped, whirling around to see me standing there.
“Damn it, Briggs. You scared me,” she snapped. “What are you doing here?”
“Sorry,” I said, not meaning it. I’d known Summer since she was born, and she had always been a bit of a drama queen. “I didn’t realize that you owned the hallway.”
“Jerk,” she mumbled, shooting Michael a look like my teasing was somehow all his fault before turning away and marching to the elevator alone.
Michael and I stayed in place, watching her go. The elevator doors opened right away and she stepped inside, jabbing her finger at the button impatiently.
“So, she’s in a mood,” I commented as the doors slid closed in front of her.
“You have no idea,” Michael said, shaking his head. He looked directly at me for the first time. “Aren’t those the clothes you were wearing last night? They’re all wrinkled.”
“That’s why I’m going to my room to change.”
“Did you stay with Sage last night?” he asked, arching a brow.
“A gentleman never kisses and tells,” I replied and continued on my way to my room. I didn’t want to keep Sage waiting.
After changing my clothes and brushing my teeth, I headed downstairs, riding in the elevator with a friend of Faith’s that I didn’t know. Sage was already in the lobby, and we headed out. I took her to a small place just down the beach that I spotted the first day we were here. It was a small restaurant and bar with tiki decorations and a direct view of the ocean.
“This place is so cute,” Sage said as we walked in. There was only one employee, a woman behind the bar with wildly curly hair and a low-cut dress. She was wearing a long necklace with a half-moon pendant.
“Welcome to Water’s Edge Eatery,” she said, smiling at us as she opened a bottle of golden tequila and poured it into four shot glasses for a group of women at the end of the bar. “I’m Freya. Just take a seat anywhere and I’ll be right with you.”
Picking up the menu, I scanned my options. It was mostly pub food, sandwiches, fried food, and burgers. When Freya came over to take our orders, neither of us opted for alcohol. I wasn’t in the mood for more liquor after the party last night, and I guessed that was the reason Sage got an iced tea, too.
I ordered a burger while Sage went with battered cod with French fries. While we waited for the food to arrive, we talked. In some ways, I felt like I’d known Sage so much longer than just a few days, but there were things that I still didn’t know about her, small things that people in a real relationship should know.
I learned about her taste in movies and music, her hobbies, and love of bubble baths. Of course, that last one put all kinds of dirty thoughts in my head.
“So, what about you? What do you like to do in your free time?” she asked, taking a sip of her tea.
“I don’t have as much free time as you might think, but I do make time to work out a couple of times a week.”
“That’s yourhobby?” She laughed. “What about golf? You’re good at that.”
“My skills are deeply ingrained from playing when I was younger, but it’s not really a current interest of mine.”
“Wow, and you were so good! I have to admit that I’m a little jealous.”
I smirked at her. “I have to say, golf is not your game.”