She blinked up at me, her mouth moving, but I didn’t catch what she was saying. I was too in my own head, not paying enough attention to anything but the way her lips were moving. Sage waved her hand in the air and I shook my head, bringing myself out of the haze.
“Huh?” I frowned and inhaled a deep breath as I pulled my cell out and read the message from Cody, my teammate. “Cody put Thalia in an uber last night. She made it home safely.”
“Thank god,” Sage sighed. She paused, staring at me as if she was waiting for more, but when I didn’t say anything, she continued, “I asked which car yours is.”
“Oh.” I swallowed and walked toward the black Mercedes sports car my dad had gotten me for my eighteenth birthday two months ago. “This one.”
“Holy guacamole,” she choked out. “I thought you were a high school student.”
“I am.” I grinned as I stared at her from the other side of the car. “Captain of the basketball team, if you must know.”
Her eyes widened as she spluttered. “You’re Storm?” She stumbled back a step. “You’re Storm Hartley?”
“That’s me.” I pulled open the driver’s side door and pointed at the passenger one. “Get in. I’ve got practice in a couple of hours.”
“Oh shit, I…yeah…okay.” She threw herself into the car and snapped the belt in place. “Sorry.” She cringed, holding her hands in her lap tightly, causing her knuckles to turn white. “I just didn’t realize who you were, and—”
“You follow sports then, huh?” I turned the engine on then drove around the driveway toward the bottom gates. One flick of a button on my steering wheel was all it took for them to open, then I took a right.
“I know of you.” Her voice was softer now, surer of herself. “People at school talk about you all the time.” I wasn’t surprised one bit by that. If she lived on the other side of town, that meant she went to Lakemere Public, also known as our biggest rivals. They hadn’t won a game against us in years, much like last night. Although last night was just a friendly—a warm up until the season started next week.
“You hang with the basketball crew then?” I had no idea where exactly she lived, but I headed toward the other side of town, knowing she’d tell me once we got closer.
“Heck no.” She laughed again, but this time it was strained, like she was putting it on rather than it being a natural reaction. “People like that don’t hang out with people like me.”
“And who are ‘people like you’?”
“Nerds.”
I glanced at her as we came to the bridge that separated the two sides of town. “You don’t look like a nerd,” I commented.
“That’s because Thalia dressed me.” She shrugged then pointed straight ahead. “You can drop me on the corner of tenth and third.”
“That where you live?” I asked, taking the turning and knowing I only had two more blocks before she’d be out of my car.
“Yeah.” She squirmed in her seat, biting down on her bottom lip again, and fuck, I wished I was the one doing the biting.
Halting to a stop where she told me to, I looked up at the apartment block, making a mental note of the place, knowing this wouldn’t be the last time I’d see Sage. Our schools may have been rivals, but there was no way I was letting her get away. Not yet anyway. Not until I knew why the hell I felt such a draw to her.
“Thanks for the ride, Storm,” she whispered, opening the passenger door.
“Anytime.” I leaned down so she could see me now she was standing on the sidewalk. “See you around, yeah?”
“I…sure.” She closed the door gently then ran into the apartment building, leaving me wanting more of her.
Who Is This?
Sage
Monday came around all too fast for my liking. It was the same as every other day of the week. I made the fifteen-minute walk to school, got there early, and waited for Thalia to meet me next to our lockers.
I’d barely heard from her since I got home on Saturday when she finally answered me and told me she was dying from all of the drinks she’d consumed. I didn’t bring up the fact that she left me at the party alone, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t.
Damn. I still couldn’t believe Storm had given me a ride home. I’d never been in a car like that before, never mind sat in such close proximity to someone like him. He was the best high school basketball player in the state.
“Sage!” The shout was the same one I heard every morning when Thalia spotted me waiting for her, but unlike the other mornings, I didn’t have a smile on my face ready to greet her. Instead, I raised a brow and tilted my head to the side. “Uh-oh.” She halted a couple of feet in front of me. “You’re pissed.”
“I see you haven’t lost your observation skills,” I whipped back at her. “What the heck, Thalia?” I stepped toward her. “Why did you leave me there alone?”