Page 44 of Love Legacy

I press my lips to hers gently. “I’ll do anything and everything for you, Naomi.” She snuggles close to me, resting her head on my chest, and I wrap my arms around her. After a little while, her breathing evens out, and I look down to see her fast asleep. I reach over, turning off the bedside lamp, trying not to disturb Naomi as the room goes dark.

“Love you, Georgia,” I whisper, pressing my lips to the top of her head.

16

Naomi

I’m woken up from my sleep by knocking at my apartment door. I groan, turning over and reaching for my pillow to pull over my head when my arm hits something warm and soft.

“Oof.”

I open my eyes, looking over to see Sage laying next to me, sleeping on her back. Our legs are entwined under the covers, our bodies pressed close to each other. In reaching over for my pillow, I had draped my arm across Sage’s throat. “Oh, sorry,” I say, pulling my arm back.

She opens a single eye, grinning when she sees me. “Morning, Church Girl.”

I return her smile, propping myself up on my elbow to press my lips to hers. “Morning, Tarragon.”

“Gabby’s got you doing the nicknames too? I like it better when you call me Sage,” she says with a slight whine to her voice.

I laugh, running my fingers through her hair. “I’m just messing with you.”

Sage reaches out, grabbing my hip and pulling me close so I’m straddling her. “There’s just something so sexy about hearing my name come out of your mouth,” she murmurs, her hands stroking up and down my exposed thighs.

“Yeah?” I ask, bending down and pressing soft kisses to her exposed collar bones and neck.

Sage just lets out a breathy moan in response, her hands migrating to grab my butt, grinding my center into her.

There’s another knock at the door, this one more urgent, and my phone rings simultaneously. I groan in annoyance, sitting back up to reach over and check my phone that was sitting on the side table.Why is my father calling me?

Our communication has been fairly limited since I moved to Pinebrook, sticking to short text exchanges. So for him to be calling me this early in the morning, for the first time in a couple months, was out of character. I send the call to voice mail, not in the mood to talk to him right now. I was about to turn my phone off when I saw an unread text message from my mother.

Mama

Hi baby, we were traveling for a conference and decided to stop by and visit before heading back to Georgia. We’ll stop by your apartment after your father’s live stream service.

We’re here sweetheart. Are you asleep? I’m disappointed that you weren’t watching the service.

Naomi, open the door honey. We want to see you before we get on the road.

My eyes go wide, reading through my text messages. I scramble off of Sage, looking around my room for my pants. I grab my sweatpants, pulling them on before collecting Sage’s clothes off the floor and throwing them at her.

“What’s wrong, Naomi?”

“My parents are here!” I hiss. She jumps out of bed, stumbling a little bit as she tries to put on her shirt and pants.

I go look in the mirror and see I have a few faint hickeys scattered across my neck and collarbone, courtesy of Sage. I grab a hoodie, throwing it on and taking my bonnet off, shaking my hair out. Hopefully, between the curls and my hoodie, they’re all covered.

Sage grabs her phone and pulls on her sneakers, heading into the living room. I follow her, heading to the door. “Mama, Daddy, hi. This was… unexpected.” I let them into my apartment.

Mama does a quick scan of the room, her eyes settling on Sage. She gives her a once over, her lip curling ever so slightly. I can only begin to imagine all the rude and judgmental things she is saying in her head. “And you are…?”

Sage looks at me, hesitating slightly, before holding out her hand to my mother. “I’m Sage, one of Naomi’s roommates. Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

Mama just looks at her hand, giving her a tight-lipped smile before turning to me. “Sweetheart, why weren’t you watching the service?”

Sage drops her hand to her side, letting out a small sigh. “I’m going to go on my run. I’ll see you later, Georgia,” she says softly, winking at me before heading out.

“Why did she call you Georgia? Are you having problems with your roommate?” my father asks, worry in his voice.

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