Page 27 of One Room Vacancy
She clears her throat and shifts her gaze away, a tense silence settling in the room. Liam seems to pick up on the discomfort and stands abruptly, announcing that Hannah is calling despite his phone not making a sound. As soon as he exits, Sage walks over to where I’m sitting, perching on the arm of the couch next to me.
Progress. Or, at least, I’m going to convince myself it’s progress.
“How was work?” I ask, not looking up at her, not wanting to startle her out of whatever semblance of pleasantry this is.
“It was fine.” She lets out a sigh, making it abundantly clear that it was anything but fine. But do I ask about it?
I don’t know the rules—I don’t know how I’m supposed to handle this. We’re in uncharted territory, and for the first time since I met this girl, I find it hard to look at her.
I just nod in response.
To my surprise, amidst the lingering silence, she continues. “The last few shifts have kinda sucked. Harry is talking about selling. And you know as well as I do that some chain is probably going to swoop in and make an offer; he’s in too prime of a spot. Then it’ll just be…gone.”
I try and fail to quell my excitement at her willingness to talk to me,reallytalk to me, but thankfully she doesn’t comment on it.
“Well, why don’t you buy the bar?” I ask in an offhand tone, mostly in an effort to continue the conversation.
Sage lets out a sardonic laugh, as if the mere thought of her owning a business is lunacy. “Yeah, right. Good one, Gabe.”
Okay, I don’t likethat. “Why is that laughable? I know you have a trust—it’s not like you don’t have the money.”
“In what world doIseem the business owner type?” Despite her resistance to the topic, I watch her mull it over.
I hate that she doesn’t think she could do this. I’ve watched her ever since she started working at Harry’s. I’ve watched as she’s come alive working behind that bar. I know that she holds firm that her career isn’t her purpose, but that doesn’t mean something couldn’t come along that could change that for her. Give her something new to love.
And I know she does love it. She loves working at Harry’s, yes, but she lights up when she’s talking to people there. Asking them about their lives, learning about their different paths. It’s a community, one to which Sage has become central.
Silence lingers in the air as she bites her inner cheek, and I fight off every desire to further encourage her to do this. She’s never been the type to listen to others about what she should do; she’s infallible in that way, and she needs to come to that decision on her own.
She truly is unlike any human being I’ve ever known.
Just when I’ve mustered the confidence to barrel through the quiet, the doorknob of the front door twists and Liam reappears in the doorway, sweat dripping down his neck.
“Jeez, man, did you go for a run?” Sage peers up at him in amusement, her eyes lingering on his sweat-dampened skin.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” He seems frazzled.
My lips turn upward as I realize—a beehive recently popped up outside the door.
“You got chased by a bee, didn’t you?”
“I saidI don’t want to talk about it!”
Sage and I burst into laughter as Liam huffs away into the kitchen, clearly helping himself without a care in the world.
This is what I wanted; this is what I was hoping for when I moved in with Sage.
Of course, there’s part of me that wishes we could be more, that wishes I could go back and redo everything—go back and not hurt her the way I did. Go back and not get back together with Kara again. But if we can get back to a place where we can genuinely be friends, hang out without the tension, spend time together because we genuinely want to and not because we’ve been forced to share an apartment…I could learn to be okay with just that.
Happily.
Liam hangs out at the apartment for a few more hours, and, despite claiming he isn’t losing his ever-loving mind about Hannah returning tomorrow, I know he is. The person that he has slowly become by loving Hannah has been equal parts terrifying and extraordinary to watch. He was never the type of guy to want that—to be in a relationship that consumes him—but I guess he was always holding out for it to be Hannah.
As I watch Sage throw her head back in laughter, a tight ringlet falls across her face. She reaches up to tuck it behind her ear, and my heart races at the simple gesture. It’s been this way since the day I met her—every time I see her, I feel like I’m losing control.
But the thought of being with Sage, truly being with her, would mean letting go of all my fears and insecurities. It could be the most exhilarating experience of my life, or it could destroy me completely. And yet, I can’t help but crave it more than anything else in this world.
I never let myself want that—this,her—but as I look at her right now, I can’t envision my life any differently.
