Jax

Sage and I fell into a pattern. Work hard, play hard...together. She gave me space to work my lifeguarding shifts and run The Surf Shack. I gave her space to demo her property and start the rebuild of her restaurant. Our crazy schedules didn't leave a lot of room for extended periods of time together, but we squeezed out every last second available to us. Stolen moments in the early morning or a warm and willing body late at night. I rarely went to her place, but she was becoming a permanent fixture in my upstairs apartment.

I quit trying to come up with 'tests' for her to pass. After our camping weekend, I was ashamed of myself, realizing I'd stereotyped her and assumed that she was a stuck-up princess because of her family money. Which was ironic because it was the lack of money that caused my ex to assume I would never amount to anything. The same stereotype, just flipped.

I needed to get to know Sage and form my own opinions based on who she truly was. And what I was quickly finding was a beautiful woman, ridiculously smart and confident, perfectly capable of any task you threw at her. She assured me she had many flaws, but I had yet to find one.

After a particularly curt phone call from her father regarding a building permit that was taking longer than anticipated, she'd thrown a pillow at the wall and then promptly broke down into tears, explaining how badly she wanted her father's approval and how she was certain she'd never obtain it. Despite her insistence that she was only crying because she was so mad, I could see the scars beneath the surface.

A daughter should never have to fight so hard for a paltry pat on the back from her parents. I didn't pity her, because the girl was a straight up fighter: she didn't need nor want pity. But I did vow to make sure I spoke the words out loud, the ones I always thought in my head. I wanted her to hear exactly how incredible she was from a man who loved her. Her father may never get to the point where he could say it, but I could. I'd spend the rest of my life building her up if she'd only let me.

And that gets me to my next point. I was pretty damn certain I was in love with Sage. She was everything I'd always wanted in a partner, plus a thousand other things I was finding essential. It was the big things, like her zest for experiencing the present moment. Her ability to see the positive in every situation. The way she surrendered her body to me, completely trusting and open. Her beautiful brain that read spreadsheets and ran numbers and came up with brilliant business strategies.

And it was even more so the little things: blowing up a picture of my dad and I in front of The Surf Shack and hanging it in my apartment, the notes she'd leave by the coffeepot in the morning when she was up before me, or the disgusting green juices she'd bring home for me to drink so I'd clear my chi. She was a weirdo hippy burning incense and bonding with my buddy Kai over their mutual love of meditation.

What really tipped me off was the morning I stood in my bathroom, trying to shave after hopping out of the shower. I was shuffling around and realized her long, blonde hair was sticking to the bottom of my wet feet. Which led me to using a tissue to sweep up all her hair that was carpeting my tile floor. I should have been irritated at this micro-intrusion, yet I wasn't. I wasn't even worried about the fact that it looked like a wookie dehaired in my bathroom. I was mostly concerned about her losing so much hair. Was she balding prematurely? And then like a sick love puppy, I grinned, thinking how gorgeous she'd look even bald.

I mean, come on.

The green juice was either slowly draining my testosterone or I was totally and completely in love with Sage Vanderman. Given our long sessions in my bed and the frequency her naked body ran through my brain, I was going to have to call bullshit on the former and accept the latter.

That was why, on a bright and sunny Monday morning, I was standing on my porch, sipping a cup of coffee before work while I watched her talk to the crew next door cleaning up the debris from the demolition they'd just finished. I was contemplating her from afar, seeing her in a different light now that I acknowledged I was in love. The hair that was left on her head was up in a bun and she was wearing a white tank top over a long skirt. Gold sandals covered her feet, which left me nervous, worried a stray nail or piece of barbed wire on the job site would jab her through her flimsy footwear. She kept rubbing her nose, something I'd seen her do a few times before. I wasn't sure if it was a nervous habit or what.

She started gesturing wildly, her dozen long necklaces swinging and bouncing. The man she was speaking to was frowning and shaking his head, either not listening or not agreeing with anything she was saying. I gripped the wood banister of my patio, trying hard not to get involved. I knew she could handle this, but it was natural instinct for me to want to dive in and save her.

Thankfully, I caught a few words here and there as the breeze carried them to me. Something about a wall not being where she wanted it to be. Considering there weren't any walls left standing on her property, that was definitely a problem.

A dark sedan pulled into the parking lot while they argued and a man in a tight suit got out. Seeing how tight the asshat's suit was, I was surprised he was able to make it all the way across the rubble and over to where Sage stood. I didn't know what was up with these young business guys. A suit tight enough to be mistaken for yoga pants was not attractive. There was a fine line between tailored and too fucking tight and this guy had crossed the line two waist sizes ago.

When Sage stumbled back a bit at this guy's approach, I decided enough was enough. I ran back inside, grabbed a shirt and shoved my feet in my favorite pair of beat up Vans before racing down the stairs. I was all for Sage handling her business on her own two feet, but it couldn't hurt to pay a quick visit and say goodbye before I left for work. If I happened to flex a few muscles and give a few dirty looks to a certain someone before I left, then so be it.

"I made a few changes."

Sage took a step closer to douchebag, the look on her face one I never wanted to see directed at me. "You did WHAT?"

"Calm down, Sage. I made a few changes that'll make this place better. Why don't you let me talk to the crew and you can go over the interior design stuff?"

I was at Sage's side at this point, but I don't think she even saw me. If this were a cartoon, there'd be steam coming out her ears and she would have already popped the guy in the face with her fist. Instead, she ripped the papers out of his hand and threw them to the ground, stomping on them for good measure. I was now also close enough to see that the suit was actually Drew, the pansy that was in her father's suite when I paid Mr. Vanderman a visit a few months back.

"I say what goes on at this worksite, Drew. Not you. Not my father. And I'm the only one who speaks to my crew. Can you get that through your thick skull?"

"Now just wait a minute, Sage. Your father asked me to check on you. I did and I saw we could streamline a few of your designs to save a bit on the bottom line. I'm doing you a favor, the least you could do is not yell in my face." Drew's hands were flying in the air as his voice got louder.

Time to break this up. "Hey Drew, how's it going?" I thrust my hand out, cutting him off from stepping even closer to Sage in his 'I'm a tough guy' bullying tactics.

They both startled, turning to me like they hadn't noticed anyone was out here witnessing their disagreement.

“Jax." Sage grabbed my elbow, a tense smile helping to smooth out her face.

Drew looked irritated to see another male join in, especially when recognition lit in his eyes. He left my hand hanging between us for longer than necessary before finally shaking it and then turning back to Sage, effectively dismissing me from the conversation.

"The new plans, that you just stomped on, are solid. Take a look at them and you'll see."

Sage crossed her arms over her chest. "I had a specific reason for leaving those walls where they were. I'm not interested in seeing your plans. You've cost me time and money telling my crew to demo those walls. You'll fix this by turning around and leaving right now. I'll forward the bill for replacing the walls, and I expect you to pay it."

Drew glared at her. Sage glared back. I glared at Drew. The crew stared at all three of us. It was a staring contest with too many participants and nothing to win.

After a tense few minutes, where Drew must have seen something in Sage's eyes that didn't bode well for him, he spun on his expensive heel and made his way back to his car. Before he climbed in, he tossed over his shoulder, "Your father will hear about this, you know that, right?"

"Oh, I know he will, Drew. I'm counting on it." Sage's expression turned positively evil, like she couldn't wait to be the one to spill to her father what an idiot Drew was.

Drew rolled his eyes and slammed the door shut before driving off in a cloud of dust.

"What a fucking greaser," Sage said before bending over, hands on her knees, and whooping out a loud laugh. She kept laughing, not caring that everyone was still watching her.

I was concerned that the stress of this building project had finally gotten to her. Her hatred of Drew was a topic we'd discussed before. Bent over laughing was hardly what I expected as her reaction to his surprise visit. I laid my hand on her back, gliding over her spine before tweaking the pile of hair on top of her head and tugging gently to get her attention.

"You okay, baby?"

She straightened fully, her eyes sparking with mischief. "I'll be fine once that asshole puts my walls back up." Her grin grew. "And I send him a bill for the most expensive fix-it job you've ever seen."

I couldn't help myself. I grabbed her face and pulled her to me, planting a wet kiss on that mouth of hers. The combo of her smile and her brain was flooding my body with feel-good endorphins that should be illegal at such high doses.

"I'm glad you're taking his interference in stride." I kissed her again and then pulled away, though it was the last thing I wanted to do. "I gotta get to work. Dinner tonight?"

"For sure. I want to talk to you about putting in additional space in The Surf Shack for merchandise. I think selling high end one-of-a-kind apparel and home decor would sell great once the restaurant is in and we're drawing in more tourists." Her eyes were doing that sparkling thing, business ideas running amok in that brain of hers.

I frown. "I see what you mean, but I don't really have the space. It would be way too cramped with people coming in and out with equipment rentals."

Sage leaned back in, her hands trailing up my arms before coming around my neck, the position pressing her breasts into my chest, making them the perfect distraction from the topic at hand. "Well, I was thinking we could build an add-on to the current building. You have plenty of land. Maybe make the parking lot more expansive too while we're at it."

I smiled, even as I narrowed my eyes at her. "Uh huh. And I'm supposed to do all that with what money?"

"I hear you have a rich girlfriend..." Her voice was getting higher the longer her pitch went on.

"Yes, I do. And this rich girlfriend of mine also knows I don't take handouts." I kissed her and set her away from me, dead serious in my refusal. "I appreciate what you're offering, Sage, I really do. But I gotta do this on my own. If there are extra funds once the restaurant is open and bringing in more business, I'll reconsider your ideas."

I got the pouty lip for a few seconds, then a reluctant head nod that she understood. We'd already had several discussions along these lines and she knew how I felt. Didn't stop her from continuing to ask though. She may not like her father all that much, but she'd definitely inherited his relentless pursuit of things despite hearing the word ‘no’.

As I walked away to climb in my truck and head to work, Sage had one last parting shot, one that I didn't bother responding to. Not because I was irritated, but because it was too close to the truth.

"One of these days, I'm gonna wear you down and you're gonna say yes."