Almost Perfect - Brian Katcher [79]
I almost dozed off. I probably would have if Sage hadn’t spoken.
“I think I can do it, Logan.”
“Do what?” I mumbled. Sage’s hand was no longer in mine. My fingers rested on her leg.
“Go to college. I mean, go as …” She trailed off.
I woke up a bit. “You’re doing great. You’re going to have the time of your life. We’re going to have the time of our life. Lifes. Lives.”
A strand of Sage’s hair tickled my nose. It smelled like shampoo, but in a good way. I was sure I smelled like the smoking lounge at a brewery.
Sage whispered in my ear. “I feel brave when I’m with you.”
I didn’t know why, but that comment really touched me. It was just such a sweet thing to say. I took my hand from Sage’s leg and placed it on her cheek. I savored her big sad eyes, her countless freckles, her quivering lips, her exploring tongue …
We were kissing. Deeply. Very deeply. I was kissing Sage, and I was not nearly drunk or sleepy enough to excuse it.
Sage’s kisses were eager, like she had to get in as much lip time as possible. She probably expected me to jolt away at any second. But my only reference point was Brenda. Meanwhile, I was still lacerating my tongue on Sage’s braces.
It would be so easy to leave. No explanations. Neither of us would bring it up again. Just a couple of friends who’d enjoyed a moment of forbidden passion. Something we could treasure.
But I didn’t want just a moment. After half a year of knowing Sage, I could finally admit I wanted her. I wanted this beautiful, strange, wonderful woman. I didn’t want some friend of my sister’s. I didn’t want to go on awkward dates. My best friend was a beautiful girl! What was wrong with that?
Plenty. Logan, she’s a—
I DON’T CARE! I kissed Sage harder to drown out the voice. I wrapped my arms around her waist. We kneeled awkwardly, facing each other on the bed, holding hands across our laps.
I didn’t care. I didn’t want to care. Sage was so wonderful. I could worry about everything else later. Right now, I was making out with a special, special girl.
I’ll be just fine. I mentally repeated the drunk driver’s mantra as I lowered my arms. When my hand cupped Sage’s rear, she let out a long, almost painful groan and leaned back. When she looked at me, there were tears in her eyes.
“Logan, I’m so sorry.”
Was she apologizing for kissing me? Or for what we were about to do? It didn’t matter. I grasped the hem of her shirt and began to lift.
“Turn off the light, please,” she said shyly.
I couldn’t reach the lamp from the bed. I nearly went sprawling over the sheets when I got up, and then I couldn’t find the lamp’s switch. I pounded it with my fist until the bulb’s filament broke and the light from outside was all that shone.
When I turned back around, Sage was sitting on the bed wearing nothing but a pair of shorts. She was looking down at the floor, her hands pressed between her knees. I’d never been so turned on in all my life. I thought, for a strange moment, of Brenda. I was suddenly glad that we’d never made love.
I removed my shirt and sat next to Sage. She smiled at me. When I tried to kiss her, she fell backward onto the bed, her body on display. She was mine, if I wanted her. I touched her skin.
“Logan?”
“Yes, Sage?” God, why were we talking now?
“Please be gentle. It’s my first time.”
I kissed her. But not on the mouth. “Mine too.”
We didn’t speak again for another two hours.
chapter twenty-eight
I AWOKE to the sound of gunfire and screaming. My head throbbed, and I felt like I was covered with bugs. I couldn’t get my bearings. I wasn’t at home, but I wasn’t in Laura’s room, either. I was facedown on a floor somewhere.
It felt like I’d been sleeping for hours, but darkness surrounded me. I focused on a square of light. A computer screen. Brian, who sat in the same position as when I’d last seen him, and his roommate, Paul, were playing a shoot-’em-up computer game.
I smothered my face into the gym bag I was using as a pillow, trying to drown out the