coming undone

Suddenly, Sage felt shy. After all, she didn't have undies on. Just Gage's shirt. She hurried back to Gage's room and grabbed a pair of his boxers from his dresser.

Naturally, Gage was grinning as if this might be a new game to play this morning. She put her index finger to her lips.

"What?" He was all smiles. Nothing was going to spoil his mood.

"Ezra is out there. In the kitchen." She whispered.

"Oh." He still didn't get it.

"I have to make breakfast." She told him.

"Let him make breakfast." He kept grinning as he pulled her on top of him, who evidently decided this would be all nude day, or something.

"No." She unwrapped herself from him. "I have too." She did. She must.

Yet, the next twenty minutes or so was dead silence. Even when she did put the toast out, Ezra slowly chewed his toast as if waiting for something else. But Sage placed the scrambled eggs in front of him. Still a stifling silence. She saw how he looked at her.

Finally, Gage showed up as if he were a freight train not quite ready to eat.

"So." Ezra looked at Gage wide eyed. "Anything, you want to share with me?"

"Well...yeah!" Gage grinned.

Sage shook her head, no. Gage looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

"I got a job. A real job at the grocery story. Accounting. Me! I got it." He was so happy. Sage smiled too, and it took everything in her, not to smooth down those curls of his with an add Good Boy!

He was not a pet. She winced then, feeling so guilty.

She'd waited all her life to find the one. Really, how could she explain this? She'd let it happen with him. She didn't want any regrets. But at the moment she found herself breaking into a sweat

Gage practically swallowed the scrambled eggs whole and choked down the toast with coffee. Really, it was a tad disgusting, but he went to take a shower.

"Are you sure you know, what you're doing?" Ezra asked.

"Yes." But her voice was tender. A part of her was glad she hadn't waited a second longer. After all, she was twenty-one even if she looked all of 14.

"What about Declan?" Ezra reminded her.

Now, she was upset. How could Ezra do this?

"You know, he would have waited. Probably given you an engagement ring. Waited forever for you. And you...you just had to find out what it was all about with Gage." Ezra's words stung her. She couldn't believe he'd say those things.

Sage winced with tears as she went to pick up the dirty dishes.

"Look, I'm not trying to hurt you. Its just, I thought you were different. Different, than this-" He started.

Sage hugged herself. She didn't want to think about Declan. She hadn't thought of him. Now she felt awful. What was she to do? She needed that car, but now...

Ezra's cell went off. He looked at the text.

"God." He looked up as if he might say a little prayer. "Sarah's having the baby."

"I-I can drive you to the hospital." Sage could at least do that. She heard the high pitch noise of the water in the shower cut short. Gage was already done. She guessed he'd have to go to the hospital too.