CHAPTER FIFTEEN

S age stared out the window as the bus made its way along Route 520 toward downtown Seattle.

What a weekend!

She still couldn’t believe she’d experienced it, nor that she’d had the courage to go through with it. Having sex with two men at the same time had been nothing like she’d expected. Both Ari and Oliver had made her feel gorgeous and sexy, while seeming to gain great pleasure from her own enjoyment.

Her core clenched at the memories.

Not appropriate on the damn bus, Sage. Stop it.

As she shifted, her body and its little aches reminded her the pleasure hadn’t stopped there. The next evening she’d spent with Ari had been a big surprise. It had been sexy and intense. She hadn’t heard from him since he’d left in the early hours of Sunday morning, and after a little bit of pining Sage had given herself a lecture.

Ari wasn’t the man for her. Deep down, she knew that. She had a feeling she could fall for him, and Sage didn’t want to do that.

Liar.

Either way, she was ignoring her inner voice and focusing on the positives. First, she’d had a threesome! OMG . In a way, Ari and Oliver had changed her. Or rather, they’d brought her out of her sexual shell.

She felt different. Freer and more daring. She’d never thought of herself as gorgeous but, as she glanced down at her body, she realized she’d even dressed differently today. Her cleavage was a little more exposed; her skirt shorter.

It wasn’t inappropriate, it simply showed off her slim figure and gave her a few more curves. Heck, she’d been complaining about Piper having all the curves, but she’d been hiding hers under sensible clothes.

Why?

Sage mentally shrugged.

It didn’t matter. She now felt seen and adored and wasn’t going to hide anymore. Perhaps she’d go online and do some swiping, then go on some dates.

If she got her promotion this week, she’d soon have the house to herself and maybe one of her dates might be a little wild. Not threesome wild, rather someone who liked their sex life a little more rum and raisin, than vanilla ice-cream.

Okay, fine, she wanted someone to slam her against the wall, rip off her panties and made her come while she begged for more.

There, she’d said it.

Ari fit that bill, but she also wanted to get married. He didn’t. Hell, he couldn’t even stay the night and wake up with her in the morning.

Red flag much?

The bus stopped, and she jumped off, swinging her bag onto her shoulder and wrapping her coat around her. There was a flow of commuters scanning to get into the BioZen building, so she slowed her walk.

At least they didn’t have swipe cards. No one ever left their thumb at home. The security access level was managed by the Security Office and seemed to be tight—as one would expect in one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies.

Sage finally got inside and went straight to her office. She was eager to send off her documentation for the promotion even if it did seem eager so early in the morning.

She pushed send and then grabbed her white coat, a little smile on her lips recalling Oliver’s tease, and where it had led.

Her colleagues arrived, and the day started.

At lunchtime, she realized she had left her lunch at home.

Greaaaat.

The budget didn’t exactly account for buying lunch, but she wasn’t going to sit through the day hungry. So, she headed downstairs to the food court.

While the elevator made its way down, she wondered what Ari was doing, once again. Gym stuff, she figured. Had he thought about her? He had said he thought about her on Saturday, so maybe he was.

Why had he given her his phone number if he hadn’t planned to text or call? Maybe he’d had his fill?

She sighed.

It didn’t matter. Sage had already decided he wasn’t the man for her. He wasn’t a match to her Life List and so it was best if she just let him go and forgot about him.

The elevator opened and Sage made her way to the sushi bar. Her mouth watered at the thought of salmon with avocado and a nice miso soup. Once she saw the display of food, she leaned in closer wishing she could buy here more regularly.

Come on promotion. Please be mine.

She stood straight and went to make her way to the cashier but slammed into a big wall of a body.

Omphf.

“Oh, shit, I’m sorry,” she said, hot liquid splashing her white top.

“Oh crap,” a familiar voice said. “Damn, it’s all over you. I’m sorry.”

Sage stared up into Carl’s good-looking face and smiled.

Well, what a coincidence.

“It was my fault. I’m so hungry I didn’t look where I was going.” She wiped her hand over the marks on her top, making it worse. In fact, the brush of her hands made her sensitive nipples harden.

She glanced up and Carl was staring at her chest. Heat flushed her cheeks. She pushed away her shyness and lifted her head to find Carl smirking at her.

“No one will see it under my lab coat.” She shrugged

His head tilted. “I rarely see you out of it. You look... different.”

“Oh, yeah?” She grinned, feeling cheeky. “Like Superman?”

Carl let out a laugh. “Much prettier than Superman.”

She blushed. That wasn’t something she was going to be able to stop in a hurry.

“Want to sit and eat together when you have your sushi?” Carl asked, surprising her.

“Yup.” She pointed to the cashier. “I’ll just—”

“Sure, I’ll get us a table.” Carl nodded.

Sage ordered her salmon sushi and put her change in her purse as she chewed her bottom lip. Something was different about her. The buzz and excitement she was expecting to feel when he showed interest just wasn’t there.

She made her way to the table he was waving from, and they sat eating, talking shop to start. Carl worked in the finance team and considered his job even more boring than hers.

“It’s not really very glamourous, is it?” She laughed. “What do you say when people ask you?”

Carl shrugged, finishing his miso, and stuffing his napkins inside the recycled cup. “Not much, to be honest. We’re pretty hamstrung in what we can say.”

She nodded.

Then she frowned.

“What do you mean?” Sage knew they were all under tight confidentiality agreements, but Carl seemed to be referring to more than just that.

“Honestly, I can’t say more than that. The things we see, where the money comes and goes from. The profit margins. Sage, it’s... I need to stop talking.” He leaned back in his chair. Suddenly he smiled. “I’m glad we bumped into each other.”

“Literally.” She laughed, glancing down at her top.

“You want me to wash it for you?”

Sage shook her head. “No. It was an accident.”

“Sure, but it will give me an excuse to drop it off and see you again.”

Heat bloomed on her cheeks. “You see me here every day.”

“What if I wanted to see you outside work?” he asked, and she noticed a hint of vulnerability.

Elbow on the table, she placed her chin in the palm of her hand and grinned. “Are you asking me on a date?”

“Only if you say yes. If you say no, then I’m being a gentleman offering to wash your soiled top,” Carl replied, smirking.

“Okay,” Sage said, wondering if Cupid was stalking her. First Oliver and Ari, now Carl. Not that Ari or Oliver were in love with her. Ari certainly wasn’t—made clear by the radio silence.

Neither was Carl, but there was a possibility with him that didn’t exist with the others. He was the kind of man she could take home to meet her parents and he’d put up with their church stuff on holidays and build a family with her.

Right?

No tattoos—although Ari’s tattoo on his chest was so damn sexy, she often found herself circling the unusual Roman clock. Oliver had far more than Ari and, yeah, she had let her eyes wander all over his body when he’d stripped.

Still, her parents would freak if she took either of them home for the holidays.

“That would be nice, but I’ll wash my top,” she replied with a grin and packed up her rubbish. Carl took it from her and stood, pulling her chair out for her. “Thank you.”

See. A total gentleman. Her mother would gush at that.

“Wednesday after work? We can head to the bar down the road.”

Sage nodded and glanced at the clock on the wall. “Sounds good. I better get going. I didn’t notice the time. See you Wednesday!”

Standing in the elevator Sage stared at the steel doors and felt odd. Like, she should be elated or more excited, but she wasn’t. Her mind flashed to Ari, and she pushed him aside, but he wouldn’t stay gone.

Ugh.

She knew exactly what was going on. This was simply science. When you slept with someone, the euphoria that struck wasn’t real. Well, it was, but it was all a chemical reaction. During sex, the hormone oxytocin was produced in the hypothalamus— aka the brain—which made you feel extreme emotions like love and affection. It wasn’t called the love hormone for nothing.

Sage knew oxytocin was addictive. People became hooked on the chemical. It went some way to explain why people stayed in relationships when there was abuse alongside great make-up sex.

But it got worse. Sexual arousal actually turned off the prefrontal cortex—the part of your brain responsible for rational thought.

So basically, she was acting like a moron, pining for a man who looked like he’d stepped out of an action movie starring the best-looking Hollywood heartthrob in town.

See? She was nuts.

Still, Carl had asked her out. This was good and it totally aligned with her Life List . Who knew where it would lead?

Sure, she didn’t have butterflies in her tummy or get that same dangerous erotic feeling she had with Ari, but that was good. At least she knew he wouldn’t be inviting another man into their bedroom.

Not that she’d hated it at all. Oliver had been... God, so fucking hot.

She cleared her throat.

Forget them and focus on Carl.

She’d wear something really nice on Wednesday and work out what to talk to Carl about during their date. Hopefully by then she would have heard about her promotion and have something to celebrate.

Wednesday could be a great day.