Chapter 10
Riggs isn"t quite as quiet as I am. We barely make it to the end of the driveway before he asks, "So, is Sage the girlfriend?"
How the hell do I answer that honestly? She"s not just "the girlfriend". She"s…the one. My sweet, precious princess that I want to protect forever.
"Still very new," I say cautiously. "Hoping she"ll stay."
Riggs waits until we"re pulling into the Maple Trail parking lot before speaking again. "Have you actually asked her to stay with you? I don"t claim to know a thing about women, but supposedly they appreciate clarity." He turns to give me an unconvinced shrug. "At least, that"s what Hollywood says, right?"
I snort a chuckle. "I guess."
I jump out of the truck and unlock Sage"s car, moving the seat back as far as it"ll go to squash myself (barely) into it. Luckily it starts, but it complains a fair bit as I try to drive it out of the mud patch. Then I spot Riggs standing behind the car, nodding at me in the rearview mirror. I roll down the window and call out. "One, two, three."
He throws all his weight into it, giving enough of a shove that when I floor it, the car lurches out. I drive to the edge of the lot, then jump out. "Thanks, man."
Riggs shakes my hand. "Thank you for always sharing your tools." His expression lands halfway between a smile and a smirk. "Sage looked at you with what I think the romance writers call "stars in her eyes". The sooner you tell her how you feel, the easier I think everything will be."
"You sound like one of those women"s talk show hosts," I grumble. Then I nod reluctantly. "But you"re probably right. Thanks."
He claps me on the shoulder, then returns to his truck. He waits to make sure the car makes it out of the lot and onto the road before tapping the horn twice and driving off in the opposite direction.
At the next safe spot, I pull slightly off the road and grab my phone. I"ve never really texted women before, but Sage would probably like to know that I"m thinking about her. Wouldn"t she?
Me: Hey, princess. Your car is way too small for me. But it"s out of the mud. On my way home. Hope to find you on the couch right where I left you.
I"m not sure how long it normally takes a young lady to respond, but with this particular young lady it"s under sixty seconds.
Sage: I might have raised and lowered my arm a few times while switching channels. That was the limit of my exercise. Thanks for saving my crappy car!
Damn, she"s constantly funny and charming. A little ray of sunshine.
As I begin driving again, I can"t help but wonder if a girl with such a sunny disposition belongs with a man who is as prone to cloudy moods as I am.
I want to be good for her. I need to convince her to stay with me. I"m already addicted to touching her, to hearing her stories. Just thinking of taking Sage on hikes to show her some new birds fills me with more happiness than I"ve had in a very long time.
Yet… What do I really have to offer her?
I groan to myself. I"m going to have to do exactly what Riggs suggested, and tell her how I feel.
Or, since I have no idea how to put that into words… Maybe I can show her.