A/N: The Twilight Universe and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I own Sage and the plot.
No pre-readers this go-round because I fucking suck and my shoulder's so screwed up my doctor is laying the groundwork for many, many long and stressful tests.
HammerHips is my Schwoogie-Muffin. Plain and simple.
Chapter 52: Beautiful For Me
Every girl young and old has to face her own reflection
Twirl around, stare it down
What's the mirror gonna say
With some luck, you'll measure up
But you might not hold a candle to the rest
"Is that your best?" says the mirror to the mess
But there's a whisper in the noise
Can you hear a little voice
-"Beautiful For Me" by Nichole Nordeman
Sage POV
"What's with you today?" Charles huffed and puffed as we crested the top of the bluffs. Apparently he was great for a fifteen mile run or a hike, but when you combined the two, he was a bag of hot air.
I pulled the suck tube of my camelback out of my mouth and glanced over my shoulder at him. "What are you talking about?"
He plopped down next to me and shoved his black hair out of his eyes before taking a long pull from his own camelback. "You've got energy to burn… and you seem… lighter? Maybe that's not the right word." He sighed. "I just figured that with all the crap going on with your dad, we'd be wailing on the bag nonstop."
"Do you want me to be wailing on the bag nonstop?" I asked, confused.
Charles shrugged his shoulders and wiped the sweat from his face. "It's up to you. You lead, I follow… You just aren't following your normal pattern and it's thrown me."
I sighed. He was right. It was the last week of October and instead of having more pent-up anxiety and rage than I knew how to deal with, I was somehow lighter.
Jasper and I had taken to going down to Lompoc every other weekend so that I could spend more time with Dad. Jasper joined me in the visitation area so that he could hear the stories Dad told about when Emmett and I were kids, how he met my Mom, how things had gone so terribly wrong.
He'd asked for my forgiveness for all but abandoning me for the alcohol and for messing up so extremely with the drunk-driving and the manslaughter. I told him I'd forgiven him a long time ago, and I had. Strangely, there had never been a question of forgiving him or not, I simply had. He was my father, and what little girl didn't need and love her daddy?
"I guess I moved on to acceptance?" I'd meant it as a statement, but the hitch in my voice brought it out like a question and I realized I was seeking Charles' approval on that.
He and I had been systematically working through the Five Stages of Dying, though mostly, they'd been worked out on the bag. I knew that more than anything, he was surprised that I'd wanted to go for a hike today instead of working a Rage Exercise… but today seemed different.
I'd woken up with Jasper's arms around me and couldn't for the life of me find one thing wrong with the day. Instead of questioning it, I'd just gone with it. It seemed like the right thing to do.
"When do you go back to Lompoc?" he grunted, pulling a granola bar out of his pack and biting into it.
"Not this weekend, but next. We've got Halloween parties this week… Rosalie and Amelia are going with us next week."
"How do you think that'll go?" he asked, genuinely concerned.
I shrugged. "Rose's never met him, so it should be interesting. I've got a phone conference with the Warden tomorrow afternoon. I'm hoping he can give us a bit more time and a bit more privacy so that Dad can spend a bit more time with Amelia."
"That's nice of you. And generous. I'm not sure I'd be so generous with my Dad's final months."
I cocked an eyebrow at him. "Seriously?" he shrugged and I shook my head. "Amelia is my Dad's only grandchild… the only grandchild he'll ever get to meet… I'm not going to take that away from either of them. When he goes, he'll go knowing that he got to meet her and he'll have all these hopes and dreams for her and he'll be happy with that… and when she's old enough, I'll tell her about how he was and how he felt when he got to meet her. I think she'd like that."
"Of course she will."
"How come we never talk about you?"
Charles looked stunned by the question, but he quickly schooled his features. "What do you wanna know?"
"How'd you get into this?" I asked, waving a hand to indicate everything he did.
He shrugged. "I wanted to help people, so I studied Psychology. I volunteered at a mental health clinic for a while, but traditional therapy didn't seem to be my thing… So I started looking at other options. A guy I met in school had just started up a nature retreat for people with issues and I agreed to help him out. I led hikes, helped out with support groups… I guess it just sort of spiraled from there when I learned that sometimes traditional therapy just isn't enough. I mean… look at how you are when you're pounding away on the bag." He sucked in a breath and took a long pull from his camelback. "You're always quiet and reserved… but when you start hitting the bag, I see this fire in you that I think you squelch a lot of the time. You're angry and sad, but you've also got this confidence and a burning desire to live and be healthy. You scream and wail and sometimes you cry and it's not always pretty," I snorted a laugh and he chuckled. "But I see you let loose in a way that I don't think you do in your daily life."
I nodded. "You're right."
"And at home, I'm guessing Jasper gets to see that too, now that you're working the bag at home too."
"Yeah…" I cringed. Jasper had been witness to several tantrums when it came to the bag, but he'd taken it all in stride, encouraging me every step of the way.
"My wife thinks I'm a glutton for punishment, the way I let my patients wail on me and the bag." He chuckled.
"I think I kind of agree with her."
He snorted. "Yeah, well, it doesn't stop her from working out her frustrations with our bag every now and again. Makenna's a special woman. She puts up with a lot of shit. Sometimes she gets shunted to the back of the line when it comes to the patients, but she handles it with grace and understanding."
"She sounds like a good woman. I don't think I could be that understanding."
Charles sighed and shook his head. "Sage, you've been nothing but understanding throughout most of your short life. I think you've earned a bit of selfishness. Don't you?"
"No."
"No?"
"No." I repeated indifferently. "I think it's selfish that I keep Jasper, when I know he deserves more than I give."
He snorted again. "That's bullshit. You've just spent too much time not feeling as though you deserve to be happy. But I know… I know that if Jasper were unhappy, he wouldn't be with you. I think he takes care of you because he knows this is just a blip in the grand scheme of things."
"A blip? A blip?" I asked, suddenly exasperated.
"A blip." He confirmed.
"Hell of a long blip, don't you think?"
He shrugged. "It's only a blip as long as you make it one. It's your choice. Are you happy? Right now, in this moment, with no complications, no fights with your brother, are you happy? Can you look at Jasper and be unhappy?"
I had to think a long time on that. If I was being honest with myself, I'd had some less than stellar days, but none of them were a result of Jasper. In fact, Jasper was what made the days easier, better.
"I am happy." I sighed. And like a ton of bricks, the reality fell on me. "I'm happy."
I was shocked, to say the least. I hadn't been able to honestly say that with no reservations in years. Times with Jasper were usually happy, but that didn't make my life happy.
Now…
Now, I was, with all honesty, happy.
Talk about a revelation.
Epiphany.
Paradox.
"I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no more hurt, only more love."
Ah, Mother Theresa.
So wise…
Jasper was waiting for us when we returned, smiling benignly as I climbed into the truck and redirected all of the air vents toward me.
"Good day."
"Great day." I enthused. "I realized something today."
He cocked an eyebrow at me. "What's that?"
I grinned and kissed him slowly, smiling as he groaned into my mouth. "I'm happy."
"Big breakthrough." He smirked.
"It is, actually… because I'm not just happy today or in this moment, Jazz. I'm actually happy… and I can't remember a time before now that I could say that with full conviction."
Jasper pulled onto the highway and headed toward home, suddenly silent. "Even with me?" he whispered.
"I was always happy with you." I answered softly, snuggling against his chest. "Well… almost always. We had a few bumps in the road… but I mean, with my life in general? With how I felt and the shit with Emmett? No, I wasn't happy. Now I'm happy. My past is my past."
"And the future is ours."
I snorted. "How very High School Graduation Speech of you." I chortled.
He chuckled at that and kissed the top of my head. "I love you."
"I love you too."
"Good. Tell me what I'm wearing Saturday night."
"No." I giggled. He'd been trying to convince me for weeks to tell him what he'd be wearing to Pure, but I'd refused because he'd easily guess what my costume was and that was a surprise.
I'd decided to let Jasper pick what he'd wear to the party being hosted by a guy from one of my Lit classes and he'd decided that if he had to get "dressed up" for Pure, he was going to half-ass it for the other party and simply wear his fatigues and be a soldier. I hadn't yet told him I'd bought a costume to go with his BDUs. I wanted that to be a bit of a surprise as well. Charlotte was sewing small pieces of fabric onto the shoulders to give me the rank of Major. I thought that was hilarious.
By the time Friday night rolled around, I wasn't sure if Jasper was going to be able to wait until Saturday to find out what we were both wearing. He'd rooted through the closets, upended drawers, and even checked under furniture for any sign of what was to come, but Charlotte had our costumes hidden out the vineyard because I was sure that Peter was doing the exact same as Jasper.
Peter and Jasper were both dressed in their BDU's by four in the afternoon and playing Halo while Charlotte and I got dressed. Char had decided to throw a little color into the mix and was dressed as a peacock… which was to say that she had a tight corset bodysuit in peacock blue with a fan of fake peacock feathers attached to her ass.
"How the hell are you gonna sit with that thing?" I asked dumbly.
"Very carefully." She replied, swiping lip gloss over her mouth.
I attempted to pull the short camouflage dress down my legs to cover a bit more skin, but it wasn't working. Charlotte, for all intents and purposes, had picked the outfit after I'd decided I'd dress as a Sexy Soldier. The only item of clothing that was mine were my socks and black combat boots. I'd pulled my hair back into a ponytail and perched the hat on my head, allowing her to pin it to my hair so I wouldn't lose it easily and then she'd opened a few buttons down the front of the dress so that the V became wider and flashed some cleavage.
"Char!" I whined.
"Sage!" she mocked. "Let me have this one. You're just a soldier with the top buttons done. Now you're sexy."
"Now I'm flashing my bra." I countered, somewhat embarrassed that the red lace was clearly visible.
"So?" she asked and then, as if she were doing something as normal as brushing her hair, she stuck her hand down the front of my dress and began rearranging my boobs until they were pushed together.
"Personal much?" I cried, laughing.
She shrugged and flipped her long blond hair over her shoulder. "You needed more cleavage. It's not often you find a perfect set of boobs, Sug."
"Right… my B cup to your Double D's, perfect."
Charlotte giggled. "I had to pay a lot of money to get these babies. Yours are natural. I'm jealous."
I snorted. The idea of someone as beautiful as Charlotte being jealous of anything of mine was downright laughable.
"Did you get waxed this week?" she asked.
"Uh-huh." I groaned at the memory. I'd been getting waxed since I was a teenager. The first time I'd ever shaved my legs, I looked as though I'd tried to amputate them instead of simply groom them and Bella had passed out from all the blood and ended up with a concussion after smacking her head on the bathroom counter.
"Everything?" she pressed.
"Oh my God, yes, Charlotte. I got the vag-beast waxed, if that's what you're wanting to know. Why?"
She giggled at that. "Oh nothing… I just overheard Peter asking Jasper if you got a landing strip or some other crazy design."
I cringed at that. A full-wax was enough for me. I wasn't about to let the esthetician try to make some fucking design out of my short hairs.
"I got an eagle." She muttered. "I thought Pete would die laughing, and then I nearly killed him.
I snorted, and the snort turned into a full-blown laugh and I doubled over with the force of it. "Fuck, that's hilarious!" she scowled at me. "Well can you blame him?" and then after a beat, I asked, "Was it a bald eagle?"
At that, Charlotte burst out laughing and it was several minutes before we could continue on with getting our makeup done.
I let Charlotte go downstairs first, anxiously awaiting Peter's reaction. I didn't have to wait long for the "Holy fuck! Baby, that's HOT!" to filter upstairs and I tried to contain my laughter as I hastily made my way downstairs.
Jasper was waiting for me at the bottom, eyes wide as I smirked at his open mouth. "You'll catch flies like that." I teased. His jaw snapped shut and I grinned. "Shouldn't you be saluting, Sergeant?"
He grinned and grabbed my hand, pressing my palm into his very obvious arousal. "I am saluting, Darlin'." He growled, burying his face in my neck and groaning. "Do we have to go tonight? I think I'd rather stay in and follow orders all night."
Oh… but that does sound appealing…
"Yes, we have to go tonight." I giggled, kissing his jaw. "But we can always have more fun when we get home…"
"I think I'll hold you to that."
Peter groaned, drawing our attention to him. "I shoulda tried harder to win that bet… It'd be hilarious if you walked around tonight claiming to be the Titty Patrol and groping boobies."
I rolled my eyes and pressed myself to Jasper, smiling as he groaned at the pressure I was putting on his groin. "You missed Char groping mine." Jasper's hips suddenly bucked against me and I had to laugh.
"Yeah, right." Peter grumbled.
"No, seriously. She just stuck her hand in my bra and rearranged my boobs!" I crowed.
"Baby! How could you do that and not let me watch?" he yelled indignantly.
Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Oh get over it. Besides, I don't think Jasper would share anyhow."
Jasper's arms wrapped around me protectively. "Not even with you, Char. Sorry."
Jasper POV
The party Sage's classmate threw was an all-out bash with a lot of drinking and groping. I actually managed to wrangle Sage into one of the bathrooms for a quickie where I happily explored the red scrap of fabric my girl called underwear before stripping her of it and allowing her to boss me around.
The horny fucker in me really liked Bossy Sage. She knew what she wanted and made no excuses.
By Saturday morning, though, I was slightly hung over and more than a little annoyed at the fact that I still didn't know what I was wearing to Pure. I was seriously on edge, wondering if she was going to make a fool out of me just as much as Peter.
"I have a surprise for you…" Sage sing-songed as she stepped out of the closet completely naked.
I groaned as my head pounded. The painkillers hadn't kicked in yet. "What?" I moaned and threw my legs over the edge of the bed, sitting and waiting for whatever torture was sure to come.
"You don't wanna know?" she smirked and I noticed her hands were behind her back.
"Sage, unless you're gonna make the headache go away, I have to say I really don't care right now."
She climbed into my lap, sure to keep her hands behind her back as she got situated, her core rubbing tantalizingly against my morning wood. Without further ado, she pulled something from behind her back and plopped it on my head.
I grabbed at it and pulled it off, examining the purple velvet top hat. "Alright, buy me a vowel?"
She giggled and turned the hat so that I could see a large playing card with a caricature of the Queen of Hearts attached to the brim. "You're the Mad Hatter!"
I let my eyes drift closed a moment, savoring the friction she was unknowingly providing my hard-on. "OK…" I sighed. "And who are you? The Dormouse?"
She snorted. "No. You'll just have to wait and see."
"What's Peter?"
"I'm not telling you. You might warn him."
"I won't." I replied breathlessly as she shifted again, an evil glint in her eyes. She knew what she was doing now. She knew that, even through the haze of a hangover, I wanted to be inside her and she was teasing me. "Sage, please…"
"Please what?" she whispered, kissing my shoulder and pressing against me.
So wet…
Fuck, she's so fucking wet!
"I need you." She whispered against my lips as she kissed me seductively.
Fuck me.
Please!
I let the hat drop to the floor and gathered her in my arms before scooting back on the bed and rolling us until she was pressed into the soft mattress. "How much?" I whispered huskily, sliding my tip along her slit. She moaned in response and lifted her hips. "How much?" I repeated. "What do you want?"
"I want you to fuck me." She whispered as I began nipping and sucking her neck. "Please, Jas."
I moaned into her neck and then slid down her body, capturing a perfect nipple between my lips and sucking hard as her back arched into me. I wrapped an arm around her back, keeping her from squirming away from me as I gently bit down, but she surprised me by pressing herself into me, her fingers tangling in my hair and tugging lightly.
"Jazz…" she sighed. "God… so good…"
I smiled around her, flicking my tongue around the tight bud before releasing her and kissing my way down her stomach to her mound. She shifted under me, attempting to squirm away and I smiled and pressed a kiss to the smooth skin.
"Anxious?" I murmured against her skin. She nodded, but otherwise made no attempt to answer because of her now labored breathing.
This was a recent hobby for me… teasing. I couldn't lie and say that I didn't enjoy whipping her into a frenzy before I made love to her, or even fucked her, as was sometimes the case.
In the beginning, with the threat of being caught looming over us, Sage's and my lovemaking had been tender when we could afford it and hurried when we couldn't. We hadn't had time to experiment with what we both enjoyed. After her long stay at the clinic, however, that had changed.
Something in Sage had snapped and there were days I seemed barely able to keep up with her, but that didn't mean I was about to leave her unsatisfied… so I'd learned new things about her.
My girl liked a little teasing… she really liked dirty talk… spanking was a good thing every now and again…
I lowered my mouth and gently sucked her clit between my lips, grabbing hold of her hips as she bucked against me. "No." I chastised. "Hold still." Sage whimpered, but remained immobile as I continued my ministrations, licking and sucking before plunging two fingers into her and curling them forward as I pulled them out again.
"Jas, please!" My tongue continued its assault as she cried out, "Please, please, ple—Ah!" her body went rigid beneath me and I eagerly lapped up the evidence of her release before withdrawing my fingers and touching them to her lips.
Without a second's hesitation, she opened her mouth and sucked my fingers clean. I smiled, letting my eyes drift closed as I imagined her sucking my dick… but I wanted to be inside her… I could have her mouth whenever I wanted, but it wasn't what I wanted right now.
"Do you want me?" I whispered against her stomach.
"You know I do…" she murmured, reaching down to push my hair out of my eyes.
I smiled into her smooth flesh and kissed her hip lightly. "How do you want me?" she didn't answer, simply smiled and bit her lip—the look she always gave me when she wanted me to be rough with her.
I pushed myself up on my knees and grabbed her hips, flipping her over before she had time to fully process my movements, and wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her back onto her hands and knees.
Grasping my cock, I pumped myself a few times before running the head along her slick folds, smiling as she wriggled against me. Without warning, I thrust in to the hilt, groaning at the feeling of her tight walls and smiling as Sage threw her head back, her hair cascading down her back.
I ran my fingers through her hair, tracing the tips down to her neck and across to her shoulder before pulling her back into an upright position and pressing a kiss to her left shoulder. She raised her arms up and clasped her hands behind my neck, pushing her chest out and keeping my face buried in the crook of her neck as I began thrusting in earnest, withdrawing almost completely before slamming back into her.
"Oh fuck!" she cried as I grabbed her breast roughly with my free hand. "Jazz, yes!"
I pressed my lips to her shoulder and grunted, forcing myself faster as her walls began to flutter around me. I forced her back down to her hands and knees, grabbing her hips so hard I knew she'd probably bruise and snapped my hips harder until she screamed my name, forcing me over the edge with her.
I shuddered inside her for several minutes, panting and gasping for breath. When we'd both come down from our highs, I pulled out of her and collapsed, pulling her tightly to my chest.
"How's your headache?" she murmured sleepily.
I sighed contentedly and kissed her hair. "What headache?" she chortled and snuggled closer to me. "Got the blood pumpin' and now the headache's gone."
Sage snorted at that and shook her head, bringing my hand to her lips and pressing a tender kiss into my palm. "If you say so." She turned over to face me and kissed my lips lightly. "Now. Get up and get moving. It's after one. Peter and Char'll be here by six so Char and I can get Peter ready and then get ourselves ready."
"Oh, so I get to get myself ready?" I snarked.
"Can I trust you to get yourself ready?" she asked warily.
"What's Peter wearing?"
She snorted again. "I'm not telling you! You'll just have to wait and laugh your ass off at the surprise… but you should at least be thankful that you are not Peter today."
I grinned, catching on to the fact that she and Char had obviously set out to truly humiliate him. "Alright." I groaned. "Fine." I kissed her again and followed her into the shower.
We puttered around the apartment doing some cleaning and straightening to pass the time and cooked ourselves dinner, knowing Peter could never wait past five to eat and that we wouldn't have to worry about them being hungry.
Right at six, Sage ushered me upstairs and pulled the rest of my costume out of a garment bag in the back of the closet. She handed it off to me with explicit instructions to be good and wear the damn costume without complaint. I had a sneaking suspicion she and Charlotte would make the next Halloween hell if I didn't.
So, with a little trepidation, I opened the garment bag and breathed a sigh of relief. It actually wasn't too bad. It was a plum colored three-piece suit with an acid green tie and sunshine yellow button-down shirt. There was also a pair of yellow, green, and purple striped socks and a pair of matching plum colored loafers.
OK, yeah… it really is that bad.
Fuck.
Me.
Sideways.
Seeing Peter get humiliated better be fucking worth this…
I heard the knock on the door just as I was straightening the tie and then heard the footsteps that indicated Char and Peter were crossing the living room and into the office to get Peter changed. A few minutes later, an angry yell startled me bad enough to knock my shin against the cabinet.
"You've gotta be fuckin' shittin' me! I'm not wearin' this!"
"Yes, you are, Peter Clancy Hansen!"
Fuck.
Another reminder never to piss Pete's parents off.
"Yeah, Schwoogie-Muffin! Look at it this way, easier access for Char if you decide to fuck in the bathroom again!"
"Not funny, Parsley!"
Sage's laugh floated up the stairs long before I heard her actually climbing them. When she entered the bedroom, she was red-faced and clutching her sides.
"He's—" gasp "so—" gasp "fucking—" cough "pissed!" she collapsed in a heap of giggles and rolled onto her side to watch me continue straightening my tie. "You look good."
"I look like a rainbow puked on me."
Sage scowled at me. "Don't be difficult, Jazz."
I grinned. "I'll be better once I see Pete, I'm sure." She beamed at me and I held out a hand to help her up off the floor. "Do I get to see your costume now?"
"No." she smirked and kissed me. "Go wait downstairs."
I did as instructed and sat on the couch, waiting. A half-hour later, Charlotte emerged with a shit-eatin' grin on her face and waited for Peter to emerge.
I nearly choked on my water as he stepped into the living room, a scowl firmly in place on his face.
He was wearing what was obviously a woman's costume: a red dress with a cinched bodice and short puffy skirt with little white and black hearts patterning it. Charlotte had affixed a poufy red wig to his head and done his makeup: sky blue eye shadow up to his brow bone and a red heart of lipstick in the center of his mouth. He even had a tiny crown on top of the wig.
"Not one fuckin' word from you." He growled as he stepped around the end of the couch and plopped down in a huff, his arms crossed. "I can't fuckin' believe I agreed to this."
I snickered under my breath and eyed him up and down. "I dunno, Pete… you look kinda hot." I grinned as I eyed his legs, which Charlotte had obviously forced him to shave.
"At least she's lettin' me wear briefs. She wanted me to wear a fuckin' thong."
I snorted at that and inhaled some of my water. I sputtered and hacked as Charlotte reemerged in what could only be described as a slightly less racy Playboy Bunny costume. She'd added a crimson vest and a pocket watch.
"How do I look?" she drawled, twirling and shaking her bunny tail at us.
"Better than Pete." I quipped, earning myself a glare.
Charlotte rolled her eyes and headed up the stairs. "I've gotta get my makeup done. You two play nice… and Peter, no screwing with your makeup!"
"I'll get right on that." He grumbled and I couldn't help but smirk. "Stop grinnin' at me like that. I don't like you that way."
I scowled at him. "Get over it. You lost a bet… to a girl… who's half your size and weighs a buck-five soaking wet." I mocked.
"I let her have it." He brushed me off.
"No, you didn't. You were stunned when she put that hold on you." I smirked again. "She's never been sexier to me than she was in that moment." I laughed and picked up the XBox controllers, handing him one. "Halo?"
"Yeah." He sighed. "I guess."
We began shooting at other people in our game, but my concentration kept drifting back to Peter and his ridiculous outfit. I knew what he was supposed to be, given our "theme", but I really wanted to make him say it.
"What?" he mumbled as he reloaded his weapon.
I chuckled. "Dude, what exactly are you supposed to be?"
He glared at me. "I'm the Queen of Hearts. Haven't you ever seen Alice In Wonderland?"
I snorted and doubled over laughing, promptly dying in the game. "Yeah… Yeah…"
An hour and a half later, Sage skipped down the stairs and pirouetted to stand in front of me. "What do you think?" she asked happily.
Her top was a pale blue bodice that ended just under her boobs, with ruffled puff sleeves. The skirt was short and slightly puffy as well with lace peeking out. The only thing covering her midriff was a sheer white smock with lace edging, though the skin beneath could still be seen quite clearly. She'd straightened her hair completely and tied a black ribbon in a bow, using it as a headband. She was wearing white lacy socks and black Mary Janes on top of it.
"It's great." I choked, not thinking it was great at all. She was showing more skin than I'd ever known her to in public. "Where's the rest of it?"
"This is the rest of it." She replied smugly.
"Uh… no… no way."
"Oh, come off it, Major… Char's prancing around like a Goddamn Playboy Bunny. You can deal with Alice." Peter grumbled.
We all cringed when we caught the reference, but Sage was the first to brush it off. She pouted slightly and twirled again. "You don't like it?"
"I like it too much." I sighed, pulling her onto my lap. "That's the problem. Every other guy will too." Sage smirked and kissed me. "There's more fabric in one of my socks." I added, tugging on the hem of the skirt. "There was more fabric in your butterfly costume."
She snorted at that. "Not after you got done with it."
A half-hour later, Charlotte joined us, this time with her makeup and a pair of bunny ears perched on top of her head.
"Jasper, whatcha think of Sage's costume?" she teased, smirking at me.
I growled and pulled Sage to my chest. Everyone laughed at that and we headed out.
Pure was decorated the same as it had been the previous Halloween. Strobe lights everywhere; goulish and freaky scenes from scary movies playing across flat-screens scattered around the walls; the staff dressed up in freakish and racy costumes.
The drink of the evening was some weird ass cocktail called "Dracula's Blood", which was really a lame Bloody Mary suped up with a shot of Jaegermeister. I'd had a sip of Char's but couldn't stomach it and simply stuck with a Jack and Coke, like Peter. Sage was nursing a bottle of water, knowing she'd probably end up as the Designated Driver, though she did have a sip of my drink here and there whenever the bouncers weren't looking.
Everyone (and I do mean everyone) was gawping at Pete as though he were dressed as a gorilla that was deep-throating bananas. The girls kept snickering every time someone did a double-take and Peter was becoming increasingly annoyed.
"I fucking hate you right now, Sage." He grumbled after the fiftieth or so rubber-neck.
Sage giggled and snuggled against my chest. "Don't blame me, Petey… Char's the one who decided your costume. Quite frankly, I was willing to let you dress up as the March Hare so you'd match Charlotte, but apparently that wasn't enough punishment in her eyes."
Peter glared at his girlfriend. "No sex for you tonight, Babe."
Charlotte snorted and took a sip of her drink. "Please, Peter, don't make threats you're not capable of following through on." She gave me a sly wink. "So do ya'll know when your Spring Break is?"
We exchanged looks and then Sage shrugged. "Last week of March, why?"
"Because we're going to Vegas." Peter shrugged nonchalantly.
"Why not Reno? It's closer." I asked. I was carefully moving my hand under Sage's skirt as I asked the question. I'd noticed the ruffled white cheekies under the skirt as she'd climbed into the truck and I was itching to have a closer look.
Charlotte giggled and blushed. "Because we wanna do it right."
"Do it right?" Sage and I asked in unison and I could tell she was just as confused as I was.
Then, as though a light bulb went on over her head, Sage leaned forward and asked excitedly, "Do it right? Are you?" and then her head whipped around so she could look at Peter. "Did you? Let me see!" she cried, scrambling off my lap and around the table to grab Charlotte's hand.
"We are!" she replied happily, flashing a diamond solitaire set in white gold. "We want ya'll there, obviously!"
I clapped Peter on the shoulder and grinned. "I think we can handle that."
Peter grinned. "Good. I need a Best Man and unfortunately, you're the only fucker I know who won't get drunk and then give the toast." We both snorted, knowing he was joking.
"Sage, I was really hoping you'd stand up for me."
Sage nodded excitedly and before I knew it, the girls were disappearing off to the bathroom. Sage had explained once that women gossiped in the bathroom to retain some semblance of privacy. When I had asked if she ever gossiped about me, she'd simply given me a wicked grin and replied with "Of course not!" in a voice that was a little too saccharine for me to believe.
"Congrats, Pete. I'm happy for you."
Peter smirked and drained his glass. "Thanks, Man." His eyes flitted off in the direction of the bathroom and he leaned forward conspiratorially. "What about you two?"
I snorted a laugh. "Pete, it'll be someday, but it's not gonna happen for a while. Sage is just getting her bearings again; her dad's gonna pass soon… We need to finish college…"
He rolled his eyes. "You need to get some fuckin' balls. That girl would follow you to Hell and back."
I nodded, knowing he was right. "Still," I shrugged. "It'll happen. When we're both ready. I'm not so sure she is right now and the last thing I wanna do is add more stress when things are so up and the air with her dad."
Sage chose that minute to appear at my side. "Wanna dance?" she whispered, placing a lingering kiss on my pulse point.
I nodded and led her out onto the floor just as "Breakeven" by The Script began playing. I pulled her close, grinning as her arms circled my neck and she pulled me into a sweet kiss.
"I love you." She murmured. "Thank you for playing along tonight and wearing the costume."
I shrugged and kissed her forehead. "Only for you, Darlin'. Only for you."
We danced through several more songs with Charlotte and Peter only a few feet away, switching up partners every now and again, though when Sage and Char began dancing together, Peter and I retreated back to our table.
It was then that I saw him. I don't even know why I noticed, but I guess subconsciously, I'd been waiting for him to appear. He had, after all, been here last year as well… though I suspected that was because Sage had told him we'd be here.
He locked eyes with me and gave me a small smile and a nod of recognition before smiling fondly at Sage, who was completely oblivious. Whatever jealousy remained was immediately killed as a busty brunette dressed in a bikini top and shorts with her heavily pregnant belly painted as a beach ball wrapped her arm around him and kissed his cheek.
I had to smile at that. It was nice to know that as much as he'd cared for Sage and as much as she'd undoubtedly hurt him, Michael was able to find a bit of happiness in the end.
I didn't linger on the sight too long though, because Peter's words began echoing through my head and I couldn't help but imagine Sage with an equally swollen belly, and that just wouldn't do. Not right now. Soon.
With those thoughts, I went off to go dance with my girl again.
End Note: I'm sorry I didn't do review replies and teasers this week. My shoulder has been getting worse and according to my doc, I'm supposed to be "resting" my arm as much as possible. How I'm supposed to "rest" it, I'm not exactly sure, except to put it in a sling, but that doesn't fly with a 14 month-old.
So, let's try this again: Review and I'll send a teaser (I think). This chapter was the last pre-written, so now I'm truly flying by the seat of my pants and we'll have to hope HammerHips can light a fire under my ass to get the next chapter written before next Sunday.
I appreciate all the reviews and Alerts (I actually teared up a little at all the Author Alerts I received). You guys have no idea how much that means to me, especially because this story is OC and it's so difficult to find love for an Original Character. Thanks for sticking with me and not giving up on Sage.
P.S. Who likes morning sex with Jasper?
