Happily Ever After

“You’ve only been here an hour and a half,” Hayden whined, dramatically laying his body across the patio table.

Hayden’s expression created a wave of guilt. He looked so sad and lost and like a puppy who needed attention. Cadeau couldn’t leave a puppy. She smiled, or attempted to under his puppy dog pout, and for a moment, considered staying just a little longer.

She’d been here long enough already, though. She had to get back to Jolie. She’d spent more time with the band than normal, talked, laughed, got to know everyone better. She’d even proved she could interact normally with a group of adults, that she didn’t need her daughter to break the ice with people she barely knew. But it was time to leave and be with her daughter. It was time to be Mommy again.

“I have to go do errands,” Cadeau said.

“Someone has to act like a responsible adult in this band,” Andy commented.

Sage snorted and rolled her eyes. Andy was responsible enough for all of them. Who needed to take charge of their life with Andy around? He was their manager. That was his job.

“I do errands,” Hayden defended.

“Ordering pizza doesn’t count as doing errands, Hay,” Hunter drawled.

“It does so.”

“Does not.”

This was going nowhere fast, and while Sage would have loved to take advantage of Hayden and Hunter’s delay of Cadeau’s departure, she really didn’t think Cadeau would appreciate being delayed on her errands.

But what errands could be so important that Cadeau had to leave the party? She hadn’t even stayed long. Hayden’s estimate was right on. An hour and a half and she was leaving. Sure, she stayed with the band longer than normal, but most of her time was monopolized by Andy, with the occasional interjection from Davy or Blake. Sage didn’t get the chance to enact any attempts to woo Cadeau.

Sage did still have a couple minutes, though.

“Hey,” Sage whispered at Cadeau, wary of catching her friends’ attention and unleashing the flurry of beastly comments. Cadeau looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “You want a plate to go?”

The conspiratorial twinkle to Sage’s hazel eyes sent Cadeau’s stomach into a flurry of activity, backflips and tightening and fluttering and down right discomfort she wasn’t used to feeling anymore. She should deny Sage’s offer and gracefully leave the patio. To avoid being stuck alone with Sage anywhere for any period of time. Because they would be alone. Together.

“Sure,” Cadeau whispered.

No, no, that wasn’t what she meant to say. She was supposed to thank Sage for her generosity, tell her she didn’t need the food, and bid the group farewell. Somewhere between her brain and her mouth, her plan was skewed. She couldn’t back out now. That would be rude and suspicious.

God, she was being silly. Nothing bad would come from being alone with Sage. At the most, Sage’s crush would flourish beyond some ridiculous schoolboy crush. And Cadeau could fix that easily enough. Couldn’t she?

Sage pressed a finger to her lips, a sign for Cadeau to stay quiet, and nodded towards the house. Quietly, with the elegant poise that seemed to live in all of her actions, Sage slipped into the house. Cadeau glanced over the group of band members, making sure no one would take notice of her departure. Childish as sneaking from the party seemed, she knew the teasing comments Sage’s offer would ignite would keep her there longer. She needed to get to Jolie, for no other reason than to be around her.

Besides, the band members wouldn’t offer much, if any, assistance in dealing with Sage.

No one appeared to be paying much attention. Saylor and Blake were wrapped in each others’ arms, murmuring to one another, and Davy appeared to be trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. Hayden and Hunter were arguing, Hunter’s still naked boytoy was watching with amusement, and Andy was rubbing his forehead and mouthing words to himself.

Poor Andy, having to keep charge of band members bent on making his life difficult and worrying himself about potentially scaring Cadeau away. His concern was unnecessary, of course. She’d been to enough band practices and experienced the band’s quirks already. And she needed this position. She wouldn’t give it up because the band members were a little strange sometimes, especially since she’d seen crazier people at frat parties.

But Andy didn’t know that. What would he think if she just disappeared without bidding them farewell? Hypochondriac that he seemed to be, he’d probably think the worst.

Hand on the doorknob, Cadeau said, “Bye, guys.”

A chorus of “byes” rang in response, as well as a yelp of “Don’t leave me” from Hayden. Chuckling, Cadeau slipped into the house with a wave, the shut the door behind her. No one commented on Sage’s disappearance. Her worries of teasing comments keeping her there longer were apparently unfounded.

Sage smirked, leaning against the wall where she had been waiting for Cadeau and watching her sweetly say goodbye to the band. She couldn’t even sneak out of a party properly. It must have gone against everything Barbie stood for. Her inability to quickly get into the house without drawing attention to herself, though the band wouldn’t care until they realized Sage had disappeared with her, would have irritated her, but it was kind of cute.

Cadeau turned and smiled her pretty, perfect smile at Sage. The look nearly sent all of Sage’s rational thoughts out of her mind, and she almost gathered Cadeau into her arms just to hold her close and stare at her smile. Barbie’s smile couldn’t compare to Cadeau’s. Hers was real and lit her face in the most beautiful way and was perfect.

Before she could thoroughly embarrass herself by saying or doing something stupid, Sage forced her thoughts to shift gears, from Cadeau’s smile to food. “Anything in particular you want to take home?” Sage asked.

Cadeau shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter.”

Jolie would eat anything. That was one of the positives of having a daughter whose appetite never ended and whose taste buds accepted anything edible. She’d eat whatever Cadeau put in front of her.

But she’d also eat everything.

Sage pushed herself off the wall. “Grab your stuff. I’ll put some food together.”

“Thanks.”

Sage would have left it at that, would have turned and went to the kitchen to get food together, but Cadeau appeared legitimately grateful for the food, almost relieved, like she needed that food.

And maybe she did. She worked at a music store for an hourly wage and gave lessons for a set fee, which may have been enough for someone who lived alone, but Sage remembered her bringing home so much food from practice that it couldn’t have been for just her. She took care of someone. Her parents, grandparents, a sibling, some relative, a friend, a sorority sister who drank herself brain-dead, someone was dependent on her. Maybe she didn’t always have enough food.

The realization that Cadeau’s life may not have been what she expected made Sage’s heart drop to the pit of her stomach, and she wanted to apologize and hug her and make it better.

Instead, she settled for smiling in a way she hoped conveyed some kind of understanding and said, “It’s no problem. Take anything you want. I don’t need it.” She didn’t. It would just be wasted. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Sage said, “I’m going to get your food. If you want to change, the bathroom’s—you know where the bathroom is.”

Sage nodded to herself, or Cadeau assumed she was nodding to herself, turned, and led the way through the hallway. Cadeau quirked an eyebrow but didn’t comment on Sage’s strange behavior and followed her. She didn’t understand the woman. She really didn’t, and she never would.

Cadeau walked into the living room, letting Sage go into the kitchen to get food together and figure her life out. She threw on her clothing despite the dampness of her bathing suit. A little pool water on old clothing wouldn’t ruin her life.

Especially with that advance payment.

She’d been thinking about it since she’d seen the numbers. She didn’t even know what to do with that much money, where on her list of demands to start. Paying bills, finding a nicer house and car, helping her parents out financially, and providing for her daughter were clearly top priority. And maybe she needed to do something nice for herself.

No, she didn’t need anything for herself. Other things were far more important.

Jolie did need new shoes. Her current pair were showing signs of early hole development, and Cadeau had been putting off buying new ones so she could get enough food to feed Jolie. That’s where she’d start, getting new shoes for her daughter. And clothing. Something new and nice and pretty so her daughter could feel special. Then bills when they came in and helping her parents. She’d worry about a nicer house and more reliable car later.

Cadeau grabbed her purse and dug in the deep recesses until she found her cellphone. She pulled the device out, typed a message to Emily to let her know she was on her way, and dropped it back in her purse. She glanced over the living room once to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything. Nope, she had all she came with. Taking a deep breath, she turned and walked into the kitchen to deal with Sage.

Containers lined the counter, waiting to be filled. Cadeau eyed the still-empty containers and the full one Sage was snapping a top on. Eight containers in total. Was she planning on filling all those? Was this some kind of apology or peace offering? Or did something in Sage’s pretty head snap?

“Feeding a small army?” Cadeau asked.

Sage looked up from plopping potato salad into a container at the sound of Cadeau’s voice. She froze a moment, staring at the woman walking toward her. Cadeau was clothed again, her body covered, and she was hardly trying to impress anyone. She hadn’t reapplied her makeup, her hair was a damp mess, and her bathing suit had created wet prints on her clothing. She didn’t care.

And she looked delicious.

Sage tried to hide her thoughts under a forced smile. “Have to unload it all on someone. You can give some to your family and friends. Maybe they’ll come to the next party.”

“Right, uh,” she shifted and grabbed a cupcake from a tray. “I’m sure they will.”

Cadeau dragged her tongue across the iced top of the cupcake. Sage followed the motion, entranced, hooked, unable to tear her eyes away from the cupcake getting attention from Cadeau’s tongue. When she pulled the cupcake away, the bright pink sugary substance that once coated it smeared her upper lip, taunting.

Sage’s self-control disappeared as she stared at Cadeau’s lips. So plump and lovely and dipped in frosting. The corners quirked up in a smirk, and her lips parted just enough to murmur “What?”

She didn’t think, couldn’t think, before acting. She reached out, lightly gripped Cadeau’s wrist, tug her flush against her body…

And she kissed her.

It was short, a brief press of their lips together, long enough for Sage’s tongue to dart over the stray icing and clean Cadeau’s upper lip, but it was perfect. Cadeau’s lips were soft, smooth, and sweet, and Sage could spend all day stealing candy kisses from her. She pulled away to say as much or something similar, something to compliment Cadeau on her lips, but Cadeau’s wide blue eyes stopped her.

What did she just do?

Backing away from Sage, putting distance between them, Cadeau said, “I can’t do this.” She turned and rushed through the kitchen. Away.

“Wait,” Sage called after her.

And she was answered with the sound of her front door slamming shut.