23 ~ Stagnant

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**MAKE SURE YOU'VE READ CHAP 22**

Thirty minutes later, we find ourselves parked in front of a house in the Atlanta suburbs.

"Get out." Gabe orders, pulling his keys from the ignition.

Unfolding myself from the car and stretching out, I raise a brow. "Where are we?"

Because it's almost midnight and we've decided to take a stroll through the Atlanta suburbs.

"It's a party now!"

Turning, I find Gentry Rawlings standing on the front porch. Letting out a hoot, I run and hug him. "My dude." Garner Rawlings steps out and I hug him. "My younger dude."

"This is weird." Garner slaps my back and I let go.

"My favorite cousins, where's Jovie and do I need to pull out the shotgun I don't own?" Gabe greets them.

That's right, she met the parents tonight and I'm gonna guess it went horrible.

"In her room." Gentry offers. "Aspen's with her."

"Then we should go say hello." Gabe grins before walking inside.

Taking this opportunity to take in their home, a place my family was never allowed to visit before, I run right into Gabe's back. Ouch.

"Who the hell are you two?"

Grunting, Gabe stands back up. "Two of the most important men is Jovie's life."

"That's our job." A guy says, buffing his very lean chest up.

"Nice to meet you." Another offers, shoving his curly afro out of his eyes.

"Likewise." I wave. Taking a bag of chips from a younger teenager I've never seen before. I decide to have some fun. "I've always wanted to meet Jo and Gen's friends. This is so cute."

"Shut up, Sage." Gentry slaps the back of my head.

"Do you guys braid hair? Tell ghost stories?" I plop down on the couch next to an Asian girl. "I've always imagined Gentry as the type to enjoy a good face mask."

"He does." The guy who tried to intimidate us offers.

"Shut up, AJ."

"Let's not be strangers. I'm Sage." Turning to the girl, I wink. "What's your name, pretty lady."

"Who the hell is this guy?" AJ demands. Someone's a little back and forth in their attitude.

"Peyton." She blushes. "Jo's told me a lot about you."

"At least someone here loves me. Aspen secretly loves me the most, though." I inform her even though that's a straight lie. "What have you heard?"

"That you got hot. You're single. And loaded." Peyton offers. "Jovie said she would try to hook us up."

"That might be the nicest thing she's ever done for me." I admit, ready to roast the shit out of my favorite redhead.

"My bad, if that's the case, then the name's AJ." He slides up next to me.

The entire room rolls their eyes and the other guy hits him. "I'm Jay."

Hold up. "You're the Jay who dated Jovie."

He winces. "Yeah, that's suddenly become a sore subject though."

Ah, the infamous current boyfriend. What I wouldn't give to go next door and punch him– I mean, meet him.

"Wait a second..." The kid I stole chips from blinks rapidly. "You're Sage Rhodes."

Can I change my name? I'm not important. I'm just on the internet. Damn the twins and Uncle John for buying them a camera.

Gentry and Garner groan. "Don't blow his ego up."

"Can we make a TikTok?" The kid's eyes light up like the fourth of July. "I like this girl and she thinks you're like the hottest guy alive."

"Seth!" Gentry shoves him back onto the couch. "No fluffing the ego."

I feel so bad for the guy I almost say yes, but I'm forced upstairs. Thank God. Someone should probably tell Seth that if he has to hang with me for her attention then she isn't worth it.

Opening the door to what I'm assuming is Jovie's room, I find her and Aspen in bed, in a very interesting position. Checking to make sure Gentry isn't behind me, I interrupt them. "There's my betrothed."

"Why are you here?" She demands in utter shock.

Throwing myself onto the bed, I grin. "Well, we were in town for the big game and we wanted to say hi."

"Surprise." Aspen says half-heartedly and I slap his arm.

"I'm ready to kick some ass!" Gabe joins us.

"No way." She laughs, hugging us both.

"Yes, surprise, we're here." Gabe rushes out. "But we're limited on time and I want to meet your friends and plan the best way to burn you boyfriend's house to the ground so let's move it."

Not pointing out her tearstained face, we head back for the TV room.

"I feel like I should mention I met your friends." I clear my throat. "They're interesting."

"That's one way to put it." Aspen mutters as we find the left-over Rawlings and Jones boys cleaning up.

"They went home." Gentry explains. "Seth was fangirling and AJ was ready to have a pissing match, so I said bye."

Helping myself to a box of cold pizza, I relax on the couch. "So what do we do now?"

"You could tell us about how you're currently trending on TikTok for kissing some chick." Garner offers.

Gabe spits his soda out as all the attention is turned to me. To think I used to view him as less evil then the twins at some point in life. "She used me for clout."

"That's why you were mad at me?" Gabe demands.

"No." I turn to him. "I'm mad at you because you made me share the fact I've slept with a grand total of one person."

"That's better than us." Houston Jones offers, and his older brother slaps the back of his head.

Jovie takes a tentative seat, her own relationship issues long forgotten. Maybe I should be an ass and bring those back up. "Sage, my guy, that number needs some help."

"I'll punch you like I did Gabe." I threaten and she grins. "I'm bad at flirting. I've now kissed a grand total of four girls, one of them being you. I need a plan."

I'm officially beginning to feel like a loser. I'll be a college athlete soon enough. I can only imagine all the shit I'll get if I keep my current scorecard.

"Easy solution." Jovie shrugs. "Sleep with someone."

I choke on my pizza. She's insane. "I-I can't do that. It's just not normal for me."

"That's the issue." Gentry steals a slice of pizza. "Make it work. I promise it's a fun time."

They can't be serious. My bad, the Rawlings twins were raised to be psychotic. "Yeah, then whoever I screw can make a TikTok out of that."

My entire life is just becoming one bad episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashian's and I'm not becoming the next Kim.

Rolling his eyes, Aspen moves his best friend out of the way. "Don't sleep with the first girl you meet." Thank you. A sane person. "But you should sleep with someone."

"You're just as bad as them." I decide.

"Take her to dinner. Decide she's not a creep who'll sell your hair online. Sleep with her and then repeat." He explains, like he's actually done this before.

"Then when we live together next year, you'll be able to keep up with us." Gentry boasts and Jovie hits him. Rubbing the back of his head, he winces. "Is now not the time to sell going to college together?"

"You think." Jovie hisses.

"No, let's talk about college." I offer. This is a great topic change, even if it makes me almost as anxious.

"I'd much rather talk about your sex life." She snaps.

"Should I pretend I never heard that?"

We all discover Aunt Allie standing in the doorway.

"They're harassing me." I inform her.

"Sage, my children are not good role models, but they have a point." She shrugs. "Sleeping around can be good for the soul."

"I'm pretending I'm not hearing this right now." Gentry plugs his ears.

"I'm just saying–"

"La la la la la!" Garner spins in a circle. "Parents and sex talk don't mix."

"How do you think you got here?" She demands with a laugh. That is a thought I don't want to acknowledge until I have my own child. Nope. This conversation just keeps getting weirder.

As they search for a way to bleach their memory, I contemplate everything. As lame as this sounds, I could use my mom right now. I'm sure we'd never have a conversation about my sex life, actually she was sorta a hippy so who knows. But, either way, she would've made me feel better.

Standing up, I hug Aunt Allie.

"What's this for?" She questions, gently wrapping her arms around me.

"I just really needed a hug from someone who loves me." I whisper as she holds me tighter. It's not a mom hug or even a Scarlett one but this makes me feel a little better.

*****

Deciding I need a moment of fresh air to clear my senses, I find myself on their front porch. Pulling my phone out, I dial a number.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Chlo-bear, how are you?" I ask, noticing that she doesn't sound tired.

"I'm about to have sex, Sage, so if you're calling to gossip about that pathetic kiss that's all over the internet, I'm a little busy." She snaps.

Gripping my phone, I blink profusely. "O-Okay then. I'm sorry for bothering you. Use a condom and all that good shit."

"Sage, wait." She says. "I didn't mean it like that."

Bullshit. "No, you're right. I'm a loser. I was just calling to talk about my unimportant issues I have with a random stranger taking advantage of me for personal gain. Not like I have any experience there." I laugh dryly. "See you Monday."

"Sage–" She tries to reason with me, but I hang up. Maybe I'm the problem. I just scream pathetic loser, please take advantage of me.

The door opens and I tense, preparing for shouts and shoving, but Aspen takes a seat next to me.  "How are you doing?"

"Oh, I've been better." I kick the step and he chuckles.

"I'm sorry for their behavior. You know Jovie and Gentry have a different viewpoint on stuff like that." He offers. "Not that there's anything wrong with it."

"It's just not for everybody." I conclude.

"Exactly and you shouldn't have to deal with their pointless nagging."

"Don't worry." I wave him off. "I actually think they have a point."

His eyes widen. "You, Sage Rhodes, the kid I've known since forever. Who has never been a loose kinda guy, is willing to try casual sleeping around?"

Remembering the phone call I just had and hating the description he just gave of me, I nod my head. "Yeah."

"Why?"

Shrugging, I play with the chain around my neck. "We graduate in like 6 months. After that, we're in college. I want to be able to say I did something reckless in high school. Everyone has that story about how they took chances. My sister dated an asshole. Ashton got expelled from school. Gabe slept with almost the entire cheer team minus Scar and Avery." Looking up at the sky, it becomes clear. "High school is where we're supposed to grow into who we are. I want to grow instead of staying stagnant."

Ironically, in a way, Ella was the one holding me back. I never made friend in my own grade. I never experienced a party alone. I never got butteries and asked a girl I barely knew out to dinner. I never had to frantically hide or do anything somewhat exciting because she played everything safe.

Now is the time that I want to be dangerous. A safe dangerous that won't result in Scarlett killing me, but still dangerous.

"You're right." Aspen startles me. I forgot he was here. "It's stupid to just sit on the sidelines right now."

"Exactly!" Finally, someone who sees my reasoning.

"We take chances and we like it." He slaps his leg.

"Hell yeah!" I cry. "We're invincible."

I feel like I could run a marathon right now. This is so exciting.

"All right, Mr. Invincible, it's time to go." Gabe clears his throat and I jump to my feet.

Yes, it is. I have a world to concur.

*****

True to my promise, I'm walking through the halls Monday morning with my usual destination. Finding Chloe listening to music as she unloads her bag, I lean against the neighboring locker.

"Morning, Chlo-bear." I extend the cinnamon bun out and she jumps.

"Sage." She pulls her earbud out. "I didn't think I'd be seeing you this morning."

Neither did I, for a second, I almost hunted Graham down. Forcing a smile, I shake the food. "Why wouldn't I? I said I would."

Because I was the nice one during our conversation.

She plays with her key. "I was a bitch Saturday night."

"You don't have to–" I assure her, and she shakes her head.

"No, I do." She looks a little queasy. "I was a bitch and I didn't know the full story."

No one ever does.

"I'm sorry." She rushes out, shoving a cup in my hand.

Looking down, I study the  to-go cup.

"Coffee from the mercado down the street from my house. You mentioned liking it, so I got it as an apology gift." She admits, a little embarrassed.

Touched she thought of me, I hug her. "We're even."

Pulling back from yet another awkward hug, she nods. "Good, now tell me how bad that kiss was because it looked awful."

Covering my mouth, I chuckle. "It was rough. Probably right there with Ella."

Her jaw drops. "The shade."

"Truth hurts. I don't have to lie no more." I wink.

"Who's the next lucky lady to have her kissing skills ranked by a self-proclaimed critic?" She arches a brow.

"Actually, that's the thing." I start, only to be interrupted by the rest of our friends.

"You know, if I had a dollar for every time I had to see your ugly face on the internet, I'd be rich." Zayne jabs my side.

"I was very surprised." Maggie says. "That girl was very pretty as well."

"She was hot." Wes corrects her. "And I want to know how you keep landing them on accident."

Remembering the decision I made, I clear my throat. "Actually, Wes, if you wanted to be a nice guy for once, I could use your help with something."

"What's that, Golden Boy?" He smirks. "Need me to keep you company in the locker room?"

"I need a date." I say.

"You need a date?" He clarifies. "Do you have some third wedding coming up?"

"No." I roll my eyes. A date is the last thing I'm bringing to those weddings. "I want to date. It's as simple as that. You aren't ugly according to some poorly misguided females, so why not."

"Good luck, I've been asking for months." Graham sighs.

"That's because the girls I know would eat you alive." Wes thumps the back of his head before turning to me. Appraising me, he shrugs. "I guess I could help you though."

"You will?" Graham, Chloe and I all ask in mild shock.

"Why not?" He grins wickedly. "This should be fun."

"So fun." Chloe slams her locker shut.

The bell rings and I begin to panic. Maybe this was a mistake.

*****

Whoop, whoop, was that some jealousy I sensed there Chlo-bear?

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