Page 11 of Rough Night

As the house got closer into view, Mia’s nerves calmed but peaked at the same time. The thought of Sage being so close made her excited. They had been getting on so well that Mia felt like they could soon be a proper couple, though neither of them brought the topic up. She would wait for Sage to say something to her about it, just to be sure she wasn't the only one thinking that way.

As she walked into the house she could smell food cooking away. The air was filled with different aromas, all of which tingled her taste buds. She usually cooked every night. She didn't mind so much since she enjoyed cooking but clearly Sage had different ideas for that night. The thought of him cooking for her made her think that there could be hope for them after all. She tried not to get her hopes up as she entered the house.

"Sage?" she called as she locked the door behind her. She wasn't so worried about anyone breaking into the house but she had become aware of security. She felt the need to look over her shoulders more than she ever had before, scared that someone could be lurking in the darkness, ready to take her or Sage. The thought haunted her.

"In the kitchen,” he shouted back. She made her way to the kitchen and found Sage standing over a pot, stirring it vigorously. Steam came out of the pot and Mia noticed how high the temperature was as she walked closer to the stove. She had never seen Sage in the kitchen before besides him just joking with her while she cooked. She wanted to reach over and change the heat setting because it was way too high but she didn't want to interfere with his task.

"Welcome home,” he beamed at her with a look of pride on his face. It was clear he had taken it upon himself to cook them dinner instead of waiting for Mia to arrive home. The thought meant a lot to her and so she couldn't help but smile when she looked at Sage. He looked gorgeous and her heart throbbed for him.

"What are you doing?" she asked. She had no idea exactly what he was cooking and by the look of his face neither did he. She looked into the pot and only saw a lot of brown liquid with chunks. It didn't exactly look pleasing to the eyes.

“Well, you've been taking such good care of me recently and I mean you did also save my life just not so long ago that I thought maybe it would be nice for me to take care of you a little,” he said with a shy smile. Mia’s heart almost leaped out of her chest right then and there, wanting to escape her body and make a new home next to Sage’s own heart. She had hardly ever been taken care of. She had always looked after herself and she took on the mommy role most of the time too so she would look after those around her. It was a nice change to feel looked after for once and she appreciated it.

"That's so sweet of you," she replied as she walked into the kitchen and gently touched his arm. "So what's for dinner?" she asked. As she looked further into the pot she still couldn't figure out what it was. There wasn't much color and it seemed to be going from brown to almost black.

“Well, it's a lamb stew. I thought it would be the easiest thing for an unprofessional cook to make. Turns out it isn't that easy,” he said with a laugh. She chuckled slightly with him. She grabbed a spoon and dipped it into the pot so she could taste it, and to her surprise, it didn't taste bad at all.

"It just needs a bit more salt and maybe turn the heat down but other than that I think it's perfect,” she said as she brushed her lips against his cheek, showing her gratitude. He smiled, sprinkled a little salt into the pot and tasted it himself. She could tell he was chuffed with himself.

“Well, chef Sage, while you finish up here I'm going to jump into the shower quickly. I feel like I need to get my last interaction off my skin,” she said referring to her chat with Lorraine.

"Did it go alright?" he asked.

"As well as it could have," she replied while she walked in the direction of her bathroom. ”I'll tell you all about it when I'm done,” she said. Sage didn't say anything and instead focused on cooking.

Mia decided to have a bubble bath as she wanted to relax a bit after her chat. Her muscles had started to tense and with her gyming more frequently her body ached as a consequence. She ran a hot bath and filled it with one of her bath soaps. A calming scent of lavender filled the room and she already felt calmer. She took her time as she washed the day away, scrubbing her skin and feeling almost new again. Once she was done and dressed in fresh pajamas she joined Sage in the dining room which he had already set up. They both dug into the stew Sage had cooked. To the shock of both of them, it was actually delicious in the end.

"This is an amazing meal, Sage. You should be proud of yourself,” Mia said as she watched Sage blush at the compliment.

"Thank you, that's so kind of you to say,” he replied. He hadn't cooked for anyone before so he was glad his efforts were taken so well. He thought he had almost messed the meal up. It was close to burning before Mia had turned up so he was pleased that it had actually turned out well.

"You should cook more often,” Mia teased. She could tell he had been nervous when she had gone for the first fork full of stew but his shoulders relaxed once he knew he did a good job.

"Don't be cocky now, it may have been a once in a lifetime opportunity,” he laughed. The atmosphere around them was light and soon the topic changed as they talked a bit about how the chat went with Lorraine. Mia told Sage they had gotten her to leave.

"I just hope she doesn't come back,” she said.

"I'm sure she won’t. She must know there is no place for her,” Sage replied. He liked how stern Mia had been with the woman; it turned him on. When dinner was done and the place all tidied up, Sage took Mia by her hand and led her to his room. He wanted her desperately.

As they both lay panting, coming down from their ecstasy high, the conversation went back to Lorraine.

"Do you want to get out of the club?" Sage asked. Mia was a bit taken aback by his question but replied almost immediately.

"No, I don't. It's family to me and I don't want to lose that,” she replied. She knew the current problems within the Screaming Demons seemed to be picking up but she couldn't imagine herself anywhere else.

"Do you want to leave?" she asked Sage.

"No, I don't want to leave either. There's just a lot that concerns me,” he replied.

"I know and I'm concerned too but Fiona and Grier won't let anything get too far."

"I know they won't but there are just too many threats and attention coming to the club. What if they can't cover it all up?" he asked.

Mia knew Sage had a point. With everything going on, there was only so much they could all do. She didn't want to leave nor did she want to lose her place in the club. She liked the person she had recently grown into and she had the Screaming Demons to thank for that. Her mind traveled to her paintings. She had been doing more of them in her free time and she had started to notice the light coming in. She knew some of it was because of Sage being home but she also knew it was because she felt at home and she hadn't had that feeling in a long time.

She remembered how she had felt when she left home, her parents’ disapproval of her, their disappointment in her when she hadn't been the daughter they had wanted. She knew she didn't owe them anything but she did owe herself and finding a home where she could finally fulfill her dreams meant so much to her. She could never leave.

"I'll fight whatever comes our way, Sage. Whoever comes after the Screaming Demons comes after me too and I will take them down,” she stated. "I'll never leave."