Page 7 of Rough Night

Sage lay next to Mia, feeling her skin next to his sent a rush of warmth through his body. A sense of tenderness went through him, and another feeling he hadn't felt for a very long time, a feeling he thought he'd never feel again.

A part of him knew it was time to let go of his guilt toward Laura. He couldn't change the fact that she was gone. All he could do was realize what he did have and that was Mia. He was still terrified of loving again. The thought of loving another person was almost overwhelming to think about. He had never gotten over losing the first love of his life and he didn't want to risk experiencing that again. He knew it would be harder on him if anything happened to Mia. She had already done so much for him that he knew he loved her more than he had ever loved before. If he allowed himself to love her, he would have to protect her as much as he could. He would kill someone for her and that thought was shocking to him. He’d never felt like that before but Mia was the best thing that had happened to him in a long time and she proved herself over and over again.

He ran his hand over her arm, noticing her skin was as smooth as he remembered. She sighed at his touch, sparking a rush of excitement through Sage. He couldn't help it, she sounded content and yet so sexy. His hands started to explore her body and soon she had herself twisted around so she could see him, and as their eyes met, so did their mouths. It didn't take long for another condom to be pulled out of the drawer. Their bodies sang with pleasure, but this time it wasn't as needy as the time before. They savored each other's bodies, taking it slowly as they touched each other with passion. Their bodies hot with desire as Sage moved himself inside of Mia. They again collapsed into a pile of hot and sweaty bodies. The sex felt better every time.

As they lay next to each other, finding their normal breathing patterns, Sage knew it was possible that he could love Mia. She had shown such bravery when it came to finding him, he knew she must've gone through hell making sure she found who had taken him. She was a strong and courageous woman, and he couldn't deny that he found it extremely sexy and attractive. When he had been in that well, he had thought about her so much. He had wished he could've gotten the chance to be with her and now while she lay in his arms he knew he would give in.

He had pictured them together and he couldn't deny that a feeling inside of him was longing for that to be true. He knew she was able to look after herself and yet she also put herself in danger most of the time but he felt like he could take care of her, he could make sure that no one brought her any danger. He knew he was strong enough for that. He also knew that she would bring some adventure back into his life and he knew he needed that after everything he had been through. Adventure would be good for him. She would be good for him.

He was surprised by the rush of emotions he felt. He had tried his hardest to push them away since he had met her but it was getting harder for him to deny his true feelings. He knew it wouldn't be long until he would have to say something, but he knew it wasn't the right time yet. So he wrapped himself around her body and drifted off to sleep.

"Sage?" a voice called from behind him. All the hairs on the back of his neck lifted at the sound of the voice. He knew who it was and he was terrified to turn and face it.

"It’s okay. I'm not here to cause any problems,” the voice said, sensing his mood. He slowly turned to face the voice and he was met by Laura, a smile across her face.

Sage knew he was dreaming. There was nothing around them besides whiteness.

"Where are we?" he asked her.

"We're nowhere and everything in between,” she replied as she shrugged, letting her arms fall to her sides. Sage looked around him and he could agree that they were nowhere.

"Why are we here?" he asked her, nothing made sense to him.

"You tell me, you called me here," she stated. Was he dead? He couldn't remember dying though so that seemed highly unlikely.

"What do you mean I called you here?" he couldn't understand what she meant.

"We're here because you need to talk to me and so here I am, talking to you,” she said. A part of him still didn't understand but then a light went off in his head. He knew why she was there in his dream. It was his way of finally letting her go.

"We both knew this day was going to come sooner or later,” she continued as she watched his face change.

"I suppose so,” he replied. It seemed so real to him. He knew when he woke up it would have only been a dream but he took the opportunity to talk to her once and for all.

"You look good,” he said, noticing how she wasn't in her usual state. She wasn't covered in blood or dirt, there was no evidence of her dying at all.

"Thank you. So do you,” she said with a smile.

"You know I really did love you,” he stated, wanting her to hear it one last time.

"I know you did." She smiled at him.

Sage wasn't sure how much time he had left and so he started to ramble.

"You're gone now though and I've been holding on for so long, thinking that I’d be betraying you if I moved on but I can't think like that anymore. You're not here and I can't change that. I have to let you go. I have to let you go so I can love again,” he said. She smiled at him knowingly, not interrupting him as he laid it all out in front of them.

"You deserve all the happiness in the world, Sage, and probably more than that. I wasn't easy to love, I know that, but I was grateful for the time we had. It meant the world to me and if I could change how our paths worked out, I would, but we both know that's not possible and so I don't want to hold you back any longer. It’s okay to let me go,” she said as she took his hands into hers.

"It feels like I'm replacing you though,” he replied.

"I'm no longer with you, Sage, so you're not replacing me because there is no me to replace,” she said.

"But we didn't get the chance to say goodbye,” he said.

"Say what you need to say now and then let yourself be free,” she replied. A part of Sage's subconscious knew that this was his way of letting her go so he could move on and although he knew it wasn't real, he decided to go with it, saying the things he wished he’d had the chance to say before losing Laura.

“Well, I want you to know that I will always cherish what we had. You were the first woman I truly loved and I will always be grateful for you. You allowed me to feel in a way I didn't think I could. I'm so sorry we never got the chance to have more. God knows I would've given you the world if I could’ve," he said, feeling a release within as he accepted his past could be put behind him.

"Thank you, Sage,” was all Laura said as she slowly started to disappear in front of him, leaving him alone in his dream as it quickly changed scenes.

When Sage woke up halfway through the night with his body curved around Mia he felt a feeling of love growing stronger in his chest. He knew the dream with Laura hadn't been real but a part of him felt like it was what he needed to move on. As much as he could never truly tell Laura all those things in person, he felt that on a spiritual level he could let her go so he could move on with his life. He didn't want to push Mia away anymore. He felt like he was ready to let her in. He pulled her closer to him and fell back to sleep, a sleep that didn't consist of any bad dreams, a sleep that was empty and peaceful, something he hadn't experienced in a long time.