It Started with a Crush by Piper James

Chapter Sixteen

Chase

My cheeks were killing me, but I couldn’t seem to stop smiling, despite the pain. Noah and Ethan had been giving me strange looks all morning, while Ryder smirked and shook his head every time he caught me grinning to myself. Belle had obviously told him about Sage and me, but so far, he was keeping the information to himself and not sharing it with our brothers.

“Dude, what is going on with you?” Noah asked, towering over me as I tapped in the new baseboards that came in this morning.

“What do you mean?” I asked, refusing to meet his stare.

“You’re practically giddy, and have been all morning. What did you do last night that has you so…happy?”

“What? Nothing. I told you, I went to see a movie.”

Lying to anyone wasn’t easy for me, but lying to my brothers was damn-near impossible. So, I decided to tell them the truth when I got home last night. I did go see a movie. I just left out the part about Sage being there, too.

“Yeah, that’s what you said,” Noah said, tilting his head to study me as I climbed to my feet. “I’m just not buying it.”

“Well, it’s the truth,” I said confidently, “so I don’t know what to tell you.”

Noah shook his head and left the room without another word. I exhaled slowly as I watched him go, glad it was him giving me the third degree and not Ethan. That one was too intuitive for his own good. And persuasive. He’d have me blubbering the whole truth within minutes, if not quicker.

I was pretty sure Sage wouldn’t mind if Noah and Ethan found out about us. We Perry brothers were completely loyal to each other, and neither of them would breathe a word to anyone. Besides, who would they tell? It wasn’t like we were fully ingrained in the community of Red River, participating in the gossip mill or anything like that.

But still, I refrained from spilling the beans, because…I kind of liked this whole sneaking around thing. And I liked having my budding relationship with Sage all to myself.

My phone chimed, and I pulled it from my pocket to see a message from Sage. My grin spread wider as I tapped on the screen to open the message.

Sage: I had a lot of fun last night. Thanks for a great date!

My fingers flew across the screen, tapping out a response.

Me: I had fun, too. Even though you annihilated my favorite movie, ruining it for me, forever.

Sage: My job is literally to educate people. #Sorrynotsorry

I chuckled under my breath, my thumbs tapping out my response.

Me: Speaking of, shouldn’t you be educating some tiny humans right now?

Sage: They’re at recess. Sorry, I know you’re working. I didn’t mean to interrupt your day.

Me: You’re not. And I was only kidding. I’m happy you texted.

I tapped the screen to pull up the camera and sent her a picture of my ear-to-ear grin.

Me: See that smile? It hasn’t left my face since last night.

Sage: Same. Katelynn Webber asked me if I got a puppy earlier, because apparently only small furry animals could make someone smile so much.

My chest expanded with emotion as I read her words a second time. I hadn’t felt this…hopeful in a really long time. I hadn’t been exaggerating when I told Sage I had a crush on her. I did. A big one.

Me: I’m glad we’re on the same page. Want to go out again on Friday night? Maybe we could head into Saddleback and go dancing?

Saddleback was the closest thing to a real city in this part of the state, and Noah told me he’d heard there was a decent nightclub there that was worth the forty minute drive. And dancing with Sage sounded fucking amazing. My dick twitched in my pants at just the thought of it.

Sage: Sounds fun. I’m in. Text me the details later. I have to get back to educating the tiny humans.

Me: Will do. Talk to you later.

“Seriously. What the fuck is going on?”

My gaze snapped up as Noah charged back into the bedroom I was working in. I realized he was lunging for my phone without a second to spare. I stumbled back, shoving the device into the front pocket of my jeans before he could get his grubby hands on it and discover my secret.

I shoulder-checked him, pushing him out of my personal space with a growl. “Get off me, man.”

He moved back a step, effectively blocking my only exit. Then, he crossed his arms over his chest and stared at me as if his dark gaze could hypnotize me into talking.

“Were you watching porn, or something?” he asked, arching one dark brow.

“No,” I laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Hey,” he said, uncrossing his arms and holding his palms up in the air. “No judgment here.”

“Of course, not,” I quipped. “I’ve heard the noises coming from your phone when you think everyone else in the house is asleep.”

Ignoring my accusation, he asked, “Well, if it wasn’t porn, what were you looking at? You were practically vibrating with excitement when I walked in. And you were still wearing that goofy grin that’s been on your face for the last few days.”

“I’m just happy, is all. We’re making great progress here at the ranch, our projects with Belle’s foundation are all going really well, and Daniel is settling in and loving his new school. Life is good,” I said, ticking the reasons off on my fingers.

Noah’s gaze narrowed, but when I didn’t flinch or backpedal, he sighed and slumped his shoulders. He obviously wasn’t buying what I was selling, but he was giving up on trying to get the whole truth out of me—for the moment. Shaking his head, he stomped from the bedroom for a second time.

Keeping Sage all to myself was exciting, but exhausting. I was going to have to be more aware of my surroundings and work on keeping my emotions under wraps.

I always knew my poker face needed improvement, and there was no time like the present to perfect it.

* * *

“Dad! Guess what!”

“What?” I asked as Daniel launched himself into my arms after school.

I waved at Belle as she climbed up the steps to the ranch’s porch and headed inside to presumably look for her husband. The shipment of roof tiles was due to arrive early this evening, so the four of us had decided to stay later than usual to wait for it and get a little extra work done.

Belle had offered to pick Daniel up from school and bring him here since no one was at home to meet him when the bus arrived. Her beast of a dog, Thanos, had hopped out of her car behind Daniel and was currently sniffing every inch of the property.

“Aunt Annabelle said I could stay with her and Uncle Ryder on Friday night, and they’re going to take me to a new secret fishing spot on Saturday morning!” Daniel exclaimed as he wiggled out of my grip, his little hands waving in the air.

I saw Belle’s blonde head poke through an open window as Daniel shouted those words, and she shot me a wink before giving me a discreet thumb’s up. I smiled and mouthed the words “thank you,” and she mouthed back “have fun in Saddleback” with an exaggerated eyebrow waggle.

“That’s awesome, buddy,” I said, returning my attention to my son. “Did you tell Aunt Annabelle thank you?”

“Of course, I did, Dad,” he grumped, like a reminder of his manners was the last thing he needed.

And really, it was. He was a great kid. He almost always remembered to be polite, saying “please” and “thank you” without being prompted.

“Are you going to catch a big fish for supper?” I asked, snapping my fingers at Thanos so he’d follow us into the house.

“Yeah,” Daniel gushed, his smile as wide and bright as I’d ever seen it. “And I want to help cook it, too.”

“Of course,” I said, ruffling his hair. “I bet Uncle Ryder knows the best ways to cook fish. You should go find him and ask him.”

“Okay,” he shouted, taking off like a dart while yelling out for his uncle.

“Daniel’s going to Ryder and Belle’s Friday night?” Noah asked when I found him in the kitchen with Ethan. “We should go out and have some fun.”

He looked from me to Ethan, who shrugged. “I’m in.”

An edge of panic crept up my spine as they looked at me expectantly. No way was I skipping out on Sage to go out with my brothers, but I also couldn’t tell them I already had plans. Noah would latch onto that shit tighter than a bass on Belle’s fishing line. He was already suspicious, as it was.

“I’ll have to let you know,” I hedged, scrubbing a hand across the back of my neck.

“Oh, do you have something better going on?” Noah asked, his almost-black eyes narrowing.

“No. Of course, not. I just…uh—”

“Chase, can you come in here for a sec?” Belle called out from one of the bedrooms, rescuing me from sticking my boot even further into my mouth than it already was.

I spun around and hurried in that direction without another word to Noah and Ethan. I passed Daniel in the hall, who was chatting happily to Thanos about catching a “lunker” as he led the dog toward the back door.

When I walked into the bedroom, Belle was staring at me with comically wide eyes. Ryder was chuckling beneath his facemask, standing on a short ladder as he scraped the seventies-style popcorn finish from the ceiling.

“You’re really bad at this,” Belle hissed under her breath.

“I’m not used to lying to them,” I said defensively, keeping my voice to a bare whisper.

“And that’s a great quality,” she conceded, then tilted her head. “Why not just tell them the truth? I’m sure they’d keep it to themselves.”

“I know they would,” I sighed. “But Sage wants this thing between us to remain a secret, and I’m honestly kind of enjoying the sneaking around.”

“I can understand that,” she said, her lips curving upward before they dropped back into a frown. “You’re going to have to think quicker on your feet if you want to keep this up. Noah and Ethan aren’t stupid.”

She was right. They weren’t stupid, and if I couldn’t get my shit together, I was going to have to just tell them the truth. And I wasn’t ready to do that yet.