The Terms of Release by BA Tortuga

it seemed crass to ask.
    “You have to be in early tomorrow? I got the Batman movie.”
    “Oh. No, I’m on second tomorrow. Grace is taking pity on me and scheduling me opposite the sheriff.” He leaned over and put his bowl down, then moved to snuggle with Sage. “Is this okay?”
    “It is.” Sage grabbed the remote and turned on the TV, and the movie previews started.
    “Thanks for letting me stick around.” The movie would start any second, and Win thought it was important for Sage to know he appreciated the companionship as much as the sex.
    Sage leaned into his side and hummed. “I’m glad you can.”
    He dared to kiss Sage’s temple before settling in and watching the movie. All in all, the night had gone way better than he’d feared it would when he showed up to a shirtless Sage and lost part of his mind.
    After all, there’d been sex and ice cream.

C HAPTER T WELVE
     
     
    S AGE PULLED into the parking lot of the diner, then went inside, his book in hand. The dinner crowd was mostly gone, and he nodded to Wilma.
    “Sage! Hey, stranger. How goes it?”
    “Just fine, ma’am. You doin’ all right?”
    She beamed at him, gold tooth glinting. “Right as rain. I got chocolate, cherry, and pumpkin today.”
    “Cherry, please.” He ignored the stares from the other tables and sat in the back with the new Lee Child book that Adam had brought him last night. They’d found out they shared not only taste in movies, but in books too.
    He liked having Adam as a friend.
    Momma and Daddy had been quiet on it, only inviting Adam over to the house for a cookout on Sunday afternoon with Rosemary and them. Adam had been noncommittal, saying he had to check the schedule and such. Sage got it. Rosemary’s Greg was a bastard of mammoth proportions. It would be damned hard to come and listen to him growl and spit. Adam wasn’t the kind to let people say awful things without stepping in.
    Still, the man hadn’t said no, so maybe. Who knew?
    Sage pulled the bookmark out of his book, nodding when his coffee appeared in front of him.
    “I’ll get your pie, Sage.”
    He offered Wilma a smile and relaxed, then sugared his coffee and settled into Jack Reacher’s world. The evening flew by, like it always did. The small crowd thinned out until it was only him, which was when Bulldog came in.
    He nodded to the biker and grinned. “Evening.”
    “Hey, there, Sage. How goes?”
    “It goes. Been working on plumbing down at the place. Y’all doing okay?”
    “Not bad. Been thinking of taking Wilma on a cruise.”
    “Really? Y’all going to Mexico or Jamaica?”
    “The Bahamas, actually. My mechanic, Hank? He says his wife loved it. We’ll have to fly to Florida instead of going out of Galveston, but it’ll be worth it.”
    “Very cool. That sounds amazing.” Sage had never been on an airplane, didn’t reckon he ever would, now. “When are y’all going?”
    “Not sure, exactly. Next month, maybe. Might need you to do a few things for me out at the house.”
    “I can do that.” He knew about being neighborly, and they didn’t have a huge piece of land.
    “Cool.” Bulldog clapped him lightly on the shoulder and headed to the kitchen.
    He heard Wilma’s squeal, her happy sounds perfect and young, like she was a teenager again. He ducked his head and smiled, surprised to find himself with friends, real friends he cared about.
    “You hear her going on? Silly woman.” Bulldog was hilarious—the tattooed, fierce-looking biker teasing and playful.
    Sage chuckled. “Well, that’s a good surprise, man.”
    “It is. You ought to come out to the place over the next couple days. I’ll show you around.”
    “I’m happy to, man.” He wrote down his cell number and passed it over.
    “Cool.” Bulldog took it but was soon called away by one of the bikers.
    The ebb and flow of the diner sounded good around Sage, tickling his ears while he read his book. He’d missed coming out, missed the pie and the