Surf by Mac Miller "The whole world, they know it, they just waiting for me and you; and she, just like I, got her head in the clouds"

To add to the list of things he never did for anyone before. Cooking. And not just cooking but adding little quirks that he knew she liked, strawberries on her pancakes, extra whip cream in her hot chocolate, and a small portion of scrambled eggs.

Sage shuffled into the kitchen quietly, following the smell of the food and catching sight of his back muscles. She always felt when his presence was missing in her sleep, waking her up. Sometimes she would just fall back asleep but other times she'd go searching for him. This time she was relieved to find him innocently making breakfast. There was an unspoken agreement that they lived together, for the most part at least. Of course Sage had to go home and pretend like she didn't have a whole boyfriend amongst other things.

That's what annoyed David the most, he clamped his tongue for the sake of her feelings but he was tired of the sneaking and the disruptiveness of their living situation.They fit together so perfectly, it didn't make sense how seemingly well she could hide it at home. The pair cared for each other and it showed in more ways than not and when she was in his arms for the night or he's able to kiss on her though the day, he's happiest.

"Good morning," she said. He looked up from scraping the eggs off the pan and on to the plate.

"Mornin', mama,' ' His voice was extra raspy. Sage walked around the island and walked towards him and into his arms. She leaned on his chest just listening to his heartbeat. "I wanna talk to you about somethin' but grab your food first."

Sage perked her eyebrows curiously but she just listened to him and the two settled on the couch. A rerun of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air played in the background as Sage laid on one end and Dave sat on the opposite. "Why are you so far away?" He said jokingly but he tugged at her little feet.

She set her half eaten plate of food down and crawled over to him. "Not for long."

He just chuckled and cleared his throat, "I got another question for you. Why you not moving in with me?"

She could act like she didn't see the question coming but the truth is, she did. Even though she had time to think about what she would say nothing could prepare her for this moment. She wrinkled her nose and pushed her body up from his. Dave waited for an answer, rubbing his thumb over her hand in his. Sage shrugged slightly, "Babe, you know why."

He rolled his eyes at her vagueness. "You gonna tell me why? Or I gotta guess?" He asked her patiently.

"We fit well together...but moving in together might actually put my dad in--" She began but he cut her off.

"So why don't we figure it out? Together! Instead of being stuck." Dave took a deep breath and let go of her hand. "You don't trust me?" He asked suddenly.

"What? I do. There's a lot to go into this." She was pleading with him to understand. She was afraid of leaving the birds nest. As much as she wanted to be free completely, she didn't know what that would mean for her and her parents relationship. She didn't know if this was even good for their own relationship together. Things were moving quickly and she didn't want change if it meant uprooting her comfort, but Dave on the other hand wanted her all to himself.

"So what's the problem?" He was standing up, running his fingers through his braids. "We practically live together. We can figure everything else out as we go."

Sage stood up as well, reaching up to grab his hand. He stared down at her becoming agitated with her lack of willingness to one hundred percent share space with him.

"You know it has nothing to do with that. I never felt like this before and I don't know if it's because I'm 17 but life is complete with you." She confessed staring up at him. She gave him a weak smile but he shook his head.

"That's kinda hard to believe right now," he admitted.

"Essentially you're asking me to choose between you and my father. That's pretty tough, don't you think?" She was hurt at his response, as if she didn't make it known all the time she loves him. Like anything she did meant that she didn't care or trust him. "Do I prefer to be with you? Yes, but sometimes...I think there might be a chance to fix my relationship with my dad. I can't possibly do that by moving in with my boyfriend. One he has no idea about at that!"

Dave couldn't understand too much where she was coming from. He tried but the little relationship he had with his own father scarred him. No father was ever good in his eyes, the closest he had to a father figure were the OG's in his neighborhood that taught him the ways of the street. He took their knowledge and made it into his own to survive, but with each person he meets they prove his theory about that so-called father role. All fathers are faulty till proven otherwise. The only real father was those on T.V. He thought about the relationship he could've had with his sweet mother if his own blood didn't take that away from him. Now he was sitting here trying to understand why his girl wanted to wait around for a broken relationship when she had the opportunity to escape like he did.

He took a seat on the arm of the couch trying to soak it all in but it just upset him. She was still young and all she knew was her father, that much he knew. "Look, baby, I'm sorry, I know how you feel about me," he took her hands into his own and focused on her face, "I got you, you're my heart. Nothing's changing how I feel about you. Just think about it at least."

She nodded as a tear rolled down her cheek, she never cried this much in her life before Dave. She reckoned it was the deep feelings, deeper than the building's pool. "I think I need the push though, just give me time."

It comforted him knowing she was going to at least make an effort. He felt that all she needed was him, it was them against the world.

****

Marcus stared at the duffle in front of him as if he was ready to pounce. Instead, he was deep in thought about the offer proposed to him by Jay. Jay gave him an abundance of money in advance to help him again.

"Man, how I know you ain't gonna be a bitch nigga again?" Marcus seemed serious at first causing Jay to stop in his tracks, but then he burst out laughing.

Relieved, Jay shook his head laughing along with him, "Listen bro, my bad about all of that before though."

"You good, bro, feelings were involved. But look, we work better together." He reasoned falling back and clasping his hands together. He took in Jay's appearance, he seemed more kempt and put together than normal. "You got some pussy or something bro?"

Jay burst out laughing, "Nigga that ain't never a problem, but nah just turning over some new leaves."

Marcus nodded and gave him a little smile. "Alright, so this plan..."

"You in?" He raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to answer.

"Yeah, let's do this." And that was all the confirmation he needed.

Endnote: Sometimes I'm so tempted to double upload but I don't know if y'all gonna fw it. We shall see but I hope you're enjoying this book so far and keep interacting! I really appreciate it all.