sage is usually very emotionally transparent, but dakota is one of the few people who can make her second-guess herself. not because she doesn't know what she feels, but because she never knows where she stands with him.

when dakota broke things off with her when they were younger, it definitely broke her heart. sage tried to play it off in the moment. she probably cried a little, told him everything was fine, told him she understood where he was coming from and that she wasn't mad at him. meanwhile she was absolutely devastated. i don't think she ever really let him see the full extent of it, but her friends definitely did, which is exactly why i think most of them have never fully forgiven him. they probably hate him a little. so when sage and dakota recently started hooking up again? she absolutely texted the group chat. and i mean immediately. "i just had sex with dakota...i'm hiding in his bathroom rn because i'm freaking out. his apartment is insane." the entire thing probably exploded within seconds. "SAGE PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE JOKING." "dakota richmond???" "absolutely not." "there's no way this is happening again." "oh my god, you two are literally never going to leave each other alone." "fuck. no. heavy on the fuck no part too." "okay wait...this is like really bad but i have to ask...was it good? lol"

they probably accidentally spend days at a time together. sage "stops by" for a little while, and the next thing they know it's completely dark outside. somehow they've eaten two meals, had sex three times, and lost an entire day without either of them noticing. time just seems to disappear whenever they're around each other, like the rest of the world quietly slips out the back door while they're busy being wrapped up in one another.

“do you really have to go?”

her voice came out soft and thick with sleep, barely louder than the quiet hum of the hallway light leaking through the open bedroom door. sage slowly pushed herself upright, the blanket still wrapped around her torso while her blurry eyes struggled to focus on dakota across the room. even half-awake, she could make out the outline of him instantly. the broad shoulders beneath his hoodie, the suitcase sitting beside him like some cruel little reminder that he was leaving again. sage had been sleeping so deeply before he slipped out of bed. honestly, probably the best sleep of her life. but the second dakota moved away from her, every inch of the mattress suddenly felt cold and unfamiliar without him there pulling her close while they drifted off together.

“it’s so early,” she mumbled, rubbing at her eyes while looking up at him. “the sun isn’t even up yet.” there was something especially cruel about goodbye before sunrise. like the world itself hadn’t even fully agreed to be awake for it yet. “i always hate when you have to go,” she admitted quietly. usually sage tried not to get too emotional around dakota. they were still figuring out what exactly they were to each other and she didn’t want to ruin a good thing by gripping too tightly. so she always tried playing it cool. not texting back too fast. not saying yes to every invitation immediately. but lately the attachment sat heavier inside her chest, this invisible tether that never fully loosened no matter how hard she tried pretending otherwise. and now she was sleeping in his bed multiple nights a week, tangled up with him until morning like they’d somehow slipped backward into college again, sneaking around his dorm room with no sense of restraint.

it’s not like she didn’t know he had to leave. actually, she’d been the one practically begging to see him before his flight in the first place. promising she wouldn’t do exactly what she was doing now, half-asleep and already trying to convince him back into bed for a few more hours. dakota leaned down, clearly aiming for one quick goodbye kiss before sage caught the waistband of his sweatpants gently in her fist. “can’t you at least touch me before you leave? please?”

dakota gave her that look immediately. the one silently reminding her there wasn’t time for this. he was already laughing softly while promising he’d properly take care of her when he got back. “no,” sage whispered instantly. not bratty. not defiant. just honest. “we can’t touch each other at all? not even for a few minutes?” she kept tugging lightly at the waistband while her free hand drifted lower, palming him through the fabric. “you know you’re gonna be all irritable by the time the plane lands,” she teased softly. sage already knew how insatiable he could get. “i promise we’ll be quick.”

she was still giggling against his lips when dakota suddenly pushed her gently back into the mattress. he barely even bothered undressing, dragging his sweatpants down just enough to give her access to him. sage immediately arched beneath him with a breathless moan the second he filled her up, lifting his hoodie against his chest while he settled into that deep, perfect rhythm her body already knew by memory. and just like she promised, it didn’t take long at all. only minutes before they were both twitching and panting against each other, tangled together beneath the pale blue light of almost-morning.

sage looked completely dazed and happy as hell watching dakota slide off of her and straighten himself out in the mirror. she sat there at the edge of the bed with this stupid grin stretched across her face, blanket loose around her legs while she watched him move through the dim early-morning light. god, she was falling for him all over again and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it now. she was already in too deep, somewhere past the point of pretending otherwise.

dakota really didn’t have time to spare anymore, but the second he caught sight of the expression on her face, he drifted back toward her anyway for one last kiss. and this one felt different somehow. heavier. softer around the edges. maybe because sage already knew it would be a while before she saw him again.

and deep down, every time he left, fear settled quietly into her chest like cold water rising. she’d never admit that part out loud to dakota though. never let him fully see how much it felt like she was placing her heart directly onto the line every single time he walked away from her. sure, while he was gone she’d keep herself busy like always. she’d bury herself inside work at the dispensary, spend time with friends, tend to her plants, binge-watch comfort shows, get stoned with her little clique of misfits until the days blurred together easier. but underneath all of it, there was still this low, persistent hum she couldn’t silence. this fear that maybe one day dakota would leave and simply not come back for her. maybe once he stepped outside the safe little orbit of his luxurious apartment, he’d realize sage was too small for the rest of his world. too ordinary compared to everything else waiting for him out there.

sage caught the front of his hoodie gently in her fists then, pulling him back toward her before he could fully leave again. this kiss carried more urgency inside it now, something deeper tangled into the soft sounds she made against his mouth. dakota tried pulling away slightly, probably reminding himself about the flight and the clock and all the responsibilities waiting outside the bedroom door, but sage only leaned into him harder, dragging him right back where she wanted him. like she needed this. needed him.

their mouths melted together slowly, tongues gliding against one another while sage poured every unspoken feeling she had into the kiss instead. her tiny hands cradled his jaw carefully while she deepened it, all that love and yearning and quiet panic threading itself perfectly through the way she held onto him. after all this time, nobody kissed her the way dakota did. like he was the only person in the world capable of matching her completely, keeping pace with every messy, overwhelming emotion inside her chest. sage welcomed the warmth of his tongue against hers, wanting more of him even while her lungs burned for air. and even breathless, she refused to pull away. she was exactly where she wanted to be. right there tangled up with dakota, kissing him until both their lips felt swollen and ruined with it.

when he finally pulled away, sage’s chest was rising hard beneath each breath, lips swollen bright pink from the kiss, cheeks still burning warm beneath the pale early-morning light. she could still taste dakota on her tongue, something smoky and addictive lingering there. dakota took a slow breath of his own then, looking at her with that familiar amusement while teasing her about how she just couldn’t resist him. and honestly? maybe he was right. sage dissolved into soft giggles despite the anxiety still quietly coiling beneath her ribs.

“you promise you’ll come right back when you can?”

the words slipped out before she could soften them. and the second they landed between them, sage felt it immediately. the rawness underneath it. the weight. like she’d accidentally handed him a piece of herself still warm from her chest.

sage was still trying to figure out how the hell she kept ending up back at dakota’s apartment. somehow, no matter how much time passed, they always seemed to drift back into each other’s orbit like muscle memory refusing to die properly. and they were both doing that thing where they pretended it wasn’t as significant as it actually was, like casually hanging out at your ex’s place after nearly eight years didn’t carry any weight behind it. like history wasn’t sitting quietly between them at all times, breathing softly in the corners of every conversation. neither of them really wanted to cross that bridge yet though. they danced around it carefully, skimming over the surface instead of diving underneath. and honestly, sage wasn’t exactly eager to excavate the past either. she didn’t want to admit any of it hurt. didn’t want dakota knowing she thought about him at all, because somehow that felt more exposing than the breakup itself.

but still, here she was.

standing on the subway with her headphones in, absentmindedly scrolling through her phone while the city rattled around her in blurred motion and fluorescent light. then suddenly, dakota’s facetime request lit up her screen. the second the call connected, both of them narrowed their eyes at each other immediately. nothing hostile. just that familiar curiosity lingering there, the kind that only exists between people who know each other too well.

“yes, dakota?” her tone light and playful. his voice came through almost instantly. “-- why are you taking the subway?” “why don’t you have a shirt on?” sage shot back without missing a beat. dakota looked at her like the answer should’ve been painfully obvious, immediately doubling down that he asked first.

and there it was again. that stubbornness.

sage’s natural refusal to back down sparked against his in the most predictable way possible. honestly, even their bickering carried the energy of two bulls nudging horns just to feel the resistance on the other side. not truly fighting. not trying to wound. just stubbornness colliding with stubbornness in its purest form. every tiny disagreement somehow became this oddly playful stand-off where neither of them wanted to surrender an inch, even over things they’d probably forget about twenty minutes later. it lived in the smallest moments too. the way one of them would say move, only for the other to settle deeper into the couch out of pure principle. the way teasing comments stretched longer than necessary because both of them needed the last word like oxygen. even their eye contact during it felt ridiculous sometimes, steady and challenging in that quiet, bull-headed way where neither person was actually upset, they just enjoyed pressing against the other to see who’d bend first. usually, the answer was neither.

their conversations always carried this low friction underneath them, like two massive creatures blocking the same narrow path and refusing to step aside simply because they’d already planted themselves there first. but beneath all of it was comfort too. affection. the kind that only exists when two people know each other deeply enough to spar without ever worrying the foundation underneath them will actually crack. and honestly, that was the most taurus thing about them. even their bickering sounded warm somehow. lived-in. familiar. like two bulls knocking shoulders in an open field before eventually wandering back to stand beside each other anyway.

“dakota…why’d you call me?” she was almost laughing at this point, though she still refused to cave completely. he went on to explain that he wanted her to come look at one of the plants on his terrace, mentioning something about it looking off.

“i thought you had a gardener? what do you need me for?”

it came out a little sharper than intended, but there wasn’t any real bite behind it. just that genuine, sage-like curiosity. dakota answered easily, saying that yeah, he does have a gardener, and technically it would be the easiest thing in the world to let them handle it… but he figured sage would probably want to take a look herself. and honestly, he wasn’t wrong. the second he started describing what he saw, curiosity was already pulling at her like a loose thread.

“yeah, fine…” she sighed. “i’ll be there in a little bit.”

he was already waiting for her down in the lobby by the time she arrived, guiding her toward the elevator with his hand resting at the small of her back. sage quietly noticed the way his touch never fully left her. the warmth of his hand lingered through fabric like an ember refusing to die out completely. she tried her best to ignore the effect it had on her anyway. “alright, let me take a look at this.” dakota hovered nearby while she moved through the terrace, close enough that it almost felt intentional, like he didn’t particularly care for space existing between them in the first place. “no distractions, please,” she teased lightly, her eyes cutting toward him through her heavy lashes. sage slipped between the lush plants, immediately spotting the problem within seconds. a quiet hum left her while she inspected the leaves more carefully before gently separating the plant from the others nearby. afterward, she sank down beside dakota without much thought, naturally nuzzling closer to him like muscle memory.

“it’s fine… something’s definitely eating it though -- bug, parasite, i don't really know. just have your gardener spray it and it’ll be okay. just keep it away from the others until it’s taken care of. everything else looked untouched." they sat there quietly for a moment, but there was something threaded underneath all of this. something unspoken. like he hadn’t really called her over just to inspect a plant. not that either of them truly needed excuses to see one another anymore, but they were still relearning how to exist inside each other’s lives again. carefully circling the shape of something familiar that never really disappeared.

“do you think anyone can see us up here?” she finally asked quietly.

and even after all that time apart, dakota still understood exactly what she meant -- knew exactly what she wanted. he was already pulling her into his lap before another word could settle between them, his posture loosening while sage straddled him easily. her small hands framed his face instinctively, that roguish little smile creeping across her mouth. one second she hovered inches away from him, the next her mouth was on his, kissing him deeply enough that the rest of the terrace blurred away around them. dakota’s hands moved along her body with familiar confidence, peeling away layers of clothing until warm skin met open air. sage melted further into his lap, wanting to feel every inch of him straining beneath the fabric separating them. a soft hum vibrated against his mouth when she felt his jaw tighten slightly beneath her touch, that ache between her legs already pulsing insistently.

“i love how hard you are,” she admitted shamelessly against his lips while his mouth kept crashing into hers hard enough to steal the shape from the kiss entirely. “makes me think about all the ways you could use me.” her voice turned breathless near the end, head falling back slightly while dakota’s kisses trailed along her chin and down her neck like sparks skipping across exposed skin.

“i get so wet and so tight just thinking about how you’ll feel inside me.” something in her tone low and sultry. it didn’t take much more after that. dakota barely seemed interested in talking anymore. he pushed sage back just enough to reposition her properly, and god, she always underestimated how strong he really was. there was something effortless about the way he handled her, moving her around like she weighed nothing at all. dakota slowly inched his pants low enough to give sage access to him, nearly springing out of his briefs. it was thick enough to promise a stretch that bordered pain -- just how sage liked. she remembers every vein, every ridge from memory reminding her of that specific, ruthless pressure against her deepest, most sensitive places. instinctively, sage reached for him, but dakota gently brushed her hand away before pressing his cock against her clit in this deliberate motion that kept sage right in the moment.

the slightest contact against her made her gasp softly, hips rolling forward on instinct, already pleading for more before she could stop herself. sensitivity burned through her body like heat lightning beneath skin.

i want you to ride me. “what?” her cheeks flushed immediately, body betraying her by pressing even closer. dakota barely looked phased. sit on it.

his voice was low, controlled, straight to the point. they locked eyes for a moment, twisting something in her chest. sage followed the request instantly, slowly lowering herself until just the tip of him pushed past her entrance. the moan that left her came immediately, soft and overwhelmed, like her body was trying to reacquaint itself with the feeling of him all over again.

“dakota…” she breathed out, her hands pressing against his shoulders already struggling beneath the intensity of it. but dakota kept her right there, hands firm against her hips as he guided her slowly up and down, stretching her open inch by inch until she was taking all of him. “o-oh my god…” her voice nearly dissolved into a whimper as her walls clenched around him tightly enough to make his jaw tense. every nerve in her body jolted beneath the pleasure. her skin felt unbearably sensitive, every touch and every movement too much and somehow still not enough all at once.

her palms flattened against his chest, dark hair spilling behind her shoulders while her body adjusted to him in slow, agonizing increments. her head tipped back with a choked sigh as her hips found a rhythm that was less bouncing and more a deep, rolling grind, moving in slow circles that dragged him against every sensitive place inside her. sage’s thighs started burning from the effort of controlling the pace. she nearly lifted herself completely off him before sinking back down again with a soft, guttural moan.

“fuck -- dakota...”

she loved feeling every inch of him like this. loved being able to watch his face while she unraveled right there in his lap. she wasn’t just riding him anymore, she was chasing her own pleasure greedily, savoring every second of the stretch and fullness he gave her. her back arched sharply, chest rising and falling while broken cries kept slipping free. but eventually the need sharpened into something unbearable, and the rhythm fractured apart completely. each movement became shorter, faster, more desperate, chasing friction with every downward stroke. her fingers dug hard into his shoulders slowly wrapping around the nape of his neck.

“dakota…i can’t,” she pleaded breathlessly. “i-it’s too much. i need to come.” the tension stole the air straight from her lungs as every muscle in her body tightened at once. it wasn’t a wave of pleasure anymore, it was a complete shattering. her slick walls convulsed around him in frantic, fluttering pulses while those long dark lashes trembled softly against her cheeks. the edges of her vision whitened, the entire world dissolving into pure sensation. violent. helpless. completely unraveling her from the inside out.

her body shook uncontrollably beneath it, fingers clenching tighter against his skin. a quiet moan tore from her throat when she felt his grip tighten around her waist, guiding her through every trembling movement while he lost himself right there with her. sage could feel herself suffocating his cock with each thrust, trying to pull him deep inside of her. "dakota," she begged. "fuck... i--i want you to come deep inside me. please, baby…i need it.” he let out a low, guttural groan, and sage could tell immediately he was right at the edge too. then came that white-hot surge spreading through her core as his release pulsed inside her, dakota groaning her name softly while he held her firmly against him.

sage kept moving through it instinctively, milking him in possessive little motions while the feeling of him emptying himself inside her left her dizzy with that strange blend of ecstasy and ownership. she refused to let go even after the worst of the tremors passed. “yes…” she coaxed, voice still shaking. “use my pussy just like that. i want every last drop of you… fuck, it feels so good.” by the end of it they were both left shuddering against each other, sage collapsing fully into his lap with trembling thighs and unsteady breaths. even then, she still didn’t move away completely, still wanting to feel him inside her for as long as possible. sage whimpered softly when she finally pushed herself off him, lazily sliding down beside him looking completely spent. she blinked hard a few times before a quiet little sigh slipped from her chest.