The War God's Woman

35. Birthday Boy

Sage woke up alone and groaned groggily. Drinking so much last night had been a mistake. A terrible mistake. She could hear sounds from the café below and she glanced at the clock. Half five in the morning, Jaz must be cleaning. He'd be happy at least. Sage pushed back the covers and that's when she noticed that she was still dressed, dressed but topless. Sage's cheeks turned bright red.

Ares... had seen her topless! She covered her face with her hands, mortified. He'd seen her stomach when she wasn't breathing in, he'd probably noticed her stomach rolls. Sage moaned and quickly scrambled out of bed. Her foot collided with the bin that had been kindly placed beside the bed for her to throw up into.

"Kill me now." She whimpered. 

She put her head in her hands. Ares had returned, declaring his feelings for her at last. His real, not-arrow-induced feelings, and since then she'd managed to be a disaster. First, he'd seen her with no eyeballs. Now he'd seen her drunk and potentially flabby! If he didn't run for the hills it would be a miracle.

With these depressing thoughts, Sage grabbed a towel from the cupboard and trudged dejectedly into the bathroom. She glanced at the mirror but quickly looked away, unnerved by the sight of her intense blue eyes. She stepped into the shower and took a deep steadying breath. What fresh disaster would the day bring?

                      Ares materialised in Sage's room. He quickly saw that Sage was no longer sleeping. He smiled ruefully, and wondered if she'd remember him carrying her home. He could hear someone moving about in the bathroom and guessed that she was in there. His gaze roamed, looking for a space to sit and wait for her. Jaz's belongings were piled up against a wall – leaving just about enough room for Sage's bed. Her clothes were littered messily around the place. Ares' gaze narrowed in suspicion. He picked up an extra-large t-shirt, that had been crumpled on the floor, and took a closer look. It was definitely a man's shirt.

Ares breathed in its scent. His sharper senses were able to pick up a masculine musk, despite its many trips through the wash. This shirt had once belonged to Ezekiel. Ares heard the gurgle of the pipes as Sage turned the shower on. Whilst he had time, Ares quickly searched through Sage's belonging and found three more t-shirts with Ezekiel's scent.

Ares' heart quivered. He wanted to throw them away. Anxious thoughts scratched around his head. Did Sage have feelings for Ezekiel? After being cursed with an obsession with him, it wasn't an extra-ordinary idea... 

The pipes rattled and Ares flinched at the sound, anxious like a thief, of being caught. He returned the t-shirts to their original locations, leaving no trace that he'd touched them, and quickly vanished from the room.

              Downstairs, Jaz heard the shower running and guessed that Sage had woken up. He continued with his cleaning, a half-smile on his lips. Sage emerged a quarter of an hour later, with damp hair and wearing some fresh clothes.

"Happy birthday!" She greeted loudly. Jaz grinned at her and gestured to the thermos that was sat waiting on the table for her.

"Drink."

Sage didn't hesitate. She had complete faith in his brews.

Her headache lessened almost immediately and she helped Jaz in rearranging the chairs.