Song recommendation: Violent Crimes by Kanye West "Don't you grow up in a hurry, your mom'll be worried"
Sage Baglio was more than just what her father wanted her to be and if she was sure of anything it was that. She understood why he was hard on her but it still made her feel incredibly trapped and bored. The early curfew, rules about boys, and mandatory tutoring sessions even though she brought home mostly A's and B's at the age of 17. Thoughts like these ran all through her mind as she stared up at the ceiling fan in her room. Today was the first day she felt she had her own say in her future and unsurprisingly, Mr. Baglio did not want to hear it because what she said didn't coincide with what he believed Sage should do with her life.
It was more than just the strict rules that irked her but the fact that she felt she would be controlled for the rest of her life, never even free no matter how old she got. The thoughts of living someone else's plan for her scared her more than anything. Often, she'd long to see the world that her dad successfully shut out from her. She no longer cared that he could provide everything she could ever need or want, the expensive penthouse, the private school or getting into the top universities in the country off the strength of his name, she wanted--no she needed more.
A loud buzz came from the small iPhone on the edge of her desk by the window, Sage already knew who caused the notification. She swiped the phone open and stared at the message from her best friend Ella reading: "Have you decided?"
Ella Paisley and Sage knew each other since sandbox and animal cracker days, they knew just about everything that had to do with one another and wouldn't want to change it for the world. They were comfortable and never had those weird changes that longtime friends tend to experience. When you see one, you see the other and that's just how they wanted it to be forever. Ella was the more outgoing one that made all the friends for the both of them and other connections having to do with socializing and people, while Sage would tend to ground them and evaluate and analyze any situation they'd be in. They had an unspoken system that the girls were content with.
But right now, Sage was going against her better judgement for once when she entertained Ella's idea of pre-gaming for a club for the first time ever. She knew she would have to leave when her dad was busy with his business calls or fast asleep in the office. Eventually her mother would eventually drag him out of there to sleep in their master bedroom. Before second guessing herself she replies: "I'm all in!"
***
Sage peeked through the crack of her parents large bedroom door, scanning the king sized bed that had her mother and father cuddled in. After all these years, they still went to bed with each other every night except when he was away on a business trip. Donati Bagglio was a hardworking man but he never let that make him stray away from his home life, both his daughter and his wife Ezra were important to him, more important than anyone in his life besides his mother. He worked very hard to build his authentic Italian-American wine business to provide a very luxurious lifestyle for his family. All he asks is that they follow his strict rules to ensure Sage makes it. He knew his baby girl didn't quite grasp the bigger picture outside of what he deemed silly and temporary teenage bullshit he believed she wanted to partake in, but he hoped one day she will.
In this moment, Sage confirmed her parents were really asleep by listening a bit closer to their steady breaths and snores. Her mother's sepia brown skin was exposed as all she had on was a silk night gown, while her dad was shirtless on top of her snoring the loudest. "Good," Sage whispered to herself and fled outside in her club attire to meet Ella.
***
Ella's dirty blond hair was teased into a messy ponytail to frame her heart shaped face, she was perfectly clad in a tight white dress and nude red bottoms. Sage on the other hand paired a black leather skirt and a matching cropped leather bustier top from Miu Miu. Designer was clearly nothing to these wealthy girls as they wore it on a daily basis.
"It's fucking September in New York but it's hot, bitch!" Ella exclaimed as she fanned herself in an attempt to cool down. Sage chuckled in response, "Bitch, I'm pretty sure we're getting drunker."
Their car ride to the hot club named Diversion consisted of downing $7,000 Japanese whiskey named the Yamazaki Mizunara, courtesy of Sage's father as he has a lot where that came from. Ella chipped in to when she provided both of them the most realistic fake I.D. since they were both underage, and then expensive clutches from Chanel.
Once they reached the security, the man's beefy hand grabbed their I.D., glanced at them and let the pair through into the crowded and dark building. Sage felt her body ease as she slinked through the crowd, Ella trailing closely behind her. She felt the hum of the beat from a Nicki Minaj song the DJ was blasting and instantly rapped along with the rest of the crowd she was standing in. "We did it," her best friend mouthed as she took a look at her, Sage nodded and giggled in response letting the whiskey continue to pulse through her veins.
It wasn't long before her social butterfly of a best friend was chatting it up with other drunk girls on the dance floor. Sage knew this was going to happen but all she could do was laugh at how silly the group was being.
"You girls do not look that young! So fucking hot," one girl slurred as she threw an arm around Ella's neck. Ella just laughed and took another shot that was offered to her earlier when they first met the duo.
Sage giggled as she excused herself to the restroom, she felt her vision spinning a little but she couldn't help feeling like eyes were burning into her from the V.I.P. section. In her intoxicated state she fully turned to see if her suspicions were true, any other time she would be sly with it but liquor made her bold.
She was right when she caught dark brown eyes peeking through under long lashes. They were from a seemingly tall man in the large division that was clearly V.I.P. Sage couldn't exactly confirm if he was tall yet. He was sitting but she he was definitely muscular, it was obvious when she peeped his cinnamon toned and tattooed plastered arms peeking through his shirt. The people surrounding him were all drinking or not so slyly snorting coke on the table in the center of them except for him. He was sipping but his focus seemed to be on Sage as he swiped at his bottom lip with his tongue. She knew she ended up staring too long and went with her original plan to the bathroom.
Once she reached the bathroom she felt the familiar buzz of her iPhone: "u goodf?//" from Ella. She must be sloshed Sage thought as she sent her a quick text assuring her she just needed the restroom. After Sage washed her hands and stepped over puke from one of the girls in the bathroom with her Louboutins, she stumbled her way to a wall and leaned against it this time as the beat to No Flocking by Kodak Black started.
Sage closed her eyes and exhaled a deep breath she didn't even know she was holding, when she felt a presence standing directly in front of her. When she opened her eyes slowly, she was met with the guy from the V.I.P. section. He was standing clearly over six feet, towering over Sage's much smaller frame. His eyes were low and dark and taking in her whole body which kind of made Sage giggle out loud because everything was funny to her right now.
"What's yo name shordy?" He asked her in deep voice. He reached over and trailed his fingers across her cupids bow. Before she could even reply he shot her with another question, "You crossed?"
Sage didn't even know what cross really meant but she assumed in the context of her situation it was drunk or lit. "I'm Sage and I'm really really thirsty."
"I'm East and I can get you some water, mamas." He grinned. East stepped closer and snaked his inked covered arms around her waist. Sage complied with his touch and slowly laid her head on this strange man's shoulder. She felt comfortable that way as he slowly hummed to the beat, rubbing the small of her back. "I need your number in my phone before you do that, I haven't seen you in this club before and I wanna see you here more. With me." Sage blushed in response as what he was telling her started to register.
She didn't mind but the guy who was asking her looked a lot older than her and she didn't know how she felt about giving out her number to a man she just met. She honestly only spoke to guys her age and only ever had her fair share of secret boyfriends from her high school, no one like this. Sage peeked up at him through her lashes and hooded eyes and nodded her head, "Okay, Eazyy?"
East chuckled and pulled her closer, "It's East, baby, East," he whispered into her hair.
End note: Hi! I hope everyone enjoyed the first part of our journey. Show me some love, give me feedback, add me to your library, I don't care just show me you're reading somehow to let me know I should continue. Thank you so much and I love y'all.