Him by Carey Heywood (reading strategies book .txt) 📕

When I let her know he is not, she asks Christine for his number. I gape at her until she winks at me, letting me know she's joking, adding she already has a boyfriend. Um, coolest grandma ever. My grandmother on my dad's side is coming for the wedding, but her health is bad so my parents didn’t want to stress her out with dinner tonight.

Christine and I head back over to our table. Will and I are seated across from her and Brian. Her maid of honor, Justine, and her husband, Curtis, are seated next to Christine. Another couple, Jacob and his wife, are on the other side of Brian. Roman and his girlfriend, Cindy, are sitting next to me. There is another couple on the other side of Will, but they are doing a reading during the ceremony and had not been out with us the other night, so I don’t know what their names are.

Over dinner, Will sits quietly next to me. For a brief moment, I wonder if he is going to leave me alone. Then I feel his leg press against mine. I flinch, dropping my fork. It clangs loudly, and everyone looks at me. I elbow him when I hear him chuckle. I shiver when I feel his breath at my ear.

"I knew you would touch me at some point."

My eyes snap to his. He’s leaned back, and his arm is resting across the back of my chair.

"It was my elbow," I hiss.

He shrugs. "Still counts."

"That does not count."

"It does, and now you're talking to me too."

My brows furrow, and I know my face looks like I just sucked on a lemon. I take a deep breath. "I don’t understand why you're doing this."

He leans towards me. "Doing what?"

"This," I huff, gesturing between us.

"What? Talking to you?"

I groan and cringe when I see Brian glance at me. He looks concerned. I turn to Will and whisper. "Acting like nothing happened."

His blue eyes pierce me. "I'm not acting like nothing happened."

I scoff, now earning me a glance from Christine.

"Then what are you doing?"

He's chewing on the corner of his bottom lip. He leans back as a server comes around to collect our plates. "I just want you to talk to me."

I roll my eyes. I can't help it. "I'm talking to you right now, Will."

He smirks. "No you're not, you're sitting there, rolling your eyes. You might be hearing the words I'm saying, but we are not talking."

"I seriously don’t understand what you're trying to say."

I look up when the slide show starts. The room is quiet when "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol starts in the background. That song, with the pictures, I just can't look away. Out of the corner of my eye, I watch Brian wipe a tear from Christine's cheek and give her a chaste kiss on the lips. I become hyperaware of Will next to me. He leans forward, only to pull back again when the dessert dishes come out. He watches me as I stab at my cheesecake. I take a bite, letting it melt on my tongue, trying to block out Will altogether. I just don’t know what to do with him, and he doesn’t seem capable of telling me. He pushes his plate away and crosses his arms over his chest.

I jump when he suddenly leans towards me again. "Sarah, can we talk outside?"

It's his expression that makes me say yes. I take a sip of my water before I stand, refusing his hand. He gestures for me to go first, coming beside me, his hand again on my back. The heat emanating from his fingertips burns me through my dress. My eyelids flutter as he leads me to a path that winds near the lake. There is a bench. I sit first but move when Will sits too close to me. He stares at the space between us before looking out over the lake. I want to do the same, but I can't seem to tear my eyes from him.

Will leans down and rests his head in his hands. I resist the urge to rub his back. He just seems so, I don’t really know, but I know it's making me want to comfort him. He takes a deep breath before he lifts his head to look at me. I can see the light from the restaurant behind us reflected in his eyes.

"The slideshow was beautiful, Will."

He doesn’t say anything for the longest time.

"Sarah, why did you leave?"

I close my eyes and shake my head, stopping when I feel his hand cup my cheek. I start to lean into it until I realize what I'm doing and jerk back, my eyes wide. His hand remains suspended in midair for a beat before he lowers it to his leg. I look back towards the lake, crossing my arms over my chest, my hands rubbing warmth into my upper arms. Will shrugs off his jacket, and I lean forward for him to drape over my shoulders. I'm surrounded by his scent. I hazard to look at him and regret it. Why is he doing this? I stand and take a couple of steps forward, needing some distance between us. The gesture is pointless when he follows me.

Fine. He wants to know why I left. I pull off his jacket and thrust it to him. As his hand grips the material, I breathe one word before I take off back to the restaurant. "Jessica."

 

 

 

Chapter 12

Past

 

 

 

"I'm so sorry." I've lost count over how many times I've said it. Will's Italian language CD is still on. Piove, it is raining, I hear in the background.

"Sarah, calm down. It was not your fault."

I just can't get the look Will's mom gave me out of my head. "I just feel so bad."

He puts his hand on my leg, making me melt. "I don't."

"I just want your mom to like me."

He squeezes my leg and gives me a lopsided grin.

When we pull up to my