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

three quarters in when a patch of light from Jake's sliding door to his balcony wakes me up. I quietly freshen up as best I can in Jake’s bathroom. It feels good to change into clean clothes even if I didn’t take a shower.

Since I don’t have a phone to call a cab, I decide to wait for Sawyer to get up to see if I can use hers. Jake comes out of the room first, in just his boxer shorts. He must have forgotten I stayed the night because his eyes widen, and he darts back into his room when he sees me sitting on his sofa. Sawyer comes out next, grinning and stretching. She’s wearing a strapless sundress, Jake follows her shortly, in jeans and a t-shirt this time. When I ask if I can borrow a phone to call a cab, Jake asks to see my uncle’s address.

"This isn’t far." he glances at Sawyer. She raises her eyebrows at him. "We can give you a lift."

I relax into the sofa. "That'd be great. Thank you."

"Did you want to call your folks? Maybe get your uncle's number and make sure he's home first?"

I groan, instantly tense again. Time to face the music.

Chapter 21

Present

"She wouldn’t. She—"

I turn and glare at Will. "You believe whatever you want, Will. You asked why I left, and I told you."

I turn to head back inside, but he grabs my arm, stopping me. He's behind me. I turn slowly to face him. His lips are on mine before I know what's happened. It’s like no time has passed. My body is still his. Will's arms grip my waist while I wrap my arms around his neck. He tastes like rum and cinnamon. I want to consume him. When he breaks our kiss, we each take a step back to catch our breath.

"You can't just kiss me," I pant.

He ignores me. "You didn’t leave because you didn’t love me?"

I shake my head. How could he ever think I didn’t love him? Will sinks into one of the chairs and puts his head in his hands, his breath ragged. I sit in the chair next to him, unsure of what to do. I gasp when I see tears in his eyes and move to wipe them away.

"I've loved you and only you, Sarah, for the last seven years. When you left, you broke my heart."

"I didn’t know. I thought I was doing the right thing. That you didn’t love me as much as I loved you."

He took both of my hands in his. "Don’t ever say that. Don’t ever think that."

My eyes water when his voice breaks. All this time. I feel like a fool. He pulls me into his lap and crushes me to his chest. His lips find mine again, and I'm lost. Nothing will ever keep me from him again. We melt into each other, and the world slips away for a little while until we both turn our heads towards the sound of someone clearing their throat.

"Anything you two want to tell me?" Brian asks as he leans up against a post.

Will grins at him over my shoulder. "I'm in love with your little sister."

"Really?" I ask.

He kisses the spot below my ear. "Always."

"About fucking time." Brian laughs before heading back inside.

"But you don’t even know me anymore, and I don’t know you. We can't just jump into something like this. I live in Denver. Seriously, what are we going to do?" I ask, trying to be logical.

He's now nibbling my ear lobe. "I disagree, Sarah. I know you. I know your favorite sandwich. I know your favorite book. I know what you look like when you are sad and you don’t want anyone to know. I know how much you loved your Grandma Bess, and I bet you still have her picture by your bed. I know where you're ticklish and that you love waffle cones. I know you hold your breath when you think your heart is racing and that you’ve done that every time I've been near you this week. Don't think that we're rushing or doing anything too fast, and about the other stuff, we'll figure it out. I want you to know that I will do anything to be with you."

I pull back, putting my hands on his chest, hesitating when I can't help but wonder what he looks like without a shirt on, before shaking my head. "Will, you make it sound so easy, but I still have to leave. Do you want a long distance relationship?"

He chews the side of his lip. "Don’t go."

I laugh. "Oh, it's that easy. What about my job?"

He shrugs. "I'm sure they'll get by without you for a while."

My mouth drops. "Will, it's my company."

His eyebrows come together. "Like you own it?"

I smile and nod. Guess he didn’t know everything about my life in Denver.

"You own a company?"

I shrug. "It's not a big company, but yes, it's mine, and this is the longest I've ever been away. I really do have to go back."

He lifts my hands and positions them back around his neck. "I could come back with you. It’s summer break."

My eyes widen. "You would do that? Really?"

He leans forward to kiss me. "I'm not letting you get away from me again."

I'm thrilled. I am but, "What about your mom?"

He takes a deep breath before his eyes meet mine. "I've done all I can for her. I'm not even sure she'd notice if I left."

"Don’t say that," I object, not that I know any better. I just can't imagine that.

"It's true. I hate to say it, but she hasn’t been right since Bethany's death. I don’t know why she said what she did to you, but I believe you. I'm so sorry she did that, that Jessica did that. Please know that you have always been all I've ever wanted."

When his lips move to my neck, I ask, "Should we head back inside?"

"Nope, don't want to."

I