CHAPTER 10

Reagan

 

The words on the file in front of me swirled around on the page, not making any sense. The light outside my office faded with the setting sun. I’d been staring at numbers for the case in front of me all day. I’d blame it on being tired, since Friday’s backstage concert turned into a whole weekend hanging out with the band, but I knew that wasn’t the case. While it had been fun, I couldn’t get my mind off hanging out with Sawyer alone. All through college, I missed the days it was just me and him. Besides the night I tracked him down, we’d always been surrounded by others. Tonight that changed. Sawyer would be home alone. I planned to pick up dinner and head over when I got done.

I kept trying to focus on the contract in front of me, but by a little after seven, I’d had enough. After shutting down my computer, I threw the files into my briefcase. I’d deal with the contract at some point. I stepped out of my office and practically ran headlong into Madison.

“Where are you going this early?”

“Early.” I laughed. “It’s after seven.”

She lifted a brow. “That’s early for you.”

Madison and I had been hired at the same time. I’d met her when we were interviewed and thought she was my competition for the job. And that scared the crap out of me. I could tell within seconds of meeting her she had a no nonsense attitude. I’d been right. Turned out they had planned on hiring two people, and Madison made it clear from day one that she would have gotten the job over me. It took a while to warm up to her, but being assigned to most of the same cases forced us to work together. I realized she had a fantastic sarcastic wit. Over time we became close friends. So it wasn’t a shock that she’d give me shit for leaving before her.

“Yeah, but unlike you, I have plans.”

She sighed. “Don’t I wish. Where are all the decent members of your gender?”

I pulled the bag farther up my shoulder. “Hiding with all the rational members of yours.” I winked, then dodged her hand as she went to shove my shoulder. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“Well, that’s a pretty short list, so I should be safe.”

“Ass,” she muttered, shaking her head and walking down the hall in the opposite direction.

I wasted no time getting to my car and turning onto the street in the direction of Sawyer’s place. Since I promised to bring dinner, I stopped and picked up a pizza on the way. It wasn’t a secret that I never learned to cook. Sawyer’s mom had taught him, but both his and my mom agreed that I was a lost cause after trying for months to help me. Mom told me I’d be better off getting a job that paid well so I could either order out every night or hire a chef.

I parked near the curb and climbed out of the car, annoyed I didn’t have a change of clothes with me. Sawyer’s text came long after I was already at the office and I didn’t want to waste time stopping by my place and having to deal with my roommate, Harrison. The second I knocked, I heard Sawyer yell to come in. With the pizza in one hand, I pushed the door open.

Sawyer was sprawled on the couch with a video game controller in his hand. I couldn’t stop myself from wondering if he’d gotten better at video games since we were teens.

“Taking the night off?” I gestured with my chin to where he sat without his guitar.

He briefly glanced over before turning his gaze back to the screen. “Fuck yeah. I finally finished the song this morning and I need a break.”

“I don’t blame you. You’ve been working your ass off.”

He chuckled. “Now you sound like Mari.”

If I was being honest, that comment rubbed me the wrong way. As great as I found Mari, the relationship she shared with Sawyer made my chest tighten. It became obvious after spending time with the two of them that Mari had stepped into my role after Sawyer left. And maybe it was part of the reason I wanted him to myself tonight.

Pushing the green-eyed monster aside, I held up the pizza box. “I got pizza. Sausage and pepperoni.”

“My favorite.” He ended the game and dropped the controller on the couch.

“I remember.”

Sawyer stood and looked me over from head to toe. Something in his gaze felt different, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. There was something almost possessive about it. Even though I couldn’t explain it, my skin tingled at his gaze. “Did you bring a change of clothes?”

“No. Didn’t feel like stopping at my place on the way over.”

He rolled his eyes. “Come on. I got shorts and a T-shirt you can put on. Wouldn’t want you to mess up the fancy lawyer suit.”

“Fuck you.”

He laughed all the way down the hall to his room. After he took some clothes from the drawers in his room and left them on the bed, he turned for the door. “I’ll grab some beers and meet you in the living room.”

It was ironic that I was changing into Sawyer’s clothes. Throughout high school, we’d worn each other’s clothes more times than I could count. Sometimes it was easier to go back to one of our houses after practice and change there, not that we always remembered to bring something to change into.

I folded my suit and carried it back out to the living room. It felt almost nostalgic seeing him with a pizza on the couch, watching TV. Sawyer looked up as he placed a piece of pizza on the paper plate in front of him.

“I remember the last time we had sausage and pepperoni pizza together, it was—”

“Our last night at The Hollywood before we left for school,” I finished for him.

The Hollywood had been our summer job since we were fifteen. We started out bussing tables before we both ended up waiting them. It was a small little hole in the wall place that served pizza, burgers, and milkshakes. That last night we’d gotten a pizza before we left with a few extra bucks in our pocket.

“I miss that place. I compare every bacon cheeseburger to theirs.”

“Me too and I haven’t found one to live up to it.” Their bacon cheeseburger was the thing dreams were made of. I dropped down on the couch next to him and took the bottle he handed me.

“Next time we’re home we’ll go.”

My hand froze in the middle of lifting the pizza box as I imagined what a road trip with Sawyer would be like. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Sawyer tense, but I was too busy dealing with my own jumbled thoughts to focus on him at the moment. Before he left, I thought we’d have plenty of road trips throughout college. Since that never happened, it was something I’d look forward to with him. Excitement bubbled inside as I thought of the fun we’d have.

“I think that sounds like a great idea.”

Sawyer’s muscles seemed to relax.

I picked up my own slice and set it on my plate. “So what song does the label plan on releasing next?”

“Truthfully, I have no idea. All they’ve told us so far is that they want to try something different with this release.” He lifted the bottle to his lips, my eyes drawn to the way his Adam’s apple moved with each swallow. Where were all these thoughts coming from? I shook my head, pushing it from my mind and tried to focus on the conversation.

“How long did it take you guys to gain a following?” I had to wonder if they were a college band or if they met up later. I picked up my pizza and took a bite.

Sawyer set down his beer and leaned back against the couch. “It seems like it took forever. We didn’t have any real success until Mari started singing with us.”

I stopped with the beer halfway to my lips and looked over at him. “What do you mean when she started to sing with you? I thought she was part of Jaded Ivory from the beginning.”

“Nope. Jackson used to be our lead singer. He lost his voice one weekend we had a gig and I begged Mari to fill in for him for one night. She knew all our songs and set list. It seemed like the perfect replacement for one night. We never expected the crowd to go absolutely batshit with her at the lead. When the offers for more shows came in, Jackson willingly stepped aside for her and the rest is history.”

“Holy shit.” I couldn’t imagine Jaded Ivory without Mari singing the lead. “That’s a story I never expected.”

Sawyer scoffed. “I was lucky to get her on the stage the first time. She had stage fright like I’ve never seen.”

“Thank God she got over it.”

“You’re telling me.”

We finished the pizza and Sawyer lay back on the couch patting his stomach. “That was good freaking pizza.”

“It’s from Antonio’s on eighth.”

“I’ll keep that in mind the next time you bring me pizza.”

I gave him a light punch to the arm and he chuckled. “Next time it’s your turn.”

“Whatever,” he said as I settled back into the cushions. Suddenly, a black controller appeared in my line of sight. “Let’s play like we used to.”

“Oh, so you mean, you pick a game, try your best, and I still kick the shit out of you.” It happened every time he coaxed me into a night of video games. He’d swear he’d gotten better, and usually he had, just not enough to beat me.

“That was then, this is now. I’ve gotten so much better.”

I rolled my eyes. “You say that every time.”

“Okay, how about a little wager?” He dangled the controller in front of my nose.

“And what would that be?”

“If you win I cook you dinner of your choice one night, but if I win you clean out my car.”

I shook my head, laughing. “I might get lost or die trying to escape the disaster that is your car.”

He shook the controller again. “I thought you said it would be an easy win. If that’s true, why are you so scared of my car?”

He had a point. And the thought of Sawyer’s cooking made my mouth water even with a full belly. For as much as I couldn’t cook, he could. He was the star pupil of both of our parents. Even my own parents had given up on my cooking skills and taught Sawyer everything they knew.

I snatched the controller out of his hands. “You’re on and I want your mom’s steak and shrimp this weekend.”

He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye as he set up the game. “Pretty sure of yourself?”

“It’s guaranteed.”

And boy had I been right. Sawyer hadn’t gotten good enough to beat me. The cursing started pretty early as he called best two out of three, then three out of five. At one point I reached up and grabbed the controller before he could chuck it across the room. It was a reflex and not the first time I stopped Sawyer from throwing his controller. It happened at least once a night when we were younger, sometimes more than once. That wasn’t what shocked me.

Throughout the game, Sawyer’s arm would brush against mine, making goose bumps rise across my skin and a shiver to race down my back. For the life of me, I couldn’t explain why the simple brush of skin would affect me so much. It wasn’t like we hadn’t touched each other before. The reality was it probably had to do with missing his company for so long. I did my best to push aside my body’s reaction and enjoy the time together. With both of our schedules, we didn’t have many days for times like these.