CHAPTER 13

Reagan

 

What the hell was Sawyer thinking? I had no desire to dance with this chick. She was easy on the eyes, but tonight I wanted to hang out with him. Ever since I’d watched the way Madison and Chloe reacted to him at the library, I wanted him all to myself. Instead, I found myself being dragged through the bar to the crowded dance floor. She wasted no time pushing her body to mine. Not even a sheet of paper could have fit between us.

I hadn’t even gotten her name.

Unsure how to get out of the situation, I rested my hands on her hips and waited for the right time to excuse myself. One song. Two songs. By the third song I’d had enough. She ran her hands over every inch of my chest and ass, which did nothing for me. For the first time in my life, I felt like a piece of meat. The moment her lips touched my jaw, trying to get me to look down so she could reach mine, I jumped away from her.

“Thanks, but I’m not interested. I need to get back to my friend.”

Her face turned three different shades of red and for one brief moment I felt bad for the way I treated her. At least until she turned and started grinding with the guy behind her. Within seconds, she’d shoved her tongue in his mouth. Dodged a bullet.

I stormed back over to where Sawyer still sat at the bar. I stopped in my tracks. I couldn’t help but notice the way his shoulders filled out the tight black T-shirt. What the hell? The last thing I needed to do at the moment was notice anything about the way Sawyer looked. He’d just sent me to dance with some chick even after I said I didn’t want to. I was fuming. Two empty shot glasses now sat in front of him. Pissed that he served me up on a silver platter, I shoved his shoulder until he was forced to face me. “What the hell was that all about? Why would you feed me to the wolves like that?”

His eyes were a bit glassy. “I thought you wanted her.”

I dropped down onto the stool. “What made you think that? I said I didn’t want to dance.”

“I saw the way you were looking at her. I didn’t want you to miss out because of me.” He shrugged.

Something was off in his tone, but I couldn’t place it. “She’s hot. I can’t help looking. But you know her type. She wants to rack up the number of guys she hooks up with tonight. Not what I’m looking for.”

His head perked up. “What are you looking for?”

“I want a relationship. I did the whole let’s hook up with a different girl every few weeks. I don’t want that shit anymore. I want someone who wants to be there for the long haul.”

Sawyer watched me for a moment, a small smile curling the corner of his lips. “Sorry, man. I didn’t mean to throw you to the wolves.”

The smile didn’t reach his eyes. I thought about that as I ordered another drink. Silence engulfed the two of us like it had that first night. Something was still off with him, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. He lifted the bottle to his lips and I couldn’t keep my gaze off them. He had the perfect lips for kissing.

Where the fuck did that come from?

Sawyer’s voice sounded like it came through a tunnel until I heard him call my name.

I shook my head to clear it. I had no idea what my problem was, but I forced myself to focus on what he said.

“Huh?”

“I asked what were your stats in college?”

I answered his question, shocked at how quickly I could forgive and forget an argument. And in an instant, things were back to normal.

Or almost normal.

A voice in the back of my head screamed that something was off. Deep down I knew Sawyer had a reason for sending me off. Not to mention my weird ass fantasy for a minute there. I had to hope at some point I’d be able to break down his wall and figure out whatever it was that stood between us at times. Maybe then I could explain what was messing with my head.