Page 42 of Before I Loved You

Shaking my head, I pinch my eyes shut, holding in the words he wants to hear.

His thumb runs smoothly across my bottom lip before he walks away, leaving me panting, flushed, and hornier than I’ve ever been in my damn life.

“Hey, Sarah!” Natalie bounces over to me, grabbing my hand. “Are you okay? You look a little run-down.”

“Just from all the dancing.” I fan myself with my hand, hoping she won’t see past my lie.

She smiles. “Let’s go find Vanessa.”

I glance over my shoulder, toward the back, seeing Paul watching me with darkened eyes and his arms crossed over his chest, daring me to come over and tell him everything.

He has no idea how badly I wish I could.

“Yeah. Let’s go,” I respond, fighting the sudden ache behind my chest.

ten

PAUL

“There’s nothing for me to tell you.”

I slide a frustrated hand over my face, approaching the table that Nate sits at.

I know Sarah’s hiding something from me.

I’m not a damn mind reader, but I could see it in her eyes. Those beautiful, vulnerable eyes that told me yes when her lips said no. There’s something she’s not telling me, something keeping her from me as she builds a giant wall between us, brick by brick.

But mark my words, I will knock down that damn wall and find out her secret if it’s the last thing I do.

“Rough night?” Nate asks, cocking his head to the side as I drop onto the booth opposite of him.

I let out a defeated sigh, rolling my neck. “There’s something I need to tell you, and it has to stay between us. I love Natalie like a sister, but I need to know I can count on you to keep this between you and me.”

Nate straightens his shoulder. “You know I won’t lie to Natalie.”

“I’m not asking you to lie. I’m asking you not to tell anyone what I’m about to say.”

Nate’s eyes wander over to the dance floor, probably spotting Natalie, before he looks at me, subtly nodding.

“Sarah is the girl I was looking for.”

His eyes widen. “Come again?”

I squeeze my neck, looking up at the pitch-black tiled ceiling. “The girl I met at the bar near campus about a month before school started was Sarah.”

I peek over at Nate to see his mouth parted in shock before the corners of his lips slowly turn into a grin. “So, the girl who refused to exchange names with you, who you spent every night for a month looking for, has been living in the same apartment building, the same floor, as Natalie? She’s been right under your nose this whole time?”

“Yeah, the irony is not lost on me.”

“Does she know you were looking for her?”

I purse my lips, shaking my head. “She told me she doesn’t do relationships,” I admit with a shrug.

Nate straightens. “That’s usually just an excuse.” He pushes a beer toward me, which I gladly take. “So what are you going to do?”

“What can I do?” I gulp the liquid, enjoying its icy coating on my parched throat.

“You were looking for her that whole time. She at least deserves to know that.”

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