Page 10 of The Wayward Son

“Um…sure. As long as there isn’t anything too weird in it.”

“Fruit and protein.”

“Okay, then.”

Sawyer mixed two shakes with banana, strawberry, apple, yogurt, and protein powder, then set one in front of Jade at the table. She picked it up and smelled it, then took a sip.

“Mmm. Good.”

“Tomorrow I’ll make you a vegetable one.”

“I think I’ll pass on that. I’m not a big fan of vegetables. At least not when they’re blended. It’s like drinking baby food.”

Sawyer laughed. “I guess that’s sort of true.” He leaned on the counter and drank his shake. “You need some clothes.”

“I suppose.” She looked at her leggings and the borrowed t-shirt. “I can send for my stuff. Or go pick it up. But I can’t even think about doing that right now.”

Sawyer left the kitchen and returned a few moments later with his wallet. He handed her five twenties. “This is all I have on me. But I can hit the ATM later.”

“Sawyer, I can’t take your money.”

“You need clothes and whatever other sundries a woman needs. Take it. You can pay me back when you get a job.”

“I have some money in the bank. I can use my debit card.”

“Save your money. Take this.”

She looked at the money for a moment, then took it from him. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Get some food too, or maybe do that tomorrow when you have more money to work with. I’ll be on a pretty strict diet until Saturday. So, make what you want and don’t wait for me for dinner.”

“Okay. The fight is on Saturday?”

“Yeah. My first ten round fight.”

“Are you ready for it?”

“I will be on Saturday. I don’t suppose you’d like to come watch it.”

She seemed surprised. “Hmm. I’ll have to think about that.”

“Fair enough.” He set his glass in the sink and filled it with water. “Thanks for doing the dishes.”

“It’s the least I can do. Is there a laundry room in the building?”

“Downstairs in the basement.”

“That’s not creepy at all.”

“Actually, it is a little creepy down there. Especially at night.”

“I was going to wash your sheets, but maybe I’ll wait until you can come with me.”

“Good call.”

Sawyer left a few minutes later and drove to the gym. On the drive, he thought about Jade. It was really good to see her again. And it seemed they fell right back into being friends. It was easy being her friend when they were both kids, even though his other friends thought he was crazy hanging out with the weird girl.

But now that they were adults, could they pull it off? He hoped so. The fact he found her quite attractive might prove to be a problem, though. He tried to shake the idea off. Yes, she was…well, beautiful now. But that shouldn’t keep them from being friends. She just got dumped at the altar. She needed a friend more than she needed another romance.

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