Page 46 of Restrained

“Hey, Lols.”

Only my brothers and Sawyer call me “Lols.” It sends a pang of guilt through me, reminding me of Ash. This would kill him. Even if I don’t think Ash and Viv would have ever made it as a couple, I know he’d be jealous as all hell seeing Sawyer half-naked in the kitchen the morning after.

“You stayed here last night?”

He nods his head, taking the full mug of hot coffee from the Keurig and handing it to me. “I did.” I accept the cup, and he goes about making another one, since he gave me his. Which is sweet, I have to admit. “Baz is at your mom’s.”

That’s right. Viv mentioned that yesterday.

I place the mug down on the counter. It’s too hot to drink. He starts to brew another cup of coffee and turns to me again, crossing his arms over his sculpted abs. “What?”

There’s that Sawyer attitude. “Nothing. You’re a big boy.”

I roll my eyes when he smirks, and I shoot him a glare, warning him not to make a “big” joke. “I am.” I see his guilty expression as he drops his arms to his sides. “This is where you tell me I’m not good enough for her. That I should back off, right?”

I imagine he’s heard that before. Knowing Sawyer, he’s heard it a lot.

“No.”

He rolls his beautiful eyes, and they are beautiful. Somehow, he smiles smugly with just his eyes, portraying so much charm I swear he could talk almost any woman into anything. “We’ve known each other a long time, Lola. I know you're dying to give me advice. To protect her. And Ash.”

The way he says my brother’s name, I know he’s dying inside over what happened. I walk closer to him, leaving my coffee on the counter. “You’re right. We’ve known each other for a longtime. And I care about you.” One of his eyebrows lifts, and I shake my head. “I know how much you love Asher.”

He scoffs, and I see the walls he’s trying to put up. “That shit is over.”

“No, it’s not. You’re both hotheads, and you’re both pissed for your own stupid reasons.” He’s not smiling now, his grin having fallen as soon as Asher was mentioned. “I know how much you cared about him, so for you to betray him...”

“I didn’t fucking betray him.”

I hold up one hand. “You went out on a date with Viv.”

“Yeah, like a half a year after he told her he would never commit to her. He tossed her to the side, made her feel like she was nothing to him.”

Oh, he has it bad.He stops talking, and I clear my throat and study his face. I don’t think this is just a pissing contest like I initially thought. “You really don’t think she meant anything to him?”

“I don’t know. All I know is we were all friends. They stopped fucking. We all were hanging out, and then somehow, I ended up alone with Viv a few times and...”

“You really care about her, don’t you?”

“I’m a fuckup, Lola.” He shoots me a pained expression that makes my stomach hurt. “I don’t want to hurt her. I didn’t want to hurt Asher. I wanted to fucking tell him before I even went out on a date, but Viv was hesitant. She wanted to see if there was anything between us first.”

That’s exactly what I would have done too. But it may have done a lot more damage than good.

He reminds me so much of my brothers. “He’ll forgive you.”

He cocks his head to the side, not believing me. “No. He won’t.”

He might be right. “You aren’t a fuckup, Sawyer. You’ve done some bad shit, but who hasn’t when they’re young and dumb?”

“Not you, Lola Sterling.”

I smile at that and shake my head. “I’ve done plenty of damage. Just don’t hurt her.”

“I won’t. We’re taking it very slow.”

I raise my eyebrow and nod to a purple hickey on his neck. “Not all that slow.”

He grins and covers the spot with his large hand. “I won’t hurt her. And I don’t even know what last night really meant anyway.”

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