Page 47 of Deceiving Grier

At home, I mounted the steps to the front porch. Blue flickering light from the television seeped through the sheer, closed drapes in the front window. Someone was in the living room, and since Jett would still be at work, it had to be Sawyer. Longing mixed with dread inside me, knotting my insides.

I grasped the doorknob and drew a deep breath before twisting it and pushing the door open. Inside, Sawyer was stretched across the couch. Some old sci-fi movie that I vaguely recognized but couldn’t remember the title played on the T.V.

Sawyer sat up a little when he saw me, his expression oddly inscrutable. “You’reearly.”

“Yeah,” I said, crossing the living room and dropping into the armchair in the corner.

“How was the date?” he asked, gaze tracking me. A faint frown drew his brows together.

I snorted. “I’vedefinitelyhad better.”

Sawyer visibly tensed. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I said, and desperate to change the subject, I added, “Look, you were right. We really should talk. We can’t go on like this.”

Sawyer sat up and swung his feet to the floor. “Is this where you tell me I have to find somewhere else to live?”

I blinked, genuinely surprised. “No. Have you been worried we were going to kick you out? Is that why you’ve been trying to talk to me?”

“The thoughthadcrossed my mind once or twice,” Sawyer said, with a pointed smirk. “I would totally have understood if you wanted me out, but that’s not why I’ve been trying to talk to you.”

“No?”

He shook his head and leaned forward. “I wanted you to know how sorry I was for hurting you, for making you doubt that what we were doing mattered to me. I should have come clean about the storybeforewe had sex. It was stupid and selfish, and wrong. But I hope you believe that what I felt for you was real, what Istillfeel for you.”

I smiled a little. “That youlikedme?”

He grinned. “That I really,reallylike you… and I miss you.”

Something in my chest squeezed, and I whispered, “I miss you too.”

“Do you think we could ever go back now that you know the truth?”

Yes, I wanted to say before throwing myself at him. Instead, I swallowed past the sudden ache in my throat. “Secretly having sex?”

He shook his head. “No, arealrelationship—fuck the roommate agreement.”

I chuckled softly. My God, I wanted that with him on an almost desperate level. “The thing is, I’m not even that mad anymore. But even if we did start seeing each other for real, how long could it last? Eventually, school will end, and we’ll have to move on with our lives.”

And wasn’t that reason enough to grab on to Sawyer now while I could and hold on until I had to go back to my parents? Once I was home, I wouldn’t get a chance like this again. At least not to live this openly.

“Yeah,” Sawyer said, nodding slowly. His gaze, dark and intent under the flickering light from the T.V., held mine. “I get that, but I’d still like to try.”

“Me too,” I whispered.

He held out his hand to me. I stood and took it, letting him pull me nearer until I was straddling his lap. It felt so good to be close to him again, to feel his arms pulling me against his solid chest, his lips brushing mine.

I groaned, wrapped my arms around his neck, tilting my head and parting my lips to let his tongue sweep inside. Dull, hungry need unfurled inside me, warming me from the inside out.

“Christ, I missed you,” Sawyer murmured after breaking the kiss and letting us both up for air.

“Me too.” I leaned down and nipped at the skin along the side of his neck. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you tonight.”

He chuckled, and I could feel the low rumble against my chest. “Is that why you’re home early?”

“That… and Tyler is kind of an asshole.”

I felt Sawyer tense beneath me. “Did he do something?”

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