Page 23 of Past the Broken Bridges

I tip my chin in his direction. “Look at Sawyer. She’s putting space between them. He’s the one moving in, not her. Plus, she gave you the opportunity to take her place and go with him.”

I’m not sure if I point that out for her benefit or mine, but it makes the tension in my squared shoulders ease in the slightest way.

Dixie watches them for a moment longer before turning her body away. “I didn’t realize…” She frowns, stopping herself and shaking her head. “It doesn’t matter.”

I offer the only advice I can. “Give him time. Dawson is a dude. We’re not the smartest when it comes to chicks being into us.”

The way she worries her lip makes me wonder what’s on her mind. “I heard some things about him last year from some of the sorority girls at Kappa Kappa Gamma. Is it… Are those things true?”

She doesn’t need to elaborate on what the rumors are if she heard them at a sorority. Greek life talks more than local gossips. I knew word got around when Marco Hastings gotarrested for drug distribution, but I didn’t know where that left Dawson on the social ladder on campus. He got to stay in the frat, but he was put on probation. One wrong move, and he wouldn’t have just gotten kicked out of Greek life; he would have been expelled like his former president was.

As far as I’m concerned, he got lucky.

“Dawson is…complicated.” It’s the last word I’d use to describe my friend to his face, but it’s the perfect one for the situation. “He got tangled up in the wrong people and made some mistakes. But he’s a good person.”

She quickly shakes her head again. “I didn’t mean to imply that he wasn’t, I—”

“Dixie,” I laugh, stopping her. “My point is that he’s in a better place now than he was last year. Like I said. Give him time. He’ll come around as long as you don’t let all that shit from last year get to you.”

Hell, maybe a girlfriend is what he needs. It’ll take up his time and keep him from spending it with the wrong crowd.

I remind myself of that when I think about which girl he might want to settle down with, making my leg bounce under the table.

Thankfully, Dawson and Sawyer get back with a few different appetizers for the table a minute later, ending the conversation.

Dixie offers me a silent thank-you before falling into conversation with Sawyer about something school related.

It becomes obvious over the course of the next few hours that Dawson is oblivious to Dixie’s interest because he’s doing everything in his power to get Sawyer to laugh at what he says. I’m tempted to ask Dixie if she wants to leave when I see the way she watches her friend with a shade of green on her shoulder similar to the color of her eyes, but Ithink better of it when I count the number of beers Dawson had to drink.

By nearly eleven o’clock, Dixie and Sawyer are both tipsy. Only then does the brunette seem to let loose, her frown slipping into a smile as her friend convinces her to dance to the live band that came in a couple hours ago.

Dawson elbows me as we watch them circle each other around the dance floor. “You feeling Dixie?”

She’s a nice girl. Pretty. Easy to talk to. I have no reasonnotto be into her, but I’ve never liked being pushed in one direction. Plus, she’s here for him, whether he realizes it or not. And I have no idea where Sawyer is at because half the time, she’s entertaining the conversations that Dawson starts with her, and the other half, she’s trying her hardest to nudge Dixie to take her place.

“She’s cool,” I tell him.

“Cool,” he repeats in amusement. “This bar is cool. The music is cool. You either need better glasses or more alcohol.”

“If you’re feeling her, then you do something about it,” I return, pushing my frames up my nose. It wouldn’t hurt my feelings, considering my indifference to her. “She’s your type, isn’t she?”

Dawson laughs. “Every woman is my type. But my sights are locked and loaded. And do you see Sawyer? She’s all over me. My game is strong tonight.”

I wouldn’t say she’s “all over him,” but I don’t burst his bubble. Most girls wouldn’t stick around this long if there wasn’t any interest, so I don’t know her motivation. Is it for her or Dixie? Or is it something else?

“You going to do something about it?” I ask curiously, watching the girls hug and laugh.

Dawson leans against me, draping a heavy arm over myshoulder. His breath reeks of beer when he says, “You know damn well I am.”

“Dawson…”

He stumbles toward them before I can say anything, dropping an arm around both girls’ shoulders. Whether they let him stay that way because they’re drunk and having fun or because they’re appeasing him, I’m not sure.

Only one of the three looks back though, searching the room until her eyes land on me.

I lift my glass of water to Sawyer, and she smiles. And I’d be lying if I said that smile didn’t do something to my chest that I don’t like.

But do I look away?

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