Page 38 of Uncharted Desires
“Seriously, what is this place?”
Sawyer wiggles his eyebrows and leads me to one of the tables. On my way, I glimpse a small bar to my left, with a door behind it.
“What? It’s nice.”
“It’s a dive.”
“Maybe,” he says as he takes a seat. “But it’smydive.”
“Hey, Sawyer!” I turn to the bearded man calling out from the stage, waving the drumsticks he’s holding.
“Sup,” Sawyer waves back to the stage where he’s now greeted by the rest of the… band he’s apparently on a first-name basis with.
“Come jam with us,” says another guy.
Sawyer shoots him a grin. “Next time.”
My eyes grow wide as I take a seat next to Sawyer. “Excuse me? Didn’t you just say you weren’t a virtuoso?”
He tilts his head to the side and shrugs. “And you think the crowds around here are sophisticated?”
“Touché.” I look to the tiny stage where the musicians take their positions, and a somewhat steady beat fills the space before I look back at Sawyer.
His black leather matches the overall decorum. Or lack thereof.
How can he fit right in both a biker joint and the lavish exterior ofSkin on Skinat the same time?
“What?” he asks after I’ve been staring for too long.
“Nothing. I gotta say, I kind of dig the rockstar persona of yours. I don’t think I would have gone for the jock you once were.”
“You mean you wouldn’t have gone for a jockguyback when you thought you were straight?”
My cheeks flame. “Damn. It seems like a lifetime ago.”
Sawyer bursts out laughing just as an out-of-tune guitar strums. “You have a weird perception of time.”
I look into the smoke-filled space, wondering how it is possible it’s only been a few weeks, when Sawyer’s palm appears in front of my face, waving. “So, what would you like?”
I turn my attention back to his face. Dark stubble peppers his square jaw. He hasn’t shaved this morning. “You.”
“To eat.”
I grin. “Still, you.”
Sawyer rolls his eyes and props his chin on his palm. “I have time.”
I turn to the wannabe bar and eye it skeptically. “I guess I’ll have whatever you’re having.”
“Smart choice,” he says with a wink, and I watch in awe as he walks up to the bar and instead of waiting, he rounds it and disappears behind the door.
I lean back in the chair I don’t really trust and listen to the band’s attempt at some rock song I don’t recognize.
A minute later, my ears start to bleed, and I try to block out the noise when a realization hits me—I’m out in public, with Sawyer, on a… Well, hardly a date. But I’m here with him all the same, and if I’m about to get into it for real and accept whatever he’s willing to offer, there’s one person that needs to hear it from me before he can hear it from anyone else.
I pull my phone from my pocket, go through my contacts, and press dial, my pulse speeding up as I wait for the line to connect.
“Hello?” Xander’s cheerful voice comes from the other end.
