Page 12 of Sugar
“Seriously, Sawyer—you need to get back,” I say.
“Yeah.” Sawyer nods. “I’ll look for flights after dinner. Try to catch one in the morning.”
I reach for him with my good arm and wrap my hand around his shoulder. “We’re all so fucking proud of you. I know there’s a lot going on here at home—hell, there’s always a lot going on—but none of it takes away from your accomplishments, okay? Keep hustling for your dreams.”
“That’s not true,” Sawyer says, eyes shining. “We all deserve good things.”
“Except Rhett,” Wells snarks.
“I heard that!” Rhett yells from atop the mustang. The horse neighs and bucks again, trying to shake Rhett off his back.
Sawyer laughs. “Thanks, Kasey. It means a lot.”
We all turn back to Rhett. It’s obvious the stallion’s getting tired, but he’s not ready to quit yet.
“Can I ask you guys a question?” Sawyer asks. He sounds nervous.
“Shoot,” I say, turning to look at him.
“How do you know when a girl’s into you?”
Wells snaps his attention to Sawyer, grinning. Neither of us says anything for a moment as we watch Sawyer’s ears grow a bright shade of crimson.
“Actually,” he says, “never mind. Forget I said anything?—”
“How long have you known her?” Wells asks.
Sawyer shrugs. “Since we had a biology class together last year. We were paired for a group project and argued the whole time. She was so controlling about everything and I thought she hated me, but now . . . I’m not so sure.”
“What makes you say that?”
Sawyer considers that. “I try not to bother her,” he explains, “because I don’t want to upset her. She always seems to get so flustered when I say anything to her. But lately she gets mad at me for ignoring her too, so I don’t understand what I’m supposed to be doing.”
I scoff. “That’s women for you. Theywantyou to want them, but then pretend like you wanting them is a bother.”
“I don’t know,” Wells says. “Sometimes I think they just don’t know what they want. It can take time for girls to let their guard down.”
“Or,” I counter, “they like being chased, but don’t like being caught.” A certain sun-kissed brunette running down the shore of Scorpion Bay flashes through in my mind, my hands wrapping around her waist to pull her down into the high tide, her screeching laughter echoing in my heart long after the sun goes down. “What’s her name?” I ask, distracting myself from the memory.
“Elizabeth,” Sawyer mutters.
“Well, that’s fuckin’ proper,” I say. “No Lizzy? Or Beth?”
His cheeks are red now. “She’s pretty adamant about being called Elizabeth.”
Wells chuckles as he adjusts the dusty ball cap on his head. “Do you like her?” he asks.
Sawyer shrugs. “I don’t know whether to like her or be scared of her.”
“Oh yeah.” I whistle. “He likes her, all right.”
“Just forget I asked,” Sawyer mumbles, turning back toward the house.
“Sawyer, wait!” Wells bellows, pulling Sawyer back by the arm. “Look, man. If you like her, just ask her out. Something simple, like dinner. If she says no, then you know she’s not interested.”
“But if she says yes,” I chime in, “then it’s a good place to start. Just be cool and keep it low pressure, you know?”
“I don’t know what ‘be cool’ means.”
