Page 17 of Fight for You (Flirting with Forever 2)

She’s not necessarily wrong about any of her points or assumptions, but the stern look that crosses my face is enough to make her realize I’m being serious. “You’re right. I don’t ever stop thinking about her. Not at school, not at night, not at all.”

“So, what the hell is the hold up, then, Sawyer? You haven’t been so affected by a woman in a long time. Hell, maybe ever. I don’t remember you acting like this about Tara or any other girl.”

“I can’t afford to fuck this up. She’s my mentor. At the very least, pursuing her would probably be frowned upon.”

“And at worst?”

“She could be reprimanded or maybe even lose her job. Hell, I don’t know how it works.”

“What about your future career? I think it’s amusing that you are more concerned for her career than yours. Telling, Sawyer. Very telling.”

I accept the fresh beer from the bartender and take a deep pull from the bottle. With a sigh, I meet Willow’s eyes again. “Did I tell you neither of us has brought up that night when we saw each other here? I almost did that first day, but then thought better of it. I don’t know if it means anything that she hasn’t said something or not.”

“You want my take?”

I nod. “Always.”

For as much as Willow pushes my buttons, she’s a good friend to me and she knows me better than anyone else does. She’d never intentionally do anything to hurt me, no matter how much fun she has spouting off at the mouth.

“I’m pretty sure she’s got to be more worried about the whole situation than you are.”

“I know she is. She’s avoiding me like the damn plague.”

Willow holds up a hand between us, palm out. “Think about it, though. She’s in a position of power. Thrice over.” She stops to sip on her beer.

“What do you mean, ‘thrice over’?” Who even says thrice? Only Willow.

“See if you follow me. First, she’s responsible for you. She has definite power there. She has to fill out reports about your progress, and she turns them in to your advisor, right? She holds your future in her hands. Things go south, it could be horribly messy.”

I nod. “I’m following so far.”

“Second, she’s a bit older than you.”

“Yeah, but—”

“But nothing. You’re technically still in college and for that reason, it seems odd to people, even if you are only, what? Not even two years apart in age? You have that baby face working against you. You’ll have your fair share of people thinking she probably shouldn’t be robbing your cradle—especially when you combine the assumed age difference with your work relationship.”

I roll my eyes. “Okay. I still don’t think the age difference is that big a deal, but whatever. Third?”

“She’d be in a relationship with you … and my guess is you are a different kind of guy than she probably is used to dating.”

I frown. “Now you’ve lost me.”

“To be fair, she probably hasn’t figured this one out yet because she doesn’t know you well. I’ve been your friend long enough to know what you’re like when you’re with someone. Would you agree?”

“Yep. And you’re nosy as hell, so you know things about me I don’t tell anyone else. Go on.”

“Okay, then. Here’s what I see—you’re the kind of guy who is always going to listen to what she wants and put her first. And if she ever said it was a no-go for whatever reason, you would respect her decision. You wouldn’t be happy about it … but you wouldn’t attempt to push her if you thought she was hesitant. You’d put her in the driver’s seat of a relationship every time.” She wrinkles her nose and reaches out to pat my hand where it’s resting on the bar. “Because you’re just that damn sweet. She doesn’t realize it yet, but she holds all the cards with you.” She shrugs. “Think about it from her point of view—even if you only take into account the difference in age and the fact that she’s your mentor. I bet she feels guilty, or even ashamed, about having feelings for you. I don’t know how you overcome that.”

I finish my beer as I think about what Willow has said. She knows me better than to expect me to respond right away. And she’s right. Everything she said makes sense. My honest assessment is that Hadleigh and I are both likely putting off a conversation that we need to have out of fear—fear that we want something that maybe we just can’t have.

Chapter 12

Hadleigh

When I arrive at school on Monday, Sawyer is already in my classroom, doing some prep for his very first class. “Good morning.”

He glances up at me with a quick smile. “Hey. Good morning. Give me just a sec to finish up here.” He goes right back to whatever he’s doing. He’s so damn focused, I begin to wonder if he approaches everything he does with such care and concentration. My mind immediately goes to very naughty, very dirty places.

---