Page 19 of Fight for You (Flirting with Forever 2)

“And?”

“And now I’m kind of catching feelings for him, too, when I know I shouldn’t.”

“And why do you like him?” She scans my panicked eyes. I’m sure she’s trying to figure out if she needs to call in reinforcements to help her with my dilemma. As much as I love my girls, I don’t know if I could handle five varying opinions right now.

“He’s not like the guys I usually date. He’s really smart and sweet and funny.”

Piper smirks. “He’s definitely not like Ed, then.”

I give a quick shake of my head. “Sawyer would never do the things Ed’s done. He’s the kind of person I think I could trust, if I let myself. I can’t help but wonder a little bit if I’m worthy of him.”

She bites her lip. “Hadleigh, you don’t give yourself enough credit. Why wouldn’t he want to be with you? I mean, setting aside all the work crap.”

My gaze drifts away from hers to the floor. “I don’t know, Piper.” I am not ready to tell everyone what an idiot I was to stay with Ed as long as I did … or what Ed is holding over my head, literally walking around with it on his damn phone every day right here at school.

She purses her lips. “Well, I can tell there’s something you’re worried about, but you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. But maybe it’s time for you and Sawyer to sit down and talk things out. Nothing has happened between you yet, has it?”

I feel like a bone is wedged in my throat. “No. Not really.”

“Not really?” She raises an eyebrow at me. “What does that mean?”

“We came close to locking lips last week. Right in the workroom. But we stopped ourselves before it actually happened. I think it freaked both of us out.”

“Oh.” Her eyes widen. “Oh. Time for a sit-down, then. Sooner, rather than later.” She assesses my expression and body language with care. “You’re more of a mess than I’ve ever seen you.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“It’s only said out of love for you. Seriously. You two need to talk.”

“But what will everyone say if I decide I want to see what happens with him? When I brought it up at the coffee shop, everyone thought it was such a bad idea.”

“Don’t worry about that. That was before they knew you had feelings involved. You come first. Be cautious and use your brain, but do what makes you happy.”

With an uncomfortable laugh, I ask, “And if it’s Sawyer who makes me happy, do I do him?”

Piper snorts. “There’s the Hadleigh I know and love. Girl, that’s something only the two of you can answer.”

Chapter 13

Sawyer

I’m definitely curious to know what went down when Hadleigh grabbed Piper in the middle of lunch. They’d disappeared for a full twenty minutes and hadn’t returned until it was time for our next class to begin. She’d seemed flustered. I imagine that perhaps what almost happened last week between us is getting to her, but I don’t know how to help her because I feel the same way.

On one hand, I feel badly that I almost let that happen, but on the other, fuck—I’d wanted to taste her, hold her in my arms, inhale the scent of her skin. The more I’m around her, the more I want to say screw everything. Screw what people will think or say about us. I don’t care.

In an attempt to put her out of my head, I settle in at the desk in the workroom to help Hadleigh grade a test we’d administered earlier in the day. There are sixty to be graded over three class periods, and as much as I love what I’m doing, I’m still having one hell of a time keeping my head straight. My mind keeps wandering to what Hadleigh is doing and thinking. I don’t know where she’d gone right after class, but her bag is here, so I know she’s still in the building. I’m going to wait her out. We need to talk, to come to some sort of resolution for how to work together without the attraction between us getting in the way.

Faintly, the sound of heels clicking on the floor comes closer until the footsteps stop right at the doorway. I brace myself, knowing it’s her.

“What are you still doing here?” The words sound choked as they leave her lips.

I set my pen down and watch her enter the room where she sets a stack of photocopied papers on the other desk. My eyes roam discreetly over her for about the thousandth time today. She’s wearing a fantastic dress that has been taunting me all damn day. It fits her just right, hinting at the curves that lie beneath. Curves I want to get my hands on. Badly. “I was waiting for you. I thought—” I close my eyes for a few seconds, inhaling deeply. The way she’s raking her teeth over her lip is really fucking distracting. I exhale and open my eyes again. “I thought we should probably talk.”

She continues to abuse her lower lip, chewing on it, and subsequently drawing my eyes right to her mouth. “I don’t know what to say.”

I smile and stand up. “I’m not sure I do, either, but—” I rub my palm over the stubble on my cheek. “I feel like even though we kind of talked about it via text, maybe I should say something in person.”

She’s so fucking gorgeous I almost can’t stand it. Her cheeks have turned ever-so-slightly pink, and she’s having an awful lot of trouble looking me in the eye. I think in her position, I’d find it difficult to be the first to say anything, so that leaves this up to me.

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