Page 22 of Fight for You (Flirting with Forever 2)

Sophia smiles gently at me. “I think if you tread carefully, maybe you can work through this.”

Zoey chews on her lip. “And what about the other girl? That, you clearly need to ask him about.”

Sophia shrugs carefully, “Maybe he’s just dating her? Maybe it’s not serious.”

I drop my head into my hands, groaning.

“Damn. This is why you need to talk to him, Had. Stop running away from what you need to do. You said he stayed after because he wanted to talk to you.” Quinn winces.

“I know. And we never really got to talk. He admitted to feeling the chemistry between us right before our lips got in the way.”

Sophia worries her lip with her teeth. “I wonder what he’s thinking right about now.”

I sigh. “I really wish he had followed me back to the classroom. Maybe it wouldn’t have turned into this whole thing.” At their raised brows, I hold my hand up. “I know. I’m making excuses for myself. I could have gone after him, too. I should have. You guys know my track record with men is terrible. I think I’m scared because I’ve never wanted someone so badly, and I’m terrified that I’ll screw it up like I always do.”

Zoey pats my back. “You know, if you were asking for my professional opinion, I’d tell you to slow down. Maybe take a step back. Think before you do anything you regret. I don’t believe anything that’s happened so far is something you can’t come back from or put in reverse if you need to.”

I nod. “Thanks, girls. I think I know what I need to do for right now.” I pick up my phone and take a deep breath as I decide exactly what to say in a message to him.

Me: Sawyer? I need to hit pause for a little bit.

I cringe and grit my teeth as I realize he’s going to respond immediately.

Sawyer: Um. Okay …

Sawyer: I guess I can understand that.

Me: I need to think about a few things. Maybe we can try talking again soon?

Sawyer: The kind of talking we did earlier, or actual talking? Because I tried to talk to you earlier, and it went a little differently than I think either of us expected.

I glance up at the girls who are all waiting expectantly for me to finish, then back down to my phone when another text comes through.

Sawyer: That was supposed to be a joke. Kind of. Hadleigh, I’m happy to press pause with you if you need some time. No harm done.

Me: I appreciate it. Thank you.

Chapter 15

Sawyer

Four days after our after-school make-out session, Hadleigh and I are still pretty much on “pause.” I refuse to believe that putting my lips on hers had been a mistake, but I’ll admit even though we’ve handled the aftermath okay, it’s made things a bit awkward between us. To make matters worse, her lips had been heaven, like the sweetest summer berries, and I want another taste more than I want my next breath.

When Hadleigh returns to the workroom late in the day, I’m taken completely by surprise when she marches straight over to me, slips into the chair next to mine, and leans in to whisper to me. “Can we get coffee after work? I have a few things I want to talk to you about.”

There’s something a little wild in her eyes, and it hits me square in the chest just how into her I still am. I get that it’s totally wrong of me to be thinking of her like this, especially after she’d said she needed some time. But, damn, she’s never looked more beautiful.

“Yeah, sure. Is it something about how my teaching went this week?” I press my lips together, knowing that it’s probably not. Her eyes travel over my features before her gaze finally meets mine again. I feel almost exposed, like she can see into me and knows all the things in my head that I shouldn’t be daydreaming about right now.

“Not really, but we can discuss that, too. You’ve done well.” She puts her hand on my shoulder before she seems to think better of it and pulls her hand away, hesitating for a second. “It’s a personal conversation that I don’t want to have at school.”

“Oh. Okay. Sounds good.” In all honesty, I already knew it isn’t my teaching Hadleigh wants to talk about. I am self-aware enough to know when I’ve done a good job and when I haven’t, and I know the classes have gone well all week.

A light rap on the open door catches our attention, and I glance up to see Sadie from our second period World Geography class standing there, casting a nervous look between the two of us.

After a brief moment of silence, Hadleigh finds her voice. “Hi, Sadie. Was there something you needed?”

“Oh, um. I-I wondered if either of you wanted to order some Girl Scout Cookies.” She holds the order form in front of her with a nervous smile. “I wasn’t sure if anyone had been by to ask you yet. There—there are a few other girls selling, too. And I—”

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