Falling to Pieces (6 page)

I quickly fill her in. “It’s mine. Late
birthday present from my dad, now, where have you been, slut?”

“Take a breath there, sister.” Becka
says looking amused and I can hear Sawyer giggling behind me. “I went and
grabbed dinner with Lilly. And congrats on the car, slut.”

“Thanks.” I say disappointed knowing I
got all worked up for nothing. I think at this point she is carrying on with
all this just to mess with me. “But, I was hoping for more juice than that.”

“Sorry. Come on let’s go up and watch a
movie or something.” Without waiting Becka heads to the stairs. Glancing to
Sawyer, who just shrugs her shoulders and follows.

One way or another I will get to the
bottom of this.

“Hey, how are you dressing tonight?”
Becka asks, leaning into my room.

“I think I’ll just wear something
casual, like maybe this dress.” Holding up the hanger in my hand I show Becka
the emerald green cotton dress. It is one of my favorites because of how
comfortable it feels and that it can be dressed up or down. “It’s only
Thursday, so no need to go all out.”

“Awe, is someone sad there won’t be a
certain front man to impress tonight?”

“Whoa, let’s not get crazy now.” I
laugh. “I’m not really looking to hook up tonight.”

“Words I never thought I’d hear from you.
Anyway, I just have to get dressed and I will be ready to go. Sawyer and
Preston meeting us there?”

“Yeah, but Preston had a special date
planned first. Something about winning his manhood back at a go-kart track. Who
knows with those two, but they are coming to Penny’s afterward.”

“Oh yeah, I remember that story. I bet
Sawyer smokes him again.” We both laugh knowing that she is probably right.

After Becka leaves to get ready, I throw
on my dress and walk into my bathroom to finish my make-up, which is also being
kept casual tonight. Being around Sawyer more this last year has reminded me of
my country roots. She has always finds a way to make casual look so damn good
and super effortless. That girl could wear anything and still look good.

When I first moved away from Redwood, I
did everything I could to be someone else. I didn’t want to be just a small
town country girl anymore, and always wanted something bigger for myself. Before
coming here, I bought a whole new wardrobe that mostly consisted of short tight
dresses and extremely high heels. It was fun being someone new for a while and
I was honestly enjoying the new attention it was gaining. But, it was a lot
more work than expected, constantly making sure my hair was styled all the time
and having make up on everywhere I went. I have a natural curl to my hair that
most don’t even know about because I spend hours making sure that it’s
straight.

When Sawyer moved in last year, she
reminded me how much I missed just being able to quickly toss on a t-shirt and
a pair of shorts. Not to mention the comfort of sliding on a pair of sandals
that I didn’t have to worry about killing my feet later on in the night. Of
course there were still those nights when I went all out getting ready, but my
comfort days were winning the majority of the time.

Running my fingers through my hair one
last time, I slip on my trustee wedges and walk out of my room.

Taking a seat at the bar, I motion to
Chad that we want our usual and he gets to
mixing
. So
far the bar isn’t too crowded, but it is still early. It is insane how much the
crowd can change from one hour to the next.

Chad places two vodka cranberries and
two shot glasses down in front of Becka and I. The shot is almost the same
color as our drinks, with just a lighter pink tint to it, so I have no clue
what this might be.

“Alright handsome, what are you giving
me this time?” I ask curiously, and Chad leans over the bar towards me with his
devilish grin.

“It’s a wet pussy.” Chad says with a bit
of heat and amusement in his eyes before he leans back standing with his arms
across his chest.

“Damn, right out the gate with that
one?” I laugh. “No foreplay banter to work our way up it?”

“Why waste time. I’d rather get down to
business.” I can tell Chad is having a hard time keeping a straight face.

Shaking my head, I tap glasses with
Becka and down the shot, tasting a hint of peach.

“
Mhm
, fruity
and delicious.” I say pushing our empty glasses toward Chad. “Are all the shots
you give me going to be dirty?”

“Absolutely, baby. I can go all night
long.” Chad says dragging it out. “Think on that one.”

But, without giving me the time to
comeback with something, he walks away. Oh, he’s good all right.

“Let me ask you this.” Becka asks, and I
turn in my seat to face her. “If Chad didn’t work…”

“Hell yes!” I quickly respond, knowing
exactly where she was going with the question. “I would be all over that.”

“Thought so.” Becka laughs taking a sip
of her drink.

It’s at that moment that I remember
thinking she might like Chad.

Shit.

“Becka, do you have something going on
with Chad?” I ask, watching as she nearly chokes on her drink.

“What?” She asks, coughing. “No. Why
would you think that?”

Ending her coughing fit, she almost
looks disgusted with the idea. Okay, well I guess I was way off on that one.

“Just trying to figure you out. I
thought I caught you checking him out the other night and I didn’t want to keep
flirting with him if it would have bothered you.”

“Definitely not Chad. Cheyenne, I am not
doing this to keep secrets. I’m just not ready to talk about it. Okay?”

The pleading look on
Becka’s
face lets me know I need to drop it. Nodding my head, I turn, with my back to
the bar to check out tonight’s scenery. As a frequent guest here, I am able to recognize
most of the faces. Might have even hooked up a few
;
maybe.

Then my eyes land on someone who I know
I must meet. I haven’t been rewarded with a look at his face yet, but judging
from the back view, I can’t imagine it’s not just as fine. His blonde hair was
shorter than I would normally prefer, but with the way his gray t-shirt is
hugging his lean body, I sure as hell don’t care about his hair.

Aside from the upper half, it’s really
his lower body that caught my eye and how perfectly the dark denim fits tight
against his ass. I love a man with a great ass. It even reminded me of a
certain pitcher from my past.

“Damn.” I use my hand to fan myself,
suddenly feeling hot. I didn’t plan on hooking up with anyone tonight, but this
opportunity would be hard to pass up.

“Jesus, who has caught your attention so
quickly?” Becka ask, looking around the room.

“That fine specimen over there.” I point
to the group where he is standing, still with his back to me. “I must know who
he is. Hey Lilly, I need to send a drink to the blonde over there.”

Lilly looks in the direction I pointed.
“Okay. Gray shirt?”

I simply nod my response, short of words
at the moment.

“Sure thing. What do you want me to take
over?” she asks.

“A red-headed slut.” Becka says catching
me off guard and I bust out laughing.

“Nice. But he will get that once he
comes over here. Just give him whatever he is drinking.”

“You got it.” I watch as Lilly mixes a
Jack and coke, yet another reminder of the guy from my past.

Sipping on my drink, suddenly feeling
nervous, my eyes follow Lilly until she reaches the group. With a smile, Lilly
says something casually then points in my direction and the
hottie
turns around to see who sent the gift.

Getting a good look at his face, the
utter shock causes me to lose my balance and fall off the stool, landing flat
on my ass.

“Fuck me.” I mutter from the floor,
wishing it would swallow me whole right about now.

“Oh my gosh, Chey are you okay?”
Concerned, Becka squats down to help.

A hand is in front of me, and without
looking up I already know it’s him. Against my better judgment I place my hand
in his and allow him to effortless pull me up. I take a deep breath before meeting
a pair of emerald green eyes that I could never forget.

“Sam
..
what
are you doing here?” I ask, barely getting the words
out.

This is the last place I would have ever
expected to run into him. Home in Redwood, maybe, but not here in Avalon
;
in my bar.

“I figured Sawyer would have told you. I
live here now. Transferred over the summer, but just moved right before school
started.”

That must have been what she was trying
to tell me the other night.

“I didn’t know.” I respond, realizing he
is still holding my hand so I pull it away.

“I tried calling you. Did you know that?
Or did you block me on your phone also?” The anger in Sam’s voice snaps me out
of my daze and I look around noticing people watching the show.

“Can we please not do this here? I would
rather not have an audience.” I snap back.

As if Sam just remembered we are not
alone, he shakes off his anger and reaches for my hand. “You’re right. I’m
sorry,
I was just caught off guard. Come home with me?”

“What? Sam I don’t think that is a good
idea.”

Even though it is the one thing I want
now more than ever, it is also the last thing I need. We will just end up right
back where we were, and if he is living here now, it will only hurt him more.

“No, not like that. I just want to talk
and we can’t do it here. Please, Cheyenne?” The look of despair in his green
eyes is my undoing. I would do just about anything he asked.

“Okay, we can talk. But that’s it.” I state,
more to myself than Sam.

To my side Becka is sucking on the straw
in her empty glass trying to pretend she hasn’t been listening. “Becka, meet
Sam. Sam, meet Becka.” I motion between the two.

“Good to finally meet you Becka. I feel
as though I already know you just from the stories Cheyenne has told me over
the years.”

“Same here.” Becka has seen pictures of
Sam and only knows certain details of our past.

“I apologize, but I need to steal
Cheyenne away. Do you need a ride home?” Sam asks. He is that guy, the one who
is always looking for everyone else.

“No, I will be fine. Sawyer and Preston
will be there any minute. Good luck.” Becka says, patting Sam on the arm.

“Thanks. I always need it with this
one.” Sam smiles looking down at me and I almost forget they were just talking
about me like I wasn’t here.

“Hey now you two!” I say, crossing my
arms and raising my brows.

 
I am not that difficult. Am I?

“You
kids
go
on. I will let Sawyer know where you are.”

“Thanks.” Hugging Becka, I grab my bag
and walk out with Sam.

When we get outside, Sam lets me know
that his apartment isn’t too far away and asks if I mind that we walk. He has
never visited before so he doesn’t know that I also live nearby. We spend the
walk in silence, which gives me time to think about what I want to say to him.

If I would have just let Sawyer warn me
the other night, I could have been way more prepared. Now, just seeing him here
has my head twisted and almost makes me wonder why we stopped talking. I want
to be happy that he is living so close, but at the same time, I know this
changes everything.

His apartment complex is one that I am
familiar with. And at moments like this, I begin to regret my careless behavior
over the years. Last year I hooked up with a guy named Jake who lived in this
complex on the third floor. It sure would be a bitch to run into him tonight.

Sam’s apartment is on the first floor
and when he unlocks the door, holding it open for me, I walk in and take a look
around. Boxes are scattered all over the living room that hardly has any
furniture. His TV is sitting on the floor in the corner and there is black
futon on the opposite wall, which like the rest are all white and lack any
touch of personality. All in all, your typical college guy apartment.

“Can I get you a drink?” Sam asks,
leading me over to the futon.

“No, thank you.” Sitting down I place my
hand in my lap.

I don’t know why I feel so nervous. This
is Sam. But I guess, that in itself is the problem. It’s the way he is able to
evoke all these feelings and emotions that I’m sometimes not even aware I have,
and I am afraid one day I won’t be able to contain them.

“So you seemed surprised when I turned
around. Did you not know it was me?” Sam asks, sitting down in the center of
the futon.

I can feel the warmth of his leg against
mine and my heartbeat picks up.

“Yeah, I didn’t know it was you. Falling
down… definitely embarrassing.”

I nervously run my fingers through my
hair, mostly because the moisture from walking outside is causing it to frizz
and begin to curl up.

“So you sent me a drink, not knowing it
was me?”

“I thought you were hot. Honestly, it
was your ass. You know what it does to me.”

I laugh, but he isn’t smiling, so I
change the subject.

“You cut your hair.” I say, sad that his
long golden locks are gone.

I reach up and run my fingers through
the short length he has on top. Sam closes his eyes for a moment, enjoying my
touch. He always loved when I ran my hands through his hair, and said it always
relaxed him.