Him (25 page)

She doesn’t do anything immediately
, but after a moment, her face crumbles, and she lifts her hands to cover her face. Will releases my hand and goes to kneel by her, gently shushing her and rubbing her back. She leans into him and grips his shoulders as she cries. I sit uncomfortably on the sofa, not sure what to do. Any hope of her support in the trip seems in vain. Will manages to get her to calm down, and I go with him up to his room so he can change. He sees the anxiety in my eyes and pulls me to him once his door is shut. It seemed like such a fantasy, us coming together the way that we did, after all of these years.

"Have you left her by herself before?"

Will chews the side of his lip. "Nothing longer than a night here and there since my dad died."

"She just doesn’t leave the house?"

He nods. "Not since she came back from the hospital that day."

"But she takes care of herself otherwise?"

"She doesn’t cook anymore but will eat things that are already prepared. I keep the kitchen stocked with ready made stuff."

"What do you want to do?"

He brings one hand up to scratch the back of his head. "Ideally, maybe hire someone to stay with her while I'm gone."

I frown
. "Do you know anyone?"

He shakes his head
, and I sink onto his bed. I leave tomorrow. It seems clear that Will won't be able to come with me, at least right away. He changes out of his dress pants and shirt and into cargo shorts that sit on his hips in a way that makes my mouth water. He catches my eye as he pulls a t-shirt over his head.

"I'm going to go check on her again. I'll be right back
." He leans down and kisses me before leaving me in his room.

I stand and walk around his room
. This is the first time I've ever been in his bedroom. I wonder if it's changed much from when we were in school. The rest of the house looks exactly the same from the last time I saw it. I sit back down on his bed and take out my phone. I need to talk to Sawyer.

I exhale when she answers.

"What's up, buttercup?"

"So Will and I happened last night, and this morning
," I say, spinning my ring.

"Whoa
. Are we happy or sad about this?"

"Happy, definitely happy.
Maybe a bit freaked out too."

"Freaked out is acceptable."

"He mentioned coming home with me, but his mom has issues so he's going to need to find someone to stay with her, and who knows how long something like that will take. I’m just scared that once there's space between us he'll change his mind."

"What's the deal with his mom?"

"I think I told you how she got after Will's sister died, right?"

"Mm
hmm."

"I guess she got even worse after his dad died. She won't leave the house or cook
, and she lost it when Will mentioned spending the rest of the summer with me."

"She still showers herself and gets dressed though, right?"

I laugh. I'm not sure why. "I think so. She’s dressed right now and looks showered. Will didn’t say that was something he did for her when we talked about it."

"I can do it."

I pull my phone away for a moment and look at her contact icon before answering. "Do what?"

"I can
mamasit. That way it won't take forever to find someone, and you guys can have the place all to yourselves."

"Sawyer
, that's crazy. His mom probably needs a professional. I don’t think Will would go for it."

"
Just putting it out there."

"Who knows
? I'll mention it to him."

"So back to this
Will fella. Did he rock your socks off?"

I blush
. "Last night, he went down on me, and I cried. How embarrassing is that? Full on ugly cry."

"And he didn’t ditch you last night?" she jokes.

"He has a tattoo about me too."

"Shut up
. That’s hot. What is it?"

"A Miller Lite logo on his chest."

She laughs. "Are you sure he just doesn’t like girl beer?"

"No, he used to always call me that. It was like his name for me
." I look up when Will walks back into his room. "Hang on a sec, Sawyer." I hold my phone to my shoulder. "Will, Sawyer offered to come stay with your mom."

"Can I talk to her?" he ask
s, holding out his hand for the phone.

I put the phone back to my ear
. "Will wants to talk to you," I tell her before handing the phone to him.

I sit and watch as he paces back and forth in front of me. Sawyer seems to be asking questions about his mom that he is answering. Every so often
, he looks over at me and either shrugs or smiles. After five minutes, I lie back on his bed and soak in his scent. If he can't leave with me tomorrow I may ask for his pillow. Their conversation seems to go well. He hangs up the phone and jumps on me.

I laugh
, pushing him onto his side. "So what'd you guys decide?"

"I've got a flight to book
," he says before lifting his mouth to mine.

I melt into his kiss before pulling back
. "Really?"

"Yep
." He kisses me again. "I should probably start packing." He rolls onto me. "But there's something I have to do first." His hands move to the waistband of my jeans.

"Will
," I gasp. "Your mom."

"
Shhh, you don’t want her to hear you, do you?" He silences me with his lips.

W
e’re in high school all over again. My jeans dangle from one leg, and his shorts are pushed down only just past his knees as he enters me. We're frantic, my hands pulling him closer and faster to me. He’s on my elbows. His hands are in my hair. I crash first, Will just after me. We're both panting as his eyes meet mine. I brush his hair off of his forehead and giggle. We're both still dressed from the waist up.

"
I'm liking spontaneous," he grins before lowering his lips to mine.

We both still when we hear a noise from downstairs and quickly get dressed. I dash to the bathroom across the hall and freshen up. My hair is a mess
. I use what I assume is Will's comb to get out any tangles and pull it up in a ponytail. Will is packing when I walk back into his room.

"You are so bad
," I tease, closing the door behind me.

He leaves his suitcase on the bed and pins me against the door
. "I just can't seem to help myself."

I'm breathless as he nibbles on my earlobe. He lifts me, his hands gripping me
, and I wrap my legs around his waist. He walks me over to his bed and sets me down.

"You're making packing hard
," he grumbles before straightening and taking a step back from me.

"I'm not doing anything
," I argue, shaking my head. I look down at his suitcase. "Are you cool with Sawyer staying with your mom? You've never even met her."

He
’s taking a dress shirt off of a hanger. "She seems like a trip, but she's your best friend. That's all I need to know."

"So when will she get here?"

"Her flight lands midnight."

My mouth drops open
. "Tonight?"

He nods
, folding the shirt and setting it in his suitcase.

"And
she got me a seat on your flight tomorrow."

I blink away the tears that are threatening
me. "So you're really coming back with me?"

Will takes in my expression and comes to stand in front of me, pulling me into his arms
. "I'm not losing you again."

Chapter 26

Past

The dress Sawyer has for me will never fit. I'm a good four inches taller than her. I somehow manage to get the dress on
, but it’s so tight in the shoulders I can barely lift or move my arms.

"It looks great
," Sawyer gushes.

I give her a look and try and lift my arms
. "I feel like a T-Rex. There is no way I can dance in this."

"A T-REX!"
She bends over, clutching her stomach as she laughs.

"What am I going to wear?"

She holds up her hand as she keeps laughing. After a few moments she looks up. "We'll just have to go shopping now, won't we?"

"Sawyer
, I can't afford to spend any money right now."

"Hush
, silly. I'm the one who wants to go out. It's my treat."

Sawyer and I have been friends for almost five years now. I don’t know the whole story
, but Sawyer lives off of a trust fund. I don’t know how much is in it or how she got it, and I usually don’t let her buy me things. I make an exception this time after I make her promise it will just be an early birthday present. Like three months early. She gets Jared to drive us to the mall, and I let her drag me into Forever 21. I sit with Jared as Sawyer buzzes around the store, grabbing different outfits for me to try on. I can only take eight items back at a time, so she sets the rest of the clothes she's accumulated in my now empty chair and sits on the armrest of Jared's chair while I go try them on.

A couple of the dresses I refuse to show them
. One is just way too low cut in the front, and I feel uncomfortable in it. The other is cute but too tight in the top, and I can't move my arms in it either. When I show them the next outfit, I take out the second dress to see if Sawyer can find it one size up. The fourth outfit I try on is my favorite so far, a stretchy charcoal pencil skirt and a striped tank top. Sawyer starts complaining that she wanted the gray skirt to go with some see-through top and the striped tank to go with a sequined micro mini. I laugh at her because there is no way I'll wear either of those combos.

She grumbles about my lack of fashion sense and stalks off in search of that
dress in a larger size.

"I like what you're wearing
." Jared smiles up at me.

"Apparently
, I'm not showing enough skin."

He shakes his head
. "Let her pick out crazy shoes for you, and she'll be fine."

I laugh
. He’s right, and he knows it. It makes me wonder how many times Sawyer has dragged him out shopping over the years. When she comes back, I take his advice and end up with the outfit I like and a pair of hot pink cowboy boots. We pick up dinner on the way home and hang out around the coffee table to eat. Caleb joins us a few minutes later, squeezing in between Sawyer and me on the couch.

"What'd the doctor say?" Jared asks.

"Might be able to get the cast off a week early."

Sawyer makes a face
. "Bummer they couldn’t take it off today."

Caleb laughs and pulls her towards him for a kiss
. "You can barely handle me one handed."

Her mouth drops
, and she smacks his stomach. "You're lucky you’re cute."

"Just cute?" he asks in mock horror.

She rolls her eyes and eats a French fry.

After dinner
, we get ready in Caleb's room and bathroom while Jared and Caleb watch TV. Sawyer flat irons her hair, and I curl mine. I let her do my makeup and mentally remind myself to wash my face before I go to bed today so I don’t end up looking like a raccoon in the morning. Sawyer ended up buying the silver sequined mini and paired it with a black tank and boots. We do a couple of shots with Caleb before putting on our coats and heading out. There’s a coat check at the club so we don’t have to worry about finding a place to stash our winter coats.

Sawyer pull
s me right out onto the dance floor, Jared and Caleb following us. Sawyer and Caleb basically make out the whole time while Jared and I dance. He’s a good dancer, and the music is so loud there we can’t really talk. He stands behind me, hands on my hips, my back to his chest. He doesn’t try and feel me up, and since he’s there, no one else tries to dance with me. I like him. I do, just as a friend. After a few songs, we stop to all get drinks and cool off. When we’re standing at the bar, a guy asks me if I want to dance. Jared stops him and says I’m with him.

After that guy le
aves, I ask him about it.

"Sorry
. That guy's a tool, but there are some cool guys here if you want me to introduce you to any of them."

I smile
. "No, that's okay. I was just curious."

"You're a nice girl
, Sarah."

"Thanks. W
here'd that come from?"

"I love Sawyer, but she's crazy. I didn’t know what to expect from you."

"I can be a little crazy," I joke and take a sip of my drink.