Page 43 of I'm Yours

Sadie and I would go to the diner for breakfast on Saturday mornings quite often when we were in high school. She’d order a skillet with scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes, ham and veggies and I’d end up eating half of hers along with mine.

Sadie:That sounds really good. Plus, that’ll be easier for the gossip mill if we just meet in public where they can listen in. ;)

I grin but can’t deny that she’s right. The tongues will be wagging about us having coffee but I don’t give a fuck.

Guilty or not, I want to spend time with Sadie again. She was once my everything and while we’ve changed a lot over the years and I hardly expect us to go back to who we were as kids, I also don’t have plans to ignore the fact that we’re both here in Lakeside.

I do my best to tamp down my excitement over having a cup of coffee with Sadie Jones but I can’t. When I was fourteen I laid my eyes on Sadie and knew that she’d be in my life forever. I guess what they say is true… you actually can go home again.

Chapter Eleven

Sadie

“It’s just coffee. That’s it. Coffee. Something you drink every single day. Just. Coffee.” I stare at myself in the mirror, thankful that Kandace was willing to teach my class this morning. Of course, she asked what was going on and why I needed her help. Which led to a conversation that only made me slightly uncomfortable.

“Tell me, just how well do you know Reed Sanders?”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb with me. Last night when he was picking up Emmy from class, the tension was thick between the two of you. It was impossible to ignore.”

“You’re such a liar.”

“It’s not nice to call yourself names.” She laughs at her own joke through the phone and I’m glad she can’t see the blush painting my cheeks red. “I know there’s a story here. What was all that ‘when we used to dance’ talk?”

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Reed and I used to be friends.”

“Just friends?”

“Maybe a little more than friends?”

“Just how much more?”

I look around my bedroom nervously like it’s holding the answers I’m looking for. “We… well…”

“What? You’re killing me!”

“We lost our virginities to each other.” I wince, knowing that I just shocked her.

“You what?” I pull my phone away from my ear when she shouts.

“Can we just agree to let it go for now but I promise to give you the full story soon?”

“You owe me about two bottles of wine then.”

“You got it.”

My hair is shiny and straight, falling down over my shoulders. I keep my makeup light, not wanting to appear that I’m trying too hard. My purple v-neck t-shirt is fitted and shows just a tiny hint of cleavage and its material is soft against my skin. My ass looks amazing in my new wide-leg light-wash jeans. My toenails are painted a bright pink. On the outside, I’m confident. Now if only the riot of butterflies in my stomach would relax.

Reed wants to get to know each other again, which is fine. Great, actually. However, that also means that I have to tell him what I’ve been doing for the past twelve years. Well, I don’t have to, but Lakeside is a small town and he’ll eventually hear about it on his own, if he hasn’t already, and I’d really rather be the one to explain why I spent the years following his departure from town working in a strip bar.

I’m nervous. He’s either going to be disgusted with me or pissed or… I can’t even think of how he’ll react. I’m also not sure if we should actually be in public or if I should let him know privately.

Shit.

I’mreallynervous.

Shaking out my hands, I flex my fingers and make my way to my car parked in the garage. I almost want to sit in my car and write out a list of everything I need to tell him. That way I can check off everything on the list as I go through them and have something to focus on. I’ve always loved lists. Even if I’m writing something down just so I can mark it complete, it gives me a huge sense of accomplishment.

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