Page 25 of Branded

“You could say that,” I laugh, placing my hand on the back of my neck, squeezing a bit then letting my hand drop away. “I have always wanted to keep people safe. This allows me to do that.”

“Aren’t you afraid?”

“I don’t have time to be afraid. I have time to focus on making sure everyone is safe.”

“What happens when you don’t?”

It’s impossible to hide the way my smile falls and the way my body goes a bit rigid. It’s not an easy question to answer.

My stomach sinks to my feet. Those moments, thankfully, don’t happen as much as you’d think, but when they do, they stick to your heart like thorny vines.

“When I don’t… I process it as best I can and make sure I did everything within my power to save them. If I tried, really tried, but I just couldn’t get there in time, I have to live with that. It’s hard, yes, and I don’t ever truly get over it, but I have to move forward for the sake of the next person I have to save.”

She takes a breath and releases it slowly. “Heavy first date talk,” she giggles. “I’m sorry for asking about it.”

“You can always ask me anything you want, Sawyer.”

We finish up preparing our food with easy conversation about movies, music, and television shows so when it’s time to take our food out to the balcony seating to enjoy the meal, conversation is flowing easily between us.

I make sure to pull the chair out for her, which seems to surprise her just a bit.

“Thank you.”

“Of course.” As I push her chair in for her, my finger grazes her back just a little and I swear I can hear the smallest intake of breath from her lips. “So, tell me about you, Sawyer. Something no one else knows or a weird quirk. It’s easy to learn the normal topics, but that can get boring, right?”

“That’s a very loaded question.” She l0oks down at her lap and smooths out the napkin lying there. “How about you ask me questions instead, and I’ll ask you some back?”

“That’s fair. I just want to get to know you.” I tap the table with my finger. “Liquor, wine, or beer?”

“After the night I had Friday, I’m swearing off liquor forever, especially tequila.” She takes a small sip of her wine then places the glass down carefully. “I’m sorry about that, again, by the way. I can’t believe I did that.”

I try to stop the smile, because I don’t want her to think I’m making fun of her, but I can’t. “You don’t have to apologize. Like I said, I thought it was cute.”

“You say that like you get drunk texts from girls all the time.”

I watch her closely as she slides the tip of her finger around the rim of her glass. I’m not even sure she knows she’s doing it. It’s probably a nervous habit or a way to fidget.

“I don’t,” I say with a shrug. “Not to say I haven’t before, but it’s not a normal occurrence.”

“Still. It was embarrassing. I don’t want you to think I’m this sloppy drunk who parties every weekend.”

“I never thought that. Not even once. You’re a grown woman. You can get drunk whenever you’d like, and I absolutely encourage you having fun, safely of course. If you feel the need to text someone, my phone is always free.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

She pulls the end of her ponytail over her shoulder. It’s impossible not to be instantly struck by how beautiful she is. She’s the type of beauty that stops you on the street and you just know whether it’s dressed to the nines or rolling out of bed in the morning, she’ll look just as incredible.

“Did you always want to be a teacher?”

That single question makes her face light up, and it’s hard not to match the enthusiasm.

“I did. I always enjoyed helping people understand things, not in a bossy kind of way, but in a I want to make a difference in the world kind of way.”

“You and I have that in common then.”

“Yeah, I suppose we do.” She clears her throat then takes another bite of her sushi. “Anyway, I always wanted to teach and my brother, he always pushed me to do it. Even though he was younger than me, he was trying to guide me along the path to succeed.”

“I always wanted siblings when I was growing up, but my parents started and ended with me. How much younger is he?” I ask.

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