Page 10 of Forever After Never

“Goodbye, Sawyer,” I huff out and turn on my heels, leaving the coffee shop.

“Date number three.” He calls after me.

"You wish."

“Holy shit, Autumn. I thought you were going to rip each other’s clothes off and screw each other on the table. You could have cut that tension with a knife – I am turned on and wasn’t even involved.” Alice dramatically fans her face with her hand. I should be pissed off, but I can’t help laughing.

“Fuck off, Ali, you’re not funny. Why would you even say that to him?” I clap my hand over my mouth to stifle a giggle.

“BECAUSE. YOU. NEED. TO. GET. LAID” She shrugs at me.

“You’re not wrong, but why I do I need to get laid by that douchebag?”

“All I’m saying is that you don’t need to like someone to have sex with them.” And like a teenager, Alice makes a ring with herthumb and index finger on one hand and puts her other index finger in and out of the gap.

“You just need to visit Bone Town.”

“Bone Town? How old are you again?” I am howling with laughter at how immature my best friend is.

Chapter 12

Sawyer

Why didn’t I ask for her number? Why did I have to be such an asshole to her?

I can feel eyes on me, and I notice that every single person in the damn coffee shop is looking at me. Gawking at me is more accurate.

I feel a pang of guilt in my chest that I caused a scene in front of everyone, but I had to get her attention. The only way I knew how to do it was to be a dick.

I clearly made her uncomfortable, but I liked it, and if I didn’t know any better, I think she liked it too.

“Date number three?” An old man calls over to me. “Does she know that?” He chuckles.

“She does. She’s just pretending not to.” I leave without so much as a backward glance at the people staring at me, and on foot, I follow the girls, keeping enough distance that they can’t see me.

As if by magic, Autumn’s friend turns right at the end of the street instead of left, and the girls go their separate ways for the first time in two weeks.

Chapter 13

Autumn

Finally, alone.

Spending the last two weeks with Alice has been great, but we need time apart. I am starting to forget what it is like to be by myself. I also relish time alone; in fact, I crave it. I love to listen to an audiobook while cooking or sit down with my e-reader for some dark mafia romance. I can’t help it. It’s my jam.

I may be perpetually single, but I still have needs. Needs that are usually met by my battery-powered friends, and whatever book I am reading at the time.

I shower, bundle my hair on top of my head, and chuck on some spandex shorts and a far-too-big-for-me rugby shirt. I am looking forward to cooking for myself this evening. Alice and I lived on quick meals or takeout for the last two weeks, and I just want to be in the kitchen, creating food.

As I round up the ingredients I need, I set down my old, falling apart cookbook and flick to the recipe for creamy garlic chickenand pasta. It's delicious and can be cooked in under thirty minutes.

Jed is asleep in his bed in the living room, and watching his paws move, I can see him running in his dreams. He looks so peaceful when he is asleep. Seeing him sleeping happily reminds me of my urge to eat, then go to bed and sleep. I want to forget about the embarrassment of my reaction to seeing Sawyer again. My mind and body react differently to being in his presence.

I plate up my dinner, sit down at my dining table, take one mouthful of chicken and there is knocking at my front door. Assuming Alice has come to collect some of her things, I take my plate with me, stuffing more food in my face as I go. As I swing open the door with far too many pieces of pasta in my mouth, I am not greeted by Alice but by Sawyer.

How the hell does he know where I live?

I swallow and cough at the same time, but my ability to speak seems to have been taken from me. I gaze up at this man while dreaming about eating him for dessert. After making some very unattractive and indistinguishable noises I finally process that Sawyer is standing in my doorway. Well, filling my doorway would be more accurate.

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