Page 13 of Forever After Never

“Selfishly, I don’t want you to get murdered because, honestly, you were one of the only reasons I came here to begin with. If you get yourself killed, I will bring you back from the dead to kill you again myself!” She is laughing now. “This man is going to change you, Autumn. I can’t tell if it’s going to be in a good or bad way, but he’s absolutely going to change you!”

I know that Alice is right, and I need to have a word with myself. This is not me at all. I am chasing the crumbs around the plate with my fork, not adding to the conversation. I don’t have much to add now that I know her feelings on the topic. I don’t know why I was expecting her to act like this was all normal, but I feel sad that she isn’t jumping up and down with glee over something dangerously exciting happening to me.Emphasis on the dangerous.

Then I remind myself again that Alice would be the final girl, and I would be the airhead that gets killed after the first five minutes of the horror movie.

Honestly, if this conversation were happening the other way around, I would not be the least bit surprised. Alice has a way more adventurous dating life than I do. This is completely unheard of for me, so it makes it even more ridiculous.

“Autumn, I have to go, but this conversation isn’t over.” She taps the table with her fingertips. I can tell that Alice is trying to balance the big sister act with wanting me to get laid so desperately that she’d endorse a stalker.

She gets up and leaves. I feel the breeze rush in from the outside as the door swings shut.

Edith comes over to the table and takes the plates away from us, humming a song under her breath as she goes.

“Autumn, honey. There is a man here to see you. The devilishly handsome one over there.” Of course, Edith points to Sawyer and flashes me a mischievous grin.

Chapter 16

Sawyer

Istride across the diner and pull up the seat next to Autumn.

“Good morning, Sugar,” I say as I lean over and prop my elbow on the armrest of the chair. I am completely aware of how close I am to her, and it was absolutely my intention to box her into the corner of the diner by the window. I don’t want her to get up and leave.

“Sawyer. It’s afternoon now. Are you following me again or coincidently in the area?” she spits out at me while staring into my eyes with a glowing confidence. She looks absolutely fucking beautiful today. I want to taste her. Her eyes are wild, and she sweeps her dark hair from her face with her fingers. She is wearing hot-as-hell tight blue jeans that I know will make her perfectly round ass look sensational, chunky trainers, and an oversized sweater. It shows everything and nothing at the same time.

It's taking every ounce of my self-control not to bend her over the table, rip those fucking jeans down and spank her.

A wicked grin lifts the corner of my mouth, and I chuckle. “I’m not sorry about what I did. I’m not sorry about what I said. However, I am sorry for the way I delivered the message. Are you scared of me?”

“Well, unfortunately for you, Sawyer, you aren’t as terrifying as you think you are because at no point have I felt scared of you. Pissed off? Taken advantage of? Violated? Absolutely. Scared? Not a fucking chance, buddy. Sorry to burst that bubble of yours.” My cock twitches at her argumentative tone.

“Besides, I know if you wanted to harm me, Jed would fucking end you. Wouldn’t you, boy?” She is directing that part of the response to the dog firmly wedged against my leg, and I know that she is telling the truth.

The tone of her voice doesn't match the words coming out of her mouth. Even when she tries to sound angry, her voice is melodic, and hearing her dulcet tones float on the air does something to me.

“We need to start over, Autumn. Wait here for five minutes, okay?”

She looks at me perplexed, and I get up and leave the diner.

I stand outside, far enough out of the way that I know she cannot see me. After a couple of minutes, I walk back into the diner, walk past her table, then look back at her, and with as much seriousness as I can manage, I re-approach her table.

Standing over her, I say, “Hi there, my name is Sawyer. I can’t help but notice how fucking beautiful you are. Are you single?”

“You have got to be kidding me,” she says back, looking up at me. “Stop causing a scene. People are watching you.” Autumn starts laughing and flashes me a megawatt smile. It is the sexiest thing I have ever seen. I made her laugh, and I want to do it again. She has understandably been as welcoming as a cactus to me, but her laugh leaves her mouth, and it travels directly to my dick.

“Can I have your number?” I ask.

“Sorry, I don’t give my number to people I don’t know, and considering this is the first time we’ve met, you probably won’t be getting it for a while either.” She smirks at me. This devil of a woman has awakened something in me that I wanted to stay asleep. There has been nobody I could even name since my divorce, yet I am so thoroughly obsessed with this woman. I feel like I could combust and turn into fucking ash at her feet.

“You can give me your number, though, and if I get bored enough, I might give you a call.” She types a few letters into her phone and hands it to me so I can add the number. I am now named 'Stalker' in Autumn’s contact list. Okay. I’ll take that. I look her dead in the eyes and wonder at the mischief swirling around in them.

Lowering my voice, I say, “You’re hilarious, Autumn, but let’s not forget you moaned last night at the thought of me being inside of you, so don’t wait too long to use that number, or someone else might call me instead.”

Dick move. Clearly there is nobody else that is calling you. I should have introduced myself by saying, “Hi, I’m Sawyer, and I use self-sabotage as a reflex.”

“We’ll see about that, won't we?” Giving me a tight-lipped smile, Autumn gets up, takes Jed by the leash, and walks away without so much as a glance back. As she shoves her phone into the back pocket of her jeans, I know I was right about one thing.

Her ass looks sensational.

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