Page 101 of Sinful as They Come
“You think she’s the prettiest girl in the world, huh?” He tilted his head at me.
“Yeah. Yeah, I fucking do. So what? You gonna go tell her?”
“Nah, you can tell her.” Brodie sighed loudly. “Why are you pouring your heart out to me when you should be doing this with her? Why are you so focused on how youusedto feel? Okay, so you used to hate her. She used to hate you too. I get it. There’s history there. Fine. But something changed between the two of you.Clearly. So, why don’t you just risk it and tell her how you feel already?”
“What makes you think a girl like that could ever like a guy like me?” I snapped. “Her and Carter made sense. Rich quarterback asshole with the pretty cheerleader. Where do I come into the picture? What the hell do I have to offer her?”
“You’re kidding, right?” Brodie scoffed. “You’ve been on her side this whole time, dude. You’ve been looking out for her. Sticking up for her after all that Carter stuff. You’re a good guy, Sawyer. I’m not saying that ‘cause you’re my cousin. You think she’s not thinking about you? About how nice you’ve been to her?”
“I don’t think Holly spends any of her free time thinking about me.” I rolled my eyes. “Why would she?”
“Holly’s nicer than you think. You’ve clearly learned that. You don’t know what’s going through her head. You’ve been a good guy to her, Sawyer. And she kissed you back. It’s not like she pushed you away.”
“Well, she practically fucking ran away from me after we kissed.” I thought about how soft her lips were, how nice it felt to have her so close to me. It was a sweet kiss. Soft and slow. I wanted it again. Wanted to kiss her more, feel her, hold her up against me so that there wasn’t an inch of air between our bodies.
“She was freaked out,” Brodie said with a shrug. “She just kissed the guy she’s been arguing with for her whole life. Look at you. You’re freaked out too. You two should be freaking out together.”
I inhaled. “Yeah, maybe. I don’t think she’ll want to be in the same room as me again.”
“You don’t know that. You have to talk to her.”
“You’re not gonna let this go, huh?” I raised an eyebrow at Brodie.
“Nope. Not a chance, cousin.”
“Hey,” a voice said to my right, and I turned to see Lucas, a glass of soda in his hand. “Can I join you guys?”
“Yeah,” I mumbled.
“What’s wrong?” Lucas asked.
“Holly and Sawyer kissed!” Brodie let out the second Lucas sat down.
I leaned over the table, teeth grinding together. “Brodie, what the fuck?”
“Oh, finally.” Shaking his head, Lucas shoved a straw into his glass. “You know, I made a bet with William Brooks back in tenth grade that you two would get together. Guy owes me, like, a thousand bucks.”
“I placed a bet with Owen,” Brodie said as he rubbed his hands together. “Got a hundred dollars coming my way.”
“Don’t place bets on my life,” I muttered. “And we aren’ttogether. We just kissed.”I shut my eyes, letting my elbows rest on the table as I moved my hands roughly through my hair. “Why would she ever like me? She deserves someone good. Especially after Carter. I hated seeing what he was doing to her. How he’d always bring her down and make her feel bad – especially when that asshole was cheating on her the whole time. I still can’t fuckin’ believe he did that. If she was mine, I never would have treated her like that. I wouldn’t have eventhoughtabout doing that to her. But… I’m me. Trailer Park Trash, remember? I don’t know if who I am is enough for who she is.”
“You should have learned by now that Holly isn’t the girl you thought she was,” Brodie said. “She doesn’t care about that kinda stuff!”
“I don’t know about that,” I mumbled. “I don’t know if I can be the guy she deserves. And Holly deserves the best. I’d be so good to her, you know?I’d treat her so good, but I don’t know if that’ll be enough. Plus she’s gotta be pissed at me. I just assaulted her in the fucking library. Probably thinks I’m just like her asshole boyfriend.”
“Ex-boyfriend,” Lucas insisted.
“Yeah, ex-boyfriend.” The guy who ruined the best thing he was ever gonna get. Fuck him. He didn’t deserve her.
But part of me felt like I didn’t either.
Chapter 36
HOLLY
The last thing I should have ever done was kiss Sawyer Westbrook. Or did he kiss me? Did it matter in the long run?
I pressed my fingers to my lips, still able to feel him. His soft lips that felt so cool, so calming up against mine. The way his tongue pushed into my mouth. The way his chest felt so strong and so broad. His hands, his arms, his touch, his everything. I couldn’t stop thinking about him. Not as I scurried out of the library or drove home. Even now, alone in my bedroom, wondering how I had started off so in love with Carter and now I was…
