Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 71565 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 358(@200wpm)___ 286(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71565 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 358(@200wpm)___ 286(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
I suddenly feel uneasy, and I never feel uneasy.
This car is too small for the both of us. I’m annoyed at the idea of being cooped up inside the same ten square feet as him all the way to Philadelphia. I just met him twenty minutes ago. Why is he having this effect on me?
The door handle clicks and he’s behind the wheel, the engine purring a second later. I watch him buckle himself in from the corner of my eye, but keep my head straight, my focus on my hands folded in my lap, until the silence goes on too long. He’s staring at me, the car idling, apparently content to wait until he has my attention. I turn my head and meet his eyes. They’re brown, another check mark completing tall, dark and handsome. They light up with amusement as he speaks, which unsettles me. Why?
“How can you possibly think Finn Camden is the right man for you?”
That’s why.
Seventeen
Present
We exit the interstate at 30th Street and I sigh in relief. We’re less than two miles from my dorm. This car ride is almost over.
“Did you just sigh at me?” Sawyer asks as he merges the car into traffic.
“Yes. You’re exhausting.”
“Not used to this level of attention, Boots?”
I snort and lean against the door so I can watch him.
“Do you prefer to be in charge?” We’re sitting at a stoplight and he turns to examine me. “Do you prefer to do the chasing? Or are you happy dating boys you have to pursue?”
I shrug. “They were just practice for Finn. What does it matter?”
He’s shaking his head before I’m even finished speaking. “This idea you have of being with my brother, it’s never happening. He’s not right for you, you must know that.”
“Why not? Why is it such a bad idea? Finn’s a great guy. He’s my brother’s best friend. My parents already love him. And he’s hot.” I know it’s a bitchy move to throw that in but Sawyer just nods in response.
“No chemistry.”
“We have chemistry.”
“You know that you don’t.”
“Well—” I pause. “It’s only because he won’t give it a chance.” I know this is a weak argument, but I don’t want to give in.
“You overwhelm him, Everly. You’re a whirlwind, and Finn, he’s not an aggressive guy. You’d steamroll his life and end up disappointed by his lack of intensity.”
“You know this from spending three hours with me?”
“I do,” he says, looking me in the eye. “How can you not?”
I break his gaze and look out the window. I’m a lot to handle, I know that. But I never thought of it like that before.
“When’s the last time someone asked you on a date, Boots?”
Wow. The hits just keep on coming with this guy. “I do okay.” Does he think I’m chasing Finn because nobody else is interested?
“No. When’s the last time a man pursued you? Instead of the other way around?”
“It doesn’t work that way any more, Sawyer. My generation is different than yours.” Ha.
He ignores the dig. “Any man worthy of you would work for it, Everly. Not sit by passively while you did all the work.”
I don’t have a single smart retort for that.
We arrive in front of my dorm and I pop the door open the second the car stops moving. I can’t get my feet on the pavement fast enough. Sawyer puts the car in park and retrieves my bag from the trunk, walking around the car to hand it to me. I sling the bag over my shoulder and look up at him expectantly, hand out. He’s standing so close I have to tilt my head back a little to meet his eyes.
“Phone?” I demand.
“Keys?” he replies.
Grrr. I dig into my bag and pull out the remaining two keys to Finn’s apartment and drop them in his hand, then go back to looking at him expectantly, hand out.
“Don’t you want to thank me for the ride, Everly?”
Right. Of course. I drop my outstretched hand and take a deep breath. It’s better than a sigh. Not much, but I’m trying. “Thank you for driving me back to school, Sawyer. I appreciate it.” I add on a smile. “May I have my phone now?”
Sawyer just continues to stand there and look at me, his eyes doing that thing again, that thing that makes me think he’s picturing me naked. I do sigh now, and reach into his breast pocket and grab the phone myself.
“Is this you passively giving me my phone back? To prove how annoying it—”
I’m cut off mid-sentence because Sawyer’s lips are on mine. One hand is behind my neck, warm on my skin and holding me still. The other is low on my hip, dangerously close to my ass, pulling me closer. My heart stops for a second, and then it’s racing, blood flowing at warp speed throughout my body. I’m clutching my phone, my arm trapped between our bodies and across his chest. His tongue dips into my mouth and he groans. My traitorous ears are quick to acknowledge it’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard, that this kiss, God, this kiss…