Sawyer was sprawled on the couch with a video game controller in his hand. I couldn’t stop myself from wondering if he’d gotten better at video games since we were teens.
“Taking the night off?” I gestured with my chin to where he sat without his guitar.
He briefly glanced over before turning his gaze back to the screen. “Fuck yeah. I finally finished the song this morning and I need a break.”
“I don’t blame you. You’ve been working your ass off.”
He chuckled. “Now you sound like Mari.”
If I was being honest, that comment rubbed me the wrong way. As great as I found Mari, the relationship she shared with Sawyer made my chest tighten. It became obvious after spending time with the two of them that Mari had stepped into my role after Sawyer left. And maybe it was part of the reason I wanted him to myself tonight.
Pushing the green-eyed monster aside, I held up the pizza box. “I got pizza. Sausage and pepperoni.”
“My favorite.” He ended the game and dropped the controller on the couch.
“I remember.”
Sawyer stood and looked me over from head to toe. Something in his gaze felt different, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. There was something almost possessive about it. Even though I couldn’t explain it, my skin tingled at his gaze. “Did you bring a change of clothes?”
“No. Didn’t feel like stopping at my place on the way over.”
He rolled his eyes. “Come on. I got shorts and a T-shirt you can put on. Wouldn’t want you to mess up the fancy lawyer suit.”
“Fuck you.”
He laughed all the way down the hall to his room. After he took some clothes from the drawers in his room and left them on the bed, he turned for the door. “I’ll grab some beers and meet you in the living room.”
It was ironic that I was changing into Sawyer’s clothes. Throughout high school, we’d worn each other’s clothes more times than I could count. Sometimes it was easier to go back to one of our houses after practice and change there, not that we always remembered to bring something to change into.
I folded my suit and carried it back out to the living room. It felt almost nostalgic seeing him with a pizza on the couch, watching TV. Sawyer looked up as he placed a piece of pizza on the paper plate in front of him.
“I remember the last time we had sausage and pepperoni pizza together, it was—”
“Our last night at The Hollywood before we left for school,” I finished for him.
The Hollywood had been our summer job since we were fifteen. We started out bussing tables before we both ended up waiting them. It was a small little hole in the wall place that served pizza, burgers, and milkshakes. That last night we’d gotten a pizza before we left with a few extra bucks in our pocket.
“I miss that place. I compare every bacon cheeseburger to theirs.”
“Me too and I haven’t found one to live up to it.” Their bacon cheeseburger was the thing dreams were made of. I dropped down on the couch next to him and took the bottle he handed me.
“Next time we’re home we’ll go.”
My hand froze in the middle of lifting the pizza box as I imagined what a road trip with Sawyer would be like. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Sawyer tense, but I was too busy dealing with my own jumbled thoughts to focus on him at the moment. Before he left, I thought we’d have plenty of road trips throughout college. Since that never happened, it was something I’d look forward to with him. Excitement bubbled inside as I thought of the fun we’d have.
“I think that sounds like a great idea.”
Sawyer’s muscles seemed to relax.
I picked up my own slice and set it on my plate. “So what song does the label plan on releasing next?”
“Truthfully, I have no idea. All they’ve told us so far is that they want to try something different with this release.” He lifted the bottle to his lips, my eyes drawn to the way his Adam’s apple moved with each swallow. Where were all these thoughts coming from? I shook my head, pushing it from my mind and tried to focus on the conversation.
“How long did it take you guys to gain a following?” I had to wonder if they were a college band or if they met up later. I picked up my pizza and took a bite.
Sawyer set down his beer and leaned back against the couch. “It seems like it took forever. We didn’t have any real success until Mari started singing with us.”
I stopped with the beer halfway to my lips and looked over at him. “What do you mean when she started to sing with you? I thought she was part of Jaded Ivory from the beginning.”
“Nope. Jackson used to be our lead singer. He lost his voice one weekend we had a gig and I begged Mari to fill in for him for one night. She knew all our songs and set list. It seemed like the perfect replacement for one night. We never expected the crowd to go absolutely batshit with her at the lead. When the offers for more shows came in, Jackson willingly stepped aside for her and the rest is history.”
“Holy shit.” I couldn’t imagine Jaded Ivory without Mari singing the lead. “That’s a story I never expected.”
Sawyer scoffed. “I was lucky to get her on the stage the first time. She had stage fright like I’ve never seen.”
“Thank God she got over it.”
“You’re telling me.”
We finished the pizza and Sawyer lay back on the couch patting his stomach. “That was good freaking pizza.”
“It’s from Antonio’s on eighth.”
“I’ll keep that in mind the next time you bring me pizza.”
I gave him a light punch to the arm and he chuckled. “Next time it’s your turn.”
“Whatever,” he said as I settled back into the cushions. Suddenly, a black controller appeared in my line of sight. “Let’s play like we used to.”
“Oh, so you mean, you pick a game, try your best, and I still kick the shit out of you.” It happened every time he coaxed me into a night of video games. He’d swear he’d gotten better, and usually he had, just not enough to beat me.
“That was then, this is now. I’ve gotten so much better.”
I rolled my eyes. “You say that every time.”
“Okay, how about a little wager?” He dangled the controller in front of my nose.
“And what would that be?”
“If you win I cook you dinner of your choice one night, but if I win you clean out my car.”
I shook my head, laughing. “I might get lost or die trying to escape the disaster that is your car.”
He shook the controller again. “I thought you said it would be an easy win. If that’s true, why are you so scared of my car?”
He had a point. And the thought of Sawyer’s cooking made my mouth water even with a full belly. For as much as I couldn’t cook, he could. He was the star pupil of both of our parents. Even my own parents had given up on my cooking skills and taught Sawyer everything they knew.
I snatched the controller out of his hands. “You’re on and I want your mom’s steak and shrimp this weekend.”
He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye as he set up the game. “Pretty sure of yourself?”
“It’s guaranteed.”
And boy had I been right. Sawyer hadn’t gotten good enough to beat me. The cursing started pretty early as he called best two out of three, then three out of five. At one point I reached up and grabbed the controller before he could chuck it across the room. It was a reflex and not the first time I stopped Sawyer from throwing his controller. It happened at least once a night when we were younger, sometimes more than once. That wasn’t what shocked me.
Throughout the game, Sawyer’s arm would brush against mine, making goose bumps rise across my skin and a shiver to race down my back. For the life of me, I couldn’t explain why the simple brush of skin would affect me so much. It wasn’t like we hadn’t touched each other before. The reality was it probably had to do with missing his company for so long. I did my best to push aside my body’s reaction and enj
oy the time together. With both of our schedules, we didn’t have many days for times like these.
CHAPTER 11
Reagan
The book in front of me slammed closed on my hand.
“What the hell?” I snapped, yanking my hand back.
Madison stared at me across the table, drumming her fingers. When I glanced around at the rest of our team, I noticed that all eyes were on me. Oddly enough I had a feeling it had nothing to do with my outburst.
“Maybe if you were paying attention, I wouldn’t have to cause you pain.”
I flipped the book open, searching for my page with specific code I needed. “I am paying attention.”
“Oh, so you heard me call your name five times before I slammed your book closed?” She lifted a brow, daring me to say I heard her.
Honestly, I didn’t. A few weeks ago, I promised myself I wouldn’t let whatever Sawyer was keeping under wraps bother me, except since then I found that was all I could think about. It had pissed me off the first night when he refused to tell me whatever it was that destroyed our friendship. His promise that it hadn’t been anything I did had gone a long way in pushing back the feelings of anger and frustration. Then at dinner the next night, I realized how much his friends didn’t know about his life before college and the questions ran through my head over and over again like a bad movie reel.
The weird part was our friendship had gone back to the way it was before. Over the last few weeks, we’d hung out like the last seven years hadn’t happened. A bar, his concerts, the movies, didn’t matter what we did. The same laughs and fun filled every night.
Almost.
I still noticed Sawyer keeping pieces to himself. Like he’d built walls around each part of his life, only letting certain people see certain things. He was hiding too much of himself from people and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out why. So yeah, I’d zoned out when we should have been working.
“Fine, I wasn’t paying attention.”
Madison leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. “What’s gotten into you? Ever since you went to that concert a few weeks ago, things haven’t been the same.”
“It was just a concert. I’m pretty sure we’ve all been to one before.” George rolled his eyes. “Now can we get back to this? I want to get this contract sorted. It’s Saturday and I don’t want to be here all night.”
“It wasn’t just any concert. My best friend from high school was playing and we hadn’t seen each other since before college.”
“Really?” Chloe asked. “What band did you see?”
Madison watched me closely. Out of all the members of our team, she’d been hired at the same time I was. We’d worked together enough and she could read body language like a pro. Their questions didn’t make me uncomfortable, but she’d know in a heartbeat there was more to the story than I wanted to give away.
“Jaded Ivory.”
Chloe’s eyes practically bulged out of her head and her jaw almost hit the floor. “You’re telling me, your best friend is part of Jaded Ivory and you never thought to mention it before?”
I sat back in my chair. “Like I said, I hadn’t talked to Sawyer since before we left for college. The night of the meet and greet was the first time I saw him in seven years.”
“You know Sawyer Alason?” Madison asked slowly.
“I’ve known him since I was seven.”
She threw her pen at me, smacking me in the head.
“Stop throwing shit at me.”
“You’re the one who didn’t tell us you knew a member of one of the hottest up and coming band out there. Not to mention the hottest drummer on the planet.”
Hottest drummer? I could see that. His long shaggy hair and crystal green eyes called to people. Not to mention the rocker vibe he put off. Everyone wanted the bad boy. Even if it couldn’t be farther from the truth. Sawyer never had a shortage of people chasing him. It wouldn’t surprise me if there were women lining up for him in college. I rubbed the spot where the pen hit, hoping there was no ink on my head. “And I haven’t seen him since I was eighteen. How do you know who he is?”
Another pen came flying at my head. This time I caught it midair and slammed it to the table. “I said, stop throwing shit at me.”
A few of the legal assistants walked by the windows, watching us.
“I follow their pages.”
Madison shrugged it off like it was no big deal. She had no idea how big of a deal it was. We’d gotten to hang out without too much interference, and he’d mentioned Mari had the largest following. But it looked like Sawyer had started to get a fan club of his own. For some reason that bugged me a bit. On one hand I wanted him to succeed, on the other I wanted time to myself with him. I wasn’t sure what that said about me, so I kept my mouth shut.
“Let’s get back to work. We can talk about this later.”
Curiosity twinkled in Madison’s eye. I’d be willing to bet the first chance she had me alone, she’d be all over me trying to get the answers. Until then, I planned to force all of it out of my head and focus. George was right, I needed to get this contract amended by the end of the day. We’d made it through four of the articles and only had one left to go.
“Does anyone have section three of article five? I can’t find my notes for it.” George continued to shuffle through his papers searching.
Chloe pulled it out. “I have it. Come on. I’ll get copies made.” She stood with the papers in her hand.
George rubbed his neck. “I need a cup of coffee.” He stood to follow her out.
“We’ll be right back,” Chloe said, shutting the door behind them.
I glanced at my watch. A little after six. We’d been working since noon and I wanted to leave. Sawyer didn’t have anything tonight. It amazed me how quickly we’d fallen back into the routine of hanging out with one another whenever we were both free. Catching up, talking, or just spending time together. Almost like no time had passed.
“Why not?”
Once again Madison’s voice drew me from my thoughts.
“Why not what?”
Madison’s brows were drawn together. “Why haven’t you seen him?”
Wasn’t that a good question? “I have no idea. The day before we were both supposed to leave for college, I stopped by his house to pick him up for one last day of freedom since we were headed to different schools and his car was gone. I knocked on the door. His mom answered and told me he’d left the night before. That was all she would tell me. I tried texting him, but I got nothing back. When I saw they were playing at the Pinnacle Arena, I decided to go and finally figure out why he disappeared all those years ago.”
“And?”
“And nothing. I still don’t know.”
Her eyes widened. “He still didn’t tell you?”
“Nope. Said it was something he had to work through on his own, but it had nothing to do with me.”
“Wow. That’s fucked up.”
“Thanks for the keen observation, Madison.”
“Don’t start. You know you’re thinking it. It’s why you can’t concentrate for shit lately. You need to ask him again if it’s going to be screwing with you.”
I sighed. “I’ve thought about it. The first night when we talked he told me he wasn’t ready to tell me. That someday he would be. I think I need to get my best friend back and worry about all the other shit later.”
George and Chloe came back to the table, papers and coffees in hand.
“Good luck with that,” Madison said.
Chloe’s gaze darted between us. “Good luck with what?”
“Nothing,” I said, shaking my head. “Let’s get this contract done, so we’re not here all night.”
George nodded. “That’s what I want to hear.”
I picked up my pen to make a note in the margin when my phone buzzed on the table. Sawyer. In an effort to avoid distracting everyone in the room again, I sent the call to voice mail and sent him a quick text.
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Me: In a meeting. What’s up?
I didn’t have to wait long for an answer.
Sawyer: Cole got me tickets to tonight’s game. 50 yard line. You in?
“How much longer do you think we’ll be? About an hour?”
Madison narrowed her eyes. “Why?”
“Sawyer got tickets to tonight’s game.”
She shook her head. “I still can’t wrap my head around you”—she waved her hand up and down at me—“being friends with him.”
“Would it make you feel better if I wore ripped jeans and had sleeve tattoos?”
“Okay, point taken. I think an hour is good. You guys?”
I looked over at Chloe and George, who both agreed.
“Awesome.”
I started typing when Madison put her hand over the screen. “You better damn well be telling that man to meet you here. You did hear me say the sexiest drummer on the planet, right?”
I couldn’t help but laugh as I nodded and she moved her hand.
Me: Yeah. Wanna meet me at my office in an hour?
Sawyer: Sure. I’d love to see where you work.
We went back to dealing with the last article, but I found I had to force myself to concentrate on what we were talking about. Every once in a while I noticed my gaze stray to the door, waiting for Sawyer to step through. Almost completely done with the contract, I reread the last paragraph when the door opened.
“Mr. Setton, there’s a Sawyer Alason here to see you. Should I have him wait in your office?”
Madison glared daggers at me. She might actually hurt me if I didn’t have him brought in.
“Thanks, Bridget. Can you bring him here?”
“Certainly, Mr. Setton.” And even though Bridget was normally as straitlaced as a person could get, I noticed the twinkle in her eyes when she turned to get Sawyer.
Less than a minute later, Sawyer strolled in. Larger than life.
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