Sweet Southern Sorrow

by Tessa Teevan

  “Hey, don’t think about our time apart, okay? We’re both here now. That’s all that matters. I’m not going anywhere. Are you?”

  I shake my head slowly. “I told you. No more running. Not now, not ever.”

  “That’s what I like to hear, pretty girl. So how about it? This date is long overdue and I’m starving. And I can’t wait for every man in Atlanta to be jealous that I’m out with the most beautiful girl.”

  His cheekiness causes me to laugh. He pauses as he pulls out into the road and heads towards our destination. “Are you saying you’re only taking me out so you can show me off, Mr. Callahan?”

  “You caught me. Although, in that dress, I’m not sure I want to take you out. I’d much rather be back at my place seeing what’s underneath,” he growls, shooting me a sexy wink.

  “Now, Mr. Callahan, what happened to taking things slow? I can’t go jumping into bed with my boss only after a week.” I hope he catches my teasing tone. As much as I want to take things slow, my body feels like it’s on fire whenever he’s near, and I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to hold off being intimate with him again.

  When I opened the door to him, my heart skipped a beat. Sure, he was wearing the same thing he had been wearing at the office. He had made it a little more casual, but the fact that he was looking so handsome on my doorstep and not in the office had me practically swooning.

  “Cheyenne,” he warns, his tone no longer playful. “You agreed you wouldn’t treat me as your boss when we’re outside of the office.”

  I place my hand on his thigh and feel the firm quad muscle beneath my fingertips as I begin to rub his leg. “Oh, I think I might be changing my mind on that one. I kind of like it when you order me around in the office. Don’t get me wrong. I love the sweet side of you, but you’re pretty damn sexy when you’re bossy.”

  He places his hand on mine, stilling my fingers so I can no longer massage his thigh. Looking over at me, he gives me a heated glare that’s laced with desire as his eyes wander down to the swell of my breasts. Cori insisted I ‘show off the ladies’ since all Sawyer’s seen me in is business clothes and jeans. The way he’s looking at me now lets me know that Cori knew what the hell she was talking about, and I make a mental note to never doubt her again.

  “I’ll keep that in mind when you’re ready to stop going slow. Or I’ll continue to play it up in the office until you can no longer resist my charms,” he says in a husky voice, and I know that, unless I’m going to follow through, I should probably stop teasing him.

  We change the subject, making small talk until we pull up to a gorgeous restaurant located right on the Chattahoochee River. Beautiful landscaping highlights the area with flowers of all different colors. As he exits the car and hands the valet the keys, he scowls at me when he sees I’ve already gotten out.

  “Cheyenne, I’m a gentleman. I open your doors, okay?” he scolds me, his bossy office voice coming out.

  With an exasperated sigh, I roll my eyes, get back in the car, and close the door on him. I can see him shaking his head through the window as he reaches out to open it for me. Holding out my hand, I don’t exit the car until takes it from me. He chuckles as we make our way to the front doors, where I make sure not to touch the door until he opens it for me. Placing his hand on the small of my back, he leads me up the stairs. We make it to the restaurant, where a pretty blond hostess greets Sawyer.

  “Good evening, Mr. Callahan. Welcome back to Canoe. Your table is ready, so if you’ll please follow me.” She gives us both a warm smile, and I realize that this isn’t Sawyer’s first time here.

  We follow her as she takes us through the restaurant and leads us to a small table set up outside, and now I understand why Sawyer told me to bring a jacket. He pulls my chair out for me and I sit. He asks the hostess for a couple of waters as he sits across from me, and with a smile, she nods and tells us that she’ll be right back.

  As I look around, I realize that we’re the only ones on the terrace. The table has a beautiful white lace cloth, and the setting is romantic with low lighting coming from the candlelight on the table. Orange, red, and yellow wildflowers sit at the center of the table, and Sawyer gives me a sly look as I notice that they match the ones he brought me earlier.

  “How did you manage to plan all this in a week?” I ask, incredulous and somewhat in awe because it’s extremely romantic and unlike any date we’ve ever been on in the past.

  His grin turns sheepish. “I know people, Cheyenne, and I wanted tonight to be perfect. And as much as I wanted to take you out, I wanted privacy. Is that okay?”

  I give a slight shake of my head and his smile turns to a frown. Reaching across the table, I place my hand on his. “This is definitely okay. I’m glad you know people. I much prefer privacy.”

  He sighs with relief as a young man approaches the table and delivers our water. He greets Sawyer by name, letting me know that he is, indeed, a regular. I’m taking a sip of water just Sawyer orders a bottle of wine for the table. Fortunately, the waiter, introduced as Edward, is walking away as I glance down at the wine and nearly choke on the drink I just took.

  Coughing, I bring the napkin up to my mouth. “Holy crap, Callahan. That’s a three-hundred-dollar bottle of wine!” I hiss across the table, hoping the waiter can’t hear me.

  Sawyer chuckles and takes my hand in his, his thumb rubbing my knuckles. “I forget that you’re not used to this.”

  “Used to this? That’s putting it mildly.” I feel like an idiot as I lean forward and gaze at him in the candlelight. He looks amused. “Wow. You know, even after I found out who your dad was, I never associated you with money. After working with you all this time, even with your Armani suits and posh apartment, I still didn’t think about it. But being here now, dressed to the nines and drinking expensive-as-hell wine, I guess it’s finally hitting me. Have we changed that much, Sawyer? I guess I still feel like the pretty girl, but this really puts the whole city boy things into perspective.”

  Before he can answer me, Edward returns, and I watch as Sawyer tastes and approves the wine. A glass is poured for each of us, and Edward asks if we’re ready to order.

  Sawyer looks at me expectantly. “Do you trust me?”

  “Absolutely. You’ve obviously been here a time or two,” I tell him with a grin.

  He places our orders and hands Edward the menus, and soon we’re left alone, Sawyer gestures to the wine and I lift my glass to take a sip. The room-temperature liquid hits my tongue and it’s heavenly. I can’t help but close my eyes as I savor the rich, full-bodied flavors of oak, spice, and fruit. I’m no wine connoisseur, but this wine is phenomenal.

  When I open my eyes, Sawyer’s giving me a knowing smile. “That good, eh?” he asks, and I simply nod my approval. “Back to what you were saying, Cheyenne. We’re not that different from who we were back then. Like you said, you’re still my pretty girl, but now you’re my worldly, experienced, educated, still sexy-as-hell pretty girl. And as much as I don’t want to call myself a city boy, I’m still that guy. The only difference is that I’m also educated and I have a kick-ass job and a larger-than-life bank account that allows me to enjoy fine wine and dining. At the same time, tomorrow, when I take you out to lunch, I’ll be in jeans and we could hit up Taco Bell for all I care. I’m still the guy who goes to the ranch and bales hay and drink cheap whiskey and lemonade. There’s just more to me now. There’s more to you. That’s what kind of makes this so exciting. I hate the fact that we missed out on so much together, but I’m thrilled to continue to get to know the woman you’ve become. You may think you’re different. And you probably believe that you are. I just wouldn’t call it that. You’ve evolved. I’ve evolved. But you and me? No matter how old we get, we’ll still be the pretty girl and the city boy, and this time, I’m not letting you get away.”

  Hot tears spring into my eyes as his words penetrate something deep within me. I’ve been trying so hard to hold back from him, and the faith he has in
us is unnerving. At the same time, I trust him explicitly and know he’ll never hurt me intentionally. As his words sink in, I realize that he’s right.

  “Evolved? You know what? I think I like that. Some days, I still feel like that eighteen-year-old girl, experience love and life for the first time.”

  “That’s because you are still her. You’re just a little bit older and a little bit wiser,” he teases. “I don’t want you to freak out when I buy three-hundred-dollar bottles of wine or fifty-dollar steaks, okay? I’ll probably spring tickets to the symphony on you and force you to go to charity events with me. It’s a part of who I am and what my job entails. But at the end of the night, we’ll go home and crash on the couch and make fun of people on House Hunters.”

  “You know, I think I like the sound of that life. A little bit of everything. They do say variety is the spice of life, right?” I ask, and he nods. “Don’t worry, Sawyer. It was just a little unexpected. I mean, we never actually had a date like this, you know? So it’s kind of new territory, but I promise I can get used to the fact that my boyfriend is a kick-ass VP.”

  He grins, and the way it shines in the candlelight makes it look boyish. For a split second, I see twenty-year-old Sawyer. “And I’ll try to get used to the fact that my girlfriend prefers a three-dollar bottle of Bay Bridge wine that doesn’t even have a year as opposed to an expensive 2003 Vintage,” he says teasingly.

  After I give him a mocking glare, I sober up. “Sawyer, I’m really glad we’re doing this. More than that, I’m so thankful you let me back in. It would’ve been easy for you to shut me out. I’ll never be able to repay you for your forgiveness for what I did.”

  “Cheyenne, as far as I’m concerned, the past is the past. One of these days, I would like to talk to you about it, to find out the complete story, but not tonight. This is a fresh start for us, and the last thing I want to do is drudge up the past, okay? So let’s just be in the here and now.”

  As if on cue, Edward approaches the table with an appetizer, and all thoughts of what happened at the end of that summer go out the window. We continue our meal taking turns talking about college, our first jobs, and everything in between. The subjects stay safe, and for the first time in nearly six years, I truly feel home, I know it’s not because I’m back in Georgia. It’s because of the man sitting across from me. It’s been two months, three weeks, and four days since he walked back into my life. It’s been one week since he became mine. It’s been two minutes since I realized I was starting to fall. And I know I’m going to fall hard.

  AFTER SHARING AN EXQUISITE meal of oysters and rabbit—yes, rabbit, which actually was delicious even though I was skeptical at first—Sawyer surprised me by parking back at my condo. I thought the date was over, but after we got out of the car, he took my hand and we walked to a nearby pub, where we enjoyed a few local brews and listened to a blues band play in the background. All too soon, I found myself back on my porch, Sawyer standing one step below me.

  “Thank you for a lovely first date, Cheyenne. I look forward to many, many more,” he says before leaning in for a kiss. It’s soft, chaste, and when I try to deepen it, he pulls back.

  “Aren’t you going to come in?” I question, to which he shakes his head. It confuses me because we’ve spent every night this week together. “Why not?”

  “I’m respecting your wishes to take things slow. Since this is our first official date, I’ll say goodnight to you on at your doorstep,” he informs me, and as much as I want to roll my eyes, I refrain because his faux-gentlemanly ways, although misguided, are pretty cute. “But don’t be surprised if I accidentally send a text later on with all the dirty things I wish I was here doing with you.”

  I narrow my eyes at him and entangle my fingers in his tie as I pull him closer. “You’ve been drinking, Mr. Callahan. What kind of woman would be I be if I didn’t invite you in to sleep it off? Even if it is a first date, we need to be responsible. I don’t seen any harm in cuddling. And possibly making out like teenagers. How does that sound to you?”

  Sawyer’s eyes light up as a devilish grin crosses his lips. “I suppose, if you insist. I’d hate to be irresponsible. If I must take one for the team, I think I can handle making out like teenagers. But don’t get any ideas, pretty girl. Just because I’m agreeing to come in does not mean you’re going to get into my pants.”

  A laugh escapes me, and even though I know I’d love to do just that, I’m already feeling overwhelmed with all of the emotion the evening’s brought on. For now, I’ll resign us to heated kisses and innocent cuddling. If my hand happens to wander during the night, then so be it.

  Turning towards the door, I unlock it and twist it open. Looking back at him, I raise an eyebrow. “Well, what’re you waiting for?” I ask.

  His eyes flash with hunger before he quickly masks it with a playful expression. “I’m not waiting on anything. Not anymore.”

  My heart flutters at his words, and I’m breathless at the realization that those words are true. The amount of faith he had in me—in us, in our love—is mind blowing, and I can’t believe I was ever able to walk away from this man. All I know now is that I’ll never be able to do it again, and I’ll never want to.

  Glancing down at the top of my foot where my tattoo is peeking out, I smile to myself. No matter how crazy it sounds, I know that Sawyer Callahan is my better half. He’s my swallow. And somehow, I finally found my way back to him, and I will never let him go.

  May 2014

  TEARING MY EYES AWAY from the stack of paperwork on my desk, I glance at the clock and groan when I see it’s just after one pm. If I don’t get my ass in gear, I’m going to be stuck here all weekend, and seeing as how it’s Friday, and I have plans for Cheyenne tonight, there’s no way in hell I’m going to be getting any work done. I already had to cancel our weekly Friday lunch date, and although it makes me feel like a giant pussy, I’m missing my pretty girl.

  I loosen up my tie and lean back in my chair as I think about this past month. The night of the charity gala was pretty intense, but in some weird way I feel like I need to send Sylvia a thank you note for finally allowing Cheyenne and me to get everything out in the open. For the first time the future for Cheyenne and me doesn’t seem so blurred. We’re together, out in the open, and every single day with her has been a gift. Dad wasn’t exactly surprised when he found out about us, and instead of chastising me like I thought he would, he gave us his blessing. In most circumstances, I wouldn’t have cared either way. However, I knew Cheyenne was freaked out about her job, so when Dad told her that everything was fine, and we’d work something out, I was extremely grateful.

  The memory of how Cheyenne wanted to celebrate crosses my mind, and I have to readjust myself as my dick begins to grow hard at the image of her on her knees in the shower. Closing my eyes, I will my brain to other places, knowing I won’t get any work done if I’m forced to spend the afternoon with a raging hard on. With a shake of my head, I reopen my eyes and focus them on the computer screen in front of me, ready to bang out the rest of this paperwork.

  I’m engrossed in the mountain of new client profiles when I hear a soft knock at the door. It opens before I can respond. “Marni, do me a favor and make sure to hold all my calls this afternoon. I’ve got way too much to do and no time to deal with anyone else’s bullshit,” I order, not bothering to look up from my desk.

  There’s a pause and then I hear her sultry voice fill the air. “Well, in that case, Mr. Callahan, I suppose I’ll just drop this off and get out of your hair as quickly as I can.”

  My head snaps as my eyes instantly spot Cheyenne with her back pressed up against the door. She’s wearing her signature pencil skirt, this one a gray charcoal color. A deep maroon button down blouse, unfortunately, covers up her best assets, but the way she’s crossing her arms is doing wonders for showing them off. She looks positively good enough to eat, but I refrain from telling her so. She’s still adamant that everything at the office remain pro
fessional—not that she makes it easy on me. Seeing her on a daily basis in her sexy pencil skirts has me wanting to bend her over my desk so I can have my wicked way with her. However, I respect her wishes, and all the action I get in the office in a few quick pecks in the elevator.

  My eyes continue to rake over her body until they come to rest on her face where I notice she has an eyebrow raised in my direction. “Ms. Hamilton, you know more than anyone that I look forward to, hell, welcome even, your interruptions.” Sitting back in my chair, I bring my hands together as I continue to watch her. “In fact, your presence has been sorely missed all day long.”

  She surprises me when she turns around and locks the door. I watch as she crosses the room until she’s standing directly in front of me on the opposite side of the desk. She holds out the file in her hand, and I take it. “The Kensington account, Mr. Callahan,” she offers, and the way she’s acting formal is fucking sexy as hell, and also out of character for her. I’m not sure what she’s up to when she rounds the desk and presses her ass up against it.

  Clearing my throat, I slide my chair back and gaze up at her. I can tell she’s checking me out, and she doesn’t miss the hard bulge in my slacks.

  “Excited about the account?” she asks in a husky voice. At the same time, she leans forward and places her hands on my thighs, dangerously close to my erection. Her lips find themselves by my ear, and I can’t help the shiver that runs down my spine as I feel her warm breath on my skin. “You know, boss, I could always help you out with that.”

  Before I can say anything, she pulls away from me and rounds the desk until she’s across from me again. “Wow, it’s hot in here. You look a little flushed. You really should have someone in maintenance check that out,” she informs me as her hands come to the top button of her blouse. Her fingers nimbly slip the button through the hole, and she does the same with the button below until I can see a hint of the top of her breasts. What the hell has gotten into her?