Page 10 of Infatuated as They Come (Sinful Trilogy #2)

Holly

I didn’t blame Sawyer in the slightest for not wanting to spend our last few remaining days in Dallas at his place.

There was no way I’d let him go back in there, anyway.

Not with his dad back. And I had only been around to witness them interacting for a minute or two.

Sawyer had been dealing with that his whole life.

What about the last nineteen years Sawyer had spent with him?

What about every other fight? The really bad ones?

“The vending machine loves me. Paid for one, got two,” Brodie said, big grin on his face as he stepped into the motel room. In his arms were a couple bags of chips. “Do you want it?”

I sent him a smile. “No, thank you.”

Brodie placed the chips down on the bedside table, giving the bag a soft pat. “Will save these for tomorrow.” Then he kicked his shoes off and joined me on the bed.

“Where’s your cousin?”

“He went to buy us dinner. I couldn’t wait, though.”

“Oh.”

“You okay?”

“Mhm.”

“Was it his dad?” Concern drenched his usually cheerful voice. “Did he do something to you?”

“Not to me, no.”

“Yeah, his dad has always been like that. Both our dads fucking suck, but at least mine never…” His voice trailed off. “… They’re both really shitty dads.”

I sighed. “You guys deserve better than that.”

“You got a nice little introduction to another Westbrook family member today, I guess. Some pretty fucked up genes on our side, but now we get to say goodbye to them for a little while.”

“I’m really proud of the both of you. And I’m so glad you got your scholarship.” I gave him a nudge. “You deserve it.”

“Aw, thanks. Pretty sure I might be the first person in my family to ever go to college. Feels weird.”

“I’m excited for you. And you’ll be less than two hours away from New York. That means I can come and annoy you whenever I like.”

“You never annoy me. I could drive over and see you guys too. I still can’t believe Sawyer gave me his truck…”

“You’re gonna be okay driving all the way up to Boston? That’s a long drive.”

“It’s gonna be so cool, though. I’ve never really travelled. Me and Lucas are gonna stop in Nashville along the way and go to the Country Hall of Fame.” He gave me a little fist pump. “Patsy Cline exhibition, here I come.”

“That sounds really fun,” I said, my mind still rushing with the awful memories of what had happened earlier.

My hand lowered, finding the necklace Sawyer had given me, my fingers squeezing at the round, crystal pendant.

Out of all the gifts I had been given that day, it was my favorite. It was my favorite gift ever , really.

For a minute, I wondered what my dad would say if he knew I was sitting on a twin size bed in a cheap motel in what he’d label the “bad part of town.” Sawyer had picked a place close to the airport called The Satellite Motel.

The room was on the smaller side, with two twin beds up against the wall that were taking up most of the space.

In front of us sat a black mini fridge next to a slightly damaged dresser, and on top of that was a small, old school TV.

It would make the journey to the airport shorter for Sawyer, but we had more than a few empty guest rooms at home that could rival the most expensive hotels on comfort alone.

I had tried to convince Sawyer to let me convince my parents to let him and Brodie stay over for a few nights.

My mom wouldn’t have cared, but my dad? The thought was almost enough to make me wince.

Sawyer had insisted that they stay at the motel, anyway.

“You should have thrown rocks at his dad or something,” Brodie said, bringing me out of my thoughts.

I laughed lowly. “I should have.”

Brodie patted a hand against my knee. “You’re not used to his dad. Or the rest of our fucked up family. I guess it was all new for you, but don’t worry, you guys are gonna be outta here soon. Sawyer doesn’t have to deal with that anymore.”

“Yeah, I guess,” I said. “I just wish he didn’t have to deal with it in the first place.”

Sawyer had been so quiet on the ride over. I had been curious about what had taken place in the five minutes he had been inside his home. Whatever had happened had been enough for him to stay completely silent as we picked up Brodie then found the motel.

If it was anything like what his dad said to me, then it was bad. She’s gonna leave eventually . Every word had been so needlessly cruel. And then there was my dad who wasn’t any better.

“You guys should have just let me pay for a hotel,” I said. “We can still go find one…”

“No, that’s okay. Me and Sawyer would never let you do that, anyway.”

My eyebrows lifted. “Yeah, I know. You’re both really annoying about stuff like that, especially him. He won’t even tell me when his birthday is. Unless…”

One arm waving in front of him, Brodie shook his head. “He specifically told me not to tell you.”

I groaned. “Tell me what to do to get it out of you.”

“I promised I wouldn’t tell him,” Brodie said, raising a hand to his chest. “And I can’t break a promise.”

“You’re the worst. The both of you.”

“The Westbrooks just aren’t birthday people. ”

“Mhm. When’s yours?”

“You know it’s in summer.”

“When in summer?”

“I don’t understand the question.”

“ Brodie ,” I said with a little groan.

“Don’t worry about it.” He chuckled. “And you know what? I love it here. It’s got an air conditioner.

Bed’s pretty comfy. Got a nice TV as well.

” Picking up the remote, he turned the TV on.

The picture was a little fuzzy, but through that I could still see vibrant images.

Brodie kept clicking the remote, humming as every channel seemed to show the exact same thing.

“All it seems to play is Looney Tunes episodes, but I don’t mind that at all.

” Turning to me, he flashed me a shy smile. “Do you mind? I can try and fix it.”

I tapped his leg the way he did to mine earlier. “Not at all. Looney Tunes it is.”

Sawyer came back fifteen minutes later with some food and drinks. The three of us all squeezed together on the same bed, eating pizza and sipping on soda and watching grainy, crackly old Looney Tunes episodes before Sawyer banged the side of the TV and made the picture all clear.

All I could think about was how simple and easy and comforting it was.

That was how it had been with Sawyer all summer.

Lovely, little moments where we were just together.

Out in the late afternoon sun after a blistering hot day, just sitting together in the countryside.

Or back at Alden Lake, where we got to stare up at the moon and count all the stars in the sky.

Or spending time at his place, lying down on his bed while he kissed me, his touch all gentle and calming.

And while there were still some days where I still couldn’t quite believe that it was Sawyer Westbrook of all people making me feel that way, I still didn’t ever want to change a thing.

Those moments were always more than enough, and so was he. I hoped he knew that.

I leaned my head on Sawyer’s shoulder, hoping that everything his dad had said had gone in one ear and out the other. I felt his soft lips kiss my forehead as I pressed up to him, wanting to stay right there in that motel room with him forever, but before I knew it, he was shifting beside me.

“We better leave now. I’ll drive you home,” he said.

My eyes landed on the clock. I had almost forgotten about my curfew. “Yeah, I should probably go back.” We all got off the bed, and I turned to Sawyer’s cousin with a shrug. “I guess this is it, Brodie. I won’t be able to see you the next few days, and then we’ll both be gone.”

“Aw, this night went by so fast.” Brodie stood up, his arms wrapping around me in a big, tight hug. “Not fair.”

“I’m gonna miss you.” I sighed. “Good luck with everything. Send me all the stuff you write, okay?”

“I will, I will. I’ll try and make it for a game or two so I can see you cheer. Oh, I’m gonna miss you guys!” Brodie pulled back one of his arms and circled it around his cousin, drawing us both in close.

“I’m coming back,” said Sawyer. “I’m just taking Holly home.”

“I know, but this is gonna be the last time the three of us are ever gonna be together,” Brodie said.

“You sound like my mom,” I said. “Why is everyone convinced we’ll never see each other again?”

“It just feels like that,” Brodie said. “It’s so sad.”

“Don’t be sad.” I kissed him on the cheek. “College is gonna be really exciting, right? And you’re gonna do a lot of really great things and make lots of friends.”

“I don’t want new friends. I want you guys. Man, I’m gonna start crying,” Brodie mumbled. “Holly, make sure you keep my cousin out of trouble. I’m sure you’ll manage; you seem to be the only one who can get him to be good.”

I let out a little laugh. “I’ll do my best.”

“I guess I’ll let you go,” Brodie said, circling his arms back around me. “Goodbye, Holly. I hope everything works out for you in New York.”

I gave him a big squeeze. “Thank you. Good luck in Boston. You’re gonna do so great over there.”

With one last big hug, I bid farewell to Brodie. I was going to miss him far too much and the teary look on his face pained my heart, but I was excited for him and all the adventures he was about to have. I gave him a little wave from the doorway before Sawyer’s fingers tangled with mine.

We were cutting it close with my curfew as he guided me down the stairs of the motel, leading me to the half-filled parking lot. Sawyer stayed quiet as he held the door open for me to get in, and I could feel the gloomy encounter we had with his father still hovering heavy above the both of us.