Page 20 of Infatuated as They Come (Sinful Trilogy #2)

Turning around, I cuddled up against Sawyer’s chest. He groaned softly and rested a hand on my waist, keeping me close to him.

He deserved good things, for him to have the opportunities guys like him were never given.

Art meant a lot to him and he always put so much love and thought and skill into everything he made.

He deserved to have everyone see that.

* * *

It was still dark out when I woke up.

The air was icy and I scooted forward, trying to find my boyfriend, but all I got was an empty spot on the bed.

The room instantly felt colder at that. I was just about to sit up to see what time it was, my vision all fuzzy and blurry, when I felt a soft hand on my shoulder guide me back to the mattress.

“Go back to sleep, princess,” Sawyer murmured.

I frowned, blinking harshly. “What time is it?”

“Early.”

“How early?”

“It’s just after five.”

“Wait, are you getting up now?” My eyes flew open, but the room was so dark that I couldn’t quite make anything out. “Why? ”

“I’ve got an early shift today.”

“You didn’t tell me about that.”

“’Cause I knew you’d go on and on about how much I work.”

“Because you do,” I said. “What time is it? It’s still dark out. God, I have cheer practice today and I’m not even getting up this early.”

“Just go back to sleep, baby.”

Sitting back up, I stretched my arms above my head. “No, I’ll get up. We can have breakfast together.”

“I already ate.”

I stilled at his words. “How long have you been awake?”

“Not that long. You need to sleep. You’re gonna be practicing all your flips and pyramids and stuff. Don’t want you to be tired and crack your head open.”

“You’re very dramatic,” I said.

He chuckled lowly, giving my forehead a kiss before pressing me to the mattress once more. Then he pulled up the blankets, covering my shoulders until I was all tucked in. “Just tryna look out for you. Go to sleep.”

“It’s not fair you’re getting up so early,” I said with a yawn. “Just quit your job already.”

“I’ll see you tonight, okay?”

“Mm, yeah. I’ll see you then.”

“My break’s at twelve. I promise I’ll call you then.” He kissed my forehead. “Get some rest.”

His gentle, calm fingers in my hair had me drifting back into sleep, my alarm waking me up two hours later when the room had some early morning light in it. I’d have to get to campus by seven forty-five for cheer practice, and then I had a lecture at ten and another after that.

Climbing out of bed, I felt a rush of guilt wash over me as I fixed up the sheets and blankets.

For all the slacking off Sawyer did back in school, he sure as hell was a reliable worker.

Maybe that was the same deal back home and I didn’t even notice.

Maybe he was so busy working and looking after himself that he didn’t even have time to focus on school.

Blowing out some air, I quickly finished up my morning routine before moving into the kitchen so I could make a smoothie bowl. That’d at least give me enough energy to get through practice and all my classes.

A wide smile quickly formed on my face when I saw the new drawing Sawyer had placed on the fridge.

It was of me in bed with my eyes closed and my hair neatly sprawled around me in a way I was sure I never resembled when I slept.

I read the short sentence he had scrawled under the drawing, my cheeks flushing as I took in his words.

You look even prettier than this when you sleep. Can’t wait to see you tonight. Love you so much.

I held it to my chest for a long moment before I placed it in the little box with all the other stuff he had given me.

One cab ride later and I was back at Columbia, gym bag and school stuff in my hands as I made my way to the gym. I had a good ten minutes to go until practice started, but a few of the girls were already sitting in a large circle doing their stretches by the time I arrived.

“Good morning!” Claudia greeted me, voice oh so cheery despite the early hour.

“Morning,” I said, joining them on the floor. “What time did you guys get here?”

“Super early, but that’s okay, you’re still on time,” Claudia said.

“That’s the benefit of living on campus,” Natalie said. “You must be so jealous of our tiny little dorms.”

“I like your rooms,” I said, crossing my right arm over my body. I gave my elbow a pull with my left hand, already feeling a satisfied stretch in my shoulder. “Well, I’ve only ever seen Claudia’s room, but I liked it.”

“Try living there.” Claudia rolled her eyes. “I guess it’s worth it in the long run. Just two more years of college and then I can finally teach.”

“Are you gonna stay in New York?” I asked.

Claudia shook her head. “I came to Columbia because I kinda just wanted to experience the city, you know? But when I’m done here I’m probably gonna head on back to Boston where I can teach full time. Are you guys gonna come visit my studio when you’re all done with college?”

“You’re gonna go bankrupt in a month.” Natalie snorted. “I bet you’ll give everyone free classes.”

“I’m not gonna give free classes!” Claudia pouted. “Just really, really cheap classes. I want everyone to be able to participate. Either way, I’m definitely going back home, because as much as I love New York, I can’t be away from my family forever. It’s way too hard.”

“I get you,” I said. “I miss my parents too. Even my dad, as annoying as he can be…”

“What’s his deal?” Sophie asked.

“Um…” Where did I even begin? “I mean, maybe I’m exaggerating. He’s a good dad most of the time, but…”

“But?” Natalie raised her eyebrows up at me.

“He kinda hates my boyfriend,” I said, and the girls all collectively groaned.

“All dads are like that,” Claudia said. “This is why I’ve never had one, I just know my dad is gonna run him off or something.”

“Why doesn’t your dad like him?” Natalie asked.

“Uh… We just… We come from two very different worlds.” How did I say it without coming across as snobbish? “I mean, I come from a very… privileged background, and Sawyer…”

“Doesn’t?” Natalie finished off my sentence for me.

I nodded. “Yeah, pretty much.”

“Oh.” Sophie’s brows pulled together. “Really? Your dad cares about that?”

“Yeah, a lot,” I muttered. “He’s obsessed with the idea of me ending up with some rich guy instead of the one I’m very much in love with.”

“That’s dumb,” Claudia said. “You seem really happy. Doesn’t he care about that?”

“You’d think that would be enough for him, but apparently not.”

Sophie scoffed. “Your dad kinda sounds like a loser. No offense.”

“None taken in the slightest. Where were you guys last year?” I sighed deeply. “You would have made excellent backup.”

Claudia gave her head a shake. “This is why I don’t date. Boys complicate things no matter how much money they have.”

Soon the gym was packed with the rest of the team, and we finished up with our stretches before taking on a pretty strenuous early morning cheer practice session. An hour and a half flew by before I was left saying goodbye to the girls so I could head on over to my Media Ethics class.

When midday hit and I had my break, I waited for that call from Sawyer to come through. He ended up texting me instead, telling me he’d call in a little bit, but a good half hour passed by, and I still wasn’t hearing his voice.

It wasn’t his fault. I knew how busy he was. I just wished he understood that he didn’t have to be so busy. That it was okay to take it easy, to not work so much, to just put himself first.

At least I got ahold of his cousin. Brodie had just sent through a whole bunch of photos of the dorm room he was sharing with Lucas.

I asked him if he was free to talk, and a second later, I was hearing his cheerful voice.

I got to hear about all the fun things he was getting up to in Boston.

His classes and the new job he got at a restaurant and the clubs he joined.

When our call came to an end my phone went off in my hand, and I looked down to see a message from Sawyer.

Really busy here today. Will talk to you tonight. Love you so much.

I didn’t expect Sawyer to drop everything for me just to have a quick conversation, but the words made me frown, because I knew he was pushing himself harder than he needed to.

He wasn’t used to slowing down or putting himself first. It was the opposite—doing it all alone was what he was accustomed to.

The thought had me chewing at my bottom lip.

I knew he was used to having to fight for himself in every which way, and it seemed like it was a habit he wasn’t going to let go of easily.

He didn’t have to carry everything on his shoulders. I just wished he’d get that.

* * *

Chin in my hand, I tapped my fingers against my cheek as I eyed the clock. Maybe if I stared at it long and hard enough I could speed up time and finally see my boyfriend.

Sitting in front of me were two plates of spaghetti puttanesca—both of which had gone cold now.

The smell of garlic and tomatoes was getting to me, but it would be rude and disrespectful to eat without Sawyer even though I could hear the distinct soft growling of my stomach.

I was also dying to tell him the good news: that the studio had finally got back to me and that they loved every last one of his paintings and wanted him to get involved.

With a sigh, I kept both plates on the kitchen counter and just busied myself with editing my article for the paper. I was a good hour into that when I finally heard the door open, and as soon as I got sight of Sawyer, I could already see how tired he was.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said, his gravelly voice sounding that little bit rougher than it usually did. With a lazy shrug, he let his jacket slide off his shoulders, giving it a slow, sluggish throw to the couch.

I stood up and practically yanked him over to the dining table. “You need to sit and eat.”

“Can I shower first?”

“No.”

“Why?”