Page 59 of Infatuated as They Come (Sinful Trilogy #2)

Holly

It had been a strange Christmas. No parents, no home, no extravagant, over the top celebration—but it had still been the best one ever, because Sawyer had managed to make it meaningful and lovely despite that horrific mess with my dad.

On the drive back home, I kept that beautiful glass flower in my lap, my fingers gently running along it as I imagined it there in my vase, right there on the bedside table.

Just like with all the flowers Sawyer brought me back home, I’d get to look at this one every night before I fell asleep while I stayed there in his arms. Except this one would last forever.

Now with the holidays behind us we were back in New York, and me and Sawyer had to get stuck into both of our responsibilities, and I hoped with everything in me that we wouldn’t go back to how things were before.

“Are you as sweaty as I am?” Claudia asked from behind me, dragging me right out of my thoughts.

We were a good forty minutes into practice and had finished up our warmups, jumps, and tumbling, but we still had to get into stunting and routine work. “Yes. Let’s not talk about it,” I said, taking a sip of water from my bottle.

She laughed, fanning at herself with both hands. “So, how was your Christmas? You went back to Dallas, right?”

“Yup. It was…” Messy, lovely, disastrous and special all at once. “It was good to have a break from school for a little while. ”

“But not from cheer, right?”

“No, not cheer. I missed cheering. I always do.”

“Me too. I was literally dreaming about it. Would you believe me if I said my mom found me doing high kicks in my sleep?”

“You? Yes. Absolutely.”

“She said I have an addiction.”

“Only a slight one. How was your break?”

“Good. I really missed Boston and my parents. It was so good to see them again. They both cried when I left which was kinda heartbreaking. Did yours do the same?”

“Uh…”

She tilted her head at me. “What happened?”

“Just… It’s a very long, complicated story.”

“I see. Does it happen to involve the boyfriend that your dad hates?”

“Yes, completely.”

Claudia frowned. “Are you telling me your dad still hates him? Even now?”

“Depends on what you mean by hate. And also… yes.”

“Dads.” She shook her head. “Anyway, I wanted to ask you something. I’ve been really struggling to come up with choreography for the next game. I think I’m still in holiday mode.”

“Once you’re back in class doing all of that work, you won’t feel like that.”

“Ooh, so exciting,” she said sarcastically. “But I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind helping out? Natalie caught a bad flu when she went back home which is why she isn’t at practice today, and she’s definitely going to be out for the next week or so.”

I blinked at her. “Wait, you want me to help?”

“Mhm. Is that okay with you?”

“But…” My hands squeezed at my water bottle. “You know, last time…”

She waved a hand at me. “Like I said, it wouldn’t be cheer without a fall every now and then. You think I haven’t fallen during a stunt?”

“I literally can’t imagine you falling.”

“I assure you that I have, and that’s how you learn, right? ”

“Yeah, I guess.” I tapped my fingers against the steel of my bottle. “You really want my help?”

“As long as you’re up for it. We can go over some of the routine after we get done with stunting if you’re interested.”

“Um, yeah. Okay. If you’re sure.”

“Yay!” She squealed. “I’m gonna go check on the rest of the girls, but I can’t wait to hear your ideas! We’ll brainstorm together!”

She took off running and I quickly downed some water, forcing myself back into head cheerleader mode, stunts flying in and out of my mind as I tried to choreograph on the spot: teddy sit, cobra, heel stretch.

I joined the girls again for the rest of the session and it all went by smoother than I thought.

The last half hour flew by and my body was buzzing with excitement at the idea of Claudia and the other girls performing stuff I had come up with.

Claudia trusted me and so did the rest of the team, and that meant a lot after my screw up from before.

With practice out of the way, I said goodbye to the girls, making my way to my first class of the day. Time dragged on until lunchtime hit, and just as I was about to grab something to eat, my phone buzzed in my pocket, and then I smiled instantly when I saw a message from Sawyer.

I can see you :-)

Freak. What do you mean?

Turn around.

I did so slowly, almost squealing when I spotted Sawyer in his blue mechanic’s shirt, a white paper bag and a Styrofoam cup in his hand. “What are you doing here?” I practically leaped into his arms, my hands circling around his shoulders.

“I told you I wanted to show you how much I miss you, right?” he asked, leaning down to peck my lips. “Thought I’d bring you something nice and warm for lunch as well. ”

I grabbed his free hand, instantly loving how warm his skin felt against me. “You’re spoiling me. Come, I’ll show you the nicest bench here. It’s this way!”

The January air was sharp and cold, but there was a slither of sun out as I guided him over to one of the benches unshielded by the many looming trees on campus. Sawyer kept an arm around my shoulder as we took a seat, letting me nestle against his warm body.

“You’ve got some time to spare, right?” he asked.

“Yup. And then I get to spend a very exciting hour in my Media Ethics class.”

“Oh, fun. Maybe I’ll sit in with you.”

“That’ll make it more enjoyable for me.” He handed me the drink and when I took a sip, rich, liquid chocolate hit my tongue. “Yum. So good.”

“Wouldn’t be complete without…” He pulled a cookie out of the bag. “Can’t go wrong with chocolate chip.”

“Let’s share it.” I rested my head on his shoulder, breaking the cookie in half. “Thank you for coming.”

“You don’t have to thank me for having lunch with you.”

“I know, but you’re busy at work and now you have to rush right back over.”

“All that traffic is worth it if I get to see you,” he said. “And speaking of work… I talked to my boss today.”

Those words had me sitting up straight so I could look at him. “You did?”

“I did,” he said with a nod, his strong hand moving up and down my arm.

“I know work was really getting in the way of me seeing you and being around you. I mean it when I say that the best part of my day is when I get to come back to you, when I get to see your face. But I made you feel lonely. I kept doing that. Over and over again like a fuckin’ idiot.

In my head, I was doing the right thing.

I’m supposed to work, right? And take care of you and be the guy you can always trust and rely on. ”

“You already are that guy,” I said.

Humming, he gave my forehead a soft kiss.

“But I still got so caught up in everything that I didn’t even realize how unhappy I was making you.

You don’t ever deserve to feel unhappy and lonely, Holly.

I can’t quit my job, but I’m never going back to all those long hours.

And all those really early mornings and really late nights?

There’ll be no more of that. I promise it won’t be like that anymore. ”

He could probably see my eyes lighting up at his words. “You mean that?” I asked.

“I do. And… I asked my boss about working less days too. I was thinking of just working Monday to Wednesday, and then I can paint at the studio on Thursday and Friday. Jay’s cool with it.

He said we could start doing that tomorrow.

I’ll never miss any of the games, either.

I’ll leave the studio early whenever you’re cheering. ”

“And you’re okay with that?” I asked, biting at my bottom lip.

“Are you okay with it?”

“Yes. You don’t need my permission to do that, anyway. You could quit right now and I’d be happy.”

“I’m not quitting. I like my job. Everyone’s gonna think I’m a gold digger if I do that, anyway.”

“Only women get called gold diggers. You’re a guy, so people will just call you lazy. Even though I know that you’re not.”

“Yeah, I guess.” He laughed, but that sound slowly faded, that serious look suddenly back on his face.

“I know I haven’t been around. I’ve been missing a lot.

I’m sorry for the way I was acting, but I was trying to…

I don’t know, prove to you and my dad… and I guess your dad…

that I can take care of you. And all that stuff with my mom…

I kept thinking about her. I let stuff get to me too easily. I gotta stop doing that.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about my dad. He’s an idiot.” I rolled my eyes. “I think he’s happier being an ignorant classist, so don’t expect him to change anytime soon.”

Throat clearing, his brows furrowed. “Have you talked to him lately?”

“No,” I said, shifting uncomfortably in my spot. The last time me and my dad had a conversation was on Christmas Day, and that hadn’t exactly been a good one. “I’ve talked to my mom, but not him. We have no reason to talk, anyway. ”

He exhaled sharply. “I don’t wanna be the reason you two don’t talk, Holly.”

“I have nothing to say to him until he accepts how much I love you. Until then…”

“Is then ever gonna happen?” he asked.

“I hope so. But if he doesn’t see what I see, then that’s on him. Anyway, back to you. Are you sure this is what you want to do?”

“I wanna do this. I’ve thought about it a lot. It’s been on my mind ever since we went back to Dallas.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about rent anymore, so…”

“I still can’t believe you went and did that,” he muttered. “It’ll be different now. We’ll spend more time together and I’ll be coming home on time. No more waiting up for me.”

“I don’t mind waiting up for you,” I offered.

“The point is that you shouldn’t be doing that at all. And starting from now, you won’t have to do that. I’ll come home when I’m supposed to and we’ll have more days together and I’ll get to see you cheer. I really miss seeing you cheer…”

“Claudia asked me to help choreograph the next game if you wanna come check it out.”

“Yeah?” he asked warmly. “You’re doing it again?”

“I am. She asked me this morning. I’m a bit nervous. Last time I messed up a stunt I had done a million times before… So embarrassing.”

“I know you’ll do great. Don’t stress about that. I can’t wait to see it.” He gently grabbed my wrist, lifting my hand up and letting out an annoyed sound after looking at my watch. “I gotta go back. That goddamn traffic.”

“Already?”

“I only get a forty minute break.”

“You came all the way out here just to spend ten minutes with me?”

He shrugged. “Yeah.”

“You spent more time in the truck than actually having a break.”

“And it was worth it.”

“You’re too silly,” I said, tucking my face into his neck. “Thanks for the drink and cookie. They were delicious.”

“Got plenty more where that came from.”