Page 26 of Such A Dirty Girl (Hot Creeps #6)

TWENTY-SIX

SARAH

I stood on the doorstep of Drew’s apartment, soaked through from the rain like a little drowned rat. The builders had let me into the foyer, complaining loudly about the fact that residents shouldn’t be back yet.

My knuckles reddened as I continued to knock when he didn’t come.

‘Please answer.’

I have nowhere else to go.

The door opened just enough to give me a glimpse of Drew. He was barely recognisable. His sharp jaw and devious eyes marred with days’ old stubble and dark circles.

He stood barefoot, his crumpled hoodie loose and his hair in need of a wash.

He looked even worse than me.

The hollowness of his eyes told me he hadn’t slept since the fight.

‘Sarah. What are you doing here?’

‘Where else should I be?’ I swallowed, the proximity to him making me want to jump into his muscled arms and cry until I ran out of tears.

With a wave of his hand, he let me come inside.

Drew’s apartment was raw and unfinished. The walls were half-painted, all exposed plaster and tools scattered on the floor. No polished surfaces or pretence.

It’s like the builders had come in and matched his apartment to his life. Wrecked.

For the first time, I saw him without the polished armour he hid behind.

No sharp smirk.

No cruel taunts.

Just Drew. Bruised and beaten down.

Broken like me.

‘Sorry about the mess.’ He rubbed at his jaw which was still shadowed with a healing bruise from Jake’s fist. ‘I didn’t think you’d ever see me like this.’

He grabbed two beers from the fridge and opened them before holding one out to me.

Beer wasn’t my usual drink of choice, but I still took a long glug from the brim.

The bubbles danced on my tongue, but it lacked flavour.

Everything did.

‘Do you hate me again?’ I asked, trying to swallow down the lump in my throat.

‘I thought you’d hate me .’ Drew downed his beer and placed the empty bottle on the table.

‘Why?’ I reached out, grazing my fingers over his knuckles.

‘If I hadn’t blackmailed you, none of this would have happened. I forced myself between you both.’ The pain raked in his throat.

‘No,’ I said, stepping closer. ‘I did this. If I hadn’t needed more…’

‘We all needed more,’ he said.

Tears welled in my eyes as I bit my lip, trying to hold myself together.

‘We needed each other. Sometimes one person can’t be your everything. It doesn’t mean they’re not enough. It just means you’re human.’

‘I wish we’d had more time. It wasn’t long enough.’ Drew’s eyes snagged on my bitten lip.

Silence stretched between us. Drew’s hand twitched under my touch like he wanted to reach out, but couldn’t.

So I closed the distance.

Grief tainted our kiss. All the heat and longing had been replaced with a shared loss.

Beer and saliva.

For one breathless second, I pretended like everything was okay. Like my secret hadn’t blown up our world.

Pretending that the two of us could be enough.

Without Jake.

Drew pulled back, his hands resting on my shoulders as his brows drew together.

‘It feels wrong without him,’ I whispered as my throat tightened.

‘ I know,’ he said, wrapping me in his powerful arms like he wasn’t falling apart too.

We stood there and breathed each other in. Two broken people that didn’t quite fit without our third puzzle piece.

Drew’s phone buzzed on the counter, the screen flooding the dim room with light.

Again.

And again.

And again.

‘What’s going on?’ I asked, my voice muffled against his hoodie.

He pulled away and swiped the screen. At first his face was unreadable. But then it fell.

‘The scout,’ he whispered. ‘He got Jake signed.’

‘We should be happy for him.’ Yet, it felt like someone reached into my stomach and yanked out my guts.

‘He’s moving to Australia. Halfway across the fucking world.’ Dew launches his phone against the wall, making me jump.

My heart slammed against my ribs with just as much force.

‘He’s running from us,’ I said.

Jake is leaving.

‘No,’ I whispered.

I shook my head hard, unwilling to accept it.

‘No, Drew. We can’t let him go. Not like this.’

Drew nodded, his hands gathering mine up and squeezing them tight.

‘He’s ours,’ Drew growled.

‘Then let’s get him back.’

And I knew. Whatever this was between us, whatever mess we’d made, it wasn’t over.