Finding You (By You #3) (22 page)

Sarah snuggled against him, and a silence filled the room.

"Is that why you don't drink?" Sarah asked, after a while.

His breath seized in his chest and he looked down at her. Her face was still buried against him, but she glanced up when she felt him move.

"Yeah," he said, quietly. "Haven't touched the stuff ever since."

"And that's why you don't drive, either?"

He closed his eyes, and nodded. "I don't even have a license anymore," he admitted. "I just figured I could get myself around on my own without it."

Sarah didn't say anything else, didn't press for any more answers, and he was thankful for that. The pain that was already crushing his chest was nearly too much for him to handle, and he didn't know if he'd be able to take much more. The memories of that night were both fuzzy and distant, but somehow they always felt fresh--like they'd just happened. He didn't know if he'd ever be able to get over everything that happened. He didn't know if he'd ever be able to forgive himself.

Dani hadn't been given the chance to forgive him, so why should he give himself the same luxury?

Sarah snuggled against him, her fingers pressed into his back and her cheek smashed against his chest. He could feel the dampness from her own tears as her body shuddered in little trembles. He clung to her even more tightly, reminding himself that she was too good for him. When was she going to realize that she could do a whole lot better?

When you tell her everything
.

Jeremy pinched his eyes together, not wanting to think about...everything else.

Neither of them said anything the rest of the night. And before long, they were both fast asleep, clinging to one another, clinging to what they both needed most right then.

When Sarah woke up the next morning, Jeremy's arm was still wrapped around her. She could feel the gentle movement of his chest pressing into her with every breath he took. A smile spread on her face as she realized they had lain like that all night. She loved waking up next to him like that, she just wished she could wake up like that every morning.

She tried to slip away without waking him, but the moment she moved, he twitched and let out a big yawn. He still had a sleepy look in his gorgeous blue eyes, and his hair was smashed on one side.

"Good morning, beautiful," he said, his voice deep from sleeping.

"Sleep well?" she asked.

"Never better."

They grinned at each other, and Sarah slid out of bed.

"Going somewhere?" he said, leaning up on his elbow.

"I've got to get to class. My professor will kill me if I'm late."

"Sounds dangerous. Might be safer is you stay in bed with me."

Sarah's eyes fell along his chest, along the well-defined muscles that seemed to flex and move in all the right ways while she watched them. It took every shred of her willpower to turn him down.

"I wish I could--I really can't miss this class."

His grin widened. "Suit yourself. But I'm going to miss you."

A rush of heat touched her cheek as she finished pulling on her clothes and slipping on her shoes. It really was difficult leaving his side after everything they'd gone through last night. Not just the sexual stuff, either. He'd really opened up to her, and Sarah felt more connected to him than she ever had before. She couldn't imagine what it must have been like to go through all of the horrible things that he'd gone through.
 

The closest thing she could relate to was when her Aunt Patty got sick two summers ago. That was when Maggie had moved down to Texas, and none of them had even known Aunt Patty was sick until it was already too late. The whole family had a hard time with that, but at least they all got to say their goodbyes, at least they all had each other.

Sarah finished tying her shoes and Jeremy hopped out of bed to walk her to the door. He pulled her tight to his body and gave her another deep kiss, and when they finally pulled apart, Sarah wondered if she
really
needed to make it to class?

"When can I see you again?" Jeremy asked.

Sarah grinned, biting her lip.

"I almost forgot, I'm supposed to talk to you about going on a double date..."

Jeremy's face lit up--not quite the reaction she had expected.

"And who are we going with?"

"You don't have a problem with it?" she asked, suspiciously.

"Why would I ever have a problem going out with you?"

Sarah shrugged a shoulder. "It just seems like such a
couple
thing to do, I wasn't sure what you were going to say."

"Well, we
are
a couple, aren't we?"

She nodded, and he brushed his fingers across her chin before giving her another kiss.

"It's Billie and Oz," she said, when they pulled apart. "Billie wants to do something on Saturday."

"You're not going to make me wait that long before I get to see you again, are you?"

She shook her head. "Oh, God no. I don't think I could make it that long."

"Good, me neither."

They both smiled at each other, and Sarah threw her arms around him, pulling him into another kiss. The buzzing sensation she felt every time they kissed was electrifying. It was like he was breathing a spark of life into her that she'd never known was missing in the first place.

"Have a good day at class," he said, when they finally parted.

"You, too."

As Sarah made her way across campus, she felt like she was floating on a cloud of air. The entire world moved in slow motion, and she just wanted to dance in circles everywhere she went.

* * * * *

Sarah made it to her class on time, and everything went smoothly. Everything in her life seemed to be looking better than it ever had before, and she wasn't sure what she had done to deserve such good fortune. Maybe she'd made the right decision in coming to Franklin, after all, even if it hadn't worked out quite the way she had thought it was going to.

The rest of the week flew by in a blur. Sarah spent as much time with Jeremy as she possibly could. Nearly every night she found herself over at his place, curled in his arms after having a little bit of fun. Everything just felt right, and she wasn't insecure about anything going on between them. She had never thought that she could feel the things she was feeling about another guy--not after what Huck had done to her--but she was feeling them for Jeremy. She was finding it hard to remember what life had been like before he was around, and she was finding it hard to imagine what life could be like without him.

She still didn't know if she loved him, though. It was too soon, wasn't it? Love takes time to grow and turn into something. It isn't just a feeling that overcomes you out of nowhere, right? She'd thought about it a lot since Huck had asked her if she was in love with Jeremy. She was still hopeful that she'd know it when the time was right, but for now she wasn't in any rush. They were having fun together, and they were happy. That was really all that mattered.

Saturday crept up on her faster than she had expected. Billie hadn't been around much that week--Sarah wouldn't have known what to do if she saw her roommate more than two or three times in a whole week, anyway. At least it seemed like Sarah wasn't the only one having luck in the relationship department, even if Billie tried to pretend like she was fighting it. Now she just needed to find someone for Reagan, and they'd all be set.

Sarah was getting ready for the date, zipping up her low cut, black dress when there was a knock on the door. Giggling and laughter came from outside, and Sarah knew who it was without even needing to open it.

Reagan and Tate stood wide-eyed with beaming grins on their face when they saw her.

Reagan gasped when she saw what Sarah was wearing.

"Wow, look at you all dolled up," she said.

Tate waved a hand, cutting her off. "You must have heard the news, then?" He spoke quickly, his voice high pitched and excited.

"What news?" Sarah asked.

"Rave Fest! The announcement came out that it's
tonight
--everyone's freaking out."

Sarah shook her head. "I hadn't heard anything. I've got a date tonight."

Tate looked at her like she'd just slapped him in the face. "Well, you've got to cancel, you're going to the rave with us."

"I can't--I promised Billie that Jeremy and I would go out with her."

"Oh please, we both know that girl would rather be at a rave than on some date. Bring her with you."

Sarah let out a laugh--he definitely had a point about that.

"Really, I can't. This date was her idea and I think it's kind of a big deal to her."

Reagan gave her a defeated look. "I'm kind of jealous of you," she said.

Tate's jaw dropped as he spun on her. "Not you, too! You said you were excited about this. You're my wing girl, you're not allowed to back out."

"I'm not backing out... It would just be nice to go out on a nice date, is all."

"You can pretend like we're going out on a date tonight," he said. "Put on something slutty and we'll have a good time."

Reagan and Sarah both barked out laughs. The idea of Tate going on a date with a girl might have been the most ludicrous thing Sarah had heard all week.

"That's not quite the same thing," Reagan said, composing herself.

Tate leaned in close to her. "Honey, with that body of yours, you're going to be beating men off with stick tonight. You'll be getting more action than you even know what to do with."

"Oh now
that
sounds like a real treat. I always dreamed of meeting Prince Charming at a rave while he was drunk, high, and feeling up every girl that walked by."

Tate rolled a shoulder and flicked his wrist at her. "Beggars can't be choosers, honey. And don't you forget it." He wheeled around on Sarah and gave her a pleading look. "You have to come with us, too. It's the party of the year and I won't let you regret missing it."

Sarah shook her head, cringing. "I just can't get out of this, tonight."

"Well, what about after?" Tate said. He didn't look like he had any intention of backing down. "You guys can go out to your fancy, boring dinner, and then meet up with us after you're done. Heck, they probably won't even tweet out the venue before ten, anyway."

"You mean you don't even know where it is, yet?" she asked.

"We've been over this! They keep it super hush until last minute." He looked annoyed at having to explain it to her, again. "A big group of us are meeting up at this place in the city until they make the announcement--you can meet us there."

"It sounds like you've already got enough people going--why do you want four more?"

Tate let out an exasperated sigh. "It's going to be the party of the
century
! Why am I having to talk you into this?"

Sarah looked over at Reagan, who was giving her a desperate look. Something unspoken passed between them, and Sarah knew then that Reagan didn't want to go to the party alone--or, at least not with just Tate and all of his friends. She supposed if the rave was late enough they'd be able to make it after dinner, even though she was really hoping to spend some more quality alone time with Jeremy. There would always be time for that, but her friend needed her, and Sarah couldn't let her down.

She blew out a soft sigh and nodded her head. "I'll talk to everyone and see what I can do."

Tate's grin spread from ear to ear, and he threw his arms around her, pulling her into a huge bear hug. "Tonight is going to be the best night, ever. You'll see." He spun on Reagan, who was mouthing
thank you
behind him, and said, "Come on, let's go talk to Mindy, next." He marched out of the room without waiting to see if she was following along.

"Thanks, I owe you one," Reagan said, giving her a big smile.

"I'm sure it's going to be a fun night," Sarah said.

There was no need for Reagan to thank her, it's not like she was going out of her way to do anything big. Besides, she'd never been to a rave before--maybe it would be the party of the year, or the century, or whatever, like Tate was claiming. She just hoped Billie didn't have any big plans after dinner that she had failed to mention. It would be just like her to do something like that, and throw a wrench into everything.

When Jeremy showed up that night, Sarah was blown away by how nice he looked. He had pulled out all the stops, and was wearing a deep red, button up shirt with black slacks. The matching sports coat he had on looked
very
expensive, and made him look even more handsome than Sarah had thought possible.

"Wow, you look amazing," she said, taking all of him in.

"Not half as nice as you."

"I don't know about that." She eyed him up and down again. "I didn't think the place we were going was so formal. I should have worn something nicer."

"Trust me--" his eyes trailed down over her body, leaving a scorching path as they did. "--you're going to be the most beautiful woman there."

Jeremy hooked an arm around her and pulled her in for a deep kiss. She caught the scent of a new cologne that drove her as wild as his lips when they pressed into hers. Shivers ran through her body as his hands slid around her waist to the small of her back. She was getting used to him touching her, and the more he did it, the more she wanted him to keep touching her.

"We're going to miss the big night if you keep doing things like that," he said, when they finally pulled apart.

"Like what?" she asked, giving him a playful smile.

"If you keep putting thoughts in my head with kisses like that."

She winked at him, and ran a finger down his chest, along the edge of the tie. "Well, you started it."

"Oh, so it's
my
fault?" he said, giving her a wide-eyed look.

She nodded and hooked her arms around his neck, pulling him down for another kiss. Her heart pounded even harder than it had the first time, and the buzzing on her lips refused to stop.

When they finally pulled apart, they walked down to her car together, hand in hand. The restaurant wasn't far away, and Jeremy was able to lead her straight to it without any trouble. For someone that didn't drive anymore, he sure did know his way around town. She guessed that was just because he'd grown up there. And besides, it's not like he never drove, it had just been over the last few years--since the accident.