Forget You (13 page)

EVA

After smoothies, and some serious sex talk
that revved up my libido, we headed to Sawyer’s car. Stepping
outside into the night air, I instantly zipped my jacket all the
way and felt my heated cheeks cool. It was absolutely freezing
out.

“Crap, it’s cold out here,” I muttered.

“I know, and it’s going to take a while
before the heat in my car works.” Sawyer placed a hand against the
small of my back. Even through the puffy layers of my coat, I could
feel the heat of his touch. “I’m going to have to get that thing
fixed soon.”

Walking through the parking lot, I caught
what was probably the only patch of ice in the entire place, and
nearly busted my ass. Sawyer caught me, his grip tight on my
arms.

“Got you.” He chuckled.

“Oh my God, are we going to be able to make
it home okay?” I asked.

Real concern flared through me as I wondered
if the roads had been affected. I hated ice and snow.

“We should be able to,” he assured me.

As soon as the words left his lips, snow
began to fall from the sky.

“I’m glad we’re leaving now,” I said.

“Me too. I didn’t think this was supposed to
roll in until tomorrow sometime. Guess the weatherman was wrong.”
He unlocked his car and opened the driver side door.

Situating myself in the passenger seat, I
tucked my hands beneath my thighs to keep them warm. My teeth
chattered as Sawyer cranked the engine. Air blasted through the
vents, but it felt more like air conditioning than heat. Sawyer
reached for the knob and turned it down for the time being, and
then he reached out for my hands.

He cupped them between his, and blew on them,
just as he’d done the time before. As soon as the car warmed
enough, Sawyer dropped my hands so he could shift into drive.
Pulling out of the parking lot and onto the highway, we slipped
briefly on a patch of black ice. My stomach clenched, and I prayed
we’d make it home safely.

Once we made it halfway to my place, the snow
was coming down hard. It looked as though we were in a 3D movie
where snow was barreling toward us, but never touched us. I didn’t
like it. Reaching over, I turned the radio down low, and sat up
straighter in my seat. Anxiety prickled along my spin, and I
gritted my teeth.

“I have no clue how you can see the road,” I
muttered.

Sawyer laughed. “It’s not that bad out.”

“Yes, it is,” I insisted.

“It’s fine. I’ve driven in worse conditions
than this before.”

“Like?” The car slipped a little as we
rounded a corner, and my entire body grew tense.

“Last year, remember when we had that crazy
arctic blast that whipped through and gave us like six inches of
snow?”

“Yeah. I was trapped in my apartment for a
week.”

“I worked at Harrison’s back then as a night
shift stocker. I had to help unload a delivery on the second night
of that storm. I nearly went into a damn ditch seven times trying
to get home that night.” He merged lanes to get out from behind a
car driving as slow as I would be. “It sucked, but I made it.”

“I never drive in this type of weather.” I
shook my head.

Silence filled the car as we continued along
the highway in the downward blizzard of snow. Sawyer’s car skidded
on ice once more as we crossed over a bridge, and I dug my
fingernails in the palm of my hands.

“Where are all the freaking salt trucks when
you need them?” I asked.

Sawyer let out a small chuckle. It echoed
through the quiet of the car. “They’ll be out soon, I’m sure. This
came from nowhere.”

Nodding, I allowed the same silence from
before to squeeze between us again. This time I welcomed it. Quiet
was most likely what Sawyer needed in order to get us safely to my
place.

Once Sawyer turned into the parking lot of my
complex, I finally felt my muscles loosen. Glancing out the
windshield at the whiteout falling from the sky without mercy, I
noticed nearly everything within my view was already covered in a
layer of the powder white snow.

“Will you be able to make it home okay?” I
unbuckled once he parked, and shifted in my seat to stare at
him.

“If I say no, is there going to be an offer
to spend the night with you?” He grinned.

“Yes.” I didn’t hesitate in my answer.

It was snowing like crazy. The roads were
sure to get worse. The distance—no matter how short or long it
might be—between his place and mine didn’t seem to matter in this
weather.

“I’m just messing with you. I’ll be fine.”
Leaning in, he licked his lips. “But, I will remind you that I
never did get the kiss I won.”

A flush of heat swept through me at his
words. In all the snow commotion, I’d forgotten about the kiss he
had won. Bending his way, I leaned across the center console and
pressed my lips to his. Sawyer’s lips worked over mine as he took
complete charge of the kiss. His hand moved from the steering wheel
to cup my face, and I felt warmth swell in my stomach and explode
through my lower regions from the simple move.

Sawyer’s tongue slipped along my bottom lip,
and I opened my mouth a little wider. Caressing my tongue against
his, I slowed the pace of the kiss a little, and ran my fingers
through his dark hair. My breathing quickened as his hand slid
along my jawline and down the side of my neck. If he dipped toward
my collarbone or lower, I was going to pant into his mouth like an
idiot. Hell, maybe I’d drag him into my apartment and have my way
with him throughout the snowstorm.

A noise forced our lips apart. Freezing rain
had mixed in with the snow. Yay…said no one ever.

“Looks like I really should be heading home
now.” Sawyer pecked my lips once more, before he pulled away
completely and righted himself in his seat.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay?” I
offered again. My reasons behind offering this time weren’t all
weather related. Instead, they had more to do with the sensations
he’d stirred to life within me with that kiss. “You’re more than
welcome to.”

I blinked, waiting for him to give me an
answer, while hoping I didn’t look desperate as hell.

Sawyer seemed to think for a minute. “I mean,
I can make it to my place,” he said. His eyes locked on mine. “The
question is though, are you sure you want me to stay with you
tonight? It’s not too soon?”

I knew what he was hinting at. I knew the
types of thoughts that had lingered in his mind after our kiss,
because they still lingered in mine as well. My lips twisted into a
smile I couldn’t keep away, no matter how hard I tried. Even though
I was sure he only asked because he felt it was the gentlemanly
thing to do, I still couldn’t keep myself from messing with him a
little.

I arched a brow, and continued to hold his
stare. “Too soon for what exactly?”

“For you to cross some more of those Kama
Sutra moves off your list,” he said point blank.

I laughed. “Feeling confident, aren’t
we?”

“No.” He shook his head and smiled. “Just
trying to think of ways to keep us warm during this blizzard.”

My attention shifted to the snow coming down
outside his car. Fat, white flakes were falling so fast to the
ground that it was hard to see the front of my apartment complex
anymore. The pounding of ice against the windshield increased, and
any thought of me wanting him to stay the night for sexual reasons
flew from my mind. He needed to stay because this storm looked
serious. I wouldn’t even send my worst enemy out in this shit.

“Yeah, I don’t care if we use some of those
moves or not, you’re not going back out in this. Your car doesn’t
have four-wheel drive, and it’s getting bad out,” I said.

Crazed thoughts spun through my mind in rapid
succession. I wondered if I had enough food to wait this thing out.
There was no way I would attempt to drive to the store in these
conditions, four-wheel drive or not.

Sawyer cut his car off, and shifted in his
seat to look at me. A serious expression etched its way into the
contours of his face. “You sure you don’t mind? I can attempt it,
if you’re not comfortable. My place isn’t too far from here. It’s
only about twenty minutes or so.”

“No, I don’t mind. Come on.” I opened the
passenger door, and climbed out.

The wind was frigid against my exposed skin.
A flurry of snowflakes flew past me in a diagonal motion as I
slammed the car door shut, and started toward the breezeway of the
apartment complex. The sound of Sawyer doing the same behind me
filled my ears. He was beside me in a second with his head down and
his hands crammed into the pockets of his coat.

“Yeah, there’s no way you’d be able to see
anything while driving in this garbage,” I said, barely able to see
where I was walking through the downpour of snow.

“I think you’re right.” He laughed. “Thanks
for letting me stay. I should have made us leave earlier so we
could have beaten this entirely.”

“Don’t worry about it.” I started up the
stairs to my apartment, praying there would be no ice to slip on.
“It’s not a big deal. I mean, who could have predicted this? The
weatherman didn’t even get it right.”

“True.”

A whistling wind made its way through the
breezeway we stood under. Shivering, I searched through my purse
for my keys. My hands were already ice cold and solid red. Another
whipping wind came through, this time bringing with it snow and
freezing rain. It pelted against the side of my face and across the
tops of my hands as I fumbled with frozen fingers to unlock the
damn door. Sawyer’s hand was there, steadying mine, helping to push
the key in correctly, and then unlocking it swiftly.

“Thanks,” I breathed. “I’m frozen
already.”

“I know. Me too.” He pushed the door open,
and we stepped inside into the blissful warmth.

Slipping off my shoes at the door, I tugged
off my coat next. I flipped on a light, and let out a huge breath
of air as it illuminated my living room. Thank God, I still had
power. I spun to face Sawyer and voice my relief; he was still
standing in the same spot. His shoes were off and his jacket was
now draped over his arm. He stared at me with a boyish look of
awkwardness splashed across his face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked with a teasing smile.
“Not so confident about your moves now that we’re inside?”

“No, just not wanting you to change your mind
about inviting me to stay. I’d prefer if you didn’t send me packing
back into that mess out there.” The hint of a smile spread onto his
face as he did a little shoulder shrug thing I found to be
adorable.

“I wouldn’t do that,” I insisted. “Not to
you.”

Walking toward him, I took his coat and hung
it on the wall hook beside mine. “Make yourself at home. I think I
have some hot chocolate, if you want some.”

Heading toward my tiny kitchen to hunt for
two packets, I prayed I actually had some shoved in the back of a
cabinet someplace. While searching, I also sifted through my
cabinets to make sure I had plenty to eat while I was trapped
during this blizzard from hell. Apparently, I was going to have to
live off Ramen noodles, tomato soup, chocolate, and Wheat Thins.
Could be worse.

“All right, two hot chocolates coming up.” I
pulled two packets from the box I’d found, and set them on the
counter.

“Can I help?” Sawyer asked. He was directly
behind me. I hadn’t even heard him move from the front door.

“It’s not rocket science. I think I can
handle it.” I smiled.

Pulling two mugs from in a cabinet, I began
filling them with water.

“You don’t use milk?”

My nose crinkled at the thought. “Milk? Warm
milk? Yuck, no way.”

“Yuck?” Sawyer scoffed. “Milk is the only way
to do it. It’s the best. I mean, who wants to drink watered-down
hot chocolate?”

“Me,” I said, continuing to fill the mug in
my hands. “If you want to make yours with milk have at it. I’m sure
you know where it’s kept.”

“Have you ever had it with milk before?”

“No. It seems gross.”

“Just try it. Once. I’m sure you’ll be
hooked,” he insisted, reaching around me for his mug. Sparks
ignited in the few inches of space between us when he did so, and I
felt every cell in my entire right side come to life. “It’s thicker
and creamier than using water.”

My heart palpitated in my throat as I
continued to take note of his nearness. I dumped my mug of water
into the sink, and handed it to him.

“Fine, make me a believer,” I said, thankful
my voice sounded normal instead of reflecting the crazed sensations
swirling through me from his sudden nearness.

Sawyer took the mug from my fingers as the
ghost of a smile toyed with the corners of his yummy mouth. Another
tailspin of sensations made a certain area of mine throb to life
with desire as they surged through me.

Yes, love gods, Soldier Boy had awoken my
libido, and there was going to be no stopping the hungry little
monster if he even so much as kissed me again.

SAWYER

After I made hot chocolate using milk instead
of water, Eva and I sat on her couch to watch TV. The first thing
she did was turn on the news, claiming she only wanted to know what
the weather was planning to do. I noticed something else though,
something buried beneath the surface—fear. I wasn’t sure what
exactly she was so scared of, but I knew that emotion when I saw
it.

“Oh my God, those poor people,” she said. We
were watching a live report showing hundreds of cars bumper to
bumper on the highways unable to move more than a few inches at a
time due to the treacherous weather conditions. “It is a good thing
we left the mall when we did, otherwise that could have been
us.”

She was right. One of the highways they were
showing was the exact one we’d taken to get to and from Carver.
Leaning forward on my knees, I stared at the screen, unbelieving
the power of this snowstorm. My cell rang from inside my coat
pocket and I moved to answer it. My parents’ number lit the
screen.