Finding Our Forever: (A Defining Moments Novel) (9 page)

I give up trying to watch the rest of the show and decide to just go to bed. At least then I can put my Beats on, and it’ll cancel out the disgusting sounds coming from Ben’s room.

I grab my phone and Beats the moment I get through the door, because if it’s even possible, that girl just got louder. I throw on a little classic Metallica, “Orion” to be exact, and go in to the bathroom to brush my teeth and get ready for bed. Mama always said that I had an old soul and seemed to think she proved her point when I ended up loving all things classic heavy metal. Metallica is my favorite.

My phone beeps through the music as I finish up the nightly routine. The moment I see Sara’s name, I smile until my face feels like it might crack.
Jesus, Eli. Pull it together.

Sara: You busy?

Me: Nope. What’s up? Miss me already, huh?

Sara: *insert eye roll* Yep. Actually, I was hoping you could do me a huge favor???

Me: Sure, what’s going on?

Sara: Can you come get me and take me home?

Me: Uhhhh… sure, where are you and why do you need a ride home?

Sara: Well, my friend thought it would be cute to trick me into a blind date. He’s creeping me out and I don’t want to stay here.

The moment I read her text, I’m throwing on a pair of jeans and heading for the door.

Me: On my way. Where are you?

Sara: Grady’s. Do you know where that is?

Holy shit. That’s where I was just two hours ago.

Me: Yep, I’ll be there in ten minutes. Stay inside.

Sara: Yes, sir ;)

The fact that she’s still showing that feistiness eases my concern a little, but the idea that her “friend” put her in this situation in the first place pisses me off.

I make it to Grady’s in record time, and the moment I’m through the door, I spot her sitting at the bar by herself. I’m making my way over to her, noticing there is a beer bottle sitting next to her, and I quickly scan the bar, wondering where the guy went.

Sitting down next to her, I pull her stool over so she’s in my space. She stiffens as if she might freak out, but when she whips her head around and sees it’s me, she lets out a breath and relaxes.

“Where is he?” I growl and surprise even myself. Her eyes widen a little, and she starts to respond when a new voice pops into the conversation.

“Why are you sitting in my seat, talking to my date?” jerkoff asks from behind me.

I stand and turn around to chew his ass but stop in my tracks. It’s Drake, the douche who knocked up Jessie and then blew her off. Total jackass. I’m at least half a foot taller than him, and he backs up a little so his neck isn’t craned to look up at me.

“You’re mistaken, my friend. She’s with me,” I return.

“Where’s the hot little blonde? Didn’t I just see you leave here about an hour ago with the blonde that had her tongue down your throat?” he asks with a smirk, never taking his eyes off Sara’s face. I feel her stiffen and I give her a light squeeze.

“Actually, that was my brother. You’re right about one thing though. I was here earlier. I was here just long enough to have a beer, some nachos, and to overhear the waitress tell you she’s pregnant with your baby,” I retort, watching his smirk fall from his face.

“That’s not my kid. She’s slept with half this bar, including you, so don’t think you’re out of the running for that kid’s daddy,” he huffs out, his focus now completely on me.

Before I can even respond, a fiery little body flies in front of me and punches Drake right in the face. I look over to see what the hell just happened and find Jessie standing there with tears running down her face.

She leans forward so only he can hear her and says something to him that makes his face turn white as a ghost. Then she pushes past him and heads to the back of the bar.

“I guess that’s your cue to go, asshole,” I tell him as a bouncer comes over and ushers him to the door. He doesn’t resist and doesn’t say another word.

“So, a little blonde, huh? I didn’t mean to interrupt anything, Eli. You could’ve just said no when I asked you to come get me,” Sara says, sounding a little snarkier than I’ve heard her sound before.

“I wasn’t joking, babe. It was Ben who left with the blonde, and I know that because he brought her to our apartment. When you texted me, I was blaring music to keep the sounds from warping my brain.”

She smiles and turns back toward her beer at the bar. She takes a long, slow gulp and then turns to me.

“You ready to give me that ride?” she asks with her eyebrow raised.

I smirk at her and lift my eyebrow. “You have no idea, babe. No idea.”

She chuckles and slides off her stool, grabbing my hand on the way out the door.

I take her to my truck and open the door for her.

“Nice truck. It’s big. Are you compensating for something?” She snorts as she grabs the “oh shit” handle on the inside of the truck to hoist herself in. My hands come up to rest on her hips, making sure she doesn’t fall.

“I don’t need to compensate for anything, baby. Just say the word and I’ll prove it.” I snicker. When I make it to the driver side of the truck, I glance over at her and note her cheeks are tinged red and she’s biting her bottom lip to keep from smiling.

This is going to be a long drive.

THE MOMENT WE’RE
both closed into the cab of my truck, the atmosphere changes. It was all fun, games, and flirtiness before. Now, it’s hot, awkward, and pent-up sexual energy. I know she can feel it as much as I do.

As I head toward her house, all I can think about is the flirty tone in her voice. The way she just took my word for it when I told her it was Ben who left with that girl brings a smile to my face. She doesn’t know me from the next guy, and the fact that she already trusts me enough to take my word for it means a lot to me.

We drive in silence for a few minutes before I finally speak again.

“So, Sara, why in the world would your ‘friend’ think you would have anything in common with that douche canoe?” I ask her, trying to keep the conversation light but needing her to know that I’m not a fan of her friend at this point.

She laughs and shakes her head. “Well, if you want the absolute truth….” She trails off.

“Always,” I respond before she continues.

She regards me for a moment, and I can tell she’s trying to watch my reaction when she finally responds.

“Well, Ramzi, my best friend, the one who set me up with the idiot, seems to think I need to get laid. She just thought he was hot. I seriously doubt she thought we had anything in common,” she tells me, her voice void of humor.

I cough, trying to contain the laughter threatening to bark out.

I smirk at her when I reply, “Well, Sara, do you need to get laid?”

She smiles slightly, turning her head to the passenger window so I can’t see that her cheeks are turning red.

“Let me ask you a question first, and then I’ll answer yours,” she says without turning back to me.

“Sure,” I tell her with a smile. “I’m an open book. Ask away.”

“When was the last time you had a one-night stand?” she asks without hesitation. I’m surprised by her question and immediately regret telling her I’m an open book. This is not a conversation I want to have with her. She’ll probably tuck tail and run the moment I answer this honestly.

Truth be told, I’m scared what her reaction is going to be. However, if I’ve learned anything from watching my parents over the years, honesty from the very beginning will go a long way.

“Are you sure you want to know the answer to this question? Because I’m not going to lie to you. I’ll tell you if you really want to know.” She turns back to face me, and I can immediately see she’s fighting with herself on whether she wants to know the answer.

She straightens her shoulders and looks me in the eye when she responds. “Yes, I want to know.”

I keep my eyes trained on hers as I answer, watching for the moment when she makes an assumption about the kind of guy I am.

“Two weeks ago.”

Her face contorts in shock and maybe a little irritation for a split second, and then the look is gone. She turns her face back toward her window, taking a deep breath.

“So, is that what you think is going to happen tomorrow on our date, Eli?” she asks quietly. “Because I can tell you right now and save you the trouble, I’m not a one-night-stand kind of girl.”

I pull up in front of her house just as she finishes that statement. I turn to her and pull her hand into mine before I respond. I can tell I’ve surprised her because her head whips around and she looks down at our hands then up to my face.

“Sara, I’ve been completely honest with you from the beginning of whatever this is between us,” I tell her, rubbing my thumb over the top of her hand as I keep it clenched in mine. “I’m not gonna lie to you and tell you that I’m not insanely attracted to you, because I am. I think you’re beautiful. But I also seriously enjoy your company.” I watch as her cheeks turn pink once again.

“I appreciate your honesty, and I really do enjoy spending time with you too. I just feel like we need to be on the same page about where this is going. We’ve both already admitted that we aren’t looking for forever right now, so I guess that means we should keep this in the friend zone for now.”

And my sail deflates. So, yeah, we both admitted to not wanting to find something permanent right now, but I guess I’d kind of hoped that we’d end up at least dating for a little bit, maybe even enjoying some naked time. I mean, she’s awesome and I really do want to spend more time with her, but I really want to kiss her again.

I must have zoned out because the next thing I know, Sara is laughing hysterically. “I wish you could see the look on your face right now.” More laughing.

“Did I miss something?” I ask in confusion.

“Jeez, Eli. I was kidding about the friend-zone thing. I’m not a fucking nun. I actually enjoy making out with you more than I probably should,” she tells me as she continues to laugh. “I was not kidding, however, about not being a one-night stand kind of girl.”

“Way to give a man a heart attack. I seriously thought you were kicking me to the curb already.”

She smiles at me sweetly before climbing from the cab of my pickup. I get out too and follow her to her front door.

“I know this wasn’t a date…” I trail off. “Actually, it’s weird that you were on a date with someone else, and I’m the one walking you to your door. Anyways, I’ll see you tomorrow night, beautiful.” I lean in to kiss her cheek and she allows it.

“See you tomorrow, Eli. Thank you for coming and rescuing me from the asshat,” she replies, leaning up onto her tiptoes and pulling down on my hand to make me bend forward. She places a soft kiss to my lips and then pulls back and wipes her thumb over my lips. “Lip gloss makes you look a little less manly,” she says before winking at me and heading into the house.

I lick my lips and can still taste her there.

This girl is going to make me crazy; I can tell already. She enjoys messing with me and dare I say that I’m enjoying every single second of it.

THE NEXT DAY,
after talking to my mom for almost an hour about how her plans for Italy are going, I manage to get some homework completed and prepare to return to classes next week. I get some laundry done, hit the gym, and stop by the store for a few things we need at the apartment. Ben apparently went through an entire jug of milk in the past twenty-four hours. Plus, I need condoms. I know Sara said she’s not a one-night stand kind of girl, but I’m hoping she will quickly realize I don’t want her for just one night.

After keeping busy all day, by 4:00 p.m. I’m ready for a hot shower and some downtime before my date with Sara.

At 5:15 p.m., my phone chimes with an incoming message.

Sara: Hey you. You gonna clue me in on the plans tonight?

Me: Sure. Dinner and then making out. We already discussed this.

Sara: Do we have reservations or is our dinner time flexible?

Me: It’s flexible. Why? What’s up?