Forget You (6 page)

Something extraordinary, I liked that, but
not nearly as much as I enjoyed hearing my name pass her lips.

“Challenge accepted.” I beamed.

We each ordered a beer, then Eva let me chose
a pizza of my choice, saying that, since she was on a roll trying
new things tonight, she didn’t want to order her usual pepperoni
and cheese. So, I placed an order for the margarita pizza.

“What comes on it?” Eva asked. Her index
finger ran along the outside of her beer bottle. “I like
margaritas, but is this pizza going to have lime or something on
it?”

The bridge of her nose crinkled when she
asked the question, and I fought the urge to smile like an idiot at
her cuteness.

“No limes, but the sauce does have tequila in
it.”

Her eyes snapped to mine, and a dumbfounded
expression swirled within them. “Seriously?”

“No.” I shook my head, and laughed. “I’m just
messing with you. There’s nothing that would hint to its name on it
actually, just basil and tomatoes, two types of cheese, and garlic
on top of some standard sauce.”

“Oh. That sounds sort of light and amazing.”
She perked up, and began picking at the label on her beer bottle. I
found myself wondering if this was a nervous habit of hers. Was I
making this gorgeous girl nervous?

“It’s good.” I nodded.

“There’s no pepperoni though.” She took a
small sip of her beer before setting it down and meeting my stare
again. “Are you a vegetarian?”

My face scrunched at her question. No one had
ever asked me that question before. I knew some guys were
vegetarians—hell, there were even some who were vegans, I was
sure—but I was nowhere near being either of those things. To each
their own, but that just wasn’t me.

“Um, no,” I admitted cheekily.

Her eyebrow arched, and she tilted her head
to the side as an amused smile twisted her lips. “Did I offend
you?”

“No.” I took another swig of my beer, hoping
what I was about to say didn’t offend her in any way, or make me
seem like an ass. “I just don’t think the human race fought its way
to the top of the food chain so long ago to become vegetarians.” I
added a shrug at the end of my words to soften them.

Eva laughed.

Her head flung back, and she laughed at me
hardcore. There was nothing sexier to me than being able to make a
woman laugh. It was my biggest turn on. Any guy could make a woman
smile. They could even make a woman feel a million different
emotions at once, but it took real talent to make a woman genuinely
laugh—like eyes crinkling at the sides and tearing up,
abs-workout-of-the-year laugh.

Dear God, Eva was beautiful when she
laughed.

“That’s a good one,” she muttered while
finally gaining control over herself.

“Thanks. There’s plenty more where that came
from.” I winked.

Our waiter came with our pizza then. I moved
the little metal stand to the center of the table for him so he
could easily set the delicious thing down. “Are you ready to eat
the best meatless pizza of your life?” I grabbed the spatula our
waiter had left, and served her a slice.

Eva nodded. “Holy cow, this thing smells
amazing.”

“Wait until you taste it.” I grinned.

EVA

Margarita pizza was now at the top of my list
of favorite foods, that was for sure. I sat back against my booth
seat, debating whether I should have a third piece or stop at two.
I wasn’t one of those girls who ate like a bird in front of guys
because they were afraid they would look like a pig. It was more
about being able to move without feeling sick to my stomach
throughout the remainder of our date.

“Are you going to have another?” Sawyer
asked. He’d already consumed half the pizza by himself.

“I’m full, but this is so good.” I grabbed
the spatula, and cut the slice closest to me in half.

“Right?” He beamed.

After we paid our bill, and crammed the last
two slices in a to-go box, we headed to his car. The night air was
so cold it almost felt damp. Winter was not my season, and I hated
that it was just around the corner. The holidays weren’t nearly
enough to make me look forward to the icy rain, snow, and bitterly
cold temperatures. Yes, Norhurst was in North Carolina, but it
still got into the twenties or lower during the winter months.
Shivering, I crammed my hands into the pockets of my coat, wishing
I had thought to bring my gloves tonight.

“Cold?” Sawyer asked. “Sorry, it takes a year
for my brother’s car to get warm.”

I didn’t take much notice of the fact he’d
just said the Mustang was his brother’s car, but for whatever
reason, he had. His face had gone from normal to pained in a matter
of seconds.

“It’s fine,” I insisted.

He unlocked the doors, and opened the driver
side quickly. Before I could slip inside, he’d already cranked the
engine, and was setting the to-go box in the backseat. What the
hell? Was his brother a sensitive subject?

“To the arcade.” He buckled up and placed his
hand on the gearshift before shifting his eyes to mine.

“Yep.” My voice lacked the level of
enthusiasm as his. Apparently, I needed more than one beer and some
actual alcohol to be in my margarita pizza for this date to sound
fun.

When we pulled up in front of Allen’s Arcade,
Sawyer quickly found a parking spot. The first thing I noticed
about the place was that the neon sign hung above the building was
a little on the fritz. One of the Ls in Allen’s and the D in arcade
were dull as the black sky they were paired against.

“Don’t go getting all judgey on the place
just yet,” Sawyer said. “It might not look like much, but this
place can actually be pretty entertaining.”

“If your nine,” I muttered. A slight smirk
twisted my lips, because I knew that was a good jab.

“You’ll see. Give it a chance.” He held the
door open for me.

I slipped in past him, taking in the bright
lights and boldly painted walls. Noises from fifty games going at
once and sirens blaring, announcing a winner, assaulted my ears. By
the time I got out of here, I would be deaf. A kid ran in front of
us, coughing up a lung without covering his mouth, and I added
infected with the plague
to my list as well.

“Isn’t this place great?” Sawyer asked from
beside me.

His face was lit with excitement. I didn’t
want to burst his bubble, but great wasn’t the word I would use to
describe the place.

“Yeah, sure—and again I’m going with—if
you’re nine,” I said, my words thick with sarcasm.

A group of kids about that age flew past us
with a long string of tickets floating behind them as they ran to
find their next game. The same look of pure joy I’d seen reflected
on Sawyer’s face moments before was plastered on theirs.

“They have the right idea.” He nodded toward
them. “Smile. Let’s have something called
fun
.”

“Ass.” I rolled my eyes, but grinned.

“There we go. Now we’re getting somewhere.”
He winked.

* * * *

Forty minutes later, I was leaning against a
neon orange wall made entirely of foam, peeking as cautiously as I
could manage around the corner. My eyes roamed over the green
tunnel dead ahead, and the pink and purple walls to the left of it,
which resembled the one I was ducking behind as I searched for
Sawyer. I’d lost him in the black light laser tag dome a few
minutes ago. My heart raced as I thought of him jumping out at me
again. He’d already managed to shoot me twice. Once more, and I was
out for good. I’d deemed him a cheater last time, claiming he’d had
special training in this department, thanks to his National Guard
stuff, but he’d just smirked and ran off to hide from me.

My thoughts scattered as my lips stretched
into a smile. I spotted him creeping through the green tunnel
directly in front of me. I took a tentative step away from the wall
I’d been hiding behind. When he reached the end of the tunnel,
Sawyer poked his head out, and glanced to the right and then the
left before pulling his head back inside quickly and freezing in
place. I knew he hadn’t spotted me. Right when I began to question
whether I should scurry back to my hiding place, Sawyer jumped out
of the tunnel and shot at the little kid on the balcony above
him.

I hadn’t even seen the kid, but apparently,
he’d noticed me, because his laser gun had been trained on me.
Thank goodness, Sawyer had taken him out before the kid hit me.
Aiming my gun at Sawyer’s back, I went for a cheap shot, and nailed
him. The vest strapped across his chest went off, flashing bright
orange lights and making strange noises. A wicked laugh bellowed
from me as his head jerked around in confusion, trying to spot who
had hit him.

“Got you.” I beamed.

“I noticed that.” He chuckled. “That was it.
I’m done.”

“Giving up so easily?” I lowered my gun, and
placed a hand on my hip. “I didn’t think you were the type.”

He unstrapped his vest while walking in my
direction. “I’m not the type, but our time is up.”

He pointed to the glowing digital clock high
up on the wall. It said there was only six seconds left. Being the
good sport that I am, I nailed his vest once more as he was taking
it off. His three lives were gone. I won.

“Wow, now that was a cheap shot if I’ve ever
seen one.”

The buzzer went off, and a voice came over
the speaker system telling us all to make our way to the exit, that
our game had ended.

“I’m not above them.” I shrugged.

“I’ll remember that.”

We exited the laser tag arena, and I headed
straight for the water fountain outside the doors. This night had
been a blast. I’d been so preoccupied with work, school, and all
the day-to-day things that I’d forgotten what actual fun felt
like.

“What’s next?” I asked, wiping a few droplets
of water off my chin with the back of my hand.

Sawyer took in a deep breath and released it
slowly. “I think I’ve had enough of this place for tonight. You up
for heading somewhere else?”

“Sure.” I wasn’t ready to call it a night
yet, I knew that much.

Running my hands through my hair, I pulled it
up into a ponytail to get it off my neck, and then straightened out
my sweater. “Where to?”

“How about something a little more
grown-up?”

“Aw, I was having fun with the juvenile date
night,” I admitted.

“Oh really? Well then, I guess we could still
stick with this theme.” He reached for my hand, and interlaced his
fingers through mine. A boyish grin appeared on his face. “Come on.
I’ve got an idea.”

Smiling ear-to-ear from the sensation his
touch sent spiraling through me, and the giddiness I felt due to
the continuance of this insane date, I walked to his car with him.
It was freezing out. I pulled my coat around my body tighter with
my free hand so Sawyer wouldn’t release my hand. In the end, he
dropped it anyway as soon as we reached his car. Climbing inside, I
instantly shoved my hands underneath my legs, and bounced up and
down in an effort to get warm.

“Burr, it’s so cold.” My teeth chattered as I
spoke.

“Just give it a minute. It’ll warm up soon.”
Starting the car, Sawyer reached for me. “Give me your hands.”

Without question, I passed my icy hands to
him. He cupped them between his, and brought them to his mouth.
Warm air passed over my frozen fingers in the form of his hot
breath, and I moved to get closer to him. My heart banged against
my rib cage. I became hyperaware of his lips—parted and panting
against my skin. An electrical jolt pierced through my stomach. The
coldness penetrating straight through to my bones left me as a
warmth I hadn’t felt in who knew how long spread throughout my body
and mind. Sawyer’s eyes lifted to meet mine.

“Better?” he asked.

My tongue darted out to lick my dry lips.
“Yeah, much.”

His warm hands continued to rub against mine,
but he never lowered his lips to blow against them again. My
stomach clenched with a yearning for him to do so, one I’d never
felt before. When he finally released his grip on my hands, warmth
was flowing through the vents of his car.

“All right, ready for the next installment of
this spectacular, juvenile date?” He popped his car in reverse, and
backed out of our parking space.

“Sure.”

I could have said absolutely or something
just as upbeat, but instead, I stuck with a one word, downgraded
version that meant virtually the same thing. I needed to tone down
my overzealous excitement about this date.

Music thumped from the radio and Sawyer
cranked it up. I recognized the song the moment the words began—Sir
Mix-a-lot,
Baby Got Back
. Bobbing his head, and singing
along in a hilarious rapper voice, Sawyer tapped his fingers
against the steering wheel as we headed in the direction of his
next date choice.

The entire night had been one for the record
books. I guessed a thank you prayer to the love gods was in need at
some point.

When Sawyer turned into the parking lot of
the twenty-four-hour gas station at the corner of Hillcrest and
Ridge Road, my gratitude to the love gods evaporated. My eyes
widened as he pulled into a parking space near the back atop the
bank that overlooked the highway and a small section of town.

“And here we are.” Leaving the engine
running, he unbuckled and turned in his seat to face me. “Wait
here. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.” My eyebrows drew together as I
wondered what he was doing. This couldn’t be the site of our date
continuation. It was a gas station. And a hill.

Sawyer climbed out, and I spun in my seat to
watch him jog across the parking lot. Once he disappeared inside
the brightly lit station, I flipped back around in my seat, and
messed with the radio. The station we had listened to all night was
the only one that came in clear. No wonder he hadn’t changed it.
Frowning, I turned the volume down low and crossed my arms over my
chest. The driver side door opened, and Sawyer slipped inside
quickly with a brown paper bag clutched in his hand.