I squint up at him with a grin. “Oh, yeah?” I whisper. “I won’t argue with that. Meet you at the bar in a minute?”
He nods and lowers his face to mine, brushing a kiss over my lips. “Yep. I need a second to, uh, calm down anyway.” He leans in close to whisper in my ear, “You make me so damn hard.” He steps back and clears his throat, giving himself a minor readjustment.
I give him a tiny smirk in return. “Good to know.” I turn and head around the corner towards Piper. One part of me is thrilled at the progress we’ve just made, and the other is slightly terrified of it, too. Every time you get too excited about someone, it all falls apart. Keep that in mind, Hadleigh. I’d momentarily forgotten about the problems this could create at school if it got out that we’re together, and I cringe a little before shoving it out of my head. I just want to be happy. Sawyer makes me happy.
“There you are.” Piper’s gaze follows the direction I just came from, her brows rising.
“Yep. Here I am.” I find I can’t keep the big grin off of my face.
She whispers, “What was that all about with Sawyer?”
I take her hand and lean in. “He … cleared up my misunderstanding.” I duck my head as I slide her an embarrassed smile. “He’s definitely not dating his roommate.”
She erupts with laughter. “Well, that’s good.” She squeezes my hand, then lets it go before we wander back out to reclaim our stools at the bar.
We’ve been sitting there for a few minutes when Madison looks around. “Where’s Sawyer?”
“Right here.” He waves as he approaches from the back hallway, then points to the bottle Shawn is currently pouring from. “Weird history fact—Captain Morgan actually existed.” He winks at me before turning his attention back to Shawn. “I’ll take a rum and Coke, too, if you don’t mind.”
Madison laughs. “You’re kidding. There was a real Captain Morgan?”
I snicker behind my hand. Here we go. I’m used to Sawyer’s antics by now, but my friends are not.
To my surprise and delight, Shawn nods his head, joining right in with Sawyer. “He’s right. I’ve heard that story before. He was a privateer. Welsh, I believe.”
Piper accepts her drink from Shawn. “Thanks. Isn’t privateer just another word for a pirate?”
Well, I guess Sawyer fits right in with my friends. At least I don’t have to worry about that. Just, you know, keeping my hands to myself while we’re at school.
Madison answers Piper. “Sort of. The difference is that privateering is technically legal.”
Sawyer grins. “I like this crowd. You’re right. Captain Morgan had a license to attack Spain as long as they were at war with England. He built Jamaica into a strong English colony and retired there before he died as a very rich man.”
I stare at him, impressed, once again.
When he catches the look on my face, he bumps my shoulder with his. “Sorry. I can’t seem to forget random trivia when I hear it. For example,”—he jerks his head toward Shawn—“did you know Abraham Lincoln was a licensed bartender, just like Shawn? He and his friend by the last name Berry opened—”
“A bar in New Salem, Illinois,” Shawn laughs. “I’ve heard that one, too.”
Piper blinks for a second, like she’s seeing Sawyer in a new light. “So, what happened to Abe’s career in bartending?”
Sawyer chuckles. “That’s the funny part of the story. Abe’s buddy drank all the booze, and their establishment quickly went belly up.”
One glance at Shawn, and I can tell he thinks he’s found a new friend. “Did you know George Washington opened—”
Sawyer finishes his sentence with a nod, “A whiskey distillery, yep. Largest in the country at one time.” They laugh conspiratorially, like they are in some secret trivia society together.
“Holy crap, guys.” I search Madison’s face for any hint of surprise, but there doesn’t seem to be any. “Did you know Shawn was a closet trivia buff?”
She chuckles. “It’s a recent discovery, but yes, I’m aware. Especially if it has to do with bartending or alcohol.”
Sawyer and Shawn exchange a grin. Sawyer extends his hand across the bar. “Good to meet you, man.”
“Same,” comes Shawn’s quick response.
Sawyer puts his hand on my shoulder. “Hadleigh, can I take you over and introduce you to Willow?”
Oh. “Um, sure.” I glance around at my friends. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
“It’s okay if you’re not.” Piper winks with a grin.
Chapter 21
Sawyer
I guide Hadleigh across the room with my hand on the small of her back, her warmth seeping into me. I look into her eyes and smile. Leaning down so she can hear me over the music, I whisper, “Did you know that around 1870 Darwin proposed that dilated pupils show heightened attention and focus … so basically, how attracted you are to someone?”
She looks up at me again with a huge grin. “In that case, you must think I’m pretty hot.”
I kiss her temple and rasp, “You know it.” When I stop at Willow’s booth, my brow furrows. “Hey, Will. Where’d Shaina and Steve go?”
“Oh, they wanted to go check out that new movie that’s finally playing at the theater. I just figured I’d finish my drink and head back home. You looked busy.” Her gaze slides to Hadleigh.
“Well, do you mind if we sit down with you for a few minutes? This is Hadleigh.”
She winks at us. “That’s kind of why I stayed. I was hoping for an introduction, but first I want to know if this is Hadleigh that you work with or Hadleigh you can’t stop thinking about?” She snickers at her own joke, and when I side-eye Hadleigh, I see she’s amused by my roommate’s sense of humor. Thankfully.
I slowly shake my head, looking between them. “Fuck. Tell me you two aren’t going to gang up on me.” I want
