“This is out of control, Isaac.” I cover my mouth and laugh. It’s the only reaction I have. “This is insane.”
“Christopher told me it was going to be over-the-top, but I wasn’t expecting this. Not that I’m complaining. I’m absolutely not, especially since I have pretty awesome company.”
I look over my shoulder at him and smile. “Have you ever seen anything so beautiful before? This is just crazy.” I slide my hand over the lip of the incredibly deep, inviting bathtub.
“Sawyer…” Isaac steps up behind me and I look up into the mirror in front of me so I can meet his eyes.
“Yeah?” I reply.
“I realize now that I never even considered the fact you might not want to sleep in the same bed. I should have asked you instead of just assuming, and I want to apologize for that.”
I spin around so I can see him face-to-face. “If I didn’t want to sleep in the same bed as you, I wouldn’t have agreed to be your date. We are adults, right?”
“I just don’t want you to feel pressured into anything, Sawyer. I just needed to say that. This isn’t some ploy to get in your pants. I really just want to spend time with you,” he says, as he cups my face in his hands.
“I like when you do that.”
“Do what?”
“Make me feel like I’m more than a piece of meat. You respect me as a person, and that means more to me than anything.”
“I can’t lie to you though,” he slides his hands around my body and pulls me closer, “I do think about you in less than respectful ways sometimes. Does that make me an asshole?”
My stomach flips deliciously and a tingle builds between my legs.
“No, because if that makes you an asshole, what does the fact I also have the same thoughts make me?” I place my hands on his chest and stare up at him.
“Sawyer, I don’t know what we are doing or where this is going, but I do know I’m enjoying the journey, and I don’t want it to stop anytime soon,” he says with pure honesty written on his face. There isn’t an ounce of him that feels dishonest.
“On this we can agree. We like each other, we enjoy spending time together, and whatever happens… happens. We are grown-ups. We are allowed to have fun. I need fun.”
Especially with Jason’s birthday looming.
What used to be my favorite day of the year is now the one I dread the most.
“Well, lucky for you, I am the master at providing a fun time.” He presses a kiss to my nose.
“I like the sound of that.”
“So let’s take a few minutes to change or freshen up, then we can go explore the grounds and I can introduce you to everyone. How does that sound?”
“It sounds like the start of an amazing weekend.”
Chapter 13
Isaac
Sawyer has hit it off with every single person I have introduced her to this evening at the rehearsal dinner. She hasn’t met a stranger and is so kind and able to contribute to every conversation without it feeling forced or awkward.
She looks beautiful in her flowy dress with sunflowers all over it beneath the orange glow the evening brings over the hills. I’ve never experienced time with a woman that’s this easy. There’s no pressure, no expectation—it’s just us—going with the flow.
I’m watching her from the bar, which I’m currently leaning against, while she chats it up with Mrs. Leonard, Christopher’s mother, at a standing table just across the courtyard. I watch the way she engages animatedly, using her hands to talk, which I’ve picked up on recently. If her hands were tied behind her back, she likely couldn’t speak at all.
“She’s a pretty one, Isaac.”
I look to my right as Christopher leans against the bar next to me.
“Ah, the groom himself.” I hold up my glass and he clinks his against it. “This turned out really nice, man.”
“I didn’t have a thing to do with it. Danielle asked if she, her sister, and mom could handle it all. All I said was, ‘Yes dear.’”
“Learning early.” I turn my attention back on Sawyer because let’s face it; I’m drawn to her.
“So tell me about this one. I didn’t get a chance to properly speak with her earlier like I wish I would have been able to.”
I can’t help but laugh at him. “It’s fucking hilarious to hear you speak so properly. Too much time in the Hills with the rich and famous.”
Christopher is one of my oldest friends. I’ve known him since we were in high school, and he’s always had my back. He comes from one hell of a rough upbringing, but you wouldn’t know that looking at him now.
He’s one of the most successful attorneys in the Los Angeles area and he is marrying a woman who is beautiful, successful in her own right, and keeps him on his toes. I’d say he’s done pretty well for himself.
“Man, fuck off.” He laughs and shoves me a bit. “Seriously, though, tell me about her. I’ve caught you staring a time or two.”
“Well, I met her at the Harvest Festival. We quite literally ran into each other when she was coming out of the bathroom.”
I run through the CliffsNotes of our short time together. Christopher listens closely and doesn’t give me shit like the other guys, not at first at least. I finish my story with a sip of my scotch. “So that’s the long and short of it. We have fun together, so we are just… riding that wave.”
“Do you often ride that wave with that look on your face?” He uses his glass to gesture at my head.
“What are you talking about?”
“Dude, you’re staring at her like she hung the moon. Like there is no one else you’d rather be looking at right now.” He laughs.
