Changing Hearts Page 14

  “Thanks, Coach.” I managed, though my head felt like a bowling ball had knocked into it.

  “No, thanks to you guys.” He pointed in the direction of my line, the guys who should have defended me from the other team. “He ate turf more times than he completed a pass.”

  He continued to talk, but a ringing in my ear blocked everything else out. I stumbled back, but a hand stopped me.

  “Sit.”

  I shook my head at Ash. It would be fine, though Coach’s speech felt endless. When he finally let us break, I sat in front of my locker, trying to get my head on straight. Guys came by with congratulations. I wasn’t sure if or how I responded. The pain in my skull hurt like a son of bitch.

  There were good reasons I should go to the team doctor. I could have a concussion. But my legs didn’t work. I couldn’t force myself to stand. So I sat, staring at my locker, trying to muster the strength to move.

  Chance, already back from a shower, got in my line of sight. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  That was the last thing I remembered until a bright light forced me to blink and lift a hand to block it.

  “What’s your name, son?”

  “Sawyer Cargill.”

  “What day is it?”

  “Fuck if I know. How long have I been out?”

  “What year is it?”

  I told him.

  “What do you remember last?”

  “Chance asking me how I was feeling.”

  “Do you remember anything else like what you were doing before?”

  “Yeah, we’d just finished the game. I got a game ball.”

  He went on to ask me more questions about how I was feeling and when it began.

  “He’s fine.”

  I glanced up to see my father.

  “We should probably take him to the medical center to be evaluated,” the team doc said.

  “You’re not a doctor?” Dad challenged. “He says he feels better. It was probably just exhaustion from being out late last night.”

  “Were you out late last night?” Doc asked.

  “I was up late.”

  “See,” Dad said. “It’s his fault.”

  Doc frowned. “Are you sure you feel okay? It’s up to you. You passed the test, still…”

  Dad’s disapproving glare forced the words from my throat.

  “I’m good.”

  “Someone needs to check on you every couple of hours. As long as he can hold a conversation and doesn’t have trouble walking, he should be fine.”

  I sat up with everyone’s eyes on me. When I got to my feet, I managed not to sway. Walking was easier than it had been earlier, so I grabbed my stuff, not bothering with a shower. Before he’d left, Dad said Mom was worried. So I made haste to exit the locker room and find her.

  “Sawyer.” She cupped my cheeks like she’d done when I was a child. The area was mostly clear, though some still lingered. Mostly, though, it was the cleaning crew that milled about. I’d been out longer than I thought. “We can catch another flight.”

  “No, you should go. I’m good, really.”

  “I’ll make sure of it,” Ash said.

  Dad was on his phone several feet away.

  “Sawyer.” Shelly came over with Chance and Brie.

  “Glad to see you’re okay, brother,” Chance said.

  I tipped my head but was unable to take my eyes off of Shelly, whose distress bothered me. Then again a part of me reveled in her worry over me.

  “Why’d you stay, firecracker?”

  I wasn’t sure if it was for show, but she wrapped herself around me. I bent down and kissed the top of her head.

  “Why wouldn’t I stay?” she murmured.

  With Mom there, I couldn’t ask if she was serious.

  “I’m okay, for real.”

  “You’re an asshole, you know that. You scared the crap out of me.” She glanced up, remembering we had an audience. “Oh, sorry, Mrs. Cargill.”

  “I told you to call me Sharon.” Mom smiled and then rubbed my cheek. “It looks like you’re in good hands. Call me if you need anything.”

  Shelly peeled herself away, letting Mom get in a final hug before she and Dad left. Ash stepped away, giving Shelly and me some space.

  “You should go.”

  She shook her head. “I’m staying.”

  “Suit yourself, but I’m going out tonight.”

  Chance and Ash, close enough to hear, groaned.

  “That’s right. If I have to stay awake, I’m going to be drunk off my ass.”

  THIRTY-TWO

  Shelly

  I wasn’t sure what came over me. When we’d heard that Sawyer had passed out, I’d followed after his parents into the medical area. Seeing the guy who was larger than life looking so utterly helpless had scared the shit out of me.

  “You think he’s really going out tonight?”

  Chance shrugged and glanced toward the stairs. “I know when he wants to do something, he usually does it.”

  “Don’t leave without me.”

  Brie and Chance both gave me what’s going on looks. I didn’t know myself. I had this irrational urge to protect him somehow. Instead of questioning what was going on in my head, I raced to my room to change. I could have gone in the jean skirt and shirt I wore, but I opted to put on something else.

  A knock came at the door.

  “What’s going on?”

  Brie stepped in as I tossed clothes around.

  “I don’t know,” I muttered as I tried to find something. I wasn’t sure what.

  “We’ve been friends for a while. And I have to say you’re acting a little crazy.”

  I looked up to see her plucking off a shirt that landed on her head.

  “Who exactly are you getting dressed up for, your boyfriend or Sawyer?” She filled in the silence that followed with, “Or someone else.”

  “David, I guess.” Then I held it up. An over the shoulder yellow romper I’d gotten over the summer for a steal. “You think this will look good?”

  “You realize it’s just a party at a stupid sorority house?”

  I shrugged. “One never knows who one might run into.”

  It took twenty minutes to get ready and by the time I made it out, the guys had left. Brie held up her phone.

  “Chance will let me know if they go somewhere else.”

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to take you away from your man.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I don’t have to be with him all the time, and Sawyer needed Chance and Ash to look out for him. Besides, I couldn’t leave you alone.”

  “It’s fine. I’m fine, I mean…” I blew out a breath. “Okay. I’ll admit seeing Sawyer like that freaked me out.”

  “It did for all of us. I just didn’t know you’d be so worried about him.”

  “He’s not a bad guy.”

  “I know.”

  “And he’s helping me out.”

  “He is,” she agreed.

  Her placid tone grated on my nerves. “What are you trying to say?”

  “What aren’t you saying?”

  “I have a boyfriend,” I deflected.

  “And did you tell him why you couldn’t go see him?”

  I couldn’t answer that.

  “You know what I went through when I denied my feelings for Chance. I wanted to hate him, but I couldn’t.”

  “It’s not like that with Sawyer,” I denied.

  “Isn’t it?” Her arched eyebrow was a dare.

  “He hurt me,” I finally admitted. Brie being a born listener didn’t say anything, just waited for me to go on. “Remember that time we were drunk and the guys brought us back here?”

  She nodded.

  “Well, Sawyer and I…” I didn’t have to finish because she figured it out and tried to tamper down her surprise. “Anyway, I told him to never bring it up again.”

  “And?”

  “He didn’t. He acts like he doesn’t remember an
y of it.”

  “Oh…okay,” she said slowly like she was talking me off the edge.

  “He never once asked me out again. He treated me like a booty call.”

  “You basically told him to leave you alone.”

  When she said it, it sounded bad on my part.

  “Yes, but if he was interested he would have pursued me.”

  “You know you sound crazy, right?”

  “Chance didn’t give up on you when you told him to screw himself,” I balked.

  “And Chance and Sawyer are two different people. Plus, you guys hadn’t been dating.”

  “It was my first time,” I blurted.

  It hadn’t been something I told anyone, not with detail at least. Brie was struck silent.

  “I don’t think he knew. At least I hope he didn’t.”

  He hadn’t exactly made things sweet for me. Not that I was complaining. It was better than I’d expected. And maybe that was part of the burn for me. It obviously hadn’t been good for him as he hadn’t wanted more.

  “Never mind. Forget what I said and let’s go.”

  “You know you can trust me, right?”

  I hadn’t had a good track record with trust. Everyone I knew except maybe my brother had let me down in ways. Though he’d never once suspected I’d dated his best friend. Was I just that good at hiding in plain sight, or was I not worth anyone’s attention?

  “Let’s just go.”

  Thankfully, she didn’t push. “I’ll drive.”

  We left for the party and I did my best to push all thoughts of Sawyer away, but the silence only made me think.

  “How are things with Chance?” I asked.

  “Deflecting?” Her smile made the one-word question less accusatory. I shook my head. “It’s tough. He’s doing okay, considering everything.”

  Chance had been dealt a bad hand. His home life pretty much sucked.

  Greek row wasn’t far. We lucked out on a spot and walked toward the chaos.

  “I’m going to find Chance. Are you going to be okay?”

  I nodded. “David should be here.”

  We’d talked about coming. I was sure after I bailed on dinner, he’d come with his friends. Though it was still early, there were plenty of people. It wasn’t as rowdy as it would be later on that night. I meandered toward the back, down a narrow hall. Lots of cheers were coming from that direction.

  A crowd stood in a semicircle around a well-worn sectional sofa. A drinking game of passing a single card from a deck around using only your lips was underway. I followed the people as they laughed, pressing their mouths together with only the card to separate them. It was funny to see unlikely pairs forced to get super close to each other.

  That’s when I noticed David in the lineup. He sat next to the girl he’d been talking to at the last party. She wasn’t watching the game. She was watching him. When the card was passed to him, he turned to his admirer, the one Sawyer warned me about. Only having eyes for him, she moved in. It was like slow motion as I watched the card slip away. That should have stopped the game and forced them to drink up. But their mouths connected as if magnetized. Lips molded together, he didn’t pull away, at least not quickly enough for me. The crowd erupted in cheers. His smile was real as he sat back. All of it happened in painful slow-mo. Before I could walk away, our gaze met for a second. Then I fled, feeling the prickle of tears in my eyes.

  Hands reached for me. That’s when I noticed Ashton and Sawyer nearby. Both had regret written on their faces. I didn’t stop. The hallway that led to the front door seemed way too long and crowded. I needed air. I wasn’t sure what I felt. Betrayal and hurt were among the first emotions I identified.

  “Shelly!”

  I turned back to see David busting through the front door. A part of me wanted to run off like some victim. But anger rose to the surface. I turned like I could breathe fire and waited for him.

  Sawyer, Ashton, Chance, and Brie all followed, not to mention anyone else who smelled a fight brewing.

  “It isn’t what you think.”

  David’s words greeted me a few feet before his body did.

  “The fact that you ran after me to explain yourself says otherwise,” I said coolly.

  His jaw worked. “It was a game.”

  “Honestly, I’m not mad at that.” Slowly, I moved my head side to side. “You knew right away when your lips touched, there wasn’t a card. Yet, you didn’t stop yourself.”

  “Shelly—”

  “I think maybe we need a break.”

  Remorse left his features, replaced by anger. “A break? Is this because of him?”

  He spun around and pointed at Sawyer as if he wielded a sword before turning his blazing glare back on me.

  “Seriously, you’re blaming him? He wasn’t the one kissing someone else,” I said.

  “No, but he’s the one you’ve been spending all your time with. He’s the one who’s been all over my ass about you.”

  “This is about us and we aren’t working.”

  His chest rose and fell like a bull ready to charge. “Yeah, fine, whatever.”

  He blew past my friends, done with me too. I spun on my heel and started speed walking in the opposite direction. The tears that burned the back of my eyes were because he’d given me up without much of a fight. I shouldn’t be surprised. I’d never be the girl guys chased after. That shit only happened in fairy tales for girls like me. At least this time, I’d meant what I’d said. My heart didn’t break for him.

  Brie had been right. I dated David because he had been there. Yes, I was definitely attracted to him. But we hadn’t had a ton in common. He’d represented a thousand and one things I thought I wanted. Nothing, however, could replace the original. My heart was still kind of wrapped around a boy I wanted to despise.

  “Shelly, wait.”

  A hand landed on my shoulder. I turned to face the most gorgeous set of eyes.

  THIRTY-THREE

  Sawyer

  “Firecracker.”

  She felt fragile in my hand. My tough as nails girl wore vulnerability on the surface of her skin. I wanted nothing more than to protect her if she’d let me.

  “Sawyer, not now.” Her eyes begged me for something. “Please.”

  “He wasn’t worthy of you.”

  Her eyes glittered with unshed tears. I couldn’t think of anything to say. So I showed her how. I leaned down and covered her mouth with my own.

  I didn’t get a chance to pull her in tight to me before she took two steps back and slipped out of my hold. She lifted fingers of one hand to touch her lips like I’d burned them. I’d felt it too. There had always been something different about her than the rest of the women who breezed in and out of my life.

  Her head shifted to the left, drawing my gaze. Ashton stood to the side just as shell-shocked as we were.

  Her mouth worked, but no words were spoken. She turned, catching sight of Brie and Chance, and bolted in their direction. Chance dipped his head at me. I knew him well enough to know he’d make sure she got home safe.

  That left me with way too little alcohol in my system for any conversation with Ash about what had just happened.

  I pointed at him. “Don’t start.”

  Instead of going home, I went back in the party to lose myself for the night. I needed to forget the sweetness of Shelly’s kiss. I’d felt this stirring for Julie and that had ended badly. I had no intentions of going down that path again.

  Yet when I got home more sober than I’d planned, I couldn’t help myself from checking on Shelly. I’d made an excuse to Ash that I planned to watch TV. He went to his room like he hadn’t moved out months ago.

  Light pooled under her door, beckoning me. I got something from the kitchen before I dared to knock on her door.

  She opened it, surprised to see me.

  “It’s late.”

  I held out a bowl of ice cream.

  “What’s this?”

  “Isn’t this w
hat you girls do after a breakup? Eat ice cream and shit?”

  She shook her head but not at me. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “‘Thank you’ works.”

  “Thank you. Though you must realize that even though this is really sweet of you, it’s weird at the same time.”

  “Weird?”

  “I don’t know. We hate each other. You kissed me. And now you’re bringing me ice cream. This has to be one of the strangest nights I’ve had. I keep wondering if I’m dreaming.”

  “I could kiss you again and prove you’re not dreaming,” I teased.

  She laughed and held up a hand. “No. That’s quite okay.”

  I pressed a palm to my chest and faked being hurt. “You don’t like my kiss. Oh. My. Gosh. You are so mean.”

  She cackled. “Please stop.”

  I sobered. “Then eat the ice cream.”

  She stared at my hand. “I’m not hungry.”

  “Indulge me then. You need these calories.” I walked past her and made myself comfortable on her bed. I stretched my legs out as she watched in disbelief.

  “Seriously?” She stood holding onto the door.

  I shrugged. “I have nothing better to do.”

  “What? Has your fan club finally closed?”

  I shook my head and reached for my phone. Using my thumb, I opened my text messages and held out the display so she could read it. There were several recent texts with invitations to hang out.

  “Fine. You’ve made your point. Though I still don’t get why you’re here with me.”

  I wasn’t ready to explain myself. She intrigued me more than anyone in the past. I patted the bed next to me.

  She rolled her eyes, but came over and took the bowl from my hand. When she started shoving spoonful after spoonful down her throat, I stilled her hand. As cute as she was, I wanted her to relax. I pulled her over to wrap an arm around her. She stared at my hand like I had tentacles as I stroked her arm.

  Finally, she relaxed and let her head rest on my shoulder.

  “Why couldn’t you be this guy two years ago?”

  “Because I was stupid.”

  She sniffed. “I hate stupid guys.”