Page 23 of Heartsmashed
He didn’t wait for me to respond, turning on his heel and closing the bathroom door with a soft click.
And as everything from the last ten minutes ran through my mind now that I was alone, one thing became very clear. This wasn’t going to stay simple. Not for him.
And definitely not for me.
8
SAWYER
BY THE TIME I’d freshened up and gotten dressed for the welcome party, I’d convinced myself of two things.
One—Beckett was going to be the death of me if I went anywhere near him in this one-bed situation.
And two—if I were to survive this week, much less tonight, I needed to commit to the act like my life depended on it.
Especially considering the number of people I’d see tonight who had known me since childhood and would absolutely clock my ass if I so much as blinked wrong.
Act normal,I told myself as I paced the length of the cabin, waiting for Beckett to finish getting ready in the bathroom.Everything’s fine. Beckett is my boyfriend. Boyfriend. Boy. Friend.
God, was it hot in here? I felt feverish already, so I opened the front door, the cold wind providing instant relief.
“Leaving without me?” Beckett asked.
“No, I—” I spun around to face him, only to immediately forget my words.
Jesus. He looked…incredible. He usually wore his dark blond hair a bit more casual, in a just-ran-my-fingers-through-it way, but tonight he’d styled it just enough to keep it from falling ontohis forehead. He’d kept that sexy scruff that lined his jaw. As my eyes continued their trek downward, I could only stare at the way he filled out the black pants and fitted black button-down he wore. The guy was in great shape; the material hugged his body in a way that screamed,I work out.
The man needed to come with a warning label, for fuck’s sake. How was hemydate?
“Sawyer?”
“Uh, yeah?”
“I asked if I need this.” He lifted up the suit jacket hanging off his fingertips. “Is the party more formal tonight?”
“No, no more clothes,” I said quickly, before he decided to put it on and cover what was already perfection. When he arched a brow, I added, “You look good already. I mean your outfit. It’s great. You know, like…that.”
I didn’t mention that his leaving the top two buttons of his shirt undone gave just enough of a glimpse of skin to make it distracting for me. Good distracting or bad, I guessed we’d have to wait and see.
Beckett’s gaze moved over me, slow and deliberate, and I froze. I’d played it safe with a crisp white shirt and navy blazer, definitely not the sex god look he achieved.
But the way he was looking at me, it didn’tfeellike I’d gotten it wrong.
It definitely was not making my cock stir in any kind of way. Nope, not at all.
I shifted under the weight of his stare, and his eyes met mine again.
“You look good too,” he said.
I wasnotgoing to get flustered before we even left the cabin. “I’m glad my fake boyfriend approves.”
His mouth twitched, but he didn’t look away. “I do.”
Right. Cool.We were just going to pretend that didn’t do something to me.
“Okay,” I said, turning to head out the door before I started drooling. “Let’s go find the bar.”
“Lead the way.”
