31. Chapter 31
The next day, I arrive at Cuppa Joe’s to find Sam waiting for me. He’s standing outside with his coat zipped all the way up, his hood on, and his hands in his pockets. His posture is so rigid, he’d be like a statue if it weren’t for his shaking.
“Are you cold?” I tease as I walk up to him. “What are you doing waiting out here? It’s, like, twenty degrees.”
“Well...” he says through chattering teeth. “I was going to wait inside, but before I opened the door I peeked through the glass and saw Maya behind the counter.”
I gasp. “No way. She works here?”
“Evidently.”
“We can go to the library if you want.”
He shakes his head. “Too quiet and not enough coffee. Besides, you’re here now, so I’ll have a buffer.”
“I’ll do what I can,” I say, saluting him like a soldier. “Come on, let’s get inside before you ice over.”
He laughs, then opens the door and steps inside. I trail in behind, and witness Maya’s elated expression turn sour as her eyes flick from Sam to me. A mild sense of pity takes root in my chest, but I get over it quickly.
Sam and I head to the counter where Maya greets us. I should say she greets Sam, because all I get from her is a curt, “Brynn.” We order our drinks, and Sam tries to pay, but I don’t let him. Since it’s my choice not to meet at his place anymore, I feel like it should be my treat.
“So, what are you two doing here?” Maya asks as she takes my credit card.
“Just working on the study group presentation,” I say.
“Oh. You don’t usually come in here to do that, do you?”
“No, but we needed a change of scenery.” Picking up the house roast she slides across the counter, I hold it up. “And a hot drink to warm up.” I pass the cup to Sam.
“Thanks,” he says. “I’ll go grab a table.”
Maya hands me my card back as she longingly looks at Sam, but she doesn’t say anything. My name is called at the other end of the counter, so I head there to pick up my order, then to the table Sam claimed. I sit down and use a frustrated breath to blow on my hot drink.
“Everything okay?” Sam asks.
“Mhm. I’m glad Maya’s not my lab partner.”
He chuckles. “Maybe we should switch partners.”
“Oh yeah, I’m sure Micah would love that.” I roll my eyes.
“Are you kidding me?” Sam turns between me and his computer, his eyebrows scrunched. “He’d be ecstatic. Have you seen the way he looks at her?”
I stare at him in confusion. “No. I had no idea.”
“That actually doesn’t surprise me. You’re always so engrossed in your work, you don’t notice a lot.”
I fold my arms. “I do too. I might not look, but I notice things.”
“You’ve never noticed me staring at you,” he says quietly out of the side of his mouth.
My forehead crinkles as my lips part slightly. He stares at me? Since when? “That’s because I didn’t want to see your annoying face.”
To my relief, Sam laughs. “Yeah, okay. Whatever you say.” He opens his laptop, sipping his coffee as the computer warms up.
The silence hanging heavily between us gives me time to think. I don’t know that I ever properly thanked Sam for last night. He not only saved me from Connor, but he also hung out with me and let me vent my frustrations. He was also more understanding about my confusion with his sister than I expected him to be.
That all deserves to be mentioned.
“Sam?” I wait for him to acknowledge his name. “I need to thank you for last night.”
His brow crinkles sympathetically, but he doesn’t speak.
I drop my gaze to my coffee cup. “Even after I lied about being sick, you still helped me through what happened with...” I swallow. “With my ex. I want you to know that I really appreciate what you did.” When I glance up, I’m greeted by a warm smile on Sam’s face.
“Brynn...” My name spills from his lips with such longing, I’m surprised I don’t melt into a gooey puddle. With a small wince, Sam pats my thigh before turning back to the computer. “You’re welcome.”
When he removes his hand, the spot on my thigh aches for his warmth, so I rub my palms down my legs.
“How are you doing, anyway?” he asks, not looking at me.
I lean forward, clasping my hands around my knees. “Fine.”
He tilts his head. “Fine?”
“Better.”
“Good.” He continues clicking the mousepad. “I’m glad I was able to help.”
“Me too.” I chew on my lip as my next question niggles at me. “How did you know I was on the patio?”
Licking his lips, Sam rubs the back of his neck. “I saw you sitting at the bar with your friend, and was on my way to inquire about your food poisoning...” He gives me a pointed look, a smirk appearing. “But you stumbled your way outside before I could get to you.”
“So, you opted to get a couple beers before coming to find me?”
“Ha, no. I was about to follow you, but your friend saw me first.”
The misery in his tone tells me Lisa was anything but nice, and a small pang of guilt hits me, but I’d be lying if I didn’t find it funny.
Sam must notice me struggling to contain my amusement because he nods at me. “Yeah, that was interesting. You’ve got a good friend there, you know that?”
“I do.”
“Well, she jumped off her stool and charged right at me, finger pointed and everything. She didn’t give me any details as to why you lied about being sick, but she used some colorful language to make it abundantly clear that you were upset with me.” He makes a pained face as if the memory is replaying in his mind.
I can’t help it, I giggle. “Sorry.”
“No, don’t be. She was just protecting you.”
“So, how did you convince her to let you talk to me?”
Sam swallows deeply and rubs his chin as he seems to be contemplating. “I, uh, told her that I wanted to hear things from your mouth, and apologize for whatever it was that I did. That seemed to satisfy her.”
I nod even as I wonder why Lisa didn’t mention any of this.
“So, I bought a couple of beers as an olive branch before coming out to the patio. You know the rest.” He clears his throat. “I’m just sorry I didn’t get there sooner.”
He sounds incredibly defeated by regret, I feel the need to comfort him, so I place my hand on his shoulder. His muscles instantly tense under my touch, but then relax. “It’s okay. I think I needed to hear all that shit from Connor.”
Sam gives me a sideways glance. “Really? Why?”
“For the last year, I’ve been thinking he left me because I was too weak to hold on to him. But really, he left me because he couldn’t handle my strength.” I squeeze Sam’s shoulder. “You helped me to see that. So, thank you.”
As we stare at each other, the silence falls between us again. This time, though, it’s not heavy. It’s warm, like we’ve opened the curtains to a bright, sunny day. I get lost in Sam’s eyes. The adoration pouring from them makes my heart race.
When he reaches up to lay his hand on mine, his touch sears my skin. So much so, it breaks the spell, and I flinch away. What the hell was that? I clear my throat. “Um, we should get started on the presentation.”
With a deflated nod, Sam scoots his chair closer to me, turning the computer so I can see the screen, and my whole body tenses. We’re so close, I can feel his heat. A rush of adrenaline courses through me as I recall how warm he is when he’s pressed against me. If I adjust my position, I could feel that again.
“What do you think about this?” Sam’s voice wrenches me back to reality, and I shake my head to clear it.
Take it easy, Brynn.
As he walks me through his latest idea, which is a play on Twenty Questions, I slowly relax. The presentation is a nice distraction from my growing desires. We need to get back to this. Back to focusing on the study group and not getting naked.
His idea is a simple design, but it’ll be effective. I tilt my head, and when he notices me staring, he gives me an incredulous look. “What?”
“Have I ever said thank you for all the work you put into these presentations?”
His lips curl playfully. “No.”
“Well, I’m saying it now. Thank you, Sam.”
“Wow, two ‘thank you”s’ in one day. I should go buy a lottery ticket,” he says with a wink.
I smack his arm playfully. “Hey, I mean it. You’ve made the study group really successful.”
His cheeks tinge pink. “Well, I couldn’t have done it without your expert knowledge.”
“Whatever. You’re just as smart as I am. You’re the only other person to challenge my test scores.”
“Does all of this make us even, then?” He locks his eyes on mine, not taunting me, but almost like he’s pleading. “Can we stop being enemies?”
The air is stolen from my lungs, but I whisper, “Sam, we haven’t been enemies for a while.”
“Good.” He noticeably relaxes before turning back to the computer to shut it down. “Come on, let’s get out of here. I can feel Maya’s glare burning a hole right through me.”
My laugh cuts any lingering tension, and we pack up to leave. Sam heads for the door, but I walk toward the counter to throw my cup away. As I do, Maya waves me down. Hesitantly, I walk to the other end of the counter to meet her.
“Hey, Maya. What’s up?”
“You win.”
“Excuse me?” I quirk an eyebrow.
She huffs and folds her arms. “You win, okay? Sam is all yours.”
“What?” I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose. “Maya, you’ve got things all wrong. There’s nothing between me and Sam.”
“Oh, shut up, Brynn.”
My eyes pop wide open to see her rolling hers.
“You can stand there and tell me all about how you don’t think there’s anything between you two, but I just spent a good two hours watching you.” She licks her lips, tucking her bottom lip between her teeth. “I saw the way he looks at you. He doesn’t look at anyone like that.”
My lips part. “Maya, we’re classmates. That’s it.”
“Yeah, whatever. Keep telling yourself that, Brynn.” She waves me off before returning to work.
I’m left in awe. I don’t know what’s more surprising, the fact that Maya talked to me, or that she thinks Sam is interested in me. At one point, there might have been something growing between us. Hell, I even felt a strange sensation today while we worked, but it’s all residual feelings from our recently ended arrangement. I’m sure of it.
I shake my head to clear it, and step outside to meet up with Sam who is waiting patiently for me. We walk side by side to the end of the street where we exchange pleasant see-you-laters, then we both head to our respective homes. It’s not a romantic goodbye filled with angst and longing. Just two people parting ways.
Whatever Maya thought she saw was left over from the last time we slept together. You know, less than a week ago…