Finding You (By You #3) (15 page)

As they made their way further down University, Sarah felt an odd sense of deja vu. She'd been here before, recently. Looking across the street, she saw the familiar entrance of H-Town Coffee--the place where she and Jeremy had met for coffee. It had only been a few days, but it felt like an eternity had passed since then.
 

"Hey, that's the coffee place that I went to with Jeremy," she said, pointing at it.

"Coffee sounds great," Reagan said.

"Oh, yeah...a little of the black stuff goes a long way," Braden said, grinning and rubbing his stomach.

Sarah didn't know how she felt about going to the same place she'd been with Jeremy--something felt off-limits about it--but she did agree that coffee sounded good. Maybe she would get the same thing he'd ordered for her, that had been good. They cut their way across the street, and through the wide entrance to the coffee shop. The coffee shop was as packed on the inside as it had been last time she was there, and they had to push their way to the front counter.

"This place is awesome," Reagan said. She admired the chalkboard menu that stood behind the front counter. "What's good here?"

Sarah read over the menu, but couldn't remember what it had been that Jeremy had ordered for her. It was sweet, creamy, and tasted amazing, but... There it was.

"I had the milk & honey last time," she said, pointing at it on the menu. "It was pretty good, but strong."

Braden cocked an eyebrow at her. "That sounds like one of those fancy frappicappalattes, or whatever they're called. Whatever happened to drinking plain ol' coffee at a coffee shop?"

Reagan gave him a light slug on the arm. "Be nice. This is the city, not back home--we actually have options here."

He shrugged. "Just saying...I know what
I'm
having."

When they made it to the counter, a petite girl wearing black, high-waisted shorts greeted them. Reagan and Sarah both ordered the same drink she'd had before, and true to his word, Braden ordered a black coffee. The girl behind the counter poured his coffee right away and slid it to him. He scooped it up and took a drink, and nearly spit the drink all over the counter as he sputtered.

"This is
coffee
, right?" he said, staring down at the cup as though it had just tried to attack him.

The girl let out a laugh. "Our coffee is a little stronger than most people are used to--we roast it here, ourselves."

Braden flashed her a devious grin. "Well, looks like I'm going to be up all night, now. Going to be no way to sleep after drinking this."

Sarah and Reagan both rolled their eyes when the girl's mouth fell open in bashful surprise, as though he'd just told her she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. Of course, by the look on his face, Sarah wasn't certain he wasn't thinking that very thought.

"Come on, Romeo. Let the girl do her job," Reagan said, hooking him under the arm.

He gave her a sour look, but let her lead him off to the side, where they waited for the two other drinks.

"I don't see what the big deal is--I was just being polite."

"Your kind of polite usually ends up with a girl getting her heart broken."

His face twisted until it looked like she'd just punched him in the gut. It wasn't until after he thought about what she said that he grunted noncommittally.

Reagan shook her head. "I swear, you boys will never learn. I hope some girl comes along and gives you a taste of your own medicine, then we'll see who's the one laughing." Reagan flashed a quick smile at Sarah--a little joke for them to share--but Sarah wasn't paying attention to either of them, anymore.

She stared into the corner of the coffee shop, at the little nook that wrapped around behind the front entrance. They'd walked straight past it when they came in--maybe that's why she hadn't noticed it at first.

"You alright? You look like you've seen a ghost." When Sarah didn't respond, Reagan shook her arm. "Earth to Sarah?"

"It's him," she said, her voice tight. "And he's here with that girl."

Reagan and Braden both turned and looked in the same direction as her--but they couldn't see what she was seeing. Neither of them had ever met him.

"Who?" Reagan asked.

"Jeremy," Sarah said. "I guess he's not in class, after all."

* * * * *

Anger built up in her chest as she watched him talking to the same girl she'd seen him here with last time--Becca. They were sitting at a table in the corner of the lobby, hidden from the front door. They leaned in close, smiling and talking without a care in the world.

Braden had been right--how could she have been so foolish? Why hadn't she seen the signs right away? Hell, they'd been together when she met him for that first cup of coffee. She should have stopped it then and there, before anything even started. She should have picked up on it right away, but she hadn't. How could Jeremy do that to her? She thought he was different, thought he was better than that.

She thought he was special,
that's
what she thought.

No, this wasn't his fault. This was on her. If the signs had been there from the beginning then she had no one to blame but herself. But still, that didn't make her feel any better. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't really interested in the idea of him

"Is that him in the corner?" Reagan asked. "With the short, black hair." Sarah's lips were pursed together, but she gave a quick nod. Reagan considered him for another moment, then added, "He's cute."

Sarah snorted. "Not as cute as he used to be." She gave both Reagan and Braden a cautious stare. "Excuse me for a second, I need to go have a quick word with the guy I'm never going to talk to again."

Sarah made a beeline for the corner of the coffee shop, with a million things racing through her mind. She didn't know what she was going to say to him, but she knew it wasn't going to be good. If he didn't want to hang out with her, why couldn't he have just said so? Why did he have to lie? He knew that was the
one
thing that she couldn't--that she
wouldn't
--tolerate. Would it have been so hard to just tell her the truth? Maybe then they could have stayed friends.

Jeremy didn't even see her coming until she was standing over him. And when he saw her there, his eyes went wide in horror.

"Class get out early?" she asked, her voice tight.

"Sarah, what are you doing here?"

"What am
I
doing here? I was just wondering the same thing about you! I remember you telling me that you couldn't see me because you were in class all day."
 

He rose out of his chair and reached a hand out to her, but she took a step back.

"Sarah, I can explain..."

She shook her head, taking another step away. "I don't want you to explain. I don't want anything from you. Clearly this was all a mistake."

She turned and pushed her way past people, toward the exit, before he could respond. She heard him calling out to her, but she didn't acknowledge him. She didn't want to stay and talk, she didn't want to hear whatever it was he had to say. She just wanted to get away, back to campus, back to her dorm, and back to her life. She'd take this and learn her lesson. It would be a long time before she let her guard down around a guy, again. She'd only been out with Jeremy a couple times, so why did it still hurt so much? She wiped a tear before could make its way down her cheek.

She hadn't made it more than a few feet out of the coffee shop before a hand grabbed her from behind and spun her around. Jeremy stood there, an intense look in his eye, while she wiped away another tear so he wouldn't see.

"What do you want?" she said, the wavering in her voice making her even more upset.

"I want to explain," he said.

His eyes were blazing and they sapped whatever willpower she had left. She wouldn't let herself look away from him, though. If she was going to face him, she was going to do it her way, with her head held high. She shrugged his hands off her shoulders, and gave him a cool stare.

"Go on..." Her voice didn't tremble, this time.

He gave her a sterner look before he beginning.

"What you saw in there--" he gestured back toward the coffee shop, "--that wasn't what it probably looked like."

"And what do you think it probably looked like?" Her voice had turned to ice.

Jeremy winced. "It probably looked like a lot more than it was. Becca and I are just friends--nothing more."

"Why should I believe you? Why didn't you just tell me you already had plans instead of lying to me about having class?"

I
did
have class--I just didn't go." He hesitated for a second before continuing. "Some stuff came up, and I needed to talk to her about it--that's all."

"What kind of stuff?" she asked.

He hesitated again, this time with a pained look in his eye. He glanced around quickly, as though checking to see if anyone were listening in on their conversation, but no one was paying them any attention.

"This isn't the place for it," he said.

Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Look, Jeremy, I'm not going to lie, I really like you. But I'm not going to put myself through all of this again. I'm not some play toy you can have whenever it suits you--I'm a person."

"I know you are. I didn't mean for you to feel that way." His hard facade cracked for a second as he gave her a pleading look. "I really like you, too. That night at my place meant a lot to me."

"You have a funny way of showing it," she scoffed, even if only half-heartedly.

He gave her an intense look then, without warning, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into him. A surprised squeal escaped her before Jeremy's lips pressed into hers. She struggled for all of a second before he knees got wobbly from the passionate kiss. The rest of the world melted away around them, and everything Sarah was angry about faded with it. It was like she had been sucked into a different world where everything else that happened didn't matter. And when they finally broke apart, she was left breathless and stunned.

She stared up at him, letting herself get lost in those crystal blue eyes.

"What was that for?" she said.

"I need you to know that I really like you, too." After that kiss, there was no way she could doubt it. "Look, I have some things I want to tell you, but this isn't the place. Can we get together, sometime? Tomorrow night, maybe?"

She frowned. "Will you be around tonight?"

He winced, giving her a concerned look.

"I've got some obligations, already."

She studied him for a second before she pieced it together.

"Becca?"

He nodded once, and added, "But I swear to you it's nothing you need to worry about. She's just helping me with some things."

She frowned at him, but what could she say about it? He was being honest with her, and that's all she had wanted from him. He looked at her for a long moment, his cheek twitching and agitated.

"Listen, I'm not meeting up with Becca until later in the evening--maybe I can swing by before then so we can talk?"

"That would be good," Sarah said, relieved. She couldn't imagine waiting another whole day before she got to talk to him. She wanted to clear the air a bit, and maybe figure out what was going on between them.

He smiled at her, and pulled her into another kiss that did its best to tell her that everything was going to be okay. She just wished she could get rid of the nagging sensation in the back of her head that told her otherwise. When they finally broke apart, he gave her one of his soft smiles.

"I'll see you later, then."

"I'll be waiting," she said.

Hopefully this time he would actually follow through on what he told her he was going to do.

After she had talked with Jeremy outside, Reagan and Braden brought out her drink, and they started heading back to campus. They wanted her to hang out with them for the rest of the afternoon, but she said she needed to get some work done. When they were back at the dorms, Braden pulled her aside, a cautious look on his face.

"Before you leave, I wanted to say something." He glanced around nervously, as though to make sure Reagan wouldn't overhear them. When he was satisfied, he said, "I was hoping I could get your number." Sarah frowned at him, and his eyes went wide. "Oh, I don't mean it like
that
. I mean, in case we can't get in touch with Reagan or something--I know my parents would be more comfortable knowing she had a friend looking after her."

"Sure, that sounds smart," Sarah said. It was sweet to see how much Braden cared about his sister. "You can give me yours too, if that will help. I'll only call if I have to."

His smile widened. "That would be great."

They exchanged numbers and he wished her luck. With the way things had been going, lately, she was going to need it. Whatever Jeremy wanted to talk about sounded important. But at least they were talking. The way he'd kissed her reminded her of everything she'd felt before, reminded her of why she'd been so interested in him in the first place. You couldn't kiss someone like that and not have it mean something.

Just don't let yourself get hurt.

The rest of the afternoon passed, slowly. She sat watching the clock, waiting for the time that Jeremy said he would be over. Every time she looked at it she was sure it must have stopped working. The minutes were creeping by slower than ever before.

Jeremy had said he would swing by at five, and when that time came and went without hearing from him, Sarah got worried. He wasn't going to stand her up again, was he? She was half tempted to grab her phone and call him to give him a piece of her mind when there was a knock on the door. It was so loud she nearly jumped out of her chair. She raced to the door to see if it was him.

Opening the door, the only thing she saw was an enormous bouquet of flowers with someone standing behind them.

"Oh my god, they're beautiful," she squealed, grabbing them. Jeremy appeared where the flowers had been, but she wasn't paying him any attention. "I
love
the yellow roses. And the lilies!"