Finding You (By You #3) (17 page)

Eventually, the hard look in her face softened, and she let out a long, resigned sigh.

"Shall we?" she said, glancing at the building.

Jeremy's stomach twisted itself into knots. He had the sudden urge to jump back on his bike and ride straight back to Sarah's dorm, which would have been much easier than what he had to do.

"It never gets any easier, does it?" he asked, staring at the single door looming over them.

She gave him a sympathetic smile, and put an arm around his shoulder as they turned to walk in, together.

"No, it doesn't. And that's why we keep going."

She clapped him on the back one more time as they walked in, together. He'd give anything to be with Sarah, right then. Soon. He'd be with her soon. He just had to keep reminding himself of that.

Sleep came slowly that night for Sarah. She had a lot on her mind after everything Jeremy had told her, after everything they'd done. The next day, he texted her after his first class, and she was more excited than ever to hear from him. They were both pretty busy that day, but they made plans to get together the following night.

Sarah was sure that those two days were officially the slowest of the entire school year. Billie had been especially scarce ever since they'd gone to the frat party, and even Reagan was getting swamped with class work. Sarah figured it was for the best, since she had plenty of her own work to do. Still, she spent more time thinking about Jeremy than she should have. She wondered what he was looking for, if he was interested in a serious relationship?
 

She had to figure out a way to bring it up when she saw him, next. She didn't want to come off as that crazy person, but she wanted to make sure he knew how she felt about him. But she didn't want to think about what it might mean if he didn't feel the same way about her.

When the next night rolled around, she was nervous to go meet him at the union like they'd agreed. But she put on her big girl shorts and did it, anyway.

Campus was as busy as usual, with students rushing to get their dinner before the union got too crazy. The union was split into two levels, with most of the fast food type places conveniently located on the first floor. On the second floor, where Sarah was meeting Jeremy, were a few overpriced, but nicer, restaurants. It was much quieter up there, and would be easier for them to talk, would be easier for her to tell him what she had on her mind.

When she made her way into
La Parrilla Pollo
, the restaurant they'd agreed to meet at, Jeremy already had a table for them. A huge grin spread across his face when he saw her, and he stood as she walked to the table.

"You look beautiful," he said, eyeing her up and down.

She smiled back at him. "Oh, I just threw this on, it's nothing special."

"You make it look special."

She beamed at him, feeling the heat coming to her cheeks, again. He seemed to make it his mission to make her blush every time they were together--and he was good at it. Not that she was complaining.

"You don't look so bad yourself."

He shot her a wicked grin as he held a chair out for her. He was wearing his usual tight shirt and blue jeans, which he always looked good in. But he was also sporting a little five o'clock shadow that gave him more of a rugged look than she was used to seeing on him.

"You're just saying that because you have to," he said, sliding into his chair next to her.
 

"No, I mean it. I'm going to have to fight the ladies off when we leave."

He fixed her with a fierce stare.

"Don't worry, you won't have to fight them off alone--I'll help."

That made her blush even more than she already was.

They made some small talk while a waiter came by and took their order. She'd never been there, and she was surprised to see that the menu didn't look very big. What could she really expect from a tiny restaurant on campus, anyways? Thankfully, it didn't take long for her to calm her nerves.
 

After their food was delivered and they'd eaten, Sarah finally herself bring up what she'd been putting off for so long.

"Listen, I was hoping we could talk about something," she began, after composing herself. Her tone was more serious than she had intended, and Jeremy leveled a curious look at her.

"Of course. Anything you want."

She gave him a tiny smile, and nodded her head, composing her thoughts again.

"It's just--" she shook her head, "--you're probably going to think I'm crazy..."

He reached out and wrapped his hand around hers, giving her a serious look.

"I know you're not crazy. Just say whatever's on your mind."

"Well, it's just that things have been moving pretty fast between us, so far. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm fine with it, I'm just not used to it." Jeremy's encouraging look tilted into a frown as she went on. "I don't want you to get the wrong idea, I am really liking how things are going, I just..." She went quiet as she tried to find the words that explained what she wanted to say without making her come across like an obsessive, crazed freak.

Jeremy's neck arched and he leaned away from her. His eyes searched her, and the frown on his face found a way to deepen.

"Are you trying to say that you want to cool things off between us?" The concern in his voice was apparent.

"Oh, no, nothing like that," she said, quickly.

He shook his head again. "Then, what is it you're trying to say?"

The concern was still in his voice, and it was obvious that she'd completely botched what she was trying to get across. She knew she should have planned what she was going to say beforehand.

"I'm just not used to all of this stuff. I've only had one serious boyfriend, and I don't think he and I were even as close as you and I are. So it's all kind of new to me."

The expression on his face didn't change.

"It's still new for me, too," he said. "I've only been in one serious relationship, and..." his closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "...we both know how that one ended. I haven't dated anyone since then."

Sarah winced. She hoped he didn't think she was trying to diminish what he had gone through.
 

"Look... I'm crazy about you," Sarah began. "I know we've only been hanging out for a little while, but I've never felt this close to someone, before. I know it makes me sound crazy, but there it is." She held her breath, watching Jeremy for any sing of a reaction. "I mean, if you're not looking for something serious, that's fine. I just want to know now, before things go further."

There. She'd laid it all out for him.

But he didn't give her the reaction she was expecting. His face darkened when he looked at her.

"But what about your ex?" he said.

"What about him?"

Jeremy shrugged. "I know it's been over a month, but that isn't very long. Are you sure you're ready to move on?

Sarah gave him a confused look, caught off guard by the question. The very idea of being with Huck again repulsed her--she didn't want anything to do with him. Hadn't Jeremy seen that when they were at the party together?

"There's absolutely no part of me that wants to be with him," she said. "Like I said, I'm crazy about you. I like you way more than I should after so little time. And while that scares me, it only scares me because the thought of not being with you sounds so much worse.

The dark frown on his face broke into a soft smile. He bobbed his head, nodding.

"So what is it you're trying to say?" he asked, giving her an innocent, lop-sided grin.

"I'm saying I want to be with you. Like
really
be with you."

He smiled down at her hands. He slid his forefinger along the edge of her palm, and then up to her forearm and back down, as though he were making some sort of game of seeing how long he could make her wait before saying anything. Tingles ran through every place that his finger touched, and those tingles sent shivers through the rest of her body. Was he trying to torture her?

When their eyes locked again, he leaned in closer.

"In that case, Sarah..." He took a long breath while his eyes tried to swallow her whole. "...Would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?"

A smile spread across her face, and she couldn't bite back the laugh that rolled up from her chest. Jeremy's face went slack as he stared at her, confused. She tried to wave him off--he was just misunderstanding her--but that only made the laugh come on even stronger than before. She put a hand on her side and doubled over.

"Was it something I said?" he said, watching her.

She nodded her head up and down, barking out another laugh.

"I'm sorry," she said, through heavy breaths, trying to compose herself. "It's just...the way you said that... Who talks like that, anymore?"

Now Jeremy barked out a laugh of his own, which only renewed hers. They probably looked like two crazy people, cackling like that to themselves. But she didn't care. Let anyone think anything they wanted. It was the hardest she'd laughed in a long time.

Another minute passed before they were able to compose themselves. Sarah took deep breaths, looking him straight in the eye--those gorgeous, crystal blue eyes of his. She took hold of his hand, giving him a gentle squeeze.

"Jeremy, I would love to do you the honor of being your girlfriend," she said.

The smile he gave her was the warmest thing she'd ever seen. But it didn't stop them both from launching into another fit of uncontrolled laughter.

They didn't last long at he restaurant, after that. Before she knew it they were back in his dorm, kissing and rolling around. It ended up being the first night she ever slept over at his place, and waking up next to him the following morning was everything she hoped it would be.

Over the next couple of weeks, they were together a lot. They hung out very nearly every night. A couple nights a week Jeremy had group meetings to go to, but they were almost always together afterward. Sarah didn't mind, it gave her the opportunity to get caught up on some of her homework. She was actually starting to make progress in most of her classes, somehow managing to turn her grades around with the encouragement of her new boyfriend.

It was still weird to think of him like that--
boyfriend
--but she got used to it, quickly. Reagan had been the one most excited about it when Sarah had told her. She still hadn't had the opportunity to meet Jeremy, officially--since Sarah didn't think that time at the coffee shop really counted--but it was only a matter of time before the two bumped into each other.

Billie was another issue altogether. She had been around even less and less over those few weeks, and Sarah managed to figure out that she had started dating someone herself. It didn't take much sleuthing to figure out that it was Oz she was seeing. It didn't take much sleuthing, because Oz had told Jeremy about it, and he'd relayed the information to her.

The few times Sarah
did
bump into her, she was her usual, curt self. If anything, she seemed even shorter and more irritable than ever before. But nothing was going to diminish the high that Sarah was on, nothing was going to pull her down, least of all her cranky roommate.

One day, Sarah came home to find Billie in a huff about something. It was par for the course, and Sarah didn't give it a second's thought, at first. She was sitting at her desk, working on a paper for her creative writing class, when she realized Billie was hovering behind her.

"Can I help you?" Sarah asked, turning to look at her roommate.

Billie's eyes narrowed and her mouth pinched together in a way that made her look like she was wrestling herself over what she was going to say. Sarah was used to the ornery looks, though.

"I have a...question." It sounded like a struggle for her to get it out. Sarah raised her eyebrows, but Billie just scowled at her some more.

"Okay... And what is your question?"

The scowl turned even sourer when Sarah prompted her. There must have been something serious on her mind, because normally the prompt would have earned Sarah a nasty remark.
 

"If I'm going to tell you, it has to stay between us." Sarah frowned, but nodded her head. "I'm serious... You can't go running off telling your little boy-toy."

"He's not my
boy-toy
, he's my
boyfriend
," she corrected.

Billie rolled her eyes. "Fine, whatever. Do you promise?"

"Yes, I promise I won't tell anyone," she said, nodding. She'd never seen Billie so tightly wound before. Whatever was on her mind was a big deal, indeed.

Billie studied her for a while longer, her eyes narrowing to thin slits. Finally, she let out a frustrated snort.

"I have a little bit of a problem. And I was kind of hoping that..." She snorted again. "I was hoping you could help."

"Of course. You know I'd do anything I can to help you out. What's going on?"

Billie tried to scowl at her even more, but she couldn't hold it, and it slipped into the most concerned look Sarah had ever seen on her.

"It's just...it's Oz..."

Billie looked at her expectantly, as though just saying his name should be enough to convey everything going on inside of her head.

"You're going to have to be a little more specific. What about him?"

"He's...you know..." The edge had returned to her voice. "I don't know what to do about him."

"What do you want to do about him?"

"I don't know. He's starting to be all clingy and stuff, like we're...
together
. It's weird and creepy."

Sarah let out a little laugh. "Well, you guys
have
been spending a lot of time together, haven't you?"

Billie's eyes narrowed as she said it, accusingly.

"How do you know how much time we spend together?" she said, sharply.

Sarah held her hands up, placatingly. "Oz just mentioned to Jeremy that you guys have been hanging out. I just figured..."

"Oh please, that's just sex. Everybody needs a little sex in their life, it's a biological requirement."