Chapter Eight

Hadley

"Sorry I had to come back," Sawyer said with a sexy grin, his dimples on full display.

I pressed my lips together, but couldn't help hide the huge smile on my face. Eek! He is soooo cute, I thought to myself.

"Can't be a pizza man without the official jacket," he said, holding up his coat, which featured a patch with a large piece of pepperoni pizza on the back.

I let out a small giggle.

"Not too much longer, then this guy," he pointed to his chest with his two thumbs, "will have officially graduated with a degree in kinesiology and my pizza delivering days will be over."

"I think you're going to disappoint a lot of your female customers," I said, my cheeks instantly flushing.

"Eh," he said shrugging. "They'll find someone to take my place. Hopefully they won't end up with a cast on their hand though."

My cheeks went from warm to burning hot. "I'm so sorry, Sawyer," I apologized for like the hundredth time.

"Hey," he said wrapping his good arm around my waist and pulling me into his rock hard chest. "I'm glad you called 911. Otherwise, I you never would have rode along in the ambulance with me and I wouldn't have learned that you weren't trying to kill me." He chuckled. "I wouldn't have gotten to have lunch with you or hang out with you tonight." He paused to brush a stray strand of hair off of my face.

"And," he said with a twinkle in his eye, "Most importantly, I never would have gotten to do this." He leaned down and pressed his lips against mine.

Wrapping my arms around his waist, our lips crashed together. He bit my lower lip lightly before running his tongue across my teeth.

My mind began to race as we continued to kiss in my living room. He's such a good kisser! I wonder if he thinks I'm a good kisser? Ugh! It's been so long since I've done this! Oh no! What if I'm a bad kisser?

As if he could read my mind, Sawyer pulled away and peered into my eyes. His deep blue eyes made my knees feel like jelly.

"What's wrong, Hadley?" he asked with concern in his voice.

I looked down.

He tipped my chin up with his index finger. "What is it?"

"I'm just a little out of practice," I admitted.

"Well," he said brushing his lips against mine. "I can't tell." He kissed me once more before pulling back. "I hate to do this..."

"But you need to go," I said, with a slight pout.

"Yeah," he responded. "But, I'd like to take you to dinner tomorrow night, if that's okay?"

Unable to stop grinning, I nodded. "That would be very nice."

"I'll pick you up at seven?" he asked.

"Sounds perfect."

He leaned down one last time and pressed his lips against mine. "See you tomorrow, Hadley."

As soon as Sawyer had left, I locked the door and pulled out my cell phone.

I unlocked the screen and tapped on Scarlet's name. The phone didn't even ring before I heard my best friend's voice on the line.

"Soooooo," she said, "How'd it go?"

I sank into the couch, squeezed my eyes shut, and let out a squeal.

"That good?" she asked with a chuckle.

"Scar, he's such a good kisser!"

"Had! Look at you! Kissing the pizza guy the night after you almost smashed his hand off!"

Deciding to make a joke instead of feeling worse about it, I said, "Worst. Meet. Cute. Ever."

Scarlet burst into laughter.

"Hey, it will make a good story," I said in between giggles.

Clearing her throat, Scarlet's mood instantly changed. "Hey, Had?" she asked in a serious voice.

Furrowing my brow, I opened my eyes and sat up. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," admitted Scarlet. "In fact, it's just the opposite."

"Huh?" I asked.

"You're just so happy." She sighed. "It's just, it's just really nice."

I shifted my weight and hugged a pillow against my chest. "It feels really nice, Scar."

My best friend let a moment pass before asking, "So, when are you going to see him again?"

"Tomorrow," I squealed. "He's taking me for dinner at seven!" I hugged the pillow even tighter. "Did I mention that he's a good kisser?"

Scarlet laughed. "I think you may have mentioned that already."

Releasing the pillow, I stood up and stretched my arms above my head. "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Anything."

I walked through my bedroom door and turned on the television. "Can I borrow that cute grey maxi dress?"

"Like you even need to ask!"

I smiled and then frowned. "I think my cheeks actually hurt from smiling too much tonight."

Scarlet laughed. "I can think of worse things."

"Me too, Scar," I said, yawning mid sentence.

"You sound tired," said Scarlet.

I stifled another yawn. "Yeah, I am pretty tired."

"Okay, you go to bed," she said. "I'll drop the dress off after work tomorrow."

"Thanks, Scar. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Night, Had."

The phone beeped twice, indicating Scarlet had hung up. Reaching down, I picked up the charger and plugged my phone in.

After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I pulled the covers back and crawled into bed.

What to watch, what to watch... I thought to myself as I flipped through several channels. I settled on the local news, hoping to catch the weather. I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow night.

Suddenly, the reporter touched his ear and looked down for a moment. "Okay," he said, looking back into the camera. "This just in, there's been a terrible accident off of Old Mountain Road. We're going to cut to Julie Hamilton, who's just arrived at the scene. Julia, can you tell us what's going on?"

Julia Hamilton appeared on the screen a few seconds later. "Thank you, Josh. I'm here reporting off of Old Mountain Road, where there's just been a terrible accident." She stepped to the side and held her arm out. "It appears the driver lost control of their vehicle and plunged off the mountain side."

The cameraman panned the scene. Flashing lights from the police cars let off of an eerie glow on the nearby trees.

"The driver's identity has not been released; however, we have learned that he is in critical condition at Mission Hospital."

The camera focused on a large spotlight pointed down over the edge of the mountain.

"Although the police haven't released the name of the driver, we are able to tell you that the car involved in the accident is a black Mercedes SL-Class Roadster."

My hands started to tremble as I fumbled for the remote. I pressed the rewind button with a shaky finger and listened as the reporter gave the car's description again.

Bile crept up the back of my throat as my heart began hammering in my chest. "No, no, no!" I screamed. "It can't be! This can't be happening!"

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Hey, everyone! I am so sorry it has taken me so long to update. We had a death in our family and it's been a little difficult bouncing back. Thank you for understanding. I hope to update again soon.

Hearts,

Kelly Anne Blount xoxo