Chapter 14: Bryn

“Bryn.” At the sound of Tabitha’s voice, I pull myself from Sawyer’s arms and turn to her. “It might be best to take him home.”

She looks sympathetic but when I look around, I see several wary and angry faces. Shoot, she’s right.

“I’m sorry.” I mouth to her, and she gives my hand a squeeze.

I turn back to Sawyer and slip my hand into his and start pulling him to the door.

“Watch your back man! This isn’t over!” Someone yells from the crowd and Sawyer stops.

I can feel his body tense up and I know if I don’t do something then he’s only going to make things worse. So, I pull in a deep breath, let go of his hand and turn to look at the idiot who decided it was smart to speak. He’s a stocky guy and by the cocky look in his eyes and the jersey it’s clear he’s a footballer. Those guys think they’re god’s gift to women, idiots.

“What did you say?” I ask moving closer to him.

“You heard me. Keep your boyfriend away from here or we’ll do more than break up a fight. We’ll be starting it.” He crosses his arms with a smirk.

His buddies are looking at each other nervously. They must be smart enough to know not to mess with an angry woman, and I’m pissed right now.

I laugh and shake my head while I continue to walk toward him. “Is that the best threat you got? Come on, you’re supposed to scare me.”

He looks confused. “Uh…”

“Nothing? Then I suggest you keep your mouth shut.” I glare up at him and spin on my heels to walk away but someone grabs my arm.

That’s the last straw. This time when I whirl around I have my arm cocked back and I slam my fist into his idiot face.

“Ah fuck!” He cries, holding his nose as blood starts to flow down his chin.

I cross my arms over my chest and stare him down. “I suggest you think twice before grabbing a girl. It’s dangerous for you.”

A few people laugh as I walk off and grab Sawyer’s hand again. When I glance his way he’s biting back a smile until we push our way outside.

“His face was priceless.” He says before he starts to laugh.

I send a glare his way and he shuts up real quick. We head to my car, and he starts to walk away but there is no way he’s running away from the lecture I’m about to lay out for him.

“I brought my car.” He says but I tighten my hold on his hand so hard that he winces. “Alright! Damn.”

He climbs into the passenger side of my car and buckles up before I get in. I’m freaking steaming right now and he must sense it because he’s sitting quietly. I drive us away from the party and don’t say a word for several minutes. He might be pissed but I’m that times ten. I’m trying to calm myself down long enough to speak to him without yelling.

“Bryn I-“

“Shut up Sawyer.” I say calmly.

“Right.” He shifts uncomfortably.

“What were you thinking?” I ask a little louder than I hoped to be.

“I was thinking he was grinding up against you and-“

“That is none of your business Sawyer! How many times do I need to say that before you get it through your thick scull? God! Then you made a mess for yourself and pulled me into it! I shouldn’t have to deck some jerk for you anymore and yet here we are!” There is no calm to be had here.

“Bryn-“

“No! You don’t get to talk yet!” I snap at him.

I take a deep breath and try to calm myself at least a fraction. “This is unacceptable Sawyer, what if coach finds out? You’ll get benched before the season even starts. How do you plan on getting noticed and building your status when you can’t play? Are you a freaking idiot? God what is wrong with you?”

“He touched you!” He yells.

“So what? You know well that I’m perfectly able to handle business. Hence me taking down a that meat head football player. Did you forget who I am over the last few years?”

“Of course not! I know you can kick ass with the best of them, but I won’t some random guy put his hands on you.”

I’m exhausted with this. “Sawyer, the guy, Tony, talked before you showed up and traded numbers. He wasn’t some random guy.”

“What the fuck Bryn?!” Sawyer yells and turns to gawk at me.

“Yeah, and we were talking about meeting up. So, there isn’t anything for you to be getting mad over.”

“You’re not meeting that asshole.” He crosses his arm over his chest and says it like his word is law.

He thinks I won’t slug him too but I’m not above doing so if he keeps pissing me off.

“Sawyer, I’m serious. Let it go. I don’t need your protection. Why don’t you go hang out with one of the puck bunnies? I’m sure they would be happy to help you get some of that aggression out.” The suggestion tastes like acid in my mouth, but I need him to be too busy to mess with my mind.

After I almost kissed him, I know it will be hard to keep boundaries between us. The best solution is to push him on someone else.

“I don’t want to mess with puck bunnies here. They’re exhausting. All they do is show up at my dorm or call me constantly. They’re basically stalkers.” He huffs out a weak laugh.

“Yeah, it must be real hard having hot girls fall over themselves to get near you. Torture.” I roll my eyes at the ridiculous suggestion.

Guys love that sort of thing, especially athletes. Most of them don’t bother settling down until they are at least through their first season of the NHL. You might not believe that but statistics don’t lie. They enjoy the spotlight and then when that gets old, they start settling down.

“It isn’t as great as it seems. I mean yeah at first it’s like being at a buffet where all the food comes to you.”

I scrunch my nose at the comparison, and buffets are officially ruined for me. I won’t be able to eat without seeing a bunch of girls spread out everywhere.

“It gets old though. There’s no fun in it after a while.”

“Fine forget the puck bunnies. Focus on your game then. You need to get your mind in the game again.

“I know that!” He snaps. “Sorry, I know this is my last chance.”
“Yeah, so maybe stop worrying about my life and focus on your own.”

He doesn’t say anything to that, neither of us say a thing the rest of the ride. When we get home, he climbs out silently and I follow but put a good amount of distance between us. He walks into the house and instead of going to his room he plops down on the couch and turns the TV on. I stand in the kitchen not sure what to do. The party has me a bit wired, so sleeping is out. I guess I can start studying the stats the coach gave me and make a game plan for the guys.

I decide to grab one of my favorite macro bars and a green tea before going to my room.

“Stay with me.” Sawyer says as I’m passing to head to my room.

He looks so sad when our eyes meet. I hate that I have a weak spot for him that makes it so hard to say no. I relent and drop down next to him but put about three feet between us. He’s put on some random movie that I’ve never seen before. It isn’t at the beginning so I’m not exactly sure what is going on at first, but the longer we watch I start to get invested. I’m mindlessly eating and soon my macro bar is gone but suddenly there is popcorn in my lap.

I don’t even question it as I dig in and stuff my mouth with a handful. “This is crazy! No don’t go in there! Uh, seriously rookie move.”

This I guess is supposed to be scary but it’s more frustrating than anything else. There is a lot of blood everywhere so there’s that.

“Oh, come on! How does this guy show up literally everywhere! It’s impossible!” I yell and I hear Sawyer laugh next to me.

“That’s the mystery.” He says like he knows everything about this movie.

I scowl at him before turning my attention back to the movie. “This is way better than a party.”

“There are like five movies in this series.” He says and I look at him like he just said Jungkook from BTS asked me to marry him.
“I guess we won’t be sleeping tonight!”

He just laughs and I hate how much I love the sound.