Chapter 19: Bryn

I should have know making this deal with Sawyer that things would get out of hand. The guy is always horny and it’s become a huge distraction, pun intended. He will walk right out of the bathroom after showering with nothing on while I’m studying, pull my desk chair out and pick me up and throw me on the bed. I’m going to have to put a limit on this if I plan on studying at all this semester. After last night’s fun he left to grab some clothes and I lock my bedroom door behind him. It was hilarious how much he whined about not being able to sleep alone.

It's a load of crap and it had no effect on me. I was able to study until eleven and get a peaceful night sleep. When I walk out into the main living area Sawyer is leaning against the counter scowling and sipping coffee.

“Morning!” I say cheerfully.

He grunts but doesn’t say a word. I smile at his obvious pouting and act like nothing in the world is amiss.

“I got so much studying done and a good nights sleep. I’m pumped for today. You?” I pour myself a cup of coffee and walk over to the fridge to grab my favorite nondairy hazelnut creamer.

I pour a good amount and take a big gulp. Perfect!

“I have to meet with my study group today to start our outline for the lab we start next week, but I will see you at the rink later.” I tell him and since he’s not in the mood to have a conversation I move to walk away but he grabs my arm before I can get too far.

He sets his cup down and I turn to face him fully. His hands rest on my hips as I sip my coffee and he gives me a dramatic pout.

“That was cruel last night. How could you lock me out like that?”

I Pat him on the chest. “You were fine alone for one night. Besides you make it hard to study with your constant horniness. Seriously we can’t spend all of our time in bed especially when classes start. I have a heavy class load thanks to me skipping a year.”

“I can be good! I won’t pull you into bed while you study anymore. Scouts honor.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “You were never a scout so that means nothing to me.”

He sighs and drops his head on my shoulder. Seriously this guy is a huge baby! How can a big guy like him be such a softy around me?

“I swear I’ll be good.” He’s going as far as begging and I feel a little bad now.

“If you promise to keep your hands to yourself then fine.” I say relenting.

He smiles and wraps his arms under my butt and lifts me up to set me down on the counter.

“Sawyer! Hot coffee you idiot!” I cry out and he hisses when some splashes on his arm.

“Ah fuck that’s hot!”

“No duh. What is wrong with you?” I jump off the counter and grab the first aid kit I have in the cabinet next to the sink.

I’m sure he isn’t injured badly but I don’t want his arm to blister, so I grab a few things and walk back over to him. “Let’s see.”

He lifts his arm for me, and I turn it side to side to examine the red marks. They aren’t serious but I clean it up and add some soothing cream to it before wrapping it with gauze. Once I’m done, I put the first aid kit away and make a mental note to replace the items I used today.

When I turn back around, I cross my arms over my chest and give Sawyer a harsh look. “You are an idiot you know?”

He smirks and saunters over to me like he thinks I’ll fall at his feet for looking hot as sin. “Don’t be mad B, it was an accident.”

“I know but you need to be more careful. If you had seriously hurt yourself, it would effect your game.” I try to explain but he doesn’t seem to care one bit.

“A little skin irritation wouldn’t stop me.” He says with a scoff.

“It could have been a worse burn and it would hurt as hell. Too much for you to pull on your uniform or your gloves let alone hold a stick. Please be careful.” I plead with him.

I may not have been with him when he hurt his knee but I’m here now and it would kill me to see him seriously injured. A few bumps and bruises when we were kids were no big deal, but a serious injury will make me crazy with worry. Even now thinking about what could have happened is filling me with anxiety.

“I’m sorry. Okay? I’ll be more careful.”

He says that but he clearly doesn’t think before acting, so there is no way he could promise not to get hurt again.

“Okay. I should get ready.” I walk off before he can try to distract me with his puppy eyes and hot face.

I change into a pair of jean shorts and a crochet top that my mom made that has a bralette sewn underneath to hide the goods. My curls are actually laying nicely today so I pull half up and let the rest lay free. With a little eye liner and mascara, I’m ready to go. I grab my books and my tote bag that has my laptop in it and head back into the living room. When Sawyer sees me, his eyes widen, and he starts to shake his head.

“Nope. Now way are you are going out in that. Nope go change.” He moves closer like he’s ready to throw me over his shoulder and make sure I change, but I’m faster and duck around him.
“I can wear what I want sawyer, so get used to it.” I swirl around with a nice hair flip and walk right out the door.

He’s glaring at me from the window when I climb into my car, and I blow him a kiss. It’s clear that he’s forgotten the part of our relationship where he isn’t my boyfriend which means he isn’t entitled to have an opinion on what I wear. Even if we were dating, he wouldn’t get a say, but I would respect his viewpoint. I wouldn’t want him looking sexy as hell for all the girls to admire him, so I can do the same for him. No that it will ever come to that. We’re friends with benefits and I don’t see that changing any time soon.

Let’s just hope it ends before I fall too deep and can never come back. That kind of heartbreak will be a lot harder to come back from. I’ll always love Sawyer, but he isn’t ready and may never be ready to hear that. So, I’m keeping things fun and light and lying to myself that not kissing him will be enough to end this easily when the time comes. Who knows when he’ll find a new girl to have this arrangement with and I’ll be back to being just the best friend and nothing more. Can we even be friends after this?

I’m not sure if that’s possible. I seriously need to stop thinking about all this so much. Things are going good so far and I need to focus on school. It’s the reason I’m here and if I want to work for a good team, I need to prove how good I am at my job. Working with Sawyer’s team will give me exposure as well. Although I am the most familiar with hockey I wouldn’t mind working in other sports fields. Just because Sawyer and I have reconciled I’m not going to depend my career on his success.

I want to push all of this deep stuff out of my mind, so I set my phone up on the handsfree holder thing and pick my upbeat playlist and let the happy music blast through my phone speaker. Yeah, I don’t have a speaker system in this car so I have to make due. Besides Luis loves this set up! I don’t go rummaging around his hardware and he keeps running so that I can get where I need to go. Win win!

When I get to the library, I feel a bit of social anxiety building. Meeting the guys on the team was different since I know how to deal with jocks no problem, but these are my own people. They don’t need tough strict Bryn, so I’m not sure how to approach this. I see my group sitting at one of the tables not far from the library entrance. The lady at the desk looks up and I scan my student ID at the kiosk just inside the door.

I walk toward the table where everyone is waiting for me and nervously fix my clothes. One of them spots me as I approach, and he stands to greet me.

“Bryn! I’m so glad to meet you in person!” The guy says as he walks around to greet me.
“It’s nice meeting you all too.” I say politely.

Everyone is smiling kindly at me, and a few even wave. Maybe this will be easier than I thought. But when does that ever really happen? Life sure knows how to break all your expectations, only I don’t know what’s in store for me yet. Poor trusting hopeful Bryn, you poor soul.