“Sadie … whatever your middle name is … Sullivan,” she said in a hushed whisper as she softly closed the door behind her. “What have youdone?”
“Annie.” Sadie rolled her eyes at Annie, crossing her arms over her chest. “You’re being melodramatic.”
“AmI?” Annie also crossed her arms over chest, puffing her chest out in an effort to appear taller—she was a good five or six inches shorter than Sadie.
Sadie sighed, diverting her eyes to the colorful carpet at the front of her classroom. Okay, this wouldn’t be the easy breezy confession and giggle fest she thought it would be.
Apparently, Annie was going to put a voice to …concerns. Concerns that had also occurred to Sadie—that she had successfully buried under all the layers of sexy fun time—that she preferred to live in her immediate consciousness.
Pausing to consider her words carefully, she finally spoke. “Liam and I have been …spending time togethersince Thanksgiving.”
“‘Spending time together,’ huh?” Annie asked sharply. “You guys have been hooking up?”
Sadie felt her back burn as sweat broke out under the collar of her sweater.Why did I think this would be comforting? Annie’s future kids better watch out if they ever try to hide something from this lady.
Letting out a deep sigh, Sadie looked at her friend firmly in the face. “Yes, Annie,” she answered. “We’ve been hooking up.” More than hooking up, they’d essentially been living together in Sadie’s apartment in the two weeks since Thanksgiving. They’d spent the Sunday night after Thanksgiving apart, but Liam had found it as miserable as she did, returning to her place without question on Monday after work.
It had been a whirlwind of laughter,Friends, and sex. The complications of their situation had threatened to penetrate her bubble a few times, but Sadie had successfully stifled the negative thoughts until they were buried deep down in a far corner of her brain.
It was just that having Liam around wasamazing. There was no other way for Sadie to describe it. There was nothing like having someone you meshed with in your day-to-day life to make you realize how lonely—how sad—you really were before he came along.
“Iknewit. You guys were super cozy on Thanksgiving.” Annie shook her head, staring off into the distance. “This is a bad choice, Sadie.”
“I disagree,” Sadie responded in a thin, unconvinced voice, her eyes shifting to the side.
“He’s your boss!” Annie said, her voice raising. “If this ends badly, things will really suck for you at work. And if things go well … honestly, there’s no way that this could go well. If you guys aretogethertogether, then he’ll be in big trouble with the school board. You’re hisemployee.”
Sadie sighed and walked over the colorful carpet, falling into the overstuffed blue armchair she usually sat in while her class was spread over the carpet.
“I really like him, Annie,” she said quietly, slumping her head down pathetically. “I know it’s only been a couple weeks, and he’s my boss so it’s complicated, but it’s just nice tohavesomeone. Someone who likes me.”
Something wilted inside Sadie at the confession. She didn’t like to admit to herself how much it really hurt that there were people who didn’t like her, and that her actual friends in Lake Conrad were few and far between. She’d never been this pitiful—she’d always had friends. Even when she had been on her worst behavior, they’d accepted her.
“Oh, Sadie,” Annie said, her voice softening as she pulled up a small, student-sized chair to sit next to her. “I like you.”
“And Iloveyou, Annie,” Sadie sniffed with a slight smile.
Annie sputtered out a short laugh, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. “You just had to choose the most complicated guy, huh?”
Saide shrugged. “The uncomplicated ones wouldn’t have me.”
Annie tilted her head sympathetically, reaching over to set her hand on the arm of the chair.
“Also, Ireallylike him,” Sadie insisted. “I know it’s only been a couple weeks, but we complement each other.”
“Hmm, well I guess another part of my reaction is that I’m so surprised,” Annie said doubtfully, considering her. “I wouldn’t have thought he was really your type.”
Sadie looked up curiously. “What do you mean?”
“Well, he’s just so different from Jake … and your ex? The one that showed up here a couple months ago?”
Annoyance flickered inside of Sadie at the memory. Earlier in the fall, Tyler had shown up at her front door unannounced. Annie had happened to be there since they were meeting up to go for a hike. She’d opened her door and there he was, acting like it was completely normal that he just randomly appeared on her doorstep.
She’d ended up having to forgo her hike with Annie, go to coffee with him, and essentially break up with him all over again. He was so sure that she would be done with her life in Lake Conrad, ready to pick things up with him again.
Ugh. She had grown up with Tyler, and she would always hold a special place in her heart for him, but she’d outgrown him years ago. She wasn’t that manageable high school kid anymore, and he had a hard time accepting that.
He’d been predictably angry, storming away in a huff. His reaction had cemented her decision within her.Do I really want to be walking around on eggshells with this guy for the rest of my life?