Finding You (By You #3) (2 page)

Sarah had met Tate the same night he'd met Reagan. The way they acted around each other, she had thought they must have been childhood friends, or something. But they had only just met over the summer when they were both at Franklin for their campus tours, and they'd hit it off right away.

Tate liked his men, and he wasn't afraid to let everyone know about it. He didn't seem like he was afraid of much of anything, actually. But he was nice in all the ways that a friend should be--even if a little brash, at times.

Reagan gave one more satisfied flick of her brush on her little toe, and leaned back, giving her work a triumphant smile.

"All done," she said.

"They're cute."

"Yeah, they are. It's too bad I don't have a hot date like you do so I could show them off."

"It's
not
a hot date!" Sarah said, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Relax--defensive," Reagan said. "I'm just teasing you."

Sarah let out a sigh and shook her head. "I know you are, it's just..." She let out another exasperated sigh. "It's just not a date."

Reagan let out another laugh. "You're too in your head about it. Just go and have a good time. It will be what it will be."

"I know--you're right. I'm just not used to guys approaching me, or asking me out, or whatever it is that he's doing. I come from a small town where everyone knows everyone."

"Just be yourself, you're going to be fine. Have a good time--you deserve it."

Sarah let out an exasperated groan.

"You're impossible," she said, and Reagan let out a devious giggle.

"Yeah, but you love me anyways."

The girls laughed together and gossiped some more about meaningless things before Sarah left her. She supposed Reagan was right. She
did
deserve to have a good time. And why shouldn't Jeremy be the person she had a good time with? She was overthinking the whole thing, she had to take it for what it was--coffee with a new friend.

Just, a new friend that happened to be gorgeous. And charming. And a bunch of other things she probably shouldn't be thinking about a guy she barely even knew.

Sarah drove in circles around the coffee shop for what felt like an hour before she found a parking spot. The roads in West Village were tiny, and the parking spots were even tinier. The more she saw of West Village, the more Sarah was convinced that it was right up her alley. It was quaint, and looked like the kind of place that she'd love to spend more time exploring. Unfortunately, she still hadn't had the opportunity to do so. But she would--soon.

H-Town Coffee was a tucked in between a cigar shop and a thrift store that specialized in trendy, retro women's apparel. The front of the coffee shop was open with wooden benches on either side of the entryway, and tables in front of those benches. It wasn't just students that sat on the patio enjoying their drinks, there were also professionals in suits and grown ups meeting with their friends. Indie music came from hidden speakers and gave the coffee shop a very welcoming feel.

Upon entering, it took Sarah's eyes a few seconds to adjust to the darkness as the brightness of the sunny Houston day was drowned out. Inside, the coffee shop had much the same feel as it'd had outside. Artwork lined the walls with tiny tags about the artists, and there was a short line in front of what reminded Sarah of the bar back at the Saloon in Green Falls. But there was no alcohol here--it was all for coffee. Couches and sofas were mixed with more traditional tables, most of them already occupied by more of the same eclectic crowd she'd seen outside.

"Sarah, over here," a voice called out. When she looked in that direction, a tiny grin slipped onto her face, almost without even realizing it.

Jeremy was sitting at a corner table, wearing a tight black t-shirt with faded blue jeans. His hair was spiked up in the front, just like it had been earlier. He leaned back in his chair while raising a hand to signal her, and he had the calm, effortless look of someone who was comfortable with their surroundings. The way he smiled at her sent the butterflies in her stomach fluttering about. She almost scowled at the simple fact that he had such a power over her, already.

It took Sarah a second to notice that he wasn't sitting alone. A girl with shoulder length, brown hair and a sun-kissed complexion was sitting next to him. The two girls made eye contact, and Sarah flashed her a nervous smile. The girl eyed her up and down once, before turning back to Jeremy.

Sarah immediately felt a pang of...something, but she quickly suppressed it and kept the smile on her face. She hadn't realized someone was going to be joining them.

"I was beginning to worry about you," Jeremy said, as she approached, the cool grin still in place. He stood and scooted out the chair next to him. Sarah smiled at him, and he didn't sit down until she sat, first.

"Sorry, parking took forever. I'm not really familiar with this part of town, yet."

"Another good reason that I ride a bike around," Jeremy grinned. "Don't have to deal with all that messy traffic."

She gave him a curious look.

"You don't drive?" she asked.

A look that she didn't recognize flashed across his face, the confident smile disappearing for only the briefest of seconds before he composed himself.

"Uh, I used to. Bikes are a little more convenient around school, though."

Sarah could see his point, though she'd never considered the option herself. It could be fun to go exploring the area around campus on a bike. With its narrow streets and congested traffic, it was really no place for driving. Maybe she should get one?

Sarah was about to say as much, when the girl interrupted them by clearing her throat.

"I'm sorry, where are my manners? Sarah, this is Rebecca," he said. "Rebecca, this is my friend I was telling you about, Sarah."

Had they been talking about her? What had he been telling her? Sarah shook the questions away and put a big smile on her face.

"It's nice to meet you," she said, wiggling her fingers in a tiny wave.

"You, too. And it's just Becca," the girl said, giving Jeremy a sideways look.

"Right, sorry," he said. "I'm still getting used to that."

"So how do you two know each other?" Sarah asked.

"Oh, we're just old friends," Jeremy said, while Becca said, "Mutual acquaintances," at the same time. They gave each other a startled look, before the confident smile returned to Jeremy's face. "We've known each other from high school," he said, and she didn't disagree with him.

Sarah tried not to show the confusion she felt by the whole exchange as she gave them a grin.

"It must be nice to have high school friends around here. Sometimes I feel like I don't know anyone."

Jeremy gave her a puzzled look, and opened his mouth to say something when Becca cut them off.

"Well, I hate to dash off like this, but I really have to get going." She stood to leave, and Jeremy stood along with her.

"But you just got here," Jeremy said, a sad look in his eye. "Can't have one cup of coffee with us?"

"I told you I didn't have long," she said, her face stern. "We're still on for tomorrow night, right?"

"Fine," he said, admitting defeat. "Yes, I'll be there."

"Good." She gave him a curt nod, and turned to Sarah. "It was nice meeting you."

"It was nice meeting you, too," Sarah said, even though she got the impression Becca didn't really mean it.

Becca flashed one more smile before leaving, and Jeremy didn't take his seat until after she was gone. Was there something going on between them? Maybe she'd been right to tell herself not to make a big deal out of getting coffee with him.

"Sorry about that," he said. "We kinda bumped into each other unexpectedly."

"It's no big deal," Sarah said, waving a hand. She flashed a tight, little smile, then asked, "So you two went to high school together?" She wasn't quite sure why she asked it--they'd already said they had--but she was curious to know more about their...situation. Were they just friends, or was he interested in her?

"Yeah, she was a friend of a friend. We didn't really know each other back then," Jeremy said, dismissively. She couldn't quite place the look on his face, but it definitely seemed...different. "Anyways, how about we get some drinks?"

Was he just trying to change the subject because he was trying to hide something? She'd been burned once already since she came to school, and she wasn't about to let someone else do it to her, too. If he was hiding something, she wanted to know. She wasn't going to let herself get hurt, again.

You're starting to act like a crazy person--get a hold of yourself.

Sarah shook herself, forcing the poisonous thoughts away. She really
was
acting like a crazy person. Jeremy didn't owe her anything. They weren't on a date, or anything like that. Heck, he didn't even know she was single.

"Yeah, that sounds great," she said, putting the big smile back on her face.

Jeremy flashed her his confident, sexy grin and helped pull her chair out as they stood up. That was the second time he'd helped her with her chair. Maybe city boys weren't as bad mannered as some of her friends back in Green Falls had suggested.

He let her walk in front as they made their way to the counter, but she could feel him close behind. There was something about having him standing there, that close to her, which left her feeling safe, like he had her back and would protect her. It was a silly thought and she growled at herself to keep herself in check.

"Have you ever been to a place like this?" Jeremy asked when they made it to the back of the line.

"Does Starbucks count?" she asked. Jeremy's eyes went wide and he clutched a hand to his heart. She let out a laugh. "I guess it doesn't..."

He grinned and waved his hand.

"Don't you worry--we're going to get you on the straight and narrow."

Behind the counter there was a chalkboard drawn up with all of the drinks and specials. It was beautiful and looked like an artist had made it. There were even little doodles drawn with colored chalk that gave it even more character. They both scanned over the chalk board for a few seconds before Jeremy turned back to her.

"So what's your usual drink?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I never really thought about it. I really don't drink much coffee." Sarah scanned the board one more time, looking for anything that even sounded remotely like something she might have seen at a Starbucks, but she didn't find anything. "I think I usually get a Frappuccino--do they make those?"

Jeremy fixed her with a sad look, then made a show of hanging his head, shaking it back and forth. When he finally looked back at her, he gave her a sideways look that made those butterflies go tumbling through her stomach, again.

"What am I going to do with you?" he said. He held his hand up, letting her know he would handle it. "Alright, you like something sweet. Let's see..."

Sarah felt the edges of her cheeks flush as she watched him read the board again. By the time they made it to the front of the line, he looked like he'd decided what they were going to get.

"I'll have an Americano," he said to the skinny man with the beard behind the counter. "And then she'll have a Milk & Honey."

"For here or to go?" the guy asked, scribbling their order onto a little chit sheet.

"For here."

"Coming right up."

Jeremy produced a credit card, seemingly from nowhere, and slid it to the man before Sarah could even offer to pay for herself.

"Oh, you don't have to pay for me," she said, quickly. But Jeremy waved at her, dismissively.

"This one's one me," he said. "For letting me take you to new places."

Sarah grinned at him, biting the edge of her lip.

"That's very sweet of you."

He shot her that confident smile as he slipped the credit card back into his wallet.

"Trust me, the pleasure is all mine."

Sarah ducked her head away as her cheeks burned a little more, hoping he hadn't noticed. They waited next to the counter until their drinks were made, then took them back to their table. Sarah eyed the short, wide mug as she set it in front of her. It was filled to the brim, and there was hot steam wafting off the top of it. She couldn't help but smile at the little leaf design in the foam on top of the mug.

"How do they even do that?" she said, studying it.

Jeremy leaned over to get a better view. The sudden presence of his body so close to hers made her lose all focus.

"It's beautiful," he said.

When she looked up at him she wasn't sure if he was talking about the mug or about her. Her pulse raced for a second as their eyes locked, then he settled back into his own chair. She mumbled an agreement as she forced herself to look away from him.

"It's almost a shame to drink it and mess it up," she said.

"All good things must come to an end," he said, his eyes still locked on her.

Well, that was an odd thing to say. But she didn't give it a second thought as she lifted the mug to her lips. She blew away some of the steam from the top of the mug, feeling him watching her. She liked his eyes on her. It made her feel special, like they weren't in a coffee shop full of people, like she was the only person in the world.

She took a light sip from the mug, and cringed as the bitter taste washed across her tongue. Jeremy barked out a laugh as she set it back down, scowling.

"It's strong," she said.

"They don't water down their drinks here," he said. "I like it that way. If you're going to do something, you've got to commit to it."

When Sarah looked up at him, he had an intense expression on his face. She wasn't sure if he was just talking about the coffee, or there was something else he had in mind. But the expression was fleeting as he took a sip of his own drink.

"So, how's your semester going so far?" he asked. "Getting settled in, nicely?"

Sarah tried not to let out a groan. "Well, I think there's at least
one
class that I'm not failing, so I guess it could be worse."

He gave her a fierce, knowing grin.