Forever Mine (Roommate Duet 0.5)(24)

“Is this seat taken?” I ask, and she immediately turns and looks at me, her eyes going wide.

She lets out a ragged breath and tries to ignore me, but I sit anyway.

“What are you doing here?” Savannah doesn’t make eye contact with me. “Thought you’d be proposing to Veronica, considering she’s having your baby and all.”

My jaw drops. “What did you say?”

Savannah turns and looks at me, shooting daggers. “Didn’t she tell you?”

Laughter roars from deep within. “Wait.” It takes everything I have to find my words. “Pregnant with my baby? I’m pretty sure you have to have sex to get someone pregnant, Sav. You know how it works,” I tell her with a grin, then order a shot of whiskey when the bartender comes up.

She looks at me like I’ve grown a third eye. “I saw the ultrasound, Hayden. I saw the date, and it was from only two weeks ago. I saw her name on it. I held it in my hand. So congratulations.” She deadpans, and I want to shake her.

“Hang on.” I hold up my hand. “When did you see Veronica?”

She takes a sip of her drink, then looks over at me slowly. “After you left, she showed up at my room begging me to stay away from you because her baby needed a daddy. So hold on. Are you telling me—”

“I’m not her baby’s daddy. Wow.” I release a slow breath. “This all makes sense now. Why she was so desperate to get me in her bed. Why she was wearing lingerie and doing everything possible to seduce me.” I face her and lean closer to her. “Sav, we never even kissed. Hell, I didn’t want to kiss her. She probably is pregnant but tried to trap me. I knew something wasn’t right with how she was acting. Un-fucking-believable.”

I can tell she’s trying to work out what I’m saying as I put all the pieces together as well. Anger flashes across her face, and I try to swallow down my frustration with this whole thing.

I can tell she’s upset. Her leg is shaking on the barstool as she processes everything. I grab her hand and tilt her chin so she looks at me. “Please say you believe me?”

For the first time since I sat down, her eyes soften when they meet mine. She slightly nods. “Yes. I do. I’m so sorry, Hayden. I can’t believe I bought her pathetic story and let her manipulate me again. I seriously hate her.”

A rogue tear streams down her cheek, and I wipe it away. She continues, “I thought I was doing the right thing by walking away from ruining your life again. I didn’t want to be in the way of a new family or your relationship.” I don’t miss the way she says again as if she thinks she already has or would have had we stayed together all those years ago.

I shake my head. “That’s the last thing you need to worry about, baby. You’re too kind. Always have been. Even to crazy bitches like Veronica. That’s why you skipped lunch today?”

Savannah takes a sip of her wine and nods. I have a feeling it’s not her first glass either. She looks up at me, regret and sadness on her face. “I have a confession to make, Hayden.”

Not being able to take it any longer, I take her face in my palms and tell her with my eyes exactly what I’m about to do. Removing the distance between us, our lips crash together in a heated war. Savannah moves closer to me, and our tongues mingle and mix. The kiss deepens, and I feel as if we’re teenagers again, completely and utterly crazy for one another. The feelings I’ve felt for her have never faded, and as we break apart, we’re both breathless and smiling.

I pull her bottom lip into my mouth and tug. She sighs, and I paint my mouth against hers again. She’s as desperate for me as I am for her. She runs her fingers through my hair as things intensify, but then she pulls back and her eyes flutter open.

“I have a secret,” she whispers.

I smile wide at her honesty. “I already know your secret, Sav.”





Chapter Nine





Savannah





My emotions are everywhere, overwhelmed from the way Hayden’s kissing me right now. The truth about Veronica shocked the shit out of me. In a blink, things went from horribly awful to freaking perfect. I shouldn’t have doubted him, but a part of me feels like it would’ve been karma for what I did to him. Self-sabotage is something I’ve been known to do, always having to fight for what I want but not feeling worthy of it. Having his mouth back on mine after all this time has me feeling overwhelmed and vulnerable, though I can’t say I mind. At least when it comes to him.

Hayden presses our lips together, and I easily melt into him, feeling like it did all those years ago. Except now he tastes like whiskey and smells like cologne. He’s all man, and I want to know what he’d taste like even lower. Years may have passed, but right now it feels like we’re back in high school, and everything is so right.

“I have a secret,” I whisper, needing to tell him the truth. I can’t hold this in anymore.

“I already know your secret, Sav.” He smiles against me then pulls back. Hayden studies my gaze and brushes a hand to my face before tucking a piece of loose hair behind my ear.

How could he possibly know? I know I’ve been drinking, but I’m pretty certain I heard him correctly.

“Is it that I’m not wearing any panties?” I offer with a cheeky smirk. “Because if that’s it, you’d be right.”