Carson laid back on Savannah's bed, contemplating life and wondering what lay ahead for him and her. He was not sure if they would be friends forever, or if it was time to move forward. He enjoyed being around her and everything they had been doing recently. But the title "friend" felt like an understatement. It felt like they should be more than just friends, but Carson could not trust himself to stay committed. However, watching her with Wyatt last night made him concerned.
He had no idea that she was a poet. Before he left, she never mentioned writing or keeping a journal. The way she casually told Wyatt before telling him kind of opened his eyes. Wyatt was going to steal her from under his nose if he did not act fast enough. Carson could not have that, but he did not know how to achieve his goals.
That is why he lay there, contemplating everything. His mind was racing with thoughts until Savannah emerged from her bathroom. Her hair was dripping wet as she prepared to go to work. Carson smiled lightly as he watched her towel dry her curly hair. He could spend all day staring at Savannah. Taking in every inch of her, remembering where his hands had traced. Even in her work uniform, she was flawless.
She noticed his stare as soon as she turned toward him. Her face brightened as she realized he would always be waiting for her. Even though he would be starting work soon, he always made it a point to accompany her to Sugar whenever she was scheduled. He hadn't missed a day since she started back up and he was not going to miss now.
Of course, Savannah had another hour before she needed to leave. She was not worried because it was just down the street, and she wanted to spend this time with Carson. Despite the complexities of their relationship, they were both aware that they cared deeply for each other.
"Hey, you," she said, approaching him. "You decided to laze around today, or what?"
Carson chuckled and shook his head. "No, dweeb. You know I always walk you to work." He explained.
Her eyes rolled playfully. "You mean the place you're about to ambush?" She asked.
His shoulders shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about." He feigned cluelessness.
She laughed before climbing over him. She pushed her hair to one side, rested her head on his chest, and wrapped her arms around his torso. She enjoyed cuddling. Particularly if it involved Carson. He always smelled good and stroked her hair in the most soothing ways. It was the ideal way to unwind before heading to work.
Carson was taken aback by her actions and immediately embraced her. Under normal conditions, he would not be doing this. Because it was Savannah, he did not care. He would do anything for her, even if it was something he did not usually do. It was far more than Wyatt was getting. Informing him that he had an advantage in this slew of situations.
As pleasant as this moment was, Carson needed to get to the bottom of something. Sitting on his thoughts did him no good. If he wanted to keep Savannah in his good graces, he needed to start being more honest about everything.
Carson licked his lips before getting down to business. "Baby, about last night—"
"Nothing happened, if that is what you want to know." She responded quickly.
He laughed and continued to stroke her hair. "No, not that," he said, but he could not deny that hearing it made him happy. "When were you going to tell me that you wrote poetry?"
Savannah looked up at him, surprised he would say anything about it. "It was sort of a secret." She felt slightly embarrassed. Only because many of her poems were about Carson. "Only Violet knew."
This did not make him feel any better. She kept this information from him. Someone who was supposed to be her best friend, and she freely told Wyatt. It is one thing if Violet knows because she was in their group. However, openly telling Wyatt about her secret talent before sharing it with him stung. Perhaps he was being irrational, but he tends to act this way whenever any guy she talks to catches her attention.
He stops caressing her, irritated, to process everything in his mind. "Okay..." he paused to avoid sounding upset.
Savannah knew better, though, and noticed a shift in his energy. "Carson don't tell me you're upset that I told Wyatt." She raised her head to look at him. "It's not a big deal."
"Yeah, to you," he said. "It kind of is for me. I mean...we're supposed to know everything about each other and you hid this from me."
"Because you left Carson." Savannah had become defensive. "And I didn't get into it until after you were gone."
He huffed. "Well, now I'm back. Don't hide shit from me," he said sternly.
Savannah frowned at him, appalled. "Don't you curse at me!" She yelled. "This is stupid."
Carson could tell from her expression that he had made a mistake. He let his anger consume him over something so insignificant. Getting so worked up about Wyatt was not going to help her stay in his good graces. This was only going to push her deeper into his arms, rather than leading her away as he desired. He was not sure why he had to be so possessive. Right now, he needed to fix the mess her created.
Savannah stormed out of her room, walking down the hall with Carson right behind her. She was over his attitude toward Wyatt for no reason. Sure, she got upset when he was with Maeve, but she did not threaten him. He told her not to hide anything from him, and it did not sit well with her. He was not her boss, and she was not going to listen to him.
"Savannah, wait!" Carson called out to her. "I-I didn't mean it like that." He stammered.
Savannah abruptly turned around, her eyes filled with fire. "Then how did you mean it, Carson? Hmm?" She questioned. She did not want to go to work angry, but there were some things she could not avoid.
Carson was nervous, unsure how to express his thoughts. "I don't know. I was just angry and—"
"So taking it out on me was your solution?" She cut him off. "You know, I was about to compliment you on your self-control yesterday, but that was obviously a mistake."
Carson watched as she opened the door angrily. He did not want her to walk anywhere alone in this state of mind. Despite the fact that he caused it. "Where are you going?" He wondered.
"With Wyatt, or am I not allowed to have other friends anymore?" She snapped and slammed the door shut.
Carson grunted, annoyed with himself for letting it get this far. He did not expect her to be so upset by his words. He had not noticed his tone of voice until it was too late. Not to mention that she was going to let Wyatt, of all people, drive her to work. The more idiotic he acted, the further he pushed her. Instead of admitting his feelings, Carson reacted in the worst possible way.
Unbeknownst to them, their friends were standing in the kitchen, watching the entire scene unfold. Their expressions left little room for interpretation. Except for the sex, no one truly understands their relationship. On the surface, they were just friends, but in private, something deeper was present. A feeling that was going to lead to more petty arguments if they did not clear it up.
Violet exhaled and grabbed her bag. "Let’s see if I can catch up with her after she just left me," she said. "I'll see what her problem is."
Carson smiled. "At least someone's helping." His gaze shifted over to Cole.
Cole rolled his eyes. "I told you to handle it." His shoulders shrugged. "You keep fucking up."
"I can't fuck up something that's not there!" He yelled in frustration.
"You know what you did," Cole said bluntly. "These are feelings you're playing around with."
"Feelings?" Maeve asked in confusion.
Cole and Carson looked over at her, forgetting she was there. The last thing Carson needed was Maeve spouting at the mouth. Yesterday, her sitting on his lap meant nothing to him. He was just trying to make Savannah jealous. He was already informed that if she caught wind of Savannah seeing Carson as anything more than a friend; she'll go ten times harder trying to get him. It was bad enough that he was resisting the urge to sleep with her. At this rate, she will be throwing herself at him with full force.
Carson gulped, unsure what to do or say to make this all go away. He did not expect to get into a heated argument with Savannah. Especially not in front of their peers. How the hell was he supposed to get out of this one? He could not reveal that they were sleeping together either. That would be the cherry on top of Maeve's day.
Instead, he made up a small lie to get by. "Let's just say we're in a weird place in our friendship," he said.
Maeve narrowed her eyes. "Describe this weird place to me." She urged him on.
"I don't think that's—"
Cole attempted to deter her from seeking more information, but she raised her hand to stop him. "Go on," she insisted to Carson.
He despised everything about this situation right now. Why couldn't Maeve be like all the other oblivious girls he's slept with back in Arizona? Despite their agreement, none of them had ever questioned him so thoroughly. Having two girls hold him accountable for his actions was a lot to handle. It was worse that those two girls were friends with each other. It is as if he was in a strange love triangle without even dating them.
"The details are irrelevant," he said, avoiding discussing his and Savannah's personal interactions. "What matters is I'm losing my best friend and I don't know what to do." He was devastated.
Maeve leaned against the counter, confused. "You're that worried about losing her as a friend?" She had no idea what the big deal was.
Cole and Carson exchanged looks, as if she could not possibly be serious. "Do you realize we have been friends since we were kids?" Cole was stunned by her insensitivity.
She scoffed. “Yeah, yeah I get it.” But she didn’t truthfully. “Just make sure you’re ready to start work tomorrow. You can’t be going in arguing with a current employee.”
Carson looked at her, puzzled. "Tomorrow? I have to start tomorrow?”
“Yep!” she smirked. “And you know I did you a huge favor. Shouldn’t that warrant a huge payment?” She teased, squeezing his bicep as she walked away.
Carson wished he did not know what kind of payment she was referring to, but he understood what she meant. He knew that accepting her offer would mean having to repay her. He just was not expecting her to be so open about it.
He threw up his hands in defeat. "See what I mean?" He asked his brother.
“I’m not touching that one.”