The Scarred Wife's Racing Five

Chapter Nineteen

POV Sawyer

She heaved in a breath as she darted her eyes around us. I rested my hand on her wrist and gently pushed the gift back to her. Holly didn’t resist, but I could tell that receiving gifts was new to her. “I cannot just take something like this without earning it.” She pressed again, but this time it seemed more like she was just double-checking if I changed my mind instead of refusing outright.

“But you didn’t take it. Remember, I gave it to you. That is the difference here. Now, no more thinking too hard. It’s time to get lunch.”

I grabbed her hand again, but this time she didn’t push me away. I think she was too stunned to notice. We made it to the food court and a simple burger and fries seemed like the best way to go. Anything more might send her spiraling. Picking at her fries, Holly glanced at me under her lashes before staring at the black bag on the table. I continued to eat my food in silence. She was starting to look like she was on guard again. “Do you know that Noah kind of confessed to me last week?”

I finished a sip of my drink and nodded, doing my best to hold back a chuckle. He didn’t confess anything. He has no idea what he is doing. He really is a fish out of water. However, the fact that he said anything to her was enough for me to take a shot. “Yes, I did. He called me the next day and he seemed a bit frazzled. I don’t think he knows that he confessed something to you.”

“He also told me that you were different.”

I hummed and grabbed another french fry. I savored the taste and rubbed my fingers on my napkin. “Probably because we like to share.”

“Share?” She asked with a subtle c***k in her voice.

“Sure. We’ve been friends for decades and developed the same tastes in women.”

“All?”

I raised my hand and opened all five fingers before smirking. “Yes, Holly. All.”

“Wait, five of you?!” She shrieked, catching the attention of a few people passing by. When she noticed this, she cleared her throat and grabbed her drink quickly.

“Yes, five of us. It has been a while since all of us have shared the same woman, but if Noah likes you, it’s only a matter of time before the other three will follow.”

“Only three?” She whispered, but I caught it.

I reached out my hand and gently rested it on hers. “I don’t need convincing.”

She pulled away quickly and shook her head. “And I don’t need five men. I’m not a whore.” She whispered harshly before standing to her feet. “I think I want to go home. And you better return that phone. I’ll get one myself.”

I stood to my feet and grabbed the bag. “No one is calling you a w***e, Holly. I’m just warning you ahead of time; you might end up drawn to all of us. And we will be okay with that. Also, if you don’t take the phone, I will throw it out.”

She stepped back, shock evident once again. “I’ll pay you back. I don’t want to hear anything else about it.” She pulled out her wallet from her purse and dropped three hundred dollars into my hand. “This is the deposit.”

I looked down at the bills and chuckled. “Let’s head to the movie.”

“Saw-I mean, Mr.Adams, I said I wanted to go home.”

“Sawyer.” I said, shoving the money into my back pocket. I'll make sure to give it back to her later.

“No. Familiarity might give you the wrong idea.”

I hummed and started walking. Her footsteps didn’t follow for a few beats, then I heard her jogging to catch up. “You or me?” I asked and she furrowed her brows.

“What are you talking about?”

“Who is the one getting the wrong idea? You or me?”

She bit her lip and silence followed. I went to grab tickets for one of the new action movies that came out this week. Her eyes lit up at the option and I held back a smile, thankful I picked the right movie. Heading to the concessions, she started to stare at the junior mints and red vines. Strange mix, but I’ll give it a shot. After buying the large popcorn, I ordered the two candies and some m&ms for myself.

Once we made it to our seats, she stared at the commercials and enjoyed her snacks. “This doesn’t mean I don’t want to go home,” She whispered.

I leaned over and kissed her cheek. She jumped and rested her hand on her cheek. “Let’s just start out as friends and be open to see where it goes from there. Enjoy the movie, angel.”

Holly sucked in a heavy breath and the rest of the movie went by in silence.

POV Holly

What. The. Hell?!

Five men. I’ve only met two of them and Sawyer is implying that all five of them want to date me. I don’t even know if I’ll like all five of them. Maybe I like Noah…and maybe even Sawyer, but I never saw myself enjoying the company of two people at once. Let alone five. “Wouldn’t you guys get jealous of each other?” I asked through my mic as I held on tightly to Sawyer’s torso.

“Ah! She speaks.” He called and, honestly, he wasn’t in the wrong. Once he dropped that truth bomb on me earlier, I didn’t have any more words to say. I mean the man bought a thousand dollar phone and decided to declare his interest in me and the four other men he’s friends with might be in the same boat. Including Noah.

“I’m serious, Sawyer. It’s hard enough to have one boyfriend, but isn’t it asking a lot to share five men at once?”

“How about this? Let’s speak in the hypothetical. If you did come to date all five of us and one of us felt like we weren’t getting enough of your time or vice versa. What would you do?” He asked, and I really had to think about that for a moment.

I stared at the trees flying by and took a second to collect my thoughts. “I don’t know. I would first want to talk with them and see if there was something that could be fixed, but since I don’t know the other three, I can’t really tell you how to make it right between them and me. With you and Noah…. Well, Noah isn’t really a talker, and he likes to eat take out with a movie at home, so I’d try to set something like that up while we just had a night to ourselves. You, however, are still a mystery. I like that you are open and gentle with me. It’s a…different feeling, but the only thing I think you would enjoy is a nice ride through the back roads.”

He stayed silent, and I started to freak out the longer the silence continued. Did I say the wrong thing? Ugh, I knew this was a stupid idea. I don’t know why I even bothered asking him about this ridiculous idea he threw at me after we’ve only met three times.

“Do you know that you are the first woman to actually think that hard about that question?” He said with a tone I hadn’t heard before.

I noticed the bike was slowing down, and he had pulled off to the side of the road. He turned off the bike and I climbed off, expecting him to yell at me, then leave me stranded on the side of the road. I was wrong though. He pulled off his helmet and walked over to a park bench. I slowly pulled mine off and jogged to catch up.

He sat on the worn wooden table and I hesitantly sat next to him. He leaned over and rested his elbows on his knees, looking at the cars driving by. “Holly, I think I really am starting to fall for you.”