Branded: An Everyday Heroes World Novel (The Everyday Heroes World)

pretty clear she wants more than what we agreed on before. More than clear, actually.”
“And this is a bad thing?” says Caleb.
“With her, it is. I don’t want a relationship, and I know that makes me a goddamn hypocrite as I’m asking about Sawyer Westbrook in the same breath. It’s complicated.”
“Pussy tends to be that way,” Finn says, and Caleb nods his head in agreement.

Chapter 3
Sawyer
“My legs are burning. My chest hurts. I’m way too out of shape for this shit. Why do you make me do this every day?” I whine to Olivia, as we round into our fourth lap around the track.
“Because running is good for you. It is good for mental health, physical health, and it’ll make your thighs and ass iconic. Don’t you want iconic thighs and ass?”
“I’d rather have nonburning lungs.”
“Suck it up, baby. One more lap then we can go have margaritas.”
“Eyes on the margarita prize,” I say, both to myself and to her.
“Atta girl.”
The last lap brings a hot burning in my calves and I honestly think I’m going to collapse, but I press on.
“Home stretch,” Olivia says. “Go hard.”
I look out ahead of me toward our finish line and I can see someone stepping down from the bleachers and onto the track. As we get closer, it becomes more and more apparent who that person is.
“Well, well, well, look who we have here,” Olivia whispers, as we slow to a walk toward the stairs where Isaac Black is standing.
“Okay, it’s just creepy at this point, isn’t it?”
“It’s a small town, Sawyer. It’s not that creepy.”
“I’ve lived here for nearly a year and haven’t seen him one time and now I’ve seen him three times in a week. That’s weird.”
“Or it’s fate.”
Trying to catch my breath from the run, I place my hands on my hips and sigh. “I don’t believe in fate.”
“Better start looking into it,” she whispers, before waving to Isaac. “Well, isn’t this a small world,” she says loudly, as we approach him.
“I thought that was you two,” he says, as he secures his cell phone into the strap on his bicep. He’s wearing black shorts and a white tank top and looks absolutely delicious.
“Stalking us now?” I joke, reaching down for my bottle of water I left by the stairs. I open the bottle and gulp back three large mouthfuls, and it’s not lost on me that he’s staring.
“Couldn’t I ask you the same question?”
“Well, you came to where we are, not the other way around.”
“Maybe I run here all the time.” He crosses his arms and grins.
“No, you don’t. We run every day and I’ve never seen you.” I twist the cap back onto my bottle of water then hold it in the bend of my arm.
“There are other hours in the day, you know? I could run here.”
We stare at each other for a moment then both burst into laughter for no particular reason at all.
“Um, should I just go? Because there seems to be enough flirting here that my services are no longer needed.” Olivia waves her hand.
“No,” I say quickly. “No one was flirting.”
“Are you sure? It felt like flirting to me,” Isaac adds.
“If I was flirting, you’d know it.”
“Well, in that case, I’d like to get the chance to know it. Can I get your number?”
My initial instinct is to say absolutely yes, because he’s kind, charming, and so incredibly cute, but too many factors have wedged themselves into my brain that I just can’t.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I tell him.
“Why is that? Not that you owe me an explanation but call it morbid curiosity.”
I could tell him the truth, but how does one articulate something like that?
Oh, I don’t want to date you because dating a fireman would constantly remind me of my drug-addicted brother, who burned to death when my house burned down four years ago, plus I have some misplaced rage and hatred toward men in your profession because they saved me and let him die. My therapist says they did everything they could, but hating them is easier than accepting the truth. Sorry!
“I don’t date firemen,” I say simply with a shrug.
“What do you have against firemen?” He leans his shoulder against the fencing that separates the track from the bleachers.
“Bad experience. You’re all the same, and I’m not trying to be someone’s one-night stand.” I try to sound as sure as I can, even though I’m completely making this up as I go.
“That’s a bold assumption that I am trying to sleep with you.” He grins. “Maybe I just want to be your friend.”
I roll my eyes. “I’ll believe it when I see it, considering all I’ve seen so far is your eyes dropping to my chest when you think I’m not looking.”
“I’m a man who appreciates beauty when it’s presented to him but, Sawyer, I can promise you, I’m not the type of man who would just openly ogle you like a caveman. I prefer to ogle in private where I can touch too.”
I wish I didn’t shiver, in a good way, at the thought of that. I really do, but I’m only human.
Before I can respond to him, my smartwatch on my wrist vibrates, pulling my attention completely away, flashing an incoming text message from my mom.
“I should go,” I say. “It’s getting late already, and I have a couple things I need to do. Plus, I was promised a margarita.”
“Okay. It was nice seeing you again, Sawyer. Maybe we’ll run into each other again, and maybe then you’ll be a little less stubborn with your phone number. Good to see you too, Olivia.” He nods and steps back out onto the track.
“I have a feeling you’ll make sure we see each other again, Isaac Black,” I tell him.
“I will neither confirm nor deny that statement, Sawyer Westbrook.”
***
No sooner do I slide behind the wheel of my car and turn on the ignition, does my phone ring loudly through the