Free Never to Keep (Accepting Fate #1) by Aimie Grey Page A

number next to Peyton’s name. After the second ring, I looked at the clock and noticed it was after one in the morning. Maybe listening to her voicemail greeting would be enough.
    “Hello?” She sounded wide awake, and I could hear dance music in the background. I couldn’t bring myself to speak, but I wasn’t ready to hang up. “Hello? Ethan, is that you?” I sobered when another man’s name passed her lips. “I can’t hear you; must be a bad connection. I’ve gotta get on stage now. I’ll call you later.” I stared at my phone for a while after she disconnected the call.
    I was ready to pound on the door of every Ethan in town until I found the one I needed to punch in the face for touching my woman. But, she wasn’t my woman. She was just a bitch who used me and then left without a word. I guess, in a sense, I’d gotten even with her in that closet. That thought didn’t sit well with me. I didn’t like hurting her, even though she’d tortured me for a year.
    I could think of only one person who would listen to me without judgment. I dialed her number, fairly certain she would be too busy to answer.
    “Hello?” she answered after the first ring.
    “Hi, Marina? It’s Sawyer.” I nearly tripped over my words, surprised to hear her voice.
    “Oh, hi!” Her excitement was almost tangible. “What’s up?”
    “Just wanted to talk. Why are you up so late?”
    “It’s only ten on the west coast. I’m hanging out in Tate’s trailer. He should wrap for the day soon. What’s on your mind?”
    “Remember how I was in a bad mood when we met?” I jumped into the story about how I met Madison in the bar and took her to my room. It was hard to tell her about how Madison had fled in the middle of the night. Marina listened carefully to every word I said.
    “Have you seen her since that night?” she asked with hope in her voice.
    “Yeah, actually, I ran into her tonight.”
    “Hold on a second, is that the real reason you decided to move to Indiana?” She was too smart; I couldn’t get anything past her.
    “No, I told you I moved here because Finn and the bitch moved in with Mom and Dad. There was no way I was going to live under the same roof as Kristy.” I couldn’t admit the whole truth to her when I wasn’t ready to admit it to myself.
    “She has a kid, who just happens to be in my class. I could tell that she hadn’t given me a second thought until she saw me.” She couldn’t have been thinking of me this whole time—not when she had a child to focus on. Her initial composure confirmed that I was just a distant memory. How the fuck could she own my thoughts so completely when I meant absolutely nothing to her? “I didn’t get any kind of reaction from her until I accidentally made her kid cry.”
    “What did you do to her kid?”
    “I was being a dick to Madison and asking questions about the kid’s father. Turns out Peyton’s father had passed away. I should have known; I’d only read the academic part of her file, though.”
    “Hold on a sec.” She took the phone away from her ear and spoke to someone in the room with her. “Tate just got back.”
    “Do you need to go?”
    “No, I told him that I waited for him, so he has to wait for me. So, you made Peyton cry. Then what happened?”
    “I was angry at Madison and myself. After I found out that Peyton was okay, I left her with the guidance counselor and took Madison to the supply closet. I said some things I’m not proud of and ended up fucking her against the door,” I admitted with shame. “I could tell she didn’t want it. I just needed to fuck her out of my system, so I could move on.” I knew she wanted to tell me no, even though she never said the word. I’d gotten her so hot and bothered she couldn’t refuse.
    “Did it work?”
    “No, it just made me want her more. I am so fucking confused about all of this. I have no idea what to do. I can’t decide if I hate her or want her or both.”
    “Wow, men really