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She leans in and kisses me then, moving her lips against mine in a way that sets my heart soaring, and before I know it, the covers are pushed away and our towels are on the floor as we come together—body, mind, and soul—two hearts finally beating as one.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Emmy
"Do you have everything packed?" I holler to Stella from my room.
"I think so," she grunts back, her voice strained.
Curious, I wander into her room, only to find her kneeling over a duffel bag, squeezing it together with her knees as she tries to force the zipper closed.
"Um, how much do you need for an overnight trip?"
She glares up at me, and I have to cover my smile with my hands.
"Listen, Linda, there's no such thing as being too prepared."
"Oh, okay, Park Ranger Stell. Is there anything useful in that bag or just clothes?"
"You hush your mouth. There's also snacks, drinks, sunblock, bug spray...I even put some Oreos. But if you want to complain, I guess I'll take them out to make room."
I hold my hands up in surrender. "Let's not make any hasty decisions."
We both laugh, knowing good and well if she took the Oreos out of her bag, they'd only end up in mine.
"It sucks we can't ride together." She looks at me with big, puppy dog eyes.
"Yeah, it does."
"Damn Sterling and his two-seater car." She knocks her shoulder into mine. "You'd think with all that money he could afford a back seat."
"Oh my God, you're such a mess."
"I'm delightful."
"A delightful mess," I deadpan before busting out laughing.
"What time is he supposed to be here?"
"Should be any minute." I check the time on my phone, and, sure enough, there's a knock at the door.
Except when I open the door, it's not Sterling waiting on the other side.
"Do you need something?" Stella asks, all sass, as our RA cranes her neck, trying to peek into our suite, looking for God only knows what.
"Just stopping by to check on things, ladies." While her words are typical, her tone is caustic.
"Are you ever gonna give this a rest?" I ask, beyond exasperated with her antics.
"Give what a rest?" She cuts her eyes at me, and Stella throws her hands in the air.
"You know exactly what she's talking about. Stalking isn't a good color on you and neither is petty."
Melanie glowers. "I can make y'all's lives very hard here, so tread carefully, ladies."
"Did I just hear you threaten my girlfriend?" Sterling asks from behind her. It's been two weeks since we made it official, and my heart still flutters every time I hear that word.
"And her best friend," Stella grumbles.
"Oh, Sterling.” Melanie bats her lashes, her personality switching in an instant. "It's so good to see you."
Sterling looks down his nose at her. "I can't say the same."
Melanie rolls her eyes and swats at his chest like he's joking. "You're so funny."
He takes a step back, and she tries to follow. "Melanie, enough is enough. This has to stop."
"I don't know what you're talking about," she whines, trying to deny any wrongdoing. "She started it!"
"I didn't start anything!" I shout, my temper getting the better of me.
"When he comes to his senses and leaves you, I hope you know he'll come crawling back to me." Melanie flips her hair, like she's hot shit, once again focusing her gaze on Sterling.
I go to reply, but he steps around her, placing himself between us, creating a buffer with his body. "Melanie, I need you to listen to me, and I need you to listen carefully." She nods eagerly, like a puppy begging for scraps. "There is no us. There has never been an us and there never will be. What you're doing is considered harassment, and if you don't leave Emmalyn and Stella alone, you will force my hand in pursuing this with the dean."
She tries to laugh, like he's joking, but we all know he isn't.
Before she can say anything else, Sterling turns around to face me, clearly dismissing her. "Are you ready to go, baby?"
"Yup." I pass him my bag and turn to Stella. "I'll see you there. What time is Gabe coming to pick you up?"
"Oh, he texted me five minutes ago that he was waiting outside, but I wasn't packed yet."
"Well, then let's go," I say, and together all three of us head downstairs, blatantly ignoring a fuming Melanie as we all file past her.
* * *
"Exactly how far away is the campsite?" Stella asks, looking apprehensively at the woods in front of us.
"Not that far, princess," Gabe replies with a deep, masculine chuckle.
"Listen, you outdoorsy giant, camping is not my thing, but I'm here and I'm making the best of it."
Gabe grins, pleased he was able to get a response out of her. The two of them realized quickly they could rile one another up within seconds and have been playfully at each other's throats ever since.
