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Emma kissed me again and her tongue danced against my lower lip.
“I’m not sure, but I like it.”
She pulled away and pressed her forehead against mine and then she took a deep breath.
“I talked to Greg today. He thanked me for keeping you safe.” My voice was soft, and she looked into my eyes for a long moment. “I don’t know that I’m doing that.”
“You are,” Emma assured me as she pressed herself close to me, driving me crazy. “I’m here, and I know that nothing will happen to me.”
“I might happen to you,” I warned her as she ran a hand through my hair.
“I’ve dreamed of that,” she assured me as she pulled away. “Let’s eat. I’m starving.”
We made our way to the living room, loading up plates with the takeout and turning the TV on. This felt natural, sitting here. There was a lot of flirting and kissing in between bites of food and comments about the show, but the entire situation felt like home to me.
CHAPTER 15
EMMA
The university was so different to community college. The workload was insane for the one extra class that I’d chosen, and I was either at school or the stadium. If I was home, I was studying and doing schoolwork, planning to keep my grades up if it killed me.
I lost time with Jackson through the week and planned to cook him dinner on the night that we were both home. That was not until Thursday and I bought some chicken and vegetables on the way home to cook that night and considered asking him to get some beer since I couldn’t.
I sighed as I unpacked the food. Jackson was only twenty-three, but he seemed so much older than me. He’d lived his life and then some, and I was just now on my own, though in some ways I wasn’t. I was staying with my brother’s best friend who was watching over me. I felt guilty all over again as I thought about Greg.
Was this a mistake?
No. Jackson and I got along great and we were taking it slow. We hadn’t made love together yet, just slept in the same bed and messed around. But really, it was more than that. We laughed and talked, supporting each other. We were friends, but I really wanted to sleep with him and feel him inside me. Greg could be dealt with when the time came, and everything would be fine.
It had to be, because I was getting attached to Jackson.
I pulled out the cast-iron pan and prepared the chicken before I started cutting the vegetables. I kept Jackson’s food plan in mind, aware that he wanted to eat well right now during the season. I shook my head as I threw the vegetables back into the fridge and oiled the pan before turning on some music on my phone.
I thought about the paper that I had to turn in next week as I slowly cooked the chicken. I thought back to my first few days in Nashville, thinking how well it was going. I was busier than I’d ever been in my life but happy with that.
I knew I was living in a bubble. There would come a time when we were faced with reality and things would get tough. Choices would have to be made, and I just hoped they would be the right ones. I didn’t want to lose my brother in this, but I was happy. He should want that for me as well. I wasn’t the five-year-old who he made me out to be and one of these days, I was going to tell him that.
I was going to stand up for myself. I should just tell him that I slept with someone already. He’d be angry and probably surprised, but it was just one person. He had a lot more girls in his past, but I knew that was what he would remind me about Jackson.
Jackson was holding back on things going too far with us because he cared for me.
I was hopeless. I didn’t know what I was doing.
I was pulling everything out of the oven and finishing the salad when I heard the front door. Jackson walked in, looking worn out.
I smiled at him. I’d freshened my make-up and changed into new clothes, feeling like some sort of fifties wife.
“Hi,” I greeted him, searching his drawn face with worry in my eyes. “Are you okay?”
I was leaning up to kiss him when Jackson stepped away. He ran a hand through his messy hair and looked past me.
“What’s going on?” I asked. Pain crossed his face. “Jackson?”
“This… this needs to stop,” I frowned and he looked into my eyes. “I don’t want a relationship with you. I won’t take this any further and lead you on.”
My mouth dropped open as I felt my stomach threaten to come up to my throat. My appetite was gone. I waited for Jackson to tell me that this was a joke, but his eyes were dull as he looked down at me.
