AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And even though it’s the worst of circumstances, we both start laughing. Because what else is there?
I love how things are so easy between us. That they can go from zero to one hundred in the blink of an eye, and back again just as fast. Being with Emily is like being with an old friend. A best friend.
A friend who gets me going with the most innocent of looks.
No, Peter. I focus hard on the road in front of me. Now is definitely not the time to be thinking about sex. No matter how much I want to revisit the taste of her, the way it feels to have her legs wrapped around me. And now that she’ll be staying with me, I don’t know how I’m going to keep my hands to myself. We both have so much going on with school, work, and stalkers that getting distracted is probably the worst possible idea.
And yet.
“I don
’t want to go to your place,” she says.
I’ve just taken the corner a block away from my street.
“Emily, we’ve been over this. You can’t go home. Especially not now.”
“No, that’s not what I mean.” She slips her hand over mine on the gear shift.
I have to bite down on the inside of my lip to ignore the sudden twitch in my crotch area. Her touch summons my body to life, whether I choose it or not.
“I don’t think I could stand being cooped up inside right now,” she says.
“So…do you want to grab a bite? We could stop over at—”
“No, please, no food. I had a huge lunch.”
I can’t tell whether the grimace on her face is in relation to the food she ate, or the person she had lunch with.
“I forgot, how did it go?”
“I told her about you.”
“What?” My head snaps around, and for a full three seconds, I forget that I have to be watching the road. “You told her? What did she say? Why would you do that? Was she upset?”
Emily laughs. I love the sound of that laugh. “I didn’t tell her about, you know.” She gets all coy, and it’s the look of hunger in her eyes that forces me to keep my attention on driving.
“So, if not that, then what?”
“I mentioned that I ran into you. And no, she wasn’t all too happy about it.”
I don’t say anything. It was kind of what I expected. I can’t say I blame Trish, really. But damn, it does sting just a little.
“Anyway,” Emily continues. Her voice has an air of nonchalance to it, like she doesn’t care about her mother’s approval at all. “My old woman has a boyfriend now. Kevin. She wants to set me up with his son.” She lets out an amused giggle. “Can you imagine?”
No. I don’t want to imagine. It may be funny to her, but I can’t bear the thought of Emily being with someone else. My knuckles turn white on the steering wheel, but that’s as far as I allow my jealousy to go. I’m not going to be that guy. After all, we’re not dating. Emily is free to see whoever she wants.
Something the size of a boulder sinks in my stomach.
We drive around without direction for a couple of hours, talking about everything and nothing. Emily tells me about how amazing her friends have been and I tell her about Denise, who’s determined to get me to hang out with my division. I’m sure I sense a twinge of jealousy, but I don’t remark on it. It serves her right after that whole Kevin thing.
The sun is hanging low in the sky when I pull up to the empty parking lot at Castle Island. We have a breathtaking view of Pleasure Bay from here. The deep golden red of the setting sun makes the quiet waters burst into flame. And now that I’m not driving, I can really appreciate the woman next to me.
I turn sideways in my seat so that I can face her. She’s utterly captivated by the scene unfolding in front of us. I, on the other hand, am more interested in the one right beside me. Seeing the sunset reflected on her face, the absolute wonder in her wide eyes, it’s all I can do not to lean in and kiss the hell out of her.
“Peter, look,” she says, obviously aware that I’m missing one of nature’s greatest show-offs. “It’s beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful.” The words fall out of my mouth before I realize I’m thinking them.
