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She lightly nudges Emery with her elbow. “I tried to find you this morning to see if you wanted anything from the coffee shop, but you were gone.”
He shrugs. “Went for a walk.”
My mom glances at his pajama pants and then looks toward me. But I don’t make eye contact, or else she might be able to see the guilt scrawled on my face.
“Got a little wet and changed. I was told I did not pack accordingly,” Emery explains and then leans back and eyeballs his dad, who is standing awkwardly in the kitchen.
“There’s another chair, Thomas. No need to stand when you could sit,” Emery says.
Thomas eyes the chair next to his wife and then lowers himself onto it, cradling his disposable coffee cup in his hands.
“How was the coffee shop?” I ask.
Thomas clears his throat. “Good. Not bad for a little place.”
“Cool, maybe we’ll try it later. Actually, Em and I talked, and we need to run to the store.”
My mom cocks her head, and I realize what I did.
Emery runs a hand down his face and peeks at me through his fingers.
I told you so, he mouths, and I force my gaze away from him.
“Sure, you two can take the car anytime,” Thomas interjects, utterly oblivious to what’s going on.
“I promise I won’t drive,” Emery says, trying to change the subject. “I should probably never drive again. Maybe I’ll get one of those electric Razor scooters. Oh, or a hoverboard! I’d look so cool on a hoverboard.”
My mom moves her gaze away from me, and I exhale in relief. Maybe this whole secret thing we’re doing isn’t the best idea. Maybe Emery is right, and we should just blurt it out. But then all of the repercussions filter through my mind and I’m nearly paralyzed by it.
My mom’s voice jars me from my thoughts. “No one blames you, Emery. Mistakes happen. It’s life. We’re both just glad you’re safe.”
“God, I am too,” Emery replies. “August was like a superhero out there. He was going to dig out a snow cave for us to stay in, using a shovel the size of a gravy ladle.”
“I would have if we’d needed it,” I say with flushed cheeks. “But thankfully we didn’t.”
“Oh, and he protected me from bears.”
“There were no bears.”
“And the owls,” Emery says and shudders. “So eerie. Like little ghosts with swivel heads.”
My mom is laughing now, and Thomas is smirking, watching his son with a mixture of pride and confusion.
“And he’d packed this little crinkly emergency blanket too. Kept us toasty warm when we had to snuggle.”
My spatula slips, and I nearly spill the pancake batter, but luckily Emery doesn’t reveal everything we did under that blanket. He manages to keep that little tidbit on lockdown.
“August told me he was an Eagle Scout. I guess out of all the people to be stuck with out there, I’m glad it was him. If it was Lex, we’d both be dead. I’d freeze to death, and Lex would probably just blast ‘Don’t Fear the Reaper’ over the car speakers and set himself on fire. Go out in a blaze of glory.”
A little sting of jealousy at hearing him mention Lex again causes my chest to constrict. I have no right to feel this way. I know this and still, I can’t help it.
“Ah, the infamous Lex,” Thomas says and Emery smiles.
“Yeah, he has such a crush on you. It’s disgusting really.”
I stack the pancakes, my mind half-listening to the conversation they’re having, and then I serve everyone, making sure to drench Emery’s plate until it’s swimming in syrup.
“Oh god,” Emery moans around a mouthful and I’m thankful I’m now sitting down because my dick takes notice of that sound. It’s similar to the ones he makes when his tongue is down my throat.
