AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Fuck, maybe she would. I really don’t know how she’d handle it. I just don’t want to disappoint her. I hate disappointing people.
My mind is a mess.
“Cool,” I say, and Emery’s smile fades a little at my unamused tone.
“Hey, you okay?” Em asks, his eyes searching my face as he turns toward me, his back to Colin.
“Yeah,” I say clearing my throat. “Want me to take you home? I have some stuff I need to do in a bit.”
“Did you change your mind about hanging out with me?”
He sounds almost hurt and that just makes me feel worse.
I glance over at Colin and then pull Emery away and lower my voice. “No, of course I want to hang with you, but it looks like you might have made other plans.”
His eyebrows slam together. “Huh?”
“Maybe you’d rather spend your day with Colin?”
Emery’s mouth falls open and his sucker almost rolls to the floor. I reach up and grab it from his mouth and push it into mine.
“Oh god, no. Is that what you think? I mean, he has cool tattoos, but…” He leans toward me. “Why the fuck would I go for that guy when you’re right here?”
My chest swells and I hand him back his sucker.
“Are you sure?”
Emery snorts. “He’s asking if I’m sure…of course I’m sure.”
“Fine. Then let’s go.”
“Shouldn’t we say goodbye?”
I run a hand through my hair. “Yeah. Fuck. I guess we should.”
I don’t want to, but my mom didn’t raise an asshole. So, I say goodbye to Colin, Magnus, and Sem and then finally nod to the door.
“Ready?”
“So ready,” he replies and then asks, “So where are we going first?”
“I actually have to mow some lawns before we do anything else.”
Emery eyes me with confusion as we slide into my car. “Is this a euphemism? Because I don’t get it.”
I chuckle. “No. I really have to mow some lawns. It’s something I volunteer for. It’s for older people who can’t get around as easily. Yard work is always hard for them, so I help out.”
“God, why would you do that? This is seriously how you spend your free time?”
“I mean, not all my free time, but I do set aside time every weekend to make sure it happens.”
Emery glances away and looks out the window. “Goddammit. How the hell can I ever measure up when you do stuff like this?”
I reach out and grasp onto his arm lightly. “Hey. Why would you feel the need to measure up?”
Emery shrugs. “Because you’re…you and you mow lawns for old people when everyone else spends their weekends fucking and getting wasted. That’s why! I mean what twenty-something guy volunteers his time unless he’s on probation?”
“A lot of people. There’s actually an organization that does this.”
