Scornfully Hers (13 page)

“No, nothing happened. We just hung out and talked a lot. Bass is a great guy. He was respectful and treated me with the utmost care.”

That was music to my ears. “Good, because if he didn’t, I would have just loved to knock that arrogant son of a bitch out.”

Emma gently smacked my shoulder. “Oh, shut up, Carter! You’re not punching anyone.”

“Don’t you doubt it because I will hurt anyone that tries to hurt you, Emma.”

I was gazing down on her, shining with love before she looked up with all seriousness on her face. “There’s only one thing I ask of you... don’t hurt me, Carter.”

Never,
I vowed, sealing it with a kiss. “Not going to happen. Why don’t we go downstairs and join the rest of our friends? We’re leaving tomorrow after all.”

Emma declined, shaking her head. “You go right ahead. I want to shower and catch up on some reading.”

Whoa, she was amazing. “You’re sure? I can stay with you, if you want.”

She pinched my cheek, delighted. “I am sure. Soccer just ended and you guys had a tremendous season. You need to party with your team.”

“You’re the best, Em! I’ll be back in a couple hours.” I stood up and pulled her phone out of my pocket. “Here. I don’t need to hold your phone hostage to get your attention. I love you.” I then kissed her and headed towards the door.

I halted when Emma called out when I was almost out the door. “You better be on your best behavior, Carter Mason, because the minute you touch another woman, you’ll be dead to me.”

“Never, my love.” I blew her a kiss and swiftly closed the door behind me.

Hold On, What Did You Just Say?

After learning that she was going to meet Bass tonight, earlier this afternoon, I wasn’t all happy about it. Deep down, I knew she needed to end her connection with him because, whether I liked it or not, Emma went out with him and built a relationship. She chose me over
him, that was proof enough. Reluctantly, I let her see him.

I was overjoyed when I got a call from her a couple hours later.

“Carter, hey,” Emma greeted me, a little breathy.

“Are you on your way home, babe? Is it going to be my place or yours tonight?” I happily asked, conjuring up stuff to do once she came back.

“I’m driving to see my parents tonight. My aunt is visiting and I want to visit with her and my baby cousin,” Emma countered, squashing my hopes to see her tonight.

Well, there’s always tomorrow, I guess. “Oh. Sure, no prob. I want to take you out to dinner.”

“Yeah, that would be nice. I’ll see you tomorrow, Carter.”

I was baffled when she started using my name in a formal tone, but I let it slide because she was probably just stressed out. “Love you, Emma.”

“Yeah, me, too,” she murmured, before cutting the call.

Guess it was just
me tonight. I sighed, leaving my room I strode inside the kitchen, looking for a takeout menu. Chinese, I could do with some pig-out food tonight.

Are The Bumps Over Yet?

I woke the next day with a text from Emma, thinking it odd as I read it with sleepy eyes.

Emma:
Hey. I just got back in town. Can you come over?

Of course I can, why even ask?
I sleepily mused, typing my reply as I let out another yawn.

Me
:
Be there soon, babe.

Twenty minutes later, fresh out of shower, I left for her dorm. I didn’t even bother knocking since I already had a key and she was already expecting me. Inside their place, I strolled towards her bedroom and made an effort to knock this time before opening the door.

“Em?”

“I’m in here,” she called out from on top of her bed with a smile that seemed like it took a lot of effort.

Striding immediately towards her, I was grinning mad
. “I missed you!”

That instant, high of seeing her, inevitably rocketed down so quickly the second she opened her mouth again.

“I need to tell you something important,” she started cautiously, eyeing me, observing my reaction.

Aw, hell. Nothing came out good with sentences that started like that. Worried was putting it mildly, but I was hanging on for dear life while I tried to figure out the devastation she was going to reveal to me.
“What’s it about?” I whispered, staring at her, apprehensive.

She licked her lips, looking like a broken girl before me.
“Something happened with Bass last night...” she started and I lurched to my feet the second those words had barely left her lips and started pacing around her room.

No, not my Emma.
Was it possible that she’d sleep with Bass after we just got back together? Could she inflict this kind of pain on me? Was she even capable?

“Define ‘happened’ Emma? You had sex with him, is that it?”
she needed to emphasize shit, before I lose my bearings here and drive to LA to kill that cocky fucker.

“No. I stayed with him last night, nothing really happened except his hand
lingering a bit longer on certain areas.” The way her voice trembled when she said “certain areas” only left a few choices; ass, pussy and breasts, which was it? Fucking shit, man. This was bad. My head pounded along with my heart, making me stop pacing and sat back down again. I couldn’t even mask the hurt in me. It was just too much. I felt like Emma had gutted me with a blunt knife.

“Bass didn’t fuck you?”

She looked down, shaking her head. “No, it wasn’t like that,” she murmured, not meeting my eyes.

Okay, this was at least good news, but what the fuck really happened? I screamed in my head. Oral? What? Running both of my hands through my hair, I tightly gripped the strands, wanting to feel pain.

“
I’m hurt that you lied about going to sleep at your parent’s house, Em.
How could you do this?
We just barely got back together.”

Emma looked so confused, wondering herself about what was going on.
“Maybe it’s because we got back together too quickly? Maybe I didn’t see it coming and I’m still trying to place my feelings in order? I met Bass right after you. I got to spend time with him, Carter. Somehow, someway, he got through to me.”

This was not something I wanted to hear. Emotional
ties were a bitch to cut and Emma had that with Bass, without the sex. Not a fucking good sign.

I groaned, trying to figure things out in my head and at the same time, seeking the strength to act cool.
Bass got through to her
. What the hell did that mean? That she decided to be with him instead? The thought turned me cold, killing me outright.

“
So, you’re back with him?
You wanted me to drop by today because you’re breaking it off? I can’t believe this!”

“I’m not with Bass. Last night was a
one-time thing. I don’t think I will be hearing from him again.”

She was talking while I dropped on my back against the mattress, hands covering my face, praying to calm my ass down. I was hurting. I wasn’t expecting this when I woke up, smiling that I got a text from her.

Emma reached out, her soft caress made me shiver, breaking me. “Carter, I didn’t mean to lead you on or anything. I meant it when I said I loved you. It’s just that, I’m as confused as ever. I didn’t mean for us to end this way. I honestly didn’t.”

I
huffed out a lungful of air and sat up, looking directly at her, somehow understanding her dilemma. It was my fault that Emma and I started the way we did. I suppose, it was normal for a woman to become attached to the guy they spent a lot of time hanging out with. We got back together less than two days ago, being confused was expected.

“I don’t want to break up with you, Em. I hate what you did
, but I don’t think I can survive without you again. I had a taste of that and I sure as hell don’t want you to go back to that man. Take as much time as you need to figure things out in your head, I’ll still want to be with you. I love you and as badly as I want to think that you’re perfect, you’re human and, by nature, you’re going to make mistakes.”

“You
still
want me after what I did?” Emma stared at me, flabbergasted.

Hell, I was proud of myself for acting like a reasonable man. It wasn’t easy. It all really boiled down to whether I wanted to be with her or not. It wasn’t even a question, it was a given on my part.

“I love you, Em,” I croaked, softly touching the side of her face. “We’ll be okay. We’re just hitting some rough patches because I totally messed up before by not taking my time with you. We started out with sex and nothing more because it was what I could offer then, but now that we’ve cleared that up, we can start anew.”

At this point in time, anything was possible. Hell, I hadn’t even thought I could love a woman, but here I was, falling leaps into it. Knowing the jealous crazy man in me, I was surprised again that I could easily forgive Emma’s minor act of betrayal. I was just relieved that nothing happened
; kissing, fingering, fucking or otherwise. If that weren’t the case, I wasn’t so sure that I could act all forgiving.

“Maybe you’re right. We can start fresh from here on,”
Emma agreed, hopeful.

A fresh start, it was definitely what we needed.

A Turning Leaf

A few weeks later…

Every year, ever since we were in seventh grade, it was a tradition for us to throw a Halloween party. I guess you could chalk that up to us, men, trying to goof around and act all silly without being judged too much.

I was a Jack Sparrow aficionado and I had waited all yea
r—
hell yeah I di
d—
to dress up as his character and use crazy amounts of eyeliner on both lids, but what took the cake, were the funky teeth and the string of braided hair that moved about as I talked.

So, with enough persuasion, more like bargaining to do whatever she wanted, I finally convinced Emma to match me. We would be
Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth Swan from
Pirates of the Caribbean
.

We
smiled like idiots when we checked each other out.

Emma’s dress was on the
sexy side, showing off her cute belly button, her eyes shone like blue topaz as she sauntered towards me. “My, can I be your captive, Captain Jack?”

I
bent over and planted a chaste kiss on her glossed lips, showing her my epic, toothy, pirate smile. “Anything for my Miss Swan.”

The party was wild and crazy
and I expected nothing less. Hell, Halloween was my favorite holiday; it was worth the money and good fun.

My girl and I were stuck together like glue; dancing and laughing, whilst making out like teenagers like no one’s business. I was happy and by the looks of it, Emma was happy with me. The nagging thoughts of Bass Cole were gone and so was the man himself because he was out in Canada, filming. I was more than grateful that the bastard was an actor then.

When Thanksgiving rolled in, we spent it with Emma’s family. Apparently, I was the second guy she brought home to meet them. Growing up, adults and their opinions weren’t something I took notice of, but knowing these were Emma’s parents, the need to impress them was top priority.

Was I nervous? Fuck, yeah. I was sweating bullets, especially when her father was being a total tool towards me. It was understandable, coming from a parent, but from the boyfriend of the daughter’s point of view, not so much.

When Emma’s father, Seth, cleared his throat, as if to warn everyone that the grilling was about to start, I immediately tensed, trying not to get intimidated. “Tell me, Carter, how many women have you had sex with?” Seth asked in a serious manner during dinner as he carelessly popped a carrot into his mouth and chewed it leisurely.

Of course,
the entire table became silent, all eyes were on me. Shit, man. Total. Big. Shit. The question was baffling, but what got me in hooks was that I didn’t know
what
my number was. I stopped counting after I hit the triple digits.
How long ago was that?
I wondered nervously. Maybe a couple years back, but I always wore protection and got myself checked annually. So while I was being a manwhore, I at least was a responsible one.

Emma’s mother
warned her husband to play nice, but to no avail. Seth stood his ground while he waited for me to respond, eying me like I was a poisonous snake.

“Dad, can you at least act civi
lized. You’re being to invasive,” Emma hissed at him while I just sat there, turning red.

How cute and embarrassing was this? At least my Emma tried to help me out. Clearing my throat, I aimed to best answer him in the truest possible answer I could give him. 
“I can honestly tell you, sir, that I do not know the answer to that question, but what I can tell you, with great frankness and confidence, is that since Emma came into my life, I couldn’t imagine being with anyone else. If you had asked me how many women I have loved in my life, it wouldn’t have taken me long to answer. I have only ever loved one and that is your daughter.”