Seven (24 page)

Casen:
Want to meet up for drinks tonight? And then stay over again. I hated not waking up next to you.

Me:
Drinks sound good and, if you’re lucky, you might get lucky ;) and I’m sorry. I had to get things taken care of at my condo.

Casen:
I was lucky to find you, but it’s all skill that gets you in my bed, Embyr. Bring an overnight bag. I saw you took yours.

Me:
So sure of yourself. What time tonight?

Casen:
Five. Reece and Trinity are joining us.

Fuck.

I glance around Jedi’s bar, once I’ve arrived, attempting to spot Casen, Reece, and Trinity. I’m on edge and not thinking clearly. I almost left my house with two different shoes and without my keys. I don’t want to see Reece after not responding to his text, and this nagging feeling has settled deep into the pit of my stomach.

The large space is cramped with wall to wall people, making it difficult to see anyone through the chaos. I pull out my phone from my bag and start to dial Casen’s number when his hands circle around my waist from behind. His lips find the small space behind my ear. “Hey, baby.”

I turn around in his embrace and connect my lips with his. He tastes of beer and peanuts and, by the aggressiveness in his kiss, I sense he’s in between drunk and tipsy.

“Hey.” I smile. “I couldn’t find you guys.”

He points a thumb behind him. “We were right behind you.” He laughs and pulls me by my waist into the booth across from Reece.

Trinity must not have arrived, yet. I offered to pick her up but she said she would meet me here. Reece doesn’t look up right away as he seems to be in deep thought. His arms are resting on the table and his fingers have a hard hold around his beverage; the condensation, from the glass, dripping down the backside of his hand.

“Hey, Reece,” I greet him, nervously, and he flicks his gaze to mine, shocked, like he didn’t realized I had joined them. His brown hair is shorter than the last time I saw him. It’s shaved almost to the scalp and his green eyes give me a hard and cold stare.

“Embyr,” he comments dragging his beer to his lips and taking a long swig. The look he gives me is vile as though he despises me just for my mere presence. Casen seems oblivious to it all.

Panic rises within me like lightening and I jump up, hoping to make it into the bathroom or, at least, away from the table before I lose it in front of them. I don’t have a good feeling. In fact, I have a terrible fucking feeling. Anger starts to bubble up and it’s causing anarchy with my nerves. “I need to use the bathroom,” I inform them, pissed that I even bothered to come here after that text. Especially now with Reece acting like a dick. I throw the strap of my bag over my shoulder and head to the back of the bar and into the bathroom to catch my breath.

It takes a few minutes but after a couple of cold water splashes to my face, I finally feel the resolve I need to face Reece and his shitty attitude. I’m in the hallway when I hear deep footsteps headed my way. I look up, finding Reece staring at me. “Why didn’t you call me?” He sways and his shoulder hits the wall. He’s drunk. I can see the glassiness of his eyes. “Hell, even text me back?”

“Don’t you think it’s inappropriate to communicate with your best friend’s girlfriend?”

“Oh yes,” he agrees. His green eyes, narrowing at me. “Inappropriate. Fucked up. Wrong. But then, you would know a lot about that, wouldn’t you, Annie?”

My heart stops beating. My lungs can’t fill with enough air, and I feel light headed. All of my instincts that said today was going to be terrible were right. I’m fucking done for, so I do the only thing I can to save myself. The only thing I’ve been doing for the past decade. I lie.

“My name isn’t Annie. Are you that drunk?” I roll my eyes and attempt to walk past him, but he sticks his hand out, grabbing my upper arm. I try to tug away from him, but his grip is too strong. “Let me go.”

He doesn’t relent. He just lowers his head so we are eye to eye. I want to be strong as steel but I’m fucking petrified right now. “Listen, Embyr, or Annie, or whoever the fuck you want to be today. I may have had a few drinks but don’t think for one moment I don’t see it now. You know Casen has been looking for you.” He laughs sarcastically. “Yeah, Ian did some digging and finally found you. Your little trail went cold after college, but Ian is good at his job. He never gave up. He felt like after what he did to you, he owed Casen, at least, this. Then, he finds out you’ve been hanging around us all along. He came to the station last night and told me to talk to you before he sends Casen the information.”

I finally snap, jerking my arm out from his grasp. “You all ruined my life!” I yell, giving him confirmation that Annie and I are one in the same. The first person I’ve ever admitted it to.

“Fuck!” he roars, hitting the wall beside him. “Are you kidding me? What is all this, Embyr? What’s your end game?”

Tears start to build in my eyes. Reece’s angry face starts to morph into sympathy. “Don’t look at me like that, Reece. I didn’t expect to fall in love with him.”

“Did you know who he was when you met him?” he asks, his voice much lower than before.

I sniffle, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. “Yes.”

“What were you doing? Was everything that happened with the PITCREW guys you’re doing?” He shakes his head.

“I’m not going to even give a response to that,” I deflect. I love Casen. I can stand to tell him who I am, but I can’t let him know how devious I was being.

We stand there in the hallway, a minute passing by. Neither of us taking our eyes off one another. Neither of us speaking.

“You better tell him,” Reece says, breaking the silence first. My stomach begins to revolt with a flash of how I imagine Casen’s face to look when I tell him. He’ll forgive me. I know he will. “Because I don’t want to crush him. He loved Annie. He loves you. This is going to crush him, Embyr.” His head lowers and his shoulders slump. He’s hurting for his best friend, and it breaks my heart. He starts to walk away and then turns to me. “Ian said he was mailing Casen everything today. He didn’t want to see his face when he saw what he had found. I assume he will get it in two days. You have two days, Embyr.”

Before he hits the end of the hallway I call out his name. He turns around, his face morose. “Yeah.”

“Who released that tape, Reece?”

For the first time ever, I watch Reece Craig begin to shed a tear. Moisture collects in the corner of his eyes. “I did. I ruined your life, Embyr. I started that stupid bet and I foolishly left it on my computer. We held it over your head for months and I swear I was going to delete it. You have to believe me when I say I didn’t mean to release it.”

I can’t hold back my tears. “Then, how the hell did it get out?”

He shakes his head slowly and shrugs. “I attached the wrong video. I was supposed to be our group project video and by the time I realized what I had done, it was all over the school.”

An accident?

I stalk over, tears streaming down my face. “Fuck you, Reece. You shouldn’t have ever made that bet and you sure as hell should have never kept that video. You all took my innocence away.”

“I’m so sorry,” he cries. “There is nothing else I can tell you.”

“I’m going to tell Casen tomorrow. Everything,” I whisper, brushing past him.

I wipe my tears on my sleeve and stand at the table, finding that Trinity has arrived. “You ok, Em?” she asks and Casen’s eyes are filled with concern. I probably look terrible after the roller coaster of emotions I just experienced.

“I’m fine. I just don’t feel well. I’m going to go home.” I turn around and rush towards the door.

Casen catches my arm before I hit the door. “Baby, what’s going on? Did Reece say something to you?”

“No.” I wipe another tear. “I’m fine. Just emotional, but you need to stay here. Please.”

He relents, letting me go. “Okay. Do you want me to call you tomorrow?”

I nod and he kisses me on the cheek goodbye.

*****

By the time I finally make it home, it’s close to seven o’clock. I attempt to eat some soup to calm my rolling stomach, and crawl naked into bed. The day replays over and over in my head, and I dread tomorrow. I text Casen, knowing that I want just one more night with him before all of it comes crashing down.

Me:
Come to my place when you’re done. You can use the key I gave you.

Casen:
I won’t be long.

I see a missed text from Trinity and answer her, as well.

Trinity:
I’m worried about you, Em.

Me:
Lunch tomorrow? I need a friend.

Trinity:
Sure.

If I am going to come clean to Casen, then I am going to need all the support I can. Tomorrow, I will have lunch with Trinity and tell her everything and hope she can look past my lies. I’m going to need her support. I consider her my best friend. Though, I might not have anyone left soon. Just like ten years ago.

I must have fallen asleep because long and hard fingers, between my legs, wake me up, bringing my body alive. I moan, pushing my pussy against them, reaching for the orgasm that is on the brink of taking over my body.

His hands pull away. “Turn over, Embyr.” Casen says with authority and my body hums with excitement, long lost are the thoughts of this possibly being over soon. His touch makes me forget about anything else. I fall to my back as he crawls on top of me, slipping right in. “Always fucking wet for me, aren’t you?” he asks, pulling my legs into his arms as he starts slowly thrusting into me. “You feel better now?”

“Yes,” I caress his torso, enjoying the ripple of his abs as his muscles contract with every thrust. His eyes look to where we are connected, something he does every time we screw, and he licks his lips at the sight.

“I can see your juices coating my cock, baby,” he groans. “So fucking hot.” Casen’s dirty talk sets me over the edge.

“Oh God!” I whimper. He spreads my legs wider in his arms and leaves the slow, sensual pace behind for a punishing one. My pussy is getting a beating and I fucking love it.

“Look at those tits bounce, Embyr. I want to come all over them.”

That’s it. The vision of him taking himself out of me and letting himself go on my breasts is all it takes for an orgasm to rip through me. “Fuck, Casen!” I scream, grabbing onto the back of my thighs and ride out the shockwaves.

His neck strains as he pumps into my body a few more times before he does, in fact, pull out and shoot his come all over my breasts. Casen’s hand glides up and down, milking the last of it out of his cock. “That’s fucking beautiful,” he utters, looking at my breasts.

I release the hold on my legs and Casen crawls off the bed. Moments later he is cleaning me up with a warm wash cloth. “Nice way to wake up,” I comment just as he finishes.

The bed dips next to me before he pulls my back against his front. “I’ll wake you up like that for the rest of your life, if you let me.”

His lips find my neck and shivers run up my spine, but not from the attention he is giving me. It’s from his words. I don’t know if he going to want me anymore after tomorrow.

“Do you want to talk about what happened tonight?” he asks, rubbing circles along my side.

I shake my head. “No.”

“Tomorrow, then?”

I nod, turning my head and kissing his waiting lips. “Tomorrow,” I respond and try not to throw up with dread.

I’m back at Lake Arlington. Back to the place this entire mess started. The day is much warmer than yesterday and the sky is clear of any clouds. Since it’s a weekday, the park is void of children, and with the rise in temperature, there are dozens of people using the, over two mile, track to walk, run, skate, or bike. I remember taking late night walks with friends my freshman year. Living like nothing could hurt me. Jesus, was I wrong. Now, here I am, over ten years later, looking at the world through different eyes.

As I sit here, waiting on Trinity to join me before she has to go to work, I try to work out how I am going to tell Casen. Do I tell him the truth? Should I tell him that I went into this looking to crush him and that I never thought I would fall so hopelessly for him? Or do I lie and say I didn’t realize until he told me his name? I want to go with the second but you don’t have to remember anything if it’s the truth. If I want things to go anywhere with Casen, then I need to be one hundred percent honest. Tell him everything from the start and pray to God he forgives me.