Stubborn Love (11 page)

“Seriously, Emmie, you’re going to have to talk to him at some point,” Paige argued, walking around the couch and handing me a cup of coffee.

“No, I don’t. I see absolutely no point in talking to him,” I replied firmly.

“I told you, he and Courtney are long over,” Paige attempted to reassure me.

“It didn’t look long over,” I retorted. “And honestly, I’m not interested in Colin so it doesn’t even matter.”

“Yeah, you’re not into Colin, whatever you say.” Paige delivered a scowl before rolling her eyes. “Courtney used to be a waitress there, and they dated for a very short time. She’s just one of those type of girls, ya know?”

“The fact that you just said she’s one of those type of girls, and I assume you mean slutty, makes it all the more horrifying. There is no way I would ever be interested in a guy who would date a girl like that,” I explained, holding my head high.

“Well then, you better settle on never finding love, because all men are interested in that type of girl at one time or another in their lives.”

“Fine, then I’ll be alone. I don’t really need a guy to be happy. Some girls are content to be alone,” I insisted as my phone buzzed.

“Whatever you say. You just keep telling yourself that.” She scoffed at my statement.

I groaned as I saw Stryker’s number scrolling across my screen. This guy did not give up easily.

“Is it
him
again?” Paige asked, her face displaying a look of utter shock.

“Yes, he can’t take a hint. I saw him at the school the other day and had to hide out in a classroom for nearly twenty minutes. I wish I had never agreed to go out with him. Dating and me simply do not mix.”

“Oh my God, why don’t you just tell him you’re not interested and that he needs to go get a life?” she suggested. “Better yet, tell him you’re screwing Colin.”

“Okay, first of all, gross,” I said, raising a finger and waving it around to prove my point. “I would never screw Colin. Second—”

We both paused, interrupted by a knock at the door. “Hey babe, let us in.”

“Us?” I whispered, clearly agitated, rising up onto my knees, staring intensely at Paige.

“What? I invited them over for a movie night before I knew you were all hung up on Colin,” she replied casually, walking over to the door.

“Don’t you let him in here, Paige!” I whisper yelled, stressing my discomfort with the situation quite plainly.

“I’ll make sure he leaves you alone, all right?” she said, not waiting for my response. Quickly, I slouched down on the sofa, pulling the throw pillow up to my chest as if it were a shield.

“Hey boys,” Paige said, cracking the door. “Whoa, not so quick. You guys can come in tonight, but we have a few ground rules.”

“Ground rules?” Just the sound of Colin’s voice made my stomach do flips. I kept seeing that Courtney girl sticking her tongue down his throat over and over.

“Yes, ground rules. You got a problem with that?” Paige sternly questioned, not budging.

“Was this Em’s idea?” Colin asked.

“No!” I yelled from the couch. “My idea was to not let you in at all.”

“Can’t we at least talk about it?” Colin yelled from the doorway.

“Nothing to talk about!” I hollered back.

“Look boys, the rules are no talking about anything that happened last night, deal?” Paige offered, holding the door firmly.

“Whatever,” Christian muttered, pushing his way in.

“You can’t be serious,” Colin moaned, clearly not in agreement with the rules.

“As a heart attack, my friend,” Paige replied.

“Fine.” I heard him sigh. A wave of relief washed over me, and I was suddenly very glad I had Paige looking out for me.

“Great, you boys make the popcorn,” she commanded as the door closed. Rushing over, she took the spot next to me on the couch, grabbing my hand and squeezing it tightly. I knew for the first time in a very long time, I truly had a close friend—a friend I could trust.

A minute later my phone began to buzz again.

“Oh my God, you are kidding me, right? It’s not him, is it?” Paige snarled with disgust.

Looking down at the phone, I saw it was, in fact, another attempt from William Stryker. Begrudgingly, I nodded. “At least this time he only sent a text.”

“What did he say?” she asked, swiping at my phone.

“Nothing.”

“Oh please, I know it’s not nothing. Let me see!” she exclaimed.

I handed her the phone, making sure I didn’t make eye contact with Colin during any part of the conversation. I could feel him hovering over our shoulders, spying on our conversation.

“Oh, no he didn’t,” she remarked before beginning to feverishly run her fingers over the screen of my phone, typing a message that I was sure wouldn’t lead to anything good.

“What are you typing?” I asked, but she didn’t answer, too intensely engaged in her message. “I’m serious, Paige, don’t. Please don’t.”

“Too late,” she replied, tossing me the phone, satisfaction across her face. “He won’t be bothering you again.”

“What did you do?” I asked, panic flooding through me.

“Only what needed to be done. That douchebag sounded like he was threatening you,” Paige defended herself.

“Someone is threatening you?” Colin asked, pushing himself into the conversation.

“No, it’s nothing I can’t handle,” I replied firmly.

“He said you better quit ignoring me… or else,” Paige reported.

“What? Who is saying this stuff to you?” Colin was quickly becoming agitated.

“Nobody,” I insisted, wishing the conversation would drop.

“I told him if he contacted you again, I’d cut his balls off and feed them to him,” Paige proudly announced.

“That’s my classy lady,” Christian said, smiling as he handed Paige a beer, a ginger ale in his other hand for himself.

“Damn straight, and I would do it,” she reaffirmed.

“Who is saying this stuff?” Colin said in a now very demanding tone. His intense stare was starting to make me extremely uncomfortable.

“That dick head she went on that date with,” Paige so graciously enlightened the boys.

“Wait, that guy calling himself Stryker?” Colin attempted to clarify.

“Oh my God, Paige! Shut up! And yes, it’s him, but I’m telling you all, I’ve got this. Just let me handle it. If I ignore him long enough, he’ll go away,” I maintained.

Colin made his way around the couch, kneeling uncomfortably close to me. In a low voice he said, “Em, I’m not kidding, if he bothers you anymore, will you promise to tell me, and I’ll take care of it.”

“Look, I said I’m fine.” I adjusted awkwardly in my seat.

“Promise me!” Colin commanded, staring at me intensely. “I don’t trust that guy. Something didn’t feel right. Will you please promise me?”

“All right, fine,” I relented at last. “I promise.” I didn’t dare tell Colin, but it did provide me with some comfort to know he was looking out for me.

“And about last night…” Colin continued.

“Nope, you heard Paige and the rules.” I laughed, happy to make sure he stuck to his promise, as well.

“Fine, but can we at least agree to put stuff behind us and be friends?” Colin asked, unable to let go of the tension in the room. I stared at him for a second. I couldn’t fathom how he could look so good in sweats; it just didn’t seem humanly possible.

“Sure, we can be friends, but that’s all we are, got it?” I offered in a determined voice.

“Damn bro, she told you!” Christian bellowed, leaning forward and slugging his brother in the arm.

“Shut up, idiot,” Colin barked, shoving his brother backward.

“How about both of you shut up and put the movie in!” Paige shouted.

“What are we watching?” I asked, wide-eyed, eager to ease the tension.

“
Scream
marathon!” Paige exclaimed, practically squealing in delight.

“You’re kidding, right?” I moaned.

“Oh hell no, this girl never kids about her horror flicks,” Christian advised me.

The rhythm of the city had seemed to envelope me over the past couple of weeks. It almost felt like I had always been a part of its song. My routine began to bring me an immense comfort. I had managed to convert Paige to using a French press for our morning brew, rather than making a run past the coffee shop every day. I had also pieced together a decent wardrobe, thanks to a few trips with Paige to the thrift shops, Angel Street and Cure.

Where I came from, second hand shops were not somewhere you found what I would consider fashionable clothing. Angel Street and Cure had completely transformed my idea of a thrift store. Designer outfits were in the plenty, but the vintage pieces were the real find. It had become an invigorating challenge for me, or perhaps merely a distraction. Either way, I was hooked.

I had become accustomed over the past couple years to being haunted throughout my days by the memories of Ashton. Now, though, I had managed to drown out most of the painful thoughts, at least until the silent loneliness of the late night crept in. The familiar guilt always managed to find its way back to me just before I would drift off to sleep.

Ever since movie night at our place, Colin and I had found a comfortable place in our relationship. He had even taken to hanging out at the warehouse with me while I painted. I’d admit, at first it made me uncomfortable, but he had a way of making you warm up to him. Maybe it is just how damn sexy he was to look at, I didn’t know. I think I never realized how funny he was until these past couple weeks. I told Paige the other night that I thought the guy would suffer through any amount of humiliation for a laugh.

The highlight for me had to be the night he was rummaging through salvage boxes from one of his renovation projects. It was over flowing with faux furs, pillbox hats, and what could only be described as a collection of your grandmother’s jewelry. Before I knew what was happening, he was adorned from head to toe in the trinkets. If only I’d have had a pair of heels for him, I was certain he would have slipped them on for me. It took very little convincing to get him to agree to model for me, and it might be one of my favorite sketches of him.

Ever since Colin and I made our friendship truce, it had been just that, a real friendship. I was back on my path, focused on earning my degree, no longer consumed by distractions. Of course, I still thought Colin was insanely hot, and there were many times I had to remind my nether regions we were just friends, but now that I took the idea of a relationship off the table, things seemed to flow easier between us.

After weeks of nothing but work, Colin convinced me to agree to give him my Saturday. It wasn’t a date or anything, despite how much Paige taunted me. He made it very clear, we would only be a couple of friends going out and having a good time. I had the hardest time falling asleep last night, anticipating what he might have planned for me today. I have never been able to handle surprises very well.

Glancing at the time on the screen of my iPhone, I began to fidget, checking to see if perhaps there was a text I had missed from Colin. It was not like him to be late, and even more unlike me to wait for someone when they were running late.
Fifteen minutes isn’t the end of the world
, I told myself.

“Em!” Colin exclaimed, exiting the front door of his building. It usually drove me crazy when people would shorten my name to Em, I always thought of the letter ‘M’ when they would call me that. For some reason, though, it didn’t bother me anymore when Colin did it.

“Um, hello? Really? I can’t believe you would keep me waiting this long. I was about to give up on you,” I complained, slapping him on the arm with the back of my hand.

“Totally my fault, you can be mad at me all you want,” Colin offered with a smile, raising his hands in defense.

“Had trouble getting last night’s flavor out of your bed?” I jested in a devilish tone.

“I wish that was the problem.” Colin laughed.

I rolled my eyes in a mixture of amusement and disgust. “So what was worth leaving me here, wasting my precious time?”

“Honestly? I had to toss Christian in the shower.” Colin’s voice changed, a solemnness suddenly taking over.

“Hmm ...” I began, furrowing my brow as I thought about the statement. “Isn’t he a little too old to have his big brother taking care of bath time?”

“I know you and Paige are close, and I don’t—well, I prefer she not know about this.” Colin stared at me, as if waiting for me to confirm that I would keep his secret. I wanted to know, but at the same time, I felt incredibly uncomfortable about keeping anything from her. She had become my best friend, something I wasn’t willing to betray.

“This just got a little too serious for me,” I replied, shifting my hands in and out of my pockets uncomfortably.

“I know, and I shouldn’t even be putting this on you, but I don’t know who else to talk to,” Colin pleaded. I could see the information he carried was quite a burden on him.

Shaking my head and holding up two open palms, as if to signal for him to stop, I advised, “All right, but a quick disclaimer: I won’t keep a secret of infidelity or something like that from her.”

“Christian would never do that—he loves Paige. He went out with some old buddies last night, and they got him drinking.”

“Wait, isn’t he in AA?” I asked, my concern obvious.

“Yup, he showed up this morning completely wasted. After about an hour of puking I managed to throw him in the shower. He’s going to sleep it off and then hit a meeting as soon as he wakes up.”

“I’m sorry.” I reached out a hand and patted him on the arm, unsure what friend etiquette warranted.

“I worry about him; it’s like he does this shit on purpose. As soon as things start going in the right direction for us, he has to go and do something stupid.” I could see a different side of Colin as he spoke. He wasn’t angry with his brother, it was clear he was concerned about him. There was no more joking around to cover up what he was going through.

“At least nothing terrible happened. It sounds like he knows he screwed up, and he is going to take care of things,” I pointed out, trying to be the optimistic voice in the situation.

“We lost our parents when he was just a kid, and I know it was hard on him,” Colin explained, unaware I had received the back-story of their entire life from Paige.

A silence lingered between us as Colin stared at the sidewalk, deep in thought. I wished I was one of those people who knew how to handle these situations. Instead, I just stood there, silent, like a complete idiot.

“You know what, we have a day full of fun to get to,” Colin said, looking down at me. His face completely transformed in that moment. He went from intense and sad to chipper in only a few seconds—the transformation a bit unsettling at first. But quickly I remembered I was about to discover the surprise.

“Now, about this day of fun, you do realize that shoving dollar bills into strippers’ G-strings is not my idea of a fun-filled day, right?” I asked, pressing my lips together to try and refrain from laughing.

“Damn, guess lunch at The Thunder From Down Under is out,” Colin replied casually, starting to walk away from me.

“Oh wait,” I squealed, leaping forward and grabbing his arm. “I take it back, I’m good with strippers.”

“Nope, too late, I know how you really feel,” Colin countered, taking my hand from his arm and wrapping it around his elbow so that we were walking, linked, side by side.

“Fine, no strip clubs, but can I have a hint about the rest of the day?” I begged, looking up at him, batting my eyelashes, as we moved down the sidewalk.

“You do realize that since you put the ‘just friends’ label on us, you have no power over me whatsoever with those eyes?” Colin taunted.

“Damn it!” I exclaimed.

Reaching the corner, Colin stepped one foot out into the street, and with an outstretched arm, he hailed a cab. Wherever he was taking me wasn’t somewhere we could walk to. I was now even more intrigued.

“So you are seriously not even going to give me a hint?” I pressed, after a moment of silence in the cab.

“Let me see, I go through the trouble of writing the address down so that you won’t hear me instructing the cabbie where to go, and you think I am now going to just tell you where we are going? Oh, my dear, you are a bit off your rocker, aren’t you?” Colin stared at me in delight, thoroughly impressed with himself.

“You’re loving this, aren’t you?”

“Very much so.”

I watched as the city passed by the window, one block, and then the next. Each time the cab would slow I crouched forward onto the front of my seat, but each time I was disappointed when he would again pick up speed. Silent, I held my breath, as we turned onto Madison, traveling farther uptown.

“Almost there,” Colin finally remarked.

“We are?” I asked, looking around frantically, still completely unaware of where we might be going. The cab took a left onto 83rd Street, and as we came to a stop, before the next turn, I knew. Staring at me were the monstrous columns and stone facade that made up the front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The cab proceeded to continue with another left onto 5th Avenue before pulling off to the curb. “Ready?” Colin asked pushing open the door and preparing to step out.

“The Met? Are you really taking me to The Met?” I asked, my jaw dropping as I stared at the front of the building that housed masterpieces from all across the world and throughout time.

“Well, I mean, only if you want to go.” Colin stepped out, extending a hand.

“This is not a date,” I reminded him after seeing how pleased he was with my reaction.

I stepped from the cab as he informed me, “I would never presume it was.”

My heart began to race as we climbed the stone steps, nearing the entrance. I couldn’t believe I had been in New York all of this time and not found the time to visit this landmark. I could feel Colin, watching me, living vicariously through my virgin experience.

I never realized how big the place was. I don’t think Colin knew how to handle me once I was unleashed. It was three floors of bliss. In those halls there was no sadness, no tragic history to consume me. It was art; it was what I was born for. I raced through the American Wing, swooned over the Egyptian Art, slowly walked through, soaking up the Greek and Roman Art. All around me were the remnants of people who had lived long ago, people who expressed themselves in the same way I did. Their work spoke of their lives and their own personal tragedies. We grabbed lunch at a cafe before heading to the Modern Art area and then it was off to the Photography wing.