Without a Doubt (22 page)

My eyes narrow at him, but it only makes him laugh some more. He takes my hand and leads me inside. As usual, it's packed. I'm surprised when we're able to land a booth. A waitress is quick to greet us and Emerson orders for the both of us.

“I can't believe you compared me to your grandma.”

“It's the only comparison I'll make, promise,” he tells me, trying to fight a smile. While I came to lunch with the intentions of not mentioning yesterday or anything else too serious, Emerson seems to have different intentions. It's as if he knows something is bothering me, but instead of talking about that, he wants to ask a seemingly more important question. “Are you rethinking us, Eva?” he asks, losing his easy-going appearance to become more serious.

“No,” I reply immediately. I'm not at all because I don't want lose him. I want to stay, but I've been struggling with the whole Kelly situation. I don't tell him that though. “I want you, Emerson. I want
us
.”

He watches me for a moment before saying, “And you're sure you don't want to talk about whatever was going on yesterday?” I nod. “Okay. I won't push this time.”

The waitress drops off our food and we eat quietly for a little bit before I break our silence, feeling uneasy with it for the first time.

“How's your day so far?”

“Good. Glen made me pay for breakfast since you said we were on a date.” He shakes his head, but there's a small smile on his face. “What about you?”

“No complaints. What does your week look like?”

“Working and doing homework. I think I have two papers due on Thursday, and I work Sunday, so no football again.”

“Two weeks in a row? The guys are going to go into withdrawals,” I joke. “I won't know my schedule until I go in today, but Catherine and I are going to do something at some point this week.”

“Save Wednesday for me,” he says.

“Why? Have another surprise?” I ask a little too eagerly, causing Emerson to laugh.

“Is that why you stay with me, Eva? For surprises?”

“Of course not.” I try not to smile, but I can't help it. “But maybe a little,” I lie.

“Well, I'm about to disappoint you because all I was thinking was you hanging out with me while I write those papers.”

My eyes widen slightly with surprise. “You wait until the last minute to do your homework? Really?” I wouldn't have expected that.

He nods. “I feel like I do my best work under pressure.”

“But what if something comes up and you get interrupted or your Internet goes down? It'll put on more stress if you're waiting until the day before. Are you sure you procrastinate?”

“Yes,” he chuckles. “Why is that so hard to believe?”

“I don't know, it just is. But I'll pencil you in for Wednesday. Are you sure you want to add another distraction?”

Emerson gives me a devilish grin. “I'm up for the challenge.” He glances at his phone. “I should go. I have to be at work soon.” He pays and then we head outside. Emerson walks me to my car, opening the door for me, and I turn to him before I get in.

“Are you turning on the charm for any specific reason?”

“My girlfriend thinks I'm slacking in being a gentleman, so I'm working on meeting her standards.” There goes that grin again and I'm sure I'm wearing a matching one.

“You know, Emerson, I'm starting to think you're the one who's too much for me.” I lean forward to kiss him, relieved we're back to normal, and sad he has to go.

After class Tuesday, I have some time to kill before I go into work, so I text Catherine to meet me at my car. Every now and then, we'll fork out some cash to get massages. I took the liberty of booking us one in twenty minutes. It doesn't take long for Catherine to show up and we get into my car.

“This is kind of a bad idea,” she says.

“Why?”

“Because we aren't going to want to do anything for the rest of the day.”

“True, but it'll be worth it. Did you talk to Parker or have you been too busy having sex with him instead?” I ask.

“Too busy having sex,” she mumbles under her breath.

“Catherine!”

“What? Every time I try to bring it up, I get distracted by how hot he looks and I can't help it.”

“Oh, come on. You're chickening out! First, you wanted to break up and now, instead of talking, you're going at it like rabbits. You should talk to him.”

“Like you're talking to Emerson,” she snaps. “You're so torn up over this Kelly crap, but I don't see you talking to him. Don't give advice you aren't willing to take yourself, Eva.”

Her tone is like a slap to the face. Catherine and I have never really fought. It just hasn't been part of our friendship. The fact that she snapped at me like that means she must really be struggling with this. I don't know what to say to her, so I say nothing at all. Not to mention she has a point about me keeping silent about my own situation.

We don't speak again until after the massage, which didn't do anything for me because I was too busy thinking about what Catherine had said. The difference is I'm trying to let Emerson sort through it himself and Catherine is trying to break a bad habit. I thought I was helping, but maybe not. On the ride home, Catherine apologizes.

“Sorry, Eva. I‒” She sighs. “Parker scares me. What I feel for him, I mean. I don't know how to handle it, especially since my first reaction to a guy is to break up with him when I find something less than perfect. I'm sorry for bringing up Emerson. I know it's different.”

“It's okay. I was just trying to help.”

“I know. You're going to Emerson's tomorrow, right? I'll talk to Parker then. Will you be on call in case things go bad and I need you?”

“Absolutely,” I promise. “Was your massage crappy too?”

Catherine laughs. “Yeah, it was.”

And just like that, we're okay again. Unfortunately, I'm back to second guessing myself on my relationship with Emerson.

Eva: I'm coming with a surprise tonight.

Emerson: For me? I don't believe it.

Eva: Believe it. It's part of my plan to distract you. ;) It should be a real challenge for you.

Emerson: Don't be too much of a distraction. I do have to write two five-page papers tonight.

Eva: No promises ;)

I slip my phone into my pocket and get to work since my break is over. I pull it right back out because it starts ringing. A touch of dread runs through me. Things finally seem back to normal with Eva and now she's calling again? I'm going to have to tell Eva
again
. I'm tempted not to answer because the last thing I want to do is mess things up with Eva.

With a sigh, I answer. “Hey, I'm at work and my break just ended.”

“Oh, sorry,” Kelly says. “Can I call you later?”

“Yeah, sure.” I glance at the clock on the wall. Time's a-tickin' and I don't want to talk to her today. “Later, Kelly.” I hang up before she can respond.

The rest of my time at work goes by quickly. I grab dinner on the way home and start on my papers. About an hour into it, Eva walks in. She kisses me on the cheek before walking down the hallway to drop her bags off in my room. When she returns, she's carrying a textbook, notebook, and her own laptop.

“What's my surprise?” I ask.

She gives me a sexy smirk. “How many pages have you written?”

“Three.”

Eva bunches the hem of my hoodie in her hands and lifts to remove it. She never gave it back, and she's been wearing it instead of hers. I chuckle when she tosses it blindly behind her. “For every two pages, I remove an article of clothing. Surprise.”

I smile. “You should surprise me more often, Eva.”

“Maybe I will. Get to work. I have my own stuff to do.” She turns her attention to her things, and so do I.

With renewed energy, I focus on getting these papers done. Once I finish the fourth page, Eva is finished with her homework. I give her a pointed look with a raised eyebrow. She removes her t-shirt next, revealing a lacy bra that steals my breath.

Eva laughs softly and pats my cheek. “Focus, Emerson. I still have three things to remove.”

“You're not helping.”

She grins. “That's the point.” Eva leans over to kiss me. She could seduce me with just her mouth. Hell, she's halfway there already. As I'm about to grab her hips, she pulls away. “Keep writing.”

I dramatically huff, but get to work. “How was your day?” I ask.

“Good. A guy came into work today and flirted with me.”

“That's nothing new.”

“I know, but...”

I glance over at her. “But what?”

She looks uncomfortable, and her being shirtless doesn't help. “Usually, they're nice and friendly about it. Harmless, you know. This guy was really creepy. He was overly suggestive and he hung around for a while after he was done. I don't know. He gave me a bad feeling. How was your day?”

I wonder if I should press for more, but decide against it. “It was good. I'm ready for fall break next month. I don't know why though because I'll still work. Maybe I'll take off and visit my parents. Ever since we went down there, Mom mentions me visiting every time we talk. She tells me I can bring you too if I want, which is her way of adding incentive.” Shit. I wrote incentive instead of what I meant to write. Talking and typing can be problematic.

“Would you want me to go with you?”

“Would you want to go?” I wouldn't mind if Eva went with me. I would be able to spend time with her and my parents. Plus, my parents could get to know her better.

“Of course. Your parents are great.”

I smile. “We'll work something out then. Take off your jeans, Eva.” Another two pages are down, four more to go. I turn on the stool as she hops off and shimmies out of her jeans. Damn, matching panties. My eyes are glued to her body as she stands with her hands on her hips. Once I'm done admiring her for the moment, I turn back to my laptop. I need four more pages done like yesterday.

Eva reclaims her seat and I try to focus on my laptop screen and not my nearly naked girlfriend. When I finish my next two pages, not only does she remove her bra, but she moves to straddle my lap. She rests her head on my shoulder and keeps her body mostly out of the way, so I can still type. Her body is wrapped around me, her bare breasts pressed against my chest, and her sweet perfume is all I can smell. God, she's going to kill me.

She starts kissing my neck and I'm one kiss away from taking her to the bedroom and coming back later to finish my paper. When she gives me another kiss, my hands go to cup her bottom. I can't stand it any longer.

“Don't even think about it,” she says before I can stand. Her blue eyes are bright and slightly evil. “The last piece of clothing isn't coming off or being moved in any way until you're done. Consider it off limits.”

I groan. “Come on. I can finish it later.” My lips press to hers because if she says no, then I need something to help tide me over. Only, kissing Eva once makes me want to kiss her again and again.

“Paper and then me,” she breathes as I pull away.

“Fine.”

“Pouting isn't attractive, Emerson,” she laughs. Eva rests her head on my shoulder and I reluctantly get back to my paper. “How do you define clingy?”