Chapter 27

twenty-seven

EASY MISUNDERSTANDINGS

T he bus ride is taking far too long to get home.

If yesterday took a lot out of me, today nearly took me out.

Tate sits at my side and I rest my head against the window, closing my eyes as the last twenty-four hours plays like a silent movie through my mind. I wish I could have seen Kerry before we left the hotel this morning, but we weren’t able to catch each other.

She was calmer this morning when we talked on the phone. Sounded stronger. I knew her and Melinda had stayed close but I hadn’t realized they started dating. Maybe I can bring Emery back with me one day and we can double date. Or they can come visit us at Westbrook.

I still can’t believe she actually reported them.

Coach Mulligan is going to retire after this season and the school is going to focus on rebuilding the legacy they once had. The athletic director made it clear how much was going to be changing in the school. It doesn’t feel like enough, like it’s a little too late. But I guess it’s better than doing nothing, or worse attempting to sweep all of this under the rug. At least they’re taking accountability.

Hopefully Everleigh becomes a better school for it.

I thought about reaching out to some of the other guys I had been close to that seemed to not have been aware of what was happening, but it didn’t feel right. We all failed those girls. We never questioned the guys in the locker room around us. Never called them out when they were being disrespectful when they talked about the women they hooked up with. I sigh.

There were signs they were not good guys, but we overlooked them. Acting like that’s just the way they were. As if it wasn’t really that big of a deal.

We all learned that lesson the hard way and the worst part is, we weren’t the ones who had to pay the price for our ineptitude. Reconnecting with the other guys feels like we would only be doing it to make each other feel better and we all deserve to sit in our regret. Should remember this feeling so we don’t forget what allowing that environment to continue ends up breeding.

“How were you last night?” Tate asks.

He was never a hundred percent on board with the idea of leaving me alone and giving me my space last night. He would have been right too. Except the only person I really needed there with me was too far away. The next best thing was exactly what we did. Fell asleep together on Facetime.

Well, she fell asleep first. Her words trailing off as she told me a story about Becca’s weird power plays at school and how Megan laughed in her face. I never did hear the end of the story, but her sleeping face was worth it.

She tried so hard to stay up for me. It was adorable. Made me miss her even more .

“I was okay,” I assure Tate. “It’s been a lot to process, but it gave me the chance to talk to Kerry more too.”

He nods, studying me from the corner of his eye. We’re silent for a few minutes before he clears his throat. “You know,” he starts, shifting in his seat. “You could have told me you were dating.”

Panic grips my chest in a vice and I can’t breathe. He can’t know. How would he know?

“Even if you thought I wouldn’t approve of it,” he continues and holy shit he knows. How the fuck did he figure it out and why the fuck isn’t he punching me in the face? Is it really going to be this easy?

What the hell were Emery and I so worried about then?

“I’m not going to judge what she does for work. I see nothing wrong with it if it doesn’t bother you, it doesn't bother me.”

Wait. What?

Words have fled me and I stare at my best friend like he’s grown a second head because I have no idea what the fuck he’s talking about now. I can’t even argue with him because I’m still trying to wrap my head around the nonsense coming out of his mouth.

He reads my confusion and tilts his head. “It doesn’t bother you, does it?” His voice turns stern and I know a lecture is coming but I can’t fathom about what. “You knew where she worked before you started dating her so it wouldn’t be fair for it to all of a sudden become an issue for you, Xan. I’ll always support you, but I hope you’re not being an asshole about it.”

I blink slowly and I feel like we’re not even on different pages, but entirely different books. One thing is for sure, he does not know about me and Emery. “Who and what the fuck are you talking about, bro?”

It’s his turn to look confused. “Your girlfriend? ”

I’m already shaking my head. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

He rolls his eyes. “Does she know that? She seemed awfully worried about you last night.”

There’s no possible way he can be talking about Emery who is the only woman I can think of who would actually give that much of a fuck about me. Especially in regards to last night.

“Who are you talking about?” I demand.

He sighs as if I’m the one who isn’t making sense right now. “I don’t know her name because my supposed best friend never told me about her,” he mutters, more to himself than me. “The dancer from Tease. The one you’re dating or fucking or whatever you think you’re doing.”

How have our wires gotten so damn crossed? What the actual fuck is happening and how did he land on that conclusion of all the possibilities?

More importantly, how do I fix this without telling him the whole truth? It’s something Emery and I have to do together. I can’t disrespect her wishes even if Tate is so off base here.

I take a deep breath, massaging my temples. “Can we have this conversation again in a few days?” I ask. “Some things need to be sorted out.”

He shrugs. “I’m ready whenever you are. Just wanted you to remember I wouldn’t judge her.”

That is not what I’m concerned about.

“Thanks, man,” I say, closing my eyes and trying to figure out how the fuck we got here.

I park my truck to the side of the garage, out of sight from the camera on the front door and walk around the side yard to the back door. Emery is already there waiting for me and jumps at me, wrapping her arms and legs around me. I drop my bag and catch her with a laugh, my hands landing on her ass and I squeeze, breathing her in.

Her lips land on mine and I can feel how much she missed me, all her concern and guilt for not being with me last night spills into me and I kiss her back just as hard. Just as desperately so she can feel how much I need her.

I carry her back into the house, leaving my bag and heading straight for her bedroom. I have quite a few promises to keep.

She lays back against her pillow where I dropped her, her blonde hair surrounding her like some type of halo.

“Look how stunning you are,” I whisper in awe as I take all of her in. Her nipples already hardening through her nearly sheer tank top and those silk sleep shorts she knows I love riding up her thighs. “You were ready for me,” I tease, brushing a thumb over the tightening bud, making it even more visible through the thin material.

“Are you okay?” she asks, her eyes assessing me for the truth.

I lean over her, using my body to press her into her bed. When I break our kiss, I answer her honestly. “I am now.”

She smiles and wraps her arms around my neck, yanking me down to her and squeezing with all her might. It really does make me feel better. I wrap my arms around her and flip her over until she rests on my chest.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asks and I’m already shaking my head. All I’ve done is talk about it, think about it. I need a break.

“I’d rather keep some of those promises I made.” Her back arches as I slide my hands up the back of her thighs and under her shorts until I’m gripping her ass in my hands .

She blinks at me innocently, even as she presses her ass into my hands. “Did you make any promises?”

“Let me remind you of them,” I growl, pulling her shorts and underwear down her legs and tossing them to the side in one quick motion that makes her mouth drop open in shock. I wink at her and use my grip on her ass to reposition her until her thighs are straddling my face.

“Xander,” she hisses, “what are you doing?”

I brush my nose up against her clit, making her gasp. I love that sound. “Having lunch.”

She attempts to move away from me and I roll my eyes. “How can you still be shy with me? Don’t you know how much I crave you?”

It’s her turn to huff and roll her eyes, but she stops moving away, hovering just below my chin. It’s intoxicating to look up at her and see her desire, even as it’s warring with her apprehension. “This is…different.”

It always takes a few minutes before she gets out of her own head, but she always does. Eventually she won’t ever doubt herself with me anymore. I’ll make sure of it.

My hands move from her ass to up her waist, pushing her tank top as I move. “I think you’ll like it,” I assure her. I know I sure as fuck will. God she looks good.

I keep pushing her tank top until I reach her breasts and I have to slide my hands under the bunched material to cup them in my hands before finishing getting the tank top out of my way. I play with her tits, running my hands over her curves, barely brushing over her nipples as chews on her bottom lip.

Her nipples harden and the only thing I want more than to wrap my mouth around one of them, is to wrap my lips around her clit. So I stay put, waiting for Emery to make her decision, making due with rolling her nipples between my fingers and making her arch her back. Putting that pretty pussy so damn close to where I want it.

She’s already glistening, her desire filling the air between us.

“What if I’m too heavy?” she whispers.

“You’re not,” I promise with a grin, pinching one of her nipples and she rolls her hips. “You just gotta keep doing that, except over my mouth next time.”

A small sound of excitement escapes her even as she tries to hide it. I arch a brow and she sticks her tongue out at me. I pinch her nipple and roll it between my fingers the way she loves and she moans before finally pushing her pussy a little closer to my mouth.

I lean forward, licking at her clit and she gasps and I move one hand back down her body to her hip, encouraging her and she lets me guide her until she’s straddling my face. It doesn’t take long for her to let go of her doubts, and she’s rolling her hips, grinding her cunt against my face.

My hands wander over her entire body, from her thighs to her stomach and back up to her tits, feeling all of her as her body tightens the closer she gets.

I suck her clit into my mouth and she grounds down, gasping my name. I release her and her hips move and I can feel how close she is, her hands sliding into my hair as she grips it in her fists.

Her desire explodes in my mouth as I roll my tongue over her clit and her come spills down my chin.

“One promise done.”

Emery’s breathing is heavy as her soul comes back to her body but she manages a breathless laugh, shaking her head at me as she sits on my chest. My dick throbs in my sweatpants and I want her to sit somewhere else next.

“Knew you’d like it. ”

“You’re such a cocky bastard.”

I can’t disagree with her. “For good reason though.” She can’t argue with me on that part. I did just make her soul leave her body after all. And I plan on doing it again. A few more times at the least.

She moves to my side, cuddling into my chest, her fingers dancing over the skin on my stomach. Little tease. Her head leans against my shoulder and I catch her chin between my fingers, tilting her face up to kiss her.

“Taste how sweet you are?” I ask and she responds by licking some of her come from my chin. My dick becomes painfully hard and I move over her, and free her of her tank top completely. I position Emery until she’s laying flat on her stomach and she complies easily, moving exactly how I want her too. A small satisfied smile on my brat’s face because she knows what she does to me.

I grab one of her pillows and hike one of her legs up and adjust it until she’s comfortable and her ass and pussy are on perfect display for me.

I strip naked and move my body over hers until I’m hovering over her. My dick drags along her ass and back and I gather her hair in my fist, turning her face to the side. My breath hits her ear and neck and her eyes get that glazed look she gets when she’s turned on.

“You may have been fucked before me, Emery, but I can promise you’ve never been fucked like this before.”

Her cheeks flush and her breathing quickens. “You’ve already kept that promise.”

Oh, I know I have, but I’ll never stop reminding her of it. There is no one better for her than me. No one who will worship her the way I plan to. No one who was made for her the way I am.

I kiss across her shoulder blades, keeping her hair gripped tightly in one hand, while my free hand cups her cunt so I can feel the way it is weeping for me already. I growl in satisfaction, my chest rumbling against her back and she clenches around nothing. My good girl.

“I hope you’ve got a praise kink, baby girl, because I’m about to tell you every single reason I know you’re perfect for me.” I lean away from her, grabbing my cock with my fist and guiding it to her entrance, sliding home in one long thrust until my pelvis rests against her ass. “All the reasons I know I was made for you,” I whisper in her ear and her moan is music to my ears.

My hips rock into her, her wet heat sucking me in and overwhelming my senses until all I can feel is her.

“Starting with how good you fucking take me,” I continue. “Fucking you feels like coming home, the way you’re always ready for me and fit around my cock so perfectly.”

She moans my name, her skin flushed as her eyelashes flutter. Her ass lifts to meet each thrust.

“The way you can say so much by just calling my name. Like right now when you’re begging for me to fuck you harder. Or the way you said it when you answered the phone and I instantly felt all your concern and support.” She tightens around me and I groan, my words becoming strained as it’s hard not to lose myself in her. “And my favorite when you hiss my name because you think I’m being outrageous.”

I slow down my thrusts, wanting to tease her and make this last forever. I kiss her shoulder, pulling all the way out until only the tip of my dick is in her. She tries to lift her ass to take me back in and I smack her ass lightly.

“Can’t forget the way you’re always desperate for more of me.” I chuckle when she blushes and her body tightens around me. “How your skin paints that desire in the prettiest shade of pink. My favorite sunset.” I thrust all the way back into her making her ass shake and fuck. That’s hot.

She cries my name and I undulate my hips slowly, staying deeply seated in her and only moving the smallest amount for her to feel me grinding against the deepest parts of her. I caress her ass where I smacked her, soothing any of the remaining sting out of it. I grip her ass and spread her cheeks, watching my cock drag in and out of her, so fucking slowly, enjoying the way her arousal is dripping down my length. “How you look so goddamn perfect when you take me so deep. How wet I can make you and the way you could bring me to my knees with one look.”

“Xander, please,” she begs.

I sink back into her, my thumb brushing over her second hole and her body shivers. “Does my girl need more?” I ask, pumping my hips only a fraction faster.

Her head nods and she presses her face into her pillow. Fuck. I need more too. More of her body, more of her sounds. More of her orgasms.

Grabbing her thigh, I pull out of her and turn her onto her back where I can see her face flush with her desire and her tits that bounce when I thrust back into her. Emery’s eyes close as she arches her back, taking me deeper and meeting me thrust for thrust. Still not fast enough for her liking. I smirk as I keep her thigh gripped in my hand, lifting her so I can sink in deeper with each thrust.

I test her flexibility as I bend over her, taking her leg with me until I can reach her lips. Needing to feel more of her. She kisses me back just as desperately and I can still taste her come between the two of us. It nearly makes me come on the spot and I have to slow my movements to keep from going over the edge.

Emery whines against my mouth and I can’t help but smirk against her lips. “You know how perfect you are for me, don’t you, baby girl? That’s why you’re so needy for more even as I fuck you. Why your sweet pussy is gripping on to me like you never want to let go.”

“God, please, Xander. I’m so close,” she pleads.

“You’re so goddamn beautiful when you beg,” I whisper, picking up my pace. I have to lean away from her to pick up more speed and drive into her hard and fast. “You’re always stunning, Emery. But fuck, you make me breathless the way you look right now. Under me with your whole body flush with your need to come. Your hair a mess spread out all over your pillows.”

The words are hard to get out through my pants as my entire body tingles. Fuck I need to get her to come at least once more before I can let go.

I drag my hand away from her breast and down to her clit, my voice rough as I piston my hips in her. Her whole body tightens, her cunt wrapping around me like a vice and I can tell she’s right there.

“Your clit all swollen and wet, begging for attention.” I brush circles over it with my thumb and it sends Emery over the edge, her eyes closing and hips lifting off the body as she screams my name. Her orgasm hits me like a tidal wave, soaking my dick as I fuck her through it.

Pleasure floods me and I lose the tenuous grip I have on my control. “Oh fuck,” I moan, unable to hold back. I wanted one more orgasm out of her but the feeling of her clenching around me consumes as I spill over the edge, coming inside her and flooding her with both of our come.

I huff a laugh as soon as we both catch our breath. Emery’s eyes are glassy as she smiles up at me, but we aren’t even close to being done. Even if I came, I have plenty of other ways of wringing another orgasm out of her until my dick is ready to go again.

“You make me nearly black out with how hard you make me come and still, I could never be done with you.”

Her eyes widen before she narrows them on me. “Alexander Channing. You have to be kidding,” she says in disbelief.

I kiss down her neck and her pulse races against my lips. “I love when you say my full name like that.” I kiss one of her hardened nipples before biting down on it gently and she moans. “And I never kid about wanting you.”

She laughs, but her hands threads in the strands of my hair and she doesn’t push me away. “I don’t know if I have any more in me.”

Is there any other appropriate response other than chuckling against her skin as I move lower down her body? “Of course, you do.”

Emery gasps when I reach her cunt and kiss her clit softly. She’s gotta be sensitive now, but that’s gotta mean I can draw at least two more orgasms out of her. Maybe even faster than I did the first two. I focus my attention on her clit, dragging my tongue over it with the flat of my tongue. My head shakes back and forth as I move my tongue side to side.

When her grip in my hair begins to tighten, I move a little faster. Flicking the tip of my tongue against her. She moans my name and I do it again. Picking up my pace and intensity until she’s once again coming against my face. I’ll never fucking get tired of that.

As she comes down from her orgasm, I lazily lick at her cunt. I move down to her entrance, lapping at the mess I’ve made her. Her sweet mixed with my salty. My dick already hardening again.

I hum against her clit and her hips thrust against my face, making me chuckle. “My needy girl,” I praise. “I knew you could take more.”

I kiss her entrance, my tongue penetrating her and the taste of both of our come is enough to make me ready for round two. “You tasted yourself on my tongue,” I whisper against her cunt. “Now, I want you to taste me.”

Come fills my mouth as I go down on her one last time before crawling back up her body and leaning over her. Her lips part in a gasp and I lean down, letting the come drip out of my mouth and into hers.

Emery’s eyes widen, but her lips part further open and she leans up, swiping her tongue across my lips before swallowing the gift I gave her and kissing me deeply.

Fuck. This girl knows how to drive me wild.

I flip us over, wanting her on top this time. “You gonna show me how well you take my dick when you’re in control this time, baby?”

She bites her lip, the little seductress. But she’s already guiding my hard length to her entrance as she balances over me. “Are you going to show how well you handle me?” she fires back and fuck me. If there was any doubt this girl was made for me, that would have it cleared up.

“There’s that wit and snark that makes you my brat,” I tease.

Emery grips me tighters in her fist, sinking down on me. “Your favorite brat,” she corrects.

A moan reverberates from my chest as her pussy glides down my cock torturously slow. “My only brat,” I promise and am rewarded by her shaking her hips in a way that makes me forget my name for a moment. She rides me like the goddess she is and I take great pleasure in telling her so and even more in the way she clenches all around me with each new word of praise. She really is my baby girl and my brat all rolled into one .

The sweetest thing I’ve ever tasted with a kick you’d never expect.

Both of us climb that crest to our next orgasm, our bodies undulating together in a perfect rhythm. The mess between her thighs makes every thrust of our hips feel that much more intense.

We trade kisses and moans until all thought slips away except for what this girl does to me. Unable to hold back any longer, I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her down until we’re chest to chest and behind to thrust up into her.

Emery curses and if I wasn’t already so close, I’d tease her about her foul language. But fuck is right. Her perfect pussy throbs around my aching cock as she’s pushed over the edge into her orgasm and her teeth sink into my shoulder. I drive up into her, her name nothing more than a breathy moan as I come inside her once more.

We both pant, laying in bed next to each other as she falls to my side.

“I don’t want to go tonight,” she whines.

I don’t want her to go tonight either. Especially because it’s that bitch, Becca. I never really liked her, but after the last few weeks I’m starting to really hate her. She makes my girl so sad.

Emery doesn’t see how horribly she actually treats her, but is starting to get it ever since the weird power plays started. Being friends with Colby made her realize what it’s like to have a friend who isn’t secretly jealous of her, whether she realizes it or not.

I was relieved when she started pulling away from Becca, getting closer to Colby and even Megan, but Becca only ended up using that against her. Making her feel guilty and like she’s the bad friend. Every time I attempt to bring it up, she only makes excuses and changes the topic.

Sighing I say words I really don’t mean. “You should go.” I shove my own bitterness down. Missing this will only make Becca be an even bigger cunt to Emery and until she’s ready to completely cut her off, I should support her. “It is Becca’s birthday,” I remind us both. It’s only one night.

She groans before rolling out of bed to get ready. “Will you pick me up tonight?”

“Promise.”

I climb out of her bed after her, already regretting encouraging her to go when we could stay in bed together for the rest of the night. Well, we would have to change beds since her dad will be home in a few hours.

She starts to grab clothes and I cup her dripping pussy with my hand. “Might want to clean up, baby.”

Emery blanches, shaking her head as she drops the shirt she was holding. I can’t help but tease her. “I mean, can’t say I don’t like the idea of you walking around with my come sitting in your panties.” It started as a joke, but even my spent dick twitches at the idea. “Maybe don’t clean up,” I whisper, slipping a finger back inside her wet heat.

She moans, spreading her legs a little wider and more come spills down her thighs. Fuck, I really made a mess of her. We have time for one more round, don’t we?

Apparently, Emery disagrees. She steps away from me, giving me a stern look. “Stop that,” she warns. “You’re going to make me late.” Her finger waves in my direction as she takes another step away from me. “I’m taking a shower.”

Well, that sounds a whole lot like an invitation.

I follow behind her and she doesn’t realize until we’re already in the bathroom and she’s turning on the water. Her ass looks so damn fine as she bends over to reach into the shower, who can blame me for pressing my half-hard dick against the seam of her ass.

“Xander,” she groans, but that’s not a no .

“I need to shower too,” I say, a smirk twisting my lips up.

Emery rolls her eyes, but turns and wraps her arms around my neck. “Of course you do. But it has to be quick.”

I can do quick.

We both get into the shower before the water has even really heated up. The lukewarm spray hits against my back as I lift one of Em’s legs and rest it over my shoulder while I kneel in the shower. Her back rests against the cool tile of the wall and her hands grip the wet strands of my hair for balance while I clean her up with my tongue.

It doesn’t take long for her body to start shaking and I have to hold her up where I’m gripping her ass. I lick and suck and swallow until there’s almost no trace of me left in her and just as I’m finishing she cries out my name as she comes for me so fucking pretty all over again.

More than anything, I want to bend her over in this shower and fuck her one last time. But we’d only make a new and bigger mess. Not that I mind being stuck in this cycle.

I release her thigh, gently guiding her foot back down and holding onto her until I know she’s found her balance. Her eyes are glazed and glassy as she looks up at me.

“You’re bad for my health,” she whispers and my cock bobs between us.

“I think you’re good for mine,” I tease. I’ve never been so turned on in my life. Never been able to get hard again with so little down time in between. But that’s just what Emery does to me. I could never have enough of her.

She drops to her knees, her hand falling to my cock as she fists it at the base. Once again, I imagine driving into her tight cunt once more, but when I look down and find water dripping down her face, her lips parted around my length as she guides it to the back of her throat, and every other thought flies out of my mind.

I run my hand over my face as she swallows me down and I swear my knees almost buckle, it feels so damn good. She feels so damn good. It’s not even a strong enough word. Miraculous. Devine. Fucking perfect.

The same way it took me mere minutes to bring her to the brink of orgasm and send her crashing over the ledge, my pleasure climbs quicker than I wish it would. I could live in this moment with Emery forever. Be completely and totally lost to the pleasure storm the two of our bodies create together. But Emery’s free hand wraps around my balls and squeezes as she takes me all the way into her throat and swallows and I’m totally fucked for this girl.

My hand hits the tiled wall behind as I lean over her, exploding in her mouth as I push even deeper down her throat. The moan that is torn from my throat is pure carnal satisfaction as she swallows every last bit of my come.

As soon as she rises back to her feet, we both break into soft laughter.

The rest of the shower is quick like Emery intended and before I know it, we’re drying off and back in Emery’s room, getting ready to leave as I dread saying goodbye to her again.

Soon. Soon it will be over, I remind myself. We’re telling Tate and then we’ll be able to see each other more. Have more days like this without having to sneak around.

“Do you want me to drop you off at Becca’s?”

She shakes her head, throwing on a sweatshirt. “I’m getting ready at Megan’s house and then we’re going to Becca’s.”

There’s an attitude in those words but I know it’s not directed at me so I stay quiet, waiting for her to expand. She gives me a very dramatic sigh and look over her shoulder. “We weren’t invited because there would be too many people and her dogs would get over excited and cause problems. ”

I snort. “I take it she’s still upset Megan backed you up again when you told her she wasn’t invited to next weeks’ game because she wasn’t going to come anyway?”

“She claims to be over it.”

She’s obviously not, but okay. At least Emery seems to be getting more and more fed up with this chick’s antics. Maybe by the end of summer and she fucks off to whereever she’s going, they’ll finally grow apart.

“Where is she hoping to go to school again?”

Emery knows exactly why I’m asking but she answers anyway. “Somewhere on the East Coast like New York or Boston. She’ll start getting acceptances over the next couple months.”

“And rejections.”

A pillow hits me in the face and Emery scolds me for being a dick–my words, not hers–but she’s trying not to laugh so she can’t be that mad at me. Maybe Becca really will fuck off all the way to the East Coast. Wouldn’t that be nice?

I hold up one of her silk sleep sets for her to see, a light blue one that almost matches the color of her eyes. “Sleep over tonight? We can take Tate out to breakfast–make that lunch–and tell him about us?”

She grabs the set from my hands and throws it into her bag. “Subtle change of topic, Alexander.”

Ooo she full-named me. Why is that a turn on? I slip my fingers into the belt loops at her hips and pull her to where I lean against the bed. “Did you want to go for a round four? Because if you’re trying to leave, giving me that little look and calling me by my full name is not a good way to ensure that happens, brat.”

She scoffs, “I’m the brat? Do you hear yourself?”

I kiss up her neck until I reach her ear, taking it between my teeth to gently bite before releasing her. “Me? I’m a saint. ”

“More like a sinner,” she retorts, pushing me back and throwing some more stuff into her bag. “But yes, I’ll spend the night tonight and we can go for round four then.”

My ears perk up and I feel like a golden retriever having heard the word park, but it’s just what Emery does to me.

“I can be very saint-like when I’m worshiping my goddess,” I promise and she grabs my hand, rolling her eyes as she leads me back out the back door. We both stop and laugh when we find my bag still sitting on the back patio. Good thing I didn’t need it, because I had completely forgotten about it.

I take both of our bags and we walk hand in hand to my truck and I put our stuff in the back seat before opening Emery’s door for her.

“I don’t know about saint, but you are getting better at this whole knight thing,” she teases.

“Does this mean you’ll finally take in training part off my name?”

“We’ll see.”

“Brat.” She never gets tired of taunting me. I love it. Hmm, I should add that to my list for next time she needs some praise.

I turn onto Megan’s street and suddenly remember what I wanted to ask Emery. “By the way,” I start, turning to her as I come to a stop outside Megan’s house. “Do you know why Tate thinks I’m dating a stripper from Tease?”

Emery’s lips quirk up into a knowing smile and her eyes glimmer with amusement, but she doesn’t give me an answer. Instead, she hops out of the truck and opens the back door to grab her bag. I follow her out, stopping her from leaving without giving some type of answer.

“Emery?” I drawl her name slowly, grabbing her hips to stop her.

She leans up on her tiptoes, kissing my cheek. “I’ll text you when to pick me up. ”

“Why does my best friend think I’m dating a stripper?” I repeat the question, hoping that will somehow get me a different answer.

She giggles. “He’ll only think that until tomorrow.”

“That’s not an answer,” I stammer, but it only makes her smile grow. Did she have something to do with this?

“I don’t know the whole story,” she admits, but she clearly knows something. She leans up to kiss me again, this time brushing my lips with hers. “Ask Tor.”

Of fucking course.