7. Emma

Chapter 7

Emma

I sneak away from the party. As soon as I get into the bathroom, I lock the door behind me and then put my hands on the counter by the sink. I stare at myself in the mirror. My eyes are wide and I look like I'm on the verge of losing it. The truth is, I am. It's been a good party. It's been great seeing everyone, but no matter where I turned, Maddox is somewhere close, watching me with his arms crossed over his chest. It seems like he can't take his eyes off of me. I feel them burn into me everywhere I go.

I lean over and turn on the cold water, splashing some of it up on my face. I grab some paper towels and blot my face dry, trying to cool myself off. I need to get out of here.

I need to put some distance between Maddox and I, because I know that this is definitely not what I need. It would be so easy to fall into old habits of following him around again.

I walk out of the bathroom and Maddox is standing there with his arms over his chest. I avoid him and dart the other way. Carson is with my mom and Bull and he's had one too many drinks, but at least he's having a good time. I was right when I said that he would, because all of the bikers have made him feel at home. It's probably because I had to reassure all of them that there was nothing going on between us. It's only when they realized he wasn't a threat that they finally were cool with him.

Carson looks at me with a silly grin on his face. He tries to whisper but it’s a little louder than it should be. "so Maddox.. Is he the boy?" When he says boy, he does it with air quotes on his fingers. I know exactly what he means by that. There’s nothing “boy” about Maddox. He’s big, gruff, cocky, self assured. He’s definitely all man.

I give Carson a stern look and see that my mom and Bull are talking to each other and not paying us any attention. That’s all I need after three years of hiding my feelings is a drunk Carson spilling the beans. I look around and catch Maddox's gaze on me. I turn my head quickly and nod at Carson, blowing out a breath. "Yeah, he's the one."

Carson starts to laugh manically. He's definitely had too much to drink. "Well, if you want to keep your distance from that, you're going to need more than me as a buffer. You probably need a steel room with booby traps and even then I doubt it’s going to work. Tell me again why you needed a buffer? You said he didn’t want you and I know that’s a damn lie.”

He says it all quickly and the more he talks, the louder he gets. I put my hand on his forearm and squeeze. “Shhhh.” I tell him, not even looking around this time. I swear I’ve learned my lesson. No more alcohol for Carson.

My mom and Bull take a few steps and sit at the empty seats at our table. “Everything okay?” my mom asks.

I avoid Bull’s gaze. He may be my stepfather but we’ve become close through the years. If he thinks I’m upset or stressed, he’s going to do whatever he has to do to fix it. “Everything’s good. This one.” I say pointing at Carson. “has had a little too much to drink.”

As I say it, Carson is pulling his phone from his pocket. “I’m going to call Candace. I’m going to tell her I love her.”

“No!” I say as I grab onto his arm. “Bad idea.”

Bull’s nodding his head as he slaps his hand on Carson’s back. “Yea, drunk hookups are a bad idea. Wait till your sober man.”

Carson puts his phone away. “Good call. I’ll tell her in the morning.”

Once that’s decided he lays his head down on the table and closes his eyes. Looks like the parties over for Carson and I. “Well, mom, Bull, thank you so much for the party but it looks like I’m going to need to get Carson to the house.”

As soon as the words come out, I can feel the heat from someone standing behind me. When two hands cover my shoulders, I know exactly who it is too. I know I look like a deer caught in headlights as Bull looks between Maddox and I. My mom just smiles as if there’s nothing going on, God love her.

Maddox’s hands on my shoulder is firm and as he speaks, he squeezes my flesh. “Bull, I need to talk to you later.”

Bull looks almost distraught as he watches Maddox and I closely. “Do I know what this is about?”

Maddox’s voice is firm behind me and he doesn’t hesitate. “Probably.”

Bull’s jaw tightens and I’m waiting for chaos to start. Bull opens his mouth but before he can get a word out, my mom moves closer to him and puts an arm around his waist. She’s smiling as if there’s not a care in the world. “Well, we’re going to get Carson here to the house, so you can come by later if you want to, Maddox. We’ll be up.”

I try to step away from Maddox, but when I do, he moves to my side and looks down at me. “Dance with me.”

I shake my head, not understanding what he’s even doing here. We don’t dance. Heck, we don’t even talk. It’s on the tip of my tongue to say “no” when my mom interrupts me. “Yea, go ahead, Emma. Dance. This party is for you and you should enjoy it. Bull and I will take Carson to the house and get him settled.”

But I’m shaking my head. “No, no that’s fine. My car-“

My mom smiles at me almost forcefully. “I’ll drive your car. Bull will drive Carson.” And before I can say he’s too drunk to ride on the back of a motorcycle, she holds her hand up. “and don’t worry, we drove my car here because we had so much to bring for the party.”

Instantly, I try to find a way out of dancing with Maddox. I can’t be this close to him. I’m barely holding on here and it won’t take much for me to do something stupid like get my heart broken, again.

“No” I start.

But Maddox interrupts. “You don’t mind do you Carson?”

I didn’t even realize that Carson had raised his head and is watching the conversation go on around us. He shakes his head. “I don’t mind at all. Have fun, Emma.”

I am still trying to get out dancing Maddox grabs my hand and pulls me toward the dance floor.