Embracing Emma (Companion to Brisé) (6 page)

“We won’t be bothered by friends.” She nods, and I can tell she’s relieved even if she didn’t realize it would be an issue. After yesterday, I want no distractions with her, and I don’t want her to have a reason to think I’m not good enough for her. Walking in, I grab her hand and entwine my fingers with hers, tug her a bit closer to me, and revel in the fact that this will be our new normal.

With ease, comfort, and no trepidation—we fall into our fate.

I get our skates and help her get her balance. “I hate you. You’re so damn good at everything you do. I’m gonna have a broken butt when we’re finished.”

“I’ll cushion the blows. Hang on to me, and I won’t let you fall.”

“Famous last words.” She winks at me.

A few fast songs play, most I don’t recognize, and we go in circles with the disco lights dancing around us, glowing off the ceiling and floor.

The DJ comes over the P.A. system, “Okay lovebirds, it’s slow skate this time.” The lights dim, and I spin around skating backwards so I can hold her by the waist and see her face . . . one, so I can keep her balanced and two, I really want my hands on her. “My World” by Blaire Hanks starts, and I get lost in her. The feel of her in my arms, the openness and adoration in her gaze, the color of her eyes, the way her lips curve when she smiles, the tiny freckle to the left side of her nose . . . everything and anything.

“Thank you, William.”

“For what?”

“Choosing me. Making my first date with the only boy I’ve ever wanted. Making memories, creating my world. Building me up, never allowing anyone to break me down. For everything. Your constant presence in my life has brought us here.”

Her words stun me. Leave me in a stupor. I falter in my skating, and before I know it, I’m tumbling backwards but I still have a hold of her. I hear her scream before I feel the cold concrete against my back, and her tiny body lands on me. She starts laughing, and once I catch my breath, I join her. “Well, looks like you’re the one falling.”

“Every single day since I saw you.” Our first kiss is there under the dim lights, surrounded by kids half our age, rubber wheels slapping against concrete . . . none of it matters.

But she does.

The feel of her lips on mine.

The way she opens, allowing my tongue entrance to dance with hers.

Her soft sighs, the way her body molds against mine.

Time stands still and speeds by at warp speed.

Jumbled thoughts and emotions stall.

Emma cushioned by my arms, our lips meshed as one, our hearts in sync . . .

Ending that first kiss took willpower I didn’t know I possessed. Dragging her to the truck and not mauling her took even more. I was able to maneuver us to the dock with a raging hard on, rapid heart beat, and sweat clouding my vision . . . I deserve some kind of medal for that. Now, sitting on the rough wood, our feet dangling,
our place,
I wonder if kissing her will ever be enough. The simple gesture of our lips meeting is so new.

A transcending of my soul into hers.

An unspoken dialect, shared only by us.

A kiss says a thousand words, but it also speaks a thousand emotions—emotions I wasn’t familiar with but long to experience with her.

“Thanks for tonight.” So simple, so honest . . . so like Emma.

“We’ll have many more…if you want.” I stutter over the unease of my declaration.

“It’s me, don’t get all weird. This . . . you and me . . . it’s all I want.”

I lean over and brush my lips over hers once before I grab her gift and hand it to her. I’m nervous because I saw her receive the necklace from Luke earlier, and if I had known he was getting her one, I would have picked something else. Who am I kidding? This necklace is us. She takes care opening it; not hurrying like she did at her house, and that speaks volumes. She’s drawing out every moment we have left by ourselves. She opens the simple black box but doesn’t speak. Not one word. Her eyes are expressive, telling me everything, though she says nothing.

“It’s beautiful.”

“It’s you. What you represent. My beginning, my end, and everything in the middle.” The simple silver necklace is dainty, flimsy, like her. An
infinity symbol with a circle surrounding it; a circle has no beginning, no end just like the opportunities ahead of us.

Her fingers trace the delicate sign, running all around and repeating the motion. “Will you put it on me?” She turns her back to me, and I move her hair, securing the clasp. My hands move of their own accord, sweeping against the soft skin, covering her neck, my lips following the path my hands just took. I feel her shiver, see the goose bumps rise on her flesh. It’s all there, the feelings waiting to explode from my chest. In one night they’ve changed, merged from what I believed them to be to something I’m not sure I understand. She reaches up and clutches both of them, a serene look crossing her face. “I have my two men close to my heart.” I study the symbol her dad gave her, turning it over, running my fingers over it. “He said it’s the Celtic symbol for father and daughter. It was originally a bribery piece, but now it means the world to me.”

“A bribery piece?”

“He was trying to get me to cancel our date. I told him no way, no how. I explained to him this was the first of many, and you were my future, so he better get used to it.”

I lower my head to the back of hers and exhale against her neck. I feel the warm air come back on my already heated face and can’t do anything but wrap my arms around her, drawing her tighter against me. “William,” she says with a shaky voice.

“Ems, just let me hold you for a minute.”

“I think in this moment I’d agree to a lifetime.”

I finally get control of myself, and release her. “So a swanky apartment for college?”

“I know, can you believe that? Do you know where you’re going yet?”

“I’d love UGA because it’s closer to you, but I don’t think I’ll get a spot playing football there. I’ll probably end up at Georgia Southern.” Just thinking of being away from her for two years twists my stomach.

“Will you still be able to come home as much?”

“Not during the season. It’s almost four hours.”

Her back straightens, and I can feel the resolve palpitating off her. “That’s fine. We’ll be fine.”

“You gonna stay with me when I leave?”

“That’s a silly question.”

“So, you’re still gonna be my girl?”

“As long as you let me.”

That night something was decided and neither of us knew the consequences. It was beautiful.

It was special.

It was only meant for us.

Chapter Seven

Emma

My first kiss was magical. It’s gotten better with practice. It’s become second nature, and I wish my lips could be attached to his at all times. The only time he seems to be at peace and my mind stops screaming warnings at me is when his lips brush against mine, his tongue swirls with mine. He leaves me breathless and full of life with one simple kiss.

Summer is coming to an end and as reclusive as we’ve been with our couple status he talked me into going to a bonfire with his crew. Kicking off their senior year with debauchery and beer . . . should be fun. I climb in the truck and immediately the tension coils around me. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” His terse tone does nothing to reassure me.

“Then why are you about to crack a tooth clenching your jaw?” I purse my lips and wait for a response.

“Please don’t start an argument with the guys.”

“If they don’t say anything stupid, we won’t have to worry.”

“Ems, you know they will. It’s who they are.”

“It’s not who
you
are. That’s what I don’t understand.”

He shrugs, like that’s an answer. He switches into gear and backs out. I sigh and lean back against the seat, mentally preparing myself for the dose of stupidity I’m getting ready to endure. Sexual comments, binge drinking, more than likely some vomit. Gee, why don’t I embrace his stellar friends? Having a few drinks, laughing, sharing friendship . . . I’m all for that, but what I’m about to witness tonight is the opposite. The guys like to push boundaries, embarrass and belittle people they feel are beneath them or don’t think like them. The girls allow it because this is the cream of the crop at our high school; the big men on campus. If they don’t want their asses pinched, too bad it will happen, and they will smile while the fingers on their asses leave a mark. They don’t want their sexual exploits broadcasted? Well, that’s a damn shame because before the condom is tossed in the trash, half the people at school will know. I don’t get why William hangs with them other than they are all teammates on the football team. I don’t understand why he can’t throw a ball to them during the game and toss them off when it’s over. He says it’s to remain cohesive . . . my ass.

I hear his deep inhale before he releases it, growling, “Can you just give it a rest?” His hand fists and bangs against the steering wheel causing me to jump, and my head meets the window.

He immediately slams on the brakes as he eases over to a parking lot. I’m rubbing my head staring at the alien imitating my boyfriend. His hand reaches up towards me, and I plaster myself against the door. “Damn it,” he mutters.

My stomach clenches; this behavior is something I’m not used to. I set my face, portraying my annoyance, “What is wrong with you? I made a simple statement, a true one. And you act like a Grade-A dick.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” He can utter that phrase all he wants, but he better follow it up with something else. Something that makes sense. “I’ve always been able to keep a divide between you and them. I can’t now, and it scares me.”

“I have a solution to that.”

“Yes, Ems. I know your solution. Throw away my dreams of playing football in college; disrupt the team that has won State three years in a row, all while I was starting quarterback. You don’t understand, and you don’t try to see my point.”

“I do understand your dream. I support it, but at what expense? Who you are? These assholes are takers. Thugs. You hear the things they say about people? They’re bigots, Will, and you of all people shouldn’t tolerate it.”

“I don’t agree, but what do you want me to do? Ruin everything? I stand up to them, take a stand like you think I should, and it carries over to the field. Then it spills into every aspect of my life, and what have I accomplished? I know they’re dicks, hell even dangerous, but keeping them close helps me more than it hurts me.”

“And those around you? It hurts us. Think about what your parents think.”

“Don’t. Don’t go there, Ems.” His voice raises, and his neck cords. This is a battle he is waging inside of himself. “I can’t be everywhere to protect everyone, so this is the best solution. I don’t like it any more than you do, and if I were a better man, I’d take a stand, but I’m afraid.”

“Of what?”

“Losing football. Losing you. Those are the things that make sense, and I don’t know another way to protect them.” His voice is shaky, and I can see it’s all too much. I know he has put all his focus and plans in one basket; football and me. No separation, they sometimes become synonymous. His love is mine, his passion the game. He says things only make sense to him on the field and in my arms.

“Okay, I’ll play nice. Just don’t make me stay all night. Next year will be better, you’ll be in college and able to make a name for yourself without close-minded haters surrounding you.”

“Thank you,” he whispers as he reaches for me. I go willingly and hold him just a bit tighter. This year is going to be a bumpy ride, and as long as I hold tight to him, what we are, I should be able to come out unscathed.

Just as I imagined, as we pull up to the abandoned field known as ‘football territory,’ the girls wear outfits that passed appropriate five blocks back and now just scream
WHORE
, the guys are well on their way to being drunk, groping, being lewd, and laughing at themselves. They have one thing right . . . laughter, because they are a joke. I take a deep breath and force it down to my core, calming myself at the same time I’m thrust into this viper pit. William squeezes my hand, and his attempt at a smile is pitiful. I reach up and kiss the underside of his jaw—reassuring us both I can be civil. I ask the big man upstairs for some help in patience because nobody has spoken to me yet, and I know I’ll need extra assistance. “Come on, QB.” I wink at him and let him lead me to the bumbling idiots.