Page 72 of For Emery

I climbed the stairwell until I reached her floor, unusually nervous—probably because I didn’t want to mess up our first date. I’d worn a navy Henley, dark jeans, and a navy hat pulled down low—the way Emery liked it. I was going for casual but not too casual. She knew me better than anyone else, so I didn’t want her to think I was trying too hard. Though I totally was.

I made my way to her door, stopping outside of it. I stared at their sign asking visitors to announce themselves. To anyone else, it seemed as though they were channeling ancient times when suitors were required to be announced. But I knew the truth behind the sign. I knew why it was imperative they didn’t open the door for anyone. Why my girlfriend needed to constantly look over her shoulder. And it sucked.

“Em, it’s me,” I said through the door, tapping gently on it.

It took a minute, but the door opened.

My breath caught in my throat at the sight of her standing there. Her hair hung in loose curls. Her makeup was minimal but enough to tell me she wanted to look good for me. And her red strapless dress ended mid-thigh so there was still something left to the imagination. “Wow.”

She smiled, looking just as nervous as I felt.

“You look hot,” I said, stepping into her and cupping her cheeks with my hands. “I missed you.” My lips captured hers before she could respond. The taste of her fruity lip gloss, mixed with her familiar sweet scent, blasted through my senses as I tried to get closer to her. My tongue traced the inside of her cheeks before sucking on her tongue. I eventually pulled back, breathless and hard as a damn rock. “We should probably go before we give your entire floor a show.”

“You think?” she asked, just as breathless.

I glanced over her shoulder, noticing Raquel wasn’t inside her room. “No audience tonight?”

She shook her head. “She had a date.”

“And so do you.” I held out my hand. “Shall we?”

She smiled and slipped her hand into mine. We walked slower than usual to my truck parked outside. We were in no rush. We were just enjoying being together. As we stepped outside into the early evening, I noticed her glance around, something I was beginning to realize she did out of habit. She and her mom had constantly needed to look over their shoulders. Now that threat was even more real than it had been before. And I hated that she wouldn’t breathe easily until Wayne was in police custody.

I opened the passenger side of my truck and Emery hopped in. I closed her door, circled around the truck, and got in behind the wheel.

“Are you gonna tell me where we’re going?” she asked.

“Nope.”

She tossed back her head and laughed, and I couldn’t believe how much comfort that laugh brought me. How much it had always brought me. Since I was eleven years old, it had been what brightened even my worst day.

Emery

I wondered if Jordan noticed me stealing glances at him as he drove off campus and through town. He looked so damn hot, and I couldn’t wait to see what he had planned. I would’ve been lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. This was Jordan. The boy I only ever dreamt would take me on a date or call me his girlfriend. Gahhh. I almost couldn’t stand how happy I was.

“So, can we talk about that amazing play?” I asked.

“We can talk about that amazing play all-freaking-night if you want to,” he laughed.

“It was so good,” I gushed.

“Yeah, well, with the number of replays it got on ESPN last night and this morning, I’m hoping, like Coach said, teams have taken notice. Plays like that are the only thing that’ll keep me on their radar. I’m not a quarterback, receiver, or running back. They get the headlines. I get the pain and leg injuries.”

“Jordan, they’d be foolish not to give you a chance.”

His eyes cut to mine. “You’re biased. And have to say that because you want my body.”

Laughter burst out of me.

His smile sprang to life as he focused back on the road. Five minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot of a boat rental shop on Lake Tuscaloosa. “Wait here,” he said as he pushed open his door and hopped out. He circled around to my side and pulled open the door. “Ready?”

“I think so.”

He took hold of my hand and helped me out of the truck before leading me around the shop to the dock behind it. A beautiful boat was tied to the dock. Tiny white lights draped from the mast to form a cone-shaped canopy. “You like?”

“It’s so pretty,” I said. “But do you know how to sail?”

“Um, no. That would be scary.”

---