Page 7 of For Emery

“One.”

“Was she any good?”

“Great.”

She tipped her head back so she could look up at me. A jealous glint flickered in her eyes. “Who was she?”

I cocked my head, wondering what she’d do to whoever dared dance with me. “You,” I finally admitted.

Her eyes rounded, surprise replacing jealousy. “You didn’t dance with anyone?”

I shook my head. “The two of them were driving me crazy. I got out of there as fast as I could.”

Her nose scrunched. “And you came to see me?”

“And I came to see you.”

She pulled in a breath before releasing it with a smile. “Thank you for being the best friend a girl could ever ask for.”

I pulled her into me and spent the next twenty minutes making sure her night was as perfect as mine turned out to be.

CHAPTER THREE

Grady - 17

Raindrops bounced off the roof as I scrolled through my phone. Emery pushed up my window and climbed inside. It was a lot easier for her now. Though she was still smaller than some of the other high school freshmen, she’d grown a few inches.

“Emery,” I said, seeing her wet hair and drenched clothes. “You’re soaked.” I jumped up and grabbed a towel off the hook on the back of my bedroom door.

“I was out for a walk,” she said as I handed her the towel and she wrapped it around herself.

I pulled my T-shirt over my head. “Here.” I handed it to her.

“Thanks.”

I sat on the bed as she walked to the corner of my room. She glanced over her shoulder at me. “Turn around.”

I snickered as I looked away, giving her the privacy she needed to change into my shirt. She was beginning to fill out and show signs she was indeed a female—something I was becoming painfully aware of. Especially now that my twin bed left little room for both of us, and my morning wood had become a daily occurrence. I knew I was an ass for doing it, but I peeked over. Her bare back faced me as she slipped my shirt over her head. I needed to look away, but I just couldn’t tear my eyes away as she unbuttoned her shorts and shimmied out of them.

When it looked as if she was about to turn—and for fear of being caught and looking like a perv, I quickly looked away.

Once I heard her moving toward my bed, I looked at her. My shirt hung like a dress on her, and her wet hair was now twisted in a knot on top of her head. I slipped under the sheets, as if I hadn’t just been checking out my best friend, and lifted the sheet for her. She climbed in and nestled in beside me. Instinctively, we both turned on our sides to accommodate our growing bodies. I slipped my arms around her, pulling her back flush against my bare chest. Her body was chilled from the rain, and I had this intrinsic need to want to warm her up. “You’re freezing.”

She shrugged.

“Were you out walking alone?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

Oh, fuck. “Is something wrong?”

“You mean other than the usual?”

“Yeah.”

“I just have some things on my mind.”

I waited for her to say more, but she remained silent. I hated when she was silent. It always meant she was thinking. And thinking too much could be a dangerous thing, especially since our current status as best friends and bedmates was becoming a slippery slope to navigate.

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