Page 63 of Ramsey & Emerson

I looked over at Deke, and he was completely unreadable, always that stoic look on his gorgeous face. He just stared at me with those magnetizing green eyes of his, giving nothing away. Deke could master his facial expressions like no one else that I knew, and he was utilizing that gift now.

When I turned my head towards the left to look at Liam, the regret in his sweet blue eyes nearly did me in. He couldn’t look me in the eye, but every time that our eyes caught, he looked like he wanted to throw up. If I didn’t know better, I would think that he felt more upset about what had gone down than I did.

My eyes moved from Liam back to Ramsey, and on the outside, I was donning my best poker face. However, on the inside, I couldn’t ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I was stupid to ever think that Ramsey Reed would bend for anyone. All these people would never know what it was costing me to be standing here in front of the only person that had ever broken me down. Hell, my father had beaten me and my mother for years, and he still hadn’t ever reduced me to the helpless mess that I’d been on Friday night with Ramsey.

Maybe it was because I’d never believed that my father ever loved us, but I had believed it when Ramsey had told me that he loved me. I had bought into whatever Ramsey had been selling hook, line, and sinker. I’d felt like it was okay to be myself around him, and let’s not mention the sex.Jesus Christ, I had eaten up everything that he had introduced me to. Even Friday night,when I had let him do the unthinkable, I had still felt like I was where I was supposed to be. Still, I wasn’t going to let all my confusion stop me from doing what I came here to do.

I stopped directly in front of him, and in a strong voice, loud enough for everyone to hear, I said, “Prove it.”

Chapter 37

Ramsey~

When Deke had nudged me, I’d thought that he was just trying to snap me out of my funk. As soon as the sun had come up on Saturday, Deke and Liam had come over, and I’d given them a G-rated version of what had gone down. They’d known that we’d had sex, but they didn’t know how hard I’d gone at her.

So, when he nudged me, and I turned around to ask him what the fuck, to say that I’d been stunned to see Emerson walking towards me would be a big fucking understatement. I’d had no idea why she was here, but then she’d thrown those two words at me, and I knew that this was it. Whatever I did next would either cement her to me for life or push her back down the hallway and out of my life for good.

Talk about pressure.

I turned back around to put my books back in my locker, and I heard a small gasp escape from her perfect lips. She thought that I was rejecting her, and I didn’t blame her. However, she was wrong.

Christ, was she ever wrong.

I turned back around, then in front of everyone watching-and believe me, everyone was watching-I dropped to my knees in front of her. I didn’t even have to think about it. I wasn’t worried about what it meant, and I didn’t care what everyone was thinking. All that mattered was Emerson.

Her silver orbs rounded as her hands flew up to cover her mouth in shock. She started frantically shaking her head like she couldn’t stand to see me on my knees. Huge, heartbreaking tears started streaming down her face as she whispered, “Ramsey, no…”

I ignored her as I remained knelt at her feet. I looked up at her, praying that the next words out of my mouth would make her stay. “I love you, Emerson. I love you more than I ever thought I was capable of loving someone. You’ll never know how much I regret listening to Bailey’s lies, and you’ll never know how gutted I am at how I treated you. At how I let other people treat you.” She was crying full-blown sobs by this time. “I will spend every day of the rest of my life making it up to you. Even if that meanscrawling after you on my hands and knees every fucking day from here on out.”

“Ramsey, stop,” she pleaded. “Please, stop. Please, get up…”

My soul screamed with how after everything that I’d done to this girl, she could still be broken up over seeing me on my knees. Shedeservedto have me on my knees, but she still didn’t want anyone else witnessing my weakness.

Emerson’s love was too good for me.

For anyone, really.

The corner of my lip lifted, and it was the first sign of a smile in over a week. “Not until you say you forgive me, Emerson,” I told her. “Not until you tell me that you still love me and want to be with me. After that, I’ll do whatever you want me to, baby. I’ll give you everything that I have, and everything that I will ever have.”

Some of the kids in the hallway gasped, knowing exactly what I was offering her; I was offering her everything in my arsenal. I was willing to hand over every cent that I had, every secret that I knew, and every bit of power that I possessed.

“Ramsey, please,” Emerson tried again. “I don’t want your money. I don’t want your secrets. I don’t want any of it.”

“Baby, then tell me what you want and it’s fuckingyours,”I growled.

She raised her head, then started looking around at everyone. I followed her gaze, and I could see a million different expressions on everyone’s faces. Some people were slack-jawed, some were bug-eyed, some were crying, and some were even smiling. I even spotted a couple of teachers lingering farther down the hall, but then I supposed that it wasn’t every day that Ramsey Reed was on his knees.

I waited patiently for Emerson to answer me, but when she finally turned her gaze back towards me, instead of answering, she sank to her knees. Even in this position, I was still taller than her, so she had to look up at me when she spoke. “I…I just want…”

“What, baby? What do you want?”

“I just want you to love me as much as I love you,” she whispered brokenly.

“Emerson, the measure of love that I have for you doesn’t exist on this planet or anywhere else,” I said loud enough for even the teachers down the hall to hear me. “I will regret the way that I treated you until my dying day, and I should. You are better than any person standing in this school. Hell, without money or status, you’re still better than anyone in this goddamn town, including me. And I’ll do whatever it takes to erase all your bad memories and replace them with nothing but happy ones.”

“Ramsey…” she sobbed.

“My world, and everything in it, is yours to do whatever you want with it, Emerson,” I promised. “Now stand up, because I’ve already told you never to get on your knees for anyone ever again.”

---