Page 67 of Ramsey & Emerson

“Baby…” I sighed before kissing her forehead again, praying that she knew just how much I fucking loved her.

When I pulled back, Emerson gave me a quick nod before circling around me to go meet up with Roselyn. Though she knew better than to go too far, I had no choice but to give her this since I owed her and would owe her for the rest of my life.

As Emerson and Roselyn hugged, Liam didn’t bother dicking around. “Does she hate us?”

“You’re going to have to ask her,” I answered. “We didn’t spend much time talking about you guys last night.”

Deke snorted. “I would imagine not.”

I turned when I heard Roselyn pet the elephant in the room. “I’m so glad you’re back, and if you want to transfer to Manotile and say fuck it to all these losers, then let’s do it.”

“Hey,” I warned.

Roselyn turned those blue eyes of hers my way. “What? Is the truth giving you issues?”

“I’ll give you only so much leeway, Roselyn,” I informed her coldly. “Even if you are Emerson’s best friend here, you still need to watch your step.”

“Watch who you threaten, Ramsey,” Emerson remarked quietly. “This is one of those fights that I’m not afraid to fight.”

I turned to look at Emerson. “Ditto, baby.”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Liam announced as he made his way in between us. “First order of business are the apologies that Deke and I owe Emerson.”

“Oh, really?” Roselyn drawled out sarcastically. “You don’t say.”

Liam shot her a look. “Now is not the time, Roz.”

“Mmm,” she harrumphed, clearly pissed off at all three of us. “Well, then when is the time?”

“Keep it up, Linnie,” Deke warned.

Emerson remained quiet, not wanting to get into the middle of their crazy dynamics, and quite frankly, neither did I. I accepted whatever the three of them had going on, but I also knew that I could never share Emerson with anyone else, no matter the circumstances.

Turning back towards Emerson, Liam said, “We’re sorry, Em. We’re sorry for a lot of things.”

Then, in true Deke fashion, he said, “We’re sorry that we were wrong, but that’s it.”

Emerson arched a brow as she looked up at Deke. “I wasn’t confused about that, Deke. However, do not mistake my forgiveness for acceptance. What you guys did to me that morning willneverhappen again, and not because you guys might not try.”

“Then how can you be so sure?” Liam asked, though out of curiosity more than out of whatever Deke was doing.

Emerson looked back over at Liam, and her silver eyes narrowed seriously. “Because Ramsey will never get a third chance, and he knows it,” she informed him. “Because I don’t need anyone in this school, including you three. Because I willnevernot get even again.”

Liam threw his hands up in mock surrender. “Yeah, no problem.”

“Yeah, we hear you,” Deke added.

When Emerson looked my way, I said, “Baby, I’m not confused about any of this.”

Ignoring us once again, Roselyn hooked her arm through Emerson’s, then pulled her away from us. “Let’s get to class,” she said. “Screw those assholes.”

Emerson let out a quiet chuckle as she allowed Roselyn to escort her to class, and while Roselyn’s dismissal bothered me, I was wisely choosing my battles right now. No matter that Emerson had come back to me, I knew that she was still hurt, humiliated, and I had created a pocket of doubt in our relationship that would never go away. Emerson might love me, and she might have chosen me over doing the sane thing, but Emerson would never trust me completely, and that was my fault.

“Is she back for good?” Liam asked as we followed behind the girls.

“Yeah, she is,” I answered.

“Willingly?” Deke asked specifically.

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