Page 66 of Ramsey & Emerson

Now, while he wasn’t necessarily lying, he also wasn’t seeing how that was a bigger problem. “I need you to do me a favor-”

“No,” he said, already shaking his head. “Absolutely not.”

“You don’t even know what I was going to ask,” I squawked.

Ramsey reached up to tuck a strand of my dark hair behind my ear. “You were going to ask me to stand back and let you handle things at school today, and that’s not going to happen.”

It was scary how well he knew me after such little time. “I need to make my stance known to the entire school, Ramsey.”

“Me on my knees in front of you did that already, Emerson,” he pointed out.

“You don’t get it,” I sighed, very aware of the time.

“Then explain it to me,” he replied seriously. “We’re not leaving this bathroom until you do, baby.”

“I don’t want them scared of me because of whoyouare, Ramsey,” I told him. “I want them scared of me because it’s not enough for them to have seen you on your knees for me. It’s not enough because they also saw me coveredin used condoms as you told them things about me that none of them should have ever known.”

His jaw ticked as his hands dropped from my hips, taking a step back. “So, what is it that you need from me to make that happen?”

“I need you to just not be…you so much,” I answered honestly.

Ramsey arched a brow. “Seriously?”

I let out another sigh. “Look, we’re going to be late for school, so we’re going to have to agree to disagree on your level of absurdity.”

“It’s not absurd to want to protect you, Emerson,” he argued.

“Again, we’re going to have to agree to disagree, Ramsey.”

Those chocolate-colored eyes of his stared down at me for a few seconds before Ramsey pressed his lips against my forehead. Neither of us could undo the past few weeks, and even if we could, I wasn’t even sure if I’d want to. I didn’t want to meet new and different versions of Ramsey along the way; that’s how marriages fell apart. I’d rather see all the bad upfront, lest I end up like my mother because I hadn’t been prepared for just how brutal love really was.

Grabbing my hand, Ramsey pulled me out of the bathroom as he said, “Let’s get to school. We’ll figure the rest out later.”

“Beforewe light that match to burn it all to the ground?” I quipped.

“Hopefully,” he replied, but I could hear the smile in his voice, and just like that, my lungs were able to take a deep breath again.

For better or for worse, this was us.

This was what our love was made of; including the toxicity that neither of us were eager to cure just yet.

Chapter 39

Ramsey~

I’d never known a moment of regret before meeting Emerson, and it was ironic when you considered that I was going to feel that particular weight for the rest of my life now. No amount of money or power would ever be able to undo that morning at Windsor, and it was a miracle that Emerson was even willing to be seen with me, let alone be mine. Nonetheless, God had given me a miracle that I would never take for granted ever again, and whatever Emerson needed from me, she had it.

As I pulled into my parking spot at school, I could admit that my chest felt tight. While I knew that Emerson was strong enough to take on the entire student body at Windsor, it wasn’t anything that I wanted to see, especially if she was making me see if from the shadows.

It was also clear that Emerson really had no idea who I really was if she thought that she didn’t already have this entire town in the palm of her damaged hand. While she might believe that yesterday had been just for show, it hadn’t been. When I had offered her everything that was me, everyone in the hallway had been very aware of what that’d meant, even if Emerson hadn’t.

When I got out of my car, I looked to see Liam, Deke, and Roselyn waiting for us, and Roselyn didn’t look happy to see me at all, which might cause problems later. It was obvious that she was still mad at me, and even if it wasn’t going to do her any good, I could hardly blame her. What I’d done to Emerson was unforgiveable, and Roselyn would be a shitty best friend if she forgave me as easily as Emerson had.

Opening the door for Emerson, as soon as she got out, I shut the door, then grabbed her chin with my fingers. “There is only you,” I told her. “If I ever have to choose between you and anyone else, I willalwayschoose you. I don’t give a fuck who the other person is.”

Her face immediately softened because she knew exactly what I was getting at. While Liam and Deke were the only other two people in the entire world that I loved to any degree, I would still choose Emerson over them if I had to. I could live a life without my two best friends at my side while Emerson wasn’t even an option at this point.

“Ramsey, that’s not necessary,” she said, making this much too easy on me. “I’d be a hypocrite to blame them for falling under the same spell as everyone else, including me.”

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