Page 17 of Outcast
“Yeah.” His chest rose and fell with quick breaths. “Wow.”
Emory looked like a wet dream, and I wanted to drag him into my lap and continue to unravel him.
But I’d promised not to ask for more than a kiss. And after the night he had, I didn’t want to push it. Maybe our paths would cross again. I hoped so.
Just up the drive, a swanky gala full of his family and friends waited for him.
I’d be going back to a greasy auto shop and a house full of resentment.
We didn’t belong in the same world. But it sure had been a nice break from reality while it lasted.
“Good night, golden boy.” I smoothed his tousled hair into some semblance of order. “You take care of yourself.”
He hesitated a moment. I held my breath, waiting to see if he’d ask for my number. But he shifted away, toward the door.
“Thanks, Gray.” He glanced back at me, color still high on his cheeks. “For everything.”
“Anytime.” I tried to infuse my voice with as much innuendo as possible.
Hell yeah, I’d make out with Emory Gold any damn time.
And judging by his blush, he’d definitely be remembering my name.
CHAPTERFOUR
Emory
Gray recently spenttime at the lake. Often shirtless. I zoomed in on an Insta pic that showed him on the dock, dark blue lake water behind him, the sun so bright it nearly washed out his body in the image.
Which would be a real shame, because Gray was rocking even more tattoos than I’d noticed Saturday night. I traced a swirly line over the swell of his pec with a fingertip—then nearly jumped out of my skin when Dad spoke from my office doorway.
“Hey Emory, I need you to deal with these delinquent files.”
I stabbed the Escape button so hard my keyboard skidded away. I lunged for my mouse, clicking out of the window, heart racing.
“Dad, hey!” I laughed nervously. “You startled me.”
He chuckled. “I can tell. You’re not downloading porn on the work computer, are you? That’s a no-no.”
“What?” My face heated. “No!”
Social media stalking a guy to drool over his shirtless pics while at work was much better, right?
He grinned. “I’m just messing with you. Besides, I’m not the one you need to worry about if you’re looking at porn.” He dropped three file folders on my desk. “The ladies usually aren’t happy about it. Wouldn’t want it to get back to Allison, eh?”
I suppressed an eye roll. “If I was going to watch porn, it wouldn’t be at work, Dad.”
Case in point, I’d spent Sunday shut into my apartment binge-watching gay porn and imagining what might have happened if I’d asked Gray to drive me somewhere for a more thorough introduction to my bisexuality.
But my dad didn’t need to know that.
It was bad enough that I’d spilled the tea to Allison as soon as I returned to the gala. She’d cornered me, demanded to know why my lip was puffy, and dragged the whole story out of me.
Just the kiss with Gray since I didn’t want to share the whole sordid affair with Dallas. I’d lied and said I’d split my lip that way too. She thought Gray was a little wild, but that was better than the alternative.
She’d only get angry on my behalf, and there was nothing to be done about it. I couldn’t report Dallas without announcing why I was with him, and besides, he was the sheriff’s son. Nothing would come of it, anyway.
At least Gray had given me a good consolation prize out of the ordeal. My lips tingled. Averygood prize.
