by Caisey Quinn
I pointed to the stack of files. “Better get back to it. Have a good day, Collin.”
There, that was more direct.
Before he made a move to leave, the door opened and Jecca stepped inside, already glaring at me.
“What’s going on in here?” She glanced at Collin. “No wonder you can’t finish the filing. You’re down here playing footsie with your little friend.”
Collin held his hands up and backed out of the storage room. “Later, Emersyn.”
Now he left. Figured.
“He brought me some lunch since you said I couldn’t take a break.” I gestured to the soda and wrap I’d sat on one of the end tables. “I can eat and file at the same time.”
She snorted. “Yeah and get food and gunk all over the archives. Smart thinking.” Her sarcasm prickled at my nerves but I forced a smile.
“I can wait to eat after I’m finished. No problem.”
She huffed out an annoyed breath. “Actually I came down here to tell you you’re done filing for now. Joy had a kid get sick in the Children’s section and her interns are on a break, so I told her you would get right on it.”
Was she serious?
Yeah, they were on a break. Because they actually got a break. I waited a beat, to see if she would say she was kidding.
She didn’t.
She tapped her Louboutin covered toe impatiently. “It’s not going to clean itself, Emily.”
I closed my eyes and pictured myself receiving a ten thousand dollar check.
“On it,” I said, moving past her.
The good news was, ten minutes later, the mess was handled and I was no longer hungry. A bright orange pile of puke had successfully curbed my appetite. And I was never eating hot dogs again, so there was that.
Joy thanked me profusely. Then she asked if I was free to lead a children’s tour.
I was, and I’d been through the children’s section so many times, I didn’t need to watch the training video.
When I was finished, Alexis and Lindsey had returned. They both thanked me for covering for them.
“It was fun,” I admitted. “Well, not the part that involved vomit.”
Lindsey laughed. “Welcome to our party.”
On my way back to Jecca, I decided to take a detour. The scenic route. I browsed the museum’s exhibits, admiring the works and dreaming of someday.
Someday, I’d have an exhibit here. Someday people would come to see my work. Someday I’d come back here and make sure the interns weren’t being treated like garbage.
I vowed to myself, for the next two hours while I filed manila folders, not matter what happened, I would never, ever give up on my someday.
Jecca had been blatantly annoyed when I’d managed to finish all the filing she’d given me half an hour before I was supposed to leave. My excitement about shopping with Aiden and Rachel Platten in my earbuds had me moving faster than even I thought I was possible.
She’d sent me up front to fold three-hundred brochures. I was down to less than twenty brochures and my hands were in danger of cramping when Aiden surprised me by coming through the main entrance ten minutes early.
Collin had stopped by on his way out and had been chattering incessantly about his investment portfolio and his future plans after high school. The whole time he stood there yammering on, he never once offered to help me.
Seeing Aiden come through the doors in dark wash jeans and a button down navy blue henley, sunlight streaming in from behind him, was like seeing a mirage in the middle of the desert.
I thought we’d meet out front like before so he wouldn’t have to find a parking space. But here he was in all of his greek god-like glory.
“Hey,” he greeted me. “I came a little early just incase traffic was bad.”
Collin gaped at him.
My face broke into a wide grin. “Hi.” I glanced over to where Jecca was approaching. “Almost finished.”
At the sight of Aiden, her mouth dropped into a surprised ‘o’ shape.
“Aiden?”
“Jecca?”
Shock stung my face and created a steady buzzing sound in my ears.
“It’s been a while,” he said politely. “You work here too?”
She made a strange face. If I wasn’t mistaken, her left eye twitched. “I work here, yes. She’s an intern. A high school intern.”
Neither of us missed her insinuation.
He nodded. “Uh, yeah. I teach at her high school. I actually stopped by to take her to a community service project she’s completing for my class.”
Damn, he thought fast on his feet. I was still struggling to locate my tongue.
Her eyes narrowed. Jecca was mean as hell, but she wasn’t stupid. “Just you and her? Do you think that’s wise? I mean, there’s a public transportation system.”
She spoke as if I wasn’t standing there.
“I could give her a ride,” Collin offered. “I was just leaving.”
I wanted to tell him to piss off, hand Jecca the damn brochures and tell her what I did with the rest of my day was none of her business. But I knew that wouldn’t be helpful for anyone. Not my chances of earning the scholarship and not Aiden’s ability to keep his reputation in tact.
“No worries. I can handle it. Several students will be there,” Aiden lied easily. “It’s just not in a great part of town so I wanted to make sure they all had a chaperone.”
She nodded. “Okay then. Emersyn, I guess you’re free to go.”
I stared at her openly.
I knew she knew my name.
“Thanks, Miss Chambliss,” I said in my syrupy sweetest voice. “Enjoy the rest of your weekend. See you Tuesday.”
I didn’t spare another glance at her or motormouth Collin.
I smiled at Aiden. “Ready, Mr. Singleton?”
One side of his mouth lifted wryly. “As I’ll ever be.”
He was careful not to touch me all the way to the doors. Once we made it down the street to wear he parked, he exhaled audibly.
“Shit, I didn’t see that coming,” he said, helping me into the Jeep.
“Well you lied beautifully. How do you know her?”
Please don’t say you dating Cruella de Vil. My heart can’t take it.
“She’s from Riverside,” he informed me. “Graduated a year after Axel.”
I nodded, relieved he hadn’t said he dated her. He jogged around and got in on the driver’s side.
“She used to be pretty hot and heavy with one of my brother’s buddies. Guy we call Meat, who’s actually loaded but ditched the family business to work construction. He’s planning to buy the company with Axel when they’ve saved up enough capital. Apparently his dad’s a real prick or something.”
“Meat?” I frowned. Jecca didn’t seem like someone who’d date, much less want to marry, a guy people called Meat.
Aiden smirked at me and I could tell I was missing something. I just didn’t know what it was.
“Elliot Wellington the third, actually.”
“So why do they call him Meat?”
Aiden laughed openly. “Let’d just say he’s packing. And he’d be happy to show you if you asked. So, don’t.”
Ahhh. Well now I felt dumb.
“Okay, then. On that note, let’s go do some community service.”
Aiden chuckled. “I do actually have some service work you can do.”
“Hmm, are we sure I’m qualified? I am only in high school, after all.”
He nodded. “It involves modeling sexy clothes and maybe massaging a sore hockey player.”
I pretended to think it over. “I think I can manage that.”
17
Aiden
Emersyn had cut our shopping trip together short to pick up her brother from his baseball game. She’d worked me up modeling outfits for me in a little boutique in Riverside and I still hadn’t come down.
Thankfully, after The Jecca Encounter as we were now referring to it, we didn’t see any
one else we knew.
Sunday I had a game at Southeastern. Emersyn said she was coming, but during warm ups she texted that her brother had the flu and she had to stay home and take care of him.
Thanks to my still being all worked up over her sexy fashion show, we won, three to two. Unfortunately Derek Owens was still hellbent on trying to fit my fist in his mouth.
“I might’ve been hammered,” he told me in the locker room, “but I know what I saw. That sweet piece of teen ass at your house. She there for tutoring, Singleton, or earning some extra credit on her knees?”
I put my gear in my bag and tried angled my body toward the exit. Before I could take a step, he blocked my path.
“Did you pop that tight little cherry, man? Does she taste as sweet as she looks?”
Yes. And yes.
“I was too busy handling your family drama, Owens,” I said, doing my best to appear bored and not let him know how high he’d raised my blood pressure.
“You know how brothers are,” he said, shrugging one shoulder. “Tell me you and Ax-man never duked it out.”
Once, when I was seventeen. But never again after that.
“Maybe you should try family therapy. If you can fit that in with the court-ordered anger management you got for knocking your girlfriend around.”
He doesn’t flinch but I see it. The hint of fear.
“Wonder what the pro scouts that come to see you would think about that? Probably not a good idea to sign a guy with a history of domestic violence against women.”
“Yeah, you start telling my secrets and I’ll get loose with some of yours.”
I shrug as if I couldn’t care less. “Let me know when you’re feeling loose-lipped. Because if I’m getting dropped from the team anyway, I’ll be sure to make it worth my while.”
Read: I’ll beat your fucking ass down first. The look in his eyes told me he caught my meaning.
It felt like making a deal with the Devil, but I was out of options.
“Or how about we both keep our mouths shut and get through this season? You’ll be rid of me in the spring, Owens.”
He makes a dramatic production out of thinking it over. “You tell Coach I’m your rec for Captain next season and my lips are sealed.”
Shit. Recommending him would be the worst thing I could do to this team.
“Earn it, Owens, and I’ll think about it.”
With that, I finally moved past him and out of my own personal hell.
Monday at school she wore an outfit I’d picked out. An olive shirt-style dress with a brown belt around the waist. Seeing her wear something I chose and bought had my possessive streak flaring.
It took everything I had to stay out of the pit. All through second period, I couldn’t help but wonder if she was in there, waiting for me.
She was tired in class, practically dozing off at her desk. Probably exhausted from taking care of her sick brother. I’m worried about her, but every time I turn around, someone is damn near busting us.
I’m working on something I can’t wait to show her this weekend and praying she’ll love it.
But until then, I’ve got to cool it. At least at school.
It doesn’t help when she shows up to the game I’m coaching that evening at the local ice rink.
The Elksboro Buccaneers team was young, mostly underclassmen, and had a long way to go. With the best of intentions, I’d put together a practice game against Riverside High because I was still tight with my old coach.
My intent had been to film it and show it at practice as a visual aid demonstrating our areas of weakness. But now I was worried what the camera might’ve caught.
I enjoyed coaching and was good at it, but my gaze kept drifting over my left shoulder where Emersyn sat with one of my players moms.
Two of the juniors on my team, Brian and Lucas, solid players who I had to stay on to keep their grades eligible, noticed her around the same time I did.
“She still with Echols?” I overheard Lucas ask.
Brian made an obnoxious sound. “I think Echols bats for the other team, man. I heard he got jumped in City Park this summer and you know what goes on there. Bunch of dudes sucking each other off in the woods.”
Lucas laughed. “Which begs the question, how do you know that?”
Brian gave him a shove. “Everyone knows that.”
I hadn’t.
“She’s hot as fuck,” Lucas commented. “Damn those legs. I’d do some bad shit to get them wrapped around me later.”
Never gonna happen, kid.
The possessive urge to deck him was diluted by my testosterone-fueled sense of pride. Really couldn’t blame him. She was fucking beautiful beyond words and she was mine.
I tried to sneak her a subtle wave several times, but seemed lost in thought.
After we’d gotten our asses handed to us, I walked slowly to my Jeep in hopes she’d followed discretely. But she didn’t.
I sent her a text.
Coming over tonight?
It took a while but she responded. You did an amazing job tonight and I wanted to stay and tell you in person, but Ethan is still sick and I needed to get home.
I texted back that understood and for her to let me know if she needed anything.
She never sent anything back.
I laid awake half the night wondering while she was taking care of Ethan, who was taking care of her?
18
Emersyn
Ethan took a few days to recover from his stomach virus. Thankfully, by Thursday he was all better so I was able to go to the museum. The doctor wouldn’t release him to play baseball until next week, which gave me a much needed break.
School had become a slow, torturous exercise in patience. Since Drew had nearly caught us, Aiden and I no longer went to the pit.
Sure there were long looks, stolen touches, and no so accidental brushes of skin from time to time, but for the most part, I was starving to death. Hungry for more of him, more time, more everything.
Time was our enemy thanks to my many obligations and his coaching the hockey team while still playing for Southeastern.
We had determined Friday night was the only night we were both free and declared it ours.
I showered and shaved literally every single hair on my body in preparation.
I put on a navy blue slip dress and wore a flannel shirt I still had of his from this summer. I didn’t plan on wearing any of it for very long.
After making sure Ethan had plenty of liquids to drink and that his fever was still down, I checked on my mom and headed out.
When I arrived at Aiden’s, he was waiting for me on his front porch.
I glanced around at the clean, quiet yard. “Axel not throwing a big bash tonight?” This was a first.
His eyes held mine intently. “Axel is staying with a friend for tonight.”
My stomach dipped and soared with excitement. “Aww, you got him a babysitter.”
He laughed. “She is probably sitting on him as we speak.”
I remembered watching a sexy blonde ride Axel not long ago. “You’re probably right.”
Speaking of…I was anxious to be alone with Aiden for an entire night. Anxious to connect in the intimate way we couldn’t at school. My insides clenched with anticipation.
But Aiden had other ideas. He steered me toward the backyard, down toward the water.
“Where are we going?”
He grinned like a child with a secret. “You’ll see.”
I don’t know what I was expecting. A candlelit picnic maybe, but what I saw was…confusing.
“You got a new shed?” The navy blue and white building was a fairly large and had a window in the back.
He nodded. “Something like that. Come on.”
I waited as he used a key to unlock the latch on the double doors, then handed the key to me.
“You’re giving me the key to your shed?” I mumbled as we stepped inside.
Aiden held me as we step
ped inside, which was good because I might’ve fainted if he hadn’t.
“No, I’m giving you the key to your studio. It’s all yours, day or night. You can work in here whenever you want. I’ve already told Axel it’s off limits to him and his guests.”
My eyes couldn’t open wide enough to take in the rows of shelf after shelf holding brushes and paint and clay and paper and pencils and charcoal. I stepped forward, feeling like a child a Christmas, no, better than a child at Christmas because I was looking right at Santa.
I shook my head. “How did you…where did…when?”
The words wouldn’t come but the tears tried to.
“Aiden, oh my God.”
He tossed me a wicked grin. “I’m planning to hear that several more times tonight.”
Launching myself into his arms, I hugged him with everything I was worth.
“Thank you. I can’t believe you did all this. For me.”
He leaned back and looked me in the eyes. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”
He meant it. I could feel how much he meant it in the weight of each syllable.
“Do you want me to leave you alone for a bit so you can work? Try out the new stuff? I didn’t know exactly which brands and types of—”
“I want you to fuck me on that table,” I broke in boldly. “Please.”
Without hesitation, he did exactly as I’d requested.
Jars of paint spilled around us as we made love on the table before moving to the floor.
My hands were smeared in blue while a burnt tangerine acrylic ended up on his neck and back.
When we came, we came together.
Hours later, we showered together. As soon as I was clean, he set to dirtying me up all over again.
When he fell asleep, I snuck out to what I had affectionately named my she-shed studio and began to paint what falling in love felt like.
Saturday morning I woke up feeling like death.
My head pounded, my body ached, and I was certain I was going to throw up.
“No,” I groaned when Aiden took my temperature and it was 101.9. “I can’t be sick. I have to get to the museum.”
