by V. T. Do
I thought I could. Only, by the time my feet touched the ground, my knees knocked together from nerves, and I would have fallen had Wyatt not wrapped me in his arms.
“I got you,” he said.
He made a liar out of himself then. He didn’t let me go when we got to the ground. His hold on me tightened, his touch lingering in some places longer than others, and if my knees had felt weak from the fall, they weren’t getting any stronger now.
I looked up and met his eyes. Gray eyes so dark, they were almost black. And I wanted nothing more than for him to keep holding me like this.
I had never been held like this.
A cough startled us from the embrace. My face reddened when I looked over and found both Joey and Cole standing there.
I hid my face by looking down, then, praying I wouldn’t stumble, I walked over to Joey. “Hey.”
“You’re afraid of heights,” she said, stating the obvious. “How did we not know that?”
I grinned. “There was never an opportunity to find out, I guess.”
She shook her head and laughed. Soon I joined her. We both knew this little fact about me had escaped our notice for so long because my grandpa was overprotective. He didn’t like the idea of amusement parks because of the crowds, and because the rides were proven to be unreliable. I supposed I had always been an easy child, and it didn’t occur to me then to act out and demand that he let me do things most kids were doing at that age.
I knew I wasn’t like most kids.
And flying had never been an issue. I knew I was safe. This was different. I was still shaking from the nerves. Or was it from being so close to Wyatt just a few moments before?
At this point, I wasn’t sure. I was still avoiding his eyes. The truth of it was, what he had said three days ago still stung. The marks his words left had not disappeared, and every time I looked at him, my heart hurt.
“Maybe we should go home. Unless you still want to climb?”
She shook her head. “Nah. It’s no fun doing it by myself. I’m sorry. I would never have brought us here if I knew.”
I shrugged, grinning. “I didn’t know either.”
Cole walked up to us then. I had almost forgotten how big he was. I moved closer to Joey, even though I knew I was perfectly safe. Maybe because Cole scared me more than Wyatt did. It wasn’t because he was bigger than the other man, though that was true, even if it wasn’t by much. It had more to do with the aura about him, despite the fact that he was the more charming of the two. He was dangerous, and that made him unpredictable in my book.
Joey noticed my unease, because she casually wrapped her arm around me.
“Were you ever in any sports?” I blurted out. Cole raised an eyebrow, his mouth quirked up in amusement.
“No.”
“Oh.”
The man looked like he was trying hard not to laugh. I appreciated his efforts, so I shot him a small smile.
“We should probably go. There’s no reason for us to hang out here, since Emery’s scared of heights,” Joey said.
“Oh” was Cole’s reply. He sounded disappointed. I supposed I would be too had I driven all the way here only to leave.
I moved away from Joey. “No. You stay. You obviously like rock climbing. And just because I don’t want to doesn’t mean you have to leave. I’ll just call a cab and go home.”
She hesitated. “I don’t know, Emmy.”
I smiled. “Don’t worry about it. Have fun, okay? I’ll see you tomorrow.” I turned, took a step forward, and bumped into someone’s hard chest. Arms grabbed me firmly to keep me in place, and even if he hadn’t held me in those arms of his very often, I still recognized them.
“Sorry,” I said, pulling away. I looked back at Joey. I didn’t like the look in her eyes then. It was the look she wore when she was plotting something.
“You won’t see me tomorrow, silly,” she said with a smile.
“Why not?” I asked, suspicious. I hoped to God her plotting would be nothing like the “date” she dragged me on just a few days before. I didn’t need a repeat. I needed space from Wyatt, and I wasn’t getting it. Literally. The big man was right behind me, so close I could feel him breathing down my neck. And I didn’t know why he was that close to me.
“You have that date, remember? Ethan, right? With his dreamy eyes and swimmer’s body.”
“I have never described his eyes as ‘dreamy,’” I said with a little more force than was necessary. Yes, Ethan was insanely attractive, but I would never use “dreamy” to describe him. More like... polished.
She laughed. “But they are, aren’t they?”
“Okay. You’re acting weird, and I think it’s time for me to go.” I waved at the group, still avoiding Wyatt’s stare, and all but ran out of there.
The air was cool against my skin, and even if I had never been particularly fond of the cold, it was better than remaining inside. I pulled out my phone, and had the number for a cab ready when I felt him beside me.
I looked up and met his eyes briefly before looking away. “What are you doing here?” Instead of answering me, he grabbed my phone and walked off. “Hey! What the hell?”
I ran after him, straight to his car. A black Jeep. He opened the passenger door and indicated for me to climb in. I shook my head. He sighed, as if I was the one bothering him.
“Get in the car, Emery. I’m driving you home.”
“I’m not supposed to give out my address to strangers.”
He smiled. “I’m not a stranger.”
“Oh, yes, you are. I don’t know you.”
“You know enough about me. And besides, we’ve already been on a date.”
I scowled. “That doesn’t count as a date.”
“Of course it does.” He moved in closer to me. “And you had fun, right?”
“I did,” I admitted. “At the beginning of the date.” My sarcasm was so heavy it was hard to miss. His smile widened. “But then you decided to be your asshole-ly self, and I decided it wasn’t so great after all. You didn’t even—”
I closed my mouth and looked away. “I didn’t what?” he asked, leaning closer to me.
“Nothing. It’s nothing. And you’re not driving me home. Now give me back my phone so I can call a cab.”
He grabbed my shoulders and bent down until he met my eyes. I looked away. “Why won’t you meet my eyes?”
His voice was so soft, it was almost hard to believe it had come from a man who looked like him. I looked up and met his eyes. I could see each individual eyelash. I held his stare for as long as I was able, before looking down again. “There. Are you happy?”
“Let me drive you home, Emery.”
“Why?” I asked. Why was he being like this? And why did I crave his presence so much, even as I told myself I needed space?
“Because I don’t want you going home by yourself at this time of night.”
“It’s early yet.” I pointed to the setting sun behind him. “Barely six.”
“Okay, then let me drive you home because you owe me.”
“What?” I pulled away and frowned at him.
“Yes, you owe me for saving your life at the bar.”
“And you want me to repay you by letting you drive me home?”
“Repayment? No. Just something you let me do for my own peace of mind, because it seems like ever since I met you, you’ve been attracting all sorts of trouble.”
“That was one isolated incident.”
“Emery.” I never thought my name was anything special. So why did it sound so nice coming from his mouth?
“Okay. Fine. Just for tonight.”
He smiled. A satisfied smile that told me no one ever told him no. I was sure he was the kind of man who went after what he wanted and succeeded most of the time. He gestured to the open door once again, and after only a slight hesitation, I got in. He closed the door and walked around to the driver’s side. I put on my seat belt and tried not to let the fact that the car s
melled like him distract me too much.
“Where to?” he asked. I gave him my address. I waited as he put it into the GPS on his phone and then we were off.
“Do you still live with your family?” he asked, fifteen minutes into the drive.
“Yes. I live with my aunt.”
I felt his eyes on me for a brief second. “Why?”
“Why do I still live at home?” I asked. He nodded. “Because my aunt needs me.”
“Don’t you want to live on your own? Gain some of that independence?”
“Why would I want to do that?”
“Most people your age would. Most people your age with the kind of security you have would have moved out a long time ago.”
I fidgeted in my seat. “You mean my grandpa’s money?”
“I’m sure he left it all to you. It’s your money.”
That was true. He didn’t leave it all to me, but more than enough for me to live on for the rest of my life without worrying about anything.
I shook my head. I always felt uncomfortable talking about my family’s wealth. Especially when Wyatt seemed to know a lot about my grandpa. Although that wasn’t surprising, I supposed. Many people knew who my grandpa was. “I didn’t earn it. It doesn’t feel like my money.”
“And it’s yours anyway,” he said softly. I shrugged. “Tell me about your family,” he pried.
“Why?”
He laughed. “So we’re not driving in silence.”
“Does that bother you?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said. I knew he was lying. I knew he was the kind of man who’d made friends with the silence a long time ago. Yet he was lying, trying to get me to expose more details about my life. Why did that very fact make me feel so vulnerable?
“If I tell you about my family, then you have to tell me about yours.”
I was met with silence for a second or two, until he answered, “Okay. You first.”
“Well, you already know who my grandpa was. I went to live with him when I was six, and he legally adopted me when I was eight.”
“Where were your parents?”
“My dad was never around, and I never knew who my mom was.”
“Hmm.”
I took that as a sign for me to go on. “My grandpa... he was one of the best men I’ve ever known.” Wyatt tensed in his seat. I turned to him sharply. “You don’t agree?”
“I didn’t know Joseph well enough to agree or disagree. I’ve only met the man a total of three times.”
“He comes off as cold when you first meet him. But that’s only because he doesn’t...” I cleared my throat. I was still getting used to the fact that I had to refer to my grandpa in past tense now. “Didn’t warm to strangers easily,” I finished lamely.
“That’s where you’re wrong. He didn’t come off as cold on my first meeting with him. In fact, he was quite charming. Until he found out why I wanted to meet with him.”
That sounded vague. “Why did you want to meet with him?”
“Purely business.”
“Well, I hope you got what you came for.”
“I did,” he answered. When I didn’t say any more, he said, “Aren’t you going to ask me what my business was with your grandpa?”
“You don’t want to tell me. If you did, you wouldn’t have been so vague. Besides, I try to stay out of my grandpa’s business as much as possible.”
“Did he not leave that behind for you?”
I shook my head. “I asked him not to leave me his business. I didn’t need to keep my grandpa’s legacy alive to feel close to him. As per his will, I only own stock in the business, and though I have voting rights when it comes to the business, I tend to leave the business side of things to my grandpa’s lawyer. That’s all he left.” Along with every single piece of land, machinery, and expensive toys, I didn’t add.
“That makes you a very rich woman.”
I shrugged. “I get by.”
He threw his head back and laughed, even if I hadn’t made a joke. “I bet you do.”
“Your turn,” I said softly. I didn’t want to sound too curious, even if I was itching to know who had made Wyatt the man he was. Was it his parents? Was he close to his dad?
“There’s nothing to tell.”
“That’s not fair. I told you about my family.”
I knew without looking that he was wearing that half smile of his. “I really mean it. There’s nothing to tell. My parents were never married. They were not fit to be parents. My dad took off when I was nine, and Mom took off a year after that. I was raised by my aunt.”
“Oh. You have terrible parents too. I guess that makes us kindred spirts.”
“You think so?”
I fiddled with my seat belt. “Yeah. We both know how it feels to be abandoned by those who were supposed to love us the most. And if your aunt took you in, then I bet she’s great.”
“She is,” he said, his voice turning soft. “She would like you,” he added, almost like an afterthought.
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I said nothing. We drove in silence for another ten minutes. Just when I was about to reach for the radio, Wyatt spoke. “Tell me about this date of yours. How well do you know the guy?”
“That’s... none of your business.”
“That’s not relevant.”
“It kind of is.” I crossed my arms over my chest, and stared at the car’s license plate ahead of us. “What do you care?”
“Considering I’ve saved you twice now, of course I care. You have this look about you.”
Twice? He’d only saved me once. I wasn’t going to get into that with him, though, so I focused on the second part of his statement. “Look?” I repeated. I knew I wasn’t going to like what was going to come out of his mouth next.
“Yeah, look. Too innocent to know better and so damn expressive, making it easy for you to catch the eye of predators.”
“What? Are you serious?”
“Very.”
“I am not naive.”
“But you are innocent.”
“That’s none of your business. How can you say stuff like that to me? Especially when you told me there is no future for us.”
“I spoke the truth. There is no future for us. I’m not the kind of man you should end up with.”
“Because I’m innocent?”
“Exactly.”
I laughed. It wasn’t a funny laugh either. It was one of disbelief. “How would you know?”
I was met with silence for a brief moment. “Are you telling me you’re not?”
“So what if I’m not?” I was, but that wasn’t the point. Even if I wasn’t, I was allowed to have a past. One that Wyatt had no say about.
“I’m not saying there is anything wrong with that. Even if you’ve had experience before, you’re still young. And easily tricked.”
“You don’t know me very well if that’s what you think.”
“So let’s fix that. Hang out with me tomorrow. And no, not on a date. But as... friends.”
“Friends?”
“Yes.”
“Why would I want to be friends?” I asked. I needed space away from him. I needed to get over this silly crush I had on him, not spend more time with him... as friends. I was not a masochist.
“Because you know as well as I do that Cole and Joey will get together. It’s only a matter of time. That means we will be seeing each other often. Wouldn’t it be to everyone’s benefit that we got along?”
“We get along just fine now.”
I knew he was smiling without having to turn to look at him. “You’re stubborn, aren’t you?”
“I like to believe I’m not. Just reasonable.” I was smiling as I said this, and I was glad the sky was darkening and that it was harder for him to see my expression.
“What I’m asking isn’t unreasonable.”
I conceded. “True. And we can... hang out. But not tomorrow. I have plans I have to keep.”
“You
r date.”
“I didn’t think you cared so much,” I said. And I hated how much I wished he did care, even a little. I had hoped, however foolish it made me, that he was interested in my date, for no other reason than he was jealous. I wanted him to feel a fraction of what I’d felt when I saw him with that girl on our supposed “date.” I didn’t think he cared based on his reaction, and I wondered if he really was that indifferent toward me.
He shrugged, as if it wasn’t a big deal. I guessed that answered my question.
“Do you even want to go on this date?”
“Of course. I agreed to it, didn’t I?”
“You don’t sound excited.”
“I haven’t met him yet. I can’t be too excited about someone I’ve never met. But I am looking forward to it.” And that was true. I needed some interaction with people outside of my circle. I didn’t want to live the rest of my hopefully long life as a hermit. I wanted more.
I wanted to be more.
“So cancel. Hang out with me.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to cancel.”
“Sure you do. You just don’t want to admit it to yourself.”
“You are an ass.” I looked out the side window, catching my reflection on the side mirror. I looked flushed. “What I do doesn’t concern you.”
“Are we not friends?”
I resisted the urge to look at him. I wasn’t sure if he was serious right now or not. “I said we are, but that doesn’t mean I’ll just drop everything for you. We’re not that close.”
I knew he was smiling without even looking at him. “You’re very straightforward.”
“Thank you.”
“And stubborn,” he added.
“Thank you,” I responded again, only this time with more sarcasm.
He ignored it. Instead, he asked, “What can I do to get you to change your mind?”
“Nothing. I made a commitment. I won’t cancel. And why do you care if I go on this date or not?”
A hesitant pause. Then a quiet “I don’t know.”
I couldn’t be sure, but I swore I saw him clench his fist. Did he not like the idea of me not canceling for him? Was he so arrogant that he honestly believed I would drop everything for him? Or was it the idea of me going out on a date with another man that bothered him?
