by V. T. Do
Wyatt: I can be a patient man when it comes to the things I truly want.
Wyatt: Get ready, Emery.
Wyatt: I’m coming for you.
Chapter Eighteen: Let the Cat and Mouse Games Begin
Wyatt
I stayed where I was and watched her run to her front door, as if she couldn’t get away from me fast enough.
It was easy to see that she was afraid of her feelings for me. That she wanted me, but she also didn’t want to feel this strongly about me either.
I sent her the text messages while she ran to her house, as if the Devil was chasing her. The sight would have been amusing had it not been for the fact that she was running away from me. I didn’t know why I felt the need to send them, to warn her that I wasn’t giving up, but just the thought of how her face would look as she read them was enough to put a smile on my face.
Then I pulled out of her driveway and drove away. I’d be late going into work, but one of the perks of being the boss was that I could come and go as I pleased. Besides, Cole was there, and I trusted he could handle anything that might come up.
I headed home instead.
Only I didn’t realize how far Emery had already embedded herself inside my place until I walked into my room and could smell her scent. It lingered in the air around me, filling the space with question marks, cravings, and possibilities.
I hadn’t realized how far gone I was until she kissed me. Or how much I needed to be inside her until that moment she went soft in my arms.
Just the thought of how she’d looked as I tasted her had my cock at full attention.
And she was running away from me.
It was exactly what I wanted from the very beginning. Yet when it actually happened, it felt more like a punch to the gut.
I didn’t want her to run away.
Admitting that felt like I’d lost somehow.
Because if I didn’t want her to run away, then that meant I wanted to be with her. That I wanted her. But the kind of relationship I wanted for us wouldn’t be possible until I told her the truth. And I realized I dreaded telling her, because telling her would mean changing her whole outlook on the people she loved the most.
It would mean ruining her in some way.
And I wasn’t sure I could do that.
I never liked Joseph Caldwell, but never had I held so much hatred for the man as I did now, when I imagined the kind of legacy he had left behind for his granddaughter. A legacy that would hurt her.
And I was a part of that hurt, each and every day that I kept those secrets from her. But they weren’t my secrets to tell. There were other people involved in this whole mess, my Aunt Erin included, and I knew she didn’t want the past brought up anymore.
Letting out a tired sigh, I quickly hopped in the shower, even if it felt wrong to wash off Emery’s touch from my skin.
After, when my head was clear, I dressed for work.
I didn’t know if I was in any state to work, but the few hours I would punch in might help keep my mind off the one girl I should have stayed away from since the very beginning.
It was too late now. I couldn’t go back to a time when she didn’t exist. And I didn’t know why it was this specific girl who got me all tied up in knots, only that she mattered.
***
It wasn’t until midnight that I got home. As it turned out, Cole got us the meeting with Wade Financial after all. The whole afternoon was filled with us trying to prepare for it. Before I knew it, the office had quieted down as people went home for the night, save for Cole and me.
And it was the reprieve I was looking for. I didn’t think of Emery in those blissfully long hours.
But now that I was back home, with her scent still lingering in the air, I couldn’t not think about her. I wondered if she had thought about me throughout her day.
Pulling out my phone, I texted her.
Me: I don’t know if you’re asleep or not. I just wanted to check on you.
When she didn’t answer right away, I walked into my room and placed the phone on my nightstand before getting ready for bed.
When I climbed into bed, my phone lit up with a notification. A rush of joy surged through me when I saw her name. If only Cole could see me now. He would have my balls with the way I was acting. As if I were a fourteen-year-old virgin, thinking about his crush.
This was what Emery had reduced me to.
Emery: I’m still awake. Why are you still awake?
Me: Busy day at work. I just got home.
Emery: Wow, really? It’s past midnight.
After she sent her last text, the bubbles appeared again. I waited for her next text.
Emery: How was your day?
Me: Productive. What about you? What did you do?
Emery: Probably not as productive as yours. I finished an essay I had for one of my classes. Then Joey came over, and we hung out.
I debated whether or not I should respond with a text. I was never big on texting, except for the times when I needed to get a message out quickly. And as sappy as it sounded, I missed hearing her voice. So I called her instead.
After the third ring, I didn’t think she would answer. I didn’t blame her. But she surprised me when her voice came through the phone moments later, a little breathless.
“You know texting works as a form of communication, right?”
I smiled. “Nah. Miscommunications happen with texting.”
“Hmm” was all she said.
I laid back down on my bed. “Tell me about your day.”
“But I already told you.”
I shook my head, even if she couldn’t see. “You told me a shortened version of it. I want to hear every little detail.”
“Every one?”
“Yes.” Mostly, I just wanted to hear her voice. I could sense her hesitation on the other end of the line. And her question of What are we really doing?
I couldn’t answer her even if I tried.
“Okay,” she said finally.
And I closed my eyes and listened to her describe her day. We talked well into the early morning, and it wasn’t until I was in the middle of telling her about my meeting with Wade Financial that I realized she had fallen asleep.
I hung up and closed my eyes, falling asleep with the biggest fucking smile to ever grace my face.
***
Saturday came. It had been a few days since the night I held Emery in my arms. And even though I fell asleep to her voice most nights, it wasn’t enough.
I wanted to see her, except she wouldn’t agree to it. There was nothing I could say that would convince her. I think she was comfortable with where we were, where there were no expectations of her, or of me. She didn’t want to see where this could go, and how far I wanted to take her. I didn’t share her reservations, and I made it known every time we talked.
So I did what I have always done—I took matters into my own hands. With Cole by my side, we drove to a frat house. I hadn’t been to a college party since I graduated ten years ago. And it was the same as it has always been. Loud music, cheap beer, a lot of underdressed girls, and the overwhelming scent of desperation that reeked from the pores of every college boy.
“This is where Joey said they were?”
Cole nodded from the seat beside me in my car. His lips were pursed in a thin line. He didn’t like the idea much either. “Joey said Emery’s been acting weird.” At that, he shot me knowing look. “So she thought this might snap her out of it.”
“This doesn’t look like something Emery would enjoy.” And I knew that was true. She was quiet in word and deed. And she would probably enjoy that quietness more than she would a college party.
“It’s not. It’s more like something Joey enjoys doing.”
“You don’t sound happy about that.”
“Happy that my girl is in there partying it up with douchebags who take one look at her and fantasize about how she looks naked? Yeah, I’m not happy.”
I smile
d. “Calm down. Joey can handle herself. Does she know you’re coming?” He shook his head. “Well, this should be fun.”
I got out of the car, and Cole followed suit. We walked side by side into the loud party. The stench brought back so many memories I didn’t want to revisit. Cole and I had our share of wild parties, and I had always thought it was something no college kid should miss out on. Yet coming back here as an adult made the party seem less fun than I had remembered.
We walked inside and were easily the biggest people there. I could practically see over everyone’s head. Cole spotted Joey across the room playing beer pong with some shirtless dude. And she was losing.
We walked over to where she was, and when it looked like she’d drunk the last cup, Cole wrapped his arm around her waist, getting her attention. Her eyes were glazed over from the alcohol, and it took a moment before she recognized him. With a squeal that I never would have imagined coming out of her, Joey wrapped her arms around Cole’s neck and pulled him close to her. He sent a scowl to shirtless dude that had him backing away until he disappeared into the crowd.
Joey was wearing a white button-down shirt with black pants. There was nothing wrong with the outfit itself, but on Joey, it seemed indecent somehow. I averted my eyes.
“What are you doing... here?” Joey mumbled.
“Maybe we should get out of here,” Cole suggested.
“Yeah, let me find Emery first. Stay here.”
With that, I started looking for Emery, mentally preparing myself for what I might see when I found her. Maybe she would be sober. If Joey was drunk, then Emery was the DD. She had to be. Because I couldn’t imagine how I would react if it turned out both Joey and Emery had gotten drunk at a college party with no way to get home.
My fist clenched just from the thought.
I walked into the kitchen first. There was a crowd of people hanging around a huge island, trying to get more drinks, but I didn’t see Emery anywhere. Slowly I made my way into the small hallway, and almost tripped over someone’s legs. I looked down and found yet another shirtless dude lying on the ground. From the size of him, I’d say he was a football player. And he was passed out.
The more time I spent in this house, not knowing where Emery was, the more antsy I became. What if she wasn’t safe? What if I’d come here too late? I needed her to be safe. I walked down the hallway and started opening every door I came across.
The first one was a closet, crammed with useless junk. The second one led to the garage. I almost walked past another door, until I noticed light underneath.
My stomach dropped as I approached it. Somehow I knew this was it. I didn’t care what I might find on the other side, and I was glad to see it wasn’t locked.
When I opened the door, I let out a sigh of relief. The room turned out to be a tiny bathroom, and she was in there, sitting on the closed toilet lid, an empty red Solo cup on the floor next to her feet.
Emery looked up, and her eyes widened in fright until she realized it was me, and then her brows lowered in confusion. “Wyatt?”
I walked inside and closed the door behind me. She didn’t appear drunk, but the glassy quality of her eyes told me she was close. “What are you doing in here, Emery?” I asked as my eyes made slow perusal of her body. As always, the clothes she had on were classy and understated. She was wearing jeans that fit her like a second skin and a white undershirt with a dark-red cardigan. Not something anyone would wear to a party. I almost smiled.
“I—” She blew the air out of her mouth. “Hiding.”
I frowned. “Why are you hiding?”
“I don’t like loud parties.”
The admission almost brought a smile to my face. I walked further into the room, until I was standing in front of her. She craned her neck to look at me. “Then why did you come here in the first place?”
“Joey said I needed to do something different with my time. I’ve sort of been isolating myself.”
“Is that so?” Bending down so that we were eye to eye, I wiped away some of the makeup that had smeared down her cheeks.
“My grandpa’s dead.”
My hand paused where it was, before I smoothed my fingers down her delicate jawline. “I know.”
“I just miss him so much.”
“I know,” I said again. I knew she had been close to Joseph. I knew he’d taken care of her when her dad couldn’t. I knew all of that. “Let’s get you home.”
I stood up and wrapped my arms around her. I held on to her tightly, afraid she might fall. With the way she was wobbling, I’d say the chances of that happening were pretty good.
Cole and Joey were where I had left them. Joey still had her arms around Cole’s neck, but her eyes were closed. When he spotted me coming toward them with Emery in my arms, he picked Joey up.
“Let’s go” was all he said. I followed him out of the house.
The walk to my car was uneventful. Cole climbed in the back seat with Joey, so I put Emery in the front. Her eyes were open, but I wasn’t sure how aware she was of her surroundings. I bent down to buckle her in, and she sucked in a sharp breath of air when the back of my hand made contact with her belly. I met her eyes. They were a stormy green I couldn’t begin to decipher.
Without another word, I closed the door and climbed into the driver’s seat. “Your place?” I asked Cole. He nodded, his eyes briefly meeting mine in the rearview mirror before turning back to Joey.
I hadn’t realized just how far gone Cole was until I saw the way he looked at Joey. I wondered if I wore the same expression when I looked at Emery. The thought left me scared shitless.
I drove in silence, lost in thought. A quick glance at Emery showed her head lolling to the side, her eyes closed. It was hard to tell if she had fallen asleep or not, so I left her alone. I pulled up to the sidewalk in front of Cole’s apartment building. It was one of the newer ones that had been rebuilt in New York in recent years, and though it cost a ridiculous amount of money to live here, it was nothing compared to what I knew Cole could afford.
Except he was never one to spend his hard-earned money on anything he deemed unnecessary.
He grew up in Buffalo with next to nothing, bouncing from one foster family to the next. And yes, before we met at NYU, Cole had gotten into some petty crime, but luckily the records were sealed because most of those crimes were committed before he was eighteen. He was someone everyone was scared of, including me, because I knew that underneath the easy demeanor was a man who’d do almost anything to get what he wanted.
Cole stepped out of the car and reached in for Joey. Then he tapped the roof of my car and headed inside.
When I turned my attention to Emery, I found her big green eyes watching me. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking. “I’m going to take you home,” I said. Drumming my fingers on the steering wheel, I added, “My home.”
She didn’t say anything, but she did lean back against the seat, her gaze staring ahead. I took that as her agreement and pulled the car away. It didn’t take any time at all for us to get to my place, yet it felt as if time had crawled by at a snail’s pace, until I got her alone in the elevator.
She stumbled against me when the elevator moved. I wrapped my arms around her, and when I didn’t let go, she placed both her tiny hands on my chest. My skin was warm.
“We shouldn’t do this,” she said. “I was supposed to be over you by now. The distance was supposed to help me get over you.”
My lips quirked up at her admission. “Baby, if you’re not over me by now, I think we should explore where this could go.”
Her next statement wiped the smile off my face. “You’ll only break my heart in the end.”
I cupped her cheek. “Hey, you don’t know that.”
She nodded. “Yes, I do. I don’t want my heart broken, Wyatt.” She sounded almost desperate. “Promise me you’ll be gentle.”
I shook my head, unable to form the words that would put her at ease.
And the fun
ny thing was, I just might break her heart. But not in the way she thought. The secrets I was keeping might be the very thing to break her. And there was no way around it. I almost wished I didn’t know.
“If I break it, I’ll fix it.”
She shot me sloppy, watery smile. “You sound so arrogant.”
Then she leaned forward, giving me most of her body weight. I didn’t mind. I liked the feel of her solid form in my arms more than I dared to admit.
When the elevator opened, I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and led her out. Emery remained silent. She was a quiet drunk.
If I’d thought she wasn’t drunk before, that had been quickly obliterated by the way she had talked. Maybe not drunk enough that she would forget everything that had happened tonight, but enough to have her inhibitions loosened, which explained why she had said all those things to me.
She waited while I unlocked the door. And when I pushed the door open to the darkened apartment, Emery waited until I walked in first. As if she was seeking my permission. I frowned at the thought.
“I have an extra toothbrush you can borrow,” I said, leading her into the bathroom. “Why don’t you get ready for bed in here while I find something for you to wear?”
I waited for her to nod in agreement before walking back to the kitchen and grabbing a glass of water to drink. Then I brought her a glass and placed it on the nightstand. Emery was still in the bathroom, but I could hear the water running, so I went to the other bathroom and got ready for bed there.
I was finished before her. I readied the bed, then looked in the closet for some clothes for her. It wasn’t until I laid the clothes on the bed that I decided I should undress too. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t seen me naked.
I felt eyes on me when I got down to my briefs. Turning around, I found her leaning against the doorway, her face free of makeup and her long hair tied up in a bun. “Hey,” I said softly. Pointing at the clothes on the bed, I added, “Got you something to wear.”
She walked over and picked up the shirt, but left the sweatpants where they were. Then she wordlessly walked back into the bathroom and closed the door with a gentle click.
