“I don’t want to get involved, Jones. Not more than I am.”
“I understand. I’m on my own, then.” He smiles. “Can you have lunch with me today? I promise I won’t tell Ryan.”
I adjust my backpack. “I think we should keep our distance, okay? I have enough going on.”
Jones smiles. “I completely understand.”
***
Lucy and I are in the quiet room, and she’s meditating again. I think my life might be overwhelming her. It’s been an hour since I told her what transpired since our last session. “Lucy,” I whisper.
“Shh!” she hisses, not opening her eyes.
“Lucy, I can’t sit anymore. I’m bored,” I whine. I’ve counted the white polka dots on her pink sweater three times now.
She opens one eye and then the other. “I’m waiting on some deep wisdom to hit me, but I’ve got nothing, girl. What am I going to do with you?”
“I don’t even know what to do with myself.”
My phone chimes, and Lucy smirks. “Is that Lover boy again? He’s been texting you all day.”
“I told you to quit calling him that,” I scold, pulling my phone from my pocket. “Sully’s out front.”
Lucy smirks. “I thought you’d be more excited that Lover boy’s here.”
I roll my eyes. “He’s only here because of Jones.”
“Because he doesn’t want you getting hurt by Jones,” she corrects. “He cares about you.”
Reading another text, my eyebrows shoot up. “He says I have five minutes to come outside or he’s coming in.”
“Lover boy means business. You should totally wait six minutes.”
I laugh, getting to my feet. “I don’t think so. It’s three o’clock, anyway. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I came late, so gonna hang for another hour or so. My grandma’s picking me up. I’m spending the night at her house. And we’re off tomorrow. We have the same days off as the public school in this district to make it easier for parents that have kids in public as well as Sudbury. Public is off for teacher meetings, so I’ll see you Wednesday.”
“Right, Wednesday. See you then.” I slip out and hold in a groan. Jones is leaning against the wall right outside the room. Pretending not to notice him, I keep my gaze straight ahead as I hurry past.
“Hey, Emma. Wait up.”
I shake my head as Jones jogs down the hall to catch up with me. “What?” I huff, not stopping.
“You leaving? Need a ride?”
“Sully’s here, so you better not be anywhere near me when I walk out the door.” Jones grins and I frown. “You do have a death wish.”
He laughs. “No, but whatever Sully sees will get back to Ryan.”
I roll my eyes as I push the door open with Jones following way too close. Because I knew he had a death wish, he throws his arm over my shoulders as we walk down the steps. Sully’s parked right in front of the school and looking at us. I shrug Jones off and gently elbow him. “You’re stupid, Jones,” I mumble. “Go.”
He doesn’t leave, but he stops walking when we get to the bottom step. Sully’s fully out of the truck now, scowl on his face, fists tightly clenched. Jones is making my life more complicated. I walk up to Sully and place my hand on his upper arm. “Hey,” I whisper.
Sully doesn’t acknowledge me. His fists are clenched so tight, his knuckles are white. He’s so pissed. He moves to walk around me, but I stop him with a firmly placed hand on his shoulder. “Sully,” I say forcefully. “Look at me.” He doesn’t, and I can see he’s on the verge of losing control. “Sully,” I say again, this time gripping his jaw.
“He touched you. He knows better than to touch or talk to you,” Sully grinds out, still not looking at me. “Get out of the way, Emma.”
I can’t let him do this. If he fights Jones, the cops will be called. Jones might even be vindictive enough to press charges to get back at Ryan. I grasp the back of Sully’s neck, pulling him down to meet my lips. I can feel how tense he is, how ready to fight he is.
Slipping my tongue between his lips, I feel him soften just a bit, and then his hands come to my waist, pulling me against him. Our tongues tangle, and his hand moves to the back of my head, fisting my hair, and angling my head to deepen the kiss. My body ignites all over.
He pulls away, looking like he wants to devour me. “What was that for?”
“You needed a distraction,” I say breathlessly.
He licks his bottom lip and smirks. “That’s what I called you the first time we met.”
“I remember.” I laugh lightly. “You told your friend you got distracted, and that’s how I introduced myself to him, the distraction. Who was that guy to you?”
“Gary. He’s sorta a mentor.”
“Mentor?”
“He was assigned to me in ninth grade through a mentor program. We’ve been meeting once a month since then.” He looks over my shoulder. “Jones is gone.”
I step back. “He only walked out with me to piss you off.”
“It worked.” He grabs my hand. “Come on.”
“Back to Arden’s?”
He shakes his head. “Not yet.” He smirks. “And feel free to distract me anytime.”
I blush, getting into the truck. As the truck slowly rolls forward, I look out the window, trying to see where Jones ran off to, but he’s gone.
Sully turns off the radio. “Jones didn’t bother you at all today?”
“No, but he confirmed the video wasn’t me. He’s only at Sudbury High to make Ryan mad. Did you know his sister went to a treatment facility and not Europe?”
“No. What treatment facility?” Sully asks, glancing over at me.
“He said she tried to kill herself.”
“Damn. That’s fucked up. Does he think Ryan had something to do with that, or what?”
“He said Ryan turned everyone against her, had everyone calling her a whore. He did that to me too,” I say.
“Are you taking Jones’s side?”
“I’m not taking sides. I’m just saying maybe Ryan isn’t innocent in this. He should talk to Jones.”
“I think I should talk to Jones,” Sully mumbles.
“I don’t think you’d be doing much talking. Fighting isn’t going to solve anything.” I sigh. “I don’t want to talk about Jones anymore. How was class?”
“I had to stop by the house to grab a book this morning and Arden was there.”
“How was he?”
“He thinks the drugs in the car were yours or ours.”
“He wants me to leave, doesn’t he?” I brace myself for the answer.
“No.” Sully shoots me a look like I should know that. “He’s not the type of person to turn his back on anyone. He’s a fixer. He was talking about family counseling, rehab, or moving. He needs time to cool down. We’ll go back in a few days.”
Sully parks his truck next to Ryan’s car outside the garage. I wonder if Silex’s parents care that we’re staying here? Smelling barbeque, I look up and see Silex, Ryan, and Brent on the porch with smoke from a grill billowing around them.
As Sully and I walk up the steps, I hear Ryan cursing about burnt food.
“What made you guys think you could grill?” Sully asks, laughing.
“You and Dad do it,” Ryan says. “It didn’t look hard.”
Sully waves Ryan away. “Go get the meat and I’ll take over.”
A pile of charred burgers and hotdogs sit next to the grill. Brent’s picking through the pile, his nose wrinkled.
I pull my phone from my pocket. “Robbie and Ben are almost here. I forgot we’re going to the movies.”
“But we’re grilling,” Silex says, holding a beer out to me. “Stay.”
“I can’t. Maybe next time.” I head inside to drop my bag off and grab a jacket. Ryan hands me a plate of uncooked hotdogs and asks me to take them out to Sully on my way back outside. I set the plate next to the grill. “I’ll see you guys later.”
“We’ll
save you some barbeque,” Brent says.
Sully catches my wrist as I’m about to walk back down the stairs. Lowering his mouth to my ear, he whispers, “Call me if you need anything. I mean it, Emma.”
His hot breath against my ear has my body reacting. It’s so easy to get worked up around him. I turn my head to look into his eyes. “I’ll be fine,” I say softly.
He releases my wrist, and with weak legs and dirty thoughts, I walk down the steps.
Chapter 29
Holding my phone light out in front of myself, I walk up the stairs, hoping the door isn’t locked. It looks like all the lights are off, which is odd because it’s only nine-thirty. I twist the knob and the door opens.
“You’re back.”
Sully’s shirtless and lying on the couch, his hands braced behind his head. The only light in the room is a soft blue light coming from the fish tank.
“Where is everyone?” I ask as I shut the door.
“Party. How was the movie?”
I step closer, trying not to gawk at his perfectly sculpted chest or notice how his biceps look so much bigger in that position. “It was good. We went back to Robbie’s after and hung out. “Did I wake you?”
He shakes his head. “No.”
“Okay. I guess I’m going to head to bed. See you tomorrow.”
“Night,” Sully says softly.
I shuffle past him to the office and shut the door. I drop down on the air mattress, kicking off my shoes and jeans. It doesn’t take me long to fall asleep.
***
“Emma. Hey, Emma. Wake up.”
I open my eyes to soft light and Sully leaning over me, his face twisted in concern. I place my hand over my heart as I work to slow my breathing. The dream felt so real.
“You okay?”
“No,” I whisper, squeezing my eyes shut and begging the tears not to fall. Sully gently strokes my hair as I work on calming down, but I can’t clear the memories from my mind. “Sully, please,” I say, pulling him down to my lips for a kiss: a distraction.
His lips are soft and warm. I slip my arms around him, gently pulling. He takes the hint and settles his body between my legs. He kisses me softly, one hand holding up his weight while the other grips my hip.
He moves, positioning us so that we’re lying on our side, bodies pressed together. His leg slips between mine. My sex is pressed firmly against his thigh, making me want to rock my hips.
I run my hands over the hard muscles of his chest. I want to feel my skin against his. Hooded hazel eyes watch me as I pull my shirt off. He dips his head, moving the fabric of my bra to the side to capture my nipple between his wet lips while brushing his fingertips across the other. His tongue caresses a circular pattern while his fingertips on my other breast mimic the movement, and I feel like I’m going to explode.
After another minute of delicious torture, I reach my hand to gently stroke him over his gym shorts. He feels thick and long, and I want his damn shorts off. I tug, trying to pull them down. He chuckles and slips them off.
He lies on his back, pulling me with him so that I’m straddling him. Holy shit, he’s so hard beneath me. Sully pulls me down so that we are chest to chest. He kisses me softly, and my body takes over, rocking back and forth.
“Fuck, Emma,” Sully growls, gripping my ass to move me faster against him.
Too nervous to tell him that I want to have sex with him, I move my hand to the waistline of his boxers, tugging them down.
He breaks contact with my mouth. “You sure?”
I nod. “I’m sure, and I’m on birth control. That’s why I was talking to the doctor.” I don’t tell him that now that I know I’m not deformed down there, I’m finally free to have sex with someone I care about.
He changes positions so that I’m lying on my back with him on his side next to me. Sully kisses me deeply, his fingertips skim the edges of my underwear before slipping inside. My face heats up in embarrassment over how wet I am. That can’t be normal.
“You feel so good, Emma. So perfect,” he whispers against my lips as he dips a finger into me.
I arch my back, panting as he slowly moves his finger in and out. He peppers soft kisses against my neck, his palm rubbing the most sensitive part of me while his finger moves in and out. I can feel myself getting even wetter, but he doesn’t seem to mind.
My feet and legs begin to tingle. I ride Sully’s hand harder; all my muscles feel warm, and then there’s a pleasurable tingling that travels down my spine to where the palm of Sully’s hand is moving back and forth. He dips his head, his tongue flicking my nipple over and over.
I squeeze my eyes shut. “Sully,” I moan, not knowing what I need but knowing I need something. “Sully,” I say again until my body explodes into a burning pulsing inferno. I can feel myself contracting around the finger inside me. I’m unable to move, only to feel. I take in a breath of air and open my eyes.
“Feel good?” he asks with a lazy smile.
“That… that was… amazing. That was…”
He chuckles. “An orgasm.” With a lopsided grin and narrowed eyes, he says, “You’ve had one before, right?”
I move my head from side to side. “No. Wow. I can see why people do this so often.”
Sully laughs. “Yeah.”
“How’d you know how to do that?” Grinning, I cover my hand over my mouth. “I’m sorry. That was a stupid question.”
Sully traces his fingers around my belly button. “It’s not a stupid question, but do you really want me to answer it?”
I shake my head. “No. I think I can figure out how you know.” I lean over, kissing him. Pulling away and running my fingertips over the bulge in his boxers, I ask, “Do you not want to anymore?”
“Oh, I want to,” he says, pressing my hand firmly against his dick. “You can feel how much I want to. I want you to be sure, though.” He kisses the top of my head, pulling me against him. “Next time,” he whispers.
“Next time,” I whisper back, feeling boneless and satisfied. His fingertips skim up and down my bare back as I drift to sleep in his arms.
***
I wake with a jolt. The blanket brushing against my bare stomach lets me know that last night wasn’t a dream. I peek under the blanket, and yep, I’m only in my pink bra and underwear. I’m alone in bed. Sully probably split after I fell asleep, not wanting the guys to see him coming out of my room in the morning.
I slip into the bathroom and get ready for the day. My damp hair leaves wet marks on the light-blue long-sleeved top I’m wearing, so I towel dry it one more time before walking into the kitchen. Sully and Ryan are sitting at the bar, eating waffles.
“Morning, or should I say afternoon,” Sully says grinning. “Sleep good?”
I blush. “I slept great. Did you?”
“Mm, next to you, I did.”
I instantly look to Ryan and see him roll his eyes, but he doesn’t comment.
“Come here,” Sully says, grabbing my hips and pulling me between his thighs. He brings my mouth to his, kissing me softly, and then pulls away. “Hungry?”
I’m so thrown off that I just stand there staring at him. Sully stabs a piece of waffle and then holds the fork out to me, indicating I should take a bite. I do, barely tasting the syrupy waffle as I swallow it.
“If you guys are going to start feeding each other, I’m going back to bed,” Ryan says.
“Sit down, Emma. I’ll make you a plate,” Sully says, pulling out the chair next to his as he gets up to put frozen waffles into the toaster.
“Sully told me about Jones,” Ryan says. “I didn’t turn everyone against Miranda. She did that to herself.”
I narrow my eyes. “How’d she do that to herself?”
“She told people about hooking up with us even though I told her to keep her mouth shut.” He shrugs. “Most people can’t comprehend consensual sex between multiple people. When everyone found out she was hooking up with me, Silex, and Brent, rumors started.”
“Miranda didn’t seem fazed by what people were saying about her. It was almost like she wanted people talking about it. She even posted some risqué pics of us online.”
“You guys all had sex at the same time?” I look away. “Never mind. None of my business.”
He rolls his eyes. “Yes, Emma, we all fucked Miranda at the same time.”
“Okay… but how?” I clamp my mouth shut. I shouldn’t have asked him that.
“I’m not a sex educator. Jesus. Look it up.”
“I know, sorry,” I mumble.
“I’ll tell you,” Silex says, slipping into the chair next to mine. “Or we can show you.”
He smells like aftershave and limes. He tucks a piece of hair behind my ear, and I blush.
“Fuck off, Si. That’s not happening,” Ryan growls.
“Waffles and orange juice,” Sully says, setting them down in front of me. “And, Silex, you better move before I break your fucking nose.”
“This is my house,” Silex says. “If I want to fuck Emma in it—” He laughs, stumbling out of the chair as Sully comes around the counter. “Okay, shit. She’s all yours. You can have all the boring one-person sex.” Silex backs away.
Sully, looking aggravated, takes Silex’s seat. I keep my eyes on my plate as I eat so that nobody will see I’m a little bit turned on. Two guys would mean two orgasms. Silex and Sully both tasting and touching me—it’s a nice fantasy.
“Miranda had to go to some mental place, and Jones thinks it’s our fault,” Ryan says, getting up from his chair to sit next to Silex on the couch.
“She got out and didn’t come home. Jones hasn’t heard from her,” I tell them over my shoulder.
“Well, he can fuck off,” Silex says. “All she talked about was moving away once summer was over. She hated her parents. He can blame them.”
“He’s going to keep fucking with Emma to get back at Ryan,” Sully says.
“He didn’t fuck with her yesterday,” Silex says. “Sounds like he’s full of shit.”
Bullies Love and Lies Page 21
