Facing The Enemy

by M. E. Clayton

  Ramsey was beyond livid. “Do not fuck with me, Emerson! What the fuck are you doing here?!”

  “Ram, dude,” Liam intervened. “Why don’t you take her…” Liam didn’t get to finish.

  Before I knew it, Ramsey was hauling me up out of the chair and dragging me across the dance floor. I looked back and saw Liam and Deke taking a seat with Roselyn. None of them were following us to ensure we didn’t kill each other. Or rather, making sure he didn’t kill me.

  Ramsey dragged me through the club and past the restrooms to an open alcove that lead to some storage room or offices; I didn’t know.

  He threw me into the nook of the wall, caging me in between his arms with my back against the wall. “Tell me why?” he demanded.

  “Why, what?” I asked, glowering at him.

  “I honestly didn’t expect you to show up at the party, Emerson. I had hoped, but deep down I knew you were going to defy me,” he told me honestly. “But why did you come here? Why, here, of all places?”

  I can admit I didn’t fully understand his tone. I knew he would be irritated that I hadn’t followed his command to attend the party, but what did he care if I came to club? “What’s wrong with this club?”

  “Why did you come here?!” he roared, and I knew he must be holding on by a thread.

  I straightened my back. “Roselyn suggested it,” I snapped back.

  His brows shot straight up. “Roselyn wanted to bring you here?” he asked, incredulously.

  I bit my bottom lip and shrugged a shoulder. “Well, not here, specifically, I don’t think,” I caved and explained. I didn’t care what Ramsey thought of me, but I didn’t want him causing any problems for Roselyn. “There’s a guy she sees, and I think they meet up here some-”

  “So, you’re not here to hook up with anyone?”

  “What?” What the hell is he talking about?

  “Have you been with anyone else?” he asked, his jaw ticking in the worst way, and it finally dawned on me that Ramsey thought I was here to pick up some dick.

  The wise thing would have been to say no. The wise thing would have been to swallow my pride and just admit that I wanted him. The wise thing would have just been to give in and work this dangerous attraction out of our systems. But did I do the wise thing?

  Uh, that would be a big, fat NO.

  “That’s none of your business,” I spewed, instead.

  The next thing I knew, his hand was holding my jaw and he was squeezing until I thought it was going to pop out of place. “That’s where you’re wrong, Emerson,” he said, looming over me. “It’s very much my business. You’re my business. And I already told you not to test me when it comes to you and other guys.”

  I couldn’t speak because of the hold he had on my jaw, so I just stared him down until he released my face. His touch was bound to leave some bruising. “You’re not my boyfriend, Ramsey. That means I can touch, kiss or fuck whoever I want.”

  After a few seconds of silence, Ramsey started punching the wall next to my head and it took everything I had to stand there and trust that his violence would be limited to the club’s structure.

  He stopped when his hand was a right, bloody mess and then he stepped away from me. With his chest heaving, his eyes blazing and his hate palpable, he said, “Do you really want me to leave you alone, Emerson?”

  I blinked in surprise at his question. His voice was beyond control and in complete contrast to his physical demeanor. I wanted to say no. I wanted to tell him I didn’t want him to ever leave me alone, but this was a game. This was a game to him, and I wasn’t going to go down without a fight, so I said, “Yes.”

  Ramsey nodded his head once then demanded, “Say the words, Emerson.”

  All of the sudden my mouth was dry, and my throat didn’t seem to want to work. It took a bit of effort, but I finally got my lips to work. “I want you to leave me alone, Ramsey.”

  “Okay,” he calmly replied. I watched in stunned fascination as he turned away from me and walked back down the hallway out towards the club.

  I quickly followed him back to my table where he just jerked his head towards Liam and Deke, who got up wordlessly, and followed Ramsey out of the club.

  My ass had barely hit the seat when Roselyn asked, “What the hell happened?”

  I looked into her anxious face. “I think I just fucked up, Roselyn.”

  In fact, I was pretty certain I had.

  Chapter 15

  Ramsey

  I was already sitting in the back of the classroom when Emerson walked through the door of first period. I hadn’t waited for her in the parking lot. I hadn’t waiting for her by our lockers-which I would have hers moved again, by the end of the day. I didn’t acknowledge her at all.

  I was afraid I would kill her if I did.

  The only reason I had walked away from her Friday night at Club Pounce was because I’ve never been driven to the brink of violence like that so quickly and so blindingly.

  Sure, I’ve had my fair share of fights and I’ve known that sort of loss of temper, but I’ve always been more of a cold, calculating opponent. Emerson was making me lose all my cool. She was pulling such heated rage out of me and I didn’t know what to do with it all.

  I knew what I wanted to do with it, though. I wanted to fuck it out of my system and into her tight, curvy body. But she was turning out to be tougher than I had given her credit for.

  Emerson Andrews had enough pride and backbone for a hundred men.

  And, yeah, it sucked to hear her tell me to leave her alone, but I wasn’t too upset about it. Mainly because I knew she had been lying. The last thing Emerson wanted was for me to leave her alone. But we were at the stage in the game where whoever caved would be living for the other on their knees.

  And it wasn’t going to be me.

  I would never get on my knees for anyone.

  When we had left the club Friday night, I had stopped to talk with Kyle and had told him that if I found out Emerson was in the company of another guy while in the club, I’d be back to burn the fucking place down.

  He had quickly assured me that she would be taken care of. When we had exited, Beck had stopped me and asked if the rumor was true that Emerson was mine.

  Not giving a fuck what she had just told me minutes earlier, I had confirmed the rumor and told him the same thing I had told Kyle. Beck had just reiterated what Kyle had said inside.

  Me, Liam and Deke had never gone back to the party. We had all went to my place where we drank ourselves stupid and cursed the creation of woman.

  I had spent Saturday and Sunday hanging out with Deke and Liam.

  And Saturday and Sunday night jacking off to Emerson in that goddamn outfit she had worn to the club.

  Last night I decided to up the stakes. I needed Emerson to cave. And I needed her to cave before I lost my rabid ass mind.

  I watched Emerson as her eyes glanced up to the empty seat next to me and I could see the hesitation play across her features. She finally walked over to an empty seat in the front and sat down without sparing me another glance.

  It was hard as fuck, but I managed to ignore her and pay attention to Mrs. Guiles. But all the swiveling heads didn’t escape my notice, as students kept looking back and forth between me and Emerson, no doubt wondering why she wasn’t sitting with me.

  As soon as the bell rang, Emerson had grabbed her stuff and walked out of class. I stayed planted in my seat, as if I had all the time in the world, even though my body screamed to go after her.

  I was finally gathering my stuff when Bailey approached me. “Trouble in paradise?” she smirked.

  I shrugged a shoulder and stared down the steps. “I don’t know what you mean,” I replied, coolly.

  She was still talking to me, so her voice carried to the other students still present in class. “I think you do,” she taunted. “Did you finally realize that she’s nothing but a gold-digging whore?”

  Christ, Bailey was nothing but a jealous vipe
r. I wanted to destroy her for daring to speak about Emerson that way, but her green-eyed jealousy worked in my favor right now. “She’s nothing, Bailey,” I responded. “In fact, she’s such a nothing that I couldn’t care less what anyone does to her or with her.” I noticed remaining kids linger back in class had gone deathly still. “She can fuck whoever she wants, Bailey. The Emerson game turned out not to be that much fun,” I added, knowing my words were going to spread like wildfire.

  I had decided last night that, if Emerson wasn’t going to come to heel, then I was going to have to force the issue. Once everyone learned that she was no longer under my protection, their true feelings about her would start to come out. With the exception of Roselyn, no one else spoke to Emerson, so it would be an interesting development to watch.

  The girls would unleash their claws, no doubt, and the guys…well, I knew the guys would try to fuck her and that was the only tricky part about my plan to make Emerson see that she needed me and my protection.

  I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to stand around and watch guys hit on her is if I was unaffected by it all.

  The entire school would probably come to the same conclusion as Bailey and assume that Emerson was nothing but a gold-digging slut, or that I gotten into her pants and I was done with her. She wouldn’t be the first girl that I’ve ever slept with and then cut off the next day.

  I strode through the school halls until I reached my locker. She was nowhere to be seen, and like a fucking pussy, I wondered if she was upset about not sitting next to me in class.

  I had to get through second and third period with her and then fourth and lunch would give me room to breathe without her.

  I was shuffling my books around in my locker, looking for my American History textbook, when Deke threw his shoulder up against his locker next to mine, arms folded, regarding me. “They’re already talking shit, Ram,” he said, dryly.

  Deke and Liam actually liked Emerson. I hadn’t asked for or needed their approval when I decided to pursue her, but it helped that I had it. Deke and Liam had personalities similar to mine…well, without the genuine desire for violence, but they were both strong men; forceful and domineering. So, they were able to appreciate Emerson’s fight.

  I grabbed the textbook I was looking for, shut my locker and turned to him. “I figured.”

  Deke grimaced. “It’s bad, though, Ram,” he elaborated. “Your interest in her has caused a hate storm like you wouldn’t believe. Fuck, even some guys are jealous of her.”

  My feet started moving and Deke walked down the hallway with me. “That’s fucking stupid. Everyone knows I’m straight, Deke.”

  “It’s not about that, Ram,” he went on. “Everyone wants to be where me and Liam are, and after years and years of trying, no one has been able to make their way in. Then, all of the sudden, this girl shows up and she’s in without even wanting to be in.” Deke let out a low whistle. “People are losing their goddamn minds over it, Ram.”

  I understood the point he was trying to make. Jealousy came in all forms, not just sexual jealousy. When you want something so badly-doesn’t matter what it is, and someone else has it…that’s enough to spark the fires of jealousy.

  “It’ll be fine,” I replied.

  Deke stopped in his tracks, forcing me to stop with him to hear what he had to say. “Are you seriously telling me that you’re going to be able to stand by and let people treat her like shit? You’re going to throw her to the wolves and just stand back and watch them feast on her?”

  I couldn’t help my laugh. His concern was amusing. How many times has Emerson used the sheep reference on me? Even when I first saw her, the analogy was the first thought I had. Emerson is a wolf amongst sheep, and this little experiment was just designed to make her realize she was outnumbered and needed the shepherd just to give her peace. No real harm is going to come to her. Something told me that verbal taunts wouldn’t put a dent in her armor. Plus, I was pretty sure that even if it got physical, Emerson could kick some ass.

  “It’ll be fine, Deke,” I tried to reassure him. “Emerson’s not some weak bitch who’ll be sent to the principal’s office in tears.”

  He shook his head at me and resumed walking. “You hardly know her, Ramsey. How can you accurately judge how much is too much for her?”

  My nerves rankled at his comment about me hardly knowing Emerson. Logically, I knew he was right, but emotionally I felt like he was way off base.

  I might not know Emerson in the traditional sense, but I felt her.

  I felt her.

  I compromised. “Fine,” I tell him. “If you come across a situation where you think she might be in actual danger, step in. Tell Liam to do the same.”

  Deke nodded then took a left down the hallway to his second period. I turned right and wondered if he might be right. I knew the kids here could be ruthless, but I was banking on Emerson reaching her point of irritation and calling on me for help, before anything serious happened.

  Because anything happening to Emerson would be bad.

  Very bad.

  Chapter 16

  Emerson

  Ramsey ignored me all morning long, and it wasn’t long before I realized why.

  He was teaching me a lesson.

  He was throwing down a challenge.

  When I told him to leave me alone Friday night, he was putting my convictions to the test.

  At first, I thought he was going to just fade off into the night and I’d be able to live the rest of my Windsor Academy existence in peace, but I was proven wrong pretty quickly.

  It started after first period when I skipped my locker and headed straight to second period. Students started making snide remarks as I passed, and they were making no effort to lower their voices or even pretend not to be talking about me.

  A random ‘slut’ here and ‘what a whore’ there.

  By the time lunch time had rolled around, people were flat out laughing with me. Girls were being catty, and guys were being sleazy.

  Roselyn’s body jostled mine as she dropped her weight on the picnic bench next to me. It was lunch time, but my appetite was nonexistent.

  It wasn’t the name calling or the overaggressive overtures of the guys that had me ill at ease. It was a tiny seed of anxiety resting in the pit of my stomach that was telling me something bad was going to happen.

  Ramsey, Liam and Deke were completely ignoring me, and their avoidance felt like the calm before a storm. Their obvious disregard for me felt like a huge bull’s eye on my back. I knew they ruled the school and me falling out of favor with them was a signal to everyone else that I was beyond not welcomed.

  “You sure you want to sit here?” I asked Roselyn.

  She snorted, completely unfazed. She snapped open her soda can and asked, “Do you honestly believe I care if these people like me or not?”

  I turned back to my lunch. “I guess not,” I replied, dryly.

  “Besides, I can think of worse things to be called besides a whore.” She took a drink of her soda and after swallowing, laughed, “Hell, I wish I had it in me to be a whore.”

  An unattractive laugh blurted out from my lips and I turned to her. “Why?”

  She looked at me and smiled, impishly. “Just imagine how much fun it would be to be a complete slut,” she said in wonder.

  My grin was from ear to ear. “By all means, explain it to me, ma’am.”

  “Oh, come on, Emerson,” she said dramatically, rolling her eyes. “There is no better feeling than a man’s hands on your body. I mean, when a guy has his hands on either side of your waist or hips…that’s the feeling of pure euphoria.”

  I thought back to the handful of times that Ramsey has his hands on me and I couldn’t necessarily disagree with her. The warmth seeping into my skin from the touch of his hands. The heat that traveled up and down my body when he pulled me towards him. Roselyn had a point.

  “How awesome would it be to experience that all the time with different guy
s,” she asked, still trying to convince me. “Imagine, Emer, always a new pair of hands exploring your body, a new pair of lips tasting you everywhere, and a different sized dick to bring a different experience each time.” She gave an exaggerated shiver as she went on with the pros of being a slut. “Discovering if he likes it fast, hard, slow, soft, dirty or clean…”

  I cocked my head at her. “Is there such a thing as clean sex?”

  She seemed to think about it for a second then her brows rose with the answer. “No kissing, no touching, no anything other than just bending you over, sticking it in you and catching all that mess in a nice, neat durable condom.”

  “What about the girl’s climax?”

  She huffed. “That experience was all for the guy. Trust me, a quick fuck like that…the girl isn’t going to cum. She’s going to have to finish herself off after he leaves.” I lasted only three seconds before I started laughing and she joined in.

  After we calmed down, I got serious. “Are you sure being my friend isn’t going to backfire on you? I mean, I know you don’t care, but I have a feeling this little battle of the wills between me and Ramsey is going to get worse before it finally comes to an end.”

  Roselyn’s silence lasted long enough that I thought she was trying to find a diplomatic way to tell me I was on my own. But it wasn’t until she spoke that I realized her deep thoughts were being centered around me and I was touched. “I agree,” she said. “I’ve never seen anyone go up against Ramsey Reed and I don’t think this is going to end well. But I’m not worried about me, Emerson. I’m protected by some degree. I’m worried about you.”

  My brows pulled together. “Why?”

  “Even though my mom married into it, I have money, status and an inherited last name to fight Ramsey if things ever got out of control. You don’t have support or back up.” She wasn’t wrong. “Your aunt took you in out of guilt but has no real responsibility towards you. She spends most of her time running around being the perfectly wealthy widow and Bailey hates you,” she points out. “If you go up against Ramsey Reed, you’re doing it alone.”