Emma: You’re impossible. Night, Jesse. <3 Me: Night.
I smiled at the little heart that she’d put at the end. I knew it was stupid, but I couldn’t help it. It wasn’t like I’d ever admit to her that it made me happy. I still had some guy pride after all.
I didn’t know where things between us were going, but I wanted to find out.
I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to act around Emma at school. I knew that we had to keep our friendship quiet from her mother, so I assumed that we had to act like nothing had changed over the weekend. It sucked, but I understood why she needed to keep things quiet. She was trying to protect both of us from her mom. I’d never met the woman, and I didn’t want to. Emma was the type who liked everyone, and the resentment she had for her mother told me all I needed to know about her.
I pulled into the parking lot and stepped out of my Jeep right as Emma was pulling in. I started walking slowly toward the school, giving her a chance to catch up to me if she wanted to. Sure enough, I heard footsteps behind me a few seconds later. I looked over at her as she caught up to me.
“Hey.”
She grinned. “Hey. How was your weekend?”
“Kind of boring.”
“Oh, really? Nothing exciting?”
“Nope, just the usual. I took some hot girl to the beach and tried to teach her how to surf, but she was just like all the others. She kept getting distracted by my abs, so she kept falling off the board. It was actually kind of funny just how clumsy she was. She did have one thing going for her though.”
“And what was that?”
“She looked way better in a bikini than most girls.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear she had that at least.”
This teasing was fun. I was always stressed with school or my mom’s money situation, and Emma could make all of that disappear with just a smile.
“So, how was your weekend?” I asked.
“It was fun. I met this hot surfer guy, but he ended up being this egomaniac who I couldn’t stand. He even kissed me without my permission.”
“What a douche bag.”
“He was.”
I pulled her off the sidewalk to a spot where it wasn’t so out in the open.
I looked around to make sure no one was watching. When I was sure that we were safe, I leaned in closer and whispered into her ear, “It’s too bad that you think he was a douche bag.”
“Why is that?” she whispered back.
I ran my tongue along her ear, and she shuddered.
“Because if you liked him, he could do that and so much more.” “What else does he have in mind?” she asked breathlessly.
I stepped back and grinned. “He can get pretty creative when he wants to.”
I wasn’t one of those guys who was with a different girl every night, but I did have experience when it came to sex. I’d been with a handful of girls since I started high school, and I’d learned a lot about girls and what they wanted. I had no idea how experienced Emma was, but I knew that I wanted to find out.
“Emma! What are you doing over there?” a voice shouted from a few feet away.
I stepped away from Emma just as Lucy was walking up to us. Her eyes widened as she noticed me standing there, too.
“Oh, hi, Jesse. I didn’t see you there.”
“Hey, Lucy,” I said casually. That girl has the worst timing.
“We were just...talking,” Emma said lamely.
She needed to learn to lie better if she planned to keep me as her dirty little secret.
Lucy grinned. “What were you talking about? It must have been something good because you’re blushing.” “Uh...” Emma started.
“I was asking Emma if she could help me with an assignment Ms. Mason assigned to us,” I lied flawlessly.
Lucy studied me carefully. “You know, you’re an excellent liar. If Emma wasn’t six shades of red, I would have believed you.”
I grinned. “Maybe she was blushing because she was nervous around me.”
Emma snorted. “Ego much?”
“We’d better get to class.” I stepped back onto the sidewalk and started walking toward the school.
Emma and Lucy followed behind me, and I could hear Lucy whispering to Emma.
“When we’re alone, you’re so telling me what just happened.”
I rolled my eyes as I made my way through the doors and down the hall to the classroom. There was no way that Emma could lie to Lucy. Hopefully, Lucy could be trusted not to blab to the rest of the school.
I ignored Emma through first period since Lucy kept watching us. I didn’t want to make Lucy anymore suspicious than she already was in case Emma was going to try to lie to her.
Emma was forced to ignore me in second period because Todd was keeping her attention on him as he passed note after note to her. I gritted my teeth every time one fell on her desk. I was sitting right beside her, and I couldn’t do a damn thing about it.