“Are you going to finish that sentence?”
I blow out a long breath and run my hand over my jaw “Shit, I really don’t know. I want her, Racer. I want her so bad, but I can’t seem to let the past go.”
“Sadie.” It’s one word but it means everything. He understands.
“Yeah.”
The whiney-bitch Racer disappears. “Tucker, it’s over, and you know I wouldn’t just say that. You have to move on, man. Easier said than done, I get that.” He sighs and says, “Fuck, fine, have your day with Emma, clear your head, enjoy the moment, but promise me something.”
I chuckle. “I didn’t know I had to get permission from you.”
“You always do. Remember that. Every major life decision goes through me.”
“Noted.”
“Good. Now that’s settled and I’m allowing you to abandon me on my day off, promise me this: you will take this day to actually enjoy yourself, enjoy Emma, and for one day, for twenty-four hours, forget the past and experience the present. Can you do that for me, penis breath?”
Jesus. I chuckle to myself and think about what he’s asking me. Twenty-four hours of forgetting everything behind me. Can I do that? Hell, I want to try. Maybe I’ll finally be able to breathe.
“Twenty-four hours? Easy.”
“Better be, especially with Emma at your side. Now hang up before I change my mind.”
“Enjoy your day off, don’t get too fat from Little Debbie.”
“Metabolism of a fucking god, dude. There is no fat on this body.”
Such a dickhead. I hang up the phone and snag a black sweater and my leather jacket from my closet and head downstairs. Emma’s door is closed so I give it a light knock.
“Come in.”
I already know she’s settled in for studying because her “calming candle” is lit and the scent started to float up the stairs to my bedroom. When I walk in, sure enough, she’s parked on her bed, legs crossed, hair over her shoulders and a highlighter in her mouth.
“Hey. What’re you doing?” It’s a stupid question, because it’s obvious, but I want to gather her attention.
When she looks up, her brows pinch together as she takes in my shirtless body. Waving a pen in my direction she asks, “Why aren’t you wearing a shirt?”
Not looking to be coy at all, I answer, “Because I have a question to ask you and thought it would be harder for you to say no if I wasn’t wearing a shirt.”
She snaps her book shut and sets it to the side. “You don’t play fair, Jameson.”
“Never claimed to.” I walk toward her bed and link our hands together, pulling her to her feet. Her eyes search mine as I say, “I want to get out of here for the day and I want your company.”
“But I have to study,” she replies weakly.
“Not an excuse.”
She laughs. “My student debt begs to differ.”
“Are you saying no?”
“I’m saying I have to study.”
Having zero shame, I place her hands on my chest and say, “But can’t you see that I’m asking you with no shirt on?”
“Yeah, and maybe if you took care of me yesterday in the kitchen instead of teasing me, your shirtless tactic might actually work on me. But I see through you, Tucker. You’re a ball of tease.”
Damn.
Plan B.
I take a step closer and start to move my hands up her back, getting ready to really make a move. I lean my head forward, lips wet, and ready when she palms my face, stopping my pursuit.
Strong-arming me away, she says, “Nice try, but your attempt has been blocked. Now, please excuse me while I get back to my books; at least they give me what I want.”
She’s playing hard to get. Fair enough, I deserve it.
“Yeah, and what do you want from me?” I link my thumbs in my belt loops, dipping my pants a little lower, it doesn’t go unnoticed by her.
She clears her throat and turns toward her books, settling on her bed again. “You know what I want from you.”
“Can you be clear? I tend to forget things.”
She eyes me for a second and shakes her head. “If you can’t remember what I want then there is no hope for us.”
I snap my finger and say, “Ah, you know what? I have a faint memory of your hard nipples rubbing against my chest. Does it have anything to do with that? Or the way my cock rubbed against your wet center? Didn’t think I noticed? Babe, I could feel your heat through your pajama pants.”
Her mouth falls open only to be quickly shut. “You did not.”
“I did. And I also heard you last night as you came around your vibrator.”
Once again, her mouth falls open, but this time her face blushes an embarrassing shade of red. Caught . . . jill-handed.
“No need to be shy about it, babe. It was hot, so hot that I jacked off to it.” I shrug and start to walk toward the door. Instead of teasing her, which only gets a good blush out of her, I try for honesty. “I really just wanted to spend a day with you, away from everything. Just you and me. But I get it, school comes first . . .”
I head out into the hallway when I hear her groan. “Fine, I’ll go if I can study in the car.”
I peek my head back into her bedroom and give her a big smile. “Deal. We leave in fifteen, babe.” I wink and head to the banister to don my shirt. She put up more of a fight than I expected, but hell, that was fun.
Twenty-four hours, I can do this, especially with Emma by my side.
***
“I thought you were going to be studying the whole way.” I tease Emma who’s had her head turned, looking out the window for the past ten minutes.
Huffing, she turns back to her book and says, “How am I supposed to study when there are so many pretty houses to look at?”
“You’re not. So put the book down and enjoy the view. What are you really going to retain in the next few minutes anyway? Sometimes it’s a good idea to rest the brain, babe. Have fun with me today, pick up the book tomorrow.”
She sighs heavily and caps her highlighter. She sets her book on the ground and says, “You’re a bad influence, you know that?”
I link our hands, pressing our palms together. “Nah, I’m good for your studious soul and you know it.” I playfully squeeze her hand. “Why doesn’t DJ Jazzy Nurse Tits find some good music for us? And when I say good music, I mean it. None of this One Direction crap.”
“Oh please, you like them.”
“I really don’t, but thanks for trying. Hook your phone up to my radio and play me the best you’ve got.”
“Hmm, okay.”
I glance over at her and I swear her smile stretches as wide as a Cheshire cat. What is she up to?
She takes a few minutes to flip through her phone. “Really taking your time there, aren’t you?”
“Just making sure I impress, that’s all. Can’t have DJ Jazzy Nurse Tits letting you down. Which by the way, I’m still not committed to that name.”
“Too bad I am.” I squeeze her knee, which causes her to buckle over and laugh. “Fuck, are you ticklish?”
“Badly.”
“Huh.” I can’t help my smile. “Looks like I can have fun with that later.”
“Go ahead,” she answers nonchalantly. “Hope you like getting kicked in the balls, because that’s what’s going to happen if you try to tickle me.”