Frayed (Torn #2)(47)

Emma grinned at me before she took a long gulp of her champagne. “Love the master plan. Bass will definitely be pissed off. The angrier he gets, the more he will want to prove a point in bed, and I want that all night long.”

“You’re bad, Emma.” I was grinning from ear to ear , though.

Her eyes lit up with a knowing smile. “I know, right? But damn, he’s made me into this starved woman—sexually, emotionally, mentally. It’s scary, really, but I can’t stop wanting him. It’s been going for two months now, yet each time he touches me, it feels like it’s the first time. I keep thinking, what happens when he’s got his fill of me? He’s got so many options out there, Tris and these women are much more sexually experienced and prettier than me.” The light in her eyes was gone, and she seemed perturbed.

“You knew the downside of dating him, Em. Don’t let this get to you. Once this movie releases, he’ll be fighting the men off you, too. Give yourself a little credit, Doll. You’re just not a normal, pretty, beach babe. You’re so f*uking stunning it makes me want to barf looking at you sometimes.” Emma looked like she didn’t believe me. “Okay, of all of us women, you got Carter on his knees right now, begging for you. Hell, that man would strip naked playing football if you asked him to. Not to mention you’ve got Bass Cole getting all possessive because your skirt is too short. Tell me, aren’t you the luckiest bitch in town or what?”

She snorted at that, shaking her head. “Carter playing football naked would be awesome.” She cleared her throat and stopped walking. “I dreamt of him last night, Tris. That’s never happened since I started things with Bass. It’s that damn ring. I think it’s making me doubt everything. It’s making me think that what I have with Bass is only temporary.”

Yikes. “Did you ever think of getting back with him after the boathouse? Be honest with me.”

Emma studied the champagne bottle before she finally managed to speak. “Yeah, I was close to accepting him back, again. I was happy to leave for Greece because it let me off the hook of having to make a decision about getting back with him. Now I realize that I want to be with Bass more than Carter and he starts messing with my head. I just don’t appreciate it when Carter does that. He loves doing it, too.”

“That’s Carter for you—” I was going to say more but she interrupted me.

“What made you leave him? I knew if you had your way, you wouldn’t have. I won’t tell Lindsey, but you have to tell me. You have to talk to someone. You’re fake smiles aren’t convincing me anymore, Babe.” The angelic face gave me a serious look.

Shit, she tricked me. She brought us out here to confront me. Damn it, very sneaky, indeed. “We’re at a club somewhere in Santorini and you want to talk about my problems?” I tried to play it off, but she wasn’t buying it.

Emma glared at me before she pointed us towards an empty, nautical-striped cabana. “I don’t care if we’re in the Vatican. I would still ask you the same question. Now spill or I will dog you all weekend.”

“Damn it, Emma. This is not funny,” I whined and tried to look irritated, but her unwavering cool stare didn’t falter. Oh, f*uk it. I sighed and closed my eyes, trying to calm my nerves. Emma was going to be the first person I was going to confide in. This was a major deal to me. I knew talking about it would make it more real—it would finally be out there—another person would know my dirty dark secret. “I was pregnant. Harry asked me to terminate it. He—”

“Oh God! Trista! All this time, you’ve been carrying this burden. Why didn’t you tell me?” Emma was hugging me like she didn’t want to let me go. “I’m so sorry for not being there for you. I feel like a total selfish shithead. I was complaining about my life while yours was much worse than mine.”

That made me laugh. “Trust me, your love life’s a pretty good distraction.”

She pulled away and trapped my face with her palms. “Really, though, are you okay?” Her thumbs wiped the small tears that gathered in the corners of my eyes.

“Yes and no. There are days that are good, but there are those that are really hard to get through. Being here with you all has helped me. Having a friend like you helps, too. I will tell Amber and Lindsey together, I can’t break this to Lindsey right now. I’m not strong enough to broach the subject just yet.”

A sad smile formed on her lips. “Take all the time you need. Just know that you’re not alone in this, Babe. I’m here to go through this with you.”

I gave a small nod, trying to smile. “Thank you. Okay, enough. If I don’t get my shit together, I will look like a hot mess. I can’t believe you did this in Santorini, Emma Anderson!”

“You look good, Tris. Let’s finish our bottles and spin on those poles. It’s been awhile. We might be rusty, but it’ll be a blast.” She tapped her bottle to mine in a silent toast before we finished the damned, thousand Euro, French bubbles.

Emma worked fast coaxing those short shorts out of the girls. We slipped those teeny looking scraps of lycra Lycra on over our underwear, underneath our skirts. She also had one of the managers, poor besotted bastard, eating out of her palm when she batted her long lashes and those baby blues. She was able to convince him to not only let us dance, but to play our favorite workout song—Creator by Santigold—too. Emma, wired with alcohol in her system, was something else entirely. I loved watching her come out of her usually composed shell.