Shattered Ties(20)

“Oh, shut up. We’re on the same level now. Seeing me get the crap knocked out of myself won’t change anything.”

“But it’ll make me laugh,” he said as he grinned at me.

“Sure, it will. What do I need to do, and when do you want to do this? I need time to get a board and stuff.”

“Don’t worry about the board. You can use my old one that I learned on.

As for when, I’m free tomorrow morning until two if you want to start then.”

Wow. That was a lot sooner than I’d expected. I wasn’t one to turn down a challenge though. “Sounds like a plan to me. What time do you want to start? And where should I meet you on the beach?” I asked.

“Let’s meet at eight. There won’t be a ton of people around, so you won’t have to worry about embarrassing yourself. The beach I surf at is only a few minutes from here.”

“Great, I can’t wait. Should I bring anything with me?” I asked.

“Nope, just yourself.” He gave me a devious smile. “And a bikini.”

I felt my cheeks heat, but I refused to look away from him. He was testing me, and I wasn’t about to lose this one.

“I think I can handle that.”

“I don’t doubt it.”

We talked about nothing in particular as we finished our food. While we didn’t get into anything personal, I felt like I could relate to Jesse a little bit better. The guy was smart, really smart. I could tell just by the way he talked. While he came off as easygoing and even a little wild, I didn’t think he was as bad as he seemed. Still, underneath the shaggy hair and tattoos, he was a force to be reckoned with. There was just something about him. Maybe it was the way he carried himself as if to say, “Don’t mess with me.”

When we were both done, Jesse pulled out his wallet and set a few bills on the table to cover our dinner. I grabbed my purse and followed him out to the parking lot. I stayed a few feet behind him, admiring his ass as he walked.

I couldn’t help it. I was only human.

The ride back to the school was quiet. As he pulled in next to my car, he turned to me.

“Well, this was fun. Thanks for inviting me,” I said.

“You’re welcome. I know it wasn’t five-star dining, but I like this place.” “Screw five stars. I have to wear a dress when we go to places like that.”

He laughed. “I wouldn’t mind seeing you in a dress sometime, preferably something short.”

I wasn’t sure if he was kidding or not, so I just smiled as I opened my door.

“Don’t forget. Eight o’clock sharp, or I’ll paddle out without you.”

I saluted him. “Yes, sir.”

He waved as I started my car, and pulled away. I watched him in my rearview mirror until I was out of the parking lot. I was going to have a lot of fun figuring Jesse out.



I groaned as I pulled my car into our garage. My mother’s car was inside, which meant she was home. Why me? I thought she’d told me that she would be gone until tomorrow, but I’d apparently heard her wrong. I’d had such a good day, and I didn’t want to deal with her tonight. She’d just ruin my mood.

I slipped out of my car and walked to the door that led inside the house. Maybe, just maybe, if I were quiet enough, she wouldn’t know that I’d made it home. I crept through the house and went up the stairs to my room. Just as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, I heard my mother’s bedroom door open.

“Emma, I see you made it home.”

Damn it. “Hi, Mom.”

“How was your day?” she asked.

What’s up with that? She never asked about my day. “Um, fine. Why?” “Can’t I ask how my daughter’s day was?” she huffed.

“Well, yeah, I guess. You just normally don’t.”

There was no use sugarcoating it. We both knew that she didn’t give a damn about how my day went unless it pertained to her. “Emma! That was very rude of you!” “Sorry,” I grumbled.

“I’m sure you are,” she said sarcastically. “I was talking to Todd’s mom today. She said the two of you went out last night. How did that go?”

And there it was. She didn’t give a damn about my day. She was simply fishing for information about Todd. His parents were one of the highly influential people who she chased after. The two of us together would be like a wet dream to her.

“It was nice,” I said.

“Just nice?”

It took every ounce of self-control I had not to run to my room and lock the door. I did not want to talk about Todd with my mother. Now that she knew we’d been out together, she’d never let it go.

“What do you want me to say, Mom? We went out. It was nice.”

“I thought you had a crush on that boy. Why aren’t you more excited over the fact that you two went on a date?”

“It wasn’t a date. We just went out for a little bit. He didn’t ask to go out again, so don’t get your hopes up for a repeat performance.”

“I might not be a teenager anymore, but the last time I checked, a date consisted of two people going out. I’d consider last night a date.”

Then, you’ll be glad to know I went on another date tonight with someone you wouldn’t approve of. I would have loved to say it to her, but I knew better. She’d lock me up and never let me leave the house again. She couldn’t have her princess going out with the poor boy. She’d freak over the fact that I went to the other side of town, let alone with Jesse.