Shattered Ties(43)

“And if I am? Does that bother you?”

“Nope. I’ll see you tomorrow night. I have to work tomorrow though, so I won’t be home until around nine thirty.”

“That’s fine. My mom leaves tomorrow morning for San Francisco. She’ll be gone most of the week. Thank God. I don’t think I can handle any more of her right now.”

“What did you two fight about earlier? You said you were upset.”

I wasn’t about to tell him that it was over him and Todd. He didn’t need to feel guilty. “Just stupid stuff. She was on one of her usual rants.”

“At least you’re rid of her for a few days.”

“Yeah. I should probably go before she starts calling my friends to see if I’m with them.”

“Night, Emma.”

He leaned down and kissed me. It held none of the passion from earlier, but it was sweet and innocent. I loved it.

“Night.”





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I waited until Emma’s taillights disappeared before I walked back inside. As soon as I made it back to my room, I crashed down onto my bed and stared up at the ceiling. Tonight had been unexpected to say the least. I’d never planned on bringing Emma to my house, but she hadn’t seemed to mind the fact that I lived in a trailer park. I should have known she would be okay with it, but I had obviously underestimated her again. I sounded like a lovesick sap, but the girl could do no wrong in my eyes.

Her innocence had thrown me at first. I had assumed that she was pretty naive when it came to sex, but I hadn’t expected her to be so inexperienced with everything. She was a very pretty girl, and I’d assumed that she’d at least experimented a little before she met me.

The fact that she had trusted me with some of her firsts told me just how much trust she had in me. That meant a hell of a lot to me. I had no idea what I’d done to end up with someone like her, but I wasn’t complaining.

Holding her in my arms as she slept had been a completely life-changing experience. She had looked so peaceful as she snuggled tightly into my arms. While she slept, she’d mumbled something about being safe, but I didn’t want to tell her that. The fact that she considered me a safe haven was...mindblowing to me.

When she’d thought I had another girl in my house, the moment I’d seen the tears in her eyes caused me to throw my reservations about having a relationship with her right out the window. I knew she wouldn’t leave me. She’d been truly hurt when she thought I had betrayed her. Surely, if she’d been bothered that much by it, then she wouldn’t just randomly walk away from me. I realized we still had a lot to deal with that would keep us apart, but I knew we would figure it out. It was official. I was in a relationship that I actually cared about for the first time in my life.

I sat up as I heard my mom’s car pulling into the space where Emma’s car had occupied just a few minutes ago. I knew she would be mad when I told her that I’d been suspended, but I was too high from my night with Emma to care. My mom knew that I didn’t usually get into trouble. Hopefully, that would be enough to keep her from grounding me. I still needed to ask her about the trip with Emma, but I wasn’t sure how. I just knew that tonight wouldn’t be a good night to do it.

My mom came through the door just as I entered the living room.

“Hi, honey. How was school?”

“Yeah, about that—”

“Jesse, what did you do?” she asked when she saw my expression.

“I didn’t do anything. A couple of the rich kids attacked me. I actually won, but a teacher walked in at the end. I’m suspended for a week.”

“Jesse, what on earth am I going to do with you? You’re lucky that they didn’t kick you out permanently.”

“Trust me, I know, but I swear I didn’t start it. I was just defending myself.”

“Did you at least hurt them enough, so they won’t bother you again?”

“I did. I broke the one guy’s nose, and then I knocked out his friend.”

“Dear Lord!”

I grinned. “Sorry, but they were asking for it. Don’t worry though. Emma is going to bring my work to me, so I don’t fall behind.”

Her head snapped up, and I cursed as I realized what I’d just said.

“Who’s Emma?”

“Uh...she’s my, uh...” I started, unsure of what to call Emma. Friend?

Girlfriend? The girl I’d given her first orgasm to?

“Jesse, are you keeping something from me? Do you have a girlfriend?”

“No...well, maybe. I don’t know what to classify her as.”

“I want to hear all about her! I’m so excited that you finally found someone who caught your attention.”

“What do you want to know?” I asked. I knew I might as well get this over with, or she’d never leave me alone.

“Anything you want to tell me. What does she like to do? How did you meet?”

“She’s a cheerleader, and I met her in class. Actually, that’s a lie. Do you remember taking me to the rich people’s park when I was little? There was a little girl who told me I didn’t belong there?”

“Vaguely. I think you were really upset, but that was a long time ago.