Page 11 of Stay With Me

“It means Shelly had great boobs. Unlike these little things.”

I make the mistake of glancing over to see Emily cupping her hands under her breasts and pushing them up, amplifying her cleavage in her scoop neck tank top. Thank God she’s looking down at her breasts and doesn’t catch that I’m looking at them, too. I quickly turn my eyes away.

I rub my hand over my face while I try to focus on the road and think of the least sexy things I can. I need to get the vision of Emily’s breasts out of my head.

“Okay. Can we please stop talking about breasts?” I ask.

Emily laughs out loud. “Everyone has boobs, Charlie. Even you.”

“Oh my God. No. I have pecs, not boobs. And I want to stop talking about them. For the love of all that is holy, please stop talking about them.”

“Fine. But only if you tell me about your girlfriend and what she looks like. What’s her job? All the deets, please.”

“Jenna’s not my girlfriend. She’s a friend I hang out with. And yes, she is tall, has dark hair, and she’s a dispatcher for the police department. Happy?”

“Not really. None of those are juicy details. Do you think she’sthe one?”

I swallow the lump in my throat. “Nah. I’m not looking for anything serious. And we just started dating after Shelly and I broke up earlier this summer.”

“Speaking of Shelly, why did you guys break up?”

I hesitate, not sure how to answer. Finally, I settle on a generic, yet truthful answer.

“It had run its course. She had some issues with jealousy.” I keep my eyes on the road, not risking a glance in her direction.

“Jealousy? Who was she jealous of? You’re not one to flirt with other women…”

“She didn’t like that I have female friends. That’s all.” I hope she lets it go.

“Ah. Makes sense. My sister is gorgeous and badass. It’s probably hard being your girlfriend and not worrying about the five-foot nine-inch blonde who’s your best friend.” Emily grins.

I smile back at her, figuring it’s best to let her think it was Trina that Shelly was so jealous of. I think back to the argument with Shelly the night she and I broke up, when she said I left her to “take care” of Emily.

“Yeah, something like that. Now, tell me all about your plans for the new job.”

And, just like that, Emily’s attention shifts away from my love life, and she shines with light and radiates joy as she tells me all about her vision for her first year of teaching.

About forty-five minutes later, we arrive at Trina’s house. The three of us spend the next hour unloading Emily’s things into Trina’s condo. We’re just about to climb back into the truck to go to dinner at Enzo’s Pizza in downtown Elladine when Teddy walks up the drive, his hands in his jean’s pockets and a sheepish look on his face.

Emily freezes. After a brief pause, she runs to him and hugs him. He embraces her in return, but something about the fretful frown he wears as he hugs her and the dark circles under his eyes isn’t sitting right with me. She pulls back from him and looks up into his eyes.

“What are you doing here? I thought you had to work today and that’s why you couldn’t get me from school?”

“Yeah, I was working. But I got someone to cover the second half of my shift so I could come see you,” he says.

“Great. We’re just heading for pizza. I’ll ride with you, and we can all go together.” Emily’s smile is huge, but Teddy is looking downward, toeing the ground.

I glance over at Trina, hoping to see a relaxed expression on her face to telling me I’m reading the vibe wrong, but her narrowed eyes and her tense posture say I’m not.

She clearly senses something is off, too.

“Can you and I just stay here? I need to talk to you about something. Alone, please.”

Teddy glances over to where Trina and I stand.

“Oh. Um, sure.” Emily turns to Trina and me. “Do you guys mind going without us?”

“You sure?” Trina asks.

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