Page 2 of Stay With Me

“Nah.” I look back to the pool, squinting from the bright sun, and try not to smile as I watch Emily do a flip into the water. “It’s refreshing after spending hours every day with your surly ass,” I tease.

Trina throws her head back and laughs, probably because she knows it’s true.

She’s my best friend, even though we’ve only known each other for about three months. We were introduced by a mutual instructor from our paramedic training programs. He thought we would make good workout partners as we both prepped for the physical fitness test that’s a requirement to enter the fire academy. Trina and I hit it off right away, started working out together, and both aced the physical exam. We started in the same class at the academy two weeks ago. We’re both no bullshit people, and I appreciate that about her.

I turn and study Trina for a second. It’s good to see her laughing. She knows how to have fun, but she’s often so serious. Not that I can blame her. It’s bullshit that she has to work extra hard to overcome the misogyny she faces from some of our fellow cadets at the academy. Hell, a few of those who gave her shit in our first week have failed out, yet she’s still going strong. I know she’s who I’d want to have my back in a fire.

“What?” she asks, noticing me watching her.

“It’s just weird.” I look from her to Emily in the pool, then back again. “You two look so much alike with the light blond hair, blue eyes, and even the shape of your faces. What do they call that? Heart-shaped? But?—”

“Heart-shaped? You’re reading too much Cosmopolitan,” Trina says.

I grin at her and tilt my head. “Yeah, definitely heart-shaped. But your parents must have used up all the height DNA on you. You’re nearly six-feet tall and I’m guessing she’s checking in at just over five feet.” I chuckle.

I quickly glance over at Trina and see she’s looking back at the pool now, too, smiling with a gleam in her eye. She wears her love for her younger sister on her face. I turn and watch Emily splashing around in the water.

“Yeah. I agree. It is weird—the height thing. My parents are both tall, so I don’t know what happened there. And remember, I’msurly”—she pauses for effect—“and she’s… she’s?—”

“A sprite. A little sprite sprinkling sunshine.” I don’t even know where the words come from, but it’s perfect to describe the liveliness of Emily Flynn.

“That’s an excellent description of her, actually. She’s like a little sprite flitting around,” Trina agrees.

Boisterous laughter draws my attention back to the pool and I watch as Teddy climbs atop the huge inflatable unicorn float, hovering over Emily, before planting a kiss on her lips. A kiss that leaves no question in my mind that they’re a couple.

I tear my gaze away, not sure why it bothers me to see them together. I just met her, and I don’t know him at all. But girls like her—girls full of life and joy—they’re supposed to be with free-spirited guys like him. It’s what I tell myself, anyway. Plus, she’s my best friend’s little sister, so that’s a major no-no.

CHAPTER2

ONE YEAR LATER

EMILY

“Shit, shit, shit,” I mutter under my breath. This was a mistake. I should have never let Deirdre talk me in to coming to this party with her, especially since Shayna isn’t coming.

Shayna’s been my best friend since freshman year of high school when we met in detention and bonded over the injustice of a school rule which banned any skirt that wasn’t at least knee length. Violating the rule is how we both ended up in detention on that fateful day.

Despite the seriousness of my current situation, I chuckle, wondering how many times Principal Clark regretted putting Shayna and me in detention together and setting the stage for our friendship to blossom. We were both excellent students, but I’d be lying if I said we didn’t get in our fair share of trouble.

Usually not on purpose—trouble just seems to find us. Like tonight. Except tonight, Shayna’s not with me.

My boyfriend, Teddy, and his best friend, Jack, who’s also Shayna’s brother—before he enlisted and went away—usually catch on to our shenanigans prior to us getting into anything too serious. More than once, though, they’ve had to come to our aid when we found ourselves in a situation that turned out to be more than we expected.

When Deirdre and I arrived here tonight, she quickly disappeared with the guy she met at the gas station just yesterday—the one who invited her to the party—leaving me with his friend, Lucas.

Shayna and I don’t do that. We always make sure we know where each other is when we’re out and never abandon the other. It’s true we both have boyfriends and aren’t looking to hook-up, but even if Shayna wasn’t madly in love with her high school sweetheart, she’d never ditch me to entertain some random guy’s friend while she hooked up.

Anyway, Lucas seemed okay at first and made decent conversation. When I had to use the restroom, he offered to show me where it was, but he took a detour and led me into a dim bedroom with clothing strewn all over it, an overflowing trash can, and that smelled like body odor. Gross.

When I whirled around to question him, Lucas was suddenly all over me, pawing at me with his sweaty hands and smashing his slobbery lips over mine. The smell of alcohol on his breath, mixed with the onion dip he was dipping his chips in earlier, made me gag.

Admittedly, I panicked for about fifteen seconds before the self-defense training Ben—Shayna’s other brother and Jack’s twin—taught us kicked in.

Ben’s currently in the police academy and insisted that Shayna and I let him teach us basic ways to protect ourselves. Thank God.

I bit down hard on Lucas’s lip, and he yelped, backing away from me for a couple of seconds, giving me just enough space for my next move.

“What the fuck, you bi?—”

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