Page 67 of Stay With Me

“Yes.”

I push the door the rest of the way open and walk in. And I nearly drop the water when I find Emily standing at her nightstand, plugging her phone into the charger in a white T-shirt and her underwear.

“Shit. I thought you said you were dressed.” I move to back out of the room but stop when Emily laughs.

“I said I wasdecent. This is decent. You’ve seen me in a bikini. This covers more.” She’s grinning like this amuses her.

“That was a long time ago. And it wasn’t in your bedroom.” My voice is low and rough, and I nearly lose my shit when the grin disappears from her face, and she pulls her lower lip between her teeth.

Ding.

I snap. “For fuck’s sake, Em. Can you answer him already, so he stops texting?” My voice sounds angry. Frustrated, I rub the back of my neck, and walk over to set the water and medicine on her nightstand.

“Him? You don’t know who’s texting me.”

I turn to face her and sigh. “Yeah, I do. BecauseCarltexted you when you left your phone on the bench at Ben’s, and I saw it. I wasn’t trying to, but I did.”

Her jaw drops and her eyes widen. She huffs and sits down on the side of the bed.

“Listen, it’s none of my business. If you want to exchange numbers with a guy, then?—”

“Nine.” Her interruption confuses me. She must see my bewilderment on my face. “Nine guys. Not one.”

I have no right, but, in an instant, I’m immensely furious with her. I stare at her for several long moments, and she doesn’t back down, refusing to break our eye contact first. She’s so damn stubborn. I don’t know what is happening here, but I hate it. And I’m too fucking tired to deal with it.

Drained, I look toward the door. “I gotta go. I’ll lock up on my way out.”

I’m halfway to the bedroom door when she quietly asks, “So, it’s okay for you, but not for me?”

And I stop, not because of her words, but because of the hitch in her voice, the pain I hear. I slowly turn back to face her, but she’s looking down at the floor.

“What do you mean? You’ve said some weird things tonight. Can you just tell me what this is about? Please.”

“I k-know you’re dating Linette. I saw her text when I took your phone to connect the Bluetooth.” Her voice is so quiet it’s almost a whisper. She lifts her gaze to meet mine and the moisture building in her eyes nearly breaks me.

In a flash, it all makes sense. Her change in mood that night a few weeks ago, her distance since, and her comments about me having a girlfriend. I move to her side and sit down next to her on the bed. She’s wringing her hands and staring at them like they’re the most interesting thing in the world.

“Hey”—careful to be gentle, I place a thumb and index finger under her chin and turn her head so she has to look at me—“I’m not dating Linette. Trina gave her my number that day at the school, and she keeps texting, but I was never interested in her. I wouldn’t start dating someone and not tell you. Besides, I don’t want to date anyone el—” Her eyes widen, and I clear my throat. “I’m not looking to meet anyone.”

A tear slips down her cheek and I wipe it away with the pad of my thumb. Only, more follow it.

“I-I thought that y-you were gonna be with her and figured I’d have to stop spending s-so much time with you. So, I tried to pull back preemptively. I thought it would hurt less if I did it.” More tears flow and she sniffles.

“Don’t do that again. Okay? I hated it.” I wrap my arm around her and pull her into my side.

“Okay,” she whispers.

We sit quietly for several moments, and then I can’t hold back, wanting to lighten the mood.

“Nine? It was truly nine?”

A soft giggle escapes Emily and when I chuckle, her giggle turns into a full-on laugh. Then, she suddenly throws her hands over her face and in a muffled voice, she says, “Oh my God. Snot is coming out!” She jumps up and runs to the bathroom.

When she comes out a minute later, her cheeks are flushed pink and I’m trying my hardest not to smirk. I’m failing. She glares at me.

“I’m sorry. It’ssnotfunny,” I tease.

“Charlie!”

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