K. Robinson - Twisted Ties

“I’ve slept enough. I want to go to that diner and kill your sister.”

“Emma, stop. There’s a difference between two girls who can’t stand each other and two girls who would poison each other.”

“I’m not enough of a bitch to poison her. Obviously, she doesn’t have my morals.”

“I’m not going to fight with you,” Andy said.

I knew I was pissing him off, but I didn’t care. It was too much of a coincidence that I’d eaten where his sister worked and then had gotten food poisoning.

“I have to head to work. Is there anything you need me to get for you before I leave?”

I shook my head. “I’ll be fine.”

He seemed unsure. “Don’t be mad at me.”

“I’m not,” I said as I slowly stood up. Every muscle in my body protested. I ignored my screaming body as I walked to my dresser and pulled out clean clothes. “I’m going to shower. Go to work. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

“Call me if you need anything. I mean it.”

“I will.”

Andy waved as he left. I slowly made my way to the bathroom and pulled off my clothes. I knew Ally hated me, but I hadn’t realized that she hated me enough to do this. There is something seriously wrong with that girl.

Things had been tense between Ally and me since she’d discovered Emma’s clothes in the bathroom. She tried to pretend that she wasn’t mad anymore, but I could see the resentment in her eyes every time she looked at me. I’d done nothing wrong, yet she was making me feel like I’d betrayed her. Maybe in her eyes, I had.

I had hoped that our talk would help her understand a little better where we stood. It might have helped if she hadn’t found Emma’s clothes. It seemed like Ally had completely forgotten about the conversation as she focused on being angry with me.

I knew it was a douche move, but I avoided being at home as much as possible. Instead, I spent my days in class and my evenings at the library. The only good thing that had come of this entire situation was the fact that I was ahead in all of my classes. I had papers done that weren’t due for weeks. I’d also memorized every song on my iPod. I never thought I’d see the day when either of those things happened.

I was walking across campus to spend yet another night in the library when I saw Emma. I stopped walking, so I could watch her. She kept her head down as she moved in the opposite direction of the library. At least she looked better than the last time I’d seen her. She wasn’t battling a hangover from hell at the moment. I wished that she had stayed like she’d agreed to instead of running away when my back was turned.

I knew I should just keep walking and spend the night with my hot date, the librarian. What I knew and what I wanted to do were two completely different things. I wanted to grab Emma and kiss her until she couldn’t breathe. I wanted to rip off her clothes. I wanted to feel her body pressed up against mine, skin to skin. I wanted to flip her onto her stomach and take her from behind while she screamed out my name.

I shook my head, trying to push away the image of a naked Emma coming undone underneath me. Andy was no longer my friend, but I felt like I was betraying him just by thinking about Emma that way. He’d betrayed me, too, though. He had known she was mine, yet he had still taken her from me. He got to hold her and kiss her every damn day while all I had were memories.

I turned and started walking toward the library. There was nothing left to save between Emma and me. I had to let her go.

I made it all of ten feet before I turned around and started following her. I had no idea what the hell I was doing, but I guessed I would find out. She was several feet ahead of me now, and I had to hurry to catch up. I stayed back a bit, afraid that she would disappear if she saw me.

She entered one of the dorms, and I waited outside for a second before I followed her. I had to talk to her. I couldn’t let her keep thinking that I’d slept with Ally. Even if she was with Andy now, I couldn’t stand the thought of her thinking the worst of me. It would change nothing between Emma and me, and I knew that. I knew Ally would never forgive me for telling Emma the truth, but I’d deal with her later.

Emma disappeared into the stairwell just as I walked into the dorm. I followed, still staying far enough away that she wouldn’t notice. There were a few people going up the stairs between us but not enough to hide me if she turned around. She never looked behind her as she continued up to her floor. She stepped out of the stairwell and walked down a hallway. I watched her through the glass in the door separating the hallway from the stairs to see which door she went in.

Once she was inside her room, I started moving down the hallway. When I reached her door, I raised my hand to knock. I stopped just before my fist connected with it. If I was going to go through with this, it might not go the way I wanted it to. I knew she was angry with me, and she might not listen to anything that I had to say. She might kick my ass right back into the hallway—if she even let me get past the door. Realistically, she’d probably slam the door in my face as soon as she saw it was me.

I stood there with my hand raised, looking like a complete idiot. Several women were in the hallway, and they were all giving me strange looks. Of course they were because I was lurking outside of Emma’s door. I knocked on her door before I lost my nerve again or before someone decided to call security on my ass. Now, I had to go through with this.

Emma opened the door a second later. Surprise registered on her face when she saw me standing there.

“Hey,” I said lamely.

“Hey.”

She raised an eyebrow when I didn’t say anything. “Did you need something?”

“Uh, yeah. Can we talk?”

“I thought that’s what we were doing.”

“Can we talk inside your room?” I looked around at the women who were still staring at me. “It’s kind of hard to talk privately out here.”

She stepped back. “Sure, come on in.”

I walked past her and into the room. I was surprised to see that there was only one bed. I thought it was a dorm rite of passage to get stuck with a sucky roommate. The room reminded me a lot of her room back home. This one was a lot smaller, but it was still just as bare as her old one. There were no pictures, no posters, nothing. There was a bed, a desk, and a closet. That was it.

I turned back to face her. “I think we need to talk.”

“I don’t.”

I knew she wouldn’t make this easy.

“I really think we do.”

She stepped closer to me, and I took a step back. The backs of my legs hit her bed, and I went down. As soon as I landed on the mattress, she was on top of me. Her lips were on mine before I could even process what was happening. I had no idea what was going on, and I really didn’t care. She was kissing me, and that was all that mattered.

No, I needed to talk to her. No matter how much I liked what she was doing, we needed to talk before anything like that could happen.

I put my hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her off of me. “Emma, we need to talk.”

“I don’t think we do.” She smiled down at me. “I can think of something else I’d rather be doing with you.”

She reached down and began pushing up my shirt. Surprised, I let go of her. She fell back down onto me and started kissing me again. I groaned as her tongue teased my lips until I opened them. As soon as I did, her tongue slipped inside to caress mine. She ran her fingers across my stomach, causing me to jump.

She smiled as she sat up and started tugging on my shirt. “Take this off.”

I sat up and pulled my shirt over my head. She grabbed the bottom of her shirt and lifted it over her head as I threw mine aside. She tossed hers down onto the floor and reached behind her to unclasp her bra. As soon as she had it free, she slipped it off and threw it somewhere behind her.

“Shit,” I groaned as I stared up at her.

I leaned up and ran my tongue across her nipple. She arched her back to give me better access. I sucked one nipple into my mouth as I started tweaking her other with my fingers. I lifted her and laid her on the bed beside me before climbing on top of her.

“I’ve missed you so much,” I whispered.

“I missed you, too. Please, Jesse, it’s been so long. I can’t wait any longer. I need you inside me.”

Emma snapped her fingers in front of my face. “Earth to Jesse. Hello?”

I blinked. After I realized that I’d just imagined that, I wanted to beat my head against the wall.

“What?” I asked.

“You said you wanted to talk, so start talking. Where did you just go?”

“Nowhere. I was just thinking.”

“Okay…why are you here?” she asked.

“To talk.”

She rolled her eyes. “Are you being an ass on purpose? Or does it just come naturally?”

“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to be an ass. I came here to talk about what’s going on between Ally and me.”

Her eyes grew hard. “I really don’t need to know the details. I took sex education. I know how babies are made.”

“It’s not what you think—” I started.

But she held up her hand. “Look, we’re not together anymore. You don’t owe me an explanation. You can stick your you-know-what wherever you please. It’s not my concern anymore, and it hasn’t been for a long time.”

“So, I guess I should feel the same about Andy and you.”

Her eyes widened. I’d struck a nerve.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I got the gist of it. I have to admit, I never saw that one coming.” I knew I should shut up, but I couldn’t seem to get the message to my mouth. “At least you waited until I left to fuck him. I appreciate that.”