“That’s bullshit, and you know it. I know for a fact Rebel came out to play last night by the look in your eyes before you slammed the door. Face it baby sis, you need us.”
“Whatever. I still need to change, we’ll be out in ten.”
The whole time I’m changing clothes, I can’t figure out what to do or get the sexy knowing grin Joss threw my way before I ducked into the locker room out of my mind. This road trip should be super fun, I think to myself. Alone with my best friends, my brother and oh yeah, the guy I’ve liked since forever who happens to be my overprotective big bro’s best friend. What could go wrong?
I sit on a bench once I’m all put together and decide it’s finally time. It’s not in my nature to hide, let alone from my dad. I hit his name on the screen of my phone, and it doesn’t even ring before he’s saying hello.
“Hey, Dad. What’s going on?”
When he doesn’t say anything right away, I know this isn’t going to be pleasant.
“Dad, are you there?”
“Yeah, I’m here kiddo.” He sighs, “You have some big news I hear.”
I’m not sure I know how to answer. The obvious choice is yes because I do. If he will ever accept this path I’m taking, he needs to see it as my passion. See the love I have for the sport.
“Yeah. I have my first fight in three months. I’ve been training really hard.”
“You could have told me, Emerson, not that I didn’t already know.”
“You knew? Really?” I take a deep breath. “You have to understand that since I can remember, you’ve been trying to scare me away from it. I’m sure if Danny wanted to fight, you’d be ecstatic.”
“It’s different. You’re my little girl.”
“I’m not a little girl anymore. I can do this. I’m ready. I’ve been training with Leo, and Gabe’s been helping out. I’ve been working for this for so long.”
“How the hell did you keep Gabe’s mouth shut? I thought he’d be the one to spill the beans the whole time.” He chuckles.
“I have some stuff on him. Stuff he wouldn’t want Aunt Sophie to know.”
“You’re a Cage through and through.” He’s silent for a few seconds. “Did I want you to do something else with your life? Yes. But that doesn’t mean you won’t have my support. I’ve known since you were little that you were destined for more than a normal life. Made me fight for normal life a little harder, but I’ll help you any way you need, and I’ll be there ringside when you enter the Octagon for the first time. It’s not that I don’t think you’re capable, it’s everything that comes with the territory.”
“The fame.” I guess.
“Yes. You always seemed the most bothered by it. No matter what you do Emmy, I’m proud of you. I’ll always be proud of you.”
Tears prickle my eyes at the thought of him being there. Being able to carry on his legacy and hopefully doing right by him and our family name.
“Thanks, I really appreciate it.”
“Now let’s move on to your trip.” There’s an edge to his voice, and all the air rushes from my lungs.
“How’d you find out?”
“I have ways of getting your mother to talk.” I hear the cockiness in his tone, and it makes me want to vomit.
“Ew, stop it.”
“I can’t believe you took off on a bike as inexperienced as you are. Didn’t we have plans to ride around together to get you up to par for your road trip next summer?”
“Yeah, but Leo needed to go now.”
“I know all about Leo and his boy troubles, more than I’d like to. That’s not a reason to run off on a dangerous trip. What if the paps sniff where you are? They’ve already been around the bar, and your apartment building since word of your fight’s been released. It’s worse than usual, and you need someone there to keep you safe.”
“The whole point of a road trip is the freedom of going where we want, when we want to. A bodyguard telling me what I can and can’t do kind of defeats the point, don’t you think?” I throw my spare clothes into my gym bag then look around the locker room thankful to be the only one present.
“I’m glad we’re on the same page.” My dad ignores my statement causing me to roll my eyes. “Danny and Joss will stay with you. I already got an earful about you ditching them this morning.”
“Wait, Dad, no. I’m a grown woman…” I still can’t believe he sent Joss here with my brother.
“He’s the best and will keep you safe. Just pretend like they aren’t there. I’m sorry, but your safety is my top priority.”
Yeah, if he knew what’s happened between us, he’d pull Joss off of my detail. I’m half tempted to tell him, but no way am I diving into that subject matter with my father.
“Dad,” I huff, “you’re being so unfair.”
“I’m sorry kiddo. Make your memories as your mother calls it, you’ll just have the boys in the background. So what, you had a crush on Joss. Everyone knew about that, and it’s in the past.”
Everyone knew about it? Cue my mini panic attack.
I explain to him where we are and as much of our plans as possible. Really, I tell him Leo will call with an itinerary before hanging up.
I’m walking out of the locker room when I run into Leo in the hall. He sticks out his hand, and I grab it with a giant squeeze. I’m not ready to actually face the guys, but I guess I have no choice.
“Do you think he’s really forgotten about when you got drunk and put your mouth around his cock when he was sleeping or chooses to act like it never happened?” Leo speaks through a smile as we come around the corner and see the guys ten feet away, standing guard at the exit.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. You’d think that would be a memorable moment in anyone’s life. Hell, I can’t forget it no matter how hard I’ve tried. Joss hasn’t once brought up the time I now so lovingly refer to as blow-gate.
I don’t know if that hurts or has me thanking my lucky stars for his momentary amnesia.
***
The four of us jump on our bikes and ride over to the hotel Penny found for the evening. It’s extremely hard to act unaffected in Joss’s presence, but I persevere. It’s a huge feat, let me tell you. The man commands attention at every turn, and I feel his eyes on me the entire time.
When we get to the hotel, I’ll admit I leave my helmet on longer than needed to shield my roaming eyes. With his leather jacket, cool as hell Brain Bucket helmet and glasses—panties don’t fail me now—he’s so effortless.
Everything Joss does seems so easy. Riding a bike. Check. Lifting a bazillion pounds at the gym. Check. Kicking me out of his hotel room as unaffected as one can get. That’s a big old check in that box. Even the way he swings his leg over his bike and removes his helmet looks like a freaking GQ photoshoot.
Finally, Leo nudges my arm and pulls me off my bike.
“Christ, I was coming.”
“You weren’t, but I think a few more seconds of eye fucking then you would have been.”
“Shh.” I look around and want to kill him when I see Danny staring angrily at me. “Great,” I mutter.
“A word please.” Danny nods for me to follow him.
“Daniel, if you think I’m missing this you are sadly mistaken.” Leo links arms with me, and I can feel the excitement racing off him.
“Listen, I don’t know what’s going on with you, but it’s making me feel fucking awkward. It was one thing for you to be hitting on Joss when you were drunk. In the clear light of day,” he shakes his head. “Straighten out your shit and for the love of god, stop eye fucking Joss. You make me want to gouge my eyes out every time I see you checking him out.” Danny doesn’t beat around the bush.
“Shut the hell up Dan. You don’t know what you’re talking about.” I defend myself. This isn’t the first conversation about Joss I’ve ever been through. No matter what I do, Danny thinks I’m always hitting on Joss. It’s so frustrating, and sometimes I wanna shake him and tell him to shut the hell up.
&
nbsp; “Seriously, everything is cool. We’re all friends,” I lie.
“Like I said, figure your shit out. You’re my baby sister, and I know you’ve had a thing for him. Think on it long and hard, that’s all I ask.” He places his hand on my shoulder and walks away.
“That was hella awkward,” Leo says.
“You’re telling me. That was your first stay away from Joss talk. There will be more.” I groan. “I need a shower, and I just want to get to my room.” I go to walk by both men, but Joss reaches out and grabs the belt loop on my shorts.
I look over and try to mask my face. “Yes?”
“You good?”
“Of course.” My mouth is dry, and I lick my lips as he tracks the movement. I have to stop reading into these little moments and see them for what they really are. I’m doing myself a disservice to think Joss is interested in me.
Our home for the night is certainly better than the motel by a landslide, and thankfully, they didn’t have any conjoined rooms like Joss requested. I couldn’t imagine him being able to enter my room anytime he wanted. He put up a fight and after an argument—I won of course—we were heading to our rooms.
Danny put up a little fight on the elevator ride, but I calmly told him to eat shit because we’re on the same freaking floor and I’m still mad about him calling me out earlier. Truthfully, I think he only put up a stink about the rooms because Joss was. I didn’t expect him to take his guard duties seriously. I would have thought Danny was tagging along for the adventure and hanging with his best friend. Joss, however, I knew was going to be a problem. Once a bodyguard always a bodyguard.
I’m about to enter my room when I feel pressure on my elbow. I look behind me to find Joss extremely close, so close I can feel his warmth. He doesn’t say anything for a moment, just stares. When I clear my throat to break the moment, he finally speaks.
“Let me know if you’re going somewhere or if you need anything.”
“Will do.” I salute him earning a small grin.
Note to self, don’t let Joss touch you for the duration of this trip.
Chapter 9
Emerson
After shutting my hotel room door behind me, I lean my back against the cold wood and sigh. My heart rate is sky-high, and you’d think he wouldn’t affect me this way anymore. After a few deep breaths, I open my eyes and see Leo and Penny awkwardly positioned in the room whistling. They’re whistling. Leo is reading the back of a pack of coffee and Penny is enthralled with the thermostat.
“Guys,” I say in outrage at the thought of them eavesdropping.
“What? We had nothing better to do, plus we couldn’t hear anything.”
“Yeah, we were making up our own conversation, although it didn’t look like much was being said. I clearly didn’t see any form of the word pussy leave his mouth,” Penny adds. “I’m sure the real thing was much better. Spill. His body language was throwing off some seriously hot heat in your direction.”
I groan and walk to the bed. After falling back against it, I huff and pull the pillow over my head. “Nothing happened, you’re both reading into things way too much and messing with my head. He told me to tell him when we leave if we leave. That’s it.” I wave my hand through the air dismissively.
“I think our made-up conversation was better. I was sure I saw him eyeing your ass in the elevator. Those are great shorts.” Leo huffs. “Well, the way I look at it you owe me.”
“Owe you for what?” I prop myself up on my elbows.
“Babysitting you, buying you that gorgeous hog. You name it, and I probably did it.”
“Okay, so what do you want? I can pay for your room tonight.”
“Nope. I’ve thought long and hard about this on the ride over. I need confirmation.” He eyes me like I should know what he’s thinking.
“Confirmation of what?” I laugh.
“Size and girth. I’ve always had this fantasy, and I’d hate for my mental measurements to be off. You’re the only one of us who’s seen Joss’s wild beast.”
“How are we friends? You literally pine after every man in my life. Most of them being family.”
“You love me and my awesome wit. Not to mention I’m about to let you use my scalp treatment. Open your palm.”
I do as I’m asked because I need a shower and also, scalp treatment. I hate showering at the gym after reading an article on flesh-eating bacteria a couple of months back. I’d rather go home looking like a bum than contracting some zombie virus.
I make sure to take an extra-long shower to let the duo finish up their gossip. There’s no way they’re talking about something other than Joss and dissecting his every word. They’ll dissect the one single sentence from him front and back, left to right. Tone to body language. Why can’t I just get away from the man, even for five minutes?
I forgot to bring my clothes in with me; I was too distracted from the cream in my hand, so I open the door a quarter of the way. All hopes of them retreating to their rooms is ripped away when I crack open the door to find them lounging still.
“Leo, can you grab me my bag please?”
“No need. We already picked out your outfit.” I know by we, he doesn’t mean Penny. He’d never agree with anything she chose for me to wear.
There’s a small pile of folded clothes on the bed, so I pick them up and walk back into the bathroom. After quickly working my way into my bra and panties, I stare in disdain at the little black skirt and tank top that shows off way more cleavage than is decent to be out with my brother. I also can’t help but notice I never packed these garments in my bag.
“Leo, can you grab me something that doesn’t make me look like a whore. Danny’s coming out to eat for crying out loud.”
“No.”
No. That’s it, no explanation. “Then hand me my bag. I don’t need him thinking I’m dolling myself up for Joss. You were there for the think long and hard conversation. I don’t want to be part of another.”
“I’m sorry, but your bags are indisposed at the moment,” He says in a bored tone.
“Leo, I’ll kill you and make it look like an accident. I look like I’m going to the strip club, not to eat.”
“And where do you think we’ll be going after dinner? This is a fun road trip, you know. I plan on hitting a bar or club in every state. Maybe multiple. Oh, oh!” He starts getting crazy eyes. “Let’s hit up a male review at some point.”
“Well shit,” I mumble to myself before sliding the clothes onto my body.
It’s not that I don’t feel comfortable wearing them. They are from my closet. I haven’t worked out to get in shape to hide my body. But… Danny. Ugh. He’ll have to deal; he wasn’t supposed to be on this trip anyway.
When I walk out of the bathroom, I notice Penny and Leo are already dressed and ready to go out. Penny is wearing something that shows a ton of skin, more than me surprisingly, and she looks freaking hot.
“I love that dress, Penny. Holy shit, you look amazing. Where’s my friend, the one with the sweater dresses and sensible kitten heels?” I chuckle.
“Stop it. I promised Leo I’d let loose and have some fun. I also haven’t been with anyone in over a year, and I’m starting to grow cobwebs. It’s time to take her out of retirement.”
“Thatta girl.” Leo smacks her ass then finishes buttoning up his black dress shirt. He looks so handsome in his designer jeans and shirt. It’s rolled up to his elbows showing off his well-defined forearms, and it’s tight enough to see the work he’s put in at the gym.
For the next twenty minutes, I watch Leo pound back almost an entire bottle of sangria in my room. I have a cup, but I’m not the wine type and keep it to that.
“Let’s get the meatsicles and grab some food, I could eat an entire cock I’m so hungry.” He exits the room while I snicker and Penny snorts.
“That’d certainly turn some heads at the restaurant,” she states. “Hang on, let me check and see if there are any rides in the area,” Penny says as we
follow Leo down the hallway to the guys’ room.
“Do it fast honey, Precious hungry. Oh, and make sure they have a five-star rating.”
Oh crap. He’s on a whole other level when he refers to himself as the character from that movie. How strong was that freaking wine?
I’m about to ask but stop when I see him prancing up to the guys' door and listen as he does a weird Morse Code knock.
The door opens and the biggest grin I’ve ever seen runs across Leo’s face. He looks over at me and mouths rub up against him Reb.
I shake my head. He literally stomps his foot and mouths size and girth.
Aw, shit.
***
Joss
Danny won’t stop talking about some elaborate plan he has to exact his revenge on Emmy. I couldn’t care less. Who cares if she pulled a prank on us? It doesn’t happen often, and it was kind of a shitty one, to begin with.
She left.
There were no tacks, whip cream or wet spots on our pants.
“Just let her have it. You know it was shitty, who cares.”
“You don’t have siblings so you wouldn’t understand.”
“I don’t need siblings to know dying my sister’s hair orange, a sister who’s currently heavily in the spotlight, is a bad idea.”
“Back to the drawing board,” he whines, pulling out his phone.
I do the same and see a text message from Mandy laying on the guilt trip. Followed by another text and yet another.
“Shit,” I mutter.
“What?” Dan questions.
“Mandy’s trying to make me feel bad again for bailing on the wedding.”
“Let me ask you this.” He sits up and faces me. “When you see your future, do you see Mandy in it? If not, let her go. It’s that simple.”
“That simple?”
“Yup.”
Rebel: A Brother's Best Friend Standalone Romance Page 6