She looks at me in disbelief, and the stubborn tilt of her chin tells me nothing I say will convince her that I didn’t actually go on a date with Gemma. Hell, I’ve never bothered to go on a date with anyone, but she won’t ever take my word for it so I don’t bother telling her.
I pull a hand through my hair and sigh. “Okay, Minx. How about a clean slate? I’m sorry. Can we stop arguing, please? I hate arguing with you. You know, like really arguing. I really am sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I never mean to hurt you, Emilia. I was just being me.”
She purses her lips and eventually nods at me. “Was it really that hard to just apologize?” she asks. I drop my head and sigh.
“You never apologized, you know. You ruined the first date I ever went on, and you didn’t even bother to say sorry.”
That’s what she’s so upset about? She’s upset because I didn’t apologize? I bite down on my lip and nod contritely. “You’re right, Minx. I didn’t even realize, but it’s true. I didn’t apologize. I just assumed that you knew I was sorry. And, you know, I kind of just didn’t really get why you were so upset about Tony. Him, really? He doesn’t deserve to so much as look at you, Emilia.”
She blushes and looks up at me with wide eyes. “It’s not him I was upset about, per se,” she whispers. I sigh and twirl a strand of her hair around my finger. “Then what was it?” I ask.
Emilia looks away, her cheeks bright red. “Carter, that was my first date. I might not have cared that much about Tony, but I was still excited. And now all I’ll remember about my first date is how bad it was.”
I shake my head and place my hands around her shoulders. “That wasn’t your first date, Minx. It wasn’t a real date. Let me make it up to you, okay? Truce?”
Emilia smiles sadly and nods. “Yeah, okay. Truce,” she whispers.
I exhale in relief. I was worried I’d have to do far more groveling, and I have no idea what the right thing to do would be.
“Okay great, so can we swim now?” I ask, smiling down at her. She looks at me in surprise. “Swim?” she repeats. I nod and tip my head to the lake behind me. I’m hoping this might make up for the date I ruined.
“It’s evening, Carter. We can barely see. Surely we shouldn’t be going into the lake right now.”
I grin mischievously. “What, you don’t dare to go skinny dipping?” I pull my t-shirt over my head and let it fall to the floor. My hands move to the button on my jeans and her eyes are glued to my fingers. Fucking hell, I’m hard already.
“Turn around,” I tell her. She swallows hard and looks at my body longingly. She’s undressing me with her eyes. I doubt she knows what she’s doing to me when she looks at me like that. Emilia nods and turns around, and I undress quickly. I hesitate, but end up taking my boxer shorts off too. I drop them on top of my jeans so she’ll know I’m actually naked.
I rush to jump into the water. I was hoping it’d be slightly colder so I could at least get rid of my damn hard on, but no such luck. I turn my back towards Emilia. “Okay, your turn, Minx.”
Part of me is worried that she’ll change her mind and walk off, leaving me here naked by myself. Or worse, that she’ll walk off with my clothes – I wouldn’t put it past her.
I breathe a sigh of relief when I hear fabric hitting the floor. Emilia lowers herself into the water far more gracefully than I did and suddenly I’m nervous as hell.
“Hmm, I thought you’d chicken out,” I say, my voice trembling just slightly.
Emilia glares at me and swims towards me. “I would never.”
I’m startled when she grabs my shoulders. I’m tall enough to stand here, but Emilia isn’t. She uses me to keep herself afloat and her body is far too close to mine. All I can think about is that she’s naked and my heart starts racing. The tips of my shoulders are above the water and the way Emilia holds herself up allows me to just about see the top of her breasts. She’s so stunning.
“How come you wanted to go swimming?” she asks. I bite down on my lip and blush. “Skinny dipping was on my bucket list,” I murmur. “Besides, I heard that it makes for a cool unique date. It’s the only thing I could come up with on such short notice and with no time to prepare.”
She looks at me in surprise and smiles. “This is a date?” she asks. I shrug and brush her wet hair out of her face. She sees right through me. “You wanted to make up for the date you ruined?”
I look away when she grins at me. I’m blushing and I’m hoping it’s too dark for her to be able to tell. Emilia smiles and pulls herself closer to me. My arms wrap around her instinctively and without thinking I pull her flush against me. We both freeze when our bodies touch. My erection is pressing up against her stomach and her breasts are crushed against my chest. Her lips fall open and she looks shocked, but she doesn’t move away.
“Emilia,” I whisper. She looks up at me nervously and wraps her arms around my neck clumsily.
“You said this is a date, right?” she whispers. I nod and bite down on my lip. I never would’ve even been able to imagine that Emilia might act this seductively. Her gaze moves to my lips and back to my eyes. “Will you show me what I’ve been missing out on?”
My hands move to her ass and my dick twitches when I grab a handful of her delicious curves. Emilia gasps and then giggles, tightening her grip on me.
“Emilia, what are you saying?”
My heart is racing and my mind is whirling. I wanted to give her a unique first date, but this is beyond even my wildest imagination. Emilia hesitates and then leans in. She kisses the edge of my lips. All it’d take for her lips to be on mine is a slight turn of my head.
“What’s bringing this on?” I whisper. She pulls away from me, surprised. Her eyes suddenly fill with insecurity and she tenses in my arms.
“I— I mean, I thought you said this was a date,” she says, her voice high and flustered.
I blink. “Do you want me, or do you just want to experience what it’s like to date?”
Emilia looks at me and hesitates before answering. “Both,” she whispers.
I tighten my grip on her ass and grab her harder. “What does that mean, Emilia? Does that mean you would’ve kissed fucking Tony if I’d left you alone with him?”
Her face scrunches up in disgust at the thought of it and though she tries her best to school her features, she fails. I chuckle and relax. “I guess that’s a no,” I murmur. She pouts and looks away.
“I need you to tell me what you want, Emilia. I need to be sure we’re on the same page here.”
She groans and buries her hands in my hair. She pulls slightly, trying to make her annoyance known. Her cheeks are bright red and her blue eyes are sparkling. She’s never looked more beautiful than she does in this moment.
Emilia pulls my head closer suddenly, catching me by surprise. My lips slam against hers and our teeth clang together painfully. “Ouch,” she murmurs, pulling back. She rubs her lips and looks away in frustration. She seems embarrassed at her failed attempt to kiss me and pushes against my chest. I chuckle and move one of my hands into her hair.
I gently pull her back to me until my lips are hovering over hers. She squirms in my arms, and I smile against her lips. I tilt my head and brush my lips against hers, once, twice… She sighs against my lips and I capture her lips fully. I kiss her carefully and gently and she melts against me. I brush my tongue over her lips and Emilia opens up for me. Before long she gets the hang of it and starts kissing me back properly, her clumsiness waning.
She hesitates for only a second and then she wraps her legs around my hips. My dick is pushing up right against her. One wrong move, and I could probably slip inside her. I’ve never been so stressed out and turned on at the same time. She writhes against me and subtly grinds her hips against mine. My dick slides against her with every move and she moans. She kisses me more frantically and tangles her tongue with mine as she increases the friction between us. I need to tell her to stop. I need to tell her I’m going to come if she
keeps moving like that, but she won’t let me pull away. She’s moving against me passionately, moaning between every kiss. Emilia looks hot as hell and I’m struggling like crazy to hold on. The tip of my dick slides against her just right and her entire body contracts over and over again.
I pull my lips away from hers to watch her fall apart, and it’s the most glorious thing I’ve ever seen. She looks beautiful and so incredibly sexy as she looks into my eyes, wave after wave of pleasure rocking her body. I can’t hold on and lift her up higher as I come, trying my best to keep her from realizing. Her lips fall open and she’s breathing hard. When her body finally relaxes, she smiles at me knowingly. I blush and drop my forehead against hers.
“Okay… that’s not how a date usually goes, baby. I don’t think things are supposed to move so quickly,” I whisper. I guess it was inevitable for us. We never do things half-heartedly.
Emilia bites down on her lip and rests her head on my shoulder, her lips pressed against my neck. We stay wrapped up in each other like that for a while, and I hug her tightly.
“Emilia,” I whisper. She looks up at me questioningly. I can’t quite get the words out. I want to ask her whether she likes me the way I think she does and whether she wants me as badly as she seems to.
“I—I just… uh— you have… you have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” I stammer.
Emilia smiles nervously and bites down on her lip. “Me too,” she whispers. My heart hammers in my chest and I’m filled with elation.
“Really?”
Emilia nods and hides her face in my neck. I chuckle and pull her closer, closing my arms around her. “How long?” I ask. She sighs and presses a soft kiss against my skin. “Months, Carter. I’ve been wondering what it’d be like to kiss you for months now.”
I can barely believe it. I’ve been teasing her and messing with her for months now, and I knew she wanted me after the way she sat in my lap, but still, to finally hear her say it sets my heart at ease. I bury my hand in her hair and tighten my grip on her. It’s like I can’t get her close enough.
“We need to go back, Minx,” I say reluctantly. “You know Kate will send a freaking search party out if we stay away for too long.”
She groans and nods in dismay. “I want to stay a bit longer,” she whispers. I smile and kiss her forehead.
“Okay, baby. Just a little while longer.”
Chapter 17
Carter
I’m on cloud nine as we make our way to the docks where we store our kayaks. My eyes meet Emilia’s and she blushes before looking away, last night still fresh in both of our minds. We’ve both been quiet all morning, neither one of us sure what to say around my family.
Kate grabs my arms and pulls me away angrily. I’m startled and let her drag me away from our parents. “I can’t believe you did that to Emilia, Carter,” she says, and my stomach knots up nervously. Emilia told Kate? I don’t really mind her knowing, but Emilia and I haven’t really had a chance to talk about last night yet.
“She’s never going to forgive you for ruining her date with Tony. And she shouldn’t either. Tony is super cute and you totally embarrassed her in front of him.”
I freeze. She’s talking about Tony. Just the thought of him irritates me. My mind flashes back to Emilia holding his hand as the two of them walked to the movie theatre and I grit my teeth. I can’t stand the idea of Emilia with anyone but me.
“I guess cute is a pretty good way to describe him,” I snap. “He’s small and dainty, like a kitten. Seriously, though, Kate. He’s just some little prick. Surely she doesn’t actually like him.”
Kate rolls her eyes. “She does. Or she did, anyway, until you ruined it. Why would she go out with him if she didn’t like him? Tony is smart and sweet. He’s super tall too. What’s not to like?”
I look away. “Sounds like it’s you who likes him, and not Emilia.”
Kate blushes and looks away. “I can’t believe you actually followed her into the movie theatre. What’s wrong with you? I know you to have that whole feud thing going on, but that was a bit weird. It wasn’t even really a prank. Why did you even do that?”
I look away, unable to face her. I don’t know why I did it either. Or I guess I do, but up until now I’ve been okay keeping my feelings to myself. I didn’t think I’d ever even remotely act on them, but I could barely think straight when I realized that Emilia was actually going out with someone else. I couldn’t help it. I don’t know what to say to Kate. I don’t have a reply for her. Not an acceptable one, anyway.
“Lately the way you two act around each other is a bit odd too. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something is weird. And then the thing with Tony… Kind of seemed like you were jealous or something. But you’d never go there with Emilia, right? She’s part of our family. She’s like our sister.”
Her words hit me right in the gut. For just a second I stupidly wonder if Emilia might actually see me as a brother, but then I smile to myself and look away. If she did, she wouldn’t watch me the way she does. She wouldn’t have climbed on top of me and sat on my dick if she saw me as her brother. She wouldn’t have kissed me the way she did last night. I definitely don’t see her as a sister – not even close.
Kate hits my arm again. “I’m serious, Carter. She’s not someone you can mess with. She’s my best friend, she’s part of our family. I’d never forgive you if you made a move on her. I know she’s pretty. Everyone thinks she’s pretty. I see how all the boys around us look at her… but not you, okay? Please, Carter, not you too.”
I’m startled by her words. I had no idea Kate felt that way. I feel guilty about last night instantly. I never meant to hurt Kate, and I should’ve known that getting with Emilia would never be okay with her. I wasn’t thinking about anything other than Emilia last night. I didn’t think about Kate or their friendship. All I could think about is that there’s nothing I wanted more than to have Emilia in my arms right there and then. To have her lips on mine and my arms wrapped around her.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I murmur, lying. Kate sighs and shakes her head. “I’m not blind, Carter. When you think she’s not looking your eyes are always on her. Sometimes it feels like you treat her even better than you treat me. When I have a late class, you make Mom pick me up, but when it’s Emilia, you always go get her yourself. I’ve been on the cheering squad for months now, but you only started showing up at training once Emilia joined. No matter how much I begged you to come hang out with me and the girls, you’d never do it. But now Emilia joins and all of a sudden you show up? I’m not stupid.”
I blink in surprise. I didn’t even realize I did any of those things. I guess it’s true, though. I did start showing up to her cheering practice specifically because I wanted to come watch Emilia. Looks like Kate is far more observant than I gave her credit for.
“I don’t get it,” I murmur. “There’s nothing going on between me and her, but even if there was, how is that at all your problem?”
I’m irrationally angry. I know she’s not necessarily being unreasonable, but I still don’t like hearing it. Kate looks up at me pleadingly.
“She’s my best friend, Carter. She’s at our house almost every day and she comes with us on every trip. We spend all our holidays together too. Imagine if something happened between you two? How awkward would things get? I don’t want to lose my best friend because of you. Besides, I’ve seen the way she looks at you sometimes. Just stay away from her, okay?”
I glare at her and grit my teeth. “She’s my friend too, Kate. We both met her at the exact same time. It’s not like you’ve known her any longer. You don’t own her. If anything happened between us, then that’s none of your business at all.”
Kate’s expression crumples and I instantly feel bad. I sigh and throw my arm around my little sister. “Kate, I understand where you’re coming from, but I think you’re worrying for nothing. She and I are just friends. Or frenemies, I guess. That�
�s a thing, right?”
I feel bad for not being completely honest with her. Emilia and I are definitely more than friends now, but Kate would definitely never accept that. I don’t know what to do. Do I take a step back from Emilia to avoid hurting my sister, or do I just keep things from Kate?
Kate laughs and nods. “Yeah, that’s a thing,” she murmurs. “I just hope you’ll never be more than that, Carter. You might not care, but I’m dead serious. I’ll never ever forgive you.”
Such harsh words coming out of my sweet baby sister’s lips are shocking to say the least. I never realized she felt so strongly about this. I never realized she was worried about Emilia and me getting together, but I should’ve known.
“I hear you, baby sis,” I murmur.
Kate shakes her head. “I see the way you look at her. I see the way she looks at you too. Don’t do this to me, okay? Don’t fall for her. I love Emilia too so I get it, but she’s already every teacher’s and Mom’s favorite. Why does she have to be yours too?”
I’m startled to say the least. “Kate, surely you aren’t jealous of Emilia? She won’t ever take your place, you know that, right? Even if I did ever date her, and I’m not saying I will, but even if I did, you’d still always be my only sister. Nothing would ever change. And mom doesn’t love her more than she loves either of us, of course she doesn’t. It’s just that you and I both hate doing chores and Emilia is always helping Mom with one thing or another. I think Mom also gives her just a touch more attention because her dad is literally never there for her.”
Part of me resents Kate for begrudging Emilia the little bit of attention my mom gives her, but part of me also gets it. Kate probably feels like she’s always had to compete with Emilia, and in most aspects she loses. Not because she isn’t as good as Emilia, but because Emilia works much harder than Kate ever does. Emilia has better grades because she works her ass off for them. While Kate is usually on her phone or watching Netflix, Emilia is usually studying. She works even harder than I do and I’m putting absolutely everything into getting an academic scholarship. It’s true that Emilia gets more of Mom’s attention, but that’s because she’s always helping around the house and she’s always offering to go everywhere with Mom.
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