Love's Secret Torment

by Stacy L. Darnell

  Tamron’s face blanched, but then she turned and walked right up to me, stopping only inches away. “You should have known better. She’s too good for you. She’s not one of your whores, Emmett. And it’s not just me you have to worry about either . . .”

  “What’s going on in here?” Alison yawned as she shuffled into the kitchen with Riley on her heels.

  “Speak of the devil,” I muttered.

  “Oh, nothing really. Apparently, Emmett fucked Sam last night and I’m in the process of chewing him a new asshole. He’ll be lucky if I don’t punch him in the junk.”

  Alison’s mouth and bloodshot eyes opened wide as she glared daggers at me.

  “For the love of God, will everyone just stop and relax a damn minute?” Sam said with her hands on her hips. She glanced from Tamron to Alison and back again. “I guess you two haven’t noticed, but I am an adult. I can and will make my own freaking decisions. Most especially regarding who I’m going to sleep with.”

  “We know, Sam, it’s just . . .”

  “No!” she yelled. “This conversation is so not happening with everyone standing here! I’m mortified! I know you two don’t have any filters, but this is beyond bullshit and way, way, way past the line of being okay,” she huffed. “Now, if you have something to say, we can take this upstairs—away from the guys. Geez.” She walked past me, set her cup down, and squeezed my hand. “Emmett, I’m so sorry about all of this.”

  “It’s okay, darlin.’ I figured it was gonna be bad when they found out.”

  Sam smiled up at me, lifted on to her tiptoes, and gave me a chaste kiss on the cheek before walking out of the kitchen.

  The girls looked at me, Tamron finally silent in her anger.

  “You shouldn’t have done that, Emmett. You knew she was our friend,” Alison scolded as they followed Sam into the living room.

  I breathed a sigh of relief at their exit and turned toward Riley and Quinn, both of whom were failing miserably at holding in their laughter.

  “Shut up, assholes. It’s not funny.”

  Riley held up his hands. “Sorry . . . sorry.”

  I walked out and climbed the stairs. I needed to get ready for my shift at the lumberyard. I stopped when I heard voices from Riley’s room.

  “Sam, with what you just went through, we just don’t want to see you get hurt again. That’s all. And as I’m sure you’ve gathered, Emmett’s not exactly the stick-around kind-of-guy,” Alison finished in a frustrated sigh.

  “I know he’s not. He told me last night when we were hanging out at the party, he doesn’t do the girlfriend thing. But did it ever occur to either of you . . . that that was exactly what I needed? To be able to feel something good without worrying about getting hurt again?”

  That should’ve relieved me, but for some reason, it bothered me even more.

  I couldn’t believe Tamron and Alison’s audacity. As I tore off Emmett’s clothes and yanked on my own from the party, I vowed to hold my grudge long enough for them to think about their actions. I took out my phone and Googled cab companies. I found one that looked good and called the number listed.

  “Apple Taxi, how may I help you?”

  “Hi, I need a cab.”

  “Okay, what’s the pick-up address?”

  Shit! I don’t know. It’s not like I freaking drove here or paid attention to the house number or street name for that matter.

  “Umm, sorry, let me just look a minute.”

  I looked around Emmett’s room and saw some papers lying on his dresser. Shuffling through them, I found a piece of mail from Auburn University.

  “Okay, it’s 332 Mason Road.”

  “All right, I have a driver about ten minutes from that area. I’ll send him over.”

  “Thanks.”

  I hung up then tossed my phone onto Emmett’s bed. As I glanced at the twisted sheets, my mind flashed back to us tangled up in them. Just the thought of it had me feeling warm and smiling. I’d never been with anyone but Alec. Surprisingly, it didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. My heart still ached at the thought of him at that party and his cruel behavior. But I was moving on. I deserved better.

  I opened Emmett’s door only to run smack into his chest . . . again. My gaze meandered up his body to his piercing blue eyes as his hands caught my shoulders, sending tingles down my arms.

  He chuckled. “We really gotta stop meeting like this . . . then again, I love the feel of you.”

  “Oh,” I gasped. “Sorry. I was just on my way downstairs to wait for a cab.”

  “What the hell? No. I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”

  I looked down and leaned my forehead against his chest, wishing he were shirtless this time, too. “It’s okay I don’t want to inconvenience you, and I’ve already called them anyway.”

  “Really, it’s no problem,” he insisted.

  Looking up at him again, I stepped back and to the side. “Thanks, but I’m good. I’ll uh, see you around.” I headed downstairs, but was stopped as I opened the front door.

  “Sam, what are you doing?” Alison asked.

  “Taking a cab back to your place, then getting my car,” I hissed.

  “Stop. We’ll take you,” Tamron urged.

  “No. If I wanted a ride I would’ve asked. Just leave me alone for a bit.”

  “Don’t be mad at us. We’re sorry,” Alison pleaded.

  I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “You two should have thought of that before you decided to make my business yours . . . in front of everyone here, no less.” I stepped through the threshold, closing the heavy door behind me, and waited alone for my cab.

  I used the key the girls had given me to get in their apartment. I stepped inside and looked around at the messy living room. I put the sofa bed back together, folded the blanket and left them a note.

  Fortunately, there was a Starbucks a couple miles from where they lived. I settled in the lounge area with a latte and stared at my kindle app, while thoughts of Emmett flooded my mind.

  A month had gone by, and I was really enjoying life. I pulled into the parking lot at Tamron and Alison’s apartment building. Sam had been staying with me more and more, but still occasionally spent the night with her friends. I smiled when I saw her walk out the door to meet me. My life changed the night I met her. I felt more alive than I ever had in my life.

  I hadn’t been with anyone else since then either. I couldn’t even think about being with any other girl but Sam. Turning them away was definitely out of the norm for me. The looks on their faces surprised me. It also made me stop and think about what a dick I must have seemed like. But I never led them on. They knew I wasn’t looking for a relationship.

  As Sam walked up to my car, I smiled in anticipation for the day ahead. We were going kayaking on the Tallapoosa River in Wetumpka, Alabama.

  “Hey you,” she said as she got into my Camaro. She slipped her hand in mine and smiled.

  “Hey,” I replied and pulled her in for a kiss.

  “Mmm . . . well, that was a nice hello.” She giggled then motioned to the small pack she’d set at her feet. “I can’t wait to get out on the water. I brought some Gatorade and protein bars.”

  “Good idea.” I pulled out onto the road.

  “How’d you get today off from work anyway?” she asked.

  “A guy I worked with switched days with me. When I saw how nice it was gonna be today, I knew it’d be perfect.”

  “Cool, I haven’t gone kayaking in forever . . . I didn’t realize how much I missed it. My sister, Tricia, and I used to kayak the Chattahoochee north of Atlanta as often as we could . . . before she went away for college.”

  I pulled in and parked. Getting out, I walked around and opened her door for her. My parents had taught me how to be gentleman, and I wanted her to feel special.

  As we were putting our rental kayaks in the water, I watched in surprise as she took her shirt off, exposing the bikini top she wore underneath. She sat down in
the kayak, and I pushed it off the bank into the water.

  She smiled as I floated mine up to hers. “Ready?”

  “Yup, the current’s flowing good too. It’ll be a relaxing float today.”

  We came up to some small rapids and she looked over at me and with a lopsided grin on her face. “Are ya scared?”

  “Ha! Me? Scared? No, I can handle it. That’s barely a ripple.”

  “Okay, I’ll see ya on the other side.” She grinned as she paddled up and rode the rapid.

  “Oh! Look, there’s a bigger one,” I said, pointing as I caught up to her.

  “Sweet! Let’s go!” she squealed.

  We floated easily with the current, and paddled over the rapids. It was an awesome feeling . . . to have easy, normal fun with someone. I found myself feeling happy, content, and excited to be with her.

  It felt too good to be true, and I knew all too well that fate had a way of stepping in and screwing things up. But Sam was worth the risk. I’d worry about fate another day.

  Time flew by quickly. I managed to transfer from Kennesaw State to Auburn University before the start of school. Thank God Tamron and Alison had talked me into applying to both schools. Even then, it never would have worked out in time, if it weren’t for my dad being an Auburn alumni, and his connections to the Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs.

  I couldn’t imagine attending Kennesaw State after what Alec had done. There were too many painful memories back home. Going to the school we’d dreamed of together, without him, or even worse, at the risk of seeing him with someone else, would have made me miserable.

  I was moving on, spending time with the girls and Emmett. The parties at the frat house were fun. I even picked up a part-time job at Jackson’s Reading Corner, a little bookstore ten-minutes from Emmett’s house. I loved working there, and the owner, Mr. Jackson, didn’t mind if I read occasionally to pass the time, as long as I had everything shelved for the day and was attentive to the customers.

  Our days were busy with classes at Auburn. It helped that I didn’t have to stay in a dorm because the out-of-state tuition fees were insanely high. I didn’t even want to know what the room and board cost would be. I was lucky my parents had saved for college since I was born. I marked the application deadline date for financial aid for next year’s tuition to help offset it.

  Being with Emmett felt natural. It was easy. Before I knew it, I was staying with Emmett more than I was staying with the girls at their apartment near campus. Of course, at first, they were both very vocal about their concerns regarding my sudden relationship with him. But, luckily for me, he was their boyfriends’ close friend and housemate, so they eventually accepted him, though they were somewhat guarded about my “almost” living with him. Emmett and I talked about that one morning while I was cooking breakfast.

  “You know, Peach, I never expected to be in a relationship with anyone. But I love spending time with you. I’m really happy when you stay here with me.”

  I giggled at his nickname for me. He’d said I was his sweet Georgia peach and, afterwards, had taken to calling me Peach instead of darlin.’

  “Yeah, I know what you mean,” I replied. “I didn’t think I would get close to a guy after the way my ex hurt me . . . but you and I just work. There’s no drama. It feels right. It feels good to be happy and cared for again.”

  As he handed me my cup of coffee, he reached behind me for a piece of bacon I’d just cooked. I smacked his hand away.

  “What are you doing? You’ll burn your mouth! I just took that out of the pan.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh at his guilty expression.

  “But it smells so damn good. How can you expect me not to eat a piece?”

  “Easy. Leave. It. Alone,” I teased.

  “Fine,” he sulked.

  “Oh geez, just give it a minute to cool off at least. Then you can have all you want.”

  I swear, you’d think I’d washed and waxed his Camaro with the smile that appeared on his face.

  “Emmett, my parents are on their way into town to visit. They’re going to stay at a hotel near Alison and Tamron’s apartment. Tamron’s mom and dad drove over with them to see the girls, too,” I said. “I’d like for you to meet them.”

  “Sounds good, Peach,” he said. “Just let me know when you want to go.”

  “They’re almost there. If we head over now, we’ll get there before they do,” I said.

  “All right, let me jump in the shower first. Okay?”

  “Okay.” I smiled. “You, umm, need any help with that?” I asked

  “I always need your help with that,” he said with that sexy smirk of his.

  I joined him in the shower. He definitely needed me, in every way possible. He showed me how much, and I lost myself to his wet hands and wandering mouth.

  We dressed again and drove over to the girl’s apartment. I was excited to see my parents and have them meet Emmett. I loved him. I just hoped they would too. Pulling up to the girls’ apartment, we saw Quinn’s car parked out front. I released a shaky breath as Emmett took my hand in his.

  “Looks like Quinn came to the meet the parents gathering, too,” Emmett teased.

  “Yeah, Tamron said she was going to have him come over to meet her parents, as well.”

  We got out of the car and heard laughing around the side of the apartment building. Walking around toward the back, we saw Tamron and Quinn in a frantic kiss. I grabbed Emmett’s arm to turn us around and wait out front, but he beat me to it with a catcalling whistle that shocked the couple apart. Tamron, of course, cussed at him right away.

  “For fuck’s sake, Emmett! Was that necessary? We’re busy here,” she yelled.

  Quinn just shook his head. “It’s okay, babe. He’s just getting me back for interrupting him and Sam yesterday morning. At least we were only kissing. Be glad of that,” he said, shaking his head again.

  “Better me than Tamron’s dad, man. I’m sure that’s not the first impression you want to give her parents, y’all nearly tearing each other’s clothes off in an alley.”

  Tamron’s face blanched and she smacked Quinn on the shoulder. “You heathen!”

  We all busted up laughing just as we heard a car pull into the parking lot.

  “I think they’re here, y’all,” I called.

  We walked back out front and saw our parents getting out of my dad’s car. Tamron’s dad was in the front with my dad and, as usual, her mom rode in the back with my mom. They did that so they could chat away. I always kind of thought it was old-fashioned, but it made me smile.

  I ran up to my parents and gave them both hugs. Tamron swapped with me when I was done, and we each hugged the other’s parents, too.

  Tamron stepped back and said, “Mom, Dad, this is Quinn. Quinn, this is my mom and dad.”

  Quinn stepped forward and shook both of their hands.

  I stepped to the side of Emmett and said, “Mom and Dad, this is my Emmett. Emmett, meet my parents.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Lang,” Emmett said, shaking my dad’s hand and kissing the top of my mom’s.

  For a moment, my heart pierced with pain at the memory of Alec doing the same thing when he met my parents, but I pushed it out of my mind. It was over between us, and I wasn’t about to stir up all those emotions. I was happy again.

  “Please, Emmett, just Maggie and Vance is fine,” Mom said.

  “Well let’s get to it. This old man is hungry,” my dad said.

  We all got in our cars and followed Tamron and Quinn to the restaurant. Getting out and walking in hand in hand with Emmett, I caught my mom whispering to my dad, then Dad looking back at us. I don’t know why, but I felt the need to drop Emmett’s hand until my dad smiled at me.

  “You’re okay, Princess,” he teased.

  Emmett laughed, and I wanted to die. I mean, it’s not like he didn’t know we were serious or even intimate for that matter. They knew we were practically living together
. But it’s still not a subject I wanted to discuss at length with my parents.

  “It’s okay, Peach. He gets it,” Emmett whispered.

  “I know. He just likes to tease me.” I sighed.

  We ate dinner and Tamron’s and my parents gave Emmett and Quinn the twenty questions ritual. We understood. They just needed to know we were with good guys. Fortunately for us, we were.

  After dinner, we gathered in the parking lot to say our goodbyes.

  “Come visit soon, sweetheart. We miss you,” Mom said.

  “We will, Mom. I miss y’all, too.” I hugged her tight.

  “Vance, Maggie, it was nice meeting you both. We’ll come see you soon,” Emmett said.

  I waved to Tamron’s parents as mine were waving goodbye to her.

  A few nights later, Emmett got home from work at the lumberyard, and found me outside by the pool, reading a book on my phone as I waited for him. I’d made us raspberry lemonade club sodas. His smile was so adorable, and made me want to get lost in kissing him. He didn’t sit down in the lounge chair beside me, but instead sat down behind me in mine as I scooted forward. He pulled me back onto his lap, turning my head for kiss as he placed a manila envelope in my lap.

  “What’s this?” I asked.

  “Just open it, Peach.”

  My heart raced with anticipation. He was so excited, so I knew it had to be good. I pulled out the contents and saw a reservation slip for The Summit Resort in Panama City Beach, Florida.

  I squealed. “Holy crap, Emmett! Are we going to the beach? What about classes?”

  He snorted a full belly laugh and nodded. “Yes, Peach, and don’t worry about classes, we’re going for Labor Day weekend. We need to get some supplies though. I’m fairly certain you’ll need a few bathing suits, since I’m sure you won’t want to be constantly putting on and taking off wet ones. That would just be soooo cold,” he said with wink, as he trailed his fingers up the inside of my thigh.

  Emmett requested I step out of the changing room and model each bathing suit. I hadn’t thought he would want to sit there and wait while I went through the grueling process of bikini elimination. It didn’t take long for his reasoning to become evident. I stepped out of the stall and peeked around the corner to the cushy waiting chair at the entrance to the fitting room.