Emily smiles. I start her omelet first. “Want any meats?”
“Nah. Do we have any veggies?”
“Not sure. Wanna check for me?”
I hear the fridge open; then Emily grumbles. “Nope. Looks like we’re going to need to take a trip to the grocery store.”
“All right. Toss me a bag of cheese. After we eat and shower, how about we make a list and head to the store.”
“Okay.” She hands me a bag of cheese.
About fifteen minutes later, we both finish breakfast. I tell her to go ahead and shower while I clean up the kitchen. It feels very domesticated. Normally this kind of crap would set me on edge and have me running for the hills. But, I don’t know, with her I kind of like it.
An hour later, we’re both dressed and heading to my car with a pretty long list. “We’re going to spend about three hundred bucks easy,” I say.
“Eh, probably four, but that’s okay. I got this. I’ve got a lot of money. My parents have been dumping funds in my account since Christmas. I think they felt guilty for leaving me behind. ”
“You don’t have to do that. We’re supposed to split the cost.”
She shrugs. “Kyle, seriously, I don’t care about the money. I haven’t spent any of my allowance for five months now. I’ve got the groceries and anything else we need the entire time we’re here.”
I feel like I should be asking her why she hasn’t went on any shopping sprees. Emily is famous for them. God, I wish she’d tell me what happened to her in Florida.
Chapter Twelve
Emily
Kyle pushes the cart around the store while I put things in it. I feel like we’re a married couple. Wonder if this is how Maddy feels when she goes grocery shopping with Bryce?
We’re in the cereal aisle, and I point to the one I want, but it’s too high up for me to reach. “What’s the matter, short stuff? Need a boost?” Kyle teases.
I laugh. “Yeah, or you could just get it down for me.”
“Sure. Which one were you wanting?”
“The harvest kind.”
He brings down the box and grabs a couple of different types and tosses them into our cart. “Can’t ever have enough Cocoa Pebbles.”
As we grab all the breakfast essentials from the aisle, we turn a corner to head into the can food lane, and I come to a halt. My body shudders, and my breathing increases. My panic attack is full on. Kyle must notice my change of mood because his arms quickly come around me. “Em, you okay?”
“We got enough stuff, right?”
“Uh, we just started. What’s going on? Talk to me.”
“I think I see someone I used to date.” It wasn’t just someone. It was Vince. Why the hell was Vince here? Did he follow me? Am I seeing things? He’s supposed to be in Florida.
Fear clenches my heart and chills my insides. “Please, Kyle. Let’s get out of here.”
“We’ll hit up another lane. In the meantime, here.” He places his baseball cap on my head and whispers, “There. Not that he’d probably recognize you anyway with your hair all natural.”
My panic subsides a little as he leads me away. I should just tell Kyle why I’m freaked out. I’m scared though of how he reacted at the restaurant what he’ll do. Maddy wouldn’t forgive me if we had to go bail her brother out of jail.
“Bisquick was on the list, right?”
I nod.
Kyle grabs it, sugar, and some spices; then we head to another aisle. We continue shopping, and I glance behind us every once in a while hoping that maybe it was just a delusion. Kyle touches my hand and then his breath fans my cheek. “Quit looking back. I promise he’s not following us. He didn’t even see you. Besides, you’re with me looking positively sexy-as-hell in my hat.”
I blush at his words. “You think I’m sexy?”
“Yeah. Grab a couple gallons of milk, will you?”
We continue to do this until we come back to the can aisle. Vince isn’t there anymore. At least the hallucination of Vince isn’t there anymore. Maybe I’m going insane. Maybe this is what’s happens when I drop my guard. I don’t want to see any more manifestations of Vince ever again.
“Emily, I hate asking this, but are you okay?”
The real answer I’m not sure I’ll ever be okay. The answer I give and will keep giving until one day hopefully it will be real enough to be true is, “I’m fine.”
“I hate that bullshit answer, by the way. You might be able to hide behind that line for a while with Maddy and Sarah, but I know better. One of these days, you’re going to answer me truthfully.”
I scowl at Kyle. “Shut up! Stop acting all big brotherly.”
“Is that what I’m doing? Pretty sure that’s not what’s going on here.”
Ugh. Kyle can really push my buttons when he wants to. Right now he’s pushing hard, and I want to dropkick him.
He must notice how pissed he’s making me because he says, “I’ll drop it for now.”
The warning is clear. He’s going to bring this up again. He’s going to keep bringing it up until I tell him. Tell him everything. And that scares me.
We grab the items we needed from the aisle and then make our way to the checkout in silence. We load the groceries on the belt. I keep smacking Kyle as he just tosses things without any order. Like bread with can things. Ugh.
I’ve seen people bag groceries and trust me a few of those people need a little help. Placing bread with the can goods will likely result in mashed bread. This is why I put everything where it needed to be. Meats near the frozen items so it stays cold, along with all the dairy products. Then followed by can goods, box items, fruits, vegetables, and then bread. Last would be toiletries.
Kyle just snickers at me as I sigh. “Done. See?”
“You’re anal. Yes, I completely see it.”
“Bite me!”
“Don’t make requests you don’t want granted,” he whispers.
I heat at his words. Lord have mercy. I’m in so much trouble with this one.
“Hello. How are you folks doing today?” the cashier asks.
“Just dandy,” Kyle replies.
I stifle back a laugh. The guy’s name tag says Danny on it. The guy looks over at Kyle and then at me. I can tell he’s not amused, and he probably wants to punch Kyle. “Paper or plastic?”
“Whatever is easier for you,” I answer.
He nods.
Kyle makes his way to the end of the lane and starts prepping the empty bags. “Don’t put things out of order,” I warn.
“Babe. I got this.”
I raise a brow. “Sure you do.”
Danny starts to scan, and then he looks over at me. He smiles. I smile back to be friendly.
“Are you guys on break or something?” Danny asks.
“Yep.”
“Cool. How long do you plan on staying?”
“Long enough,” Kyle snaps.
Danny nods. “If you’re still here around the fourth, there are some cool parties happening.”
“Sounds like fun,” I say. I glance over at Kyle. His eyes are narrowed and shooting daggers at the side of Danny’s face.
Once the groceries are scanned, I pay, then help Kyle load the bags into the cart. When we finally get to the car, I ask, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he says in a clipped tone as he opens the trunk.
“Whatever. Keep acting all weird then.”
I roll my eyes at him and drop my bags into the trunk. While I’m turning away to go to the passenger side of the car his hand latches onto my wrist. Next thing I know I’m pinned to the side of his car and his eyes bore into mine. “Please, don’t flirt with another man while I’m standing there.”
I gasp. “It wasn’t … I wasn’t flirting.”
His fingers skim my cheek, then my lips. I swear I’m on fire. “It seemed like you were. I didn’t like it.”
“Okay,” I whisper.
He draws back, and I still can’t breathe right.
Kyle
I keep telling myself I can’t have her. She’s off limits. But I want her. Watching her flirt with another guy sends me into a jealous rage. I can’t be like this. This damn girl is screwing with my mojo.
I’m not the type who gets jealous. I flat-out don’t care if the one night hook-up I had or am about to have flirts with another guy. Which makes me wonder why the hell do I care so much when Em does it?
I push the cart back to the return bin and then slip into my car. Emily remains silent as I pull out of the parking lot.
Hell, she’s quiet the entire ride back to the beach house. Maybe it’s for the best. But this bothers me too. As we’re unloading the groceries, I realize I can’t physically take this silent treatment anymore.
Entering the kitchen, I drop my bag atop the island. “I shouldn’t have said anything. Back at the store. If you want to hook up with dorkface on the fourth, then go ahead,” I say.
She blinks at me. “I’m not hooking up with anyone while we’re here.” She drops her bags on the countertop.
“Right. I forgot.” I flash her a smile. “They’ve got to be plastic.” I wink.
Quick as lightning, she whips around and slaps me across the face. It stuns the hell out of me. Where did that come from? It was a joke. I rub the side of my face as I watch her storm out of the kitchen.
I don’t rush after her, but I do return to the car to gather some more groceries. She’s standing there shaking, and I hear her sniffle. Damn it! I made her cry. I wrap her up in my arms and whisper, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Em. Please don’t cry.”
“Leave me alone, Kyle. You’re a prick.”
“I know.” I drop a kiss on the top of her head. “I know.”
She tries to break free from my hold, but I twist her around so she’s facing me. I squeeze her against my chest. “I’m sorry, Emily. Please say you forgive me.”
“I hate you.”
“No, you don’t. Birds of a feather.”
“There isn’t any flocking together.” She glares at me. “I’m done. Done with the games. Done with the one nights of fun. I’m done. If you want a little piece of easy ass, look somewhere else.”
She shoves me again, and this time I let her go. “I never said you’d be easy. And I wouldn’t want just one night with you, Em.”
“Don’t say shit you don’t mean, Kyle. You’re a lot of things, but a liar isn’t one. Don’t start now.”
“I’m not lying!” This conversation turned from a joke and manifested into something way serious. I can’t back out now, even though this type of talk usually has me running for the hills. This whole relationship kind of shit isn’t exactly my style. Hasn’t been for a while.
She snatches up two more bags from the trunk and heads to the house. I should stop her. But she needs a breather. I do too.
After all the groceries are put away, Em goes to her room. She’s been in there most of this vacation. She hasn’t ventured to the ocean. Hasn’t laid out on a towel or worked on her tan.
I haven’t heard any moans or buzzing noises coming from outside her door, so I know she’s not holed up in there masturbating.
I knock. “It’s open,” she says.
Entering her room, I glance around and notice her lying on her bed with a book in her hands. “You want to go to the beach with me?”
“Nope.”
“Want to try out this ice cream joint I saw on my run the other day?”
She lowers her book a smidge. “Nope.”
“Are you ever going to forgive me?”
“Maybe.”
I smile. She props her book back up, hiding her face. I lean closer. “Is that book interesting?”
“Yep.”
“Are you going to keep up with this one-word answer shit?”
She lays her book across her stomach and then she glares at me. “What do you want, Kyle?”
“You to talk to me. I want to know what’s going on with you.”
“I’m reading.”
“I’m aware. Just like I know you’re avoiding something. You haven’t been to the ocean or working on your tan. You haven’t explored the shops. You changed your hair. Stop fronting. Spill it, Em. What’s going on with you? What happened in Florida?”
She sits up a little and sighs. “I don’t want to talk about it. Maybe eventually I will, but right now, I don’t want to. Please quit pushing me.”
I take a seat on her bed. “It kills me. Knowing you’re struggling through something and I gotta sit here and just watch. I don’t like it. I want to fix this. When you’re ready, my door is open.”
“Thanks.” She smiles. “I’ll try.”
I start to rise from the bed, but her voice stops me. “Ice cream, huh?”
“Yeah. Want some?”
She nods. “Sounds good.” She sets her book aside and then she scoots off her bed. I do the same.
Chapter Fourteen
Emily
I can’t keep dodging Kyle’s questions. I know this. Eventually he’s going to do something drastic to get me to spill my guts about Florida. He’ll probably find a way to hog-tie me to a chair and hold me hostage in a closet or a hot, sweaty shack on the beach.
A shiver travels down my spine at the thought. Kyle’s brilliant eyes gaze into mine for a moment too long. A rapid wave of heat spreads across my cheeks as I quickly break the trance. It’s not enough to stop the blush from spreading as his deep sultry voice whispers in my ear, “What are you in the mood for?”
You. I’m in the mood for you, damn it! But it’s wrong. You’re a freaking whore and I know it. Before, this didn’t bother me. It does now. It’s what got me into my fiasco with Vince. Boys like Kyle were a dime a dozen. I’ve met them. I’ve played them. I’ve dated them if you could call it that. I had solid rules: three weeks of dating, sex, and move on.
Why three weeks? A month was “couple” territory. Causal and simple was easy. I kept my heart in check. For a while, the system worked.
Kyle is different. He can break me. Shatter me essentially. Crushes are hard like that. They have this incredible power to ruin you. I can’t let Kyle do that to me. That’s why I had to stop us from having sex during break. But my body isn’t making it easy to forget him either or what he can do to me.
My heart throbs against my ribs as his breath coats my neck. I’m going to melt into a puddle on this checkered tile floor in a second if he doesn’t quit. What’s sad is he probably realizes the affect he has on me and is doing this intentionally for kicks.
“I think I’m going to have the hot fudge delight,” Kyle says.
I take a deep breath. “I think I’m going to have the cheesecake sundae with the caramel drizzle.”
I watch him lick his lips and slowly grins at me. “That sounds amazing. Will you share a bite?”
“No. Get your own.”
Kyle shrugs. “Fine. I’ll just have to steal some. Call it payment for withholding secrets from me.”
I scowl at him. “That’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard.”
The guy in the dark blue apron and white collar shirt takes our orders and then moves us down the line. Kyle pays for my ice cream even though I protest the entire time.
Kyle leads us to a table by the large window that overlooks the beach. There is a couple beside us, and I can’t help but notice them. They’re smiling and teasing each other. At one point the boy sitting across from the giggling girl blots ice cream her nose and across her cheek. It’s almost like watching my favorite scene from my favorite movie Letters to Juliet.
“How is it?” Kyle asks, pulling my attention from the couple to him.
“Hmm? Oh, I uh …”
He laughs. “It’s rude to stare, Em.”
“They seem cute and carefree,” I say as I cast a glance over to the couple again, then back to Kyle.
He looks annoyed. “Right.” He glares at his sundae and spoons a bite into his mouth.
I try
my cheesecake wonder, and man, it tastes amazing. It doesn’t brighten my mood any.
“You want that, huh?” Kyle asks.
“Want what?” I ask.
“That shit. That gooey, sick couple crap.” He points his spoon in the direction of the cute couple I was admiring.
I raise a brow. “I never said I wanted it. It looks nice though.” Because, okay, since we’ve been here, I’ve noticed Graham and Sarah and how they are always playful and teasing with each other. Then I notice Bryce and Madison and how he’s constantly looking out for her, opening doors, and holding her things. They finish each other’s thoughts sometimes. Which sounds utterly annoying, but it’s totally awesome. I mean, to have someone in the same mind frame and thought wave as you.
I used to be one of those people who thought the whole couple thing was stupid. Especially if it was doom to result in utter heart ache. Who would want that?
But before I can want a relationship of any kind, I need to get rid of the fear that Vince is hunting me down. I need to stay the hell away from Kyle and boys just like him too.
“I think all of that stuff is stupid,” Kyle finally says.
“Why is being happy stupid?”
“Please. It’s only nice for the first three weeks. After a few months it sucks. Someone ends up cheating, liking someone else, or just flat-out becoming the most annoying thing you can ever be around. Clingy, whiney, hand-holding shit is not worth it.”
I focus on my ice cream. This is exactly why I can’t get close to Kyle. Relationships for him are like a disease.
It’s been a few days since the ice cream shop. I have made myself scarce anytime Kyle comes into the same room. I don’t think he really seems to notice my avoidance. Not that it should matter much; I mean, it’s not like he’s going all-out to find me.
Today is my first session with the therapist, Dr. Sommers. I’m slightly nervous, a little excited, but mostly I just hope she doesn’t turn out to be a quack. I remember horror stories of when Madison and her family had to go see a therapist before Sarah moved in with them. Madison told me she thought the dude smoked a big bowl of something before he saw them because half the crap he said sounded bananas.
Kyle (Scandalous Boys Book 3) Page 6