I took another step back and bumped into someone. The next thing I knew, my mother was all over me. She rushed me over to Emma’s father. She never left my side as Dr. Birk stitched up my forehead.
“Garrett, go clean up, and get some rest,” Dr. Birk said.
I nodded my head. “Yes, sir.” I made my way past everyone and headed into the house. As I began climbing the stairs, I heard the screen door shut.
“Garrett?”
I turned to see Emma standing there.
“I just wanted to say I’m glad you’re okay and that the fire didn’t make it to y’all’s ranch.”
I didn’t have the energy anymore. I smiled slightly at her and said, “Thanks,” before turning and making my way upstairs.
I’d never been so tired in my life.
“Garrett, please go do something with your friends. It’s your Christmas break, and all you’ve done is help your father with the ranch. You need to have fun. Billy called and asked—”
I stood up as I grabbed my cowboy hat and looked at my mother. “I’m sorry, Mom. I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but I’m not interested in doing anything with my friends.” I started making my way to the front door.
“Is this because of Emma? Garrett, is that what’s bothering you?”
I stopped just short of the door. Just hearing her name hurt my heart. Both my mother and father had seen how I’d reacted to Emma last summer, and they were convinced I was head over heels for her. It was too bad Emma didn’t feel the same way.
“No,” I said as I opened the door. I gently closed it behind me, and I made my way down to the barn.
I just needed to ride. I needed to go for a ride and clear my head. I would be leaving and playing football for Texas A&M next year, and I would forget all about Emma. At least, that was what I kept telling myself.
After I saddled up Jack, I hopped on him and took off to my favorite spot on the ranch. Once there, I jumped off of Jack and let him roam while I went and sat against the giant oak tree. I loved it here. It was quiet, and I could really think. I closed my eyes and thought back to the other day.
Billy walked up to me and gave me a weak smile.
I smiled back as I put my books away in my locker. “What’s going on? You look like someone died,” I said with a chuckle.
Billy looked down. “Garrett, are you ever going to ask Emma out again?”
My heart dropped, and I knew what he was about to say. “I’ve asked her out a dozen times, and every time, she says no.”
He looked me in the eyes and then glanced back down. “This morning, Michael asked her out to go skating.”
God, please no. “What did she say?”
“Yes.”
I stumbled backward just a bit and hit my locker. “What?”
I looked past Billy, only to see Emma and Peggy walking up. Both girls were laughing.
“You’re going out with Michael?” I asked before I could stop myself.
Emma’s smile faded, and she quickly glared at Billy and then turned back to me. “Um…”
I shook my head and let out a laugh. “I’ve been asking you out for months, and you keep turning me down. He asked you one time, and you agreed?”
She swallowed hard and stared into my eyes. I almost thought I saw regret in her eyes, but I knew that was wrong. This girl had been pushing me away since the moment I met her.
“Um…well…”
I pushed off against my locker and stood right in front of her. “I got the message loud and clear.”
As I turned to walk away, Emma began calling out for me, but I kept going until I was out the door and to my truck. I jumped in and took off for home. For the first time in my life, I cried, and it was for losing something I never even had in the first place.
“Garrett?”
I slowly opened my eyes to see Margie sitting on top of my mother’s horse.
“Marg? What are you doing here?”
She slid off the horse and walked over to sit down next to me. “Wayne, Billy, and Raymond asked me to come talk to you. I guess you haven’t been hanging out with them very much, and they were getting worried about you.”
I laughed and shook my head. “I’m fine. I certainly don’t need them sending you to check up on me.”
“You’re fine? Really, Garrett? We never see you anymore. You go to school, football practice, and then home. You never come out or hang out with us. What is going on?”
I let out a long breath. I wasn’t in the mood to get into this with Margie. “Marg, I’m fine. I’ve just been busy. I’m trying to help my father with the ranch and—”
“Bullshit. What is your father going to do when you go to college? I know he has a few ranch hands who help him. You’re just avoiding her.”
I snapped my head over and looked at Margie. She always knew my true feelings. Everyone thought we had something going on, but she really was like my sister.
I looked away and mumbled, “I don’t know what you mean. I’m not avoiding anyone.”
Margie jumped up and kicked the shit out of my leg. I flew up and began jumping around, holding my leg.
“What in the hell, Margie? Why did you kick me? You bitch!”
She stood there with her hands on her hips, trying to look serious, when I knew she wanted to laugh.
“Why, Margie? I thought we were friends.”
I began walking off the pain, and she followed behind me.
“Garrett, she went out with him only once.”
I was pretty sure my jaw dropped. “How do you know that?”
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “She likes you and only you. She’s just afraid to admit it to herself. I think it scares her how much she likes you.”
I shook my head, confused. “How do you know she likes me? I’ve been asking her out for months, only to have her turn me down time after time. Michael asked her out once, and she was all over it.”
“It wasn’t like that, Garrett. She doesn’t like him like that.”
I started laughing. “Then, why did she go out with him, Marg? I’m done talking about Emma Birk. I’m moving on, and I’m just going to worry about college. Emma can go out with anyone she wants. I don’t care anymore.”
“Right. Keep telling yourself that.” She smiled just a little. “Are you going to the sock hop tonight?”
I shook my head as I turned around and whistled to call Jack back over. Jack and my mother’s horse came walking up to us. Margie and I both quietly climbed up onto each horse, and we began slowly heading back to the barn. We were silent for the next ten minutes or so.
“Please come tonight, Garrett, just to hang out with your friends. Please. I need someone to dance with.”
I started laughing because Margie didn’t dance. In all the time I’d known her, I’d never seen her dance.
“You gonna dance with me tonight if I go?”
She gave me an evil smile and said, “Only if I get to dance to that Elvis song you like so much.”
I threw my head back and laughed. “‘That’s All Right’ is the name of the song, Margie, and Elvis is the coolest cat around.”
Margie chortled and nodded. We continued riding back in silence, and the only image that kept running through my mind was of Emma dancing with another guy. I would have to really keep it together since just thinking about it made me mad.
After Margie and I took care of the horses, I walked her to her car.
Before she got in, she gave me a serious look. “You know, I never thought I’d ever see you giving up on something you truly wanted, Garrett. Please don’t give up.”
I smiled weakly. “Yeah, I know, but it’s hard to fight for someone who doesn’t feel the same.” I glanced up and saw my mother standing on the porch.
Margie turned around and gave my mother a wave before getting into her car. I shut the door and leaned down to say good-bye.
“She really doesn’t like him, and she only went out with him the one time. And, Garrett?”
“Yeah, Marg?”
She looked away and then back at me. “Please don’t stay away from your friends.”
I gave Margie a weak smile and nodded my head. “I promise, I’ll be there tonight.”
She smiled and wiped a tear away. I wasn’t sure why she had gotten upset, and I began to worry that she knew more than she had told me about Emma. I stood there and watched as Margie drove off before I turned to face my mother.
“Garrett, was Margie upset? Did you say something to make her upset?”
Walking up to my mother, I shook my head. “No. To be honest with you, I’m not really sure what’s going on anymore, Mama. The only thing I do know is that women were placed on this earth to drive men insane, and I don’t really give a shit about them anymore.”
My mother placed her hands on her hips. “Garrett Thomas Mathews, I should wash your mouth out with soap.”
“Sorry, Mama. I’ve never felt so twisted in my life. I best go help Dad with some stuff, so I can head to the dance this evening.”
She nodded her head and gave me a knowing smile. That was one of the things I loved about my parents. They trusted me and knew when not to push. I didn’t want to tell my mother that I had been chasing Emma Birk for months, only to have her turn me down time and time again before going out with a dick like Michael.
I turned and headed to the barn. My head was spinning, and I couldn’t figure out what I should do. Tonight, I was either going to walk away from the idea of Emma Birk or give it one last go.
I had a funny feeling this night was going to change the rest of my life. I just didn’t know if the night would change my future for the better or for the worse.
Margie hadn’t been acting right since she walked into my bedroom and sat down on my bed.
“What did you do today?” I asked as I looked in my closet to grab a skirt.
“I, um…I went to see Garrett.”
I stopped for a brief second to catch my breath. Just hearing his name did weird things to my stomach. Play it cool, Emma. “Oh, really? What did you go see him for?” I tried to sound like I was not really interested in her answer.
“His mom called my mom, asking for me to come talk to him. I told him the guys were worried about him. She has been worried about him because he has been pretty much sticking to himself ever since…”
I closed my eyes and held my breath. The moment I’d agreed to go out with Michael, Garrett had stopped talking to me. He’d stopped doing pretty much everything, and I knew his friends all blamed me.
I slowly turned around. “Ever since what?”
Margie bit down on her lip and tilted her head. “Can I ask you something?”
My hands started sweating, and I could hear my heart beating in my ears. I slowly nodded my head.
She took a deep breath and said, “Do you like Garrett?”
That was not what I had expected her to ask me. “Excuse me?”
She stood up and put her hands on her hips. “I see the way you look at him. You practically have to catch your breath every time he walks into a room or comes anywhere near you. Why are you fighting your feelings for him when he has been doing nothing but trying to win your heart?”
I stood there with my mouth dropped open. How dare she assume such a thing! But every word she’d said was true. I turned and grabbed the first skirt I could find. It didn’t really matter how I looked at this point. I knew Garrett wouldn’t be at the sock hop, and I’d already told Michael I wasn’t interested in going with him.
“I’m not interested in a relationship, especially one with Garrett Mathews. The way he has been looking at me lately is like he hates me. He doesn’t smile at me anymore, and he wouldn’t even let me touch him when he got hurt from the fire. Besides, earlier today, Anna mentioned that she was fooling around with Garrett again.”
Margie’s mouth dropped open, and she just stared at me. “Do you hear yourself? Honestly, Emma, you are coming up with every excuse under the sun to deny your feelings for Garrett! And what in the hell do you mean about Anna? That was months ago!”
I shook my head. “No, Anna said she—”
“I don’t give a crap what Anna said. Garrett is not interested in her. He is interested in you! Why are you denying how you feel for him? You are totally pushing him away.”
Now, I was getting angry…but I wasn’t sure who I was angry with—Margie or myself. I’d been so stupid all these months.
“Why do you care anyway, Marg? Let’s talk about you and your sex life, shall we?”
The door flew open, and Peggy came walking in. She quickly shut the door behind her.
“You are thicker than a five-dollar malt, Emma. I could hear you down the hall. What if your parents heard y’all talking in here? I don’t even want to think about what your mother and father would do to you, Margie. You’d be wearing more than that virgin pin you have on all the time. Now, what is this about Margie’s sex life?”
I looked at Margie and whispered, “How can you even wear a virgin pin when you’re not a virgin?”
Peggy started jumping up and down. “Oh my, when did you lose your cherry? And who was the lucky bastard?”
“Shh! For the love of all things good, Peggy, shut up!” Margie said as she grabbed both of us and pushed us down on the bed. She looked right at me. “I can wear it because I am a virgin.”
Peggy’s whole body slumped down, and she fell back onto my bed. “Damn, I thought we were going to get a good story out of this.”
I stared at Margie. “I thought y’all had sex.”
Peggy sat up quickly. “What? You and Billy finally bumped uglies?”
Margie hit Peggy on the arm as she sat down. “Shut up, Peggy. We are not talking about me! We are talking about Emma denying her feelings for Garrett.”
Peggy winked at me. “Now, come on, Emma. Have you looked at Garrett’s body lately? Tell me you haven’t dreamed of wrapping your legs around that boy.”
I jumped up off the bed. I let out a gasp and yelled, “You have a boyfriend! You can’t talk that way! And you most certainly can’t talk that way about Garrett. What dreams I have about him are none of your business!”
“Emma Rose, what is all the yelling about? Is everything okay?” my mother asked after opening my bedroom door.
Never taking my eyes off of the two giggling girls on my bed, I said, “Everything is fine, Mother. We’re just playing around.”
“That’s fine. Just keep it down. Inside voices, okay?”
I nodded my head as I glanced back at my mother, smiling sweetly. I let out a giggle. “Okay, Mom. Sorry.”
She grinned and shut the door. I quickly looked back at Margie. For some crazy reason, I pictured my legs around Garrett while he was making love to me. I felt my cheeks instantly flush. Peggy and Margie both started laughing.
“I’m getting a good story after all,” Peggy whispered.
Margie stood up and dropped open her mouth. “Oh my gosh. You do want Garrett, don’t you?”
I started to shake my head as I took a step back and bumped into my dresser.
Margie started jumping up and down. “Tell me about your dreams with Garrett, Em. You know he’s coming to the dance.”
I let out a gasp.
Peggy said, “Yep, this just got really good.”
I spun around and looked at Peggy. “Please. No comments from the peanut gallery.”
Margie smiled. “Emma?”
I rolled my eyes and whispered, “Fine. I might have had a dream…or two about Garrett.”
I turned and walked the few steps to my bed. I face-planted onto it and began yelling into the mattress as Peggy and Margie did the same. We all rolled over onto our backs and looked at the ceiling.
Then, I sat up, turned, and looked at Margie. “Was Billy the guy who made you give yourself an orgasm because he turned you on so much?”
Peggy sat up and yelled out, “What?”
I slammed my hands over my mouth.
&n
bsp; Margie sat up with a shocked look on her face. “Emma Rose! I told you that as a secret because you said you felt like that after you met Garrett!”
“This just got so much better. Have you wanted to do the same, Emma?” Peggy said.
I stood up and looked back and forth between them. “Um…” I dropped open my mouth. “I’m not, um…I’m not answering that.”
Peggy grabbed my hand and pulled me back down onto the bed. “Please. We’ve already established you have a thing for Garrett, and he makes your little girl parts tingle.”
I rolled my eyes and pushed Peggy back. Margie started laughing, and then I started laughing. Before I knew it, we had all fallen back onto the bed, laughing until we were almost crying.
When we finally got ourselves under control, I let out a sigh. “Okay. Tonight, I’ll tell Garrett that I like him…maybe.”
Peggy said, “Emma, you are going to march your little self up to Garrett and tell him how you feel. Better yet, just ask him to dance. He won’t expect that. Make it a slow song, and dance as far away from the chaperones as you can get. If the coast is clear, push yourself into him. Make him so crazy that after the dance, he has to flog his log.”
I sat up quickly and looked at Peggy. “You did not just say that!”
Peggy smiled and winked at me, and then we all started chortling. We laughed for at least another ten minutes before my mother called for us to stop goofing around and get ready for the dance. We frantically began looking through my closet for the perfect dresses to wear. After picking them out, we fixed each other’s hair and put just a tad bit of rouge on.
When I looked at myself in the mirror, I couldn’t help but smile. I had my favorite flower-print skirt on with a white collared shirt. I slipped on my saddle shoes and looked in the mirror one more time.
Peggy came up behind me and placed her chin on my shoulder. “You ready to make Garrett Mathews the happiest guy at the dance?”
I laughed and pushed her away.
She tilted her head and gave me a wicked smile. “Then, are you ready to change Garrett Mathews’s world?”
I felt my cheeks blushing, and I closed my eyes. I could almost feel his lips on my neck and his hands on my body. Yep, I’m totally ready.
A Forever Love Page 4