by Farlow, LK
"She's in good hands," Sterling replies, his voice as stiff as his posture.
"You know, a month ago I would have trusted wild dogs more than you."
Sterling smirks, not rising to Gabe's bait.
"But now...as much as it pains me to admit this...you're good for her."
"You're goddamn right I am."
"So swoony," Stella sighs, her head lolling back against the seat back.
"Text me," I remind her before shutting the door.
Gabe breaks away from Sterling and I hug both him and Zach bye, much to Sterling's displeasure.
"Ready, baby?" he asks.
I smile up at him, my heart torn between excitement over a night beneath the stars with him and worry over my best friend.
"Ready."
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Sterling
"Did you get enough to eat?" I ask Emmalyn, knowing her mind is a million miles away. She's worried about her friend, and it pains me that her camping trip has been derailed, though I’m not sorry to have her to myself.
"Yeah, I think so."
“You tell me if you get hungry. I brought snacks.”
She cracks a smile. "So did Stella. I'm pretty sure half her bag was food."
"That must've been why it was so heavy when I carried it to the car."
"I hope she's okay." The worry in her voice gnaws at my heart.
"She will be, baby. It's probably just a bad sprain."
"I know, I do. But, I can't help feeling guilty. I'm the reason we were even out here."
"Don't do that. Don't place blame on yourself when there's no need for it."
Her shoulders slump. "Logically I know that, but..."
I pull her off the stump she's sitting on and onto my lap. "I know, baby, but the heart isn't very logical."
"Tell me something," she says, "take my mind off of it."
"Hmm. I could tell you that I love you."
She snuggles closer to me, pressing her cheek to my chest. "Tell me something I don't already know."
Here goes nothing... "I told my parents about us."
She sucks in a sharp breath and tries to pull back from me. I tighten my hold, forcing her to stay put. "You did what? My God, Sterling, why? Your parents hate me!"
"That's not true." And really, it's not. They don't feel any certain way about her at all. "They just love money. Well, my dad does. But yeah, I told them about you, and I told them that we needed to have a long talk about a lot of things. They were both receptive to the idea."
"Really?" I can't discern where her mind's at from her tone.
"I know it's easy to think that because they're both lawyers that they are both callous assholes. But really, they're not. Not in their personal life, anyway. They're just way too good at their jobs."
"I guess that makes sense, but I'm still nervous."
"Well then, why don't we go check out the inside of our tent and see if I can't ease your nerves?"
"Really?" she asks, sounding far more eager than anxious.
"Would I ever lie about wanting to make you feel good?"
The firelight illuminates the pretty blush staining her cheeks. "Okay." She wiggles free from my hold and stands. "Let's go."
Emmalyn turns and heads toward the tent, surprising the hell out of me when she pulls her shirt off and lets it drop to the ground halfway there. I'm frozen, raptly watching as her pants quickly follow.
"Don't tease me," I warn.
She pauses right outside of our tent and turns to look at me over her shoulder. "Who's teasing who, Ster? You promised me a good time, and here I am heading to bed all alone."
Over the last two weeks, Emmy's definitely gotten braver sexually, but this little vixen before me has me staring slack-jawed.
"Seriously, are you coming or not?"
"We both are, if I have anything to say about it," I mutter, as I spring up from my chair and take off after her.
With a delighted squeal, she darts into the tent. I can hear her rustling around inside—hopefully ditching the rest of her clothes—but I stop on my way to grab her discarded clothing before quickly shucking mine off and joining her.
"Took you long enough," she says with a coy smile.
"Didn't mean to keep you waiting." My eyes rove over her naked body hungrily.
"I'm sure you can make up for it." She reclines back onto the mound of sleeping bags, propping herself up on her elbow. Her pose is casual, effortlessly sexy in a way that is wholly unique to Emmy.
"Oh, I'm sure I can."
"What are you waiting for?" This playful side of her is my favorite.
"For you to spread those sexy legs." My voice is a growl as the predator in me surges to the surface.
Emmalyn's eyes widen and her cheeks go scarlet, but she complies, lying flat and hooking her hands beneath her knees, pulling her legs wide and bearing herself to me.
The soft skin of her thighs is slick with her arousal, and I can hardly restrain myself from diving down for a taste.
"So damn beautiful." I kiss her ankle and then her calf before switching to the other leg, dragging my lips from her knee all the way up to her thigh. "So damn tempting."
I skim my mouth up and over, pressing a searing hot kiss to her pussy lips. She sighs and her back arches.
"So damn mine."
"Your mouth," she moans.
"What about it?"
"I love it."
"Tell me what you love," I demand before darting my tongue inside and then licking all the way up to her clit.
"I...I, oh!" She loses her train of thought as I slide my middle finger inside while simultaneously sucking her clit into my mouth.
"Oh, God. Ster. Fuck!"
Her soft pleading sounds have me grinding my erection into the pallet beneath us, searching for friction of my own.
I want inside of her more than I've ever wanted anything else, but I'm not moving from this spot until her release is dripping down my chin.
Emmy doesn't make me wait long.
A mixture of moans and praises fall from her lips as I figure-eight my tongue over her clit. She's so close I can feel it. I curl my finger inside of her, stroking her sweet spot.
She detonates, her chest heaving and legs shaking as she wails my name.
Before she's even finished coming, I'm on my knees, sliding on a condom, and guiding myself inside of her. She clenches around me, and my back bows from the mind-blowing pleasure.
“Fuck, baby, yes," I encourage her as she begins to meet my thrusts.
She's beyond words as she once again dances on the edge of release. I'm right there with her, ready to topple over. "Come for me, Emmy. Come so I can."
She cries out and I lean down, drawing her nipple into my mouth while also applying pressure to that little bundle of nerves.
Like a fucking landslide, we crash furiously over the edge together into oblivion.
Chapter Forty
Emmy
"Twirl," Stella says, and I move back into the line of sight of my computer camera. I spin a little circle, and the skirt of my black dress flares out around me. "Yes! That's definitely it."
"Are you sure it's not too short? It's pretty cold outside."
"Keyword, outside. You will be inside with like a hundred other people. It's going to be hot."
"I guess you're right."
My best friend laughs. "I'm always right. Ugh. I wish I was there so I could help you get ready. And so I could go with you. This is basically the biggest party of the year.”
"I wish you were here, too, but you wouldn't want to miss your parents’ thirtieth anniversary dinner, would you?"
"For this party? Hell yes I would."
We both laugh.
"Okay, I better get going. I need to go help Mom chop vegetables for the salad."
"She's making the dinner?"
"Oh, girl, yes, they cook for everything. I'll have to bring you over for dinner one night. Mom's food will blow your mind.”
; "Any home-cooked meal will blow my mind. I grew up eating food made by our chef or the highly talented Marie Callender."
Stella gives me a sad look before masking it with a smile. "Talk later, babe." She ends the call, and I close my laptop.
A swipe of berry-tinted lip gloss and a spritz of hairspray later, and I'm ready to go. I fire off a text to Sterling to see how far out he is. I don't want to wait out in the cold, and I damn sure don't want to wait in the lobby and risk a Melanie run-in.
Me: How long until you're here?
Sterling: Waiting out front, baby.
I head downstairs to meet Sterling, and sure enough, he's waiting in front of my building. Dressed in a pair of dark wash jeans and a form-fitting sweater, he looks like a freaking model as he leans back against the passenger door.
He lets out a wolf whistle when he sees me, his eyes moving up and down my body.
"Can't wait to get that dress off of you later," he says as soon as I'm within hearing distance.
I roll my eyes and nudge him out of the way so I can get in the car. "Come on, let's get this over with."
He laughs. "Don't sound so excited."
"Hey, I'm trying. Parties just aren't my thing."
"Do you want to stay home?"
"No, it's fine. Let's go."
"Okay... If you're sure?"
"I'm sure. Plus, I think Stella might actually murder me if I don't go and give her a play-by-play report since she has to miss it."
He puts the car in drive, and within minutes we reach our destination. This house is somehow even grander than the football house. It's old and ornate looking, save for the plastic cups and dry-humping couples scattered about the lawn.
Inside it's like every other party I've been to this year—the drinks are flowing, the bass is pounding, and people are making questionable decisions on every available surface in every room.
"What do you want to do first?" Sterling asks.
"Consider yourself my tour guide for the night."
He winks. "First up, something to drink. Nonalcoholic for you, of course."
"I could probably handle one drink." For some reason, I feel keyed up. Maybe a few sips of liquid courage will be just what I need to take the edge off.
"Are you sure? Don't feel pressured, baby."
"No, I think I'm okay. I really would like a drink."
"Then to the kitchen we go!"
I wait patiently near the edge of the room while he mixes us each a drink. Knowing him, he'll most likely be light-handed with mine. I think he still has some residual guilt for feeding me alcohol at the last party we attended together. And while it was a shitty thing for him to do, at least it had a happy ending.
"Slut."
Great. I was hoping to avoid her tonight. Still, I pivot around to face her.
"Melanie." Surprisingly, Summer is also with her.
"Nice to see y'all," I say, employing the years of etiquette classes my mother insisted I take.
"Everyone's going to know the truth about you," my RA hisses, sounding like a drunk snake.
"Can we not do this? Please. Let's call a truce, just for tonight."
Summer laughs. "Oh, wait, you were being serious?"
I nod, hoping they'll agree.
"Yeah, no." Both women cackle. "Good luck tonight."
"Good luck with what?" I ask, but they both turn and flounce away.
"Miss me?" Sterling asks, and I whirl back toward the kitchen in time for him to drop a kiss to my cheek before passing me my drink.
I sip from it, determined to put Melanie and Summer's strange behavior out of my mind. "Mmm, fruity."
"How about we take these to-go and head to the dance floor?"
I down the rest of my drink along the way, abandoning my cup on a table before Sterling pulls me into the throng of dancers.
The tempo of the music is sensuous and the rhythm heavy as we rock our hips together, swaying in time to the beat. We stay that way, in our little cocoon, dancing for several songs, before I announce that I need a break.
"Oh, look!" I point toward the far side of the room. "There's Gabe and Zach. Wanna go say hi?"
"You go ahead, baby. I'll wait here."
He swears he's not, but I think he's still salty about me wearing Gabe's name. Regardless, at least they don't hate each other. That would be miserable.
"Gabe! Zach!" I rush up to them and they squish me between them in a bear hug.
"Where's Stella?" Zach asks.
"Anniversary dinner for her parents," I inform him.
Suddenly my ears heat and my skin prickles. I glance up, expecting to find Sterling looking my way, but he's right where I left him, messing with his phone. Weird, I think, shaking off the odd sensation.
"Oh, man, that was tonight?" Gabe says.
"I know, it sucks. She's really bummed."
Gabe snaps his fingers. "We one-hundred-percent need to send her a selfie."
The three of us pose, our cheeks squished together with smiles on our faces. Gabe sends her the picture, chuckling evilly.
"If that doesn't set her FOMO off, I don't know what will,” Zach says.
Gabe’s phone dings almost instantly. "Guess we're about to find out," he says as he whips it up to his face to look at her response.
He swallows roughly, glancing from his screen to me. "Um, Emmy."
"What?" I ask, his tone setting me on edge.
Before he can answer, Zach’s phone pings.
"Jesus-fucking-Christ," he mutters, looking like he's going to be sick.
"Guys, y'all are freaking me out."
"You need to get out of here, Emmy. You need to leave and go straight home."
"What?" I ask, my eyes prickling with unshed tears. "Why?"
"Just go, Emmy!" Gabe snaps, turning and stomping off to God knows where.
I sniffle, turning to look for Sterling so I can ask him to take me home. I don't know what I did to suddenly make Gabe mad, but I clearly did something.
Frantically, I move through the crowd, looking for Sterling, but he's nowhere to be found.
I reach for my phone, but then remember it's in his car. It's not like this dress has pockets.
"Hey, baby," an unfamiliar voice calls out as I pass.
"What?"
"Wanna go upstairs? My cell has a great camera."
"No. Oh my God. No!" I shove away from him, only to be jostled into another leering face.
"I'll fuck your mouth any day!"
I reel back, the panic washing over me as people move closer. It feels like everyone is looking at me, laughing at me, mocking me. Some have pity in their eyes, while others size me up like they know exactly what’s under my dress.
It feels like I'm in a waking nightmare.
"Come on, Emmy," Zach murmurs, alerting me to the fact that he's still with me. "Let's get you out of here."
"What's going on?" I ask, on the verge of tears. "Why's everyone looking at their phones?"
"Fuck!" Zach pinches the bridge of his nose. "Come on."
It's too much. I sway on my feet, thankful I wore boots and not the heels Stella claimed I needed. "Sterling..." I whimper his name.
"I'll find him," Zach says, alerting me to the fact that he didn't storm off with his boyfriend.
Finally, I see him, but before I can make it to him, the music gets cut and a familiar voice crackles over the PA system.
My voice. It's my voice.
"You won't break me.” I hear myself say as sounds of sex fill the room.
Filthy sounds.
Animalistic grunts and pleading groans. The sound of skin slapping skin.
"I'm so close. Oh, God, please."
My gut churns and bile crawls up my throat at the sound of my begging.
I don't even realize I'm crying until the tears dripping from my chin splash against my chest.
My heart races and my legs shake as the obviously and poorly edited sound clip plays.
I spin, looking for the nearest exit, on
ly to find something so horrific, it renders me immobile.
On the far wall, there's a projection screen, with my very own and very non-consensual porno playing for all to see.
It feels like everything is closing in around me, and for the first time since Rob raped me, I feel like I want to die.
It's too much. Everything's too much.
My watery gaze clashes with Sterling's from across the room. He looks stricken, but I know better than most just how deceiving looks can be.
He said he wanted to break me.
His words from the first week of class bombard me, crashing into me so hard I nearly collapse to the floor.
"Poor little Princess Price. So eager to ruin the lives of others but whimpers and whines when she's paid back in kind."
That's what this is. That's what this has always been.
Payback.
Oh my God. How stupid could I be?
My throat constricts as I try desperately to suck in much needed air, but it's no use. Even my body is turning on me.
He told me. Sterling told me, again and again, and like the stupid little girl I am, I didn't listen.
He played me.
A handful of weeks of being nice and I was eating out of his palm, falling in love with him and letting him into my bed...into my body. Only for him to betray me in the worst way.
He's nearly to me when Melanie steps in front of him, blocking his path. He leans in as she speaks to him, and that's all the confirmation I need.
I was nothing to him. A sweet little nothing. This was all a ploy.
With ice in my heart and a sinking emptiness in my gut, I turn and flee.
"Emmy!" Zach calls after me, but I don't turn back. I just run.
I run through the crowd, out the door, and down the street.
I run and I run and I run, blind from tears and locked in my head.
I run until I'm safely back inside my dorm. Once inside I lock the door and shove the coffee table in front of it.
Pain unlike anything I've ever known lances through me, piercing what's left of my tattered, barely beating heart.
There isn’t a single cell of my body that doesn’t ache.