Her smile was beautiful and delicate, laced with tears she quickly blinked away. “There we go again, getting all deep and stuff.” She put her hand on mine. “Thank you.”
I swallowed hard, and before I could stop myself, my fingers entwined with hers. The moment lingered. In this moonlight, Emery had a fragile beauty that belied the strength she had in her. More than she even knew. I wanted to pluck it out and show her. Because for all her hurt and doubt, her heart was still open, while mine was shut and locked.
But maybe…
Emery pressed her palm fully into mine, and without moving, I could feel myself lean into her and her into me. Her breath was warm and sweet—it would take nothing to close the short distance between us…
Male voices cut through the moment, ruining it. We snatched our hands back as Tucker and two of his buddies rounded the corner. One was Brent, the soon-to-be-former bow seat.
“Emery! There’s my baby doll. I’ve been looking all over for you. We’re going on a packy run, and we need someone to drive—” Tucker stopped short, blinking glassy eyes. “What’s going on?”
Emery seemed at a loss. “Oh. I was just… We were…”
“I’m tutoring Emery in calculus,” I said smoothly.
“Uh huh.” Tucker addressed Emery but his eyes were on me. “You never said anything about any tutoring, Em.”
“That’s because it’s not a big deal.” Emery got to her feet. “You know how my dad is about math. Xander’s going to help me.” She took his arm. “Let’s go.”
He didn’t move; her pushing at him was like pushing against a tree trunk.
Tucker pinned me with a hard, flat stare. “Now, hold on. There’s something about this little scene that I don’t like.”
I wondered if he really could see that there was something more going on, but Tucker was drunk, and his brain’s temporal lobe was likely overcrowded with all of the individual Bend kids he’d tormented over the years.
“It’snothing,” Emery was telling him.
He ignored her and took a step toward me. I stood up, gripping my beer bottle tightly. Tucker had three inches and thirty pounds on me—an uneven match-up without factoring in his buddies.
“I get that you’re tutoring my girlfriend, but what is happening right now? Like, under the stars and shit. The two of you all cozy on the bench.”
“Tucker, leave it,” Emery said.
“We just happened to run into each other,” I said. “We’re working out our tutoring schedule.”
“How complicated is a fucking schedule?”
“I wanted Emery to be prepared for some adjustments.” I smiled flatly. “My afternoons will change once I’m added to the crew.”
Brent’s eyes flared. “Fuck you, asshole! You’re not making shit—”
Tucker shoved Brent back, his eyes on me. “Pretty fucking cocky, Ford.”
I shrugged. “It’s just science.”
Emery let out a strange, sudden laugh, then swallowed it down. “Come on, Tucker. Let’s go.”
Tucker let himself be led away but leveled a finger at me. “I’m on to you, dude. Just know, I’m watching you.”
“Duly noted.”
As they walked off, Brent flipped me the bird. I let out a shaky breath, my heart pounding for narrowly avoiding having the shit kicked out of me by a factor of three. I would’ve lost, but I wouldn’t have gone down easily. Not when Tucker and his meathead friends ruined what had almost been a perfect moment…
Then Emery glanced over her shoulder, her eyes soft and apologetic. She curled her finger at me, twice, and suddenly, the night didn’t feel so ruined.
Until I heard her scream.
Chapter 12
