“I don’t know what your sister being engaged has to do with me, but I know that you need to leave. Now.”
“Harley, please.” She came closer to me and reached for my hand.
I felt trapped. Used. Commodified. I couldn’t even go to my own home without her showing up and demanding I be someone I’m not.
I needed out, now.
I ran for it. I charged for Emma’s car. When I got close to the door, she leaned to open the passenger door for me.
I expected Emma to do some dramatic “get in!” yell, but she just immediately and cautiously backed her car up and pulled out of her parking spot. My breathing was shaky. Emma had heard everything. She knew I was bi. She knew how fucked up my last relationship was on the inside.
Greer could very well follow us, and Emma seemed to know that. She kept glancing at her rearview mirror. There was a no-turn-on-red light leaving my neighborhood. Emma crept into the intersection, checked our surroundings, and drove on. I appreciated how she was breaking the law for me, but safely. I should have known I could count on Emma to be a good getaway car driver, albeit a highly responsible one.
Once we were on the highway and headed for her house, her hand drifted over to pat my thigh. I put my hand on top of hers and squeezed, hard.
“Thank you,” I breathed.
“She never seemed like that when I saw her at team events.”
“Surprise,” I said morosely.
“I’m sorry,” Emma said. “Does she have help?”
“I tried setting her up with some people. She said she didn’t need help. She needed me.” I shook my head and pinched the inside corners of my eyes. “Before the last time I broke up with her, she had me followed by a private investigator.”
“She what?” Emma asked.
“She started sending all these messages to my teammates and their wives about who I was sleeping with, telling their wives I was sleeping with their husbands. Said she had proof from the PI.”
“That’s awful.” Emma’s eyes widened when she got off at her exit.
I whipped around. “Is she following us?”
“I’m not sure, but I’m going to speed up just in case. There’s a detached garage behind my house. I can park there.”
“Good call,” I said. “I don’t want her to know where you live.”
“I don’t want her to know it’s me,” Emma mused.
Emma went quiet and her jaw flexed. I could almost read her thoughts.
Liam. She was worried about Liam. It had already crossed my mind. What if Greer started messing with Liam to try to get at Emma, and thus, me?
Emma glanced at her mirror and sped up again. She zoomed through a yellow light, then let out a big sigh. “Okay, she stopped back there. I’m going to take the back way so it’s less obvious where I’m going.”
Guilt wracked through me. I should have just sent Emma on and stayed at my house. I shouldn’t have roped her into this. I was a coward and now her privacy and security were at risk.
Emma was quiet, eyes darting around as she maneuvered quickly. When she finally slammed her hand on the garage door opener on her visor, she let out a heavy sigh.
“You did good,” I told her.
She nodded. “Let’s get inside.”
We hurried through Emma’s backyard, and only when she flipped the bolt on the back door did her body fully relax.
I put my hands on her shoulders. “I should have stayed there and told you to go. I’m sorry.”
She looked confused. “I don’t want you to have to deal with it either.”
