The cogs in my brain are turning as an idea takes shape. “No worries. I’ll take care of you, Emmalyn.”
With a sure hand, I mix us each a drink, making sure to make hers with extra care.
When I return, Emmalyn’s in a heated conversation with her friends. “Oh, good,” I drawl. “Y’all found us.”
“Where were you?” Gabe asks, his voice ripe with accusation.
“Making drinks.” I hold my hands up and shimmy the cups before passing one to Emmalyn.
Eyeing me, she sniffs the contents. “What’s this?”
“Punch. My own special recipe, just for you.” I wink, softening the thinly veiled deception in my words.
She smiles, taking a hesitant sip. “Mmmm, fruity.”
Our misfit group lapses into an awkward kind of silence until Gabe looks at me and says, “Let’s chat for a minute.”
He’s not asking.
“Sure thing.” If he wants to play this game, we can play it. I come from a long line of lawyers, shit-talking may as well be my third major.
He guides me a few steps away from everyone; close enough to keep an eye on them, but far enough they can’t hear us.
“What’s your end game with Emmy?”
“I’m not sure what you mean?”
“Don’t bullshit me, Abbot.”
I grin, liking his protective streak. Too bad he’s too late, because after tonight, Emmy will see me as her very own white knight.
“Listen, we clearly got off on the wrong foot.” I raise my hands in a placating gesture. “Why don’t we start over, yeah?”
He regards me with a snarled lip and keen eye. “You hurt her, and I’ll fucking end you, do you understand? I know you’ve been messing with her out of some sick sense of loyalty to your friend, but that girl? She’s already survived a lifetime of pain and betrayal, and if you add even an ounce to her suffering, I’ll take great joy in tearing you apart. Got it?”
“Let’s take a breath, big guy. No one’s going to hurt Emmalyn. I was running a fool’s errand and have seen the error of my ways. I’m trying like hell to make up for my less than stellar behavior, but having it pointed out isn’t really doing me any favors, you know?”
His facial features relax slightly as he stares me down, waiting for me to crack. But I’m rock solid. “Fine. But I meant what I said.”
“I have no doubts.”
He tips his head my way before turning and making his way back to where the rest of our group is congregated.
Emmalyn catches my eye from where she’s pressed into the wall. I raise my cup to her, signaling I’m getting a refill. She nods and breaks away from her friends and joins me. “Me, too?” she asks, her voice soft.
“Absolutely.”
I keep my back to her, using my broad shoulders as a shield, and fix us each another drink, which she readily accepts and tosses back. “So good!”
“Glad you like it.”
“I like you,” she murmurs before slapping a hand over her mouth. “Oh my God. I don’t know why I said that.”
“It’s okay, Emmalyn, I like you, too.”
“You can call me Emmy, you know?”
“Okay, Emmy. Tell me something?”
“What?”
I loop an arm around her waist and draw her in close. “I don’t know. Anything.”
She shudders against me, her pupils dilating. “I was scared of the dark when I was eight.”
Not what I thought she was going to say. “What made you stop being afraid?”
She swallows hard and looks me dead in the eye. “I learned there are far scarier things lurking in the light.”
Her words have me reeling. They’re so unexpected and so packed full of painful truth, I can’t even begin to process them. Not here, anyway.
At my lack of reply, she laughs awkwardly and raises her cup my way. “Refill?”
“Sure are thirsty,” I murmur and she shrugs.
Two drinks later, Emmalyn is well on her way to drunk and swaying her hips in time with the music pounding out of the speakers.
“Stell!” Emmalyn shouts loud enough to pierce my eardrums.
“Are you okay, babe?” Her roommate takes in Emmalyn, in all her drunken glory, worry creasing her brow.
“Amazing!” Emmalyn twirls in a wide circle, knocking into more than one person. “I missed you!” She tries pulling Stella into a hug, but the now-angry blonde holds her at an arm’s length.
“Have you been drinking?” She turns to me, her eyes narrowed to thin slits. “Has she been drinking?”
“It’s a party,” I say, as if that explains it all. Hopefully she doesn’t push, because I wouldn’t put it past her to castrate me