“I’m sorry, Andy. I started all of this,” Emma said as she pulled away.
He shook his head. “Nah, this is all on Ally. She’s the one who fucked up.”
“Agreed,” I said as I pulled Emma back over to me.
“I hate to cut this short, but I need to get ready for work. Sam texted me and said one of the guys called in sick, so I have to cover his shift.”
“Whoa, wait a minute. You work with Sam?” I asked.
Emma tensed beside me. “Jesse, don’t.”
Andy looked between the two of us. “I do. He’s my boss’s irresponsible younger brother. Why? Do you know him?”
“He lives a few houses down from me. I caught him trying to maul Emma at one of his parties.”
I could practically see the smoke coming out of Andy’s ears.
“He did, what? Emma, why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want to make things awkward for you at work. It was my own fault anyway.”
“I’m going to strangle the asshole,” Andy said.
“No, you’re not. You’re going to pretend like you don’t know. He’s your boss’s brother. If you fight him, you’ll get fired.”
“Is there anyone in this world who isn’t an asshole?” Andy seethed.
I raised my hand. “Me.”
“No, you’re definitely an asshole.”
“Please don’t say anything, Andy. Please,” Emma begged.
He rolled his eyes. “Fine, I won’t. But if he so much as mentions you, I’ll knock his head off.”
“And if you get in a fight, I’ll hit you.” Emma scowled at him.
He laughed. “You’ve hit me before. It doesn’t hurt.”
“Whatever,” she huffed as she stood up. “We’ll leave you alone, so you can get ready for work.”
I stood and started to follow her, but Andy called my name.
“Jesse, hang on a minute.” He waited until Emma was out in the hallway before he continued. “Look, I know you’re butt-hurt over Emma and me, but you need to let it go. It was a long time ago, and I’m not going to come between you two. Stop trying to make me see that she’s yours. I already know it.”
I nodded, feeling like an idiot. “You’re right. It’s just…I just got her back, and I don’t want to lose her.”
“I’ve been her friend for a long time now. Trust me when I say that she isn’t going anywhere.”
“Jesse, are you coming?” Emma asked as she opened the door to look for me.
“Yeah.” I glanced at Andy. “I’ll see you later.”
“Later.”
Emma refused to take the elevator back down to the main floor. She said something about not trusting me. I had no idea why she would think that. Okay, maybe I did see her point.
The skies had darkened while we were inside Andy’s place. I could hear thunder in the distance. From the way it looked, we were in for a nasty storm.
On the way back to my house, we stopped at a fast-food restaurant to grab something to eat. It was nice to just sit there and chill like a normal couple. I relaxed back into the booth as I realized that there was no crazy bitch hanging over our heads. I wasn’t about to let my guard down just in case Ally showed up again, but that didn’t mean that I’d let her ruin my happiness.
Emma was mine again, and I planned to keep it that way. I didn’t care what I had to do. I would make sure that she was always mine.
“What are you thinking about?” Emma asked as she stared at me from across the table.
“You,” I said simply.
“What about me?”
“Just that I’m the luckiest guy ever to have you back in my life. It doesn’t matter, but I have to ask you something. What’s the situation with your mom now? Is she as bad as she was before?”
“Nah, she’s worse. She took my car and kicked me out when I told her I was coming to West Virginia for college. That was in May, and I haven’t heard a word from her since. My dad let me stay at his place over the summer.”
“She kicked you out? How can a parent do that to her kid?”
Emma shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I’m glad that I’m finally free. All she did was make my life hell.”
“Did you ever tell her about me?”
She shook her head. “No, I didn’t see the point. You were gone.”
“I thought I’d lose you because of her.”
“And I was afraid that she’d keep me away from you. Obviously, that isn’t a problem now. It’s not like she can disown me twice if she did find out.”
“That’s true. You know, I still have the same fears as before. I’ll never be rich, Emma, and I hope you can accept that.”
She frowned. “I told you before that money doesn’t matter to me. The only thing I ever wanted when I was growing up was to be happy. My family had all the money in the world, and we were miserable. Money doesn’t buy happiness. Happiness is something that comes from within. I learned a long time ago that my mother could never be happy. She just doesn’t have it in her.”
“But you do. You’re the happiest person I’ve ever met.”
“You haven’t seen me on a bad day,” she teased.
“No, I haven’t—well, except for that day in your room, but that doesn’t count. I can’t wait to see it. I bet you’re even hotter when you’re in a pissy mood.”
She laughed. “You’re an idiot. So, tell me, what have you been up to since you moved?”
“Not much. We moved here, and I started a new school. I made a few friends but none worth mentioning. I kept my nose out of trouble and graduated at the top of my class. Mom married Mark a year ago, and they’re both blissfully happy. It made me want to vomit when I lived there.”
“Do you like Mark now?”
“I do. When I met him, I convinced myself that he was going to break her. Instead, he made her happy. I’ve never seen her the way she is now. Once I got over myself, I actually talked to him, and I realized that he isn’t such a bad guy. Before he met my mom, he was married, but his wife died four years ago. I think it really messed him up for a long time.”
“I can’t even imagine.”
“Neither can I. But I think my mom helped him as much as he helped her. They’re both really happy together.”
“I’m glad. Your mom was always so nice to me.”
“She liked you. She never asked why I’d left, but she knows it had to do with you.”
“I bet she hates me now.”
“Nah. My mom doesn’t have it in her to hate anyone, even my dad. She’ll be excited to see you again.”
“I hope so.”
“Why don’t we go visit her tomorrow? I could use a day away from here and all the drama.”
“If you’re sure that she doesn’t hate me…” Emma said, obviously nervous.
“I promise, she doesn’t. She’ll probably bake cookies for you or something.”
Emma laughed. “I’d like that. The only person who has ever made me cookies was the chef my mom hired.”
I frowned when I noticed how something as simple as cookies could upset her. It was obvious that her mother had never taken a second to actually be there for her daughter.
“I’m sorry that you had to grow up alone.”
“It’s fine. I’m over it. I’m putting the past behind me and moving on to bigger and better things.”
“Like the poor kid from the trailer park?”
“Like the boy who stole my heart and taught me how to surf.”
“I miss surfing. It’s been a long time since I was on a board.”
“I kept surfing after you left. I went to that spot you had taken me to, and I surfed there. Andy and I found a good spot, too.”
“You surfed with Andy?” I hated the fact that he’d been there for her when I wasn’t.
“Yeah, we surfed a lot this summer.”
“I thought you said you moved to your dad’s place in L.A.”
“I did. Andy came with me.”