Embry smiled, held the bottle up, and swished the liquid around. “That too.”
“Okay, so what’s really the problem?”
“There is none. I’m okay. I just wanted a bit of alcohol to help me decide if I wanted to spend the rest of the semester working one-on-one with my sexy, kind-of-sort-of ex-boyfriend-turned-professor.”
“Well when you put it that way,” Morgan joked.
“I don’t want to hear his explanation. I would rather just put it behind us and try to have some semblance of a professional relationship.”
“How about this,” Morgan suggested. “Dig into that delicious New York pizza. Let’s polish off the wine and have some fun, and we’ll worry about Luke later.”
“I like the sound of that,” Embry said, taking a large bite. “Oh my god, so good.” Melted cheese and sauce dripped down her chin. “Real pizza … You have no idea how much I’ve missed this.”
“You really are in rare form tonight,” Morgan teased, throwing a napkin at Embry.
The girls polished off the pizza and finished their wine. They talked about school, the past, their families, and everything else while keeping the conversation far away from Luke. Morgan connected her iPod to the speakers, and they danced around the apartment, drinking and singing.
After they collapsed on the couch, Embry rested her head on her best friend’s shoulder. “Thanks, Morgs.”
“That’s what I’m here for,” she said, nudging Embry. “You know Brett’s going to have to come get me since you got me drunk.”
“Brett!” Embry cheered. “I miss him. Tell him to come pick your drunk ass up so I can say hello.”
“You call and tell him,” Morgan said. “Then maybe he won’t yell at me for standing him up tonight.”
“You stood him up?”
“You needed me.”
“I did. Now give me your phone so I can get your man over here.”
“Okay,” Morgan said, tossing her phone at Embry. “I’m just going to lay down in the guest room for a bit.”
“Seriously? You always pass out!” Embry whined, chucking a throw pillow at Morgan as she disappeared down the hall.
A knock sounded on the front door a while later.
Embry jumped up and flung the door open. “BRETTY!”
“Hey, Bree-Bree,” he said, his big brown eyes shining down at her.
Brett swept Embry into a huge hug, completely dwarfing her, and she immediately felt better. Getting teary-eyed, she pulled away from the comfort of his arms.
“Come on in. Your girl is passed out in the guest room,” she said, motioning toward the hallway.
“Typical.” He rolled his eyes.
“Want something to drink?” Embry asked as Brett followed her through the door.
He surveyed the empty wine bottles on the kitchen island. “Is there anything left?”
“Har har. I have beer in the fridge.”
“Sure, whatever you have,” he said, arranging his large body on the couch.
Brett Parker stood at least six feet, four inches. His size and muscles could be intimidating, but he was a big softie underneath. His sandy mop of hair, big brown eyes, and toothpaste-commercial smile gave him that perfect All-American look. He was like the big brother Embry had never had.
Brett, Embry, and Morgan had grown up in the same town. Brett’s parents were close with Embry’s and she’d spent a lot of time with him when they were younger. He had always been Embry’s protector, but by the time she was mixed up with Jack, Brett was away at college.
Embry grabbed a beer, snapped the cap off, and brought it to Brett. She plopped down on the couch next to him and let out a huge sigh.
“Wanna talk about it?” he asked.
“No. But I probably should.”
“Morgan gave me the Cliff’s Notes version. What’s going on?”
“Well, you probably don’t know the newest development. Luke is not only my professor, but he’s taking over my research project as well.” She filled Brett in on their conversation as well as Luke’s ultimatum: if she wanted to keep her position, she’d have to hear him out.
“Okay, so what’s the issue?”
“What good will it do?” Embry threw her arms up in the air. “We’re done, over. Even if he explains himself and I understand or forgive him, we can’t be together, so what’s the point? I’d rather not rehash our feelings when there’s nothing we can do about them. I just want to move on.”
Brett looked on with sympathetic eyes as Embry continued to relay her feelings about Luke. Before she knew it, she had given him the entire back-story and he was completely up to speed on their screwed up attempt at a relationship.
“You want honest or you want sugar-coated?” he asked.
“You know I want you to be honest with me. You’re the one person I know always will be.”
“You’re hurting, I get that. He fucked up. But that’s what guys do. We fuck up. Especially when a beautiful girl is involved. From what Morgan said, she hasn’t seen you this happy since …” Brett’s fists clenched in his lap.
Embry knew it was hard for him to talk about Jack. He carried a lot of guilt over the fact that he hadn’t been around for Embry during such a bad time. She put her hand over his, drawing his attention back to her.
He blew out a breath. “She said she hasn’t seen you this happy since before Jack. I get that Luke lied and hurt you, and now you’re in an impossible situation. But I think the real reason you don’t want to let him explain is because you’re afraid.”
“Afraid of what?”
“You don’t want to deal with your feelings for him, and if you never let him explain, you’ll never have to. You can put the blame on him, never face what you felt for him, and pretend to move on. But you won’t move on,” Brett said.
“And why is that?” Embry asked somewhat defensively.
“You were falling for him.”
Embry blanched at the easy way such a big statement rolled off Brett’s tongue. She knew she was falling for Luke, but hearing it out loud made it real. All of a sudden, that deep ache in her chest began to throb. She crossed her arms, looking like a five-year-old on the verge of a tantrum. “Was not.”
“You’re not ready to admit it, and that’s fine. I’m not saying you should go all Say Anything outside his window, but if you keep all your feelings stuffed inside, they’ll eat you alive.”
She sank into the couch, feeling defeated.
“Or if you’re dead set on shutting him out and losing a great job,” he continued, “I hear Hooters is hiring.” Brett nudged her, wiggling his eyebrows.
“Oh shut it, Parker,” she said, smacking his arm.
Morgan chose that moment to stumble down the hallway rubbing her eyes. “What about Hooters?”
Brett let out a hearty laugh and stood to greet his girl. “Hey, the party has arrived!” Morgan face-planted into his chest. He shook his head, wrapped her in his arms, and planted a kiss on the top of her head. “Girls’ night was successful, huh babe?” He shot Embry a wink over Morgan’s head.
Morgan groaned and mumbled something unintelligible.
Brett laughed again. He pulled back and forced Morgan’s head back to look at him. “I’ll take that as a yes, baby?”
She smiled at him, whispered, “Take me home,” and lifted up onto her toes to plant a kiss on his lips.
Embry blushed and looked away, not wanting to intrude on their private moment. Had she and Luke looked like that? Happy and in love? Well, maybe not in love, but getting there. The realization that she would never have that with him broke her heart.
“All right!” Brett announced, bringing Embry out of her thoughts. “Time to take my lush of a girlfriend home.”
Morgan smacked his chest playfully. “Hey, I’m an overworked law student, it doesn’t take much these days.” She pulled Embry into a hug. “You okay?”