K. Robinson - Twisted Ties

“And she just left? I don’t see her doing that. If she did all of that to hang on to you, she wouldn’t just leave.”

“She didn’t leave without a fight. We got into it pretty bad.”

“I don’t even know what to say.”

“I know what you mean. She even tried to tell me that you and Andy were planning to get married. Imagine her shock when I told her that I’d talked to Andy.”

Emma laughed. “Oh my god. I don’t even know why I’m laughing, but I can’t help it. I fucking hate that bitch, and it makes me so happy to know that she finally got caught. Maybe Andy will believe me now.”

“About, what?”

“The other night, I went to the restaurant where she works with my friend. I got so sick afterward that I felt like I was dying. Andy had to come over and help me. When I told him that I thought Ally had poisoned me since she was my waitress, he didn’t believe me.”

“I bet she did. After everything else she’s done, it wouldn’t surprise me. I wish I could have been the one to take care of you.”

“It’s not your job anymore,” Emma said quietly.

“I want it to be. I’ve missed you so much, Emma. I could never get over you, no matter how hard I tried. If I’d known that you were looking for me, I would have come back. I thought you hated me.”

“I did hate you for a long time, but I couldn’t let you go. I kept hoping that you’d come back just so I could see you again. Once Ally had told Andy that you hadn’t slept with her, we started searching for you.”

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to abandon you,” Jesse said as he stood and walked over to me.

“It was my fault for believing Ally. You tried to tell me,” I said, still trying to comprehend everything that he’d just told me about Ally.

He crouched down in front of me. “I don’t blame you for that. We’d just had a fight, and then you walked in to see me in bed with another girl. I would have thought the same thing.”

“She threatened me that night we went to the party on the beach. She said to leave you alone because you were hers. After I saw you in bed with her, I thought that she meant you were sleeping with both of us at the same time.”

“Definitely not. I have never, nor will I ever be interested in Ally, and I definitely wouldn’t sleep with her. I knew I was destroying any chance I had with you when I kept her secret, but I didn’t want to abandon her. If I had known what she was doing, I would have told you what was going on the minute I saw you.”

“Is she gone?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I hope so. Andy is out looking for her now. If she hasn’t left town yet, she will after he gets through with her. I’ve never seen him so mad.”

“This whole situation is a mess—even more so than I thought originally.”

“Tell me about it. She had me fooled, that’s for sure.”

“So, what are you going to do now?”

He shrugged. “The same thing I’ve been doing—going to school. Only now, I don’t have to focus on her all the time. Now, I can focus on getting you back.”

“Do you think that’s a good idea?” I asked. It killed me to say it, but one of us had to.

“Of course it is. Why would you think otherwise?” Uncertainty clouded his eyes as he stared at me.

“Think about it, Jesse. So many things have kept us apart. It’s like fate is trying to tell us something. Maybe we’re not supposed to be together.”

“I don’t believe that. I agree that we’ve dealt with a lot, but that doesn’t mean that we should give up. I’ve always believed that if you want something, then you should go after it until it’s yours. I’m not giving up on you, Emma—not when I just got the chance to win you back. I spent the last two years without you, and it was horrible. I can’t do that again now that I’ve found you. I know this whole thing sucks, but we can move past it. You didn’t come all this way just to let me go.”

I wanted to believe him, but I wasn’t sure if I could. If I did agree to start over, I would constantly be waiting for something else to happen to us.

“I can’t, Jesse. I’m going to New York once this semester is over. We both need to let go of something that isn’t there anymore.”

“If you leave, I’ll follow you this time. I won’t give up without a fight.”

I stared down at him. Every cell in my body was screaming at me to throw myself into his arms, but I was so scared. I was tired of hurting all the time. I couldn’t deal with anything else Ally might throw at me.

“Jesse—”

“Look, give me one chance to prove to you that I’m worth all the trouble.”

“How do you plan to do that?” I asked.

He stood up and pushed me back until I was lying on my bed. He nudged my legs apart with his knees and positioned himself over me.

“I’m going to kiss you. Maybe you’ll reconsider after I do.”

I stared up at him, unable to think of anything to say. I couldn’t think at all with him practically lying on top of me. The heat radiating from his body made me shiver with want. He pushed my damp hair away from my face. My skin tingled where his fingers brushed against it.

“Will you let me kiss you?”

I could only nod. I held my breath as he lowered his lips to mine. The kiss was soft and gentle at first. Jesse had always been gentle with me. As his lips moved against mine, I closed my eyes. I’d missed kissing him so much. He ran his tongue along my bottom lip before biting on it gently. I gasped as fire shot through my body. He took advantage of my open lips and slipped his tongue between them. He kissed me harder as his tongue tangled with mine. I wrapped my hands around his neck to pull him closer. I wanted to get lost in him. Every painful moment had been worth it just to kiss him again.

He pulled away and ran his thumb down my cheek. “I’ve missed this.”

“Me, too.”

He didn’t move away like I expected him to. Instead, he kept his body pressed against mine as he stared down at me.

“Tell me you don’t want this. Tell me that you don’t care about me anymore, and I’ll walk away.”

I closed my eyes as a battle raged inside of me. I wanted him more than anything else in the world, but I was scared.

“I just don’t want to get hurt again,” I whispered.

“I will never let Ally or anyone hurt you ever again. I promise. Just tell me that you’ll stay.”

“I’ll stay for now. I can’t promise that I’ll be here forever though. If something happens, I’m gone. I can’t stand to be hurt anymore.”

He smiled. “Nothing will happen, so I have nothing to worry about. You’re mine, Emma. You always have been.”

“Jesse, I need to tell you something. I don’t want us to finally start to be happy, and then you find out about it later.”

He rolled off of me and sat up with a nervous expression on his face. “Okay?”

I sat up next to him and took his hand in mine. “Something happened after you left California.”

“What?”

“I slept with Andy. We never meant for it to happen, but it did. Nothing has happened since that one time,” I blurted out in a rush.

“I already know. Andy told me the truth last night,” Jesse said calmly.

“And you’re not mad?” I asked. I hadn’t expected him to be so calm about Andy.

“I was pissed when Andy told me, but I’m trying to accept it. I won’t pretend that it doesn’t suck because it does. But there’s nothing that we can do about it. What’s in the past is exactly where it should be—in the past.”

“I thought you’d hate me when you found out.”

“After everything I put you through with Ally, I have no right to hate you. We both screwed up.”

“We did.”

“I don’t want to screw up anymore,” he whispered.

“Neither do I.”

He leaned over and kissed me. I grabbed him and pulled him back on top of me. I needed to touch him. I needed to feel him against me. He kissed the corner of my mouth and then the tip of my nose. I closed my eyes as he kissed both of my eyelids and then my cheeks. I pulled his face down until he was kissing my lips again. I moaned as his tongue slipped inside my mouth once more. I didn’t want him to ever stop kissing me.

He pushed away and smiled down at me. “I’m not asking for anything more than kisses right now… unless you have something else on your mind, then I’ll ask.”

I grinned. “I have something else on my mind.”

“Thank God. I was hoping you would say that. Two years is a long fucking time to be without you.”

He started kissing me again. He wasn’t as gentle as before, but it was still sweet. I wrapped my arms and legs around him until he was pressed tightly against me. He rested his weight on both of his elbows so that he wouldn’t crush me.

“I love the way you smell,” he whispered before kissing behind my ear.

I shivered from the sensation. His lips were everywhere after that—below my ear, on my lips, on my neck. I moaned as I felt him pressing against me. He’d done nothing but kiss me, and I already felt heat at my core. I hadn’t felt this way in a very long time.

“It’s been too long,” I whispered.

“I know. All I want is to be inside you, but I’m going to take my time. I want to kiss every inch of you.”

He sat up and brought me up with him. He pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it aside. My bra went next. I suddenly felt shy. It had been so long since he’d seen me like this. I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to hide myself.

He smiled as he grabbed my arms and pushed them away. “Never hide from me. I want to see all of you.”

He ran his fingers just under my breasts so that he barely touched them, and I felt my nipples harden. I was torn between covering up and begging him to touch me.

“Jesse?”

“Hmm?” he asked as he grazed my breasts again.

“Please don’t tease me. I want you to…”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Touch me.”

He smiled as he slid his hand between my breasts. “I already am, but I think I know what you want.”

I fell back against my pillow as he ran a single finger across the swell of my breasts and then underneath again. He kept up his teasing, circling motion, getting closer to my nipples each time. When he finally reached them, he barely touched them, and I whimpered. I couldn’t handle his teasing anymore. I opened my mouth to beg when he finally ran his thumb over one of them. Lightning shot through my body and straight between my legs. My hips rose to grind against him. His breathing hitched as I pressed my body against his.

“Let’s get rid of your pants,” he said as he moved off of me.

He tugged my pants down, leaving me in only my underwear.

“Fuck. You never wore anything like this before.”

“Like, what?” I asked, confused.

“A thong.” He pulled me from the bed and turned me around.

“What are you doing?”

“I want the full image of you wearing this seared into my brain. It’s sexy as hell. Do you have more like this?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

He hooked his thumb in the fragile string wrapped around my hips. Before I realized what he was doing, I heard a rip, and then my underwear was gone.

Jesus, he just ripped them right off of me.

I should have been mad that he’d ruined them, but I wasn’t. It was quite possibly one of the sexiest things he’d ever done.

“There—that’s better.” He kissed my neck.

“You’re still wearing clothes,” I whined.

“You’re right, my bad.” He lifted his shirt over his head and then pulled his pants and boxers off.

When he was finished undressing, he grabbed my hips and pulled me tight against him. I moaned as my sensitive nipples rubbed against the bare skin of his chest. He gripped my ass and lifted me as I wrapped them around him. He fell back onto the bed, and I nearly came then and there as I felt his shaft rub against my clit.

No more teasing. I need this now. I need him now.

He rolled me onto my back and started kissing me again. He broke the kiss and lowered his lips to my breasts. I arched my back as his tongue circled my nipple. He rolled off of me, and his fingers skimmed down my stomach to where I needed them. My legs fell open to allow him access.

“You’re so wet,” he said as he ran his fingers along my core.

I moaned when he pushed one of them inside me. He thrust it in and out a few times before pulling back out. He flicked my clit with his fingers, and I nearly came up off the bed. Every nerve in my body was on fire.