Scornfully Yours (Torn Series) (24 page)

     “You’re still on the pill right?”

     I raised my brow in question, “Yeah, why?”

     Carter smiled and gave my lips a searing kiss. “Tonight’s going to be a long night. I’m going to make love to you over and over again until the sun comes up.”

     “A stud’s promise?” I cheekily asked as he gave me a wink and gathered me up.

     “It’s only the beginning, you shall see,” He said as we got dressed then strolled back to the cabin to join the crowd. 

“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.”

 
―
 
Kahlil Gibran

        “There you guys are!” Amanda announced in front of everyone. “Where have you been Carter? I’ve been looking all over for you.” She pouted as she traced the outline of Carter’s neckline.

     “Are you blind, Amanda?” I asked the blatant flirt after I smacked her hand away from touching Carter.

     “Hello? Of course not, I can’t be this hot and be blind,
duh?
Why do you like this boring so-so plain woman, Carter? She’s just plain,
like
vanilla. Uh, who likes vanilla, anyway? No one!” The bitch smirked at me.

     I wanted to swipe that off her smug face.

     “Yeah, I am boring compared to you, so what? Carter wants the vanilla me and not your flavorful swirls. Get over it.”

     Something flashed in Amanda’s eyes. She was in full catty mode. “He likes my swirls. Trust me–Carter Mason loves swirls.” Amanda looked at Carter through her lashes as she stuck her tongue out and traced her lips.

    “That’s enough from you, Amanda. Emma and I are back together now. I’m not interested, so stop following me around. Go look for another guy to sink your claws into.”

Amanda then huffed but spoke out before she trotted along. “You’re going to miss me, Carter. I can’t wait ‘til you come knocking on my door.”

I tensed. Reality check, here it is.

“Let’s get back to our room.” Carter suggested and I didn’t even nod or respond to that.

Because my mind was still rooted to what Amanda just spewed… twirls…blowjobs. That meant she sucked him off in all his glory. I know I shouldn’t be really mad here since (hoped) that we were broken up when the incident happened with Amanda, but still…I have to see her around.

A lot.

Once inside the confines of our bedroom, Carter strolled towards the bay windows and looked out at the glittery lake.

“She gave me head, once. Well, I guess, half a head since I didn’t let her finish. It was that same night you went off on a date with Bass Cole when I caught you guys at the apartment.”

Shit cakes. Yeah, same night I begged for Bass to kiss me…the same night that I wanted Bass to touch me…

“Did you do anything else with her?
Or with anyone else for that matter?”

Carter shook his head. “No, I wanted to. I mean I tried to, but I couldn’t get you out of my head, Em.”

I smiled. “Good to know.”

I walked towards the bed and sat down. Carter came over and joined me, looking serious. “Did you have sex with Bass? Did you kiss him?”

Did I have sex with Bass?
Definitely not, although, I wanted to…

Did I kiss those nice lips of his?
No, although, I wanted to, oh, so badly.

“No, we didn’t go that far. He kissed my neck though, if you must know.”

  Carter pulled me onto his lap and kissed me. “Are you telling me the truth? You really didn’t have sex with him? ’Cause everyone was saying you did and that magazine insinuated you did.”

They did
, didn’t they? Well, they got my thoughts down, but not what really happened.

“No. I guess you could say nothing really happened. We just hung out and talked a lot. Bass is a great guy. He was respectful and treated me with the utmost care.”

And boy did he just…Bass…I’m really going to miss him. My heart constricted at the very thought of not being around him.

I liked Bass…hella lot…but…there was  always going to be a big BUT when it came to him.

“Good because if he didn’t, I would have just loved to knock that arrogant son of a bitch out.”

“Oh, shut up, Carter! You’re not punching anyone.”

“Don’t you doubt it, because I will hurt anyone that tries to hurt you, Emma.”

I looked thoughtful a moment. When I looked up, I found his eyes on me. “There’s only one thing I want you to do, don’t hurt me. That is all I ask.”

He kissed my lips and smiled. “Not going to happen. Why don’t we go downstairs and join the rest of our friends? We’re leaving tomorrow after all.”

I shook my head. I honestly don’t think I wanted another Amanda encounter and to top it off, the alcohol made me tired. “You go right ahead. I want to shower and catch up with some reading.” Reading the movie script…something that I have
yet
to tell him but I held back. I will tell  him eventually, but not tonight. I just don’t know how he’ll react to it.

“You’re sure? I can stay with you, if you want.”

I pinched his cheek. “I am sure. Soccer season just ended and you guys had a tremendous season. You need to party that off with your team.”

Am I a jealous woman? Hell, yes. But I am a reasonable one too. I know what this weekend meant to him and his teammates and I wasn’t going to come in between that. I just hoped that he will be just as noble when I tell him about the movie I’m doing with Bass. They did say, in every relationship one should learn how to give and take? Well, here it is. This is me giving.

“You’re the best, Em! I’ll be back in a couple hours.” He stood up and pulled my phone out of his shorts. “Here. I don’t need to hold your phone hostage to get your attention. I love you.” He then kissed me and strode towards the door.

I called out to him before he managed to grab the door handle. “You better be on your best behavior, Carter Mason, because the minute you touch another woman, you’ll be dead to me.”

“Never, my love.” Carter blew me a kiss and swiftly closed the door behind him.

Sighing, I plopped down on the bed. My phone weighed heavily in my hand.

I glanced at it like I had never seen a cell phone in my life. Curious, I unlocked my phone. Sure enough, the battery was low. I had two missed calls from mom and seven missed calls from Bass. When I opened my messages, mom sent me one and Bass sent me five.

Mom: Honey, we haven’t heard from you in a
while. I called because I wanted to tell you Aunt Gemma and little Joey will be staying with us for  a while. Aunt Gemma finally left Brad. Please call us. We miss you!

My poor little cousin Joey. I just hope that he deals with the divorce well. I mean, look at Amber, she’s twenty years old and even at that age, she’s clearly reeling from her father’s announcement.

Scrolling towards the first message Bass sent me, I quickly opened it. It was his reply to my last text message.

Bass Cole: I know that my life is my own, but if you did ask it of me, then I will be more than happy. I’m leaving soon for Canada and I can’t help but think about you and what happens then. I know it’s too early for you to be even thinking about being in another relationship, but that’s what I want from you…I just want you to know that just in case you start dating other guys, I want to be the first contender, Emma. I just want you to know. Scratch that, I need you to know that I am serious about you.

Oh, Lordy. Ugh! This totally shakes me up into confusion. True, I am confused, but that didn’t stop me from reading the next one.

Bass Cole: Was that too much at the same time? I’ve waited for your response for over an hour now. Emma?

I didn’t have my phone. But even if I did, would I have replied to that heavy loaded text message?
Maybe…

Bass Cole
: Sorry, Em. I guess that was the wrong thing for me to say. It was inconsiderate even. I suppose you could put it down that I merely wanted assurance that you somehow…somewhat…feel the same.

How spot on because I did feel the connection. I’ve never been so in tune with any guy for that matter until Bass came along. But…and there’s the BUT. It will always be there, it seems.

Bass Cole: Emma? I suppose your silence is answer enough. That’s alright. I’m not angry, so don’t worry. I won’t mention it again.

The text message was sent this morning. Do I want to call him and apologize? Explain how Carter took my phone? But if I did, am I ready to answer Bass’s question? Or better yet, am I ready to tell him about Carter?

Bass Cole: Martin called your phone but it went straight to voicemail. I’m just letting you know that he made a reservation Monday night at Melisse. The reservation is for six-thirty.

Business manner, cut straight to the point with
no
hi or hello. But what did I really expect after all those messages he sent without even replying to him?

Me: Thank you. Tell Martin I will be there.

I stared at my phone for good twenty minutes and waited for his reply, but none came.

Exhausted, emotionally and physically, I dragged my body towards the bathroom for a shower. I checked it again once I got out of the shower, but it showed nothing.

I should be feeling like I’m floating on cloud nine because Carter and I just got back together, but I’m not. My heart weighed heavy.

It still weighed heavy before I dozed off to sleep.

Carter woke me up when he noisily came back to the room, drunk as hell. He stripped to this naked glory and slid inside the bed with me. Pulling me close to him, he whispered half asleep, “I love you.”

I blinked a few times, feeling a little guilty that my thoughts have been consumed by Bass the moment I opened his text messages. 

Depleted, I willed myself to go back to sleep and tried to erase Bass Cole’s hypnotizing azure blue eyes.

I tried, but didn’t succeed.

They were simply haunting me.

“Friends will keep you sane, Love could fill your heart, A lover can warm your bed, But lonely is the soul without a mate.”

-
David Pratt

It was Monday afternoon and I had just got out of class. I was meeting up Trista and Lindsey at the café.

When they learned about me getting back with Carter, they didn’t look too happy. I guess it would take time for them to get over Bass Cole too. They all adored him.

They were both seated when I finally walked into the retro-chic café. And they even ordered my coffee. “You guys are the best!”

“We know!”

Sipping the still-hot coffee, I savored the first taste of my caffeine fix for the day. I ran late to school again because Carter wouldn’t let me out of the damn bed.

“Things are great between you and Carter?” Trista asked, cautiously.

“Yeah, they are. Why?”

“Are you going to tell Bass?” Lindsey pressed on.

“Yes, I actually plan to…tonight.” Trista and Lindsey both just sighed.

Okay. “What? Just spit it out.”

Lindsey first spoke. “We get you just got back with my brother, but are you sure you want to let go of Bass? I mean, Emma,
ding dong?
You like Bass! Why don’t you sit tight for a second and really think it through before you give him the axe? Bass really likes you, and to be honest, I think he deserves you way more than my brother.”

Ding dong? I have thought it through,
haven’t I?

“Lindsey has a point, doll. I know my love life is hopeless at this point but
yours, you could can still salvage it, you know?”

“I have thought it through, so please stop.”
Lies…
the only thought that’s been occupying my mind were those spellbinding azure eyes of the man. I turned to Trista. “You’re not going to keep this affair going, are you?, Not only are you hurting yourself but your cousin, too.”

Trista instantly looked sad all of a sudden. “I know. But have you ever felt that strong pull towards someone without the need for explanation? Like having them around you…you just feel complete. Like that Twin Souls crap that I read online. He’s your soul mate but so much more. The more you fight with your feelings, the energy becomes stronger. It said that no matter how much you try to cut that tie with the person, your Twin Soul, it would never happen because it’s impossible. He will always be a part of you and you will always be a part of him. With that said, I feel that way with Harry.