Oh Tequila Series, page 33
“Why are you pretending to dislike me so much, Em?”
“My name is Emelie,” I corrected him, “and I’m not pretending. I do dislike you, so if you’d just be quiet long enough so that I can complete my job, I could get out of here. Believe me, I would rather be any place but here.”
I could feel his eyes on me, staring at me as his breath fanned out over my cheek. In my mind I was mentally going over my notes from lab today in preparation for tomorrow’s quiz. The last thing I wanted or needed was for him to get any type of reaction from me. He’d find it as a form of interest, and I was anything but interested.
“I think you’re lying, Emelie.” I closed my eyes involuntarily as my name rolled off his tongue. Chills covered my arms and neck as I mentally lectured myself. “I think you do like me, but for some reason you think you have to hide that fact. I don’t bite, Em, unless you’re into that kinda thing. I’ll do whatever you want me to do to you.”
I opened my eyes, ripped the cuff from his arm, and turned to place it back on the cart. My hands were shaking and my legs felt weak. With one calming breath I turned back to face him, stepping in close. His eyes roamed over me, pausing at my breasts. Pig.
“You disgust me,” I told him and his grin widened. “You walk around like you are some kind of god, but you aren’t even close. You’re an ass, Clayton, a complete and total douchebag. I have no interest in you. In fact, I rather enjoy our normal activities where we choose to pretend the other doesn’t exist.”
“That’s where you are wrong.” I had to admit he was good. He didn’t even flinch at my words and his grin didn’t falter. “I’ve noticed you,” he confessed, “from day one, as you hurried to your seat before the bell rang. I still remember what you were wearing and how well you were wearing it.”
I swallowed hard, trying my best to come up with some rebuttal, a sly comment that would knock him back down off his high horse. But I had nothing.
“Pink sweater, hanging off one shoulder. The tightest pair of dark jeans, and these cute little black boots.” My head felt as if it was literally spinning. “Your hair up, much like it is now.” When he reached out to touch my hair I flinched and stepped back.
Then it dawned on me that we were not alone. I straightened my smock as if it was wrinkled. I just needed something to focus on other than his piercing green eyes.
“Let’s take a look at the damage,” I heard Dr. Myles say from behind me as he stepped into the room.
“I think I may just need some TLC, Doc,” Clayton said loudly, and I heard the other guys who were with him chuckle. “And I think I already have my eyes on the person who can give me just what I need.”
When our eyes locked once more, I glared at him and he had the nerve to wink. Heat rose in my cheeks and I fisted my hands at my side. He was the biggest, most arrogant, ass.
I spun around and hurried from the room; I just needed some air. Air that I wasn’t forced to share with him.
Chapter Two
Clayton
“There doesn’t appear to be any permanent damage.” I tried not to focus on the doctor, who had his head perched between my legs. His mouth gaped open just slightly and his forehead wrinkled in concentration as he held my dick in his latex-covered hands.
With my hands still bonded together, I could only hold them about the doctor’s head, almost like I was praying. Or that’s what I imagined it to look like. Emelie stepped to my side and placed a tub with some type of liquid in it, and instead of telling me what to do, she simply pointed to my hands then to the container.
“Yes?” I knew exactly what she wanted, but it was more fun to torment her.
“Hands.” One word and a nod of her head.
“What is it you’d like me to do with my hands?”
“As far as I’m concerned you can stay like that,” Emelie added with a snarky voice. “It would have been so much better for all of us if whoever it was that did this glued your hand to your mouth instead. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen so we’re all stuck hearing you talk.” She was a fireball. “Because it’s my job to help you, rather than hurt you,” again she narrowed her eyes, “submerge your hands or I’ll take your hesitation as you refusing treatment and I’ll move on to my next patient.”
I wanted to say more, but was startled by the cool hands of the doc as he again lifted my cock and leaned in closer. Something about his hot breath on my junk made my stomach turn. “Just a small laceration here, and on the opposing side. Maybe some bruising. That should all heal with time.”
When he released my cock, I felt relief wash over me. Why the hell couldn’t I have a female doctor? Much like my cute little nurse.
“We’ll send you home with some antibacterial ointment.” He pulled off the gloves one by one and I covered myself with the plastic sheet or whatever the fuck it was. “Ice pack for the swelling.”
“He much rather prefers the heat.” I looked over his shoulder just as Emelie stepped back inside.
“I just need to grab the cart,” she whispered, with her eyes averted to the floor.
“Heat will not help with the swelling,” the doctor proceeded, but I wasn’t listening. Instead I was watching Emelie try to maneuver the small cart past a chair and the doctor.
She wore a pair of scrubs that were light pink and looked like they were covered in little teddy bears. Emelie was a tiny little thing but had the roar of a tiger. I could see that she was avoiding me at all costs, looking at the floor instead of to her right, where I watched closely. Just as she reached the doorway, ready to push the cart out of the room, I hollered her name.
“Hey, Emelie.” She turned to face me, her eyes narrowing almost instantly. Damn, I loved that fire in her. “See you in class on Tuesday.”
With a roll of her eyes she turned away from me and I smiled wide.
“That girl right there is gonna snap when you least expect it,” Corbin, my brother, said at my side. “You think your junk is messed up now, wait until she gets done with it.”
“The point is to give it to her good enough that she doesn’t want to ever be done with it.” Isaac smacked my brother on the back of the head and turned toward the doctor. “We done here, Doc?”
Dr. Myles simply shook his head and pointed toward the older nurse still standing off to the side, tapping away at some keyboard. “Nurse Kelly will get you the ointment,” the doctor said as he placed my chart down next to her. I didn’t miss the sympathetic tap he gave her on her shoulder. “Behave, boys.” He walked from the room without giving us a chance to toss anything back in his direction.
As Isaac and Corbin carried on, I could only focus on the doorway. I was waiting for the chance to see Emelie walking past once more. I wasn’t sure why the girl hated me, but she had from day one. I guess it didn’t help that during our first interaction, I plowed into her when I was late for class and knocked every book she held out of her hands.
She was pissed as hell and when I offered to help, she told me to go to hell. I knew then she had a flame inside her that I would love to get burned by. Fuck, one night with her would be electric, though I knew one night would never be enough.
“Come on, jackass.” It was my turn to get slapped. “Get your ass moving, get dressed, and meet us outside.” Isaac grabbed Corbin by the back of the neck and led him from the room. “It’s almost four in the morning and I’ve had enough of you two for one night.”
Corbin looked back and gave me a knowing smirk. Just as he exited the room, I heard my brother lay it on thick with Isaac. “Oh Isaac, stop it,” he offered in the highest, shrill voice he could. “You know you could never tire of us. All those late nights, and early mornings when you…” Suddenly his words stopped, and a grunt replaced them. Shortly after, a few coughs proceeded, and I understood then that Corb had just been sucker punched.
When will he ever learn?
Corbin and I grew up in a town called Morehead, Kentucky. My parents were older before they’d decided to start a family, and they said after they had us, they knew they were done. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing; I just always told myself that we were all they needed, and that was the reason behind the choice to not have any more kids.
I’m sure that wasn’t it at all, because we were a damn handful for sure.
My mom and pop ran a barbecue joint just at the edge of town, the best barbecue in the area for sure. It wasn’t fancy, just straight Kentucky living. Picnic tables, inside and out, with checkerboard tablecloths. Old crates in the center of each table holding every type of barbecue sauce you could image. Homemade cornbread, corn on the cob, coleslaw, and a whole other mess of things served right alongside.
Kentucky was home, but Corbin and I decided to see a different part of the world and set our sights on Florida. He and I were a package deal. I had a shit ton of friends, but never would anyone take the place of my best friend—my brother. He just got me, never judged me, and on most days I think we shared the same mind. It was crazy and fucked-up at times.
“Why are you still here?” I turned around just as I was zipping my jeans to find Emelie standing in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest. Her chest appeared almost non-existent until she pushed them up the way she was right then.
“My eyes are up here, you pig.”
Slowly I scanned upward until I locked eyes with hers. “Why do I bother you so much?”
“Because you’re a jerk and you think you’re cute.”
“I am cute.” I arched a brow and only got an eyeroll in return. She didn’t deny it; that was a good thing. “And you only think I’m annoying because you’ve never really given me a chance to prove otherwise.”
“All you frat boys are the same.” She finally uncrossed her arms, but I remained focused and never looked down. “You throw your parties where you each pick out your target for the night. You drink, toss around vulgarities, have meaningless sex, and then wake up the next day only to do it all over again. You don’t think about the destruction left behind as long as you all have had a good time.”
I watched her closely. She was so animated, and with each sentence only managed to get more irritated.
“You don’t take responsibilities for your actions because you were drunk and it’s okay. You don’t even consider that the person you may be destroying is innocent and did not create the mess on their own. It takes two, you know.”
She was staring at me with hate, and it made my stomach feel soured.
“I’m sorry,” she finally said after a few deeps breaths. Her hands now twisted together in front of her as she pulled at the front of her shirt. “I just meant that you should consider other people’s feelings, is all.”
I didn’t know this girl well. The only thing I knew was that she was always the one to raise her hand or participate when the professors asked. Her papers were nothing less than a B, and even when she was given a B, she somehow looked disappointed. But her reaction told me there was much more to her than a smart, cute, and sassy girl. There was something hidden, something sad. In that second, the only thing I wanted to do was soothe her.
“Listen, I—”
“I have a patient,” she interrupted me, and took a step backward. “Bye, Clayton.”
I took a step forward almost as if I was gonna chase after her then stopped myself. This wasn’t the time.
Chapter Three
Emelie
I was exhausted, functioning on very little sleep. I knew I looked like shit, but at this point I just didn’t care. It was hard to find much that I cared about anymore. The last few years had been a whirlwind, and the more I pushed myself, the deeper I sunk. I was drowning, yet I couldn’t show it.
I stood outside the lab doors and everything inside me said to turn around and leave. He would be in there, and after the fool I’d made of myself in the ER, I couldn’t imagine facing him. But I had to, because this was my life. I pushed and pushed, and refused to be that person I was my freshman year.
The party girl who stayed out late after drinking too much. The girl who ignored her alarm and went back to sleep when she knew she needed to be in class. I had no choice now but to keep moving one foot in front of the other. It wasn’t just my life my wrong choices from here on would affect.
With one last deep breath, I pushed open the door and remained focused on my table. Though I could almost instantly feel his eyes on me, I chose to ignore him.
Seated, facing forward, more tension in my body than I had ever felt before, I jumped when a hand touched my arm. “Sorry,” Clayton whispered from my side. “I just wanted to give you this.”
He reached around me and placed a cup of coffee at my side. For a few silent seconds I stared at the cup in confusion before I looked back over my shoulder at him.
“It’s some of that girlie mocha junk,” he shrugged. “My buddy’s girlfriend said it’d be my best choice.”
“You asked some random stranger what I would like?”
“No, not a random stranger, her name is Blake and she’s badass. A real trooper, that girl. She puts up with a lot of shit from all of us guys.”
“I’m sure she does,” I mumbled and he actually nodded.
“You can’t let her tininess fool you, though, she gives it right back.” He leaned in a little closer. “In fact, it was her fault I shut my dick in the toilet. She actually glued my hands together after I fell asleep.”
I fought against the smile that tugged at my lips. “I like her already.” Anyone who wasn’t afraid to put cocky assholes in their place was my kinda girl.
“Anyway…” He shrugged off our conversation as he stood once more, pointing toward the coffee I’d almost forgotten about. “I told her I wanted to impress a girl, show her I wasn’t a complete ass. She in turn told me to go for the,” he lifted up the cup to read the label, “white chocolate mocha.”
“Well, tell Blake thank you,” I said, turning back around.
“What, no thanks for me?”
“You owed me this, at least.” I picked up the cup and took a sip. I tried not to moan at the yummy taste; it was pure heaven. It was also something I was in desperate need of after the morning I’d had.
“Owed you?”
“Yes.” I continued to stare forward, now holding the warm cup snugly in my hands. I wanted ten of these delicious things lined up before me ready to consume. Oh hell, it was so frickin’ good. “You forced me to deal with your cockiness.”
“Cock?” He chuckled, and I rolled my eyes. “It’s funny you say that word after—” he paused when I held my hand up to stop him from continuing. “Enjoy your drink, Emelie.”
I tried not to shiver as he whispered near my ear before I heard his boots against the tiled floor. Clayton Powell was an asshole; nothing would change that. It couldn’t, I wouldn’t let it. That was a chant I repeated over and over in my mind for the next hour. Every time I looked over my left shoulder I was met with a wink or a smile that made me question the entire verse.
He was bad news, and I knew giving in to him would only leave me broken in the end. In no way, shape, or form would I be left weakened; when I was weak, I made life-altering choices. That was a situation I could never be placed in again. There was too much at stake.
Once the professor started to wrap things up, I hurried to gather my things. The goal was to be up and out of the door before Clayton had the opportunity to catch me.
Plan failed.
“When is your next class?” Once again, my body jerked in reaction to his closeness. “You are always so jumpy.”
“No, I’m not,” I assured him. “You are just always sneaking up on me.”
I started to walk toward the exit and of course, he was right there with me, hurrying along as his big chunky boots beat against the floor. They were like those construction boots guys wore, only his were black, not a light brown color. I came from a life where men wore loafers, or shined shoes. I hated those damned things.
“I was thinking that maybe if you had a long enough break, you’d wanna grab something to eat.” Clayton jogged down the stairs outside the building to catch up with me and now walked at my side. “My treat,” he added as he slouched enough to look me in the face. His height compared to mine made it easy to hide my expressions from him. “I won’t mention anything vulgar or immature.”
“I don’t think you have the power to stop that.” I couldn’t hide my smile. “You open your mouth and it just rolls out so freely.”
“True,” he nodded. “But in my defense, I do live in a house with a bunch of animals. If my ma knew half the shit I did and said, she’d have my ass for sure.”
“Oh yeah?”
“She didn’t raise me and my brother to be the wild boys we are now. But that’s what college is supposed to be, right? Be free and wild, get it all out of your system before real life begins.” He shrugged as he kicked at the ground with his boots.
“For some of us, real life already started,” I mumbled the words, looking away from him. “Listen, I appreciate the offer, really I do, but I have somewhere to be.”
“A boyfriend waiting on you back at your place or something?”
“No, not a boyfriend.” I took a step backward and gripped the strap to my shoulder bag a little tighter. “But there is a boy.” When he squinted and tipped his head to the side in confusion, I didn’t offer an explanation. “See ya around, Clayton.”
Fifteen minutes later I entered my apartment and was immediately surrounded by the sounds of my life. A life I didn’t intend to be living, but now that I had it I wouldn’t change it for the world.
“Mommy.” A loud squeal echoed off the walls of my tiny place. A place that was nothing special, but it was ours. My parents had agreed to pay my rent, but as for Ethan, he was all my responsibility. I understood though; after all, they weren’t the ones who got pregnant; that was me.
