Chapter Sixteen:
Braxton
I can’t do this.
I want to, God, do I want to… but I can’t. Cade is my best friend. If he even gets wind that anything is going on, he’ll make me pay. I don’t want to consider those possibilities.
He looks over at us from across the bar, and his eyebrow lifts suspiciously. I don’t know what is running through his mind, but a few beats later he is making his way over to us.
“Hey,” he greets both of us. Breigh emerges from behind his large frame, sidling up to Emerson.
“Hey,” both Emerson and I reply in unison. We immediately glance at one another, worried that he may read more into that.
“Brax, can I talk to you for a sec?” Cade asks, motioning with his head away from the girls.
I nod, glancing at Emerson. Her blue eyes are wide and appear worried. I try to give her a reassuring look, but Cade pulls me away.
“What’s up?” I ask him as I take a sip of my whiskey sour.
Cade takes a drink of his beer and then gives me a look that I’ve never seen before. To be honest, it scares the living shit out of me. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with Em lately; should I be worried?”
I gulp down my nerves. He knows. Of course, he knows. He’s not stupid. Before I even register what is happening, I am shaking my head from side to side. “Dude, she’s like my sister. I’ve known her just as long as I’ve known you.”
Cade nods apprehensively, taking another gulp of his beer. He is staring back at me as if to see if I might break. Finally, after he feels satisfied with my answer, he slaps me on the shoulder. “Of course, yeah, you’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking. You know better than that. You know I’d break every bone in your body if I ever found out that was true,” Cade threatens me in a completely neutral tone. If anyone was around and eavesdropping, they’d probably be shocked by how calm he said it.
My heart is beginning to feel tight. I chuckle nervously. “You’re losing your mind, dude. Now stop wasting time on me, and go spend time with your girl.” My eyes travel back to Breigh and Emerson who are facing us and staring expectantly.
Cade follows my gaze with his own and then turns his attention back to me. “You know, we need a prank to end all pranks since we are getting so close to the end. Start thinking about what we can do to Emerson before we hit Oregon!”
I feel like I can finally breathe. Cade is off the subject, and I’m in the clear.
I nod my head in agreement, and we make our way back over to the ladies.
“So, Sacramento?” Breigh asks when he walks up.
***
Since we packed up and drove straight through to Sacramento, we made great time and were able to check into a hotel by one in the morning.
Cade asked Emerson if she was alright for him to stay with Breigh and she was more than taken aback. Although they are twins, and I know he loves her more than anything, he rarely takes anyone else’s feelings into consideration. I know it’s completely hypocritical what he is doing with Breigh and how he won’t let me anywhere near Emerson, but he’s just a concerned sibling.
The problem is I’m too scared to try anything now. I know Emerson thinks tonight is the night, but it can’t be. Not when Cade will literally break me in half for lying to him or coming near her.
Somehow though, Cade makes sure to get an extra room for me to stay in so Emerson can be alone. This takes the pressure off me. Maybe now I can lock myself inside my room and pretend like I dozed off when she comes looking for me.
Once secure inside my room, I turn off all the lights, turn on the tv with the volume low, and lock the deadbolt. I’m not exactly tired, but this will hopefully get the point across to Emerson.
Less than ten minutes later, there is a knock on my door. Although I am pretending to be asleep, I tiptoe to the door and glance out the peephole. It’s Emerson. She’s waiting for me to open it up and she keeps looking up toward the top of the door, expecting something to happen. My phone begins going off loudly, something I didn’t anticipate, and the screen lights up with Emerson’s name across the top.
Dammit.
I lunge for my phone to turn off the ringer, but then I think better of it. If I silence it, she will know I’m awake. Instead, I let it ring the five or six times before it goes to voicemail. Eventually, I hear the footsteps back away from the door. I feel bad; I know how much Emerson is looking forward to this, and I don’t blame her. Being a virgin at twenty-two? I sure as hell couldn’t do it. Shit, I lost my virginity at thirteen and never looked back.
I know it’s not going to be easy getting Emerson off of the idea, but I think the only way this will work is if she thinks I’m over it. Unfortunately for me, that means I’m going to have to lie convincingly, and potentially hurt her feelings. I’m not exactly looking forward to it. No one likes to see a girl cry.
The only way I am going to make it through the next couple of stops is alcohol and a lot of no strings attached sex. Here’s to hoping I don’t hurt Emerson more than is absolutely necessary.