“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 wipe that smirk 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 and I’m not interested. Stop following me around and find someone else to sink your claws into.”

Amanda huffed and spoke before she walked off, “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 go back to our room,” Carter suggested and I didn’t even nod or respond to him because my mind was still focused on what Amanda just spewed; swirls, blowjobs. That meant she had sucked him off. I knew I shouldn’t be really mad since we were broken up, or at least I hoped we had been when the incident happened with Amanda. Still, I had 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 As he spoke, “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 perfect 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 correct, but not what really happened.

“No, nothing 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. Bass. I was really going to miss him. My heart constricted at the thought of not being around him. I liked Bass a lot, but there was always going to be a big BUT when it came to him.

“Good, because if he hadn’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 took a moment to think about what he said. When I looked up, I found his eyes on me. “There’s only one thing I ask of you... don’t hurt me, Carter.”

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 was emotionally drained and tired from all the alcohol I consumed. I also didn’t want another encounter with Amanda. “You go right ahead. I want to shower and catch up on some reading.” Reading the movie script; something that I wasn’t ready to share with him. I would tell him eventually, but not tonight. I just didn’t know how he’d react to it.

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

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

Was I a jealous woman? Hell, yes, but I was a reasonable one, too. I knew what this weekend meant to him and his teammates and I wasn’t going to come in between that. I just hoped that he would be just as noble when I told him about the movie I would be doing with Bass. Didn’t they say in every relationship one should learn how to give and take? Well, here it was. This was 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 pocket. “Here. I don’t need to hold your phone hostage to get your attention. I love you.” He then kissed me and headed 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 it. Sure enough, the battery was low. I had two missed calls from my 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 are here and we’d love it if you could come by. Please call us. We miss you!

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 would be more than happy. I’m leaving for Canada soon and I can’t help thinking about you and what happens next. I know it’s too early for you to even think about being in another relationship, but that’s what I want with you… I just want you to know... need you to know that I’m serious about us. When you’re ready, I want to be with you, Emma.

Oh, Lordy. Ugh! Now I was totally confused! That, of course, didn’t stop me from reading the rest of his texts.

Bass Cole: Was that too much at one 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 merely wanted assurance that you somehow… somewhat… feel the same.

How spot on because I did feel a connection. I had never been in tune with any guy until Bass came along.

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

The message was sent this morning. Did I want to call him and apologize? Explain how Carter took my phone? If I did, was I ready to answer Bass’s questions? Or better yet, was 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 for six-thirty Monday night at Melisse.

Business manner, cut straight to the point with no hi or hello. What did I really expect after not replying to any of the text messages he sent?

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

I stared at my phone for a good twenty minutes, waiting for his reply, but it didn’t come.

Exhausted, emotionally and physically, I dragged my body towards the bathroom to shower. When I was done, I checked my phone again, but there was still no response.

I should have felt like I was floating on cloud nine because Carter and I were back together, but I wasn’t. My heart weighed heavily in my chest.

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

I blinked a few times, feeling a little guilty that my thoughts had been consumed by Bass the entire time he was downstairs.

Depleted, I willed myself to go back to sleep and tried to erase the image of Bass Cole’s hypnotizing blue eyes from my mind. I tried, but didn’t succeed. They were haunting me.