Dinner
that night was full of tension. Spike made a pot roast with carrots
and potatoes, homemade gravy of course. She sat across from Emma, not
looking at her, not daring to speak to her. Instead of saying, "Emma
can you please pass the carrots?" she just reached across the
table and helped herself. Chester was sitting as far away from Emma
as possible, four seats to her left; even Baby Jack separated them.
Chad sat next to her, grabbing her hand underneath the table and
squeezing it when the silence became too unbearable, showing his
support for her. She smiled at him every now and then, but always
caught sight of Chester in the corner of her eye and blinked back
tears.
Everyone
was finished and Spike got up to clear the table and serve a desert
of freshly baked Apple Pie, which had become her specialty. She
served Emma an unusually small piece and sat down.
Mrs.
Bloom took a bite and smiled. "Christine this is amazing! You'll
have to give me the recipe."
"I'll
write it down for you later," she replied flatly. Mrs. Bloom
looked slightly deflated and that ended all talking for the rest of
the night.
In
truth, Emma was never so happy to get ready for bed. She crept
upstairs while the three brothers were playing cards, so they
wouldn't see her getting in the shower. Under normal circumstances
she wouldn't care if they knew she was showering, but this wasn't
normal. A month ago their presence would have been brushed off; she
probably would be walking around in a robe, unaware of them. They
would have been insignificant. But this wasn't a month ago; this was
tonight. The fact that Chad had already seen a near-naked Emma only
made her want to cover up more. He couldn't feel the bad attitude
Chester was giving him; no one seemed to notice it but Emma. Even as
they played cards, presumably poker, Chester gave Chad a sinister
smile every time he won, as if to say, Ha, I beat you!
By
the time Emma got out of the shower, Chad was waiting outside the
door.
"I
wondered what was taking so long." He gave her a quick kiss and
tugged at her towel, which was wrapped around her bare body. If she
hadn't kissed Chester, she probably would have teased him a little
and let the towel almost slip off. But she had. And what made it
worse was out of the corner of her eye Emma could see Chester
standing at the bottom of the stairs, glaring at them.
It
was two AM and Emma was wide awake. The thought of Chester and Chad
in her house kept her up. Two guys she'd hooked up with in the past
week. Two brothers, one she was deceiving and the other she was
leading on. She wasn't that serious about Chad. He felt more strongly
about her than she about him.
Emma
sighed. She should have never let that kiss with Chester happen.
Maybe if she didn't kiss Chester, she would learn to love his
brother... it was a drama gull of should-have-beens and what-ifs. She
got herself into this, but she didn't know how to get out.
The
truth was, she liked Chad- she really did. But Chester was the one
that made her heart beat faster, her palms sweatier, her knees
weaker. Chad's kisses were great, but she was unemotionally attached.
It felt like a fun fling to Emma- a very fun fling. She felt
that something with Chester could be something real. The only problem
was Darcy.
But
if Darcy and Chester weren't together, would it be fair just to dump
Chad? She knew it wouldn't. Chad was a problem, too.
Emma
got up and walked up the stairs. She needed something to eat. Maybe
it would help her fall asleep. She couldn't stay up all night
thinking about this. She rounded the corner and stepped into the
kitchen to see someone rummaging through the fridge. The figure stood
up and looked at her. She stood frozen, not know what to do. Chester
started walking over to her.
"Chester,"
she breathed, hugging him. She felt tears spring to her eyes. He
sighed and reluctantly held her in his strong arms. She felt safe.
She pulled away and looked up at him, blinking back the tears.
"I'm
sorry. I'm so sorry. I like you. I want you to know that. But Darcy-"
"I
overreacted. Darcy, she's your friend. And my girlfriend. And Chad is
my brother. It wouldn't be right."
"This
is so messed up. I like you, you like me... but it's just not
possible. Not without anyone getting hurt. People we care about."
Emma needed this reminder for herself as well.
Chester
nodded. They hugged again. She caught a glimpse of Chad, sleeping on
the couch. She let go of their embrace. She felt like she was
betraying Chad, just by wanting his brother.
Chester
seemed to sense this. "I should probably get to bed. Did you
want something to eat?"
"No,
I'm fine now." She wouldn't be able to fall asleep right away,
but knowing Chester was no longer mad at her eased her thoughts. She
walked to the basement door, opened it, and stopped.
"Bye,
Chester," she said, shutting the door behind her. She was three
steps down when she heard a soft knock. Chester entered and shut it
behind him, quietly. Emma heart beat faster and faster... she walked
slowly to her bed, knowing Chester was behind her, and knowing what
was inevitably coming next. She didn't bother going under the covers.
Instead she sat down and stared out the window, at her pillow, at
anything but Chester... he lifted her chin and kissed her softly,
barely brushing her lips. Her whole body tingled, she shivered ever
so slightly. She looked up at him and gazed into his eyes. Suddenly
she pushed him onto her bed, lying on top of him and kissing him
madly. She ran her hands through his hair; he somehow worked her bra
and got it off in five seconds. They kissed and kissed until they
could kiss no more, falling asleep in a guilty embrace.
They
woke up around 6am, when the sun was bright enough to shine though
the basement window and interrupt their sleep. Emma sat up, her heart
pounding, breathing heavily. What did I do? she thought. Last
night was amazing, no doubt in her mind, but it would just complicate
things further. She groaned and smacked herself in the forehead.
Chester sat up now. "I should probably go upstairs." he
hopped off her bed. Her heart raced even more as he kissed her cheek.
"I'll see you later I guess."
She
sat back and buried herself under the covers.
Half
an hour later the door opened again. She didn't dare sit up. Chad
came down and entered her room. Oh, God. For half a second Emma
considered faking a deep sleep, but he pulled the covers off of her
and saw her expression of shock.
"Emmaline,"
he chuckled, "did I scare you?"
"No...
I'm just tired, I guess."
"Okay."
He laid down next to her, pulling the covers over them. He hugged
her, kissing her neck. It felt bland, it didn't make her stomach flop
like Chad's kisses usually did. After a passionate night with
Chester, Chad was boring. He wasn't good enough. She didn't want him
anymore.
"Maybe...
maybe we shouldn't be doing this right now. I mean, what if my mom
comes down to do laundry or something? Or wake me up for breakfast?"
Chad
nodded, clearly disappointed. He hesitantly walked up the stairs and
out the basement. The door half-slammed.
Emma
felt bad for rejecting him. She had to end things with him. She
didn't like him anymore. It wasn't there after what happened last
night. She cried slightly and fell back asleep.
