Author note:

Happy weekend! Here's the continuation. Please let me know if you're still following Clay & Emma's story.

CH 126-Consequences

Ashley awoke with a groan, squinting her eyes and turning her face away from the sunlight streaming through the window. Even that small movement caused her head to spin and her set her gut rolling. Even in her semi-conscious state she could tell she wasn't in her bed. She laid still for a moment willing her stomach to quiet down so she could focus on figuring out what was going on. She sucked in a few deep breaths, ignoring how her mouth felt dry and filled with cotton. Finally, she cracked open one eye and recognized the pillow next to her, telling her she was laid out on her couch.

"Unh…wha…"

She rubbed at her temples, trying to quiet the throbbing, and trying to bring back any memory of how she ended up in her current location. Some images flashed through her brain; drinking at the bar, pressing herself up against the hot blonde hunk, and then him kissing another woman as she looked on.

"What the hell?"

She forced herself to stand up. After the room stopped spinning, she made her way slowly into the bedroom. Catching sight of herself in the mirror just made things worse. Her hair was one giant knot, her clothes were crumpled, and her makeup was smeared into messy blotches all down her face. Figuring she would do something about her clothes later, she stepped into the bathroom and washed her face. She quickly ran a brush through her hair and clipped it back. She knew she had to do something about her pounding headache and dehydration. She navigated slowly back out into the living room and through to the kitchen. She managed to pour herself a glass of water and found the Tylenol. Her movements still clumsy, she fumbled with the tamper resistant lid until she was able to tip a couple tablets out into her palm. Gulping them down she willed herself not to bring them right back up. That accomplished she took her glass and plopped back down on the sofa.

She was still trying to put the pieces together when her phoned binged with a text. Searching the room with her eyes, she located it on the floor, next to her purse and keys. With another grunt she padded over to them and retrieved her phone.

She had several messages from her friends.

-R U OK? –

-Where R U? –

-Ash call me-

Ok, so she left the bar without her friends. What on earth happened? She closed her eyes and tried to remember anything. She recalled going to the bar to wait to see if the hot guy she was interested in showed up. They ordered drinks and waited. That much she knew. Did he ever show? Why did she leave the bar? There were so many blanks she couldn't fill in. Ashely started to dial one of her friends when she spied her laptop sitting open on the table. Wondering over, she tapped the touchpad lightly and her email popped up. As she scanned the screen she saw her latest outgoing message, "Emma Hayes-Student Teacher Assessment." What did this have to do with…suddenly it all flooded back. Meeting Clay, his rejection of her, seeing him with Emma, storming out of the bar in a rage. Cautiously, the clicked on the email and started to read the contents.

"Oh shit!"

Clay awoke slowly, curled around Emma, skin to skin. It had been a late night. After surprising him at The Bulkhead, Emma joined him, Vic, Brock, and Sonny. The latter treating her to a few shots. Consequently, Emma got a little tipsy. It was all fun and games until she started to get handsy with him. He didn't mind but knew she wouldn't want others to see her like that. He made their excuses and ushered her out to the truck. Once they got home, he could hardly convince her to let him take Koda out before she pounced on him. After a round of enthusiastic lovemaking, she fell immediately into a deep sleep.

She still laid quietly, tucked into his front. He gently brushed aside her long hair and placed several delicate kisses to her shoulder while trailing his fingertips up and down her thigh.

"Em…"

Nothing.

"Emma, Babe."

"Umph."

Nuzzling her face into her pillow, she barely acknowledged him. Chuckling softly, he placed another kiss, this time just behind her ear.

"How are you feeling this morning, honey?"

Again, he was answered with only a grunt.

"Okay, so not ready to get up yet. How about I take Koda and we go get coffee and some of those muffins you like from the place down the street?"

He felt her nod in the affirmative indicating her response. He rolled away and went for a quick shower. While he was waiting for the water to heat up, he looked in the mirror. He could make out the reddish scratches that trailed from his shoulders and down his back. Smirking, he made a mental note not to take off his shirt in front of the guys for a while.

After he washed up, he got dressed and slipped on a pair of old running shoes. He stopped in the bedroom to grab his keys and wallet. Before leaving he walked over to Emma's side of the bed and bent to place a light kiss on her cheek.

"I'll be back soon."

Again, a silent nod was her only reaction.

She wanted to let herself fall back asleep, but she knew Clay wouldn't be long with his errand. Since he was making the trip for her, the least she could do was be up and around when he returned. As she turned over to stretch, she noted that her body was pleasantly sore. Biting her lip, she recalled last night's activities that caused the tenderness in her limbs. With a smug smile, she flung off the sheets and stood up.

"Whoa."

She was a little wobbly on her feet and reached for the desk chair to steady herself. Damn Sonny and those shots he bought for her. She didn't feel fully hungover, but she was definitely a little fuzzier around the edges than usual. She decided a shower would be just the thing to set herself to rights.

Clay and Koda returned, from their excursion.

"Em, we're home."

When he got no answer, he figured she was probably still asleep. He started into the bedroom to wake her but stopped short when he heard the squeak of the pipes as the shower turned off. Reasoning that she would join him when she was ready, he turned and went back toward the kitchen to set out their breakfast.

Emma found Clay setting the table with plates and napkins.

"Wow! This looks great."

She picked up an oversized muffin and nibbled at it.

"No problem. We had a good walk. Didn't we boy?"

Koda let out a small bark and sneezed in response.

Sitting down, Emma immediately reached for her iced latte. After a long, steadying drink, she sat the cup back down and met Clay's amused gaze.

"Feeling better?"

"Much. This really hits the spot."

"Good. After Sonny's generosity last night, I wasn't sure how you'd be feeling this morning."

"Yea, I wasn't sure myself."

"I mean, I know you weren't completely gone. But when you kept putting your hands on my ass and kissing me. I knew it was time to get out of there."

"I don't remember you putting up a fight when we got home."

"Hell no!"

Clay reached over and pulled her into his lap.

"I'll surrender to you every time."

"Surrender, huh? I didn't think that word was in a SEAL's vocabulary."

"Normally it's not. But for you, I'll make an exception."

"Good to know."

Clay slipped his hands up her ribs and then, dove his fingers under her arms and started tickling.

"Hey!"

Emma squirmed and squealed in his hold. He didn't continue long and then placed a wet, noisy kiss on her cheek as he released her.

"You better watch it Spenser. I know where your ticklish spots are too, you know."

He laughed and swatted at her behind as she stood to move back to her seat.

They were both in good moods as their conversation moved onto other topics. Emma had secured a tutoring position for the Summer. This would be her last summer before she graduated. Although she was looking forward to diving in with her students, she hoped that her schedule and Clay's would be a little easier than in past years. She wanted to make the most of it. She brought up the idea of a get-away with him and he was all for it.

They finished their breakfast and cleared off the table. Clay volunteered to start the laundry while Emma started to go through her books and papers from the school year, deciding what to keep and what to throw out.

Emma retrieved her leather satchel and sat down on the sofa. Before she started through the contents of her bag, she decided to check on her emails and messages. She scrolled through her personal inbox first. The contents was mostly emails from online stores touting their current sales and new arrivals. She then switched to her school email address. Again, just a few messages from the university about end of year activities and due dates. Finally, she spied a message from Ashley. The header read, "Emma Hayes-Student Teacher Assessment." She clicked on it immediately, eager to see her end of year review.

As she scrolled through the document, her face fell and the hand holding her phone began to shake. Words like, "arrogant," "uncommunicative," and "defensive" jumped out at her. How could this be? Ashely gave her such good feedback all year. She all but told Emma that her review would be stellar. Large tears pooled in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. This was the scene Clay walked into as he returned from starting their laundry.

"Em…what is it honey? What's wrong?"

He crossed the room in a few quick steps and pulled her into his arms. Emma curled into him, but still didn't respond.

"Babe, I need you to tell me what's going on."

Swiping at her cheeks with the back of her hand she sniffed back a sob.

"I-I… I don't know. I don't understand…"

She handed her phone to Clay for him to see for himself.

"What the hell? This has to be some sort of mistake. I thought you said she told you everything would be positive."

"She did. I mean…that's what she told me. She-she never even hinted that…that."

She dissolved into tears and could no longer speak. What if she really wasn't any good at this? Clay held her and rubbed her back, trying to help her calm down.

"Clay, what am I going to do? I really loved working with the kids. And I thought I was pretty good at it. I'll never be able to continue in the program with an assessment like this."

The pain in her eyes as she looked up at him broke his heart. She worked so hard and put so much of herself into helping those kids. And she did help them. Those videos she showed him were proof of that. He pressed a kiss to her forehead before answering.

"Emmie, I don't know what happened. But I know this has to be a mistake. You need to contact Ashley and ask for a meeting. There has to be more to this than we know. "

"Okay. Yea, that's a good idea."

"You might even ask if your scholastic advisor can attend. That way she can't misrepresent anything later on."

Emma gulped in a cleansing breath.

"I'm going to email her back right now. Thanks, honey."

"Anytime, Em."

He squeezed her tight and let her sit up as she typed out her response.

"There." She laid her phone down. "I sent it. Let's see what happens."

"Did you copy your advisor?"

"Not on this one. I don't want to make this anymore awkward than it has to be. If she won't meet, or won't give me an explanation, I'll loop her in then."

"Okay. Just make sure you cover your six. If she's done something like this, there's no telling what else she might do."

"I will. I think this the right way to approach it."

"You're probably right. I just don't want to see you get hurt in this."

"I know. I'll take care. I promise."

Clay pulled her close again and held her tightly. He prayed the situation would get resolved quickly. Emma didn't deserve this. He hated that he couldn't help her. But he would be there for her no matter what the outcome.

Emma got a response to her email right before dinner. The two women agreed to meet at the spot near the beach where the local food trucks gathered. She got herself ready and let Clay know where she would be. He got up and grabbed his keys and walked toward the door.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna drive you."

"You don't need to do that. I know she was nasty about this, but she's not going to hurt me."

"I know that. But I want to be there anyway. For moral support."

Emma's look was dubious.

"I won't sit with you. I'll just hang out, maybe get something to eat."

"Fine. But you have to let me handle this my way, okay?"

"Of course, Honey."

They drove in silence. After he parked, Clay leaned in and gave Emma a kiss and a long hug. Emma hopped out of the truck and went to find an open picnic table where she and Ashely could talk. After she choose her spot, he got out and went to the vehicle with the shortest line and got himself a bottle of water. He could see Emma scanning the crowd for a glimpse of her former mentor. He hated that she was going through this. Once he had his beverage in hand, he started back to his truck to wait for Emma.

He navigated around the cars in the lot and the people heading to the food trucks. As he neared his truck, he caught sight of someone in his peripheral vision. The long, dark hair looked familiar. In an instant he knew it was the pushy woman from The Bulkhead. Suddenly he remembered that she said her name was Ashley. It didn't mean anything at the time, but now all the pieces started falling into place.

"Hey!"
Ashley's head jerked up.

"Yea, Ashely, right?"

Clay could see her face drain of color as he approached.

"Um, yes. What are…what are you doing here?"

"The better question is what are you doing here? You're Ashley, aren't you? You're Emma's supervising teacher."

Her hand shook as she pushed loose strands of hair back from her face.

"I am."

"Why did you do it? Was it because of me, because of what happened at the bar?"

Ashely struggled to meet his gaze as she answered.

"I-I don't owe you an explanation."

"No, I guess you don't. But you sure as hell owe Emma one!"

Clay motioned in Emma's direction and waited for her to make a move. Ashley looked over at Emma sitting at the table and took a few steps toward her. She could tell Clay was right behind her. She addressed him over her shoulder.

"Why are you following me? You agreed this was none of your business."

"No. I agreed you don't need to tell me why you did what you did. But you can be damn sure I'm gonna make sure you tell Em the truth about all this."

She was going to try and give Emma a partial story. But now there was no chance of that. She continued on reluctantly until she reached the spot where Emma sat.

Emma sat up straighter as she saw Ashely approach. Then she noticed Clay trailing her close behind. Ashely sat down across from her, and Clay came around and joined her on the bench. She turned to him with her eyes full of questions.

"What's going on?"

He didn't answer but simply nodded his head toward Ashley.

"Emma…I owe you an explanation."

She decided there was nothing else for her to do except to come clean. When she got no response, she took a deep breath and continued.

"Clay's here because this involves him."

"Wha-I don't understand."

Clay reached out an took her hand as she looked back and forth between the two of them.

"You two know each other?"

"No. Not really. You see, Emma. I didn't know that Clay is the guy I've been going to the bar to try and meet."

"Huh?"

"Last night I found out that Clay is your boyfriend."

Emma tried to put the puzzle together, but she felt like she was missing crucial pieces.

"You were at The Bulkhead last night? Why didn't you come say something?"

"Well…before you got there I-I approached Clay."

Emma's head swiveled back and forth between the two of them.

"I had been drinking. And you know how long I've wanted to meet him. And well…I sort of threw myself at him."

Clay couldn't hold back a laugh at the understatement. Emma's expression registered her shock.

"He didn't encourage me or anything," she was quick to add.

"No, I would never think that he would."

She felt Clay squeeze her hand, acknowledging her faith in him.

"As I was saying. I tried to get his attention and…he shut me down. That was humiliating. Then, later I saw you come in and well…I saw you two together."

Emma remembered how Clay reacted to her surprising him. Now his initial mood made sense. She also recalled how he greeted her once he knew it was her. It was starting to make sense.

"So, all this time you were chasing Clay?"

"Yes. I guess. I mean I didn't know who he was or that, that you and he…"

She waved lamely between the two of them.

"And when you found out, you decided to get your revenge on me?"

"It's not like that."

"Really?"

"Okay. I guess it is. But you have to understand how I felt. And I wasn't thinking straight."

Both Emma and Clay were flabbergasted that she would try to shirk complete responsibility for the situation.

"Well, regardless, I want to know what you're going to do about it. You know that a review like that could get me kicked out of the program."

Ashley finally started to look contrite.

"I know. And luckily, since I wasn't 100% last night when I sent out the emails, I mis-typed the address for your academic advisor. So, she didn't get the assessment."

"And?"

"I already had one written up with an accurate view of your performance. Like I told you before, it was very positive. That's the one I'll be officially submitting today."

"Good."

"Emma…I'm really sorry. This isn't like me. I don't know what I was thinking."

Even though a part of her wanted to lash out, to get revenge, Emma knew that wouldn't help the situation. Weighing her words carefully, she responded.

"I doesn't seem like you. Well, it doesn't seem like the person I thought I knew anyway."

"Are you going to say anything to the school, or to your advisor."

"No. I don't see the need to get anyone else involved as long as you send an honest review in to my college."

"Thank you. I really am sorry."

"I'm sorry too. I thought I had found a friend and a mentor in you. But I think it's best if we just agree that we had a professional relationship and let it go at that."

Ashley nodded silently. Grabbing her purse, she stood up to leave. She chanced one last look before walking back to her car. Emma's face was stoic, but she could see the love and pride in Clay's expression as he looked at Emma. Turning back around she said nothing and left.

When she was sure Ashley was out of earshot, Emma started to cry. They were tears of relief and disappointment.

"Shh. Shh, it's over, Baby. Everything's okay."

Clay gathered her into his arms.

"I know. It's…I can't believe this even happened. I thought I knew her. I thought she was going to be my mentor."

She laid her head on his shoulder and let out heavy sigh.

"I know, honey. It sucks when someone you thought you could trust does something like that."

He felt her nod against him.

"I am so proud of you, Babe. You handled that so well."

"Thanks, I kind of wanted to see her squirm. But that wouldn't serve any purpose."

"Well, I kinda wanted to see it too. But you made the right decision, Emmie. I love you."

"I love you too."

"Do you want to go home?"

Emma raised her head and wiped off her cheeks.

"I'm actually pretty hungry. Can we get some tacos?"

Clay chuckled at her.

"Of course, we can. Tacos coming right up."

"Chips and guac too."

He kissed the tip of her nose as she smiled at him. As he got up to get their food, he couldn't help but be amazed by her and how lucky he was that she was his.