She shrugs and immediately hisses in discomfort. "Like Gabe said, I'm extra."
"Let's see if I can stabilize your ankle,” Zach says, grabbing two sticks and a T-shirt. He rips the shirt into three strips and sets to work while the rest of us pack up their things.
We help them back to the parking lot. "Text me updates. And if you decide you want me with you, just let me know and I'll be there. Okay?"
"Don't worry about me, babe. Go have fun with your man."
"Emmy, why don't you and Zach help Stella into the car?” Sterling says.
He's clearly up to something, but I go along with it, rushing ahead of them to pull open the door.
"You take care of her," Gabe says, his attention focused on Sterling. I'm not sure he means for us to hear him, but the wind carries his words to us loud and clear.
"She's in good hands," Sterling replies, his voice as stiff as his posture.
"You know, a month ago I would have trusted wild dogs more than you."
Sterling smirks, not rising to Gabe's bait.
"But now...as much as it pains me to admit this...you're good for her."
"You're goddamn right I am."
"So swoony," Stella sighs, her head lolling back against the seat back.
"Text me," I remind her before shutting the door.
Gabe breaks away from Sterling and I hug both him and Zach bye, much to Sterling's displeasure.
"Ready, baby?" he asks.
I smile up at him, my heart torn between excitement over a night beneath the stars with him and worry over my best friend.
"Ready."
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Sterling
"Did you get enough to eat?" I ask Emmalyn, knowing her mind is a million miles away. She's worried about her friend, and it pains me that her camping trip has been derailed, though I’m not sorry to have her to myself.
"Yeah, I think so."
“You tell me if you get hungry. I brought snacks.”
She cracks a smile. "So did Stella. I'm pretty sure half her bag was food."
"That must've been why it was so heavy when I carried it to the car."
"I hope she's okay." The worry in her voice gnaws at my heart.
"She will be, baby. It's probably just a bad sprain."
"I know, I do. But, I can't help feeling guilty. I'm the reason we were even out here."
"Don't do that. Don't place blame on yourself when there's no need for it."
Her shoulders slump. "Logically I know that, but..."
I pull her off the stump she's sitting on and onto my lap. "I know, baby, but the heart isn't very logical."
"Tell me something," she says, "take my mind off of it."
"Hmm. I could tell you that I love you."
She snuggles closer to me, pressing her cheek to my chest. "Tell me something I don't already know."
Here goes nothing... "I told my parents about us."
She sucks in a sharp breath and tries to pull back from me. I tighten my hold, forcing her to stay put. "You did what? My God, Sterling, why? Your parents hate me!"
"That's not true." And really, it's not. They don't feel any certain way about her at all. "They just love money. Well, my dad does. But yeah, I told them about you, and I told them that we needed to have a long talk about a lot of things. They were both receptive to the idea."
"Really?" I can't discern where her mind's at from her tone.
"I know it's easy to think that because they're both lawyers that they are both callous assholes. But really, they're not. Not in their personal life, anyway. They're just way too good at their jobs."
"I guess that makes sense, but I'm still nervous."
"Well then, why don't we go check out the inside of our tent and see if I can't ease your nerves?"
"Really?" she asks, sounding far more eager than anxious.
"Would I ever lie about wanting to make you feel good?"
The firelight illuminates the pretty blush staining her cheeks. "Okay." She wiggles free from my hold and stands. "Let's go."
Emmalyn turns and heads toward the tent, surprising the hell out of me when she pulls her shirt off and lets it drop to the ground halfway there. I'm frozen, raptly watching as her pants quickly follow.
"Don't tease me," I warn.
She pauses right outside of our tent and turns to look at me over her shoulder. "Who's teasing who, Ster? You promised me a good time, and here I am heading to bed all alone."
Over the last two weeks, Emmy's definitely gotten braver sexually, but this little vixen before me has me staring slack-jawed.
"Seriously, are you coming or not?"
"We both are, if I have anything to say about it," I mutter, as I spring up from my chair and take off after her.
With a delighted squeal, she darts into the tent. I can hear her rustling around inside—hopefully ditching the rest of her clothes—but I stop on my way to grab her discarded clothing before quickly shucking mine off and joining her.