All the things I was trying to keep contained thrashed and trembled, looking for an outlet. She was up in her room, hiding from the building intensity between us. Maybe if we’d seen each other before this, it would’ve unfolded in the same way.
Maybe it would’ve changed the trajectory of her relationship with Nick, because I wasn’t sure we were capable of being in each other’s orbit without feeling it.
When she came to me all those years ago, a moment of vulnerability I wasn’t prepared for or emotionally ready for, it was a beginning. At the time, it felt like an ending. But it didn’t anymore.
I couldn’t help but think of a leaking pipe, and how long something could drip, drip, drip quietly beneath the surface. That’s what the last five years were for me. Only the slightest awareness that something was there. Enough to pretend it wasn’t vital.
As time passed, the pressure built and built, pushing on the seams of the place where it was hidden. There was no way to ignore it anymore. I didn’t want to. I didn’t think she did either.
I leaned forward, resting my head in my hands and fought the urge to go up the stairs and knock on her door.
Even though I wasn’t worried, I still wanted her. I wanted to make the most of this time.
More than anything, I wanted to slide my hands into her hair and see what sound she’d make when I kissed her. I wanted to know what the soft skin of her neck tasted like. I wanted to feel her tremble and shake around me because she would.
The sexual tension between us was unreal, something ripe and full that had my blood racing.
And if I went to her now, I could probably do all the things I wanted. Could discover the answers to all my questions. With very little effort, I’d be able to add them to my list of things I knew about Adaline now.
I raised my head, locking my gaze on her sister. “I’m assuming you know what she said on the swings.”
Greer didn’t come right out and answer, but her smile was tinged with sadness, which I took as a yes. “You’re not in the easiest position, Emmett.”
“If I push too hard…” My voice trailed off.
Greer nodded at the unspoken end to that sentence. I’d lose my chance with her because she’d freak out. Clam up. Back away out of some unnamed sense of self-preservation.
“Of note,” Parker interjected, “I told you not to push the first time this came up. She wasn’t ready.”
Greer rolled her eyes, but it was an affectionate gesture. “Fine, Parker, we’ll all start coming to you for relationship advice.”
He chucked a throw pillow at her, which she caught with ease. I laughed, but the easy exchange had me missing my family.
“Well, did I pass the sister inquisition?” I asked Greer.
“You did.”
“You hardly asked him anything,” Parker said. “There were no threats, no implied violence. The least you could’ve done is told him you’d castrate him if he hurt her.”
Greer smiled. “Emmett doesn’t need me to say it out loud.” She leaned over, slapping me on the back hard enough that I winced. “He knows.”
“I have sisters. Believe me, I know.”
She held up her hand like, see?
Parker rolled his eyes.
“Sometimes, brother, you don’t need to say things like that out loud. He knows Adaline well enough that the baggage she’s carrying at the moment isn’t a forever thing. Doesn’t make it less valid right now.”
And it was right now that I had to deal with.
Greer chucked the pillow back at Parker. He deflected it easily. “He also knows that if she’s saying she’s not ready, the worst thing he could do is try to barrel through that. She will tell him when she’s ready. When it comes to hiding her feelings, even out of self-preservation, she is the actual worst at it.”