Chapter 8 Stella
EIGHT
STELLA
“Fuck, you smell good,” Emmett says into the sensitive skin of my neck as we sway to the music.
“I can’t wait to taste every sweet inch of you when we get back to my dorm.
” Like they always do, his words elicit a full-body shiver, causing him to pull me even tighter into his body with a chuckle.
He knows exactly what he’s doing to me right now, and as nice as it’s been meeting everyone, I’m desperate for him to deliver on every whispered promise he’s made since we arrived at this party.
“I can’t wait,” I moan quietly. “It’s been way too long.
” We’ve carved out time for each other to the best of our ability since we’ve been apart, making ourselves feel good together on FaceTime, but there’s no comparison to the way Emmett touches me.
Our connection is visceral all the time, but when we’re making love, that’s when it becomes otherworldly.
We spent the summer exploring new kinks, not getting nearly enough time once we figured it all out, before we were headed to school on opposite sides of the country.
But I’m here now, and I don’t want to waste another second.
“I think we’ve been here long enough,” he rasps. “What do you say we get the fuck home and you let me remind you why you married me?”
I giggle. “Your dick isn’t the only reason I married you. You also load a mean dishwasher, and you might be the only guy on the planet who puts the seat down after they pee. Really, I said yes to a lifetime of knowing I’ll never fall into the toilet in the middle of the night.”
He tightens his fingers around my waist, digging in and making me squeal with laughter as I quickly dodge the assault.
His smile is so bright, it practically lights up the dim room before he yanks me back in and drops a chaste kiss to my lips.
“I need to go find Dexter and tell him to stay somewhere else tonight. As much as he’d probably love to watch the things I’m about to do to you, I’d have to kill him for looking at your tits.
That might put a damper on our weekend.”
I roll my eyes. “It’s fine. That last beer went through me anyway.
I have to use the ladies’ room again. Meet me back here when you’re done.
” He lifts his chin in affirmation, turning on his heel and taking off toward the kitchen while I go in the opposite direction.
As it has been all night, the line to the bathroom is long, girls in their skimpiest party clothes talking amongst themselves while they wait for their turn.
Standing quietly, I grin to myself when I think of how amazing the night has been.
I met so many of Emmett’s teammates, all of whom seem to love him already.
They’re like one big, crazy family, and I love that so much for him.
His parents have become increasingly unsupportive since our wedding, so it’s nice to see him being accepted with open arms here.
“Oh my God, you were just making out with Emmett Hayes,” a gorgeous redhead says, bringing me out of my thoughts.
“He’s so fucking hot. My friend, Amber, tried to get him to take her home last weekend, but he turned her down.
I was totally going to jump on that tonight, but it looks like you got there before I did.
” She shrugs, her long lashes fluttering before she winks coyly.
“There’s always next time, though. Right? ”
My jaw practically hits the floor at the sheer audacity of this girl when she’s clearly been watching us all night.
I can’t stop my fingers from flexing into fists at my sides for just a moment before I remind myself that this is my husband’s school.
All of his friends are here. I need to handle this with grace, no matter how much I’d like to make this girl eat a punch.
I take a slow, soothing breath, a fake, yet convincing smile pasted across my face. “I’m Emmett’s wife, Stella. It’s nice to meet you.” She scoffs at my extended hand, so I pull it back, rage bubbling up to the surface as she flips her long curls behind her shoulder, looking completely unbothered.
“Funny,” she replies nonchalantly. “He never talks about you. We’re with him every weekend, aren’t we, Steph?”
“Yep. I sat with him in the backseat of Dex’s car last Saturday.
He sure didn’t seem like a married man then,” the curvy blonde next to her adds.
She’s taller, with crystal blue eyes and sun-kissed skin.
Her perky breasts are pushed up, the material of her black dress stretched tightly across them.
They both look like they stepped right off the runway to come here, as opposed to me, who’s still wearing the same black leggings and off-the-shoulder crewneck that I had on when I arrived.
I wasn’t feeling insecure until just now, standing next to these two bombshells who seem to have no trouble telling me how amazing they think Emmett is.
“Well, he is,” I snap. “So, maybe you should go find a guy who’s single.
” I’m using every ounce of self-control not to fly off the handle, but the way they’re grinning like I’m some kind of a joke is pissing me off.
I’m all too familiar with the look, unfortunately.
It’s the same one the women of Tinsville gave my mother every time my dad would cheat.
For years, she acted like she was oblivious, never standing up for herself because she was afraid of how our family would be perceived.
Instead, she pretended like it wasn’t happening right under her nose, pasting on the fakest happy persona she could muster.
I vowed to never be like that—weak and stupid, staying with a man who disrespected me in such a hurtful, embarrassing way.
“He is for now,” the redhead says with a condescending laugh.
“He’s quite the hot commodity around here.
I’m not saying I’m going to go after him, but plenty of other girls will.
Maybe they’ll be respectful to your face, but as soon as you leave, they’ll act like you don’t exist. He’s probably going pro someday, so if you think a wedding ring means anything to anyone, you’re wrong—and college is nothing compared to what you’ll be up against when your husband has actresses and supermodels showering him with attention.
You’ll be at home taking care of the kids while he’s fucking someone new in every city.
” She looks me up and down, making me feel like a bug under a microscope.
I want to crawl out of my own skin as she slides her eyes up, finally locking her green gaze onto mine.
“Be honest with yourself, Stella. You’ll never be able to compete with them.
You’ll always wonder if the next road trip is the one where you lose him. ”
I choke on a gasp, my body jolting up straight as I take in my surroundings.
The familiarity of my belongings pulls me to reality, reminding me that I’m in my bedroom, not at a UCLA house party.
I release a shaky breath, trying to slow my racing heart.
It’s been a couple of years since I had a nightmare about that weekend—when I made the worst mistake of my life.
I have, however, had plenty where I watched helplessly as Emmett removed his wedding ring before closing himself inside a hotel room with a beautiful woman.
In every one of them, I’d scream and cry, begging him not to do it, but he’d just look right through me as if I wasn’t even there.
Thankfully, my brain was never cruel enough to conjure up an image of what happened next, but it hurt all the same to think about.
The best part of being a travel nurse was that I was always fucking exhausted.
Even on my days off, I was trying to play catch-up with all the other parts of adulthood, which left me with very little quiet time.
Maybe that’s why I was so attracted to the job in the first place.
It filled the empty space in my life with something meaningful—making a difference in the lives of people who were sick or injured.
But now that I’m here, with nothing but the deafening silence to keep me company, I can’t stop my mind from wandering to him.
He was so close, the familiar scent of his cologne permeating the air around us, yet it was like I was looking at a stranger.
The resentment in his eyes as his words crashed into me was a brutal reminder that the Emmett I used to know—the man who would’ve given me the world, had I just been able to accept it—no longer exists.
I don’t see you, Stella. I don’t even know you.
I’m not sure what I expected to happen if we ever crossed paths again.
There were so many events in Tinsville I was sure he’d come home for after our divorce was finalized.
I’d prepare for it every homecoming weekend and Christmas break, berating myself for driving by his parents’ house just to get a small glimpse of him, but he never came.
Although it was probably for the better, because seeing him hurt a lot more than I thought it would.
And the worst part of it all is hoping that he comes back, for Austin’s sake.
Sure, I’m here at his disposal twenty-four hours a day.
I do my best to offer him a listening ear and a shoulder to lean on, but I can’t even begin to relate to what he’s going through.
One minute, he was on top of the world, giving the city of Cleveland something to be excited about.
The next, his life and career were hanging in the balance.
There’s no guarantee that his shoulder will be what it was before his surgery, and he’s well aware of that.
Being surrounded by other athletes—people who have the same thoughts and fears as he does—will make him feel like he’s not alone right now.
So, no matter how bad it hurts to have Emmett this close, I need to suck it up and let him be a comfort to his teammate.