Chapter Eleven Josh
“The crew is back together!”
With a genuine grin on my face, I embrace Andrew and Ethan, patting them on their backs and playfully pushing them off. “Glad you two could take a break from saving people’s asses to hang out with us.”
Max tosses his arm over Andrew’s shoulders as Ryan and Ethan greet each other. “This son of a bitch has the worst schedule to work around. Do you ever go home?”
Andrew laughs and shakes his head. “Hell no. I sleep at the hospital half the time.”
“Poor nurses can’t get away from him,” I say, laughter rippling through our group as we stand in the dining and bar area of the huge arcade that we’ll be enjoying for the next few hours.
Everyone has been busting their asses so much that I figured we all deserved a night of fun. I wanted to invite Andrew and Ethan for old times’ sake too since it’s been way too long since we’ve all been together.
That’s the downside of being adults with jobs instead of teenagers with no responsibilities.
“Where’s Emma?” Andrew asks as he glances around for his sister.
“Restroom,” Ryan says as he looks in that direction. “I’ll grab everyone a beer if someone wants to get the player cards for the games.”
“I’ll do it,” I offer before heading over to the row of kiosks nearby.
“Thanks for doing this.”
I turn my head to see Emma standing next to me with a grateful smile on her face. “Of course. We all need a night to have some fun.”
Emma nods in agreement and looks over at her brothers. “They’re really happy to see you guys. You’ve always been so close.”
I finish getting the last card before handing her one. “They’re like my brothers. I wouldn’t be where I’m at now without them or your parents. They helped me out a lot when I was a kid.”
When I needed new clothes and my parents didn’t bother to buy me any, I could always borrow some from Andrew and Ethan, and they typically let me keep them. If my parents didn’t make dinner, I could always go to Andrew and Ethan’s house for a meal and some leftovers for the next day.
There are so many instances of Emma’s family taking care of me more than my own parents. It sickens me, but I’m also so grateful. That makes how I feel about Emma even tougher to deal with because I know that her brothers would never approve.
Emma follows me back over to the table where the others are drinking beer and looking at the menu. She hugs her brothers, looking stiffer than usual around them.
“So, two orders of hot wings. A large pepperoni pizza. What else?” Max asks as his finger trails down the menu over the assortment of other greasy options.
“Something sweet,” Emma speaks up as she stands near Ryan. She nudges him with her elbow as a playful spark lights up her eyes. “Ryan can’t go a day without something sweet.”
I crack a grin, but I immediately hide it when Ethan and Andrew cock their eyebrows. We should probably keep all private jokes and quips to ourselves around her brothers.
We do not want them to take things the wrong way.
“I’ll get some brownies with ice cream on top,” Max says, drawing attention back to him. “Anything else?”
“That’s good with me,” Ethan replies. “Maybe some extra ranch.”
Andrew nods in agreement.
Max heads off, and I remember how to take a proper breath, mindful of how to proceed with this night.
Emma takes a seat next to me across from her brothers, her thigh touching mine under the table. Even in a t-shirt with our high school name and logo and a pair of jeans, she looks beautiful. Dangerously beautiful.
I force myself to remove the contact, shifting my thigh away slightly when all I really want to do is reach over and explore hers.
“So, how are things going with the project?” Ethan asks us.
“Good. We’re on schedule,” Emma replies as she glances over at me. “We all work well together.”
I automatically smile at her. “Yeah, we’re kicking ass for sure. I kind of don’t want the project to be over with so soon.”
Emma’s eyes widen, her brows rising on her forehead.
“Whoever she works with next will be very lucky to have her,” Ryan comments as he lingers near the table, his eyes skimming over all the arcade games with their energetic noises and bright lights shining through the dark part of the arcade.
“Well, you’ll still have a few days after the project is done to find a man before the new year,” Andrew tells Emma with an amused look on his face. She rolls her eyes in response.
Confusion with a tinge of jealousy overtakes me. “What?”
“Mom and Dad are eager for grandchildren,” Ethan replies with a chuckle.
“You two sorry bastards can’t get girlfriends and give her some?” Ryan replies in a teasing manner.
I know that he isn’t fully playing, though. Neither of us like the idea of Emma dating anyone right now, even if we have no right to think that. We didn’t have the right to scare off that one dude flirting with her the other day either.
But we can’t seem to stop ourselves.
We keep crossing the damn line.
“The three of you are like sons to our parents. You’re failing too,” Andrew tells us, sparking more laughter at the table, but it sparks something else inside of me too. Something deep that I can’t confront right now.
Emma is so stiff that I have to pat her knee under the table to get her to relax a little.
Just the slight contact is enough to make me forget who we’re sitting across from.
The two major obstacles in acting on the feelings swelling up inside of me.
Max finally comes back with our food, and it takes no time for the six of us to finish everything.
Ethan and Max beeline it to the basketball hoops in the back, while Andrew heads off to find one of the racing games that he always used to play.
“Someone play air hockey against me,” Emma says as she walks over to the illuminated table.
Ryan gives me a playful shove to knock me out of the way so that he can take the spot on the other side of the table.
“Bastard,” I laugh as I stumble to the side.
Emma slams the side of her striker against the black puck, making it zig zag across the table toward Ryan’s end. It shoots into the goal, making the digital counter on her side go up to one.
Ryan flashes me an annoyed look. “You distracted me.”
“No, you just suck.”
“Focus,” Emma says.
Ryan turns his attention back to the game, going on the defense as Emma shoots the puck down the table multiple times. He slams the puck straight toward her, catching her off guard. It slides right into the slot, earning him a point.
I watch them as they go back and forth, my eyes eventually lingering only on Emma as her shirt slightly rides up as she leans over the table. Andrew and Ethan are off somewhere, so I gravitate toward her from behind, motioning for Ryan not to say anything.
Emma moves from side to side, moving with her striker as she tries to deflect Ryan’s winning point.
I grab her sides from behind, making her jump in surprise.
Ryan slams the puck home to win the game, immediately laughing as Emma spins around with a glare on her face to confront me.
“Cheater!” Emma says as she pushes me backward.
I catch her hands with ease and pull her forward, our chests colliding. She wraps her arms around me out of reflex to catch herself, her forehead bumping against my jaw.
I grab her arms to steady her, my heart pounding as she looks up at me. The arcade is dark, but the lights from all the games illuminate her face with a blue-ish glow. She’s so damn beautiful.
“Josh!”
I release Emma at the sound of Ryan’s hiss, knowing what he’s warning me about. I glance to the side to see Ethan, Andrew, and Max heading our way, laughing, and chatting.
What am I doing?
“Who is challenging me in Combat Chaos?” Andrew asks with a cocky grin on his face.
“I think we all know that I’m the reigning champion of that game,” Ryan speaks up before giving Emma a friendly fist bump. “Good game.”
Emma smiles to herself once her brothers turn away, and I can only imagine what Ryan would’ve actually done to tease her if they weren’t here.
“You can play bowling with me,” Max tells Emma as he motions for her to follow him toward the other direction.
Emma looks over her shoulder at me, a teasing smile on her lips.
When she walks off, I let out a slow breath and rub my chest over my rapidly beating heart.
Just seeing her walk off makes me miss her, and it makes me want more time with her.
I hate that I’m being pulled away so much from work because I’m dealing with Stacy.
I hate that she’s only here for this project before she leaves. I hate that our time is limited.
It’s not even just about physical attraction. As bad as I want to sneak off with her and show her how much she affects me, I also want to make more private jokes with her. Make memories that we laugh about later on.
I want to have moments with her.
That’s how I know that what I feel isn’t going to go away any time soon. I think that things are only going to get more intense as we get closer to our final deadline, and where the hell will that leave us?
Heartbroken? Regretful? Relieved?