Chapter 11
Emily
I haven’t talked to Atlas in a week.
He keeps texting but I ignore every single one.
I can’t even bring myself to open them.
I don’t have the mentality for rejection.
That has to be the reason he ditched me the other night. Everything was perfect. The date felt like I was in a movie, and the chemistry between us was hot enough it could’ve sparked a match.
Yet, he practically ran away from me.
No “goodnight”.
No “see you later”.
No “I had a good time”.
Nothing but a kiss to the back of my head followed by silence.
Plus, add in the fact Trevor’s back in town. He’s back to pretending like I haven’t told him I wanted a break and needed time away from him. He’s persistent and it’s annoying the fuck out of me lately.
It’s always what he wants and when he wants it.
It’s like he’s trying to control every aspect of my life.
Trevor left for work about an hour ago, and I feel like I can finally breathe again.
Having Trevor constantly hovering over my shoulder has been nothing short of suffocating. He’s been trying to find out what I’ve been up to. I can’t exactly tell him I went out on a date with the man I’ve been stalking, even if I did want to tell him.
So I lied.
I told him I’ve been at home reading or at work.
One night with Atlas made me hate Trevor.
All it took was a single night of being treated like I mattered to realize I deserve more than what Trevor will ever be willing to give me.
Maybe that was the point.
People tend to come into your life for a reason.
Atlas and I collided together like it was written in the cosmos.
No matter how fleeting it may be, I still crave this.
I still crave him.
It’s about time I put on my big girl panties and talk to Atlas. If he’s going to reject me, I want him to say it in person.
The problem with that is, I don’t really know where he’d be at this hour if he isn’t at home, and I don’t really want to go to his house.
So I do the next best thing, I check Gavin’s social media page.
Thankfully, that man posts every little thing that happens, and he posted a selfie with Atlas twenty minutes ago.
Atlas’ grin is tight, forced to probably make Gavin happy.
It doesn’t reach his eyes. Unlike Atlas’s blue eyes, Gavin’s honey colored eyes spark with laughter.
Seems like luck is on my side tonight because he tagged the bar they’re at.
Looks like I’m going to a bar.
I will not be putting on another dress.
Nope.
I’m dressing for war.
I start off with my matching red lace bra and panty set. I’m planning to go out with a bang, if you know what I mean.
I pair that with a black skater skirt, thigh high white socks with garters, and a white crop top. I put my hair into a high pony tail and decided to wear my red hightop converse this time.
I slip my pocket knife into the garter on my thigh and take one last look in the mirror.
You can see my red bra through my thin shirt.
Did it look a little slutty? Maybe.
But Hell, I’d want to fuck me.
Let’s just hope he will too.
This isn’t something I’d normally do, but I’m going to fake confidence until I believe it. I can’t let life just happen to me anymore. I’ll never be happy that way.
Grabbing my phone, I take a deep breath and walk out the door.
You’d think a quiet walk to the bar would’ve been peaceful. Yeah, I thought so too. The only problem with that is, I was left alone with myself.
It would’ve been better to drive. The faster I get there the better. It’s really hard to pretend to be this confident woman, when the voice in my head tells me otherwise.
I know I can do this.
I know this is probably just my doubt creeping in.
Do I still overthink everything and almost abort the mission? Possibly.
When I arrive, he’s sitting at the bar next to Gavin with his back to me. He’s dressed casually, all black. Jeans with a t-shirt and sneakers. There’s also a black hoodie resting on the back of his chair. It’s probably safe to assume he’d rather be at home than here.
But I can tell the moment he notices me because his shoulders go rigid and he stops talking mid sentence.
He doesn’t turn to look at me. If I wasn’t watching his reaction, I wouldn’t have noticed it.
I don’t think Gavin notices me, or Atlas’ reaction, but he points to a blonde before laughing and walking away.
He and the blonde somehow vanish as I make my way over to the bar top, taking his recently vacated seat.
I didn’t get the chance to acknowledge him as the bartender greets me first. “What can I get for you, pretty little lady?” I swear Atlas growls next to me.
“Two shots of tequila, please.”
The bartender winks at me as he pours two shots.
If Atlas doesn’t leave with me, maybe the cute bartender will.
I reach into my bra to pull out enough cash to pay for the shots but Atlas stops me.
“Put them on my tab.”
The rasp in his voice is a dead giveaway. He wants to say more but he’s holding back. His knuckles whiten as his grip tightens on his beer glass. Is he mad I’m here?
Too bad for him. I came to play.
I want to test my luck and push his fucking buttons.
I shoot a look at the bartender, then flick my eyes to Atlas with the type of grin wild enough to burn shit down.
He reads the look on my face without any confusion, but is he up for it?
Will he help me rile Atlas up just a little more?
He nods quickly, but it’s subtle enough I almost miss it.
“Don’t worry about it, man. With a smile like that, her drinks are on the house,” He smirks and walks off.
I throw back both shots without a wince.
Finally, I turn my attention to Atlas. He’s livid and gorgeous. His eyes follow the bartender. He looks like he’s seconds away from punching him, but I’m not sure why.
Wait a fucking minute.
I know that look.
Is he…?
Did the bartender make him jealous?
Well, poor baby.
The tequila gives me a confidence boost as I lean in to whisper in his ear, “Long time no see.”
He takes in my appearance before responding. “I texted you. So many times. You haven’t answered a single one, or even looked at them.”
“You’re not wrong.”
“Was there a reason for it?”
“Nope. Just figured if it was important, you would come tell me in person.”
If he wants nothing to do with me then he can tell me to my face, not in a text.
I also didn’t want him to know he hurt my feelings by leaving so abruptly the other night.
I wave over to the bartender, asking for another round of shots.
He pours them, places them in front of me and leans over the bar to whisper in my ear.
“Give him hell and if he doesn’t work out or you change your mind, then you can always ask for my number.”
I laugh and blow him a kiss as he pulls away to help someone at the other end of the bar. While his offer is tempting, I only did it to punish Atlas who’s currently squeezing his beer glass so hard I’m surprised it hasn’t shattered yet.
“Want to get out of here, big man?”
“Why? You just got here?”
“Why not? What do you have to lose? We’re just going for a walk.”
The truth was, I was getting anxious and didn’t know how much longer my confidence would last. I grab his hoodie from the back of his chair and toss it on his lap as I head for the door. Without looking behind me, I already know he’s following after me.
Shit. Now what?
I didn’t think I’d make it this far.
Okay, I can do this.
I turn left at the intersection, glancing over my shoulder to see Atlas is still following me. Okay. Think. Think. We’re walking right by a playground and a wicked idea comes to mind.
This grump needs to loosen up just a little, and I think I know a good way to make this worth his while. I grab his hand, pulling him towards the swings.
“You can’t be serious right now. Why are you dragging me through a park in the middle of the night?”
I shoot him a devilish smirk over my shoulder but keep walking until we get to the swings.
Letting go of his hand, I gesture to the swing, but he just stares at me like I’m being childish. Fine, we can do it the hard way.
I grab his shirt and pull him to me.
“Come on, pretty boy, entertain me for a moment. I promise that you’ll enjoy the outcome. What do you say?”
I know he’s on edge.
I know he’s still angry about what happened at the bar, but that’s what he gets for just leaving the other night.
I push him backwards and he moves without a fight.
With a huff, he plops down on the swing anyways.
“I don’t see how….”
Before he even gets the chance to finish his sentence, I use the ropes to pull myself up high enough to straddle him on the swing.
His hands automatically slip underneath the hem of my skirt, yet he still tries to protest, so I shush him by pressing my lips against his.
It’s just a quick peck to stop him from over thinking this.
“Just swing Atlas.. live a little. What are you so afraid of?”
Instead of responding, his fingers trail up my thighs. They move higher and higher, until his left hand grazes over the knife I have strapped to my right one.
Eyes darting to mine, and he raises a brow.
“You think I’d go anywhere without one? I’m not stupid and this skirt doesn’t exactly have pockets.”
A small smirk twitches on his lips but he still remains silent.
Why is he not saying anything?
He lets go of me as his hands make their way to the ropes. He shifts our weight, spreading his thighs a little further so I sit flush against his lap before he finally begins to swing.
Sitting in this position, every time the swing moves forward or backwards, it causes friction where his jeans rub against my thin lace underwear.
Rotating my hips adds to the tingling pressure that’s already starting to build low in my stomach.
I hear his sharp intake of breath as his grip on the swing tightens to the point his knuckles turn white.
It’s thrilling to get a reaction from him.