T H I R T Y - T H R E E


    EVA.


    "Where are we going?" I ask Emerson and he spares me only a nce before gazing ahead of him.


    "You''ll know when we get there. "


    Rolling my eyes at his response, I grab my phone from my side and turn on the screen to be met with


    new text notifications— Dan and Aliya.


    I open Aliya''s first and augh falls from my mouth at the words across my screen.


    ALIYA: Hey bitch, just a reminder but did you tell Delh you were the one who told me not toe


    with and check on her beautiful face?


    ME: I didn''t. I told her you were being an ungrateful bitch, and what are you on this morning? You


    sound excited, and that''s saying a lot because I can feel it from here.


    With the click of the send button, I scroll to Dan''s texts, which will be the first ones I have had from him


    since I left school.


    DAN: I''m devastated you didn''t think to check on me, Eva.


    DAN: Busy again?


    DAN: Your blue-haired friend told me you left to take care of some things, so this is me checking up on


    you. Is everything alright?


    ME: I was quite busy with stuff. Sorry, Daniel and thank you for the checkups. Everything is fine.


    As soon as I send my reply to Dan''s text, Aliya''s replyes in.


    ALIYA: I was right to have called you a witch, Evie. What other powers have you got?


    ME: Don''t fuck around with me, bitch. What happened with Sage this time? Or is it Chloe?


    I stare at my sent message before I begin to type out a new one, just to infuriate her.


    ME: Or is it both?


    "I see you''re having a lot of fun over there, Carson. " I lift my head at Emerson''s voice and look around


    us to see the car has stopped moving and we''re in front of a familiar restaurant.


    "A restaurant?" I say when my gaze rests on Emerson again and he hums as he unfastens his seatbelt,


    "I''m famished, Carson. You can stay in the car if you aren''t, that would honestly make things easier for


    me. "


    He walks out of the car, and I don''t exactly feel like taking something, but just to annoy Ford after his


    words; I climb out of the car and follow behind him.


    As I walk through the door, half of the seats are upied and I slide into one at the far end while


    Emerson walks to the front counter. He mumbles some words that certainly don''t sound like an order to


    the woman in front of him, who have too bright of a smile on her face. Emerson''s stance and the easy


    exchange with the woman as she pushes him by the shoulder tell me this is a ce he''s familiar with.


    After a few minutes of watching Emerson''s interaction with her, I drop my gaze back to my phone and


    open the new texts.


    ALIYA: We have something going on doesn''t mean they are the reason behind my excitement. I


    received a call from my mom earlier.


    Aliya''s mother is a busy woman who rarely has time for her family, but when she''s around– she lightens


    up everyone''s mood and makes the world around her so easy. Despite her busy schedule, I consider


    her a beautiful mother and thates a lot from her daughter.


    ME: It''s hard to tell when you''re in love, baby. What did Mrs Collins say? Is she back home?


    I lift my head from my phone to take a peek at Emerson, only to meet his eyes and he jerks his head


    with an odd look on his face.


    "What?" I furrow my brows and when my eyes trail the direction; he''s nodding towards the exit.


    From N?velDrama.Org.


    "You want me to leave?" I mouth to him and he nods before he mouths back, "Now. "


    With a frown, I move from my seat and stride toward the exit. I stand by the car and Emerson motions


    for me to get in as he walks out of the restaurant and moves around the car to get into the driver''s seat.


    "Did something happen?" I ask him as he fastens his seatbelt.


    "My sister is in there. " He says as he starts the engine and drives from the spot without taking another


    nce back. Emerson''s sister: Hanna Ford. I''ve seen her only a few times and she looks the nicest out


    of the family with her brilliant eyes and a gorgeous smile that''s always on her face whenever I see her.


    "You''re scared of your sister?" I chuckle as I sink into my seat and Emerson throws me a two-second


    re before he takes his eyes to the front of him and says, "I''m not. She''s annoying, and I don''t want to


    deal with her. "


    "She looks less annoying than you do in my opinion. " I tell him and Emerson snorts out augh before


    he says, "You''re yet to meet her, Carson. I promise you; if you ever do, you''ll wish you never had. "


    "I''m not surprised you feel that way when I''m sure you''re the bad egg. " I let out and Emerson''s hand


    falls to my exposed thigh as a response to my words; giving the flesh a tiny, but effective pinch that


    makes me re at him before he removes his hand with a smug smile on his face.


    "Where are we headed this time? Another restaurant?" I question as I look out the window to see we''re


    moving away from the ces I''m familiar with and edging closer to the parts of the town that are


    unknown to me.


    "You''ll see, Carson. " He responds as he drops his hand to my thigh again, smoothing his touch across


    the skin this time. "I''m not taking you to somewhere I could effortlessly kill you, so you don''t have to


    look so terrified. " He jokes.


    "Certainly will be more terrified with everything else, but you, Ford. " I throw back and Emerson cracks


    up before the sound slowly fades and the rest of the drive is in silence.


    ~


    My head is against the window as I watch him drive pass ces in a blur with his fingers drumming


    against my thigh. Emerson, however, interrupts the moment as the cares to a halt and says,


    "We''re here. "


    I look out the window to see a blue ocean ahead of us. He brought me to a beach?


    "You want to drown me, Ford?" I shut the car door and trail behind Emerson, who opens the car''s trunk


    and brings out a surfing board.


    "I wouldn''t let you pollute the water, Carson. I love it too much to cause it that pain. " He says as he


    steers forward and I stare at the space around us before looking back at Emerson. "Why''s no one


    here?"


    I fall into steps with Emerson as he responds to my question, "People rarelye down to this part of


    the town. It''s the easiest ce to be without having to worry about anyone seeing you or recognizing


    you. "


    "What are you doing?" I ask the obvious as I watch him strip out of his clothes, leaving him in just his


    boxers and he turns back to me to say, "Surfing. Do you want toe with me?"


    I stare between him and the tides before I shake my head. "No, thank you. "


    Emerson presses the surfing board to his side and cock his brows at me. "Are you scared, Carson?


    Never surfed before?"


    "Yes, I''ve never surfed before, but I''m not scared, Ford; I just don''t want to get into the water. " I inform


    him and he nods before turning back and I watch as he gets on the board.


    I settle on the shore and pull my legs up to my chest, cing my head on the bent knees with my arms


    wrapped around the side as I watch Emerson bend his knees with his chin raised high as he ys


    games with the tides.


    He glides over the waves with graceful moves and confidence that surrounds his entire form. He surfs


    like it''s the only thing that matters to him in the entire world; like it''s the only thing that''s keeping him


    sane; the only thing that he gets to do. With delight, gratification and enthusiasm, and that''s unhidden


    from my view.


    Emerson emerges to the shore after giving a satisfying scenery with his board tucked under his arm,


    each step he takes.


    I remove my gaze from the distracting view when Emerson reaches in front of me and pushes the


    board into the sand before taking a seat beside me.


    "Enjoyed the view, Carson?" I take a minute to remind myself he''s talking about the show he just had


    with the waves, and not the distracting, pretty thing between his legs.


    "If you''re looking forpliments, you won''t find them with me. " I tell him and he snickers before


    shifting closer to my side and pressing his hands behind him, a sigh leaving his lips as he stares at the


    ocean.


    "How long have you been doing this?" I ask him after a few minutes of silence between us and


    Emerson snaps his head to my side to meet my eyes before he looks back at the view before him, and


    say, "About three years now. "


    "You look like you enjoy it. " I say and his lips curve into a smile. "It''s one of my favourite things to do;


    preferably the best out of all. It distracts me from a lot of things when I need it to, pulls me away from


    the rest of the world and brings me to the time where there''s only the ocean and I. The feeling is


    amazing. " At the end of his words, Emerson drops his gaze to me before he continues, "Just like you


    are with your books. "


    "How do you know that?" I lift my brows and he raises a shoulder in a shrug. "I know you enjoy reading.


    "


    "Enjoying something is quite different from finding peace in it. " I point out and Emerson agrees, "And


    you enjoy it as much as you find peace in it. You used to sit by your window with your leg to the other


    side and a book in hand. The look you always have on your face? It''s the same look everyone has


    when they find their safe ce; the same feeling I have when Ie down here. "


    His voice is soft and the smile on his face never fades.


    "Never knew you enjoyed watching me, Ford. " I tease as I take my eyes from his and I feel his eyes on


    me from the corners of mine as he says, "It''s hard not to notice when you''re right beside me. "


    "It is. " I hum before a thought crosses my mind and I raise my head to Emerson with narrowed eyes.


    "And that wasn''t the only thing you saw, is it? What other things did you see?"


    Emerson looks confused for a second before realization dawns on him and a tiny smirk climbs on his


    face as he says, "That night in the car wouldn''t be the first time I saw your tits, Carson. "


    An image of me stripping out of my clothes with the windows to my room opened while Emerson Ford


    watches me from his room flows through my mind and I grimace at it.


    "You shouldn''t be ashamed of–" Emerson starts, but I interrupt him. "Shut up. " I say as I lift my hand to


    swat at his chest, but he catches my wrist in his grip and angles his head to the side.


    Emerson catches me off guard and wraps his arms around my body, pressing me to his wet skin and


    swivelling us across the sand till they cling to his skin and from his to mine.


    "I''m going to fucking kill you!" I scowl when Emerson finally loosens his grip around me and his head


    falls to the back in augh, his arms spread around him. I remain still, lying over his body with every


    inch of his skin pressed to mine as I watch one of the most beautiful looks I''ve ever seen on Emerson


    Ford.


    I don''t think he realizes what he''s doing, or what he''s showing me because Emerson Ford will never be


    this less guarded with his chest falling and rising rapidly, body trembling from theugh and eyes


    almost closing– which I''vee to realize happens when he lets it all out and loses himself in the


    moment.


    I realise this is a newyer out of the manyyers thates with Emerson Ford, and it fascinates me


    so fucking much as a smile makes its way to my face at the sight of this new Emerson I would


    discreetly like to consider striking.