Emery almost jumped out of her skin at the sound of his voice. She’d been trying to stay out of his hair since she moved in. He really did like sex, and with many different girls. In the seven days she’d lived here, she’d seen at least three different girls go into his room for a significant amount of time. He allowed one to spend the night; the others took off after a couple of hours.
She couldn’t tell him what she was actually doing, because he thought she was in college. “Nothing, just reading. What’s up?” She put her notebook down and looked at what she was wearing to make sure she looked decent. She was still in the tank top Rachel had left with her.
Rachel had left her a bunch of clothes because she said Emily would “rock them,” whatever that meant. Emery had slept in a tank top the night before, so she reached over and pulled up the sheet, covering her arm and her chest.
“You want to go to the pool with me? I just got back from my run,” Noah said, taking in the mess of her room.
No shit, Sherlock. On one hand, Noah seemed smart. He read interesting books (or at least one good author she knew of) but he also seemed to be the stereotypical dumb jock. She hadn’t figured him out yet.
Emery was mesmerized as a drop of sweat rolled down his neck and fell to his pectoral. Her eyes followed the drop until it was absorbed into his shorts. She cleared her throat, not knowing what had gotten into her. Emery hadn’t been with a guy by herself in ages; she didn’t really know how to act. “Sure,” she agreed.
“See you in a few?” Noah smiled and closed her door so she could change.
She powered down her laptop and got out of bed, stretching out the sleep in her limbs one at a time. She pulled one of the bathing suits her mother bought for her a few months ago out of a suitcase; it was coral and had a ruffle at the top. She put it on, noticing for the first time how pale she was. It was July. Everyone else her age in the South was tan and glowing. She examined the image that was in the mirror. Emily Sanders. Who would Emily Sanders be? She would be someone who frolics in the sun with boys and has cute bathing suits. Emily Sanders wouldn’t care that she had scars on her arm. Emery braided her blonde hair down her back and a thought popped in her mind—Emily Sanders isn’t a blonde. She’s a brunette with a bob. She’d color her hair tonight.
Smiling, she went in the bathroom and made sure no unwanted hair was showing, since she hadn’t put on a bathing suit this year. After making herself presentable, she tugged on a baseball cap and walked into the den. Noah was sitting on one of the chairs, still damp from his run but now clad in orange floral board shorts. She could tell he’d definitely been in the sun.
Fighting the urge to run back into her room, she smiled instead. What would Emily Sanders say?
“You ready?” she asked.
“Waiting on you, Em.” Noah slowly rose from the chair and took in her baseball cap, Braves long-sleeved t-shirt, and shorts. “You like the Braves, huh?”
“Oh…a family member works for them so we get a ton of free stuff.”
“Well, you look the part,” Noah said walking to the front door.
He opened the door for her and allowed her out first. She took a deep breath and followed him across the parking lot to the pool. Noah held the gate open for her and followed her in; she felt the pricks on her skin as his gaze seared her skin.
“Em?”
She threw her towel on the first lounge chair she could find and turned to look at him, happy she’d grabbed her sunglasses on the way out. “Yes?”
“You okay? Settling in all right?” Noah asked from a few feet away.
He was concerned. It was cute.
“Oh, yes. Thank you again for letting me stay.”
“If you thank me one more time…” His smile was lopsided, but showed all of his teeth.
“I just…you don’t understand and I hope you never do.” She turned away from him and felt his eyes linger on her for a few minutes while she undressed. Then she heard a splash and released a breath she didn’t realize she was holding.
Emily Sanders.
She walked over to the diving board and did a back flip, entering the pool without a splash.
Emery picked up the box of hair color at the Ulta store. She was going to change everything. Emily Sanders would be cute and funny and able to talk to people. She smiled as she walked up to the counter, a box of hair color with a gorgeous brunette on the front in her hand.
She’d left Noah napping on one of the La-Z-Boy chairs after their morning in the pool. He’d graciously let her use his Jeep Cherokee. He seemed like he was a great guy, funny and self-deprecating in a way that reminded her of Rachel. He made her comfortable and he hadn’t asked her anything about her past. He liked the ladies, though; she was glad Rachel had warned her.