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Chapter Five

We walked into every room and picked the one we wanted. Hailey chose to room with Anthony, Tiffany with James, and Kayla with Austin. There was one room left, luckily it had two queens. Storm and I enter the room and look around awkwardly. "I can sleep on the couch." I hear Storm say. "You don't have to." I tell him. He looks surprised, I turn away from him and start to put my stuff away and choose which bed I want. I tell myself that we're adults and this isn't weird just friends sharing a room, at least we're not sharing a bed.

After 30 minutes we meet downstairs. I find Hailey sitting on the couch, I run to her and start tickling her. She starts laughing and snorting. We all laugh together. She pushes me off and I hit the floor. Ouch. She laughs but asks if I'm okay. I shake my head as I rub it. This is probably going to be sore later but it's my fault. We choose a restaurant that looked good. There's a crab shack about two miles from the condo that overlooks the ocean. I'm definitely going to try and not think about back home while I'm here. This place is beautiful. All of us get into two cars and head to the restaurant. Storm and I are in a car with Kayla and Austin. Austin's driving and holding Kayla's hand. I zone out onto them holding hands but then look out the window when I realize Storm is staring at me again. I get lost in my thoughts. What did I do to make Eric cheat on me? I know it's ridiculous to blame myself for it, I'm usually the one telling others that it's not their fault, that some people can't truly love someone. I remember the time that we were madly in love, it didn't feel long ago, we made each and every minute count with each other and now he's always gone. I feel my eyes start to swell, I choke back the tears, and rub my eyes. I'm sure they're red now, Storm reaches over and grabs my hand, my eyes widen but I can't seem to take my hand away. His other hand grabs my chin and turns my head towards him. He observes me intently. "What's wrong Emily?" I shake my head nothing, but he gives me a knowing look. He asks again. I feel a lump form in the back of my throat, and I can't seem to say anything. He unbuckles my seatbelt and moves me onto his lap. I lay my head on his shoulder, and I can't help but start to sob. Kayla and Austin ask me if I'm okay, but I just stay in Storms lap and cry. A few minutes later we park at the restaurant, Kayl and Austin ask again if I'm okay, again I don't' say anything. "You guys go ahead and I'll stay here with her." Storm states. Austin and Kayla get out of the car and shuts their doors. I have one of my arms around Storms neck and the other is in between us. 10 minutes later I feel myself calm down. I raise my head and look at Storm who is staring at me with a worried look. I try to get off of him, but he grabs my legs. "What's wrong Emily? And do not say "nothing" this time." He says. I blurt out "he's cheating on me!"

Storm pulls me into him, gives me a strong hug, and tells me it's not my fault. I sit up and look at him. I want to kiss him, I want to run my hands through his hair, and I want to feel him everywhere. I don't know where this is coming from, I need to get up from his lap now before I do something. I'm still married, he's my friend, who knows if he actually wants me, and I need to get up now. I quickly slide off of his lap and before he can grab me again, I open the door, grab my bag, and close the door. He gets out of the car and starts walking with me, I don't look his way but from my side view I can see he keeps looking at me, we don't say anything, but I can tell he wants to talk. We get to the door of the restaurant, and he opens it for me, we walk in, I stop and look around for everyone else. I spot them on the far end in a round booth. We walk to our table, I slide in next to Tiffany then Storm slides in next to me, I don't want to be this close to him, but I have to bare it for now. Kayla, Austin, Tiffany, and James, all look me at and ask if I'm okay. "I am now." I tell them. They give me a look, but they don't say anything more. The waitress comes over, takes our drink orders, but before she walks away, she gets flirty with Storm and for some reason I get mad. He's not mine, I shouldn't be getting mad, I should encourage him to go for it. I notice Storm dismiss her, she gets huffy, and walks away. After a while a new waitress takes our food order. From under the table I can feel Storms hand grab my knee, he slides his hand up until he's on my upper thigh. I choke but cover it up with a cough. He grabs my hand, puts his hand in mine, and holds it. He squeezes my hand tight, like he doesn't want to ever let go. I never look his way, I continue conversating with our friends. Finally, our food shows up. We eat, talk, and laugh. After what seems like hours we leave the restaurant. I notice as we're all walking together that Storm is always close to me, like he's watching me. Storm and I are up front now in the car because Kayla and Austin decided to make out in the backseat. Storm and I have small talk, but my mind is distracted. I came here to try and get my mind off of my marriage but now I feel guilty for not staying and talking with Eric. For the last 10 years Eric has been my person, I want to try and save us, but I know deep down it isn't going to happen. I want to know who he's cheating on me with. When I get back home, I'm going to follow him until I find out who this bitch is. I've been zoned out looking at the passing scenery. We come to a stop, but I don't realize it until I feel a hand on my arm. I come back to reality, I look around and realize that we're back at the condo. I grab the door handle to open it, but Storm asks me to stay in the car. "Please talk to me." he says.

"I know you're tired of being asked but are you okay?" Storm asks me. "You're right, I AM TIRED OF BEING ASKED IF I'M OKAY and the short answer is no, I'm not alright, but I'm trying my best to keep myself together." I reply. Before he could say anything else I get out of the car and run to our bedroom. I close and lock the door behind me, I just want to be alone for a little while, I need to shed some tears.