The rest of the dinner consisted mostly of Jason having a one-sided conversation with himself. He didn't seem to mind or care about Emma's discomfort with him laying his hand over hers for the rest of dinner, or her anxiety as he pulled her up to the dance floor in the middle of the crowded room.
To any outsider, they would look like the perfect young, cute couple enjoying a romantic evening together as he held her tightly to his chest. She bet people were thinking he was whispering sweet nothings in her ear, something out of a love story, instead of telling her all the filthy things he planned to do with her body. What was making her even more scared was when he would say, "And I'll take you... when the time's right," leaving her on edge as he twirled her around the dance floor.
He had her right where he wanted her. If she were a bolder person, she would punch him in the face and storm out, but her body kept her rooted there, listening to his every word. It wasn't in her to go against people; it wasn't in her nature, but God, she wished it was.
The song finally ended, and she pulled apart from him, slightly stumbling on her heels in the process.
He paid for their meals before taking her hand and leading her outside, opening her car door. She gladly climbed inside, thinking this night was finally over, hoping he would cut this date short. Even though it was only 7 PM at this point, there was still some light outside. The streets were pretty clear, people walking around, enjoying their day, unlike her.
"I hope you don't think this is the end to our great night," he glanced over at her as he started the car.
Her hands clasped tight in her lap. "Where are you taking me now? Don't you think this is enough now, Jason?" Her voice slowly trailed off as she noticed him picking up the speed of the car. His knuckles turned white around the wheel.
"Why, Emma, why are you being this way? Don't you like me? Don't you enjoy our time together?" His voice was shaky as he made a sharp turn. Emma's arm slammed against the car door.
"Slow down, Jason! Please slow down!" she yelled, closing her eyes tightly. This was a different type of adrenaline than when she was riding on the back of Blake's bike. This was terrifying, not exciting. With Blake, it was exciting and new; with Jason, all she felt was fear.
"Don't tell me what to do, Emma!" His gaze was laser-focused on the windshield.
Emma's hands waved around, trying to grab for anything that could keep her body stable. "Okay, Jason! Okay, we can do whatever you want, I don't care!" she yelled, eyes starting to water. She was willing to do whatever she had to do at this point to just make him calm down.
Suddenly, he slammed his foot on the brake, stopping abruptly at a stoplight, letting out puffs of air. The sharp brake made her body lunge forward hard—thank God for the seatbelts, or she would have gone flying through the windshield.
It left her panting in her seat, nails digging into the leather, feeling like she could just melt into the floor. He slowly... very slowly... turned his head, grinning at her like a lunatic "That's great, dear. I was hoping you would see it my way." He reached a hand out, patting softly on her thigh, making her flinch before he continued to drive again at a normal pace. She swallowed hard, wishing her father would have just let her bring her damn phone. Even if her parents wouldn't believe her words, they would definitely have to believe a video if she recorded what just happened. He pulled up to a park.
People were walking around, tossing a frisbee, playing baseball, and reading with the little bit of light that was left in the sky. "I thought it would be nice to end the night with a walk in the park hand-in-hand. I'll even buy you an ice cream cone," he grinned, pointing over to an ice cream truck with a short line of people in front. This man went from almost killing them both to talking about walking hand-in-hand with ice cream.
"Sure, sounds great," she nodded, looking around for escape. Maybe she could get a ride or something while he was getting ice cream? she thought.
He glared at her for a moment, as if to know exactly what she was thinking.
"Go sit on that bench. I'll be watching you. Don't try and go anywhere, or else." He pointed over to a bench under a tree. She swallowed and walked over, sitting down before looking back to see him still watching her from the same spot, making sure she made it there, before jogging over to the ice cream truck.
She looked around, letting out a sigh, happy to finally be away from Jason, even for a few minutes. She looked down, curls covering her face.
"Miss Pear?... Miss Pear, is that you? It's me, Alex!" she heard the excited voice, making her heart jump. She quickly lifted her head, seeing Alex in front of her with a red frisbee in one hand, a big grin on his lips. She quickly looked over her shoulder, still seeing Jason in line for ice cream.
His attention wasn't on her at the moment."Miss Pear, I miss you! Why did you stop tutoring me? They replaced you with Mr. Green, and he smells like old shoe! But guess what? I'm taking my EOG tomorrow, and then it's summer time! I'm so excited!" he yelled rather loudly, throwing up his hands in excitement.
Her eyes slightly widened as the little boy yelled after talking a mile a minute. She held her finger up to her mouth, shushing him, making him pout slightly. She looked back, making sure Jason didn't hear. She didn't know what he would do if he saw her talking to Alex, but she didn't want to find out either. Upon looking, he did not seem to notice Alex's outburst.
It took her a moment to realize Alex was here, which meant there had to be someone here watching him. This park was pretty far out of the way. She remembered Blake said his parents worked a lot, which could only mean...
"Alex, I told you not to mess with her. She's not Emma," Blake said, jogging over to them. He stopped in front of her. She did not yet meet his eyes, looking down while he pushed his fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry about that, miss. He got a little excited, thinking you were some—" He had not yet noticed that the attractive woman sitting alone was Emma.
She finally looked up into his beautiful green eyes. "—one else," he finished his sentence, pausing his fingers in his hair. He dropped his hand, pressing his lips together.
"Hey," he said.
She gave him a small smile. "Hi."
They just stared at each other for a few minutes, Alex looking between them. "I told you it was her," he crossed his arms, grinning proudly.
(Mia note- Always listen to Alex noted lol)
YOU ARE READING
It Started With Hello
Romance***** Emma Pear knew she wasn't the most popular girl in high school. Her nose was usually buried in a textbook, and her grades were as spotless as her reputation for always following the rules. "Nerd" was a label she'd long since embraced. Her pare...
