No Expectations

Chapter Fourteen

Stephen

Emilia squirmed in her seat at my admission. My heart pounded hard in my chest as I thought about her love and loss. She still seemed crushed over the relationship, and that hurt me. It shouldn't have. It had nothing to do with me, yet I was affected.

Fear surged through my veins as I thought of our complicated relationship. Would the failure of our relationship leave her with a similar expression? Was I ready for a commitment like this?

She finally let out a weak chuckle, trying to lighten the mood. "This date is turning out weird, huh? Now I've ruined our vibe. We should have stuck to making out in your car and skipped dinner completely."

My head shook as I blocked a smile. "We would have had to have these conversations eventually."

Sighing, she nodded. "That's true." She placed her elbow on the table and held her head in her hand. Only she could make uncertainty look beautiful. "Do you still like me?" she asked, a playful smile tugging at her lips.

I smirked. "I'm still crazy about you."

Still smiling. "You shouldn't be."

Shrug. "I know. I don't care."

Her eyes lit up as she bit her lip. "I don't care either."

The waiter returned. We asked for to-go boxes. Our conversation turned light. We talked about the responsibilities waiting for us at home. "Can I come over?" she asked.

"If you want." I grabbed the to-go bag then her hand before leading her through the restaurant. She squeezed my palm in hers. Once we were out on the street, someone called out her name. Her hand was quick to slide out of mine. She froze as she looked in the general direction of where the voice came from.

My attention fell on this skinny looking kid who strolled up to us. His eyes narrowed at us as he stepped closer. He looked at Emilia, then at me, then at our separate hands. His angry gaze fell back on her. "You never texted me back."

"I had nothing to say," she answered back, her voice sharp. My eyebrows shot up at the tone of her voice. I'd only ever thought of her voice as cute, but now it sounded harsh, almost mean.

The kid looked at me as a cocky smile formed on his lips. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he took a step forward. "Are you like her teacher or something?"

My eyes shot to Emilia's which seemed to be on fire. "Or something," was my response.

I wanted nothing more than to wrap my arm around her in front of this kid. I knew I couldn't because she didn't want her parents to know about us yet. I was stuck.

He nodded a little too aggressively for me to feel he was actually agreeing. "Right. I don't find it appropriate that you're taking my girlfriend out on a romantic dinner."

Girlfriend? Emilia rolled her eyes. "I'm not your girlfriend." She stepped closer to me. I took that as an invitation to wrap my arm around her. "Good to see you, Tony. Have a nice night."

Oh, so this was Tony. Lost love. Kid seemed like a douche to me. I watched as desperation crossed his eyes before he reached out and grabbed her arm. "You're acting like a bitch."

My hand was on his chest, pushing him back before I realized what I was doing. He was hot headed, and a jerk. I needed to de-escalate this entire interaction, not piss him off more. "Kid, you need to fucking go."

He pushed back against me, attempting to close the space between us, but I hovered over him. "Kid? You know you're fucking a kid, right? Is tight young pussy your thing? Date someone your own age."