"What?"

Paul laughed nervously when I caught him staring at me. We showed up to school late, of course. I watched as Paul flirted with the young, new secretary from the attendance office. He gave her some lame ass story about why we arrived late, but somehow she bought it and gave us passes so we wouldn't have to serve lunch detention.

On the one hand, I was impressed with his charming ways, but I was also a little disgusted too because I imagined him using his smarmy ways to get girls into bed.  It seemed as though no one could resist Paul Lahote. And I was the worst one.

I gave Paul a playful shove as I waited for his answer.  "Why do you keep staring at me?"

Paul smirked and pulled me close.  "You're still glowing," he breathed into my hair.  "And I can't stop thinking about this morning."

"Paul…" I sighed, pulling back to see his face.  "We're at school. You need to calm down."

He chuckled lightly.  "Keegan. There's no one around. The halls are empty and...I don't even care anyway." I gasped when he held the sides of my neck and used his thumbs to tilt my head up.  When he pressed his lips to mine, I melted against him, feeling tingles when his tongue touched mine.

In that moment, I felt like everything I had ever wanted had come true. Paul wanted me.  Me! I thought this day would never come. And as perfect as it should have been, there was still something, rather someone, nagging at me.  Embry.

I knew he would be hurt by this, by me and somehow I didn't stop it. Heart clenching fear sent me hurdling back to reality.  I broke off the kiss abruptly, shoving him against his locker a little harder than I had intended. His eyes snapped open and his mouth turned up in a playful smirk. "Are we doing this again? Fighting for dominance? Because you know how much I like it…"

Paul's voice trailed off as he swiftly lifted me into his arms, swung around, and pressed me against the same locker I had shoved him into. "Paul…" I weakly protested before he tried to kiss me again. "Wait."

I sighed as Paul held his mouth just above mine.  "There's nobody here, Keegan. Just enjoy it."

I held his face in my hands and stopped him from kissing me again. "I have to ask you something."

Paul growled lowly, maintaining our position at the lockers, his hands gripping my ass and my legs wrapped around his waist.  I squirmed when his mouth lowered to my neck and I felt his open mouth kisses leaving a blazing trail behind. "What's your question?" he mumbled between licks.

"I uhh…"I paused to swallow, suddenly foggy headed with his lips on my skin.  "I wanted to know if you were gonna tell Embry why we were late."

Paul froze. I could feel him tense up under me.  He released me slowly, placing me back on the floor, but still towering over me.  He pressed one more small kiss to my lips and mumbled against my mouth. "I won't do that."

He leaned back a little and I watched as his eyes dragged over me.  "But I should," he smirked. "I could watch you squirm while Embry gets pissed at you."

"Me?" I scoffed, noticing how his body was still pressed against mine and how his arousal had yet to subside.  "Don't you think he'd be mad at you too? Maybe he'd kick your ass for taking advantage of me."

Paul looked shocked. He backed away, scoffing and shaking his head.  "What makes you think Embry Call could ever kick my ass? For one. For two...he would definitely be more pissed at you.  And for three…" he paused to grab hold of my hair, tugging gently and forcing my head to fall to one side. Paul pressed his lips against my ear and whispered, "I didn't take advantage of shit. You wanted me...just as much as I wanted you. Don't deny it, Kee."

His breath on my ear caused me to shiver involuntarily.  And I was pissed because he was right. I wanted him. I participated because I couldn't deny how badly I wanted to come...and how much I wanted him to watch. 

I didn't have time to come up with a snappy comeback because all the first period classes let out and the hall flooded with students.  Embry approached us, taking note of Paul's hand still in my hair and how we were locked in an intense state.

"You guys missed first period.  Is everything okay?" Embry asked cautiously, glancing between us.  "Did something happen?"

My heart pounded as I waited for Paul to respond.  A playful smirk started to form on his lips before he finally said, "Keegan overslept.  She was a real pain when I tried to rush her so...we just got here late."

Kinda true, but he left out most of the story.  Thank goodness. Embry looked to me for confirmation, as if he didn't believe Paul and Paul noticed.  I sighed when Paul backed away from me completely and opened his locker. Embry reached for my hand, intertwining our fingers. "Are you two fighting?" Embry inquired softly, searching my eyes for the truth.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Paul demanded angrily as he slammed his locker closed.  

Embry looked confused and hurt.  He had to know we were hiding something. Embry ain't no dummy.  "I made us late. That's all. I'm sorry, Paul. I told you to leave me behind."

That was all true, but it still stung keeping Embry in the dark like this. Paul sighed deeply as he glanced between us.  "I should get to class," he mumbled before sliding his hand behind my head and kissing my cheek softly. 

Embry never let go of my hand as he walked me to my next class.  He didn't have time to question me any further because we arrived at my classroom door and he left me to hurry off to his own.

The morning dragged by with thoughts of Paul and Embry nagging at my brain.  I wandered into the lunchroom and found my two suitors already seated at our usual table.  I didn't notice the girl sitting across from Paul until I was standing beside Embry. Cassie Blunk. Ugh.

I tried not to sneer when I saw her holding Paul's hand.  Evidently she fancied herself a palm reader and was providing entertainment for my boys.  I knew they weren't really mine. We had all agreed to only sleep with each other during our arrangement, but my jealousy was bubbling to the surface as I watched her trace the faint lines on his palms.

I sighed deeply and stalked away, only to have Paul call my name. "Where are you going?" he asked, smirking a little as I imagined he was probably enjoying my envious glare.

"I'm hungry," I declared.  "Forgot to pack my lunch this morning."

I bit back a smile and wondered if Paul was doing the same when I mentioned this morning. "Can you get me some pizza?" he asked adorably and I rolled my eyes in response. 

"Your legs aren't broken," I teased, happy to have taken his attention away from Cassie. He rose from the table and approached me, my heart sped up at the sight of him.  

"Please?" he pleaded, slipping some money into my hand. "You want some, Embry?"

"I haven't agreed to get you anything," I reminded him playfully. I sighed when Paul ran his fingers through my hair, pausing to stroke one of my auburn curls. 

"I'd take a slice of pepperoni...if that's okay," Embry added as Cassie took his hand and began running her fingers over the lines she found there. 

"Whatever," I shrugged, just eager to get away from them. 

Paul pulled on my elbow and shot me a disarming smile. "I want…" he began.

"I know what you want," I replied sassily, realizing how flirty I sounded once the words tumbled out of my mouth. 

"I know you do," Paul growled softly, narrowing his gaze and tossing me a flirty smirk.  I glanced at Embry, thankful he was too involved with Carrie's palm reading to notice our banter.

I rolled my eyes at Paul for the tenth time today and sauntered over to the lunch line, glancing back to observe Paul watching me.  I liked it. Having Paul's attention made me feel good. As I stood there, waiting, my mind wandered away to the weekend. Maybe Embry shouldn't come? The more I thought about the possibility of hurting Embry, the more I wanted to call this whole thing off.

For some reason I didn't worry about Paul's heart nearly as much as I should.  I guess I assumed that if we crashed and burned, he would move onto the next thing.  Like Cassie Blunk. It bothered me to think about her with Paul. My jealousy was as bad as his.

"Are you gonna move up or what?"

I swung around to confront the rude ass who just touched my back and spoke into my ear.  "What the…" I began before focusing on the offender.

"Hey, Keegan."

"Hi, Kyle," I replied sheepishly.  

"Sorry if I scared you," he retorted happily. "I'm just really hungry."

We both laughed and moved along the line together. "Sorry, I was just distracted," I explained.

"Were you daydreaming about your boyfriend?" he teased.

"Boyfriend?" I echoed absently. I don't have a boyfriend.

"Yeah," he chucked, stroking his chin.  "You're going out with Embry, right? I saw you hugged up with him at Trent's party.  That was you, right?"

"Yeah," I sighed, forcing a smile.  "That was me." I turned back around to move up in line. I felt Kyle's hand on my arm, so

I glanced over my shoulder to see him smiling down at me. 

"Did I say something wrong?" Kyle inquired with a furrowed brow.

I never got a chance to respond because I tumbled into Kyle's arms when a couple guys pushed past us in line and I lost my balance. Kyle hollered at them, but they were already shoving their way to the cash register.  "Jerks!" I called out.

Kyle laughed at me and I huffed indignantly. "What?"

"You sound like a kitten trying to roar, Keegan! You're not intimidating at all," he chided as he helped me right myself. 

"What the hell are you doing?"

Paul's voice boomed from behind us. Paul glanced between us, noticing Kyle's hand on my shoulder and my hand gripping his forearm in an attempt to stand up straight. "Paul. You okay?" Kyle asked, seeing how upset he was. 

Paul stepped closer to me, taking my hand off of Kyle and placing it in his.  "I'd be better if you'd keep your hands off my girl."

My stomach erupted in butterflies as Paul referred to me as 'his girl.'  Kyle's gaze dropped to our joined hands and I stepped between them when it seemed that Paul wasn't backing down.  "Why were you manhandling Keegan?"

"He wasn't," I quickly interjected, turning to face Paul and trying to get him to focus on me. "Somebody pushed me and Kyle kept me from falling.  That's all it was."

Kyle just laughed and slapped Paul on the back.  "Just chill, man. I would never hurt Keegan. She's cool as fuck."

Paul's gaze snapped between Kyle and I before he finally nodded and apologized.  "Sorry, man. I'm just really protective of her."

Kyle grinned. "Everybody knows that, Lahote.  But maybe you should let Embry take care of her now."

"Embry?" Paul scoffed. "Why would I do that?"

"Because...he's her boyfriend."  When Paul did nothing but scowl at the tall senior, he added, "Isn't he? I mean...Keegan just told me he was."

Paul sneered and yanked his hand from mine.  He faced me and growled, "I guess he is."

"Paul…" I cringed as he stalked away from me.  "Wait!"

"Sorry," Kyle smirked.  "I guess he didn't get the memo."

I rolled my eyes at Kyle and shoved him aside.  "You're a dick."

I could still hear Kyle laughing when I raced past Embry. "Keegan! What happened?"

I paused to shove Paul's money into his hand. "Paul's mad. I'll be back.  Just go get your pizza."

Embry looked furious at my brush off, but I didn't have time to worry about Embry. Paul needed me.  And Paul had been there for me more times than I could count. He was so tough and rarely ever broke down that it was unusual for him to need me like this.  But it was my inability to tell Kyle the truth that had Paul running scared. It was all my fault.

"Paul…" I sighed breathlessly when I found him facing the side of our brick school, his flattened palms pressed against it while his head hung down. 

"Leave me alone."

I approached him slowly, knowing Paul liked space when he was angry and my meddling could send him spiraling.  "I'm so sorry."

His head whipped to the side, sending me a harsh glare.  "I said go, Keegan. I don't need you here."

His mouth was pressed into a thin line.  His brow was furrowed as deep as it could go. I longed for one of his smiles or even a devilish smirk. Anything would be better than the pained look on his face.  "I didn't say he was my boyfriend. I just…"

"Didn't correct him when he assumed he was?"

I nodded and sighed, turning to allow my back to rest against the wall Paul was facing.  "I'm just not ready for everyone to know what we're doing."

"Shouldn't that tell you this is wrong?"

I hung my head and blinked back tears. "I never wanted to hurt you, Paul.  Never. I don't know how this got so out of control."

"It's because you got greedy, Keegan.  You want it all and you don't give a fuck who gets hurt in the process," Paul spat as he turned and leaned with his shoulder against the wall.  "And you're not like that, Kee. You care about people. And I thought you cared about me." He paused when I turned my body to mirror his. "At least you used to care."

"Paul," I reached for his face, but he pulled away from me. "I do care.  I'll always care about you. I don't wanna do this if it hurts you this much. It's not worth it."

Paul scoffed. "Do what you want.  That's what I plan on doing."

I grabbed his arm when he pushed past me.  "That is what I want. To stop hurting you and call this off.  We can all just go back to being…"

"Friends?" he gasped incredulously.  "I can't. I won't. I don't have to settle for less now that I've had a taste of what I want."

"Then what do you want?" I pleaded, calling to the back of his head as he stalked off again. 

He sighed deeply and stood there on the sidewalk until I walked around to face him.  He raised his head and sneered at me. "I wanna be with someone who's proud to say they're with me. I want someone who's all mine and I don't have to share. I want…"

"I want those things, too.  I wanted all that with you before you hurt me.  I just don't think I'm that girl anymore, Paul."

Paul squeezed his eyes shut, lifting his hands to cradle my face. He pressed his forehead to mine and mumbled, "I hope you and Embry will be happy together."

I stood there in that same spot for I don't know how long. Embry appeared and dragged me back to my afternoon classes. Paul skipped art class at the end of the day and he didn't drive me home. I felt sick.  I screwed this whole thing up and I didn't know how to make it right again. 

I loved Paul. I wanted Paul.  But I was too stupid to admit it.

~•~•~•~•~•~

I saw Paul in the halls on Thursday, but he wouldn't talk to me.  Embry was keeping his distance too. He felt like something was wrong between us, but I wasn't sharing.  It was obvious Embry didn't trust me. Why should he?

"Are you ready to go?"

I looked up to find my mother in my doorway, a bag slung over her shoulder and a floppy hat on her head.  "You're not even packed," she whined, noticing my empty duffle bag and luggage. 

"I'm not going," I declared as I yanked my blanket back over my head. "I'm sick," I lied.

"Keegan, stop hiding," my mom demanded as I felt her sit on my bed.  "Paul already told us you had a fight."

I flipped the blanket back to reveal my face. "He did?"

"He said he upset you and he assumed you wouldn't want to go," she explained as she smoothed down my bed head.

"I'm sure he doesn't want me to go," I pouted. "And I'm not mad at him, he's just…"

"Jealous of Embry?" she supplied. I sighed and nodded before telling her some of what was going on.  Embry had been to our house for dinner once or twice and while my mom thought he was a sweet boy, she was definitely #teamPaul all the way.

"He hurt me, Mom.  He made all the guys stay away from me and kept me from ever having any dates.  Am I just supposed to forget that?"

"But Paul loves you," she beamed. "You two would be so good together."

"Until he loses interest."

"The same thing could happen with Embry or any other boy you meet.  Don't let fear keep you from getting what you want, Keegan."

My mom finally convinced me to stop feeling sorry for myself and get ready before the Lahotes showed up to drive us to the cabin. I hurriedly showered and packed, finishing just in time to hear their Suburban pull up and honk.

"Coming!" I shouted as I trudged down the stairs with my bags in tow.  I nearly tumbled down the porch steps with my arms loaded down before Embry stepped up and took most of what I was carrying. 

I threw him a grateful smile as he packed my things into the back and walked around to meet me by the passenger door. "I wasn't sure if you were going to make it," I told Embry when he leaned against the door with his arms crossed.

He shrugged non-nonchalantly. "A vacation is a vacation...regardless of the company."

Ouch.

My face fell and I couldn't hide my disappointment. I'd be lucky if Embry even still wanted to be my friend after all this.  "I know I haven't been very open about what's going on with me and Paul, but maybe we can talk. I'd really like it if we could," I offered weakly. 

Embry sighed deeply and scowled. "Maybe."

I shrugged and reached for the door handle, only to have Embry pull it open for me. I climbed inside, laughing because I needed his help to get my short self into the vehicle.  But my happiness was short lived when I peered into the back seat and saw Paul.

And he wasn't alone.

....

A/N: I know I'm terrible for that cliffhanger! Please let me know where you'd like to see things go from  here.  And thanks for all the great comments ❤