Saturday Night

Without Dungeons and Dragons, I had nothing to occupy my free time. God, my life was so boring. Outside of Emma, Mike, and DnD, I had nothing and it was painfully obvious.

Saturday night suddenly free, I decided to invite Mike to a movie. We’d been wanting to see a new science fiction movie that came out so it was as good a time as any. When Emma found out, she invited herself along as well. I would have invited her, but I figured this wasn’t the type of movie she would go see. Not that I was complaining to her tagging along.

Emma didn’t disappoint in the looks department, but her outfit had a different feel than it usually did for a Saturday. Instead of the hot and sexy date look, she had a more casual one. The white long sleeve sweater and lengthy black checkered skirt downplayed her usual sexiness, replacing it with a cute innocence. She seemed unusually subdued tonight as well. The girl was leaning hard into that ‘sweet and innocent’ look and nailing the atmosphere.

The movie was good and helped boost my mood. We went to the Chinese place Mike and I loved for dinner. Most of the conversation was about the movie. I don’t think Emma was a fan overall, but her and Mike ran off in their conversation about special effects and sound direction. I followed along well enough, but it was clear Mike was thriving tonight, so I decided to step back and let him run.

We ended the night in my basement. I had the TV on. Some random Netflix show provided background noise as we talked about the future of Dungeons and Dragons. Emma and Mike wanted to continue. While we could do it with two, we would try to get Trent, but that was going to be a tough one. If things truly got ****, Emma was willing to ask her friends if any of them were interested—Mike looked uncomfortable at that, but remained silent.

As the time passed midnight, conversation seemed to cease as we pretended to watch the show we’d been ignoring for the past few hours. Emma was on the other couch alone. She had her legs pulled under her, arms hugging her tightly as she leaned against the armrest. She caught me staring and gave me a small smile. My eyes darted away, cheeks heating as I remembered all the stuff I had told her last week.

God, she was so cute right now.

With my attention on Emma, I’d failed to notice the nervous squirm Mike was going through until he finally spoke up. “Hey, Emma.”

“Hmm?” She looked his way.

“Do you like Isaac?” We were both struck speechless. Poor guy looked like he was about to keel over.

Her surprise quickly faded. “I—”

“I’m not talking about as a friend,” he said with a hard look.

She let the silence linger. “I do,” she finally admitted. Not once did she look my way, her attention fully on Mike.

“H-he told me. About… you know…” She quirked an eyebrow as he stuttered his way through the sentence. “…the quest stuff.”

“Did he now,” she said, sliding her gaze over to me. There was an unreadable wall there as her eyes lingered a bit too long for comfort. I opened my mouth to defend myself, but the way her eyebrow twitched killed the words before they could form.

He nodded. “Not going to pretend I understand it.” He shook his head. When he looked up again, the quiver in his voice was gone and there was resolve in his eyes. “Even now it still doesn’t make sense. What does make sense is my best friend is head-over-heels for you. I’ve known him a long time, and I can barely recognize him anymore—in a good way. I know you are a large part of that, so…thank you. Really.” He took a breath. “And I want to help him out too he told me about what you are into don’t know if I can get behind it but he seems to like it and I want to help but at the same time it terrifies me but I’ll admit that a part of me has been thinking about this a lot and—”

“Mike?” Emma asked innocently, stopping him in his tracks. “Breathe.” There was a light amusement on her face. He was breathing. A lot. Eventually, she threw the poor guy a lifeline. “Mike… Perhaps…” She had a coy smile on her face. “You want to have sex with me?”

Mike's eyes were massive. He sputtered, trying to form a response in his embarrassment.

With the grace of a deity descending into the realm of mortals, Emma slid her legs out from under her and rose from the couch. She shed the innocent demeanor she had worn the entire night, releasing her commanding aura upon us. It wasn’t as intense as it normally was with me, but I think it was too much for poor Mike. It looked like he was regretting this already as she grabbed his hands and pulled him to his feet.

“I-if that is what you and Isaac—”

“Mike,” she said taking one step closer than is normally comfortable. They were about equal in height, but Mike seemed to shrink away. She seemed to realize her intensity was too much and dialed it way back, breaking the tension with a sweet smile. “I know how Isaac is, but I want to know if you want to do this.”

He looked at me, panic in his eyes. Then back to Emma. Then the floor. “I… uh… well…” Reaching out, she rested a hand on his upper arm. He flinched but looked up at her. She gave him an encouraging smile. “I would be lying if I said I didn’t. I just never expected anything to happen. I mean, look at me. I’m hardly—”

“None of that now,” she said softly as broke the final barrier between them. I watched in disbelief as she pressed herself against him. This was… completely unlike how she interacted around me. Even when we had been close like this before, she had treated the entire interaction with cold indifference. With Mike, she was kind and caring. Friend Emma, all out in the open.

Fuck. I was jealous. It roared inside me, chewing its way through my attempts to stop it. Emma’s kiss detonated it, the shards embedding themselves inside me as my stomach twisted in a knot. I was on my feet as if my body was moving to stop them, yet I moved no closer.

Mike was shocked, jerking back from the now smiling Emma. “If you are okay with me… I would be honored to be your first, Mike.” Eyes wide, he looked at me. A man out of his depth realizing he had dug far too deep and was unable to escape. Emma didn’t let him stare, her hand running along his cheek so that he was **** to look her way. “Mike? Is that okay?”

He nodded slowly, unable to look away from her intense stare.

She gave him a warm smile. “I need to hear you say it, Mike.”

“I-It's okay,” he breathed, unable to escape her charm. Smile widening, she gave him another quick kiss.

Her attention went to me and her smile morphed into something far more familiar. I knew she could tell I was jealous. I could tell I was jealous. Where was this Emma when she was with me? It was everything I wanted. The sweet touches, caring voice, gentle look. All things I desperately craved from her. She heaped them on Mike, but me? Nothing.

It wasn’t until she started moving toward me and her smile slipped that I understood. It was an act. Just like she always put on a mask for me, she was doing the same for Mike. Emma the chameleon, always shifting and impossible to nail down. For Mike, the act wasn’t anything malicious. While she wanted to sleep with him for her own reasons, I knew she wanted him to enjoy it as well and was a way to put him at ease.

Standing on her toes, she pressed her cheek against mine. I could barely hear her words as she whispered them in my ear. “Last chance, Isaac. I need you to stop me. Please. I’m begging you.” Pulling away, she looked up at me with big, pleading eyes. I felt her hands touch mine before grabbing them.

Fucking hell, Emma. She was calling back to our moment a week ago, adding even more **** to that gut-punch she hit me with.

The eyes were hard enough, but the gentle touch of her hands against mine? Jealousy flipped to guilt. With only a few words, she had managed to flip this entire situation to one where it was my fault. The sudden emotional whiplash gutted me. I wanted to wrap her in a hug and squeeze. Squeeze and never let go as I carried her off to the bed and—

Her hands slipped out of mine as she stepped back. The look she gave was like a knife to the chest. Betrayal. As if I was forcing this on her. Forcing her to let another man take her when all she wanted was me. That this twisted monster that lived inside me was loving sending her off to be with another guy—and she was right. Even with the emotional torment, I wasn't going to stop this. Staring into my eyes, I could see she wanted it just as much as I did.

It was wiped away in an instant as she turned to Mike, a smile on her face. Mike was looking at me, confused and more than a little terrified. I probably didn’t look my best. Emma had done a number on me. Still was doing a number on me. This was an elevated state of play she had discovered. There was a twisted enjoyment in her confident self regaling tales of her conquests, but this was… I don’t even know. It hit me harder than anything else. The sensation that I was somehow in control, yet having no control at all… Not to mention Emma had discovered my greatest weakness of all—her ability to project vulnerability and innocence.

I liked the cool and confident Emma. But sweet and innocent Emma? That was something to make my breath catch and legs give out.

And it was that sweet and innocent Emma that took Mike’s hand and led him to the bedroom.

My bedroom.

I barely registered it. Emma paused by the door after ushering him inside. She waited until we made eye contact before giving me a big smile and closing the door behind her.

Collapsing onto the couch, I was in an emotional maelstrom. Long, shaky breaths helped calm me over time. The calmness brought clarity, and clarity brought understanding. Understanding what was going on in my room.

My room.

In my bed.

With my best friend.

I didn’t hear anything. The walls were solid and the door was thick. Quality materials all the way down. I think that made it worse. The silence. It ate at me, feeding my thoughts. What were they doing right now? Were they actually…? Was he…?

Time clawed slowly by as I struggled to take full breaths. Surely by now… It had to be happening. There was no way it couldn’t be. Mike was in my room with Emma.

Emma was—

Mike was—

Images twisted in my mind as I buried my face in my hands. Fuck. I wasn’t prepared for this. I… I thought I was, but now it was happening. This wasn’t like Emma and her friends. Mike was like a second brother and Emma was a precious existence in my life. All I could think about was the look on her face. The pleading look as she begged me to stop her.

That could have been me in there.

It should have been me.

Guilt crushed me as I bent forward, grabbing my stomach and gasping for air.

Sometime later, the door opened. My head shot up as I sucked in air. Was it really done already? Had it been that long? Had it been long? No idea how much time had passed. I stopped paying attention—

“Isaac? Dude, you okay?” Mike said with a horrified expression.

“Huh?” I asked as I quickly put myself together. “Oh… yeah. I’m fine.”

He didn’t look too good himself. Torn between guilt, embarrassment, and… something else.

“You looked like someone ran over your dog.”

I grinned. “I don’t have a dog.” He didn’t look amused. I walked over. Reaching out, I patted his shoulders. “I’m fine, man. Really.”

“If you say so,” he said, eyes falling away. “I… I should go,” he said softly. Nodding, I released him as he made for the stairs.

“Mike?” He paused to glance over his shoulder. “Did… you enjoy it?”

He looked surprised. I could see a little heat show though the darker skin of his cheeks. “Y-yeah.”

Without another word, he escaped up the stairs.

With a deep breath, I slowly turned to face my bedroom door. It was cracked open, but not enough for me to see inside. I knew what awaited me inside.

Emma.

I felt like a marionette, guided against my will. My hand reached out, feeling the cold wooden door on my fingers.

I froze in place. There was still a part of me that resisted. A part that wanted me to turn away and escape while I still could. Once I walked through that door, there would be no going back. No escape, now or in the future.

The last remaining bit of logic fell silent as I beat it back into place and pushed open the door.