Chapter 39

August's POV-

As soon as that girl dragged me outside I felt panicky leaving Emerald alone in a house full of drunken males while she's wearing something that leaves little to the imagination. I couldn't tell if she was intentionally trying to upset me or if she honestly felt that comfortable having her body on display.

I felt confused about why she was in such a good mood. I felt sure she'd refuse to come to this party and I planned on just staying home with her, but now she's acting like she wants to be here and  she didn't even seemed fazed at all about this girl hovering herself around me like she was earlier today.

I can't ever tell what she's thinking, but I know full well that it upset Emerald when she saw this girl kiss my cheek. I saw her eye light up fiery green and it ignited something in me. I don't know why I liked that she was jealous, but I did. Now that she's acting like she doesn't care I feel stupid for thinking it bothered her in the first place. Why would it?

"Auggie don't you want to dance with me?"

I looked to see the girl in the red bathing suit smiling big at me. Her hands went up to my chest and she started unbuttoning my shirt as if we weren't outside surrounded by hoards of people.

I grabbed her wrists to stop her and she gave me a shocked look.

"Slow down you just met me today. What's wrong with you?" I asked her and her shocked look turned into a pained expression.

"Nothing I.. usually this is what guys like." She said and I suddenly felt guilty for even being male.

It's not like I hadn't done this exact same thing with other woman. Usually older then this one, but still. I didn't want to though. Not with her and not with any other girl really. There was no way I could ever bring myself to even look at another woman in that way until I knew for sure if Emerald was my mate or not.

Zeb is pretty much convinced at this point that she is, but I'm still holding back. I can't even think of how to bring it up to her that she's going to be a Luna wether she's my mate or not.  I didn't want to talk mate stuff at all with her after what she said in the car.

"Well not all of us are like that. How about we just talk instead?" I asked her and she gave me a small smile and nodded her head.

The girl uh.. Chloe?.. Kathy? I don't know.

The girl in the red bathing suit grabbed my hand and started leading me to the pool. It was impossible not to notice her exposed backside as she walked in front of me, but it didn't do much for me anyway.

I kept looking around to see if maybe Emerald made her way out here, but I couldn't see or smell her anywhere. I hope that Jody kid can be trusted enough to watch out for her.

The girl started to walk down the steps into the pool, but I pulled my hand back from her. She turned around and looked at me still smiling her perfect white teeth.

"I thought you said we could talk?"

"I can hear you just fine from here." I said to her coldly and she let out a high pitched whine.

"Please Auggie?" She said to me puffing our her  red lips and batting her lashes.

'That only works for Emerald.' Zeb said and I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing at his comment.

It was true, it only ever worked for her.

"Alright, but you have got to stop calling me that." I said and slipped my shoes and socks off before setting them in the grass and walking over to one side of the pool.

I sat down and dropped my feet in and red made her way through the water until she was standing right in front of me.

"So what do you want to talk about?" She asked while pushing my legs open and standing even closer to me. I had probably met up to a hundred dozen woman in my life so far and most of them all share one trait.

"Tell me all about yourself." I said and her eyes went wide and she grinned even bigger before those lips started moving and noise began to come out of her mouth again.

'This female smells like black licorice' Zeb said in a disgusted tone.

'You've been very talkative tonight.' I said back to him curiously.

I might have let him slip out on purpose earlier, but that was only because Emerald practically forced him out. I wish she wasn't drinking though. Alcohol makes people do stupid things.

'I have been waiting for her my entire life August. Before you or me or her were ever even thought of. I have been waiting for her and you are the only one standing in our way.'

His words hit me like a ton of bricks. I glanced up from the girl talking and looked to the crowd to see if I could see Emerald, but I still didn't see her wild frizzy hair anywhere.

"So then when my mom said I had to choose between the black Audi or the white one I called my dad and he straightened the whole thing out. I'm the only girl, so naturally I'm the princess of the house."

"Uh huh." I said and nodded my head to let her know I was listening even though I wasn't.

Where is Emerald?

Does it really not bother her that her friend has been all over me? I thought for sure earlier it bothered her. I thought when that girl kissed me I could actually see Emerald's emotions clearly. It hurt. I know it hurt her. I could see it in her eyes when it happened. When she walked away from me I was thoroughly convinced that she cared that another girl showed interest in me.

I was happy to see that she cared. I wanted her to care because I felt the same whenever I saw anyone showing interest in her. I should've made that clear to her. I should've told her that so she'd know that I felt the same way. I  need to tell her. Not just that I care, but I need to tell her everything.

Now she's busy acting like she doesn't care at all and I knew she was stubborn enough to continue to act that way. She's going to eventually come out here. I know she will, just  to show me how much she doesn't care.  I might not know much about this version of Emerald, but I was learning fast.

I shouldn't have agreed to come here. I shouldn't have agreed to talk to this girl. If Emerald did come out here and see us together would that same hurt look go to her eyes or would she just mask it? I didn't want to hurt her, but I did want her show me some type of signal. Something that showed she cared for me. More then just someone she feels gratitude for because I found her in the woods. I wanted her to show me she wanted me much more then just an acquaintance.

"Are you sure you don't want to dance?" The girl asked breaking me from my thoughts again.

"I don't dance." I said to her, but no matter how cold or uninterested I acted it never seemed to stop her from talking.

"Not even with a gorgeous girl like my baby sister?"

I looked up to see a tall blonde boy standing nearby. He shared similar features to the girl in the pool backing up his claim of being her brother.

"Stop it Seth you're embarrassing me!" The girl seethed in anger.

"Cool it sis I was only playing. You can handle it can't you big guy?" The blonde asked me with a smile.

I didn't answer and only kept staring at him with a cold look. She called him Seth and I made the connection that this was the guy Jody was talking about earlier. This is the type of guy Emerald likes. This is the guy she grew up liking the most. This is her type.

"Anyways I don't think I got your name. I'm Seth." He said and bent down and stuck his hand out for me to take.

I took it and gripped it hard.

"August." I said before letting his hand go.

"Are you new in town August? I don't think I've ever seen you before and no offense, but I think I'd remember seeing a face like yours."

'We could easily give him the same face.' Zeb offered, but I ignored him this time.

"I'm here visiting my aunt, Helen Gray." I said to him and looked away to see if Emerald was outside yet. Where is she?

"Helen Gray Helen Gray... isn't that that one girl's mom. What's her name Courtney? The one with the two different colored eyes."

"Emerald." I said not giving the girl a chance to use that horrific nickname for her.

"Right Emerald, yeah man she's hot. Is she here too? It's been forever since I've seen her." He said and I gripped the concrete edge of the pool hard.

"Why don't you go find out for yourself and get lost already?" The girl said to her brother.

He put his hands up defensively and laughed.

"Alright alright. I can tell when I'm not wanted. Take good care of my baby sister August." He said before turning around and walking away from us.

"Why did you do that?" I asked Courtney forgetting to hide the authority in my voice.

Her face dropped and her eyes went wide for a second before she smiled.

"Do what silly?" She asked and placed her hand on my chest that was now bare since she unbuttoned my shirt the first chance she got.

"Why did you tell him to go find Emerald?" I asked her while pushing her hand away.

"Oh please like she'd actually do anything with him. Everyone knows what a prude she is." She said and even though she was talking negatively about Emerald, I wanted to know what she meant.

"What are you talking about? I assume she's dated plenty of guys." I said to her.

She laughed and put her hand on my knee.

"Emmy? Yeah right, I'll give it to her that she can get any guys attention, but she's all talk and no bite August. Everyone knows she's still a virgin and Keith pretty much confirmed it after they broke up today."

"That boy is going around telling everyone she's a virgin?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"Well yeah it's totally embarrassing. I mean they've been dating for years now and he said she wouldn't even let him see her naked."

This actually made me happy to hear. I knew she was a virgin after over hearing there fight, but that didn't mean they had done other things together.

"What else is he saying about her?" I asked knowing she'd continue to tell me what I wanted to know.

"Nothing much other then that. He did say he broke it off with her because she's a freak. I don't know what she did, but Keith wouldn't really say." She said and I knew he was only saying that because he pushed her too far.

He screamed at her and kept getting in her face and wouldn't stop even when she told him to. He just kept pushing her until she couldn't take it anymore. I should've intervened sooner.

I'd been worried he'd go around flapping his mouth about it, but I guess he wasn't a complete idiot. I bet if anything he was scared of her now. I knew he wouldn't be able to handle her, nobody can except me.

"She's not a freak." I said and Courtney's little smile started to look a bit forced.

"I know that. I told you me and Emmy are best friends, sisters even."

I rolled my eyes at her and gave her a serious look.

"Tell me the truth. Are you really friends with Emerald?" I asked her and this time her smile dropped.

She let out a breath and for the first time since meeting her I think I actually saw her real face instead of the fake perky one she's been giving me all night.

"Hardly." She said and this made me chuckle.

She smiled at me and put her hands back on my legs.

"So why do you two pretend to be?"

"I don't know why we do it. It's just a game we've been playing from the moment we've met. She hates me and I hate her, but we both love to hate one another." She said and I nodded my head.

It didn't make since to me, but a lot of things about Emerald didn't make sense to me.

"So arch enemies then?" I asked and she smiled and nodded to me.

"Yup. She showed up to class one day and every kid in school wanted to be friends with her because of her eyes. Then to make it worse she's like some sort of brainiac and had the best grades and was top of our training course every year. I've basically been competing with her from day one." She said in an exhausted breath.

I smiled. Not because of the girl, but because I couldn't help picturing a younger Emerald excelling at everything she tried.

'Because she's a Luna. Our Luna.' Zeb said this as if to remind me.

'You don't know that for sure.'

'No, you don't know that for sure. I know it to be true.'

I didn't respond back to Zeb because the smell of burning pine was in the air and I closed my eyes when smelling it.

Emerald.

I opened my eyes and looked around at all the people to see if I could see her, but I still couldn't. She was outside though for sure.

I kept my eyes trained on everyone that was around me to try and find her, but this girl keeps touching me.

I looked back down at her and gave her a hard look.

"Stop it." I said harshly to her, but she didn't remove her hands.

"Don't be like that Auggie. I thought we were having a good time?" She said and slid her hand from my chest to my leg again.

I hate that nickname. Why does she continue to call me that? It's annoying as hell and who gives someone they barley know a nickname?

I pushed her hands off me again and this time she gave me a venomous look and turned her back to me. Finally I thought to myself. It wasn't long though that she turned back to me with a happy grin. She walked back between my legs and started giggling.

"What's so funny?"

"Looks like Emmy might lose her V card after all." She whispered in my ear.

I grabbed her shoulders and held her back so she couldn't touch me.

"What did you just say?" I asked and my voice was deep and laced with anger.

She looked shocked and a little scared and she motioned to the people dancing on the other side of the yard. I let go of Courtney and scanned the groups dancing until my eyes landed on her wild hair.

I thought my chest was going to explode when I could see her fully. She was wearing a white bathing suit, but there wasn't much of it on her. I couldn't even see all of her exposed skin because someone else had their hands running up and down her body.

'MINE!" Zeb's voice boomed into my ears.

Her ass was completely out, but I couldn't even take that in because two hands kept grouping it. The boy turned her around and she moved her body against his and he grabbed her hips and held her tightly as he practically dry humped her in front of everyone.

She threw her head back against his shoulder and drank some of her beer and when she went to go back to dancing on him her mismatched eyes landed on mine. She didn't have her calm mask on. No. I could see the shock in her eyes, but when she continued dancing with that male I growled loudly from my chest and pulled my feet out of the pool.

She was looking right at me while dancing on him as if to dare me to do something about it.

"Where are you going Auggie?"

I drowned her voice out because all I could hear now was my heart drumming in my ears as I pushed people out of my way to get to my Emerald.