Carter Brothers: Dane

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

She glares as she passes by him at the entrance of his door. He doesn't seem too put out. They'd arrived separately to avoid suspicion which had been her idea. He'd taken his car and she'd got the bus. Of course that had meant he arrived before her though the time on the bus had given her time to think and strategise. She considers herself fairly smart and yet she can't find a good way to come up on top. Whatever Dane's demands are, she's not going to like it but if she can't meet them or renegotiate, he's going to do...well, she's not sure what he's going to do but it can't be very nice.

"Drink?" he asks as walks into the kitchen and lounge area to which the door opens to.
She gives a firm shake of her head, "no. I'm not staying long."
"Long enough. Join me on the couch?" he phrases it as a question but it's really more of a statement.
Right now, she doesn't have any other choice. With an annoyed growl, Emery drops her bag at the foot of the island counter and her coat on the counter.
"Fine. Let's get this over with," she says marching over to the fancy couch.
Everything about the apartment is pretty refined. It's all sleek and minimalistic with big abstract paintings hung up. Is this his parents style?

"Where are you parents by the way?" she asks, gazing around for signs of them within the apartment.
"2 hours away," he responds with a grin.
Her head whirls back around to stare at him in shock, "what?"
"They didn't move with me when I moved here."
"What?!"
He's a teenager. Well, adult now. But when he joined their school he was only 16. She knows his parents are liberal and a little wild but wild enough to let him live by himself at that age?

"It was too hard to keep commuting back and forth so when their friend had a spare apartment as he went to lecture in England, they rented it for me at a lower price. There's a housekeeper that also cooks who comes over every few days and gives them updates. Not to mention I have to check in with my mom everyday. So it's not like I can have a rager every weekend."

That explanation is still very out there and she can't believe his parents still did that for him. Her mom and her are close and her mom definitely gives her a lot of freedom but even that would be too far for Tory.

"So you get to live here. By yourself?"
He shrugs as if it's no big deal, "well yeah. I go home at vacations and one weekend every month or so. To be honest, it's been pretty cool. But even at home, my mom and dad are mostly chill. They let me do my thing as long as I'm not breaking the law or failing all my classes."

"Dane," she drawls, "how did you even convince them to let you transfer in the first place? Why did you even transfer?"
He stares at her as if the answer is obvious. His gaze and the silence gets far too intense for her. Emery's heartbeat feels too loud and too fast, her skin too hot and her lips too dry. When she wets them, his eyes flicker to them and back. For a second she leans slightly in, feeling him also shift on the couch before gaining a moment of clarity and ceasing immediately.
"You know why," he murmurs.

Her breath catches seeing the green in those hazel eyes seem to glow. Captivated by them against her better judgement she leans in. He follows suit and before Emery knows it they're kissing. This isn't just some fumble in the dark corner of the school dance that she's experienced before. This is a proper kiss. His lips move confidently, soft but sure against her own trembling ones. Gently he coaxes her into relaxing, so much so that as his tongue slips into her mouth she barely realises. That is until it moves against her own in a slow but passionate dance. She's lost in him, her mind fogged over with all sense of reason drowned out. It's only when his hand tugs on her braid and his body leans against her that reality snaps at her.