His Secret Obsession

Chapter 3-Unexpected Attention

One perk of having a dad who fixes up cars was I could drive literally anything..even stick shift. I had to learn to help my dad tow and move the cars around for him sometimes.

Just as I slid into the truck, I felt my phone vibrate as I saw an incoming text pop up on the screen.

Carson: Hey Em, can you get some fruit punch too? Oh and a couple of limes, I will pay you back.

Em: No problem, don't worry about it. Think of it as my gift to you :P

I teased, seeing he sent me back a thumbs-up in response. It's funny, since Mackenzie has been gone I have seen Carson more than I thought I would. He and I have gone hiking a few times in a couple of local areas. I actually saw him last week when he stopped by the house to help my dad out with something,then he stayed for dinner and we all watched a movie together. So getting a text from Carson is a pretty common occurrence these days.

I quickly ran to the grocery store and picked up four bottles of coke, four jugs of fruit punch, and about six limes. Not sure what they were all for but I'm guessing this party might be massive. I actually bought Carson a gift earlier this week but I forgot to get the wrapping paper so I quickly ran to the birthday aisle and grabbed some. I was able to find him a vinyl record for the vintage record player he recently bought. He has been slowly collecting vinyl records so I decided to get him one that he has been wanting from Guns and Roses. I can’t wait to see his reaction when he opens it.

After paying and running back to the truck,I headed towards their house. They lived about twenty minutes out of town in an area that was known for having the most expensive homes around. There are about five large houses that I would classify as mansions out here, all separated by about six acres of open land.

Once I pulled up to the gate I realized it was left open and cars were parked all down their driveway…... wow.. This party was going to be huge. I bet their old high school basketball team and not to mention the current college team were going to be here.

We actually attend the same college but this will be my first year going in person considering I took online courses up to this point. I'm pretty excited because, at the end of this month, I will get my first apartment. I have been saving up by working part-time at a bakery and helping my dad out in the garage.

My dad wasn't too thrilled but I needed to be closer to the college and I didn't exactly want to do dorm life. The apartment is a studio but that's more than enough space for just me. Plus it's a few blocks away from Carson and Asher's place and Carson made a promise to my dad to check in on me every few days.

I just nodded and agreed, not trying to cause any issues or rock the boat. If it helps my dad to accept me moving out, then I’m not complaining.

I quickly found an opening down the driveway and parallel parked the truck. I probably have to make a couple of trips considering I had a long way to walk to the house. Suddenly a group of guys started walking by, I knew for a fact they had to be from the basketball team just from their height alone.

"Hey, need any help?" One of the towering strangers asked, causing me to blink up at him.

"Really? That would be great." I said with relief, knowing it would be a pain in my ass to have to make so many trips by myself.

The guy that offered to help gave me the biggest smile, making heat rush to my cheeks. Yeah, he was kind of cute. He had sandy blonde hair with brown eyes. When he smiled two dimples appeared on his cheeks as he stepped towards me.

"I'm Ethan by the way, I haven't seen you around here before." He said while reaching forward and grabbing a few bottles of soda before passing them to his friends.

"Ah yeah, I'm Carson's sister's friend." I responded shyly, feeling completely out of my element by this whole situation.

"Oh f**k, you must be Emery then." One of the other guys chimed in.

This guy had red hair, green eyes, and freckles. He also wasn't as tall as Ethan but he was still towering above me. I blinked my eyes, surprised they knew my name as all the guys exchanged looks.

"Uh yeah, that's me, I'm surprised you knew that." I said with an awkward laugh. The fact that Carson even mentioned me to his friends was surprising, I won’t lie.

"Yeah, you're on the 'don't f**k around with' list." Another guy said, nudging Ethan as they smirked.

"The..what list?" I asked while grabbing the gift for Carson and held the bag of limes in my other hand. What the hell did that even mean?

"Let's just say you and Mackenzie are off limits to the guys on the team..and pretty much anyone at the party." The red headed guy informed me with a sheepish grin.

"Oh.." was all I could think to say. So Carson told his teammates not to mess around with Mackenzie or me..why do I find that odd? Not like they would be interested in me. Unless they were going to bother me to get to Mackenzie. In that case, thank you, Carson.

"Yeah, doesn't mean we can't chill though, right?" Ethan asked, giving me his best smile while quickly wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

The action took me by surprise as I nodded my head softly before shrinking down even more.

Dang, these guys were friendly.

"Well, if you are lucky enough I can teach you a few things on the court later to pay you guys back for your help." I joked, making them laugh as they all looked down at my short stature.

"That I would like to see." Ethan teased, his eyes gleaming as I glared up at him in response.

"Well, maybe we will wait until after you have a few drinks..might even the odds a little." I muttered, making him throw his head back and laugh loudly.

We walked up the driveway and I spotted Carson right away. He was helping some guy unload a keg out of his truck as a group of girls watched them. It was hard not to roll my eyes. I swear he had groupies everywhere he went.

I noticed a couple of the girls wearing jerseys and a few of them had Asher's number on them. Number 74, the starting centre. Otherwise known as the golden boy s***h most eligible bachelor. They forgot to add rude jerk and most likely to make you cry, but maybe I'm the only one that sees Asher for who he really is. And yes, he has made me cry a few times.. but I would never let him know that. He was just way too brutally honest and not in a helpful kind of way. It's in a rude and uncaring kind of way.

Carson locked eyes with me as I lifted the bag of limes proudly before smiling up at him. He quickly returned it, setting the keg down and walked towards me. Carson was model quality handsome with broad shoulders and an athletic body. He had those signature blue eyes and black hair, his skin was tan and his style was always on trend. Today he wore a pink hoodie with black jeans. His shoes were specialty made Jordans and a backwards Boston Red Sox baseball cap sat on his head.

Suddenly his smile turned into a frown, his eyes zeroing in on Ethan's arm that was still wrapped around my shoulders. Realizing that Carson was staring, Ethan immediately removed it before clearing his throat as he looked away awkwardly.

"Happy birthday Carson." I shouted excitedly, trying to break this weird tension. This was new, I wasn't the one he was usually so protective of, at least I never thought I was.

"Thanks, Em." He pulled me into a hug, his arms wrapping tightly around me as I let out a small yelp.

"Damn, I always forget how tiny you are." He chuckled deeply, making my cheeks redden as I nudged him in the ribs.

"Whatever." I grumbled while pulling back and shoving his present against his chest.

It was weird being called tiny, I was always short..don't get me wrong but I was bigger my whole life. Me and tiny weren't something that belonged together. It's almost like I am a whole different person and yet I still buy xl shirts and wear baggy clothes. I haven't wrapped my head around it all yet. It kind of makes me uncomfortable, if I’m being honest.

I suddenly realized the guys from before were still hovering around and watching us, making me feel embarrassed for giving him the gift in front of all these people.

"You can wait to open it later if you want, I just thought you might want to before you become belligerent." I joked and he laughed looking down at the gift.

“You’re probably right.” He laughed, tearing it open before a wide smile filled his face.

Even the guys seemed pretty interested as I felt Ethan watching my every move. I quickly tucked a strand of hair nervously behind my ears as I shuffled on my feet.

"Awesome Em, this is perfect." Carson gushed, while tucking the wrapping paper under his arm and pulled me into a hug.

I noticed the girls were still gathered around and a few were now scowling. This party was off to an unusual start.

"Well, I better go find Mack. Do you want me to put these in the kitchen?" I asked while holding up the limes.

“Ya, sounds good.” Carson said, glancing over at Ethan again as I began walking forward.

"Ethan, can we have a word?" Carson stated firmly.

I couldn't help but glance back, noticing some type of tension between the two and decided to hurry off into the house. Trying to get as far away from that as possible. I wasn't sure what it was even about.

There had to be at least eighty people here already, it was packed. The loud party music was playing in every room as I weaved my way through the crowd. I recognized a couple of people from Carson's high school class and nodded as they looked at me. I wondered if they even knew who I was. After making my way through the huge mansion I finally found the kitchen. Mr. And Mrs. Prescott were out of town for the rest of the month. I believe they were in Dubai for a fashion show or something like that.

I looked at the white marbled counters and saw a large array of food. On the other side was every type of alcohol you could imagine where people were mixing drinks and the strong smell hit my nose hard, making my face scrunch up. How could people enjoy drinking this stuff?

Suddenly a girl I recognized waved over at me, excitement filling her eyes. Her name was Payton, she and Carson used to date in high school but now they were just good friends. Payton was with a guy named Donovan now who actually played hockey. I believe he was from Canada but transferred here on a scholarship.

"Em! You brought the limes!" Payton shouted excitedly, prompting everyone in the kitchen to cheer. I just laughed, realizing most of these people must have already started partying for a while.

"Damn Em you look amazing by the way. Carson told me how you guys have been going hiking, me and Donovan should join you one day, right babe?" She nudged the guy next to her, who just grunted in response. He had long blonde hair and reminded me of a surfer dude.

"That would be great, we have only done a few trails but since the weather is getting nicer we are planning a lot more." I explained excitedly while setting the limes on the counter. That’s when I noticed the group of guys I walked in with file into the room behind me, bringing the drinks they helped carry.

The guy from earlier, Ethan, began looking around the kitchen like he was searching for someone when his eyes finally settled on me. I watched as he strode over, placing the sodas on the counter as a broad smile pulled at his lips before leaning down closer to me.

"You know. I'm starting to think you might be trouble." He whispered darkly while turning his head and meeting my gaze.

"Me?" I sputtered, thoroughly confused by what he said. Ethan nodded his head, continuing to hover above me.

"Why am I trouble?" I was shocked. I don't think anyone in my whole life has ever labeled me as trouble.

"Because it's going to be hard staying away from a beautiful girl like you all night and I know it will end up getting me in trouble ." He looked me dead in the eyes and said this.

I almost turned my head to peer behind me. He was talking to me, right? Wait, was he flirting with me?

I blinked up at him, completely taken aback as his eyes finally left mine staring at someone else. I turned my head and almost let out a groan when I realized exactly who Ethan had been looking at.

Asher McNeal.. great. He came strutting in, the crowd naturally parting like always with his chestnut brown hair hanging in his face, framing his gray-blue eyes.. which always looked silver to me. Listen,I might not like the guy's personality, but he was the definition of a God. His skin is a golden tan and his body had to be the picture of perfection. I’m talking about underwear model type of stuff. Not like I have seen Asher in his underwear or anything..

But these are the type of people I had to grow up with. So you see why I might have had a slight body image issue?

It isn't fun being the chubby girl while being surrounded by models and gods.. it really makes your self-esteem a big fat zero,which I am still struggling with today.

I quickly turned my head and decided to get the hell out of there as soon as possible. But before I could even take another step Ethan nodded his head, looking behind me and that's when I knew it was too late.

"Hey Asher, you just get here?" Ethan asked cooly, glancing down at me as I felt Asher's presence coming closer. I swear my body was tingling just from his proximity alone.

God, why was it always like that?

That was another reason why I stayed away from Asher because of this reaction I seemed to have by him any time he came close. Since he and Carson had been friends since grade school,I developed a crush. Okay, it was more like an unhealthy obsession, let's be real.

I would dream of being Asher's girlfriend. Wishing I was prettier or smarter, just like Mackenzie and her friends. Of course that didn't happen and I got to know Asher more. The first time I ran into him by myself at the mall, it pretty much ruined things for me. I had seen him over at the Prescott's house a handful of times. We even played basketball and Mario Kart, and do you know what this jerk said when he looked over at me after I said hi to him?

"Oh, you're Mackenzie's little chubby friend, Emily, right?" He said this..he actually said this. And before that point, I was ready to run off and get married in Vegas. Of course, I was only fourteen at the time and he was eighteen..but damn that still hurt.

I just brushed it off and then promptly ran into the bathroom, crying my eyes out in the stall. He didn't even know my name, and calling me Mackenzie's chubby friend, well that cut me deep.

I can't deny that I still get butterflies every time I see him but in reality, I knew he had no idea who I even was. Besides, he was kind of an asshole to everyone but Carson.

"Hey." Asher said in that deep, velvety tone which seemed to draw all the attention in the room. That one word alone sent a shiver down my spine as I felt him right behind me now.

"Well, I better go check on Mack. Thanks again for the help earlier Ethan." I waved and took off, needing to get as far away from these guys as possible. Something weird was going on, that's for sure.