Figure 8 Ch. 05

Emma gave a tight smile and quickly moved out of his way. A huge part of her relieved that Adam wasn't in a place like this. If this was the change he had made since they had been apart, then she was willing to wait to hear exactly how he got there. She decided she would wait for him at home.

Thankful that the bar was so close to home. As she jangled her key against the lock, trying to get the damn door to open, the knob swung from her hands. A red faced Adam looked back at her.

"Where did you go?"

Emma's mouth was still open in shock as she stuttered her reply, "Out... I was - you weren't - where did you go!"

She suddenly felt his arms around her, pulling her into the house. He smelled of cigarettes, and she wrinkled her nose, unsure if she enjoyed the smell or not. When he pulled back, the angry look on his face was replaced with a sad smile. "I went out for some cigarettes."

"I went out looking for you."

Adam laughed. "We have bad timing, huh?" He let her drag him towards the couch, where he happily settled down before pulling her into his lap. He tried not to think about the homeless men wandering the street, or the lecherous men he had seen in the bar. All which had aided in his decision to cancel his drink and head home to see Emma.

When he discovered the door to her room open, he got ready to crawl into bed with her. Panic drove through his veins as he realized it was empty. He searched the tiny apartment for her. He called her phone only to discover it on the kitchen table. He was almost ready to call the police when he heard the front door unlock.

Now that she was back, smelling slightly of a bar, he felt himself relax and leaned back so that they could lay horizontally on the couch.

"When did you get home?"

"Just now," he breathed.

"Where did you go?"

Adam held his breath as he felt her small fingers flit over his chest. A hint of irritation flashed through him when she repeated her question. "I was going to get a drink, and then I thought better of it and stopped by the deli instead."

"But the guy at the store said you asked about a nearby bar."

"I was still thinking of going at the time. But then I saw these homeless bums just sleeping on the street, and I just wanted to be home with you. Even if meant sleeping on the couch."

Emma inhaled his scent. It was just like her, but with a hint of cigarettes and an undertone of something that reminded her of almonds. Less than a month and she couldn't imagine her life without him by her side - then again, that's what she thought before he graduated and left her to fend senior year alone. She had managed, barely, and it wasn't something she wanted to go through again.

And he was apologizing in his own way, telling her that he wanted to be with her even if she rejected him.

She worked out her words to make sure they had the impact she wanted. "I'm sorry I acted like a bitch," she began, wanting to be as honest as possible, "I want to tell you, but I can't... not yet." Not until she quitted so that he didn't have anything to hold over her head.

His lips pressed against the top of her head.

"You not even close to being a bitch, Emma. Don't worry about it. We'll take it slow. I mean, we don't want to become that couple that just talks about work all the time right?"

He felt her relax, her body becoming soft again.

Supportive. That's what he was trying hard to be. Supportive rather than protective, this new route seemed to work better with Emma, especially when she had nothing to say. The confirmation of a thank you against his lips was all he needed to know that he made the right decision.

As she moved against his tight grip, Adam slid his hands underneath her shirt and up her waist until his fingers came in contact with the underwire of her bra. He felt her tense, but pressed his lips against her mouth when she tried to speak. The tips of his fingers played with the edge of her silky bra, loving the warmth they had absorbed from her body.

"Adam..."

He shushed her as he worked his fingers down to the button of her pants. Flicking the metallic button from its hold, he wriggled her pants past her ass, touching every part of her soft skin that he could. The jeans were loose enough for her to wriggle in so he left them exposing her underwear and nothing more.

"I don't - "

He silenced her with another kiss and quickly rubbed his fingers over her core, leaving her breathless. Every time she tried to speak, he kissed her until she ran out of breath. Once in awhile she kissed back but most of the time she pulled away to make the most endearing cries.

As his fingers teased her opening, her back arched and she sat up, rocking her hips against his fingers. The sight of her with her shirt tucked above her breasts and only her panties on, aroused him more than any sight he had ever seen in his life. Her hands tightened into a fist above his stomach, digging hard each time he pressed against her clit.

"Wait..."

"Sh, just come for me."

Emma buckled underneath the sheer pleasure rocking from her core, her back arching and driving the rest of her body into his lap. When she came down from her high, she collapsed on top of him, shaking as if she had just run a thousand mile marathon. He moved her head so he could kiss her again but she hid her face in his chest, refusing to look up.

Other girls that reacted that way were often irritating, especially when they wanted more than one night. With Emma, the shyness was a part of her, and he adored that part more than he ever understood. The reminder that she was virgin popped into his head. She was a complete virgin that had never been kissed until him, never been touched until him - he was fairly certain she didn't even explore herself. Maybe that was why she still refused to look at him.

He sighed as her body untangled itself from his.

"I'm going to take a shower," she said nervously, "I don't know what I touched in the bar."

Adam closed his eyes and nodded. He waited in the darkness of the house, listening to the sound of water going off. Her presence gone, and the coldness settled onto his skin. He wanted a sign from her, a reassuring sign that she had enjoyed it. Deep inside, he couldn't shake the feeling that she was upset. Either he had done something wrong, or she was hiding another secret.

He pressed the bridge of his nose. They'd figure it out. They had enough time, all the time in the world now.

---

He had insisted on taking her, and not wanting to start another argument, Emma consented. All her thoughts went to hoping that nothing would strike Adam as out of the ordinary. Like a box of dildos or a condom-sponsored gym bag. Or even, god forbid, a recognizable porn star.

The thought of Adam watching porn made her feel nauseous. Did he get off on it as well? She realized that she had never asked if he watched porn. He probably did. What guy didn't? Then again, he never had trouble getting girls into his bed during college. Maybe he didn't need porn... for the first time in her life she felt a slight tinge of happiness for Adam's pulling skills.

Between the stops, Adam kept his hands on her, making the butterflies in her chest beat rapidly. He wouldn't stop unless she looked up at him. And when their eyes met, his eyes would always be glistening. She felt like one of the world's greatest wonders under his gaze. He brushed the back of his hand against her cheek as if to soothe her worries away.

"You know, I never officially asked you to be my girlfriend."

"Does that mean I'm not your girlfriend?"

"Technically not." He looked away, a mischievous look in his eye. "So I guess while you're gone, I'm going to throw a rager and fuck all the women in this city."

Emma quickly leaned over and pinched his nipple between her thumb and index finger.

"Ow, what the fuck!"

Adam quickly turned to tell her he was joking but stopped when he saw her tiny fist clenched. Her teeth tugged at her bottom lip, letting him know how upsetting those words were for her.

"Emma, I would never do that. Shit, I'm sorry, it was a stupid joke." She didn't respond and started walking even faster. Adam groaned as he rushed to step ahead of her, planting himself in her way. "You're my girlfriend, okay? I don't cheat on my girlfriends."

"No, you just dump them so they can't consider it cheating."

Fuck, she knew him better than he knew himself.

"I'm not going to do that to you."

"Alright."

The bus arrived at their stop, and Emma quickly made her out. Her movements were so fast, Adam nearly tripped over a passenger trying to keep up. She sped down the street. Images of Adam with million other girls flashed right before her eyes, none of them every lasted long. His rules and standards for girls he dated were way beyond normal, almost as if women were easy transactions. His cruel words, which she witnessed repeatedly, had them running out of the room in tears. There was nothing that could protect her from being on the receiving end of those words one day.

"Stop for a second. Emma!"

As her sad eyes turned to him, he realized the burden she had been harboring since they confirmed their feelings for each other. She knew him inside and out, the tricks he used to get girls into bed and the deceit he used to get rid of them. Damn. This part of their friendship was not on his side.

"Listen to me. I would never do that to you, okay?" He held her gaze fiercely. "You don't have to worry about stuff like that. I promise."

She swallowed. "I can tell when you're lying you know."

"I'm not - "

She shook her head, a hint of a smile warming his insides. "I mean, I know when you're lying to me." Her arms went around him as she pecked his cheek. The closer she was to him, the better he felt. "And you're not lying to me now, I believe you."

Adam gripped her hand, unable to let go for the fear that she was just saying those words to comfort him. They didn't share another word as they continued towards the meet-up point for her company. He didn't notice the wary look on her face as they got closer. Instead, Adam released her hand and wrapped his arm around her waist. Their hips kissed and stuck to each other as he breathed in her scent.

"So what are you going to do while I'm gone?"

"Cry myself to sleep each night."

She giggled. "I'm serious."

"I supposed I can call Chester, check up on him. Explore the city. In all honesty, I'm just going to mope around," he pouted, "I wish I could come with you." He unexpectedly pressed his lips to the top of her head, causing her to stumble a bit. Adam caught her by the elbow before she tipped off the edge of the pavement.

"I wish you could too."

Emma raised herself on her toes, aching to touch his lips. He teased her, pretending not to know what she wanted. Then she heard her bag drop to the floor and felt Adam kick it in between his legs to make sure no one would steal it. His quick mind turned her on and in the small second she opened her mouth to kiss him again, she felt his tongue steal her breath away. It curled inside her mouth and she sucked on it slightly.

Three loud claps snapped through the air as Emma turned to see Greg grinning widely. He wore a light salmon button up, khaki pants and a fedora, the whole ensemble causing Adam to raise a brow. Emma elbowed him quickly.

"Sweetheart, you're putting on a show." Greg sashayed over, his eyes pursuing Adam with interest and only mild approval over his first impression. Emma swept her hands up Adam's arm, calming him as Greg greeted them cheerily, "Hello, you must be the reason our Emma glows every time she comes in to work."

"Glows?" Adam grinned cheekily, catching Emma's eyes before she blushed. "You need to be more specific, Emma always glows."

"Oh, what a silver tongue. That tongue must make you very happy, darling."

"Greg!"

"Don't be shy, I saw all this going on all the way across the street." Greg pointed back towards the shuttle where the rest of the crew was waiting. They started shouting, cheering her on, and pumping their fists like college boys.

Emma's laughter was cut short when she saw Sylar appear around the shuttle. He hadn't noticed her yet, and would've simply continued on if some members hadn't pointed towards her. The crew chittered like gossiping teenagers into Sylar's ear. His body language morphed as if he were becoming stone, and his gaze flashed in her direction, once, before he stalked into the shuttle.

"I should probably get going," she muttered.

Adam dragged her up to give her one more kiss. The kiss telling her how much he missed her already. Emma gave in to his unspoken words, and wrapped her fingers around his neck for support.

If it weren't for Greg yanking on her arm and pulling her towards the shuttle, she wasn't sure Adam would've let her go.

"Don't worry honey, I'll take good care of her! No bear is gonna get his claws into her."

"Bye Emma."

"Bye, babe. "

The words of affection slipped out of her mouth as they separated, surprising them both. Adam's face changed into pure joy upon hearing her words. Even as she boarded the shuttle and threw herself down in the very back seat, her hand never left her mouth. She was sure he could see her mortified expression all the way from across the street though. His body became smaller and smaller as the bus left, and Emma slumped down into her seat.

Her mind was so confused...

She didn't even realize when Sylar dropped himself into the seat next to hers, until she heard his voice.

"Didn't know you had a boyfriend."

How did he do this do her? The disappointed tone, the fire in his eyes, weren't the right answer as to why she felt so torn in his presence.

"Yeah... we recently got together..."

Any more observant passenger would've noticed the tension between the two. Emma's head was fixed to permanently look out the window while Sylar stared straight ahead. Neither of them looked happy.

"He was with you at the club," his tone was accusatory, and Emma accepted it.

"Yeah..."

"Were you dating him when..."

"No!" she said as quietly but harshly as possible. She finally looked at Sylar, not knowing what kind of expression to expect. "We weren't together that night... at the club."

Sylar shook his head. "Then when we... fixed things, were you already seeing him then?"

Oh... Emma her lips burning with the memory of his kiss. There was something about the way he looked at her afterwards, a melded gaze of anger and sadness that gave her a feeling that his kiss for her was unlike any kiss he had given before. And the way he was watching her now... She shrunk into her seat as the other members on the bus grew rowdy, tossing jokes and bantering comments her way. She smiled in return, never openly responding to their comments. The last thing she needed with this job was drama.

"Yeah..."

"You should've told me."

"I-I- W-why I would I have to?"

Sylar's mouth snapped close.

Not wanting to be on the bad side of his day, Emma pulled out her earbuds and made a show of putting them in. For extra caution, she pumped the volume a few notches higher than she was used to. The melody of Adam's playlist drowned out all the other sounds, temporarily putting her mind at ease until Sylar shifted his legs, making a show of staying put.

Whatever Sylar did wasn't her concern. It shouldn't matter how he felt when it came to her life, and on an even bigger scale, it shouldn't affect the feelings she had about Adam. Emma closed her eyes, wishing Adam was here with her now, telling her what to do, whispering calming words into her ear. He was always so good at that.

But he wasn't here. Sylar was. And Sylar was a brood angry force that refused to relocate.

There was enough space for him to go anywhere else - he didn't even seem happy to be near her, so she couldn't understand why he tortured the both of them by sitting so close.

Tell me the truth, boy, am I losing you for good. We used to kiss all night but now there's just no use. She wasn't sure why the lyrics were hitting the nerves in her throat, making her choke up. She hasn't betrayed Adam, but she already felt like she was fighting a losing battle.

It was going to be a long drive...

...

Sylar watched as Emma drifted off to sleep beside him. Every fiber of his being told him to move, sit somewhere else - he knew the crew was aware of his intentions, and his lack of usual jabbing had them casting curious glances every now and then. They had goaded him, fueling him with thoughts that a relationship with Emma was possible, until this morning when the mention of her boyfriend slapped him in the face like a whipping tornado.

Even the jokes and faux apologies couldn't bring a fake smile. Not even to save his face. Instead he stormed onto the bus and sat in the back row, hiding his face underneath his hood. When she plopped down in the same row as him, hope fluttered into his heart. Then it crashed around him as he discovered that she hadn't even noticed him once.

Still, he couldn't move. Not if his reputation and life depended on it. Just being close to her brought a thrill in his veins, a kind of drug addictive high that he had never felt before in his life. So he sat until he felt the bus and the world sway in his favor as Emma's head rolled and landed on his shoulder.

He looked down at her soft features, from her petite nose and unique lips. They were full, almost equal in size, but her upper and bottom lip spent most of their time never touching each other. It left her expression naturally naive. When she was awake, she looks pensive, when she slept, she looked innocent, and - he tried hard not to go there - when she was aroused, he bet those lips would form the most amazing shape in the world.

Lips he had personally kissed and felt, for the first time as lips. Normally he was accustomed to a woman's lips having a purpose - he categorized them as a muscle group, along with the tongue, but when he kissed Emma's lips, they were soft against his, telling him they could be molded into however he wanted them.

Truth was, Emma looked like the kind of girl porn stars died to fuck, but could never get. There were girls who came close. Brown hair, youthful gaze and soft skin, but they always had this extra glint in their eyes. They wanted sex like an inner succubus craving their next fix. Most were never content with simple sex, which didn't bother Sylar, not in the big picture. Being on set was the time to release his fantasies and fulfill others.

That didn't mean it didn't get old. After so many scenes and jobs with girls either faking their desire or over exaggerating their orgasms, Sylar would sometimes find himself turned on by the idea of vanilla sex. True innocence. The girl in his head, the one he pictured at times in his fantasies, never knew what she wanted it until he showed her. How sex could be amazing as a slow, drawn out process without nothing between each body but a ragged breath.

That was always "the dream." The dream never had a face before. He'd always try to seduce the girls he slept with into fulfilling that fantasy, but somehow his hormones would get in the way. It had always been about the release. Until now. Now the dream had a face, and the face did nothing but drive him up the wall.

God, he had to stop this schizophrenic reaction whenever he was with her. If it wasn't a crippling lust, it was anger for decisions that were beyond his control. Decisions and consequences that he should accept because they weren't his to make.

She had a boyfriend. She had a boyfriend. That should have been enough information for him to give up. If only he hadn't kissed her then, he thought, looking down at her pliable lips again. Then he wouldn't be thinking about it now.