His Secret Obsession
Chapter 3

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. Suddenly, I felt my phone vibrate as I slid into the truck. From Carson: Hey Em, can you get a few things of fruit punch too? Oh and a couple of limes, I will pay you back.

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

I teased and he sent me back a thumbs-up emoji. 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 was last week when he stopped by the house to help my dad out with something and then he stayed for dinner and we all watched a movie together.

I quickly ran to the grocery store and picked up four bottles of soda, 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 and forgot to get the wrapping paper so I quickly ran to the birthday aisle and grabbed some. I bought him a vinyl record for the vintage record player he recently bought. He has been slowly collecting vinyl records and I decided to get him a Guns and Rose's one that he had been wanting. 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 housing 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.

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 probably all here. We actually will be going to the same college now but this will be my first year going in person considering I just took online classes last year. 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 want to exactly do dorm life. The apartment is just a studio but that's more than enough room 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.

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 guys asked, causing me to blink up at him.

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

The guy that offered to help gave me the biggest smile, his good looks not going unnoticed. He had sandy blonde hair with brown eyes. When he smiled two dimples appeared on his cheek as he stepped towards me.

"I'm Ethan by the way, I haven't seen you around here before." He reached forward, grabbing a few bottles of sodas as he passed them to his friends.

"Ah yeah, I'm Carson's sister's friend." I said shyly, feeling completely intimidated by this whole situation.

"Oh fuck, you must be Emery." One of the other guys said, he had red hair 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 a laugh. The fact that Carson even mentioned me to his friends was a shock.

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

"The..what list?" What the hell did that mean?

I grabbed the gift for Carson and held the bag of limes in my other hand.

"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 sly smile.

"Oh.." was all I could think to say..so Carson told his teammates not to mess around with MacKenzie or me..why do I replace that odd? Not like they would be interested in me..oh 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 gave me his best smile as he quickly wrapped an arm around my shoulders. The action surprised me as I nodded my head. 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.

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

We walked up the driveway and I saw 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 slash most eligible bachelor. They forget rude jerk and most likely to make you cry..but maybe I'm the only one that sees Asher for who he is. And yes, he has made me cry a few times..but I would never let him know that. I always waited until I was alone to get that out. He was just 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 and I lifted the bag of limes raising my arm as I smiled brightly at him. He smiled back, setting the keg down as he 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 kissed by the sun and his style always on trend. He wore a pink hoodie with black jeans. His shoes are jordans and a backwards baseball cap was on his head.

Suddenly his smile turned into a frown, his eyes focusing on Ethan's arm that was still wrapped around my shoulders. Realizing that Carson was staring, Ethan immediately removed it, 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 around me tight as he looked down at me.

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

"Whatever." I laughed, handing him his present as he looked at it excitedly.

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, to be 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.

He nodded, tearing it open as he smiled widely. Even the guys seemed pretty interested as I felt like Ethan was 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." He tucked the wrapping paper in his pocket and pulled me into another 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 replace Mack. You just want me to put these in the kitchen?" I held up the limes and he nodded, glancing over at Ethan again as I began walking forward.

"Ethan, can we have a word." Carson spoke firmly and I glanced back, seeing some type of tension between the two. I quickly made my way into the house, trying to get as far away from that as possible. I wasn't sure what that was all 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 photo shoot or something like that.

I looked at the white marbled counters and saw a large spread 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 in 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 ice hockey. I believe he was from Canada but transferred here on a scholarship.

"Em! You brought the limes!" She cheered and everyone in the kitchen cheered with her. 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.

He was definitely cute and had such a calming personality. They were perfect for each other, considering Payton was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty herself. She had long legs and beautiful curves. Today she wore a short floral dress that hugged all the right places. Not only was she beautiful but she was just an awesome person in general.

"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 set the limes on the counter and the guys I walked in with filed right in behind me, bringing in the drinks.

I suddenly saw the guy from earlier, Ethan, and realized he was looking around the kitchen for someone until he settled his eyes on me and smiled broadly. He strode up next to me, placing the sodas on the counter as he leaned down a few inches away from my ear. "You know..I'm starting to think you might be trouble." He said with a smirk, his eyes meeting mine as I blinked at him.

"Me?" I asked, thoroughly confused. He nodded his head, continuing to hover over me.

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

"Because it's going to be hard staying away from a beautiful girl like you 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 look behind me. He was talking to me, right? Wait, was he hitting on me?

I blinked at him, completely taken aback as his eyes finally left mine staring at someone else behind me. I turned my head and almost let out a groan that rose up deep inside of me.

Asher McNeal..great. He came strutting in, the crowd naturally parting like always with his chestnut brown hair hanging in his face, framing his grey-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 light tan and his body is absolutely gorgeous..these are the kind 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, that's when I knew it was too late.

"Hey Ahser, you just get here?" Ethan asked, glancing down at me as I felt Asher's presence behind my back..my body tingling just from his proximity.

That was another reason why I stayed away from Asher..because of the impact he had on me my entire life. Since he and Carson had been friends since grade school I developed a crush..okay..it was an unhealthy obsession, let's be honest. 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 you know what he 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..that cut me deep.

I can't deny that I still got butterflies every time I saw him but in reality, I knew he had no idea who I even was. Besides, he was kind of an a*****e to everyone besides Carson.

"Hey." He said with his smooth velvety tone. His voice sent a shiver down my spine as I felt him right behind me.

"Well, I better go check in 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.