Apartment 311

Ch | 90

Noah Silas Anderson

Chapter Ninety: "the art of (so not) letting it go"

Emereigh's finger tapped her lips in thought. "How about-"

"No," I quickly said without letting Em say anything else.

She pouted inside the shopping cart and crossed her arms over her chest with an attitude.

"Why don't you just call Brooks and ask her what she wants, then, mister?" Em suggested obliviously. My grip on the cart tightened and I just ignored Em's question.
Except, Emereigh being the curious and annoying little girl she is, she kept asking.

I clenched my jaw. "If I ask her, it won't be a surprise, now will it?"

Emereigh shook her head. "I guess not."

"I mean, I have to ask Santa."

Em titled her head. "I don't believe in Santa Claus, No-ee. He's not real."

I laughed. "Oh, excuse me."

I continued throughout the store and Emereigh grabbed hold of something on a shelf. It was a book.

"Get her this!" Emereigh lit up with wonder.

I kicked the cart so Em could slide along the floor alone as I popped some Skittles in my mouth. Before she crashed, I caught up and laughed with her - and this random woman staring at us.

"She's too cute, your daughter?" she asked me.

"No, sister," I said, shagging Em's hair. She pushed my hand away and raked through her curls, making a face at the lady.

"Aw," the woman smiled, "can I help you find something today, or are you just looking?"

"We'll take this!" Emereigh exclaimed, holding the book in the air.

"We're just lookin', thanks," I told the woman and she walked away.

"Give me that," I gritted and snatched the journal from Emereigh.

The title read:

100 reasons why I love you
By: me

I rolled my eyes and tossed the book back in Em's lap. She smacked her lips and proceeded with flipping through the empty pages.

"Cute, but that's not me," I grumbled, continuing down the aisle.

"What, you can't think of 100 reasons why you love Brooklyn?" asked Em. Honestly, I'm sure I could've if I sat down and tried.

1. She makes me laugh more than anyone else has
2. She's beautiful and I don't mean that just on the outside
3. I feel a stronger connection with her, more than physical
4. The obvious: the sex!!
5. I love how she takes care of herself
6. She loves herself
7. We talk about anything
8. Everything she does is sexy
9. She makes me feel like a real man
10. Her smile gets so bright when she looks at me
11. She's an amazing athlete, I could watch her play for hours
12. All of our private, inside jokes
13. My birthday gift *cough cough*
14. She's her own person
15. She always wants to be with me and on me and that makes me feel good