Locked Away

XII

"Emma! Let's go babe!" I heard James call for me from the entry room.

I finished spraying a tad more hairspray in my curls and glanced at myself in the mirror. I was honestly happy with what I was looking at, I have been dying to wear this velvet red dress out ever since I bought it. I slid my wedding ring back on before smirking at myself, I walked out of the bedroom and was pleasantly greeted by Paisley. She gasped and screeched when she saw me.

I smiled and knelt down to her level, pushing the dark curls out of her eyes, "Be good, I love you." I gave her a kiss and she wrapped her small arms around me, giving me a tight squeeze.

When I stood up, I straightened out my dress and walked down the stairs to the entry room, my heels clacking and echoing in the room. When I made my way to the room, James was fastening his watch and Jackson tugged at his suit jacket while staring up at me. He has the most innocent blue eyes I have ever seen. When James looked up at me, his eyes sparkled as his gaze slowly went down my legs and back up to my eyes. A smirk formed on his face before biting his lip, I felt my cheeks heat up as I returned the same look. I loved when he wore a navy blue suit, it ranks right up there when he wears an all black one for me. I looked down at Jackson who was feeling my dress, it was soft so to him he likely thought I was wearing a blanket. I crouched down and watched as his smile grew bigger, I put my hands on both sides of his face and smiled at him.

"Be good," I said quietly, "I love you." I gave him a kiss before giving a smile to Jenna, our favorite babysitter. She is the only one that we can trust to watch supernatural children and handle it very well. I walked outside and met James, he was holding the door open for me. I got in the car and checked my phone, Nat and the others were waiting for us already. This event for SHIELD is a yearly event, usually it isn't this fancy. But I am very happy with the black tie attire that we were instructed to wear. James got in the car and we were off to the venue, after a good distance I could sense him glancing at me constantly.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," I giggled at him before applying some lip gloss, I smacked my lips together and looked over at him. Once we pulled up to the venue, there were photographers everywhere, lined up just past the valet parking drop off.

"Looks like someone else is going to be taking that picture for me," James spoke before kissing the back of my hand. I scoffed just as the valet boy opened my door for me, I got out and when I spun around, I smiled at some of the cameras that were already flashing at us. I hated this part, feeling like a celebrity. In a way it made me feel claustrophobic, but it's a packaged deal when you're with the people I am around constantly..the feeling like the world is watching you is never easy, it is constantly stressful. There was a small feeling in the pit of my stomach, this kind of environment made me nervous. I didn't like being the center of attention and liked to be on the back burner to everyone's mind.

I felt James' hand on the small of my back, he guided me to the back drops so the audience could get a handful of pictures of us. The lights were blinding, I turned my head to look at James briefly, I admired his gorgeous looks. His jawline sharp, the stubble on his face and his electric blue eyes kill me. I smile crept on my face and I kissed his cheek softly. In my peripheral vision I could see Lena in her stunning dress. My mouth even dropped slightly when I turned my full focus on her. Her olive skin tone against the white flowing fabric is a show stopper if I have ever seen one. I waltzed over and gave her a hug before gazing down at her beautiful dress.

"Wow," Is the only thing that I managed to say, there really wasn't another word I could have used to describe it. The plunging neck gave a sexy aspect to the dress, definitely giving the sophisticated dress a head-turning feature. Her hair was tussled perfectly and she wore sleek gold earrings that glistened in the lights.