The English Teacher ➳ Emison

Chapter 19 | Date Night

It was a gloomy, rainy Wednesday morning, and while Emily was usually miserable and restless in such weather conditions, today, she was merely relaxed. Getting so much time with Alison during the regular week was quickly feeding her addiction in a way that she wasn't sure she could give up once her mother came back and she would have to go back home.

She was sitting at the table in Alison's dining room, in the midst of eating a bowl of her cereal and watching in amusement as Pepe chased his tail in circles, when Alison walked into the room with her tablet in hand.

"I knew it," she declared, pleased, sitting down next to Emily as she scrolled through the website opened on her browser.

"What?" Emily questioned.

"I was just checking about this amazing restaurant I used to go to in Philly, and their site shows that they're still open," Alison informed, turning to look at her with a small smile, "that's a relief."

"Why a relief?"

"Because," Alison implored deliberately, a hint of a smile on her lips, "I thought maybe... we could go there next week."

Emily swallowed her bite in shock, mumbling slowly, "To... To the restaurant?"

"Yeah," Alison confirmed warmly. "Look, Em, you're right," she admitted, taking Emily's hand on the table. "I don't want us to hole up here all the time. I want us to do things like this together too." She ran her thumb over the back of Emily's palm, uttering meaningfully, "I just want you to be happy."

"I am," Emily said earnestly, an elated smile taking over her face. She brought Alison's hand to her lips, placing a gentle kiss on it. "I'm so happy. I promise."

"Good," Alison grinned softly, Emily's smile brightening up her morning.

The brunette slid the tablet closer to her on the table so she could take a look.

"Mamma Gabussi's?" Emily examined the name with a chuckle.

"Mm-hmm," Alison verified proudly, "best Italian food in Philadelphia."

She turned curious upon seeing the pensive expression that suddenly appeared on Emily's face. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing," Emily assured, "I'm just trying to figure out why that name sounds familiar to me."

"Well, I can promise you you've never been there," Alison said in a matter-of-fact voice. "You would've remembered for sure."

"Huh," Emily contemplated in her head for a moment before dropping the useless thought. "Well," she stated, taking the tablet from Alison, who raised her eyebrow, "I got it from here."

Alison looked at her in surprise and she chuckled, "What? You planned New York, I will plan Philadelphia."

Alison was charmed by the way Emily immediately got to work, relenting with a tender grin, "Okay."

She kissed Emily's cheek, going off to the kitchen to organize her lunch for today. Emily copied down the restaurant's number to her phone, planning to call them sometime in the following days. She had a few other things to research in the meantime.

A few minutes passed before she finished up her food and brought the bowl to the sink. Alison was scooping up pasta in tomato sauce from a pot to a tupperware lunch box. Emily poured herself a glass of water, glancing at the digital clock display on the oven. Upon noticing the time, she recalled what the blonde had told her the previous night before they'd gone to sleep. "Wait, Ali, shouldn't you be in school right now?" she asked, slightly panicked. "Didn't you say there's some early faculty thing?"