reputation

The Answer

April 1, 2018.

Ten - Emma

The question repeated in Emma's mind like a broken record. The first thing she thought of was the word yes. The second was how scared she was to say yes, how terrified she was that this would turn out like it did last time. After all, everyone was nice in the beginning. But Taylor wasn't everyone. Taylor was different from the people who had proved to her that no one was what they seemed. The third, once again, was the word yes, so she said it before she had a chance to overthink it and talk herself out of what she wanted. "Yes."

"Really?" Taylor asked, almost as if she had expected Emma to say no.

"Yes," Emma repeated. "Are you going to stand up now or should I go down there to kiss you?"

When Taylor hesitated one second too long to answer, Emma dropped to her knees on the blanket and held on to Taylor's cheek to pull her in and kiss her. Taylor blushed and laid her head against Emma's chest to hide it, but Emma pulled her up and kissed her again. "Can I put it on you now?"

Emma held her left hand out for Taylor. "Why would I say yes to your proposal and no to that?"

"Fair point." Taylor laughed lightly while she slid the ring on Emma's finger. "It was my grandmothers. My mom gave it to me on my birthday when I picked her up from the airport."

"How did I not know that?"

"You're not very observant."

"Yes I am! How did I not see it?"

Taylor sat down and crossed her legs under her. "I hid it inside an empty lotion bottle in one of the guest bathrooms."

"You put your grandmother's ring in a lotion bottle?"

"It never had lotion in it. It just looked like a lotion bottle so you wouldn't mess with it. You only like the lotion you keep in our bathroom."

"I don't feel like that's an Andrea-approved method of secrecy. Oh my god, we have to tell our mothers? Are we going to tell them tomorrow or keep it a secret?"

"Let's worry about that tomorrow, okay?" Taylor leaned in to kiss her again and then pulled her back so they were both lying on the hard ground. "We can do whatever you want to do. We can get married underwater if you want, I don't care. As long as it's you. That's all I care about."

"In that case I want purple flowers." Emma looked up and pointed at the trees above them. "Like those. We could just get married here. It's so beautiful here."

"It really is."

"Do you think outside counts as a room and hallway?"

Taylor laughed and nodded. "I definitely think it does."

"In that case, we missed one. I don't like doing things halfway."

Taylor sat up and cocked her head to the side. "What are you suggesting?"

Emma reached her hands out for Taylor to pull her up. Taylor complied, and Emma used her now sitting position to climb on top of Taylor's lap. "Something unchaste, of course."

Taylor wrapped her hand around the hem of Emma's shirt. Emma pulled it over her head and tossed it on the ground next to them. Taylor's hands moved to hold her hips firmly, keeping her from moving off her lap. Emma had no plans of moving regardless, but she didn't mind the touch. "Are you sure you want to do this outside? We can go inside and find a bed with some pillows."

"There's no way you just said that to me." Emma narrowed her eyes and tried to look disappointed in Taylor's comment. She tried to squirm away, but Taylor's grip on her waist tightened and she ended up grinding against Taylor's lap.