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29: Close Calls, Literally

29: Close Calls, Literally

We spent a whole day doing absolutely nothing except playing with cards, playing a game of Chutes and Ladders or two, and watching movies. It was absolute heaven for my birthday. I already had an idea of what I wanted to do for Emmett's birthday on the eighteenth.

I felt incredibly horrible for making him be in Michigan for his birthday, rather than in Virginia with all his friends. I'd constantly reminded myself that it wasn't my fault, since he'd practically packed his bags before I told him he could come, but I still didn't know how he felt about being there for his birthday. He was in a completely foreign place. I knew he probably hadn't even set foot in Michigan before this trip.

But it was after ten o'clock and I still wasn't growing tired at all. We'd done nothing, which meant I had lots of energy that hadn't been spent all day and could probably watch movies well into the morning. I could tell Emmett was a little tired, though, and I didn't want to keep him up.

"You're tired," I commented, a statement rather than a question. I could tell. He'd yawned a few times and his eyes were heavily drooping.

"No. Here, want to watch another one?" He gazed at me, obviously trying to hide the tiredness in his eyes. Cocking an eyebrow, I rose to take the DVD player off the TV. The maids had tried to clean the room, but Emmett put a sign on after a little incident in which they walked in on us screaming over whether he'd cheated in a game of chess.

"You need to go to sleep if you're tired," I stated.

"Good thing I'm not," he retorted, smirking. I gave him a look and planted the DVD player in the duffle bag with the games. He sighed in defeat and began putting all the games up. "You aren't tired, though."

"Sorry," I shrugged. He rolled his eyes and zipped up the bag as I began folding one of his blankets up.

"You don't have to clean up so much, you know. The maids will come in tomorrow while we're out and do that."

"Coming from someone who hasn't even been on that side of things," I murmured with a smirk. He didn't reply and walked into my room. "What are you doing?"

"You have the peanut butter," he said. "I want some."

"Oh," I said, stifling a grin. I'd already eaten a good portion of it, and I knew he'd be mad that I'd eaten a bunch without sharing.

He walked back in as I made my way through the door and I bumped into him. "Sorry," I said. He grinned and set the peanut butter down on the table before wrapping his arms around me in a big, tight hug.

"Happy birthday," he murmured.

"Thanks," I said, my voice muffled by his shirt. My face was pressed into his chest, as I hadn't had any warning or time to move before he'd attacked. "Yours will have to be just as great, though I admit you've set the bar high."

"That's my job, setting standards high since nineteen ninety eight," he said with a grin. I rolled my eyes and bit my lip to keep from grinning. "But I expect to be given a princess ring and showered in kisses and cakes and—"

"Ha, ha, ha," I said, smirking. "I suppose I will try," I added, turning away to go back into my room. I needed a shower; I hadn't taken one all day. My hair was still in tangles. I hadn't even brushed it.

Before I could turn and get far, though, he pulled me back and planted a kiss on my forehead. I remembered his words—no, promise—the previous night when he'd done so. I looked up at him, one eyebrow up, to see if he'd follow through.

The way he smirked at me told me he had every intention of doing so. His lips connected softly with mine, moving so slow that I would almost call it teasing. I knew that's exactly what he was trying to do, because I knew one thing was true: he was a major tease.