I opened my eyes first, per usual, and turned over. The covers were still warm, and I relished in the feeling. I replayed what happened the night before in my head. I hadn't meant to let those three words slip out when they did. I had meant to tell her last night, but not in the way I did. Had she even heard me? I hope she did...or did I? Emma shifted in her sleep. I immediately faced her, brushing her hair out of her face so I could see her eyes. They opened, squinting in the soft light.
"Good morning," I whispered.
"Hi," she smiled, stretching. "Time is it?"
"8:40," I replied, clicking my iPhone on.
"We should probably get ready. Your mom wanted to go get a Christmas tree today." Emma reminded me.
"I'm pretty sure that was Grayson." I scoffed.
"Whatever," she smiled back.
"Come on, Emma, a few more minutes," I said, quickly reaching out and wrapping an arm around her bare waist. I pulled her towards me, burying my face in the back of her neck, the soft fabric of her Calvin Klein bra rubbing against my chest. She leaned back into me, bringing a hand up to tilt my face towards her. She pressed her lips against mine sweetly.
"No." she whispered. I tightened my grip on her waist.
"You smell good," I commented.
"I smell like sex," she said bluntly.
"I said, 'you smell good'." I insisted. She kissed me once more, "Thanks, babe", then she promptly scooted to the edge of the bed and got to her feet.
"What the fuck?" she muttered, beginning to waddle to the bathroom.
"Sore?" I laughed. She shot a glare back at me.
"Shut up," she said, hobbling away.
I rubbed my eyes, then went to join her in the shower. She didn't object when I gently pushed her towards the water so I could fit, too.
"So do you feel any different?" I asked her softly, rubbing the bubbling soap along her slight shoulders.
"Yeah," she admitted. "Not a bad different, though."
"So you'd do it again?" I offered.
"I mean, yes," she said, looking back at me.
"I'm glad," I said. I waited a minute and braced myself for what I was going to say next.
"About what I said last night, I wanted to let you know that-"
"Ethan, we don't need to talk about it," Emma whispered.
"I wanted to let you know that you don't have to return it. But I want you to know that I love you, okay?" I continued bravely. Emma nodded silently.
I went back to rubbing soap up and down her arms. Suddenly her head dipped, and she brought her hands to her face.
"Hey, hey, what? I'm sorry-" I started, turning her around and crouching so I could look into her eyes. A few tears were streaming down her face, noticeable even in the pouring water.
She interrupted me with a loud sniffle.
"No one's ever told me they love me before!" she cried.
"Oh, Emma." I chuckled, bringing her to my chest. "That's not true."
She whimpered some more.
"A lot of people love you," I assured her.
"I know!" she said. "But this is different!"
"Well, I'm glad it's different with me," I said gently.
"Okay," she said. "Me, too."
"Good."
And with that, we stepped out of the shower. Emma wiped her cheeks and started brushing her hair. "Jesus, I cry a lot more than I used to," she muttered. I just laughed.
"I don't know what to wear..." she mumbled, as she surveyed her suitcase. "I've never got a Christmas tree. I haven't even seen snow."
"Imagine it snowed while you were here!" I said.
"That would make for another first on this trip," she said.
"Why don't you just wear....this!" I cried, slipping one of my t-shirts over her head. She turned around, hair messed up around her face, arms sticking out at the waist of the shirt and an annoyed look on her face.
"Awwwe." I teased. And her face broke into a smile and leaned up to kiss me. I returned it, pulling her close. "You look good in my clothes."
"Possessive ass," she replied.
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tysm for 1k votes. insane.
