Page 28 of Emily: Hello Kitten
I roll off the bed and walk into the bathroom. My gaze catches her nibbling her bottom lip, staring at the soap without seeing it.
“Overthinking already, Emily?” I ask as I step into the shower and slide my hands over her hips. I kiss across the back of her neck. “For someone so smart, you think in circles a lot.”
“Your fault,” she grumbles.
“I got you, Kitten,” I promise, my lips trailing over her jaw as I use my hands to clean the mess I made.
Gliding over every part of her body, trying to memorize every curve, every dip as fear settles in, fear of losing her, fear of waking up alone again. But only time will tell.
I turn off the shower and grab one of the fluffy hotel towels and dry her, wrap her in it. I take care of her like she deserves, carrying her to the bedroom and laying her under the covers. She squirms slightly, and I smile.
I take care of myself once I know she’s set in bed, shaking my head as I think of her.
I crawl back into the shower and turn it on again. A phone rings from the bedroom, but I take my time. Emily can have some privacy, some private conversations, and I don’t want her trying to walk if her legs are still weak.
After turning off the shower, I dry myself off, then head to the bedroom, pausing in the doorway to see if she’s done with her conversation. I adjust the towel around my hips so it’s not going to fall.
“Just a little yelling,” Emily says. “But I am exhausted. I’m going to get some sleep. I’ll text you later.”
I arch an eyebrow at her, questioning her conversation, but she looks me over slowly, drinking me in, and mumbles, “Yeah… talk to you tomorrow.”
I let my gaze flick to her phone. “Secret boyfriend you were going to bring instead of me?”
She laughs. “No, my roommate who was very serious about myun-inviting you. Not talking to you, putting space between us, not doing exactly what we just did,” she answers clearly.
I climb on the bed, holding myself over her as water rolls over my skin. Emily leans forward and licks one bead of water off my arm. I kiss her neck in return, then try to remember that we’re having a conversation. “We’ve done a whole lot tonight. Exactly what weren’t you supposed to do?”
“Anything involving you,” she murmurs. “Does that make me naughty or does it mean I’ve behaved?”
I rub her hip. “Considering you have enough energy to sass me, clearly, you haven’t behaved for long enough.”
“Guess you’ll have to do more,” she teases, leaning up to run her nose over mine.
fourteen
Emily
Well, I officially suck at origami. “I think I’m actually only wasting the paper.”
Sarah sighs. “Really? I thought you were an artist.”
“I’m a writer,” I murmur.
“And clearly, you don’t know what to do with paper or how to follow instructions,” my mother says while perfectly folding her paper. “I thought college was to make you smarter.”
“Mom,” Sarah says gently, “no fighting. It took me a few tries and total focus to get it right.”
“But you didn’t waste expensive paper,” Mom says as Sarah rolls her eyes at me.
“I just know that you want everything to be perfect for your wedding. As perfect as you and Mark are,” my mom gushes, then looks over at me. “You shouldn’t have brought your date. He’s clearly older than you, and he hardly speaks.”
My sister sighs again. “He’s more interested in Emmy, I’m sure. Plus, she told you it was a new relationship. You shouldn’thave insisted with the whole set up thing and she wouldn’t have felt pressured to bring him. You know how impressionable she is.”
They talk about me like I’m some kid caving to peer pressure. If they only knew. I’m going entirely against it. My friend told menotto bring Adrian. She told me to leave him alone. And Adrian… fuck, Adrian. Even if—not if,when—my mom introduces me to the person she has in mind, Adrian will be better.
He’s a guarantee of a good time. Especially this morning with ‘breakfast in bed’ for both of us. I nibble my bottom lip, and Sarah giggles. “Well, tell me about him!”
“It’s your wedding weekend, so we should really talk about you,” I say, trying to minimize.
