15. Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Ryan
I kissed her. I kissed Emily, outside of her apartment. Her lips were soft and perfect against mine. Our kiss was better than I could have imagined, and warmth pooled in my chest. It was magical and wonderful and … holy shit! I kissed Emily.
She was so into me.
I released a sigh as I turned to her door. Reveling in the dreamy feeling, I replayed the entire kiss in my head. It was glorious the way her body fit against mine. It was so perfect, I could still feel the warmth of her ghosting over me.
Unable to pull myself away from her door, I stepped up to it. I needed more time with her, and I couldn’t wait. My hand lifted, and I knocked lightly. When she opened the door right away, I was slightly surprised and words escaped me. Had she been waiting on the other side?
“Ryan?” Her brows were pinched together in confusion but her hazel eyes sparkled.
“Can I take you to brunch in the morning?” The words flew out of my mouth.
A blush rose to her cheeks, and her soft smile brightened. I didn’t want to wait to see her at the library. I wanted to spend every waking second with her.
Nodding once, she replied, “That would be great.”
“I’ll pick you up at eleven?” I suggested.
“Sure.”
“Okay. Goodnight again.”
“Goodnight again.” She bit her lip and closed her door.
Once the lock clicked into place, I turned and slowly walked up the steps to the next floor. I pulled my keys from my pocket and unlocked my sister's door before pushing it open and stepping inside.
I slipped out of my shoes at the door and walked softly toward the guest bedroom. As I stripped down to my t-shirt and boxers, my mind turned back to Emily and how she was one floor below me. Did she wear pajamas, or maybe she slept in the nude? Hopefully, I’d have the pleasure of finding out one day.
One day I’d have her curled up next to me in bed. We’d have lazy weekends. I’d make her breakfast in bed before I’d have my own delicious treat. I couldn’t wait for the day to come, and hopefully I’d have plenty of them with her for as long as she wanted them with me.
Laying in bed, I ran through all the possible conversations we could have at breakfast. What I didn’t allow to run through my head were all the ways it could go wrong. I wouldn’t allow anything to burst this perfect bubble of serenity.
Slowly, I drifted off to sleep wishing my arms were wrapped around Emily and her body was pressed against mine.
The next morning, I showered and grabbed some clothes I had left here. Lacey made me promise when she moved in that if I’d ever been drinking and needed to crash I’d come here. Our father tore our family apart with his drinking, so we took the “drink responsibly” slogan to heart. Of course, I only crashed here because we got back so late, and I didn’t drink anything at all the night before, but I sure was grateful I had clothes here. I would have hated going to brunch in last night’s clothes.
I washed and dried my clothes from the night before, trying to pass the time until I could walk downstairs and take my woman out to brunch. Okay, so maybe I was being a bit presumptive about calling her my woman, however, after brunch I’d ask her on a real date, and soon she would be mine, hopefully.
It was finally time, and I left Lacey’s apartment - locking the door behind me before descending the stairs. Knocking on Emily’s door, I waited patiently for her to answer. When she did, the sight of her stole my breath from me. She wore an emerald green sweater with dark jeans and sneakers.
“Good morning,” she said brightly.
“Good morning,” I replied.
“Did you go home to get ready?” She asked, her eyes scanning over me, not disguising the heat growing in them.
Suddenly, I wanted to skip brunch for a whole different type of meal.
“No, my sister insisted I leave some things at her place in case I ever got too drunk to drive. She doesn’t yet understand getting drunk past age thirty turns into a two day hangover, so I rarely do it.”
Emily laughed as she stepped into the hall, closing the door behind her and locking it.
“That’s nice of her to be concerned about her brother. How old is she?” She asked as we descended the stairs.
“She’s ten years younger than me, so twenty-six.” I replied before holding the outside door open for her to walk through.
“Oh she’ll learn soon enough. Meghan got me blasted on my twenty-ninth and I didn’t feel right for a week. I don’t think I’ve been drunk since.”
“You and Meghan are close,” I noted, and she hummed as she nodded.
“She was two classes younger than me and Poppy, but because of Poppy and Trey we were all pretty close.”
“Poppy and Trey?” I asked.
Her eyes widened as she stared at me, “Trey never told you about Poppy?”
I shook my head, and she chewed on the corner of her mouth - turning her head forward as we walked toward The Blue Plate.
“I don’t know if it’s my place to tell you,” she said.
“I’m assuming Trey and this … Poppy … dated a long time ago?”
“They were childhood sweethearts, they started dating the moment they knew what dating was. But …” she paused and winced a little.
“I’ve been here five years, and Trey’s one of my closest friends. If he hasn’t told me, he probably never will, so I’ll keep it to myself.”
“You remember me telling you how only one person in our class went to college?”
“Yes.” I nodded once.
“Well, it was Poppy. Except, before she was supposed to leave she didn’t know if she really wanted to. She was mulling over giving up her scholarship in order to stay here with Trey,” she explained and then gave me a sad look.
“Let me guess. Trey being Trey, he broke up with her in order to force her into deciding to go to college.”
“Yup, he was supposed to tell her he still loved her when she graduated. We planned a whole trip. Then I found out she was getting married right after graduation. We tried to convince him to go and stop it, explain why he did what he did. He refused … believing it was truly over and that he’d waited too long to try to win her back.”
“Why did he wait so long?”
“Probably afraid she’d give up her education to move back here to be with him.”
“Is that why Trey doesn’t date?” I asked.
“That and a lack of options. He took over his dad’s company right out of high school, so he wasn’t leaving town at all. Plus, anyone from here knew about Trey and Poppy and most figured he’d never actually open up to someone else, so no one bothered so much as flirting with him.”
“Wow. That sucks.”
“Yeah, but maybe one day someone will come through who sparks his interest.”
“Maybe.”
Walking into The Blue Plate we sat in a small booth against the back wall and pulled our menus from the caddy which held the usual assortment of condiments. Sadie came by and poured coffee for both of us. As I read over the menu, I glanced around the restaurant and there were quite a few eyes on Emily and me.
Ignoring them, I focused back on the menu. Secretly, I loved that people were seeing me with her. I wanted people to think she was mine, and to know I was hers as well. After a couple of dates we’d have that conversation about being together.
We ordered breakfast. Steak and eggs for me, while Emily ordered eggs, pancakes, and sausage. While we waited for our food, we sipped on coffee, and I shared a bit of my childhood with her. I told her I was raised by a single mom and avoided too much detail about my dad. The situation was complicated because, after the divorce, my dad was rarely present.
I talked to him periodically, choosing to let go of the past but not necessarily forgiving him. My sister, however, refused to speak with him at all. She was most hurt by the divorce and his drinking. I was old enough to see my dad suffering from mental health problems, but she felt it was no excuse. I didn’t pester her, and I’d never play the go between. She was a full grown adult who could make her own decisions.
Emily talked a bit about her childhood. She was an only child and her parents were both retired. They traveled the country in an RV, only returning home for holidays and Emily’s birthday. Emily talked a lot about her decision to take online classes instead of going to college - choosing to solely study creative writing instead of going for a degree. It was cheaper and it wouldn’t put her or her parents into any type of extra debt.
Brunch and our conversation was going beautifully, until the Hill family walked in and Emily’s shoulders tensed. In fact, the whole place had seemed to tense a bit and the din of conversation quieted to murmurs around us. The light in Emily’s eyes faded a little when she spotted them. The urge to switch to her side of the booth, so I could block them from her sight, came to me, but I stayed put. Emily was a private person, and moving closer to her - even to protect her - might bring unwanted attention.