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Chapter Twenty-Four
Aaron
I wake up to my alarm in the darkness, a bit disoriented at first. I open my eyes and find that I'm not at home in my own bed. It takes me a second to remember that I'm at Emily's place – in her bed. I look over at her and she stretches and opens her eyes, letting out a groan.
Even in the dark, with shadows and sleep clinging to her like cobwebs, bathed in just the ambient light, Emily is still radiant. Her smooth alabaster-colored skin seems to glow, and the sparkle in her eye is vibrant. The sheets cling to the gentle curves of her body in an alluring way. I feel my arousal grow just looking at her.
“Good morning,” I whisper as I reach out and stroke her face.
A gentle smile curls her lips upward and she stretches languidly. “Good morning.”
She looks at me, her gaze intense. “Thank you for staying with me last night.”
“Oh, I think I'm the one who should be thanking you for that.”
She giggles and slaps me playfully in the chest, then lets her hand linger on my skin. She trails her fingertips down my chest, making my arousal growing ever higher. I would love nothing more than spend the day in bed with her, but I have the presentation to the company today. That's, unfortunately, something I can't postpone.
“We probably shouldn't be seen going into the office together,” she muses.
“Yeah, probably not, I guess.”
She grins at me. “We don't want to give the impression that you're playing favorites.”
“But you are my favorite. Especially after that one thing you did when –”
She laughs again and I pull her tight to me. I press my lips to hers and we savor a long, slow kiss filled with passion. There is so much being communicated in that kiss that it leaves me feeling dizzy. It's unreal. I've never felt like this before. Hell, I didn't even feel like this when we dated back in college. It's almost as if the years that passed have somehow deepened the connection between us.
“It's hard to believe this is real sometimes,” she whispers. “I mean, the odds of us finding our way back to each other –”
“It's astronomical.”
She nods and is silent for a long moment before speaking. “It scares me, Aaron.”
“There's nothing to be afraid of.”
“What if it's not real? I mean –”
I cut her off by placing a gentle kiss upon her lips. I've had the same question myself. It's a question I don't have an answer to, but one that continues to rattle around in my brain. I may not have an answer for that particular question, but I do have an answer.
“We can either be scared of it, or we can embrace it and see where it takes us, Emily,” I tell her.
It's the first time I've vocalized the fact that I want to explore these feelings between us. I've never even hinted about the possibility of wanting to have some sort of a relationship. In fact, I've been actively denying it – mostly to myself. But as we lay there in the dusky hues of the early morning, and her vividly sparkling eyes are fixed on mine, I know I can't deny it any longer.
I want to be with Emily. She's mine. She always has been. It's just taken me a while to get around to seeing that.
“I can't say we're going to end up together in the long run,” I go on, earning a small frown from her. “But that's only because there are no guarantees in life. I can't tell you for sure what tomorrow may bring. Your feelings could change –”
“I don't think so,” she interjects. “I can't describe it in any way that makes sense, but you've stirred something up in me I've never felt before, Aaron.”
“And you've done the same for me, Emily,” I smile. “All I'm trying to say is that we're on uncharted ground. Both of us. And I want to explore that with you. So long as you want me.”
She kisses me again and I can't help but feel the happiness radiating from her – the same feeling I hope she's getting from me. It's taken us a long time to get to this point, but it feels right. I can't deny it any longer.
Nor do I want to.
* * * * *
“Okay everybody, let's settle down now,” I speak into the microphone.
