Keeping it Professional

Chapter 29

Emma drove back to Killian's house. Her mind was racing and she was surprised she hadn't wrecked the car yet. It was close to 6:00 now, and she hoped that Killian had put something together for dinner. She was starving. She picked her phone up from the cup holders and dialed his number once she pulled up to a red light. He picked up on the second or third ring.

"Swan? Is everything okay?" He asked.

"Yeah. It is. I'm on my way back to your place now. I'll be there in a few minutes." She told him.

"Good. I can't wait to see you today. You've been gone all day, and I miss you. Work was so boring without you."

She laughed. "I'm sure you had plenty of work to do to forget about me."

"I will never forget about you." Emma smiled. "Anyway, I have made us some dinner. I wasn't sure if you ate or not, so I just made something for you us to eat."

"Best. Boyfriend. Ever. Thank you. I've been too busy running around and going through my mom's things." She sighed. "It's just been so hectic."

"Well, when you get back, we can relax. I can help you if you want." As he talked, Emma could tell he had a smirk on his face.

"We'll see." She smiled. "I'm pulling in now, so I'm gonna hang up."

"Bye!" He said in a sing-song voice. She laughed and hung up, then pulled her car into the driveway.

Emma grabbed her keys and got out of the car. She locked it, then was suddenly swept up into the air. She felt the familiar touch of Killian's hands around her waist. He nuzzled his nose in the side of her stomach, making her laugh.

"Put me down!" She shouted in between her laughs.

"Never!" He laughed and started tickling her stomach. She burst into laughter and started squirming. Her laughter brought a smile to his face. Killian made sure he had a tight grip on her so she wouldn't fall. He finally stopped tickling her and put her back on the ground. Emma was breathing heavily and he smiled. "I never knew you were so ticklish."

She smirked. "There's a lot you don't know about me." Her face suddenly turned blank. "Don't you have food cooking?"

Killian abruptly pulled away and ran back into the house. Emma was following behind closely. As soon as he opened the door, they were both hit by smoke and the smell of the burning food. The smoke alarms were going off too. He rushed to turn everything off and she started waving a magazine around to push the smoke out of the house. He worked to open the windows and propped open the door so the smoke would leave the house. He grabbed a chair and flipped the switch of the smoke detector, and the loud beeping stopped. Killian carefully got down and put the chair back. He grabbed another magazine and started waving it around the room.

"So much for our romantic chicken dinner." He sighed.

"It was a sweet gesture, Killian, but maybe we can just order a pizza." She said, putting the magazine down.

"I just wanted to be a good boyfriend for you. I can run a successful company, but I can't even cook a simple meal for my girlfriend."

"It's okay." Emma came over to him and wrapped her arms around him from behind. "We all make mistakes like these. It's nothing to stress over. I'm not going to break up with you if you mess up one meal for me. Let's just order some pizza and then watch movies. You don't have to go all out on trying to make me like you. I already like you. I'm dating you. And I'm happy with you."

He turned his head to look at her. "Promise?"

She giggled. "Of course I promise." She pulled away and grabbed her cell phone and walked out of the room.

He took a deep breath. He could do this. He could tell her he loved her. Of course, he didn't expect her to say it back yet. It was too soon. But, what if she had already started falling in love with him? They had been through a lot together. He just didn't want to scare her off. He hoped she wouldn't be scared when he told her. He didn't want to pressure her into loving him. No. Emma Swan deserved someone she could love all on her own. When she returned to the kitchen, he looked up at her and smiled. She draped her arms around his neck and leaned up to kiss him. His hands found their way to her hips and he pulled her closer. He hoped that he was showing her how much he loved her, even without saying it.

Emma pulled away with a smile. She cupped his cheek and his head fell into her hand. "The pizza will be here in about forty-five minutes. I hope you don't mind, but I got the same kind that we ordered when we went out for lunch the other day. I can always call back and change the order if you want something different though."

"Nonsense. That's perfect. As I told you before, it's your heart's desire." Killian said with a smile. "You're perfect." She blushed and looked down, only for him to put his fingers under her chin and push her head back up. He leaned down to kiss both of her cheeks, then ended up at her mouth. She moaned into the kiss, which made Killian groan too. "You have no idea what those sounds you make do to me. Don't start something if you can't finish it, darling."

Emma reached down and palmed him through his jeans, making another moan escape his lips. "I think I have some idea. We have some time before our food gets here. And I have the perfect way to spend that time." She kissed him then grabbed his hand, and brought him up to his bedroom.