And Then He Fell

Chapter 23

"Nah. My sister's home," I answered.

"Oh, okay," he said, smiling as Johnny approached him from behind.

I don't stay. I hop into the car where Em waits, smiling.

"Hey, there, Sexy," I said, shutting my door.

It was dark, but I knew she was blushing.

"I'm not sexy," she said quietly.

I was already turned on by her refusal to believe she was beautiful. I put my hand on her thigh and squeezed gently, a bolt of electricity seeming to pass from her to me.

"You are to me," I said, as I leaned toward her and kissed her neck.

She squirmed to get away from me.

"People will see, and I want to tell Ellie first."

Oops. I really needed this to be out in the open. I was going to give us away eventually. I just wanted to be close to her.

Even though the car ride home felt like it took forever, we were finally at my house. I was ready to make out the second we walked in the door, but Em had other plans.

"I'll be right back. I want to change into my pajamas," she said.

I decided to change into mine, too, and follow her up the stairs. Once we got to the top, I pressed her against the wall with my body. I stared into her eyes for a minute, and my hand reached to caress her cheek.

I wanted to say something profound, to tell her how much she meant to me, but I only managed to say, "I love you."

She was staring at me intently, as if she was incapable of looking anywhere else.

"I love you, too," she said, still unmoving.

"I once thought I was in love with Ellie, but what you do to me is in a whole different category. I'm scared you won't love me because I'm so whipped."

She smiled, and leaned toward me to brush her lips against mine.

"Just don't go all 'Edward loves Bella' on me, and we'll be okay," she said.

I leaned in for a gentle kiss, before stepping back and freeing her from the confines of my body. She returned the kiss.

As we separated, I said, "I won't go that far. I love you, but I'm not a girl.  I can show you if you don't believe me."

She laughed, then headed toward the guest room.

Not long after, we were sitting on the sofa in our living room, watching TV. I reached over, lacing my fingers in hers, and shifted my body so that I was touching her. She was wearing a matching PJ set, lightweight black capris and a cornflower blue shirt. The blue brought out her eyes. I changed into a pair of red basketball shorts with a black stripe and a black beater. I usually slept in boxers, but I was afraid of looking indecent. With Emily around, that could happen in a flash.

"This is nice," she said, squeezing my hand.

"Yeah," I said, although I couldn't stop thinking about what we could be doing.

"It's nice that we don't always have to be kissing and making out to enjoy each others' company."

"Mmm hmm," I said, distracted by the way the scoop neck of her shirt was hanging just above her nipple.  Ah, I just wanted to touch her.  I knew I was being a pig, so I tried to focus. I thought about how her family treats her, and that sobered me up.

"I wish you could live here forever," I said. "My parents would treat you so much better than yours do."

She sighed, and ran her free hand through her hair. I could hardly contain myself.