She gives me a sweet, slow kiss before resting her head in the crook of my neck. I place my hands on her hips and wait. I know something is bothering her. That’s why she’s still awake. I just have to wait until she is ready to tell me. I get a little restless and slip my hands under her hoodie to discover she’s wearing nothing under it.
I slide my hands up and down her sides, relishing in the feel of her. “I love you Jake. I’m so happy that I met you. I’m so lucky that you were there to save me. It’s just that I’ve been thinking about our future and what your uncle said.”
I stop her and say, “Sweetness, don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
She sits up and looks at me. “I’m not. I’m just trying to figure everything out. I’m trying to figure out how we are going to take both of our dreams and put them together so we are both happy.”
“What do you want to do Sweetness?”
“I want to be a dentist.”
“Do you have any place in mind that you want to go to?” She shakes her head. “Then just come to Charlotte with me. I’m sure there’s a school there for you. See? Easy peasy.”
“You sure? You want me to come to Charlotte with you?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I want you there? I love you, Sweetness.”
A smile covers her face and she leans in to give me a kiss. “Sorry, it’s just one of those nights,” she says, referring to when she doubts herself. She rests her head back in the crook of my neck and kisses a spot over and over. “You don’t ever have to doubt yourself with me Emily. I’m always going to want you. I’m always going to want to love you, kiss you, and have you with me. I’m always going to want to hold my sweetness. Always.”
I feel her smile as she gives me another kiss. “Can I stay with you tonight?”
“Of course.”
She stands and hold out her hand. I intertwine our fingers and kiss her knuckles. We walk back to my house and sneak up to my room. Emily slips into my bed as I take off my hoodie and shoes. I set my alarm for 5:30 so she’ll have time to get home before her dad wakes up and climb in beside her. She cuddles up to me and I wrap my arms around her. In seconds, she’s asleep.
Over the next three weeks, Emily sleeps over every night. I ask her if there was an particular reason why, not that I minded. She said no. She just wanted to be close to me. I loved waking up every morning to see her sweet, beautiful sleeping face.
Drake and I spent more time together. Lately, I had been spending all my time with Emily, but since Drake mentioned hanging out, I had been spending more time with him. Dad doesn’t say much since our little encounter, but it doesn’t bother me.
Prom was tonight and I was beyond ecstatic to see Emily in her dress again. I wore the same tux and same purple tie. I ended up getting a plain purple mask too. I was waiting in the living room with Mike. What was taking her so long?! Finally, I hear the door to her room creak open and I pop up from my seat. So beautiful. She had ringlets of curls in her hair, the pretty mask, and perfect dress. “Wow,” is all I can manage.
Emily gives me a sly smile and I hear Mike let out a whistle. “You look beautiful honey,” he says walking over to kiss her cheek.
“Thank you Daddy.”
I walk over and stare into those beautiful brown eyes while I slip on her corsage. “You look amazing, Em.” A blush makes it’s way to her cheeks and I give her a kiss on the lips.
Mike takes a few pictures of us, but I keep messing them up by looking over to gaze at Emily. Finally, we get a good one. I usher Emily outside and open the door for her. She gets in and I rush to the other side. I slide into my seat and head to the prom, which is lamely being held in the gym. I keep stealing glances at Emily and finally, she turns to me and asks, “What?”
“You just look amazing. I can’t not look at you.”
A shy smile flits across her lips and she takes my hand. Soon we arrive at the school and I’m excited to show off my girl. We hand the teacher our tickets and she grants us entrance. Inside, I’m surprised at how the gym looks. It’s breathtaking and looks nothing like a gym with its soft lights and decorations. Bobby, one of my friends, catches sight of Emily and walks over with his mouth hanging open.
“Who is your date Jake? Where’s Emily?”
I wrap my arm around Emily’s waist and smile. “This is Emily, Bobby. Quit drooling,” I chuckle. Bobby blinks and continues to look Emily up and down. “You look beautiful Emily. Not that you didn’t before, but wow.”
“Thanks Bobby,” Emily says with a blush. A few of the guys make their way over and say hi along with their dates. When Claire comes up with her date, Henry, Emily just rests her head on my shoulder. The guys talk about their upcoming plans for college. Emily kept quiet, but would occasionally say something.
“Excuse me fellas, but I’ve got to dance with Emily.” I lead her to the dance floor and bring her close to me. “How’s it going Sweetness?”
“Wonderful,” she says placing her head in her favorite spot. We sway to the music, even when it changes to faster paced song. Emily kisses my neck and looks up at me with a smile. “I love you Jake Benson.”
“I love you Emily Johnson,” I say, placing a kiss upon her lips. We leave the dance floor to chat some more with the guys and Emily joins the conversation that the girls are having. Soon, prom is over and we are heading to the after party.
“Jake?” Emily questions as we walk up the steps to the house.
“Yeah?”