“No, baby. It’s perfect. I want to be fused with you. Connected to you all the time.” Tilting her head back, I kissed her with every ounce of passion I had.
When she finally pulled back, nearly gasping for air, I chuckled. “In my entire life, I haven’t smiled as much as I have over the past few days with you.”
Emily tucked back into my shoulder, and I rocked her for a second, then we became still.
So much had changed in such a short time that my head was almost spinning. My life had been dedicated to total control for years. Feeling parts of that cracking away wasn’t as uncomfortable as I would have assumed.
It felt right. Every change, every shift was perfect, because my world was making room for Emily in it.
“Emily?” I whispered.
“Mmm.”
Her soft hum didn’t really prove whether she was awake or not. But this was important enough to say as many times as necessary.
“I love you, angel.”
Her head jerked up to look at me in shock, then she softened, smiling. “I love you, Mason.”
Cuddling back down into my arms, I could feel her entire body soften against me. She’d let me into her life, her world, in every possible way.
It was a strange honor for her to select me as her man, but I didn’t quite know what the next steps were.
For the first time in my life, I was relatively okay with not having much of a plan in front of me. My entire purpose was now to love and care for Emily, and the rest we could strategize next week.
15
_____
Emily
The plush leather seats of Mason’s car were even more comfortable now that I was wearing my new green yoga pants with a flowing purple shirt that was more like a dress.
“You look like a flower,” Mason smiled, giving my hand a squeeze before pulling it back to turn a corner. “Nice stems,” he added with a wink.
I crossed my legs, giving him a show until he laughed. “Watch the road,” I giggled.
It didn’t surprise me that he already knew where I lived, figuring he would have looked it up from Dad’s file. But knowing the address was a lot different than actually driving by the rows of small, older homes.
It was definitely not the best neighborhood, but the people around us worked hard, and maintained their homes as best they could.
As we approached my house, I was shocked to see my father’s car already in the driveway. My parents rarely came back before dinner time on Sundays when they were away. As Mason pulled in, Mom’s head popped up, wearing her huge yellow gardening hat.
Mason jumped out to come around and opened my door for me, and whispered in my ear, “Relax. It’ll be fine.”
Mom came dashing over. “Emily, there you are. We were starting to wonder, since you didn’t leave a note.”
“You’re home early,” I said, not knowing how on earth to introduce Mason.
Mom waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, we went on a big hike yesterday, and your dad strained his back, then sleeping on a cheap hotel room bed apparently did him in. So we came home early to get his heating pad.”
“It’s not the length of the hike,” Mason smiled warmly, “It’s the slightly rough terrain that puts strain on the ligaments.” He held out his hand to my mom. “Hello, Mrs. Jameson. I’m Mason McHenry. Emily and I just went out for lunch, and–”
My mom jerked him by the hand to pull him closer, looking intently at him. “The eyes! You’re Emily’s dream man.”
Mason’s smile became tight as he looked to me for help, but I had no idea what to say.
My mother laughed brightly. “Emily, you must remember Aunt Betsy’s list. Green eyes with gold. And something about coffee. What else was there?”