ALY: Come home to me and Ozzy pleeease
I stared at the text. Fuck did it pull at my heartstrings. I chewed my grin as I reread it, pretty sure that a single sentence had never made me so happy and sad at the same time.
ME: Trust me there’s nothing I want more right now than to be with you two. I’m trying to get out here fast. What time are you going to sleep?
ALY: Sometime after you come home : )
>
Following that text was a selfie of her on the couch with Ozzy on her lap, grinning at the camera like he was gloating. I smirked and shook my head.
Goddammit. Just seeing the picture made my need to be home about a thousand times worse. I was honestly ready to just fake an emergency to get out of dinner. The meeting was technically over – this was just the part with the schmoozing that Julian was way better at.
I wound up lasting another ten minutes before giving some excuse that sounded solid enough for everyone to nod along and say, “Go, go, go.”
It was well past 9PM by now, but I still had a car ride from where I was on the Upper East Side down to the heliport on 34th Street. Then I had about a forty-minute flight to the Hamptons, and another fifteen minutes to the house.
At one point in my life, this felt like nothing. This commute last summer was actually ideal because by the time I got back to the Hamptons, all my friends were already out, and I didn’t have to spend even a minute in my quiet house before hitting whatever lounge or club the crew was at.
But now, things were different. Because now this commute home felt like a fucking eternity.
By the time I got back it was midnight, and when I walked into the house, all I heard was the murmur of some movie turned way down low. I emptied my pockets quietly in the foyer, a little smile touching my mouth as I anticipated finding Aly asleep on the couch in a few seconds.
And… yep. There she is.
My grin spread wide when I walked into the living room to find Aly sleeping on the couch with her knees scrunched up to her chest. My guess was that she’d been making room for Ozzy before he hopped off the couch to go sleep on his favorite bed. Little prince, I snorted when I glanced at my boy lying completely stretched out with his legs hanging off the oak frame and velvet cushion chaise that Mom bought him.
I laughed to myself and for a second, I did what I’d pretty much never done before in my life: I enjoyed the peace and quiet. I normally hated when things were still and silent. Whether it was at home, at dinner or a game, I usually preferred to be surrounded by people.
But as I gazed at Aly on the couch, I found myself pretty quickly understanding why Julian always preached about quality over quantity.
“Emmett?”
Aly’s voice was breathy when she blinked her sleepy eyes open.
“Shit. I’m sorry,” I said, tossing aside the squeaky toy I stepped on while walking over to her.
I felt everything in my body stir as Aly stretched out on the couch, pushing her tits against her T-shirt as she arched her back tight. She let out a soft mmm as I ran my hand up the back of her leg before climbing on top of her, kissing up her neck as she asked me about my day.
“Mm. Sounds like a long day,” she said groggily. Her eyes were still partially closed as she stretched and squirmed underneath me, getting me hard as a rock without even trying.
“It was pretty long. But it felt longer because I was away from you,” I said, my breaths getting heavy as I watched Aly grind sleepily against my dick. I grinned. It was so fucking cute and sexy. It was like she couldn’t pass up on taking care of my hard-on, even if she was half-asleep. “Listen, I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” I murmured, grinning when she blinked her eyes open a little more, giving me her full attention – rather, as much as she could at this hour.
“What’s up?” Aly asked, circling her arms around my neck.
“I was wondering if you’d be my date for the gala next week,” I said, smirking when her eyebrow went up. “Why do you seem surprised to hear me ask that?”
“I don’t know. Because I’m sleepy and I have trouble hiding my reactions when I’m sleepy,” she giggled softly. “And I guess because it’s just… such a big, important thing for you. Full of fancy people. I just thought you might not want to bring me as a date. ‘Cause then you’ll have to introduce me to everyone.”
“Yeah. Exactly.”
Aly smiled. “You want to introduce me to everyone?” she asked. “As your… you know?”
“Girlfriend?” I laughed, watching her cheeks flush pink at just the sound of the word. “Yeah, Aly. I do.”
“So I can call you my…”
“Boyfriend? Jesus Christ. Yes,” I said, pretending to be impatient with her. But even the act of it didn’t last long because she looked so fucking adorable beaming and blushing underneath me. And for the next ten minutes or so, she let me just hold her and kiss her. We honestly wouldn’t have stopped if she didn’t suddenly gasp. I blinked at her wide-eyed look. “Aly. What?”