Falling for the First Time Ch. 04

"Whoa! What's wrong?" Emmett looked at her in shock.

Breathing heavily she looked like she was about to have an anxiety attack.

"Jaz? Calm down, you need to go to bed," he spoke calmly.

Her eyes widened. "I'm a virgin!" she blurted.

Seeing his eyebrows raise, she spoke quickly, tripping over her words. "I-I-I'm not ready. To sleep with you. I can't." Taking a deep breath, she repeated in a quieter voice, "I'm not ready. I'm sorry."

Understanding dawned in his eyes. "Jasmine. I'm sorry for what I did back there. I wasn't going to take it any further. I was taking you to bed because you need to sleep, nothing more. I promise."

"Oh."

"Look, you can sleep in my bed, I'll take the couch. If you need anything, just pop your head out, ok? I'll be near by." He leaned in to kiss her forehead, and then slowly closed the door, leaving her by herself.

Rubbing her face, she cleaned herself up as best as she could in his bathroom. Once she plopped down on his bed, she knocked out as soon as her head hit the pillow.

***

She woke up feeling disoriented with the light streaming in from the windows. The room was cast in a soft blue, which felt unfamiliar since she had blackout curtains. She stretched across the soft bed, noticing the navy blue sheets and Emmett's scent. She sat up abruptly, looking around. Her dress from last night was still on, so that had to be a good sign. Then, she saw a suspicious stain on the front of her skirt. Images flashed in her mind from the night before, and she felt goose bumps rise across her skin. Oh, shit. Her body felt stiff as she rose from bed, and went out to look for him.

Peeking around the corner, she saw him standing in the kitchen, staring at the coffee machine with his arms crossed over his chest.

Clearing her throat, and spoke up, "I don't think glaring at it is going to make it brew any faster."

His head snapped up in her direction. "Jasmine," he breathed in a sigh of relief.

Emmett walked over and kissed her on the forehead before guiding her to a stool. They sipped on the coffee he poured for them silence, avoiding eye contact.

"I'm sorry." She looked down, feeling awkward.

He laughed quietly, "You have nothing to be sorry about."

She raised her head and looked at him, "I always watch how much I drink. I don't know what hap-"

"Nerves, maybe?" he stated. "I probably should have ignored your pleas and just take away the champagne from you after your fifth glass."

Brushing her hair from her face, she sighed out loud. "I should have stopped. I shouldn't need to be taken care of like that."

"You were having fun, and I was with you. I promise you were on your best behavior while we were there. You didn't start complaining about your bladder until we entered the freeway." His kind smile tugged at her heart.

She shook her head at herself. "This is so embarrassing. Thank you, for taking care of me last night." Her voice grew quiet, "Thank you for not taking things further."

He gazed into her eyes for a brief moment before walking around the counter to sit next to her. "Don't be embarrassed about that. I'm actually glad you said something."

There was a heavy pause before he continued. "I know we joke around with each other, and there have been some heated moments, but I've kind of suspected something."

She blinked in surprised.

He shrugged his shoulders in a joking matter. "I know I'm irresistible, but you always manage to stop me before things go too far. It was either you were hiding something like this from me...or you never really liked me, which would be weird because you kept going out with me," he grinned.

Jaz shoved at his shoulder, laughing quietly.

He cleared his throat, trying to get serious again. "I want you to know that I'm ok with it. We'll go at your own pace. We won't go any further than where we've gone until you say otherwise."

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pressed a kiss against his cheek, and whispered, "Thank you."

He hugged her tightly in return. When they pulled apart, he lifted his hand to caress her cheek. "I really want this to work out, Jaz. I like you. A lot more than I thought I would."

She leaned her head into his hand. "Why me?"

A soft smile crept on his face, "You're different."

She quirked an eyebrow at him, "Not the first time I've heard that."

Emmett laughed and shook his head. "I meant that in a good way. You have a lot of passion. I see it in the way you talk about the work you do, and the people you love." He brought one of her hands to his lips and kissed it. "I see it when you look at me, and when you kiss me. I've never met anyone like you."

Is this really happening to me or is this a side effect of drinking? Jaz felt as if she were above the clouds. She didn't know why all of this was happening to her, but she wasn't going to question it. "You're so cheesy," she smirked at him.

"You know you like it." He winked.

"It warms my heart." She playfully batted her eyelashes at him.

He got up, and started taking food out of the fridge. "I know what else warms your heart. Food. Now, what do you want for breakfast?"

***

After breakfast, he took a quick shower and got ready before they headed over to her place. He gave her a jacket to wear over her wrinkled and stained dress. She smiled at him in embarrassment as they walked out the door. Emmett drove Jaz back to her apartment, and insisted on walking her to the door to make sure she was absolutely okay. When they walked in the entrance, Jaz was startled to see Keri sitting on the couch watching TV.

"You have got a lot of explaining to do, missy! I got so worried when you didn't come home, and I tried calling. If I didn't hear from you by the end of the day, I was going to report that lover of yours to -"

Keri's rambling stopped when she saw Emmett walk in behind Jaz. "Keri, this is Emmett. Emmett, this is Keri." He gave a small wave.

She stood up from the couch, "You have a lot of explaining to do, mister!"

Jaz raised both hands in surrender. "Calm down, nothing happened last night. I had a little too much to drink last, and fell asleep. He was the perfect gentleman."

"Oh. Ok." She plopped back down and patted the seat next to her. "Well come sit, Emmett. We have a lot to talk about."

He gave Jaz a questioning look, and she shrugged her shoulders in return. Keri spoke up, "I won't bite. I just want to talk. Why don't you go shower, Jazzy? I'll keep him company." A mischievous smile rose on the corners of her lips.

Emmett rubbed her arm, and gave her a handsome smile. "I'll be fine. Go ahead."

Jaz gave one last warning stare to her friend before escaping to the bathroom. As she took off her clothes, she laughed to herself while looking at her come-stained dress. I've never had to use a stain remover for this. She took the fastest shower of her life and dressed into more comfortable clothing before making her way into the small living room. She sighed in relief when she saw the two laughing together. They both turned towards her when she entered, and gave her content smiles.

Since they were both facing her, Emmett didn't see when Keri gave her a thumbs up and mouth the words 'he's hot', before turning back to the TV. Jaz restrained herself from laughing and looked down at Emmett, "You survived."

"For you, of course." He smiled and stood up. "I have to get going and run some errands. I'll see you soon?"

"Definitely." Jaz walked with him towards the door. "I'll walk you to your car."

Emmett smirked, "What a gentleman."

"I know, I know." Jaz's eyes lit up as she grabbed his hand.

As they were about to close the door, Keri called out, "Don't forget! Friday!"

Emmett answered her unspoken question, "So I guess we're having dinner here this coming weekend."

A little taken aback, she cocked her head to the side, "We are? Here?"

"Yeah. Keri's idea. I don't have to come, if you're uncomfortable with it." He bent his head down, and looked into her eyes as if to see what she was thinking.

"No, it's fine. It'll be nice, but you have to let me know if Keri makes you uncomfortable." She smiled at him, and continued, "I'm suspicious of her intentions for this dinner."

He laughed quietly as they were approaching his car, "Well, we'll see what happens when the time comes. I'll make sure she knows I have honorable intentions concerning you." To emphasize his point, he grabbed her hand and laid a gentle kiss on her knuckles. "See? I'm practicing."

When she got back into the apartment, Jaz went to her bed and let out a blissful sigh.

"Oh, Emmett, just take me. Make love to me." Keri mocked Jaz from the doorway of her room.

Jaz grabbed a pillow and threw it at her friend, but ended up hitting the door instead. Keri threw the pillow back, hitting her right in the face. They both laughed in surprise. "Go away." Jaz grumbled, "Leave me alone."

In the hallway, she hear Keri singing, "Emmett and Jazzy kissing in a tree, S-E-X-"

"Those aren't even the words!" Jaz yelled out between laughter.

"Same thing!"

She shook her head when her friend continued singing, and closed the door to her bedroom. There was a part of her that knew she was falling even more for Emmett, but she didn't feel so scared anymore.

***

His eyes glanced at Jaz's retreating figure returning to her apartment building. The beating of his heart increased as he thought of what happened between them last night. Emmett ran a hand down his face and let out a frustrated groan. He took out the business card from his wallet and stared down at it.

Sam had given him his new business card, and told him about an open spot in his new location. Before his mentor had left, the two had talked about looking for jobs in their partner company located in London. Working and living in another country was something Emmett always wanted to experience. When Sam got the offer, he had promised to help out in anyway he could to get Emmett an offer, as well. Even with all his doubts, Sam pulled through.

All he had to do was inquire about the position, and let Sam put in a good word for him. He knew that would guarantee the job. Two months ago, he would have done it without hesitation. Now, things were different. Now, there was Jasmine.