Emily discreetly rolled her eyes and checked her watch for the eighth time in the past 30 minutes.

9:13, the hands read, causing her to groan internally.

She'd agreed to meet Aaron at one of the bars they usually went to after work for a few drinks, and Emily had regretfully decided to get there a few minutes early to loosen up ahead of time. Talking about non-work-related things with him still wasn't easy, and she knew she'd need those drinks to get through those conversations.

However, there weren't enough drinks in the world to numb her up enough to deal with the annoying guy that was sitting next to her. He'd been hitting on her from the moment she'd arrived, despite the fact that she'd clearly rejected his advances. She was resisting the urge to tell him to jump from the numbers in his bank account to his IQ after he began telling her about his newest luxury car and Rolex, but she couldn't afford to have him find out she worked in the White House and go blabbing to Politico about the whole thing.

All she wanted was for Aaron to show up and for the guy to get the wrong idea, and finally leave her alone.

She'd thought that her prayers had finally been answered when the guy spotted someone he knew from across the room and got up. Then things got even better when she saw Aaron walk in.

"Oh thank God, you're finally here," she sighed as he sat down next to her.

"What happened?"

"Some guy has been coming onto me for the past thirty minutes and I didn't know how much more of it I could take,"

"Does he happen to be blond and wear glasses?" he asked, looking over her shoulder.

"Yeah, why?"

"He's currently making a beeline for you as we speak. Just play along and don't freak out," Aaron muttered, getting out of his seat and pulling her to her feet with him.

"Aaron, what-" she began before he cut her off. Aaron cupped her face in his hands and crashed his lips into hers.

Initially, Emily was frozen, having no clue what to do, but she quickly caught on and began kissing him back. It wasn't like she minded, at all, and the longer his lips were on hers, the more she was convinced that he wasn't faking it in the slightest. She was completely convinced that he was kissing her for-real when it lasted for nearly an entire minute, neither of them wanting to stop. Eventually, a need for air and the realization that they were still in public was what caused them to break apart.

"Convincing act, Shore," she whispered into his ear, still trying to catch her breath.

"I could say the same for you, Rhodes," he responded.

"What do you say we get out of here and I give you an even more convincing one?"

"I like the way you think," he smirked, pulling away and standing upright.

Emily quickly laid a 20 on the counter next to her empty glass before grabbing Aaron's hand and leading him out of the bar, the guy from earlier nowhere to be seen.

Luckily, Aaron's apartment was only three blocks away, so they didn't have far to go.

Emily tried to keep her mind from thinking too much on the way there, but she couldn't help it. For better or for worse, neither of their lives would be the same after tonight. They both knew that, and they were both willing to take the risk. Albeit, she was a bit scared, but everything that involved Aaron made her a bit nervous and now wasn't the time to think about that.

The longer they walked, the more her focus shifted to trying to keep her hands off him, and she could sense that he was feeling the same way. Somehow, they'd both managed to hold back until they reached his apartment, but once the door closed, any and all self-control they'd once had simply disappeared.

Neither said a single word before their lips collided once more. Emily immediately kicked her heels off before Aaron pulled her flush against him, backing into the wall behind him. He fumbled with the buttons of her blouse whilst she cursed herself for choosing to wear that shirt, and eventually, she pulled the rest of it off, not caring if the buttons popped off.

Emily's heart began to race with exhilaration. A year's worth of pent-up emotions and unresolved sexual tension had led up to this very moment, and she couldn't be more excited about it. Aaron's heartbeat and trembling hands matched hers, giving away that he felt the same. He began moving his lips from hers, across her jawline, down her neck, and to her collarbone. She tilted her neck, allowing him full access as he kissed the slight dip in her clavicle. Aaron began sucking on her pulse point, causing her heart to race from pure ecstasy and leaving a large purple mark. Emily could feel him smirk against her skin at his work, and she knew that it wouldn't be easy to cover up, but she wasn't thinking clearly enough to care.

Finally, after spending god knows how long tangled up in the entryway, Aaron picked her up and headed for the bedroom.

The next few hours were exactly as she'd imagined them…

Exhilarating.

By the time it was all said and done, she laid next to him, his arm still wrapped around her waist as they both tried to catch their breath.

Emily was in shock. The reality finally began to dawn on her. She was in bed with Aaron Shore, and she'd quite possibly just had the greatest experience of her life. Only a few hours ago, the possibility of this happening had been so far away that it was nothing but an aching wish in the bottom of her gut. But now, here she was, and she couldn't be any happier.

A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed! Sorry for being gone for so long, school is a killer. Also, shoutout to the bitch that stole this idea from me originally. Fuck you btw.