Emma had been waiting in the hotel lobby for a while, typically ahead of time. When Will didn't arrive at the appointed time, she thought she should go up to his room to check that everything was okay. It would be a completely normal thing for a co-chaperone of a school trip to do after all, she reassured herself. Although as she stood with her hand raised in front of his door ready to knock, she wondered if she should and it occurred to her that the thought of being with Will in a hotel room felt anything but normal to her.
Will answered the door with his familiar easy grin and Emma immediately wondered what had concerned her. This was just her and Will, they were friends and colleagues and yes, perhaps a little more since they had started seeing each other again, but they were taking things very slowly since her marriage to Carl had ended. It was what they had both agreed - that it was best to take things slow. And they had been, with just an occasional dinner in the very public and therefore somehow safe seeming environment that was Breadsticks. They didn't even have lunch together at school often, careful as they were trying to be about keeping their professional lives separate from their personal lives.
When Will had asked Emma if she would accompany him on the trip to nationals in New York, he said it was because she was the best teacher for the job. She knew the kids and would be able to support them through a potentially stressful time and of course, he said, she was still their good luck charm. Emma smiled at the memory. She hoped that he had asked her because he wanted her company too.
"So are you coming in?" Will asked laughing at her standing in the doorway, smiling back at him.
"Um, yes, what ... I ..." she realised she'd probably been standing there a little too long, looking at his face, taking in his curls and the dimple in his chin and thinking about everything that was going on between them. "Yes, okay, of course, I'll come in for a moment, I mean, yes."
Will found her awkwardness charming. He liked to think it might be him that made her a little flustered, since he knew his own brain turned to mush just thinking about her. Sometimes he was barely able to do a simple sum, so distracted was he by the thought of her eyes or her hair or the way she dressed ... he shook his head. He was getting lost in thoughts of her even with her right there, looking adorable in her red coat and beret, standing neatly in the corner of his hotel room, waiting for him to be ready to accompany her for some New York sightseeing.
"Okay, right, I just need to get a few things together, I'm not quite ready," he looked around at his possessions spread out. He'd got a little distracted just thinking about meeting her and wasn't as organised as he should have been. He had sheet music on the table, schedules of events, directions that he still had to hand out to the glee club and looking at them he nervously thought that Emma must find the room a mess.
"I'll just tidy these things," he said, gathering the papers and scooping up his leftover coffee cup. "I'll just put them," but as he turned looking for a better place for the papers and a wastebasket he managed to spill the dregs of his coffee down his shirt.
"Ah, Will, you ah," Emma pointed to the stain, laughing gently at his clumsiness.
In his head Will cursed himself for being such a klutz in front of Emma. It was only around her that he ever felt so awkward.
He looked down. It really was too bad to leave or to clean off.
"Um, yeah, I better change it. I ... I won't be a minute, Em, just wait there. I've already unpacked, I'll just grab another."
As Will walked over to the closet, Emma stood slightly uncomfortably in the corner, wondering if he meant for her to leave. Should she leave? Or should she just stay? Or maybe just turn around? But he was only changing his shirt, she reasoned, she'd seen him with his shirt of before after all. The thought of their rehearsal for the Rocky Horror show made her blush and as Will removed his shirt and she saw the muscles of his shoulders and the curve of his biceps she could do nothing but stare. She remembered the feel of his hand running up her leg, her fingertips brushing across his pectorals, his strong hand at the nape of her neck. She swallowed and trembled slightly. She could feel the flush of color suffusing her face.
"Are you okay, Em? Too warm in here with your coat on?" Will asked glancing across at her.
"No, I'm fine. You're fine, um, I mean, take your time."
"O-okay," he said wondering at her reaction, "but while I have you here, I might just get your opinion on ties for tomorrow evening."
He looked across at Emma who was now looking at the floor.
Will shrugged on a white shirt, watching her the whole time and picked up the two ties he was trying to decide between. He walked over to Emma and held the two options up for her consideration.
"What do you think?" he asked.
Emma's eyes widened. All she could think of was Will's body underneath the shirt he now had on.
"About the ties?" he prompted.
Pulling her eyes away from his chest, she managed to refocus on what he was holding.
"Um, this one." She nodded firmly and took it from his hand, gently brushing her fingertips against his. Will swallowed.
Emma reached out and draped the tie around his neck and carefully knotted it, focusing intently on what she was doing, trying to ignore the feel of his body beneath the thin cotton. She didn't dare allow herself to look up at his face or meet his gaze. If she had she would have known that he was staring at her mouth.
"There, that looks good," she said stepping back to assess the outfit.
And he did look good. Very good. So so handsome, she thought.
Before she knew it she was reaching for his tie and pulling him into her. The kiss was deep and passionate, Will meeting her enthusiasm equally with his own. They parted briefly and breathlessly before, to Will's surprise, Emma kissed him again.
He moved his hand to the nape of her neck and Emma was catapulted back to that moment in the classroom when she had been pressed against his bare chest only the thin layer of her blouse between them. She cursed her thick buttoned up coat and the clothes Will was wearing and pushing her hand against his chest she opened up a little space between them.
Will looked down at her hand. Of course this was too much, he thought, he'd got carried away.
"Ah, I'm sorry, Em, I wasn't thinking. We're taking things slow and," he paused as he saw she was unbuttoning her coat.
"Don't be sorry, Will, just do something for me."
"Sure, ah, what?" he asked bewildered.
"Take your shirt off, please."
"What? Um, say that again." Will wondered if he'd heard correctly but Emma was already undoing his tie and throwing it on the floor.
"You heard me," she said with a smile, her fingers working on the buttons.
Wordlessly he brought his hands up to help her, thinking he must be having some kind of waking dream.
Emma pulled the shirt over his shoulders, running her hands over his chest and down his biceps. Will shivered under her touch and pulled her close for a kiss that deepened until he could no longer tell where he ended and Emma started.
Then Emma was leading him towards the bed her hands firmly entwined in his. She felt giddy, overwhelmed with emotion and sensations. It had never been like this with Carl.
"You want to?" Will managed to ask, his voice thick.
She nodded looking him squarely in the eye as she unbuttoned her blouse and reaching for his hand she placed it on her breast. And Will thought she looked sexier than he could ever have imagined and a part of that was this new confident light in her eyes. But he knew her beauty alone would have been enough to take his breath away.
Emma stood on tiptoes, pressing her body against his and kissing his neck. He took her in his arms, his hands exploring the newness of her skin to his touch, leaning her back until they were both lying on the bed, their bodies touching along their lengths. She loved the feel of him, the smooth contours of his muscles, the way she felt them ripple as he moved, the power of him as he lifted her up moving her further up the bed. She gasped as she felt his hand running up the inside of her leg, her insides beginning to liquefy, the only thought in her mind was that she wanted him. He was the one she had waited for, although she couldn't think why they had waited this long to feel so good.
She pulled him round so that he was on top of her, his weight pleasantly heavy and solid. Will shifted a little realising he was pressed heavily into her and suddenly uncomfortable that she would sense his arousal, but as he moved off of her, she murmured "Don't, it feels good, Will." Emma reached up tangling her hand in his curls and pulling him close, her other hand running up and down his back. Will heard the moan escape his lips and felt himself harden. Her eyes told him that she felt it too.
And then she was reaching for his belt buckle. His closed his eyes and then he cursed himself for what he was about to do, but even so he pushed himself off her and lay panting looking up at the ceiling.
"Wait, Em, wait a minute, stop," he said as her hands still worked at his belt. "I need to ask you ... are you ... are you sure this isn't too much too soon?"
Her hands stilled but she positioned herself over him, her face right in his line of view, her hair brushing his face. She shook her head emphatically. "No, Will, I've waited too long ... we've waited far too long for this."
"Okay but wait," he said as her hands started to move again. "This is important. I really need to know. I'm ... I'm not just the rebound guy am I, Em?"
"No," she shook her head and smiled. "You're not just the rebound guy, Will, you're just my guy."
