Emmett Forest did not, and would not, fall in love.
After watching his mother suffer through relationship after relationship, he vowed that he would never be that guy, that guy that broke hearts and promises. So he dated, casually, throughout college, but never allowed himself to feel enough to fall in love. And he had managed, somehow, to succeed at this, keeping a distance between him and any feelings he might have had for anyone.
Until, that is, he met Elle Woods.
She was so…pink, and seemed to have endless energy, and he had become her friend before he realized what had happened. He could do this, he thought, just be the best friend that was a support system that pushed her to be her best. But that day in the department store, something had changed and a red flag, a neon sign flashed in his mind. As she went to hand him the garment bag, he realized he was moving in to kiss her and tried to stop himself, but before he could, she had pulled herself to him in a hug, a hug suitable of a friend.
What had he been thinking? As if someone like her would ever be interested in someone like him.
Even after she won her case against all odds, he still had never mentioned the way he had felt that day.
"Congratulations!" he said, clinking his glass with hers as they sat on the balcony of his apartment.
"Thanks," she replied, grinning as she took a sip of her champagne, "But I never could have done it without you."
He smiled back. "Yes, you could have. You can do anything you want to, Elle."
"Emmett…" she put down her glass and looked at him, for the first time seeing how blue his eyes were. "You were the first one who believed in me. You saw through all the blonde and pink and saw the real me. You saw someone who could do this when no one else could. I owe this all to you."
He paused, and before he could think about it, he was rambling. "You're insane, and you have too much energy, and you came to law school for possibly the worst reason I've ever heard. You let a guy make you feel inferior and followed him around, begging him to take you back. When I first saw you, I thought you were the craziest person I had ever met."
He stopped for a moment and looked at her, her eyes downcast. "But now…you're going to be an amazing lawyer, you have more self-confidence than I've ever seen, you walk in a room and people automatically want to know you. Now…I can only think of how crazy I am about you."
He realizes what he has let slip and she looks up at him, eyebrows raised. "Emmett, what are you-"
"I'm in love with you." He blurts it out and immediately wants to take it back, to rewind, to go back to drinking champagne and ignoring his feelings for her.
She is silent for a moment, then stands, and he's sure she's going to walk out on him when she steps closer to his chair and leans down.
"You have no idea how long I've waited for you to say that."
She kisses him then and he feels like the whole world is spinning around and they're frozen.
Maybe, he thinks, maybe he can fall in love, with the right person. As he runs his hand through her hair, he smiles against her lips.
"Only you," he murmurs, "It's always been you."
fin
