I sat there for the longest time trying to remember when Graham first saw Emma, but came up blank. So I'm pretending that he had first laid eyes on her at the coffee shop. Plus, I think that a coffee shop is a really romantic spot for love at first sight.
When I first saw her, it was like the gravity of the Earth had changed.
There she was, a stranger, sitting at the table that I normally sat at. She was looking out of the window, observing the quiet street outside. I found it hard to swallow the first time that I saw her. She had blond curls that fell down to her shoulders. She wore a red jacket that (I'm going to sound like a girl here) really complemented her complexion. She had a beautiful jaw line, which she was putting in my full view. Her green eyes seemed to be full of thought and compassion. But also worry. She had a cup of cocoa in front of her, which she stirred with her finger, licking the whipped cream with her tongue, which made my throat go dry.
Pull it together, sheriff.
I thought to myself. You don't even know her.
I laughed lightly. Well, we're just going to have to change that.
I managed to gulp, then, deciding to take a chance, I slung my coat over my shoulder and strode over to her.
"Excuse me?"
She looked up at me, and when her eyes locked with mine, and I was able to fully see the emeralds that were her eyes, I forgot where I was. I swallowed again and tried to turn on my non-existent charm.
"You're in my seat," I said, looking down at her.
She gave one solitary laugh, one side of her sculpted lips pulling upward. "What, are we in grade school?"
Her voice was smooth, with just the right amount of warmth and sarcasm.
I shrugged, what seemed like a simple gesture, but what was actually a way of me trying to get the bats in my stomach to go away. "No." I said, sliding into the seat across from her. "But perhaps I'm a little child at heart."
Then she gave me a look that I would grow to fear (not out of her scaring me, but the fact that when she gave me this look it really did make me feel like a child). She sort of looked down her nose at me, as if she was trying to show that she wasn't interested, but her beautiful eyes were full of intrigue and her lips tugged a little at the edges.
"My name's Graham." I said. "What's yours?"
"Emma."
Emma
. I repeated in my head. Emma…
It was a beautiful name.
Before I could slip into a beautiful-name-induced coma, I quickly asked her the next question that came into my mind.
"So, what brings you to Storybrooke?" I asked, folding my hands on the table, which was a fatal mistake for two reasons: her eyes darted down to them, which made my fingertips feel like they had just been buzzed, and that it brought me closer to her, even if it was only a couple inches.
"Personal business," she said, lowering her face a bit so that she wasn't looking down at me anymore. "Why do you care?" It wasn't a snide remark, it was a real question, marked with a bit of suspicion.
"I'm the town's sheriff," I said, maybe showing off a bit. "And we don't tend to get strangers here in Storybrooke very much."
"That's what people keep telling me," she said, nodding. There was a moment where I just sat there, grinning at her like an idiot. I happened to look down, and noticed a light brown powder on the top of her whipped cream.
I cocked my head to the right and pointed at it. "Cinnamon?"
She looked down at her drink and her cheeks turned slightly pink, which, as you probably could have guessed, made me blush.
"Yeah," she said. "Old habit."
Just then Ruby came from behind me and asked if I was going to have the usual.
"Not today, Ruby," I said. "I'll have that," I pointed at Emma's drink.
Ruby nodded and strutted away, but I didn't watch. Now, I only had eyes for the beautiful being that was sitting across from me. We made mindless chatter until Ruby came and brought me my drink. I looked and it for a moment, then shrugged.
"Here goes," I said, sipping at the drink. I swallowed, my eyebrows knitting together. "It's really weird," I said, licking my lips. "But kinda… perfect."
Emma let out a bell-like laugh, her hair shaking behind her.
That was when I decided that that word was the exact description for her.
Kinda… perfect.
