"Why didn't you just let it burn?" Emily said with a sleepy sigh. Andrew swept her bangs to the side and kissed her forehead, "Why would I let quiche burn? It smelled amazing and it tasted even better than it smelled." Emily tried to hide her furiously blushing face. "You ate your breakfast off of me" she pointed out while putting her foot in his lap. He kissed it before tugging her leg gently, "Hence what made it taste so much better." Emily pushed herself up on her arms, "Drew, I…I'm not—" He put a finger to her mouth to silence her, "I know you aren't the kind of woman to put out on the first date. You and I have known each other for a little while, so that helps. Besides we aren't teenagers anymore. I don't think anything less of you." Emily was grateful for that but the look on his face left her curious, "But?" she asked carefully. He thought for a moment and looked away from her. He looked out the window they were sitting in front of and murmured, "But you are far more flexible than I thought." Emily broke out into a boisterous, girly laugh and jumped on him. He helped her sit up in his lap and cover her with his shirt, she raised an eyebrow at his antics, "Marking your territory?" He shook his head, "I believe I did that on your hip. I would like to be the only one who gets to see these goods." Emily couldn't help but feel like she was in high-school whenever she got around Mendoza. He brought out her shy side but at the same time, he brought out her sensual side. He played with her hair while she stared at his abdomen; he forced her to look up by tugging on her chin, "Don't harbor on it. I'm okay because of you and everything is where it should be."
Emily felt her eyes water and tried to pull away, but he wouldn't let her, "Tell me. Just tell me sweetheart." Emily traced her fingers over the long scar, his muscles unintentionally clenching under her touch, "I almost lost you before I ever had you because of a man with an axe to grind." Andrew pushed his index finger past the open gap of his shirt on her body; his finger ghosted across her abdomen, "I could say the same." Emily got out of his lap and pulled his shirt tighter around her body. She walked into the kitchen and started to clean up the few dishes. He came up behind her and pulled her into his embrace, her words made him hold her tighter, "Andrew, how is a guy as wonderful as you single?" "Well, I've been waiting for you." Emily nudged him, "I'm serious. Drew, I want a serious answer." She turned around and leaned over on the kitchen counter. Mendoza grabbed her hand and walked them into her bedroom. She shrugged out of his shirt and threw it at him; he stared at her perfect body momentarily before putting his shirt back on and watching her put the robe on. He patted the bed until she sat down. He motioned, with his hand, to the picture on the nightstand. "How far would you go for them?" Emily didn't hesitate, "I'd die for them." He knowingly nodded and pulled a picture out of his wallet. "I'd die for them. But, my ex…she didn't feel the same. It was her right, but it doesn't mean that it didn't hurt." Emily didn't say anything but opened her arms to hold him close to her. He laid the back of his head against her chest while she interlocked their fingers, "Tell me what happened Drew." He blew out a long breath.
"When I first met Lydia, I had just got accepted into the FBI. I was busting my ass at the academy and she was a breathtaking fashion student. It seemed like we were electric and even I should've realized that we were moving way too fast. I think that I loved her way more than she loved me, but then again there were times that I didn't love her at all. I started to hate the person that she was becoming; I think that we were both awful to each other towards the end. I wanted more and she didn't, we just wanted different things. I wanted my career and a family; she wanted her career. She has and always will be an amazing fashion designer. I wanted her to be something that she wasn't, and she wanted me to give up the FBI to follow her around the world. I loved Lydia at the time but not more than the career I was aiming for. It was a horrible divorce and we fought over everything. We fought over the money, dogs, and the house." Emily started to rub his shoulders, "How long were you married." "2 years in peace…4 in hell. The divorce dragged out for another 3 years after that. I haven't been married since." "Gotten close to it?" He didn't answer that question so, she asked another, "You two had kids together? From the picture." Andrew stretched and leaned further into Emily. He touched the picture thoughtfully, "These aren't my kids. This is my younger brother Dennis. He has Down Syndrome. The other is my younger and only sister. She's struggled with addiction for a while now. Lydia wanted no parts of my family and told me to walk away. I couldn't nor will I ever be able to. I had great parents; my dad served in the Army and retired. He and my mom opened a restaurant and they loved it. Long story short, my parents kept bailing my sister out and sending her to rehab. They sold the restaurant and cashed in my dad's pension when my brother's health took a bad turn. I helped out as much as I could but…"
"You did what you could." Mendoza cleared his throat to stop from getting emotional, "My dad died in his sleep—heart failure—and my mom died 9 years later from an aneurysm." Emily let a tear slide down her face, "I'm so sorry Andrew." Her calmness brought him peace and he decided to deflect, "What about you? How did you get those little beauties?" Emily grabbed the picture and they both stared at it with a smile. "His name was Mark and we broke each other's hearts. Mirabelle is his mom's name and Amina was the one name we could agree on. My girls are the reason I do this job. They have also been the reason why I don't date. That is until now." "When am I going to get the honor of meeting these beautiful replicas of you?" Emily smiled, "They attend a charter school in Boston. They live with my dad full-time because of the amount of travel I do for this job, but we've been in talks about him moving here semi-permanently." "Did I ruin a mother-daughter reunion by having your undivided attention?" Emily interlocked their fingers, "No. They love camping with my dad and my camping days are over. They will be back next weekend."
Andrew's phone started ringing and he reluctantly got up to grab it. He turned around to look at her with regretful eyes; Emily crawled across her bed until she was in front of him. She pulled him down by the shoulders and kissed him passionately on the lips. "It's okay. Someone needs you right now." Andrew pulled her up by the waist and wrapped her legs around him. He kissed her bottom lip before pushing his tongue into her mouth. Emily got lost in the kiss, moaning loudly, and before she knew it they were in the middle of her bed going at it. Emily pulled away, "What about your phone?" Andrew kissed over her heart and trailed them down her body slowly, "I don't want to leave right now. I just want to be with you." Emily forced herself to pull away from his kisses and study his face. He couldn't hide the worry and anguish. Emily caresses his face, "Drew, what's wrong? Talk to me. What happened?"
"My sister, Nicky, she relapsed again." Emily felt her heart break a little. She got up from the bed and pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. Andrew just looked at her, "What are you doing Emily?" Emily stood in front of him and pulled him up by the hands, "We are going to go see her. You're too distracted right now, so I'll drive you." Andrew let her pull him along until they were in the parking garage of her building. Emily held his hand the entire time to give him some level of comfort. When they got to the ER, Andrew hesitated but eventually got out the car. He waited for the nurse to tell him what room she was in before he took slow steps towards the room. Emily waited in the hallway to give Andrew some privacy. Andrew sat on the chair next to his sister's bed and grabbed her hand, "Hey Nicky." She looked at her big brother and turned away ashamed. When she looked over at him, his eyes were filling with tears. "Nicky, I don't know how much of me I have left. I know that when things get hard for you, you need an outlet. But honestly, it breaks my heart every time I have to see you like this. The only reason why I haven't broken down today is because of Emily" he finished quietly and in a whisper. Nicky sat up in bed, "Who's Emily?" He struggled with his next words and she almost laughed at him, "She's someone important to me." "Is she your girlfriend?" Andrew quickly changed the subject and pulled the blanket further up her body, "What happened this time Nicky?" She hesitated, "I don't know Andrew. It just happened."
"No! A needle didn't just happen to go into your vein. Drugs didn't just find their way into your bloodstream. You know the reason why you did it, so tell me!" Andrew had no idea that he was screaming until Emily popped her head in the room. When he turned to look at her, all his anger dissipated, "Drew, we can hear you at the nurses' station." To regret saying something hurtful to his sister, he stood up from the chair, "I need some air." Emily stood awkwardly in the doorway; looking at Nicky, she sympathized and quietly walked over to the hospital bed. They both remained silent for a few moments before Emily started to speak. "Between you and me, I've been were you are." Nicky looked at Emily as if she didn't believe a word of that, yet she remained silent. "My freshman year of college, my parents divorced. I know that it shouldn't have affected me at 18 as if I were 5, but it did. My dad just wanted my mom to slow down and be a wife; she refused and after a 9-year battle with himself, my dad filed for divorce. He was so depressed and broken that it felt like all his anguish shifted to me. See, I am my parents only child together, but my dad took in foster kids. With him, I have 2 sisters and a brother. They didn't understand it, so I didn't feel like I had anyone to talk to."
"I started hanging with a lot of the wrong people. I fell madly in love and really deep into a drug habit. It wasn't my first love that got me hooked, it was someone that I thought was my friend. My habit was pills, which is why I won't take so much as an aspirin these days." Nicky gave Emily her full-attention, "How long were you an addict?" Emily sat back in the chair and pulled her legs close to her chest. She chuckled to herself, "What did I tell my family? 2 years. In true, I was an addict for 7 years. I tried to get clean on my own 4 times and I failed. My wake-up call was seeing the hurt in my father's eyes the first time he saw me strung-out. I'm not going to lie to you, recovery is hard. It is so damn hard but when you get a few years of sobriety under your belt, you will see that the withdrawal and DTs are worth it. I look at myself now and I'm happy that I stuck with it." "How long have you been clean?" Emily ran a hand through her hair, "20 years." Nicky moved closer to Emily and looked her in the eye, "What's your secret to sobriety?" "Transparency. It's the hardest part and the most necessary. Even if it hurts, you have to get to the root of why you started using. For me, it was seeing my father heartbroken and being his rock without an outlet for myself."
Nicky grabbed Emily's hand tightly and whispered with tears rolling down her face, "The first time I tried it was when our brother needed brain surgery. I kept thinking that he'd die. The next time was when I found out that my parents were risking it all financially to get me clean. Then, it was Andrew's first shooting. I remember thinking that he might lose everything he worked so hard to get. I can't stay clean because I'm not strong. I'll never be as strong as Andrew." Emily comforted her, "Do you know how much strength it took for you to tell me that? You are stronger than you think. Strength doesn't mean physically or emotionally. Strength means perseverance and willpower. If you want to get clean for good, then you have to force your will to stay sober ahead of your cravings." Nicky surprised Emily with a tight hug, "Thank you." She pulled away and sat back on the bed, "Which rehab place did you go to?" "I went to rehab in Boston, but I'm sure that I can help you find one nearby." Nicky shook her head, "No. I want to go to the best facility. Is it expensive?" Emily shook her head, "It is but it's worth it. My sister owns the facility that I went to years ago. I'm sure that I could get you a spot there. Don't worry, she won't tell me a thing, but she is one of the best in her field." "Can you help me break it to Andrew?"
Unbeknownst to them, Andrew had been right outside the door for a big part of the conversation. He spoke up, "No need to. If you really want to go, then I'll support you Nicky."
When Emily and Andrew left Nicky, they walked in a comfortable silence. Andrew drove Emily back to her home. When he walked her up to the door, she grabbed his hand, "Are you okay Drew? I hope that I didn't overstep." "Of course, you didn't. I couldn't get through to her, but you did." Andrew softly caressed her face and kissed her passionately. "Thank you so much Emily." Emily just smiled and pulled him into a hug. "I've been there before. Do you want to stay the night?" Emily automatically knew the answer because he'd been fighting tears since the hospital. Andrew momentarily loss the ability to speak, so Emily walked backwards into her house, pulling him with her. Emily locked up for the night and urged Andrew into her bedroom. She went into her bathroom to draw him a bath to relax him. "Drew, tub's ready for you." Andrew got undressed and sighed as the hot water started to relax him. He grabbed Emily's hand before she could make a retreat. "Aren't you joining me?" he asked with a flirty flash of his eyebrows. She laughed and proceeded to undress and get in the bathtub with him. She reclined against his chest while he placed soft kisses on her shoulder. "You want to tell me about it?" he asked softly.
Emily laid back and rubbed his hand with hers, "I met Uriel the summer before I went to college. I was in New York with my mother. I went to a rooftop party that was basically my send-off party and he was there. He was from the Bronx and definitely not someone that my mother would approve of. Although he was involved in a lot of illegal behavior, he was a good guy. So good in fact that he broke it off with me my junior year." "Why? He wanted a bad girl?" Emily laughed, "I was a bad girl. No, he broke it off with me because he didn't want to hold me back. He wanted me to go for my dreams. I didn't understand it because it was my first love and all I truly wanted was him. He told me that he was walking away to protect me." Andrew played with her hair, "Did he ever get out of his illegal behavior?" "Not to my knowledge. He was so far in that he'd never leave. Him and his brothers originally did it to protect their mom after their dad was killed. They've been at it so long that—" "They're the top dogs." Emily agreed with a head nod. Andrew kissed the crown of her head, "For what it's worth, I'm happy he let you go. I have you now."
They slowly washed each other's bodies before getting out the tub. Emily got dressed in warm clothes and waited for Andrew on her bed. "Drew, can I ask you a question?" "Of course." "What's so special about me?" Emily was suddenly self-conscious and tried to pull away from Andrew. He cupped her face in his hands, "You really don't see it?" Emily shook her head no. He took her hand and placed it over her heart. "You have the biggest heart that I've ever seen. You are immensely stunning. Your features are so unique and perfect to you. You have a body that most women would kill for. You have no idea how amazing you are." Emily tried to hide her blush but didn't succeed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pecked him on the lips, "You are so sweet Drew." He smiled against her lips and lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around him and giggled. He kissed Emily's cheek, then her nose, and finally her mouth. "Emily, I'm crazy about you. I never expected it to be this fast but I'm not sorry about it." Emily shifted in his arms, "You want me to put your down?" Emily shook her head no and laid down on his chest, "Your heartbeat it so soothing to me."