A little part of the chapter, right at the beginning, is rated M. You are warned ;)
THE COMMITMENT
One year, eleven months and four days. Emily was still counting, even if she knew that at one point she wouldn't be able to anymore. That morning, she had woken up earlier than usual, and she was in a good mood. Her man was still sleeping when she decided to prepare coffee for both of them, and she went back to bed with two hot mugs of coffee, one for each of them. The smell of coffee and the kiss on his lips woke up Aaron, and he had to say that he was more than happy with such a morning call. It was much better than being woken up by a call of national security at three in the morning. He sat up in the bed, his head resting against the headboard, and started drinking his coffee while Emily laid on his chest. He was in love, if someone had told him two years ago that he would be here, with this beautiful, smart and strong woman in bed, he would have laughed. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with Emily Rhodes, he wanted her to be called Emily Rhodes-Shore, he wanted to make love to her every day and he wanted to have kids with her.
"You should do that more often Em, I have to say that it is pretty enjoyable to wake up like that" he said.
"Well, you're just lucky cause I woke up earlier than usual and I was in a mood to bring you coffee to bed. I am also in a mood for other things if you see what I mean…" Emily answered playfully.
"I"m not sure I see what you mean…" Aaron smirked. "Maybe you should show me…"
Emily put her coffee back on her nightstand and sat on Aaron's lap, facing him. She leaned toward him and kissed him gently on the lips, then went down in his neck. She sucked gently on it but stopped before she could make a mark, it wasn't really professional to show such a mark in the West Wing. Aaron put his own mug on the nightstand and put his hands on Emily's hips. He kissed her gently and laid her on the bed, him on top of her.
"Why do you always have to be on top?" Emily said playfully.
"Because it's the only place where I can boss you around" Aaron laughed.
Aaron's comment made Emily laugh and they resumed to kissing. Aaron's hand went down under Emily's nightgown and stroked gently her legs before caressing her ass. His mouth went down to her pussy, kissing through her panties, and he slowly went back up, tracing a path from her belly button to her lips and pulling up her nightgown in the same time. After taking it off, his mouth went down to one of her nipple and started sucking on it. Emily let out a breath of contentment and started pulling on the white tee-shirt he wore. She loved this tee-shirt, he looked handsome in it and she loved seeing it on him every night, but right now she had a desperate need to take it off. She took advantage of the moment to push down his legs the night pants he was wearing, and his underwear fell along with them. He was already so hard, he wanted her more than anything and he knew he would sooner rather than later. She caressed his length and it made him hold his breath. One of his hands slid down between her panties and her pussy and he slid a finger between her folds. He quickly stroked her clit and went down to insert a finger in her pussy. Emily was trying to control her respiration, but she was already so wet and it felt so good that she couldn't suppress a moan. It didn't last long before Aaron stopped what he was doing and slid her panties off her legs. He aligned himself with her and started entering her slowly. He went as deep as he could and back, slow and gentle, and Emily put her arms around his neck. She pulled him toward her and kissed him, she bit his lower lip. Both of them wanted to take it slow, they were not in the mood for wild sex, they were just making love.
Two hours later, they were at work and for once, the day was pretty slow. No ambassador to deal with, no subpoena, no military crisis. Nothing but usual work, and it felt good. It had been a while days had not been that slow. Emily was in a meeting with the President in the Oval Office. They were planning their next health care bill, and even though Emily was confident with it, they had to secure it.
Aaron was having an even slower day compared to Emily, and managed to escape from the West Wing for a little bit. It was now or never, it wasn't everyday he had time to do this, and it had been on his mind for quite some time now. So he walked into the jewelry's store on the main shopping avenue of D.C, gathering his courage and crossing the threshold of the store. He had heard about this store a while ago when an old college friend had invited him to his wedding, and he knew he had great tastes, so he hoped he would find what he wanted. Soon enough, he was taken care of by a sales assistant who showed him different rings. He knew what he wanted. One of those single diamonds that she could show to everyone, something that would catch everybody's attention, something simple but stunning, just like her. He had even managed to steal one of Emily's ring to have her size. It had not been the easiest part, Emily was never leaving home without rings. He had observed for quite a while and had stolen the one that she was wearing the less often.
With that, he was back at the White House within the hour, a small box in his suit. He hid the box in his drawer and locked it. There wasn't a chance Emily would come and take anything from his desk, so he thought it was better than hiding it at home. He was hoping to ask her soon, but he wanted to be sure that everything was planned before. Of course, planning things with their unpredictable jobs would be hard, but he knew it would be perfect.
It took a bit more than two weeks for Aaron to organize everything and find the right time to do this. He had even involved Seth in the preparation of all of this. Even if Seth was friend with both of them, he knew he could trust him not to tell Emily anything about it. One day, he had closed the door of Seth's office and had told him all about his plan. Seth was ecstatic about his two best friends getting married. He had been one of the firsts to know about Aaron and Emily's relation, but he had also probably been one of the firsts to know it was bound to happen, that they would end up together one day.
So one evening, Aaron and Emily were going back home after a quiet day, but instead of driving home, Aaron drove the opposite way.
"Where are you going? You know home isn't this way, right?" Emily stated, surprised.
"I know, but I want to show you something first." Aaron answered.
"Why are you so secretive suddenly?" she asked, intrigued by his behavior.
"Why do you sound suspicious suddenly?" he replied, smirking.
Aaron drove for several minutes before parking in the middle of nowhere, right on the Potomac River. Emily was still curious, she couldn't understand what was going on, it was just really weird for Aaron to do this, to be so secretive.
"Aaron, what are you doing?"
"Come with me…"
He got out of the car and walked around to open her door. He took her hand and led her in a cosy area by the river. It was a summer day, but it was getting late and dark. He knew that they would probably arrive late, so he had asked Seth to come by before and plug in the fairy lights that Aaron had set up in the morning. Still holding her hand, he walked in the middle of this area, with an Emily completely stunned by the place. Seth had also put a blanket on the floor and brought a picnic basket for dinner. It was exactly the way he wanted it to be: Romantic, private and cosy.
"What is all that Aaron?" Emily asked, confused.
"I just wanted to surprise you." Aaron answered and kissed her.
It was the moment. Aaron sighed to give himself courage and put one knee on the floor. His heart was pounding, he was stressed. He was making the declaration of his life. Emily's eyes went wide when she finally realized what was happening. Her heart started racing and she put her hand on her mouth even before he popped the question. He took the little box that was hidden in his suit, and opened it in front of Emily.
"Emily Claire Rhodes, will you marry me?"
Emily let a tear fall down her cheek.
"Yes! Yes!" she answered, bouncing on her feet.
Aaron slid the ring on her finger and rose, taking her in his arms. He kissed her tenderly, fiercely, with all his heart. He was the happiest man in the world. His heart was beating fast. She had said yes, she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, and this was the best day of his life.
"I love you so much Em."
"I love you too."
Emily couldn't realize what had just happened. Emotions were running high, she let a tear of happiness fall down her cheek. The ring was the most stunning jewel she had every seen. She was so lucky, she would spend the rest of her life with the man she loved more than anything.
