AN: Two days and two new chapters! Isn't spring break the greatest? I am really excited for this chapter. I have been anticipating this one for the entire story. I hope you like it!


Chapter Nine – 1 Day Left

It was just past 5pm so the sun was still high in the summer sky. Tomorrow was the last day of August so the days were still at their longest and the AC was on full blast. Emma's hair had quickly dried from her shower an hour ago and it fell around her shoulders in natural waves.

The hotel room was nearly spotless. The women had finished most of their packing the night before; all that was left was a few miscellaneous items for their plane ride home tomorrow.

Tonight was their last night at the Plaza and Emma had planned to binge watch Netflix and eat junk food all night. But Regina had other plans. Even after everything they had discovered, Emma would never understand why Regina was out with Robin again.


-Flashback: two weeks earlier (15 days left)-

"Holy shit. Holy fucking shit. Do you know what this means?" Emma was astounded as she flipped through the hundred of photos Regina had uploaded to her laptop, double-checking her findings.

It had taken days to sift through just half of what they found in Robin and Killian's suite. For each document Emma had downloaded there were dozens of pages to go along with it. It had been meticulous work but, boy, was it with it.

"No, there is no way." Regina covered her mouth as she stood over her cousin's shoulder.

"This is proof they have been committing fraud and tax evasion! This won't just ruin their company, it will send them to prison!" Emma's voice rose as she turned to Regina.

"Prison?" Regina took a step back, uncertain.

"Yes, Regina, prison. Federal prison at that. I told you we couldn't trust them." Emma folded her arms in righteousness.

"No, Robin and Killian wouldn't do this. Come on Emma, we know them."

"Regina, are you fucking joking? Clearly we don't know shit about these men besides what they like to drink poolside. I have been telling you this from day one—we should never have gotten involved with them. And now look at you, the information is staring back at you in black and white and you are still convinced that it's not true? Robin has really done a number on you."

"Emma, we do not have all the information."

"You're right. But I'll leave that up to the FBI."


They were criminals. Like the kind of criminals the USA Network based tv dramas on. But did Regina care? No. She was, for some reason, giving Robin the benefit of the doubt. And they were off gallivanting somewhere around the city.

Fine more Gilmore Girls and sour gummy worms for Emma.

Although it pained her, Emma felt a twinge of guilt when she thought of not saying goodbye to Killian. The women had already decided it was best to leave unannounced but not seeing him one last night seemed odd.

Wait, what was she just saying about Regina and Robin? Get it together Emma, he was a criminal, she had already spent too much time with him.

Just as that thought crossed her mind, there was a knock at the door.

Emma had not ordered any room service, but, oh, that sounded like a good idea. As she started to form her dinner order in her mind, the blonde opened the door and was shocked when it revealed Killian Jones on the other side.

He looked perfectly boyish in a plain white t-shirt, jeans and a royal blue Los Angeles Dodgers hat.

Not like a hardened criminal at all.

Being caught off guard, Emma couldn't form any words as she just looked at Killian's handsome face and the grin that sent butterflies through her stomach.

"So the Sox are in town." Killian said simply as he held up a rectangular piece of paper.


It had been a ticket to the Red Sox/Dodger game that night. Killian and Robin had planned to go together but he had bailed last minute claiming he was taking Regina out for her 25th birthday.

"Oh, so I was just the back up plan?" Emma elbowed him as they made their way to the elevator.

Killian caught her arm and whispered into her ear, "I would much rather watch the Sox lose with one of their devoted fans."

Emma could admit Dodger Stadium wasn't totally awful. She could do without the city smog but the sunset was improving the skyline. They were sitting on the 3rd base side about ten rows back from the dugout, pretty good seats.

The game had been entertaining thus far. The Dodgers had come out with a strong three run first inning but they hadn't been able to score since then. The Red Sox had slowly regained the lead and it was now 4-3 in the 8th inning.

The Sox were warming up on the field at the top of the inning. Emma leaned forward in her seat and was focused the Ace on the mound who she hoped would throw a complete game tonight. Both of Killian's arms were casually thrown across the backs of the seats next to him, including her own, but not making any contact with her skin. Emma chalked it up to him needing to spread out his lengthy frame.

Just as the catcher was throwing the ball down to second base Killian began to chuckle. The throw was right on line so Emma didn't know what the man found so funny. Turning to him, his face was looking towards the outfield and he nodded his head towards the big screen in left-center field.

When she turned to follow his stare, Emma saw an enlarged image of herself sitting next to Killian…with the words 'Kiss Cam' scrolled across the bottom of the screen in red loopy cursive.

When Emma looked back to Killian, she felt like the next moments were all blurred together. Everyone seated around them were cheering and yelling, "Kiss her!", some stereotypical 80s love song was playing loudly in the background and the stadium lights were all of the sudden hurting her eyes.

Not thinking clearly, Emma could only focus on his stupidly gorgeous face. Lost in his devilish grin, Emma smiled and slightly shrugged her shoulder in consent.

For the first time that night, Killian's left arm shifted from the seatback to Emma's shoulder, softly pulling her towards him. As he moved her closer, Emma couldn't help but look down at his fine lips, the color of blush, curved into a gentle smirk. She placed the thin fingers of her right hand on his chest for balance as she could smell nothing but sandalwood, pine and sea salt.

Their noses touched briefly as Killian shifted his head to the right and tenderly pressed his lips to hers. All the previous music and cheering seemed to have faded away as the only thing left was ethereal buzzing in Emma's ears.

It only lasted a heartbeat as Emma pulled back from Killian and returned to her previous position. She looked in Killian's direction but expertly avoided eye contact, "I've always wanted to be on the Kiss Cam."

"Well I'm glad we could cross that off your bucket list, love."

She wanted to lighten the mood, avoid addressing their intimate exchange, but the sound of his voice sent aches throughout her entire body.


Emma's demeanor had changed after that. She had remained polite for the rest of the game but not even her favorite pitcher throwing a complete game got her mood to shift back to normal. Killian could tell she wasn't angry. No, that wasn't the correct emotion. She was guarded again, her wall was back up and he didn't know if the kiss had been worth it.

Of course that wasn't how he imagined their first kiss to be. He had wanted her to be fully aware of the situation when it happened, not be surprised by a bloody kiss camera in front of thousands of strangers.

He kicked himself mentally, he should have just kissed her on the cheek like a gentleman and maybe they could have salvaged this night. But he was a git, and lost in the moment and mob mentality. And when she shrugged her shoulder and leaned closer to him he was drowning in pools of jade.

But now they were riding the elevator up to her floor and it seemed that he was drowning in awkward silence instead of her beautiful irises. As the elevator slowed, Emma turned to Killian to say, unbeknownst to him, goodbye for good.

"I had fun tonight."

"Me too." He wasn't lying but he couldn't help but think she had been.

There was a loaded pause as they stood staring at each other. She managed to look at him in the eyes now; since their kiss she had done everything in her power to avoid them.

She wanted to remember his face. It wasn't the face of a white collared criminal. It wasn't even the face of a ruthless businessman. It was the face of someone who gave her a summer she'd never forget.

Despite who their families were or what obligations they had back home, Emma did enjoy her summer with Killian. And she wanted to remember his face like this, in this moment with Emma Swan. Not Emma Nolan. For when he found out who Emma Nolan really was, he will never look at her like this again.

"Well," She paused to take one last look at his rose lips, flashes of their earlier encounter shooting across her mind, "Night."

She turned to exit the elevator, instantly regretting her last words.

Their kiss had been short and sweet but it stirred something inside of Emma she had never experienced before. Sure, she had kissed men before, some as good looking as Killian, but her skin had never reacted the way it did to him. She was inexperienced with sexual tension but sitting next to him in that stadium chair had he inner core flaming to life with each of his subtle movements. Though he was hovering the entire night he never made contact. But she couldn't help but wish he would. And, finally, when his hand moved to her bare shoulder, electricity had ran down her spine, bringing all her senses to life. And his lips. They moved over hers expertly, making sure to keep it simple. But she could not help but painfully wonder what it would have felt like for him to kiss her a little harder, maybe pressing his entire body against hers?

She tried pushing all those crazy thoughts to the back of her mind as she walked into the hallway.

Just as the brightness of the hall lights hit her vivid green eyes Emma felt the familiar touch on her wrist and within an instant she was being pulled back into the elevator by her escort.

With a flash of inky black and sapphire, Emma was flipped around, Killian crashing his lips down onto hers, just as she imagined moments before.

Throwing all of her inhibition and caution to the wind-the advice she hounded down onto Regina regarding Robin long forgotten-Emma melted into the raw kiss and let her body take control.

Killian passionately pressed his lips hard to hers as he pulls her flush to his body, his hands on the small of her back. Heat shot through her stomach as Killian moved one of his hands to the back of her neck to deepen the kiss.

Without either one of them noticing, the elevator doors shut to Emma's floor and continued up to the top floor. When they reopened Killian was surprised by the blonde pulling at his shirt, trying to lead him out of the contraption and into the hallway, all while still holding the kiss.

The two stumbled over each other's feet as Emma tried to navigate down the hall backwards without losing her grasp on the taller man. Killian, wanting to regain control, shoved her against the nearest wall, pressing his entire length onto her supple frame. His large hands moved from her back to scrape down her exposed thighs and then back up to her jean clad hips, lifting her thin shirt slightly to feel the soft skin of her stomach. Emma couldn't help but let out a low whimper at the caress.

The sound reached Killian's ears and his body reacted fiercely. The hairs of his arms stood on end as a wave of goose bumps ran down his spine.

Barely feeling her hand reach into the back pocket of his jeans, Killian's mind almost didn't register what was being pressed into the skin of his hips.

His room key.

Oh.

That was all the invitation that he needed.

In a swift movement, Killian's hands ran over Emma's backside and down to the backs of her knees. Within a moment he had lifted her up and she was wrapping her legs around his waist, his lips never leaving hers.

Killian navigated the rest of the way down the hall from memory. When they reached his door he pushed Emma's back against, making a satisfying thud. The pressure of his arousal pressing against her open center had her gasping into his kiss.

Before she realized, Killian was setting her down on the cool counter top in his kitchen, magazines, pens and a bowl of fruit clattering to the wood floor behind them. His teeth dragged across her bottom lip, her ankles hooking the backs of his thighs to pull him closer.

Emma's hands reached for the warm skin of his abs underneath his t-shirt. Her fingers had ached to know what his taut skin had felt like all summer long and they were not missing their opportunity now.

Wanting the barrier of clothing between them gone, Emma yanked his shirt upwards and over his head. When the two broke the kiss and disposed of Killian's shirt they stared into each other's eyes.

Her emerald orbs looked exactly how Killian felt. They were blistering and hungry and scorched his skin with a flurry of emotions.

Killian could have stared into her eyes all night but he was not objecting when Emma grabbed the back of his neck and pulled his face down to meet hers in another round of ferocious kisses.

"Mate, what's with all the nois—oh," The familiar English lilt cut off in shock.

Hearing the intruder, the couple in the kitchen broke their contact and turned towards the now open bedroom door. There was Robin standing in his dark doorway in nothing but his tight Calvin Klein boxer briefs.

"Emma?"

At the mention of the name, a new figure appeared behind Robin. Regina peaked around the barely dressed man to see her cousin sitting in a compromising position with a half naked Killian. Both of them looked wild and disoriented, making it obvious what Robin had caught them doing.

Emma's mind instantly started working.

There, in front of her, was her younger cousin dressed in nothing but Robin's too-big-for-her dress shirt. Coming out of his dark room. And here she was, shirtless Killian between her legs, lips swollen from their encounter.

What the fuck was she doing?

Without another word the blonde was gone, not even glancing back when she heard her name being called. She ran. She couldn't stand still and wait for the elevator so she pushed open the stairwell door and flew down the flights until she reached her own floor.

She paused slightly. It was only a matter of time before Regina would follow her down there so she continued to jump down the stairs until she reached the lobby floor. Taking the side exit she continued to move, her run slowed to a jog after a few blocks. Then she walked.

It was well past eleven and she had no idea where to go. But she could not go back to the Plaza and face Regina, let alone Killian.

So she wandered.


AN: Well? Tell me what you think! Only a few chapters left!