Chapter Ten
(Derek)
I hear the sound of footsteps approaching the door and quickly hide the flowers I had bought behind my back. I had stopped at one of the flower stands on the side of the road on my way and picked up some pink orchids. Hopefully she would like them.
My smile brightens as Emily opens the door. she looks breathtaking in her red dress. Her hair is pulled up, bringing out her big brown eyes. I mentally force myself not to let my jaw hang open as I look her up and down. She bites her lower lip nervously and I realize I still hadn't said anything.
"Wow you, you look amazing." I finally force the words out of my mouth as the fog clears away.
"Thank you, you too." Emily smiles, a slight blush coming to her cheeks.
"These are for you." I bring the flowers out from behind my back. The look of surprise on her face makes me smile even bigger. She takes the flowers.
"I.. Thank you. Come in; let me put these in water, and we can head out." She steps aside allowing me entrance. I follow her in and she disappears into what is presumably the kitchen. While she's gone, I quietly pace the floor. She reappears a few minutes later and places the vase of flowers on the coffee table.
"Ready?" Emily turns to me, a bright smile on her face.
"Yeah, lets go." I gently place my hand on her lower back and lead her out the door. Once it is locked we get into my car and head toward the restaurant.
The ride itself is fairly quiet. We pull up to the restaurant a few minutes later. I hand the keys to the valet and Emily and I walk into the restaurant hand in hand. Once we are seated at our table, the waiter takes our drink order and disappears.
"This place is amazing! How did you get us in?" Emily queries once we are alone.
"Friend of mine is one of the managers." I explain with a small smile, meant only for her.
"Well, thank you." Emily blushes as she speaks.
"Your welcome." I reply with a smile.
"So... here we are." I say nervously.
"Right, here we are." She replies back biting her lower lip a sign that she is nervous as well.
"Why are we so nervous?" I ask with a small laugh, she starts laughing as well and soon the people at the table next to us are looking at us funny.
"I don't know; it's not like this is the first time we've met."
"Okay, so how are you doing? I know that last case was kind of hard on you." I as sincerely, truly caring for her well-being.
"I'm good. Really good actually." Emily smiles reassuringly, and I know she is telling the truth.
The waiter comes back with our drinks and takes our order before he leaves again.
"I heard Jen and Dave hit it off at the party." Emily ventures.
"Yes, they did! He called me this morning to tell me how much fun it was." I reply, nodding.
"It was fun, wasn't it? I'm surprised at how well everyone got along."
"Yeah, enough about that." I say suddenly, grinning. "Tell me something about Emily Prentiss that no one else knows." I stare into her eyes, yet I still notice her rising blush.
"That's a hard one." Emily stares back. "Umm... Lets see. I was terrified of the color black when I was a kid."
"Really?" I chuckle. "Why's that?"
"When I was five, one of the boys in my kindergarten class convinced me that if you wore black it meant you were possessed by the devil. I walked around for weeks avoiding anything that had to do with the color until my mom convinced me otherwise." Emily explains. "I even threw away anything black I had in my closet, much to my mothers displeasure." The story has us both laughing.
"It's funny the things we believe when we're that little, isn't it?"
"It is!" Emily nods, smiling. "So tell me something about you that no one else knows." She turns my question back on me.
"Okay, fair enough. Lets see, I'm obsessed with the Twilight series, but you can't tell any one, especially the guys at the station."
"Fair enough." Emily says in between laughs. I know she's laughing at me, but I don't mind; she looks so beautiful doing it.
Our food comes and we eat in between conversation, talking about everything form work to our families and friends. By the time dinner is over, an hour and a half later, we feel like we had known each other forever. After I pay the bill, we walk out to the car. Emily pulled close against me, our arms wrapped around each others waists. The valet guy gets us our car, I open her door for her be fore getting in and heading back to her place. The ride is filled with friendly conversation and before we know, it we're at her house. I turn off the car and turn toward Emily.
"I'd invite you in, but that's my mothers car." She points to the black Lincoln parked in front of us. "What is she even doing here? She's not due into town till Monday."
"That's okay. Next time. Let me at least walk you to your door. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you." I request earnestly.
"That would be great." Emily smiles. We walk to the door hand in hand, as slow as we can. Nether of us really want the night to end, but we know it has to. At the door, she turns to me and smiles.
"Thanks for everything. Tonight it was amazing." Emily almost whispers.
"My pleasure." I brush away a strand of loose hair out of her face, my voice equally as low. I cup her cheek and place a soft kiss on her lips. One becomes two, then three. She wraps her arms around my neck and I deepen the kiss. We pull apart a moment later and I rest my forehead against hers.
"I better go." I whisper reluctantly, taking a step backwards. "Your moms probably waiting."
"Yeah, I'll see you Monday. Thanks again I had a great time."
"Me to; I'll call you." I start walking backwards toward the sidewalk.
"Good night, Derek." Emily unlocks the door.
"Good night. Emily." I reply back as she opens the door and steps inside. Once the door is shut, I get in the car and drive away with a happy smile on my face.