Author's Note: So this is their date!
Emma stood in front of the tiny closet in her room. She was lucky she wasn't sharing the room, because there was no way two women would have enough space for all their clothes in this closet and the bureaus provided. She slowly pushed her available clothing options along the rod as she debated what to wear for her first official date with Clay tomorrow night. She really only had two possibilities. One was a blue dress that she thought was much too formal. The other was a yellow dress that she had bought when she was shopping with her friend Anna at Century 21 in New York back in April. At the time Emma had been hesitant to purchase the dress as she wasn't really sure she would have anywhere to wear it, but the halter top of the dress was especially flattering to her cleavage without being too risqué and she loved the swingy skirt. When she was a little girl, she had had a dress that she called her "twirly dress" that she had loved to spin around in, making the skirt spin out. The skirt of this dress reminded her of that, but in a much more sophisticated style. Possibly this dress would be a little too dressy for their date, but Emma had the impression that Clay was planning something more than a meal at a casual restaurant.
Clay hadn't actually given her many details about their date, but Emma wondered if maybe that was because he didn't really have a lot of time to plan it. Yesterday morning she had received a text from Clay saying that the team had touched down from their latest mission with everyone in good shape and that her father had given his permission for Clay to date Emma. She was still a little surprised by that. She had been sure that her father would tell Clay in no uncertain terms that there would be no dating between his rookie and his daughter. She definitely needed to get more details from Clay on how that conversation went down.
Emma had been standing in the linen room of the hotel when the text came through. As she stood there, a little shocked that her father had actually said it was okay for her and Clay to date, her phone rang. Clay's name came up on her caller ID. Looking around to make sure no one else was there, Emma answered the call.
"Hi, Clay," she answered the phone happily.
"Hi, beautiful," he responded. "Do you have a minute to talk?"
Emma was a little surprised at Clay's endearment, as he had been more formal with her since she had returned to Virginia Beach. Well, she thought, until he kissed her after their trip to the beach.
"Only a minute," she replied. "I'm at work and I need to get back to the front desk."
"I'll be quick," Clay said. "Emma Hayes, will you go out with me on Saturday night?"
Emma felt a little burst of happiness. He was really asking her out, for a real date. She had the worst urge to giggle. She was also tempted to tease him and say that since it was already Thursday, she really couldn't accept a date for Saturday night, but she decided that wouldn't be fair since he had actually asked her father's permission for this. She also felt she should still be annoyed about the whole father's permission thing, but she was working on letting that go.
"Clay Spenser," she responded, sounding just a little giddy, "I would love to go out with you on Saturday night."
"Great," he said. "I'll pick you up at six-thirty, if that works for you."
"That's fine," Emma said. "I'll see you then."
"Great," Clay said again. "Um, I should go. Gear and AARs to deal with."
"Okay," she said. "Bye, Clay."
"Bye, Emma," he replied and ended the call.
As soon as Clay had ended the call, Emma hugged herself and squealed quietly. She was going on a date with Clay Spenser. She really wanted to call Hannah right then and tell her, but she couldn't be away from the front desk any longer. There was one thing she needed to do though. She opened a new text message to her Dad on her phone. She typed, "Thank you, Daddy," and hit send. Then she left the linen room and headed back to the hotel lobby. That Thursday had ended up being a very long workday.
Now standing in front of her closet, she decided it was definitely the yellow dress. Always better to be overdressed than underdressed, she thought. She just needed the right shoes. She started digging through the pile on the floor of the closet, looking for a pair of strappy, natural colored heels that she was sure she had brought back with her from school.
Her phone rang as she finally pulled the shoes out from the back of the closet. She stood and grabbed the phone from her bed. Her caller ID showed the goofy picture she had taken of her Dad.
"Hi, Dad," she answered.
"Emma," her father replied, "are you free to grab dinner with your old man this evening?"
"Tonight?" Emma stalled. She wasn't sure dinner with him would be a good idea. He was probably asking her to an inquisition and not dinner.
"Yes, this evening generally means tonight," Jason stated patiently.
"Um, okay, I guess," she answered hesitantly.
"Good, let's meet at the Mexican place on Holland Road," he suggested. "Does six work for you, kiddo?"
Emma glanced at the time. It was a little after five, giving her enough time to change and drive over there.
"Sure, Dad," she replied.
"I'll see you in a bit, then," he said and ended the call.
Emma frowned as she dropped the phone back on her bed. There was no way this dinner wasn't going to be about Clay wanting to date her. She sighed and grabbed some clothes to change into. She needed to get moving if she wanted to meet her father on time.
Jason walked into the Mexican restaurant a little before six o'clock. His daughter hadn't arrived yet, but the hostess was willing to seat him at a table. He sat down and ordered a beer while he waited for Emma.
Just as the waitress delivered his beer, he saw his daughter walk into the restaurant. She didn't see him at first and she stood by the hostess stand looking around for him. His eyes narrowed as he saw two men at a nearby table checking his daughter out. Both of them had to be in their thirties, much too old for his little girl.
Of course, that was the problem, Emma wasn't a little girl anymore. Not that she should be dating men in their thirties, but Spenser was in his twenties and closer in age to Emma than to Jason himself. The fact was that he didn't really want Emma dating anyone. In his mind she was still the little girl who had clung to his hand on the first day of school, afraid to be left there with children she didn't know.
He still remembered the day Alana had placed Emma in his arms. He had been deployed when she was born, so he didn't see her until she was a month old. She was so tiny to him and he had been afraid he would hurt her, but then she had opened her eyes and looked up at him and that was it, she had his whole heart.
He started to stand to catch Emma's attention when she saw him and headed towards the table.
"Hi, Dad," she said as she approached the table.
He stepped forward and gave Emma a hug as she greeted him. "Hey, kiddo."
They sat down, and Jason looked closely at Emma, who seemed to be avoiding meeting his gaze.
"I'm glad you could make it," he said as he watched his daughter busy herself with her menu. He decided to let her relax a little before he said anything else and picked up his own menu.
After a few minutes had gone by, Jason spoke. "Know what you're ordering?" He asked.
"I think the enchiladas," Emma replied. "How about you?"
"Taco sampler," he stated.
"That's what you always get," his daughter said, finally looking up at him.
"I know what I like," he said with a little smirk.
Before either of them could say anything else, the waitress arrived at their table with a basket of chips and a small bowl of salsa.
"Can I get you anything to drink?" The woman asked Emma.
"I'll have a Sprite," Emma answered.
"I think we're ready to order," Jason told the waitress before she could leave with just Emma's drink order.
They gave the woman their food orders and then began eating the chips and salsa.
"So," Jason began, breaking the silence between them, "I had an interesting conversation on the plane coming home yesterday."
His daughter gave him a wary look. She swallowed the chip she had been chewing and spoke. "I know," she said cautiously.
"I figured you did," he said, "considering the text message you sent me."
Emma blushed a little at his mention of her text.
"Was that your idea?" He asked curiously.
"Asking you for permission?" She questioned.
He nodded.
"Oh no," she stated, "that was all Clay."
He nodded again. "Why were you keeping it a secret that the two of you spent time together in New York when he was there?"
"I wasn't," Emma replied, giving him a smug look. "I told you about it back in March when it happened."
He frowned. Had she told him that?
"You don't remember," she accused him. "You weren't paying attention when I told you about it."
"Of course, I was paying attention," he maintained. "I always pay attention when you tell me things."
"Oh, so you just don't remember them," Emma said pointedly.
"I remember," he defended himself, "maybe just not right away."
"Uh huh," she replied skeptically.
"That's not the point," he said. "The point is why didn't you let me know something was going on with you and Spenser?"
"Because," Emma explained, "I didn't know that anything was going on."
Jason gave his daughter a disbelieving look.
"I didn't," she insisted. "I mean, we had a lot of fun that day and I thought he was a good guy. And, of course, he's good looking, but he's on your team and I didn't think he'd be interested in me. But then, I don't know, we were friends, I guess, and we texted, and he got my sense of humor, and then I thought, maybe, it was more. But when I came back to Virginia, it seemed like it wasn't more and I was wrong, then we went to the beach one day and he… well, that's when he said he had to get your permission."
Emma finally stopped to take a breath, and he considered the rambling speech she had just made. The main points he took from her words were that she and Clay had become friends, which tallied with what Clay had said yesterday, and that she didn't initially think anything was going on between the two of them. Although he couldn't decide if she thought nothing was happening between them because she didn't think Clay would be interested in her or if she hadn't been interested in Clay at first. He also wondered exactly what had happened at the beach.
"Okay, I get that there wasn't anything specific to tell me at first, but Emma, this isn't a little thing, you dating someone on my team," he explained.
"I know, Dad," she answered in a small voice. "I didn't mean for it to happen, but then it did, and you told Clay it was okay."
"I did, but that doesn't mean I'm not concerned," he said. "Besides the team, he is almost seven years older than you."
"I know that too," she said, "but being the same age as me doesn't make a guy a good person to date."
"I agree age isn't the only thing, but you haven't met one guy at school that you could date?" He asked with a sigh.
Emma gave a dry laugh. "Let's see, one guy I went out with turned out to be gay. Although we are friends now. Another guy I went out with seemed to think buying popcorn for me at the movies meant I should hop into bed with him after."
"What!" Jason exclaimed.
"Don't worry, Dad," she reassured him. "I set him straight, and if he didn't take no for an answer, I was ready to break his hold with that move Uncle Sonny taught me and then knee him in the groin."
"That's my girl," he said proudly.
"But you see what I'm working with here, Dad?" Emma continued. "And look at Hannah! She's been strung along by that jerk she met at UVA, and he treats her like crap. I can't seem to convince her that he's no good. He's our age."
Jason frowned. He had heard something from a worried Victoria about what was going on with Hannah. Before he could reply, Emma spoke again.
"Clay's not like that, Dad," she said quietly.
He exhaled slowly. Emma had hit on one of the main reasons he had agreed to letting Clay date her. Clay Spenser was a good man. Yeah, he could be a cocky little shit on the job sometimes, but he wasn't a womanizer and, from what Jason had seen when Clay was with Stella, he treated the women he dated well.
Also, Jason grudgingly admitted to himself, he respected Clay for asking for permission to date Emma. Asking couldn't have been easy, particularly when the rest of the team joined the conversation. But, even with the other guys standing there, Clay had looked Jason in the eye and told him what it was about Emma that made Clay want to date her. Jason couldn't fault the man's taste. Emma was all the things Clay had mentioned and more.
Jason's biggest reason for saying yes to them dating though was that he was afraid if he said no, they would each find the other more attractive because then they would be even more forbidden fruit than they already were. He hoped that by saying yes to them, the pair would date, get it out of their systems and move on. He didn't plan on sharing that with Emma though.
"No," he agreed, "Clay isn't like that."
Before either of them could say anything else, the waitress returned with their meals. She set them down on the table in front of them, asked if they needed anything else, and then left them to eat their food.
Silence reigned at their table as they both enjoyed their food. Jason debated what else either one of them could say that would allay his fears about this whole Emma and Clay dating situation. Times like these made him miss Alana even more. He couldn't help but believe she would have known how to handle this so much better than him.
The waitress came by to check on them and he asked for the bill. She returned and left the check on the table. He pulled out his wallet and took out enough cash to cover the meal and a tip. As he did so, he watched his daughter push the remains of her enchiladas around on her plate.
"Emma," he said, waiting for her to look up at him. Once she met his gaze, he spoke again. "I'm your Dad. I worry about you. Someday you'll be forty years old with kids and I'll still worry about you."
Emma smiled at his words.
"But right now," he continued, "you're turning twenty and you want to date a man who's almost seven years older than you, with a lot more life experience, so yeah, I'm worried that you could get hurt."
Emma nodded. "I know, Daddy," she said softly.
"Okay," he said, "I'll leave it at that. I told Clay it was okay, and I'm not going to go back on that. But please keep in mind that I am much too young to be a grandfather."
"Oh my God! Dad! I can't believe you just said that," Emma exclaimed in horror. "Way to ruin a moment."
Ignoring his daughter's embarrassment, he kept going. "I know you're a big girl, off at school, taking care of yourself, but I want you to remember that being responsible is an important part of—"
"Stop! Just stop!" Emma cut him off. "Mom gave me the whole talk years ago. I don't need you to repeat it now."
And thank God Alana had, because he didn't think he could have said much more. It was bad enough that he had to have the talk with Mikey but going through it with Emma was too much for him.
"Okay," he agreed. "Are you done with your dinner? We should probably let them have the table if you are."
"I'm good," she replied.
They both stood and started to walk towards the exit. Jason sent a hard look at the two men sitting nearby, who were checking out his daughter again. Both sets of eyes dropped back to their table and he smiled in satisfaction.
As they exited the restaurant he turned to Emma. "I'm going over to your Uncle Ray and Aunt Naima's tomorrow for a barbecue. Do you want to join us?
"I'm working tomorrow until four," Emma replied. Then she added shyly, "After I, um, have a date with Clay."
"Okay," he said. "We're still on for your birthday dinner on Thursday though, right? I'm going to pick Mikey up from his hockey camp to join us."
"Definitely," she answered happily. "Birthday dinner at Lorenzo's, I can't wait."
Jason smiled at her excitement. "Alright then, we'll talk before then."
Emma smiled and gave him a hug. "Thanks for dinner, Dad"
"You're welcome, kiddo," he replied, giving her a kiss on the top of the head.
They parted, and he watched her head to her car. She turned and waved as she got in and drove away.
Jason sighed as he watched her go. Life would certainly be easier if your kids didn't grow up so fast.
Emma thought work was never going to end on Saturday. At least Saturdays were usually busy because there was a lot of turnover in the hotel. People were checking out at the end of their week at the beach or checking in to start it. All the comings and goings kept her occupied at the desk most of the time, but there was just enough downtime for her to check the clock way too many times.
Finally, it was four o'clock and she was done. She rushed back to her room, so she could get ready. The yellow dress was hanging on her closet door with the shoes sitting on the floor below it. She took a quick shower, washing her hair, and then smoothed on her vanilla scented body lotion. She dried her hair and put it up, leaving some tendrils hanging down. She curled those just a little, and then did her make-up. She checked the time and saw that she still had twenty minutes before Clay's arrival. She worried that he might be early though, so she slipped on the dress then put on a pair of sparkly earrings and a bangle bracelet. Then she grabbed the shoes and put them on. Once she had the straps straightened out, she went into the bathroom and tried to see the whole effect in the little mirror over the sink.
Just as she was giving up on being able to check out her entire look, she heard a knock at her door. All of a sudden there were a ton of butterflies in her stomach. She took a deep breath and then called out asking who was there.
"It's Clay." She heard him say through the door.
She walked slowly to the door, took another deep breath, and opened it.
Clay stood waiting for Emma to open the door. He couldn't remember the last time he felt this anxious before a date. Slowly the door opened and there she was. She was beautiful standing there in a pretty yellow dress that tied around her neck. She had her hair up in some kind of complicated twist thing that women always seemed to know how to do. He really wanted to kiss her now but thought that since it was technically their first date he should probably wait until the end of the evening for that.
"Hi," Emma said softly.
"Hi," he replied. "I, um, brought these for you," he said nervously, holding out a small bouquet of flowers. "They have their own little vase because I thought you might not have anything to put them in."
Her face lit up with a smile and she took the flowers from him. "They're beautiful. Thank you. And you're right, I don't have anything to put them in."
She tilted her head down to smell the flowers. "They smell good. Let me just put them over here and we can go," she said as she placed the vase on the table by her bed. Then she picked up her purse and a light wrap from the bed and turned to him to leave.
They both stepped out into the hall and Emma shut and locked the door. Clay placed his hand lightly on the small of her back as he guided her down the hall and out the main door into the summer evening. He kept his hand from rising up any higher once he realized the dress left most of Emma's back bare.
They walked over to his truck and he opened the passenger door for her. He held out his hand to help her step up on the running board in her heels. She sat and then shifted her legs into the truck. He noticed how the high heels she was wearing made her already great legs look even better. He groaned to himself as he realized that in some ways this was going to be a long evening for him.
Clay walked around the truck to the driver's side and got in. He settled into his seat and started the engine.
"How was your day?" He asked.
"It was good," Emma replied. "Saturdays are busy at the hotel. How about you? What did you do today?"
"Mostly chores," he answered. "I needed to do laundry and get groceries. I had no food in my apartment."
Emma nodded. "I had dinner last night with my Dad," she stated bluntly.
Clay glanced quickly at her and then back at the road. "How did that go?" She didn't sound upset, he thought.
"You know he totally didn't remember that I told him about us hanging out when you were in New York City last March?" She laughed lightly.
Clay shook his head. "I was wondering about that. When I spoke to him, he acted like the most we had ever done was say hello to each other."
"What did he say?" Emma asked. "I still can't believe he said yes. I was sure he would chew you out, say no, and make your life miserable."
"He didn't chew me out exactly," Clay answered slowly. "It was, uh, a little tense and the guys all noticed that and came to see what was going on."
"Wait," she said with dismay, "Uncle Sonny, Uncle Ray and all the others were there too?"
"Yeah," he said apologetically. "So, I had to explain to them all how it was that we had become so friendly and why I wanted to date you."
"Oh God," Emma breathed.
"It wasn't that bad," Clay said to reassure her. "And then he said okay and so far, he hasn't made my life miserable."
"There's still time for that," she pointed out.
He grinned. "I suppose, but I figure I'll just make you happy enough that he won't need to make my life miserable."
Emma laughed. "That sounds like a plan to me."
After their conversation about Clay's talk with her Dad, it had been quiet in the truck. They drove that way for a while when Emma decided to break the silence.
"Where are we going?" She asked.
"Stanton House," he replied.
Emma raised her eyebrows a little in surprise. Stanton House was an old mansion that had been converted into a restaurant. The house sat on a cliff overlooking the ocean and people went for special occasions. She had never been there, but she heard that the view from the dining area on the terrace was fantastic.
"Have you ever been?" Clay asked.
"No," Emma replied. "I've heard it's really beautiful."
Clay turned the truck onto a side road that had a discreet sign for the restaurant. They drove down a narrow lane that had trees growing high on each side. Then, just after a bend in the way, the truck came out into an open area for parking in front of the house. Everything looked beautiful in the early evening light.
Clay parked the truck and came around to her side and opened the door. He took her hand as he helped her out of the truck, and as they began walking across the parking area to the house, he continued to hold on to it. Emma smiled to herself as she thought how romantic it all seemed.
"I hope you like it," Clay said, breaking into her thoughts. "I couldn't find a restaurant that had a lot of good tofu dishes," he added with a teasing smile.
Emma laughed. "Oh well," she said, "maybe they'll have steak tips."
Clay grinned at her. "Maybe."
They walked up the front steps and Clay opened the front door for them to enter. Through the door was a large open area where the maître d was standing at a desk.
"Good Evening, may I help you?" He asked.
"Reservation for Spenser," Clay replied.
"Yes, I have you on the Terrace, if that is acceptable for the lady," the maître d said.
Emma assumed that if she thought she wouldn't like the terrace, maybe if she was chilly, because she couldn't think of another reason not to like the terrace, he would seat them somewhere else.
"The Terrace sounds good," Emma stated.
The maître d caught the eye of a younger man standing by a side door, and he approached.
"Stephen will show you to your table."
Clay thanked the maître d and he and Emma followed Stephen through another door and out to the Terrace. The Terrace had a good number of occupied tables, but they weren't positioned too close together, so it gave the effect of not being too crowded. Stephen led them to a table closer to the edge of the Terrace where they had a good view over the cliff to the ocean. The young man held out a chair for Emma and she draped her wrap over the back and sat down, while Clay seated himself in the chair opposite.
"Your waiter will be with you momentarily," Stephen said and then withdrew.
"Clay," Emma said quietly, "this is really beautiful."
"I wanted to do something special for our first date," he said with a sweet smile.
She smiled back at him, but before either of them could say anything else, the waiter arrived at their table.
"Good evening and welcome to Stanton House. May I share the specials for this evening?"
Clay and Emma nodded, and the waiter told them what the specials were and took their drink orders. Emma asked for a seltzer with lime and Clay ordered the same.
"You know," Emma said after the waiter left them to look at their menus, "just because they won't serve me alcohol doesn't mean you can't have any."
"I appreciate that, Em," Clay said, "but this is a little fancy for a beer and if I'm going to have wine, I'd rather enjoy it with you."
"Okay," she agreed, "but don't ever not have something because of me."
"I won't," he said. "I promise."
Emma nodded and they both began reading their menus.
Eventually the waiter came and took their order and they settled into an enjoyable conversation. Their chat was interspersed with joking and laughter, and Clay wondered why he had been so anxious at the beginning of the evening. Being with Emma was easy and fun, and they always seemed to have something to talk about.
Then Emma leaned a little forward as she laughed at something, and he had a reminder of a reason why he might have been anxious earlier. He was seriously attracted to her. The ties on Emma's dress around her neck lifted up her breasts, emphasizing her cleavage, and gave him a very tempting view. Eyes up, Spenser, he thought, don't be an asshole.
He took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on their conversation.
"Okay," he said, "let me get this straight. Your best friend here in Virginia is Hannah, but your roommate this fall at NYU is Anna, and you're Emma."
"Uh huh," she agreed.
"So, Hannah, Anna and Emma," he teased. "You need to get some more vowels in there."
"I know," she laughed, "but I didn't plan it. It just worked out that way."
"Is Anna in music with you?" he asked.
"No," Emma answered. "She's in Tisch School of the Arts, but she's in the Film program. We met because she lived on the same floor as me in our dorm."
"Oh yes," Clay smiled, "the women's only floor of the dorm."
"I can't believe you remember that!" Emma said with a chuckle.
"Hey," Clay said with a teasing smile, "I'm still imagining the pillow fights."
They laughed together as the waiter delivered their meals.
After they enjoyed their dinners, they shared a chocolate dessert. The waiter brought the check and Clay paid.
"Ready to go?" He asked Emma.
"I am," she replied. "Clay, thank you for such a great meal. I really enjoyed it."
"I'm glad," he said, as they left their table and headed across the terrace to leave.
Clay had really enjoyed their time together at dinner and didn't want the evening to end just yet.
"Do you want to go walk on the beach?" He asked as they left the restaurant.
"I'd like that," Emma replied.
Emma watched Clay as he drove the truck down the highway to the beach. She felt as if it was finally okay for her to look at him and think about how attractive she found him. Just before the semester ended, she had thought maybe Clay was interested in her and she started to let herself think about how good-looking he was, but then when she got back to Virginia, she decided she was wrong. He talked to her less and even though they were in the same town, they rarely met up. She was more likely to message with him when he was on an op than when he was at home. She concluded that she had been reading too much into the situation and did her best to not think about being attracted to him, which was easier said than done. Then he kissed her, and she realized she wasn't wrong, he was just keeping his distance because of her father.
She thought it was funny how your opinion of someone could change. She remembered when Clay joined Bravo Team back when she was still in high school. Hannah had giggled about how cute she thought he was, and Emma remembered noticing in a detached way that he was handsome, but she had thought of him like Uncle Sonny or Uncle Brock, just one of her father's guys. She had been busy at the time chasing after Julian, who she had been sure was going to be her boyfriend.
That day in the coffee shop in Manhattan she hadn't even realized it was Clay at first. She was so embarrassed about walking into a good-looking guy with her hot drink, that she barely looked up while she was wiping the spilled drink off her sleeve. She had been dismayed when she realized it was Clay Spenser that she had been admiring. Then he was so nice and fun, and they had such a good time when she took him around the City that she had thought it was too bad he was on her father's team. She still remembered how sweet he had been when she got all emotional at the 9-11 Memorial.
Then as they began texting and eventually talking on the phone, she really liked that he seemed to appreciate her sense of humor. Not everyone did. But, instead of being annoyed by her being a bit of a smartass, she couldn't help it considering who her Dad was, he found it funny and teased her back.
When she spoke to him on the phone that first time after he had been on that op with the children and the college girls, was when she first thought that maybe there was more going on than just friendship between them. Or maybe she just hoped there was more. The little shiver of pleasure his voice had given her when he wished her sweet dreams when he ended the call had kept her awake for a while.
She had been disappointed when she returned to Virginia and it seemed like she was wrong, and they were only friends. Not that having Clay Spenser as a friend was bad. He had been so helpful that night Hannah had gotten drunk at the bar on the strip that didn't card.
Underneath though there had been a little part of Emma that wished they could be more than friends. Then they went to the beach that day. When she turned to him in the truck and he had reached out and pushed her hair behind her ear, she felt like she could hardly breathe. Then when he kissed her, she felt like she had been struck by lightning.
Then he ended the kiss, and she could hardly believe it had happened. She thought he looked a little shocked too. Then she came to Earth with a thud when he said he'd have to ask her father's permission before they could date. She did understand why Clay had felt he needed to talk to her Dad about it before they dated, but it still annoyed her, and she figured her father would never say yes. She had been a little mean when she got out of the truck and told Clay to call her when he got his permission slip.
Now here they were on an actual date though, and it was okay for her to think about how handsome she thought he was. She also hoped he'd kiss her again soon because she needed to know if it really had been that great, or was she just building the kiss up in her memory.
Clay noticed her watching him. "What?" He asked. "Do I have chocolate on my face or something?"
"No," Emma replied. "Just thinking."
"Hmm," he responded. "Should I be worried?"
She smiled. "Not yet."
He grinned. "I may be anyway," he said as he pulled the truck into a parking space near the sand.
Emma smiled and reached down to pull off her shoes. Clay did the same with his shoes and socks and then he rolled up the ends of his pants.
"I still have the blanket in the bin in back," Clay said. "I can grab it and we can sit too if you want."
"Sure," she replied. "That would be nice."
Emma hopped out of the truck before Clay could come around to her side. He grabbed the blanket out of the storage bin, and they walked together onto the sand. Clay left the blanket on the sand where it was dry and caught her hand in his. They walked down to where the tide was breaking on the shore.
"You can never see this many stars in New York," Emma said quietly.
"When I was growing up in Africa," Clay said, "my grandfather would point out the constellations to me. You can see even more stars there because there's less light pollution."
"That must have been beautiful," Emma said wistfully.
"It was," he replied, tugging on her hand so that she turned to face him.
As Emma looked up at Clay, he leaned down and kissed her. He slipped his arms around her and held her close, as their kiss gained in intensity.
Clay broke off the kiss and Emma smiled up at him. That was even better than she remembered their first kiss. Then in the cool evening breeze she shivered. After dragging that wrap around all evening, she had left it in the truck when she finally needed it.
"Here," Clay said, "let's go sit and I'll keep you warm."
They walked back to the blanket and Clay spread it out on the sand. Emma sat down and Clay sat behind her so that she was between his knees and his upper body blocked the breeze from her a little. Clay then put his arms around her and held her close to him.
"Is that better?" He asked.
"Yes," she whispered.
Clay nuzzled at her neck just above the ties of her dress. She shivered again, but this time it wasn't the cool breeze that caused it.
"I like this dress," he told her. "You look beautiful in it."
"Thank you," she said softly.
"But then," he said near her ear, "I think you look beautiful in anything."
Emma bit her lip. She was feeling a little overwhelmed by everything right now. Sitting here with Clay's arms around her and his breath tickling her neck had put her senses on overload. She didn't think she had ever been this attracted to anyone before. She felt like it was important to tell Clay now, before things became more serious, that she had never had sex before.
"Clay?"
"Hmmm," he answered her.
"I, you should know that I, well…," she began slowly. She wasn't embarrassed to talk about sex, alright maybe she was a little, but it was embarrassing to admit that at twenty, in less than a week anyway, she was still a virgin. "…Just that I've never actually, uh, had sex before," she finished in a rush. She held her breath as she waited to hear his response.
Clay was happy to be sitting on the beach with Emma in his arms. He had had a great time with her at dinner, and the kiss they had just shared had been even better than the one after they spent the day at the beach. The warm skin of her neck was tempting, and he really wanted to start kissing her there, but it was their first real date and he didn't want to get carried away.
Emma said his name, breaking into his contemplation of how good she smelled. He wasn't quite sure what the scent was, but he liked it. Maybe it was just Emma.
He realized she sounded a little nervous as she spoke, and then as he listened it dawned on him what she was trying to say. Emma was a virgin.
He hadn't been expecting that at all. Not that he had given it a lot of thought, because really, he didn't want to think about Emma with anyone else. He had just assumed that at some point she had been. But she hadn't and he realized that this would make anything physical happening in their relationship kind of a big deal.
Emma was sitting stiffly now in his arms and he knew he needed to say something to reassure her. He really didn't want to screw this up.
He gave her a gentle squeeze. "I wasn't expecting that, Em," he said choosing his words carefully, "but it's not a bad thing."
Emma snorted. "Trust me, at school this year, sometimes it did seem like a bad thing. People at school could be very casual about hopping into bed with other people."
"Not easy to be casual about it when it's your first time though, I guess," Clay stated.
"No," she agreed. "I mean, there was a guy when I was in high school and I thought he…" Her voice trailed off and then she laughed. "I thought he was going to be the love of my life. Isn't that what you think in high school?"
"Yeah, sometimes," Clay agreed. "Did he turn out to be a jerk?"
"I think he may have been one," Emma replied thoughtfully, "but I didn't get a chance to find out because, you know, my Mom died, and I didn't really care so much anymore."
Once she mentioned her mother the situation made a lot of sense to Clay. He understood how a loss like that could put everything else in your life on hold. Also, he admitted to himself, he was glad that Emma hadn't been treated poorly by some jerk who probably would have made her first time a bad experience.
"But," Emma continued, "I know you have—"
"Yeah," he agreed before she could say any more, "I have, but I also have some control, Emma. I didn't want to date you just so I could take you to bed."
She nodded. "But if you wanted to be with someone else because I—"
"Em," he interjected, "there's no one else I want to be with, in any way, just you. Is there someone else you want to go out with?"
"Oh no," she turned in his arms so she could see his face, "there's no one else." She smiled shyly. "Just you."
He smiled back and gently kissed her. "Good," he said. "Then we're dating each other and no one else. And as for the physical stuff, there's no rush. We'll go at your pace and if anything makes you feel uncomfortable, just tell me and we'll stop. Okay?"
"Okay," Emma agreed. Then she shivered again as the breeze off the water picked up.
"You're freezing, Emma," Clay said. "We should go."
Emma sighed. "I guess we should," she said a little sadly.
They headed back to the truck with the blanket. Once they reached the truck, Clay tossed the blanket in the back and dug around the storage bin until he found a towel.
"Here," he said, "you can use this to wipe the sand off your feet. I promise that's all it's been used for."
"Thanks," Emma said. She perched on the edge of her seat with her legs out the truck door and wiped the sand away. Then she passed the towel to Clay so he could do the same.
Once they each were done with the towel, Clay tossed it back in the bin and added the blanket on top. He seated himself back in the truck and started it up.
He turned to Emma before he put the truck in gear. "I had a great time tonight, Em," he said with a smile.
"I did too," she replied, returning his smile.
They both were quiet on the drive back to the hotel. Once they arrived, Clay parked near the entrance to the employee quarters and got out to open Emma's door. He helped her down from the truck and walked with her to the main entrance and inside.
"Do you want to come in?" Emma asked as they headed down the hall to her room.
Yes, Clay thought, I would love to come in, but he realized he better not. Even before he knew Emma was a virgin, he had been trying to take this slow, but now he thought it would be better if he backed off a little.
"I better not," he replied.
Emma nodded and turned to unlock the door to her room. Clay looked down at her bare back. He was tempted to run his finger down her spine and feel her soft skin. He took a deep breath and made himself look somewhere else. She opened the door and turned back to face Clay.
"Goodnight, Clay," she said. "Thank you for a wonderful time."
Clay put his hand on her cheek and leaned down and kissed her. When he broke off the kiss, he smiled at Emma's slightly dazed expression.
"Goodnight, Emma," he said softly. "Sweet dreams."
Emma smiled and slipped into her room, closing the door behind her. Clay waited until he heard the door lock and then he headed back out to his truck. As he walked, he discreetly tried to adjust his pants. He sighed, realizing that as much as he enjoyed spending time with Emma, he was in for some difficult moments this summer, but he thought they would be more than worth it.
