Author's Note: This chapter takes place a few weeks after Emma & Clay start dating.


Emma hummed to herself quietly as she went through the listings for today's check-ins on the hotel reservation database. Since it was a Tuesday there wouldn't be a lot of guest turnover at the hotel that day. She sent the final list document to the printer and then waited for the machine to spit out the pages. As she waited, she saw her cell phone on the desk flashing with a call.

"Hey, Casey," she called out to her co-worker in the office. "I just printed today's check-in list. I'm going to take a break. Can you watch the desk?"

Casey stuck her head out the door while still talking to a potential guest on the phone and waved to Emma that she could go. Emma grabbed her phone and slipped out the front door of the hotel. She walked around the side of the building, heading towards a landscaped area with benches that looked out at the ocean. As she walked, Emma checked her phone to see who had called.

There was a message from Aunt Naima in her voice mail. Instead of listening to the message, Emma hit the call back option. She settled herself on one of the benches as she listened to the phone ring.

"Hi, Emma," Naima answered the call.

"Hi, Aunt Naima," Emma replied. "You called me?"

"Yes, sweetie, do you have a minute to chat?" Naima asked.

"Sure, I'm on a break, so I have a few minutes," Emma responded.

"Good, I called to invite you and Clay to dinner over here with me and your Uncle Ray," Naima explained. "I was thinking Friday night, assuming the team isn't spun up."

"You're inviting me and Clay to dinner?" Emma asked curiously. She wasn't sure what to make of this invitation from Aunt Naima. Emma knew logically that at this point everyone, and by everyone she meant all of Bravo Team, their support staff, and their wives, girlfriends and families, had heard that she and Clay were dating. Emma found the idea of all of these people knowing her business slightly embarrassing.

"Yes, do you think Friday will work?" Naima responded.

Emma thought for a moment. She was free Friday night, but she wasn't sure what Clay had planned, if anything. "It works for me, but I have to check with Clay and see what he has going on."

"Why don't you check in with him and get back to me in the next day or so then?" Naima suggested.

"Okay," Emma replied. She hesitated a moment and then asked, "Aunt Naima, I don't mean to be rude, but could I ask why you're inviting us to dinner?"

Naima laughed lightly, "Emma, because that's what we do. When one of the single guys on the team starts dating someone and it seems to be getting serious, we invite them to dinner so we can check her out."

At Naima's answer, a bunch of thoughts ricocheted through Emma's mind. The first was a fleeting memory of her own mother laughing on the phone with someone while discussing a woman Uncle Sonny had brought to dinner at their house. I forgot that, Emma thought, Mom used to have guys from Bravo with their latest girlfriends over for dinner a lot. Before she could think too much about that though a more thrilling, if slightly nerve-wracking, idea slipped into her brain. Aunt Naima thought Emma and Clay were getting serious.

Emma pushed that thought aside for future consideration. "But, Aunt Naima, you already know me. You don't need to check me out."

"I know, sweetie," Naima replied. "But I think it's a good idea to treat this just like any of the other guys' relationships. Also, I want everyone to see that your Uncle Ray and I have no problem with the two of you together."

Emma frowned. "Are there people who do have a problem with me and Clay together?"

Naima sighed. "No, I think it's more of a situation that there's been a little talk, and I want to help quiet that down by showing that we think this is perfectly fine."

"People should just mind their own business," Emma grumbled.

"Well, you know that's not going to happen," Naima said matter-of-factly. "But don't stress over it, before you know it there will be some other drama going on for everyone to discuss."

"Hmmm, that's so comforting, Aunt Naima."

Naima laughed at Emma's sarcasm. "Look at it this way, you and Clay will get a home cooked meal and I'll be able to catch up on all your news. You've been home for almost two months and I've barely seen you. I want to hear all about New York and school. Also, Jameelah has been asking about you."

"A home cooked meal would be nice," Emma conceded. "And I'd like to see Jameelah and RJ."

"Good," Naima replied. "I do also have another motive. Your Uncle Ray has been trying to finish hanging a swing in the yard for Jameelah for a few weeks, and I think that if I send Clay out there with him, they'll have it up in about twenty minutes."

Emma laughed. "Aunt Naima, I never realized how much of a schemer you are. You're getting a swing hung and stopping gossip all with one dinner."

Naima laughed along with Emma. "A Navy wife does what she has to, sweetie. Now, you get back to me about Friday once you've spoken to Clay."

"I will," Emma replied. "Talk to you later."

"Bye now." Naima answered.

Emma ended the call and sat for a moment staring out at the water. She was bothered, but not completely surprised, that people were talking about her and Clay's relationship. Hannah had mentioned that her mother had heard some things from some of the wives of members of other teams. Realizing that there wasn't much she could do about it, Emma decided her best course was to ignore the gossip and go to dinner at Aunt Naima and Uncle Ray's house.

She appreciated Aunt Naima's support, but wasn't sure how her aunt knew how serious or not Emma and Clay's relationship was. Aunt Naima's comment about not seeing much of Emma since she returned home from school was very true. Emma had been busy juggling her schedule at the hotel, checking on her Dad, and spending time with Clay. All of that had not left a lot of time for other things, which meant that Aunt Naima really hadn't seen Emma and Clay together.

Emma thought that Uncle Ray must have been keeping Aunt Naima informed, which made Emma wonder what exactly Clay had been saying at DEVGRU. For Aunt Naima to think Emma and Clay's relationship was getting serious, she must have heard something from Uncle Ray that gave her the idea.

Were she and Clay getting serious? Emma wondered. She definitely felt serious about him, but she wasn't sure what being serious meant for Clay. They had agreed that they were dating exclusively, and Clay had been very sweet on their dates, bringing her flowers, opening doors for her, and trying to do things he thought she would enjoy. He also hadn't pushed her at all to make their relationship more physical. Emma thought she was pushing him more in that area. She worried that maybe he wasn't as attracted to her as she was to him.

The problem, Emma thought, was that she had no basis for comparison. This was the one area where Emma felt a lot younger than Clay. The majority of the time she never even thought about their age difference. She liked that Clay was more mature than most of the guys she knew around her age. Due to her Dad's career and her Mom dying, Emma felt so much older than a lot of her friends, and the dumb antics a lot of guys her age seemed to get into just turned her off. When she and Clay were together, they just fit, Emma thought. They laughed a lot and always had something to talk about. And, sometimes they were perfectly happy not talking and just being quiet together. She never felt like she wasn't smart enough or mature enough to keep up with Clay, and he never acted as if he thought she wasn't. But when it came to prior relationships, Emma had zero experience to work from. While Clay… did.

Emma had certainly never planned to reach the age of twenty with so little experience. She had dated in high school and there was a boy she had liked, that she had begun to think would be the one. Then her mother died, and any interest Emma had in boys and dating and really any fun teenage activities had just disappeared. In hindsight, she realized she had pushed a lot of people away. At the time she told herself it was because she had so many more responsibilities, and while that was true, she had also been trying to protect herself from being hurt by not caring for anyone.

Then once she was at Tisch, a lot of people seemed so casual about having sex. Emma wasn't sure that she could have been that casual about hopping into bed with someone she barely knew even if she wasn't a virgin, but being one definitely made things more complicated. She could just imagine it from the guy's point of view. He's thinking he's about to hook-up with some girl and she mentions that, oh by the way, she's never actually done this before, but hey, no pressure. Total mood killer.

Telling Clay had been kind of awkward, but he was really great about it, saying that they would go at her pace and all she needed to do was say stop if anything made her uncomfortable. That sounded good in theory, but in fact they hadn't actually done anything that might even possibly make her uncomfortable. Every time it seemed like things might go past the heavy kissing stage, Clay backed off.

Emma wondered if Clay was the one feeling uncomfortable. Maybe her lack of experience was a problem for him, and if he had known about it before he started dating her, maybe he wouldn't have bothered with asking her out. Of course, now he had gone through the trouble of getting her father's permission, so he probably felt obligated to keep taking her out for a while, until he could politely put an end to things.

Emma sighed in frustration. She was totally overthinking this now. She blamed it on how easily she became distracted lately. All she had to do was think about Clay, and her thoughts got tangled up in how handsome he was and how he made her feel and they pretty much distracted her from any logical thinking. In her defense though, she thought, have you seen that man's chest? Not that she's seen it recently, the last time being the day they went to the beach, before they were dating. She had thoroughly enjoyed spreading sun block on Clay's back and shoulders that day. A more X-rated version of that activity had been figuring prominently in Emma's recent fantasy life.

She frowned as she realized she needed to get back to work. She and Clay planned to grab dinner together later, as he would be on a training exercise starting tomorrow and wouldn't be back until early Friday morning. As she began walking back into the hotel, she debated whether or not she should wear the skimpy halter top Hannah convinced her to buy on their shopping trip last week. She thought maybe it wouldn't hurt.


As soon as Emma finished work that evening, she rushed back to her room to change before Clay arrived. She grabbed a pair of shorts and then dug out the black halter top. She thought it was possibly a little too much for a casual evening out, but then decided that it was perfect for a hot summer evening. Also, it looked good on her. The crisscross straps left her shoulders bare to show off her tan. Clay wouldn't know what hit him.

She quickly changed and brushed her hair out of the ponytail she had worn it in for work. She thought about leaving it down but decided putting it up into a messy bun would work better with the halter top. She touched up her light make-up and headed out the door to meet Clay.

As she came out of the entrance to the employee quarters of the hotel, she saw Clay's truck pulling up. Once it stopped by the curb, she opened the passenger door before Clay could get out. Emma hopped up onto the seat and she thought she saw Clay's eyes widen as he took in her appearance, but then his SEAL mask came down and she couldn't read his expression anymore.

"Hey," she said as she slid across the seat to get closer to him. Clay leaned forward and they kissed lightly.

"Hi," he said softly as their lips parted.

"Hi," she replied. They smiled at each other and Emma slid back to her seat to put on her seatbelt.

"How was your day?" Clay asked. "Any crazy hotel guests today?"

"No," Emma smiled, "pretty tame today." One thing Emma had learned working at the hotel was that there were some crazy people out there and they liked to showcase their crazy when they were on vacation.

"Too bad," Clay stated with a playful grin. "I told Sonny about those people with the fruit. I don't think he'll be touching anything from a fruit bowl for a while."

Emma laughed. "Poor Uncle Sonny. We better not tell him about that time with the chicken bones under the pillows."

"Oh, I'm saving that for when we have to travel to any place where voodoo is a problem," Clay shared.

"Oh, no, that's mean," Emma stated, as she began to laugh again thinking about Uncle Sonny's potential reaction.

"What can I say," Clay chuckled, "I have to keep up my end of the friendship."

Emma was glad to hear Clay talk about the teasing friendship he had with Uncle Sonny. She knew that her and Clay's relationship had put a strain on it. Uncle Sonny was protective of Emma and Mikey ever since he took care of them one time when her Dad was injured on a mission and her Mom stayed at the hospital with him. Uncle Sonny still saw her as a little girl, more so than even her own father. He was having a hard time with the idea that she was old enough to be dating Clay.

While they were talking, Clay had driven the truck off the hotel's property and started heading south from Virginia Beach. Emma, who was relaxing back against her seat and enjoying the breeze from the open window, turned her head to look at Clay. He glanced at her and smiled.

"Where are we going?" She asked him.

"I was thinking we would head down to Sandbridge Island Restaurant and grab some takeout. Then we could go over to the beach down that way and eat it. I have a blanket in the back," Clay offered.

"Mmm, that sounds good," Emma replied. "I love their lobster rolls."

The two of them lapsed into silence as Clay drove along the coast, both of them just happy to be together enjoying the summer evening.

Once they had their food, they headed further south along the coast to a stretch of beach that was relatively deserted. Earlier in the day the rocky tide pools would have hosted a number of beachgoers looking for starfish and other sea life, but now most people had headed home or back to their hotels.

Clay led Emma over to an area near some of the rocks where they could spread their blanket on the sand but still have some shelter from the breeze. They could also lean against some rocks for a backrest if they wanted. Clay unfolded the blanket and laid it out on the sand, and Emma began unpacking their food. Once she had the food out, Emma placed one of her flipflops on the bag with the extra napkins so it wouldn't fly away.

"Wow," Emma commented, "think they gave you enough onion rings?"

"Hey, I'm a growing boy," Clay joked. "But you can have some if you want."

"I might have some, but I seem to have more than enough french fries with my lobster roll."

"Those look good," said Clay, reaching over and grabbing a few from the tray.

"Hey!" Emma said, pretending to be annoyed. "I didn't say you could have those."

"You wouldn't share with your boyfriend?" Clay asked, attempting to give her a pitiful look.

Emma looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to use the big eyes on me, Clay Spenser? Because I am the expert on using big eyes, so I won't fall for that."

"The expert, huh?" Clay asked.

"Oh yeah, my Dad's a sucker for them every time," Emma said with a grin.

"Hmmm," Clay murmured thoughtfully. "I'll have to watch out for the big eyes now, so I don't fall for them myself."

Emma laughed. "You can try."

They talked and laughed while they ate their meals, and then Emma remembered Aunt Naima's phone call earlier that day. "Aunt Naima called me today. She invited us over for dinner with her and Uncle Ray on Friday night, assuming you guys don't get spun up."

Clay had finished eating his crab cake sandwich and was stretched out on the blanket occasionally eating an onion ring or French fry. "She did?" He asked. "What did you tell her?"

"I told her I wasn't sure what you had planned for Friday night, so I would need to check with you," Emma answered.

"Well, I don't have any specific plans," Clay said. "I figured we'd do something, since I have the weekend off after the training op the next couple of nights."

"I hope you don't get spun up then, because I actually have the weekend off too," Emma shared.

"Really?" Clay asked with some surprise. "You usually end up working at least one day on the weekend."

"I know," Emma agreed, "but I told Casey I'd work her early shift on Friday, so she's taking my Sunday shift. That gives me Saturday and Sunday off this week."

"Nice," Clay commented. "So, do you want to go to dinner at Ray and Naima's? I'm fine with it. Naima's a good cook."

"I'd like to. Aunt Naima wants to hear about school, and I've hardly seen her and the kids since I got home." Emma replied. "I should warn you though, Aunt Naima has an ulterior motive. Uncle Ray was supposed to hang a swing in the yard for Jameelah, but he hasn't done it yet. She's going to send you out there with him to hang it before we eat."

Clay grinned. "That's fine. I can earn my meal."

Emma debated telling Clay about the rest of her conversation with Aunt Naima, about people talking about Clay and Emma dating. There wasn't anything he could do about it either, but maybe he would want to know. She frowned as she considered whether it would be better or worse for Clay to know.

"Emma," Clay's voice broke into her thoughts, "what's wrong?"

Emma sighed and looked over at Clay. "Aunt Naima told me one of the reasons she's inviting us over is to show everyone that she and Uncle Ray don't have a problem with us dating. I guess people are talking about us." As Emma spoke, she started putting the empty wrappers and containers from their food back into the bag it all came from so they could carry it out with them later.

"Em," Clay said softly, "look at me." Emma glanced up from the bag she was shoving everything into. "Who cares about those people? What they think doesn't matter."

"I know you're right, but it still bothers me," Emma said sadly.

Clay sat up and turned so he was sitting with his back against the tallest rock. He spread his legs and patted the blanket between them. "Come sit here," he told her.

Emma moved to sit between Clay's legs. He slid his arms around her and pulled her back to him so that she was leaning against his chest.

"People just need to talk," he said, trying to comfort her. "Some other thing will happen and then they'll all be talking about that instead."

"Aunt Naima said that too," Emma said, "but Hannah told me that one of the wives from Charlie team told her mother that if my mother was alive, she never would have allowed it."

Emma's voice broke as she mentioned her mother.

"Oh, Em," Clay whispered, and then he reached down to lift and turn her, so she was sitting across his lap.

Emma pressed her face into Clay's neck, and thought, 'I won't cry. I won't cry.' Clay began gently rubbing her back.

"I don't know what your mom would have done, Em," Clay said quietly. "but I do know that she raised you to be the smart, responsible person you are now, and so I think that she would have respected your decision."

Emma lifted her head from Clay's neck and gave him a sad smile. "It still makes me angry though that any of these people think they have a right to an opinion on what we do."

"Me too," Clay agreed. "But what's important is what we think and what the people we care about think. And look, Ray and Naima are supporting us, and I think your dad is getting okay with it."

Emma gave a watery, little chuckle. "Getting okay with it. Is that what we're calling it?"

Clay smiled a little and shrugged his shoulders.

"I think," Emma added, "that Uncle Sonny is still having a hard time with it."

"Yeah," Clay agreed, "But, Em, as far as I can tell, he thinks you're still the same age as Jameelah."

Emma actually laughed a little at that. "That's true. I'm not sure you can do anything about that."

"But Brock and Trent are good with us," Clay continued. "And," he added with a smile, "Cerb has been supportive right from the beginning."

"Oh well, as long as Cerberus supports us," Emma said jokingly.

"If Cerb thought I was hurting you, he'd take my arm off," Clay pointed out. "So, I definitely want him on our side."

Emma nodded. "Makes sense." Then she sighed and leaned her head back on Clay's shoulder. He continued to rub her back as she slowly regained some control over her emotions.

Eventually, she lifted her head and gave Clay a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you," she said softly.

Clay smiled gently at her, "Anytime for you."

Then he lifted her again and placed her back sitting between his legs, looking out at the ocean. "You're missing how beautiful it looks now that the light's fading."

Emma settled her back against Clay's chest again and rested her hands on his arms wrapped around her waist. She let out a shuddering sigh. "I could watch the ocean all day," she said.

"Mmm," Clay murmured, "it does make your own problems seem small in comparison."

Emma could feel Clay's breath as he spoke tickle the bare skin on her neck and shoulder, sending a little shiver down her spine.

"Are you cold?" Clay asked, moving his hands up to rub her arms.

"Mmmm," Emma answered noncommittally. Then she felt Clay's beard brush her skin as he tilted his head down and kissed her shoulder. This sent a much stronger tingle of desire through Emma, and she let her head fall to the side to give Clay more access to her shoulder and neck.

Clay began slowly kissing his way from her shoulder up to her neck, and then to where her neck met her jaw. Emma's eyes slid closed as she focused on the feelings Clay's kisses were causing. Clay's hands had gone back to rest at her waist, but now she felt one slide up to her ribcage. It rested there, not moving any further. Then Clay gently sucked her earlobe into his mouth and at the same time his hand moved up to cup her breast, squeezing it softly. A breathy sigh of pleasure escaped from Emma.

Clay's other arm circled Emma's waist, pulling her more firmly back against him. She could feel his hardness against the small of her back. Emma's hands that were resting on Clay's thighs began to move restlessly as she became more aroused.

Clay released Emma's earlobe and began placing a sucking kiss just below her ear, where her neck met her jaw. As he did that, his thumb began rubbing across Emma's nipple. Emma gave a low moan, and she mindlessly arched her back, pressing her breast more firmly into Clay's hand and the small of her back against Clay's hardness.

Clay groaned and then stopped kissing her. He lifted his head and looked around, while removing his hand from Emma's breast. Emma moaned in frustration.

"Em, we have to stop," Clay said tenderly. "Anyone could come by here."

Emma reluctantly opened her eyes. Clay was right. There was no one around right now, but it was a public beach and people could walk by at any time. She started to slide forward to get up, but Clay held her hips still.

"Um, why don't you just stay right there for now?" Clay suggested, and Emma giggled as she realized Clay might find it a little embarrassing if she moved away and someone walked by.

She took a deep breath in an effort to calm herself down. She searched her mind for some topic to distract herself from how good Clay had just made her feel and how much she really wanted him to keep doing it.

Their dinner plans on Friday crossed her mind again, and she realized they shouldn't arrive at Aunt Naima and Uncle Ray's house empty handed.

"We should bring something to dinner on Friday night," she told Clay.

"Yeah, we should," he agreed. "What were you thinking? I could grab a bottle of wine."

"Will you have time to do that with your training op?" Emma asked. "Because I can't buy it."

"Probably on Friday morning when I head home. I'll try to remember." He answered.

"Maybe we should just do something else," she considered. "Uncle Ray can be kind of a stickler for things like me being under the legal drinking age."

"Do you have any other ideas?" Clay wondered.

"I could borrow your kitchen and make some cookies. Uncle Ray loves chocolate chip cookies." Emma suggested.

"Is there anyone who doesn't love chocolate chip cookies?" Clay asked. "But, sure, you can use my kitchen. Will you have time for that?"

"I think so," Emma said. "I'll get off on Friday from the early shift at noon, so I can go by your place and make the cookies that afternoon."

"That works for me," Clay confirmed. "Remind me to give you my extra key so you can let yourself in. Depending on when we wrap up the exercise that morning, I may be sleeping when you arrive."

"I will," Emma replied, pleased at thought that he would give her a key to his apartment.

"Okay, we should probably get going before it's full dark," Clay suggested.

Emma sighed. "I wish we could stay," she said as she got up from the blanket to pack up.

"Me too," Clay said as he stood up behind her and began shaking out the blanket.

Emma helped Clay fold up the blanket and as they folded it the last time he leaned down and pulled her close in a hug. She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed him back. As they separated, he dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

Emma grabbed the bag with their empty food containers and Clay caught her free hand in his as they walked up the beach and back to the truck.


The rest of the work week dragged by for Emma. On Wednesday night she met Hannah for dinner, and then on Thursday after work she went by Clay's apartment to check and see if he had any of the things in his kitchen that she would need to make cookies. Surprisingly, she found that he actually owned three baking sheets as well as a bowl big enough to use as her mixing bowl.

Now it was Friday morning and Emma was killing time at the front desk making a list of the things she needed to buy at the store on her way to Clay's. Working the desk on the early shift was pretty deadly. You were only there for the rare early morning checkout or something going wrong for a guest. You spent the shift hoping nothing happened, but then you were bored out of your mind with little to do.

Around seven she received a text from Clay saying they were done with the training exercise and that he would be heading home soon. Emma was excited that it looked like they had made it to the weekend without Bravo Team being spun up. Now if they could just make it through Saturday and Sunday. This was the first weekend where both she and Clay had both days off at the same time, and she wanted to enjoy it. She didn't even care what they did, just as long as they could do it together.

Last night before she went to bed, she had packed a bag to take with her to Clay's apartment. She planned on wearing shorts and a t-shirt over to his place for while she was baking. In her bag she had put the shirt dress she thought she'd wear to dinner, then she added sleepwear and clothes for the weekend, including her bathing suit. Clay hadn't actually asked her to stay with him, but she planned on convincing him.

At eight her co-worker on the day shift joined her and she was able to take a break. She hurried back to her room to grab a smoothie out of her fridge. Once she returned to the desk, she and Brian, who was working the day shift, chatted companionably for the rest of the morning. Finally, it was noon and Emma said goodbye to Brian and headed to her room to change and grab her bag.

Soon enough she was on the road in her car, singing along to the radio. The beach traffic was a little heavy, but not as bad as she had expected. She decided it would be easier to stop at a grocery store away from the touristy area and closer to Clay's apartment.

Once she arrived in Clay's neighborhood, she pulled into the parking lot of the Kroger. She found a space up front and made her way into the store. Grabbing a basket, she moved quickly through the store, picking up the ingredients she needed as well as a pre-made salad for herself. She hit the twelve items or fewer line and was checked out in about ten minutes.

Back in the car, she headed to Clay's. She wondered if he would be asleep when she arrived. She pulled into the apartment complex's parking lot and parked her car next to Clay's truck. The bagger at the store had placed her items into two bags, but Emma thought they could fit into one and not be too heavy for her to carry. She combined everything into one bag, got out of the car with the bag of groceries and then pulled her overnight bag from the back seat. Possibly it was too much to carry at once, but she thought she'd make it to Clay's door, and she really didn't want to make a second trip.

She did make it there without dropping anything, although it was close with the bag of groceries. She let the bag slide down her body and land gently on the floor. Then she placed her overnight bag next to it, while she dug through her purse for the key to Clay's apartment.

Finding the key, she pushed it into the lock and turned it to unlock the door. She opened the door quietly, not wanting to wake Clay if he was still asleep. She stepped into the apartment and looked around. Everything was silent and she didn't see Clay in the living room or kitchen area. She saw his backpack abandoned just inside the door, so she knew he was home. She brought her overnight bag inside and dropped it by Clay's bag. Then she grabbed the grocery bag, closed the door, relocked it, and headed into the kitchen with her groceries.

Emma placed the bag of groceries on the counter and then walked as quietly as she could to the door of Clay's bedroom, which was open. She peeked inside and saw Clay in bed sprawled on his stomach dead asleep. His head was buried in his pillows, and the sheet had slipped down enough that Emma could see that he wasn't wearing anything but his boxer briefs.

She smiled and thought about how nice it would be slip into bed next to him and curl up for a nap. She also thought it would be really nice to pull the sheet down the rest of the way and check out his butt in those boxer briefs.

Forcing herself to stop ogling, Emma reached out and grasped the door handle and gently eased the door closed. She didn't want to wake him up while she was baking. She headed back to the kitchen counter and unpacked her grocery bag and started preparing the cookie dough.

Without the stand mixer she usually had on hand, preparing the dough took a little longer than usual for her. Eventually it was ready though, and she had the first batch of cookies in the oven. While those were baking, she opened her salad and ate.

Before she finished the salad, the first batch of cookies was baked, and she pulled the sheets out of the oven and placed them on the stove top to let the cookies cool a little before she took them off the sheets. She took a final bite of salad and then put down paper towels on the counter so she could lay out the cookies there to finish cooling.

She soon had the first batch cooling on the paper towels and the next batch in the oven. She started to get a system going and had most of the dough baked when she heard Clay's bedroom door open. She looked up from lifting cookies from a tray and smiled when she saw Clay walking towards her. He had pulled on a pair of basketball shorts, but no shirt. Emma thought he looked adorable with his bare chest and bed head.

"It smells really good out here," Clay said in a gravelly, just-woke-up voice.

Emma put down the spatula and walked over to him. Clay reached out and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her waist. Emma reached her arms around his neck and leaned in for a kiss.

They broke apart and Emma smiled up at him. "Hey there, sleepyhead."

"Hey," Clay said, then yawned.

Emma grinned at him and moved back to lifting cookies off the baking sheets. Clay sat down on one of his bar stools and watched as she prepared another batch of cookies. Once Emma had those in the oven, she turned to the sink to start washing some of the utensils and other items she had used to prepare the dough. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Clay reaching out to take a cookie from the counter.

"Hey, those are to take to dinner," she chided him.

He immediately pulled his hand back from the cookie he had started to take.

"You touched it now," she laughed. "You might as well eat it."

Clay grinned at her, took the cookie back, and ate it in about two bites.

"Delicious," he declared.

Emma smirked. "Was there any doubt?"

"Oh, listen to you," Clay teased, "but for all I knew you could have been a terrible baker."

"Hardly," Emma snorted.

"Great, I'll be expecting all sorts of treats," Clay kidded. "I like peanut butter cookies too."

"I don't know," Emma contemplated, "I guess if you were really good."

"I can be really good," Clay said, his voice deeper and much more intimate.

Emma's eyes flew up to meet his. They weren't talking about cookies anymore.

Clay reached out and tugged Emma away from the sink. She let him pull her to stand between his legs as he continued to sit on the bar stool.

"Really good," Clay repeated huskily.

Then he leaned down and began kissing Emma. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. Emma slid her arms around him as well, taking the opportunity to run her hands up the bare skin of his back. She felt Clay's hands move under the hem of her t-shirt at her lower back. Then his fingers began tracing the column of her spine, sending ripples of desire across Emma's skin. She arched her back, pressing herself closer to Clay's chest.

Just as Emma was thinking it would be a really good idea to get her t-shirt out of the way, a persistent dinging penetrated the fog of desire in her mind. She couldn't think of what it was from.

"Em, the oven… cookies," Clay panted as he broke off their kiss.

Emma was bemused for a moment before it occurred to her what Clay was referring to.

"Right," she groaned, "the cookies." She moved to the oven and turned off the timer, then pulled the cookies out of the oven. She put the last tray of uncooked dough into the oven and reset the timer.

She turned to look at Clay. Their eyes met and the desire Emma had felt a moment ago came flooding back. She started to move towards Clay again.

"Wait, Emma," Clay said. "Aren't we supposed to be at Ray and Naima's at 6:30?"

"Yeah," she answered.

"It's almost 4:30 now," he stated. "I better go take a shower, so we can leave around quarter to six." Clay got off the stool and headed back to his bedroom.

Emma sighed as she watched him walk away. There he goes again, she thought.

After Clay rushed off to shower, Emma finished the cookies and packed them up in two containers. One was to bring to dinner and the other was for Clay to keep for himself. Emma tucked that container away in one of his cabinets to surprise him with later.

Once Clay finished in the bathroom, Emma grabbed her bag and went in to change her clothes. She pulled off her shorts and t-shirt and tossed them on the floor. Her NYU tee had flour and cookie dough on the front of it. She pulled out the blue shirt dress she had brought for dinner and hung it on the hook on the back of the bathroom door. She rummaged around in the bag looking for her make-up and hairbrush. While doing so she came across the pale blue, lace bra and panty set she had packed. She pulled them out and decided to put them on too. Just in case.

She changed her clothes, brushed out her hair and did her make-up. She then exited the bathroom and found Clay waiting for her in the living room. He was wearing a nice pair of beige shorts and a green t-shirt that brought out his eyes. He got up from the couch as she entered the room and walked over to her and gave her a light kiss on the lips. He seemed to her almost apologetic.

"You look pretty," he said. "Are you ready to go?"

"Thanks," she replied. "Let me just get the cookies."

Emma took the container of cookies off the counter along with her purse and headed with Clay to the door. He opened it and gestured for her to exit first, then he followed and closed the door behind them. Clay locked the door and they headed out to his truck.

Emma and Clay arrived on Ray and Naima's doorstep promptly at 6:30. Clay rang the doorbell and they waited quietly. Emma tugged at the skirt of her dress nervously with her free hand. She had butterflies in her stomach, as if this was really the first time she was meeting important people in her boyfriend's life. She thought Clay might be tense as well. He kept jiggling his keys in his pocket. Emma realized that although she already knew Uncle Ray and Aunt Naima, this would be the first time she and Clay would be around them as a couple.

They could hear some noise from inside the house. Emma thought it was Aunt Naima telling Jameelah that she was not allowed to answer the door. Clay turned to Emma and gave her a slight smile and reached over and squeezed her hand. She wondered if he could tell she was feeling anxious.

The door opened and there was Aunt Naima smiling happily at them. Uncle Ray was right behind her.

"Here you are," Naima said welcomingly. "Come in."

Emma stepped forward into a hug from Aunt Naima.

"Don't you look pretty," Naima said, releasing Emma and turning to hug Clay.

Before Emma could reply, Uncle Ray was hugging her as well.

"Hey stranger," Ray said. "Haven't see you in a while."

"I know," Emma replied apologetically. "My schedule at the hotel has been crazy."

"I think you've been busy with other things too," Ray said with a smile and a glance at Clay.

Emma blushed a little at his comment.

"Ray," Naima admonished, "don't tease Emma."

Emma smiled gratefully at Aunt Naima. "We brought you some cookies," she said, holding out the container to Aunt Naima.

Before Aunt Naima could take it, Uncle Ray had the container in his hands.

"Are these some of my favorite chocolate chip cookies?" Ray asked as he started to pop the lid open.

"Oh no, you don't, Ray Perry," Naima scolded, snapping the container out of Ray's hands before he could actually get it open. "These are for after dinner."

Ray laughed. "Can't blame a man for trying."

"They are good," Clay said.

"Oh, so Spenser's already had some," Ray commented. "Only seems fair that I get to have some too."

"Emma only let me have one," Clay stated.

Emma smiled. "Nobody's allowed to ruin their dinner with cookies."

"Exactly," Naima agreed.

Before anyone could reply to that, Jameelah came running from the other room.

"Emma! Emma!" The little girl called happily.

Emma leaned down to hug Jameelah as she came running up.

"I missed you," Jameelah said sadly. "You were gone a long time and I didn't see you."

"I know, baby," Emma replied. "I was away at school."

Clay smiled as he watched Emma bend down to talk with Jameelah. The little girl was obviously very attached to Emma.

"Jameelah, is Emma's biggest fan." Emma heard Naima say to Clay. "Or maybe her second biggest fan now?" Naima continued.

The tips of Clay's ears turned pink at Naima's playful comment.

"Hey now," Ray said, "If I can't tease Emma, you can't tease Clay." Naima just smiled at Ray.

"Jameelah," Naima said gently, "Can you say hello to Uncle Clay?"

Jameelah peeked up at Clay and then shyly turned her face into Emma's leg.

"Are you being shy?" Emma asked the little girl. "He's nice."

Jameelah peeked out from behind Emma. "Hi, Uncle Clay," she whispered.

"Hi, Jameelah," Clay replied, trying to look friendly.

"Okay," Naima said, "why don't you all go out on the deck. I need to see what RJ's up to in the living room on his own. Ray see what Clay and Emma want to drink."

Emma and Clay followed Ray towards the door out to the deck.

"What do you two want to drink?" Ray asked. "Emma, we have some of that raspberry lime seltzer you like."

"That would be great," Emma answered.

"Clay, what about you? I have beer, but it's not that microbrew crap." Ray said with a grin.

Clay laughed. "That's fine."

Ray took their drinks out of the refrigerator and they headed out to the deck. As they were sitting down at the table, Naima joined them with RJ in her arms.

"Babe, you want some seltzer too?" Ray asked Naima.

"Please," Naima replied, as she took a seat. "What have you two been up to?" She asked Emma and Clay, as Ray disappeared inside to get her drink.

"I slept most of the day," Clay said.

"You and Ray both," Naima stated. "How about you, Emma?"

"Today I worked the early shift at the hotel, which I don't recommend, but it does mean I have Sunday off now." Emma told her. "After that I baked the cookies."

Naima nodded. "I saw Victoria Seaver the other day. She said you and Hannah were having dinner on Wednesday."

"Yeah," Emma agreed. "We did. I was hoping to cheer her up a little."

"Victoria mentioned something about a guy who hasn't been treating Hannah very well," Naima remarked.

Emma sighed. "She met him during the semester at UVA, so I've never met him, but he sounds like a jerk. He doesn't treat her well at all. I thought they broke up before Hannah came home for the summer, but he calls her every so often and makes her feel terrible again. I wish he'd just leave her alone."

"That's too bad," Naima said.

Ray came out onto the deck with Naima's drink and a sippy cup for RJ. Jameelah followed behind with her own plastic cup of seltzer. She slipped onto the bench between Emma and Clay. Emma smiled down at the little girl and pulled her onto her lap.

"The weather's so nice, we thought we'd grill," Ray said. "We have chicken and steak tips, so I hope you're both hungry."

"That sounds good," Clay responded. "Do you need help with the grilling?"

"That would be great, brother," Ray answered.

"Actually, before we start the grilling, you know what Clay could really help you with?" Naima asked.

"Babe, not the swing again," Ray sighed.

"You said it was a two-person job," Naima said. "And here we have your second person."

"I don't mind helping you," Clay interjected.

"Okay," Ray stated, "we'll hang the swing. But you'll have to get the meat on the grill, or we won't be eating until midnight."

"I think I can handle the grilling," Naima said.

"Yay, my swing!" Jameelah called, while clapping her hands.

"Clay let's grab the swing and rope and I'll show you where this thing is going," Ray said, shaking his head.

Ray and Clay headed around the side of the house to get everything they needed to hang the swing. Jameelah climbed down from Emma's lap and followed them.

"Just us girls now, well, except this little man," she said, giving RJ a shake. "But he's not talking."

Emma had a sinking feeling that she was in for an interrogation now.

"So, you and Clay," Naima stated. "How's it going?"

"Good, I think," Emma replied. "We've been taking it slow."

"That's good," Naima said. "There's no need for you to rush into anything."

"I guess," Emma considered. "It's hard with both our schedules sometimes to spend as much time together as we'd like."

"That's just life though, sweetie," Naima reassured her.

Emma nodded. "I just feel like sometimes Clay is very, um, interested and then he's not. He pulls away."

Naima looked at Emma speculatively. "Sweetie, are you referring to the physical side of things now?"

Emma blushed a little. "Yes," she said in a small voice. "Clay has a lot more experience than me and I wonder if maybe he thinks I'm not…" Emma's voice drifted off as she tried to come up with the words to express what she meant.

Naima reached out and placed her hand on Emma's and gave it a squeeze. "Emma, that boy is in love with you."

Emma looked at Naima questioningly. "Aunt Naima, you don't know that," Emma stated, although a little feeling of hope dawned in her heart.

"I'm pretty sure, sweetie," Naima replied. "But I think that Clay is feeling a bit of pressure dating his team leader's daughter. He has a good heart and he knows you're not that experienced. He's trying to balance doing right by you, particularly in your father's eyes, with his attraction for a beautiful young woman that he has strong feelings for."

Emma considered what Naima was saying. "I guess I didn't look at it that way."

Naima nodded at Emma's response. "Did Clay tell you," Naima asked, "what he said to your father when he asked for permission to date you? Did he tell you about that conversation?"

"Just that he asked, and it was a little tense. And that Uncle Ray was there too and then Uncle Sonny, Uncle Trent and Uncle Brock. So, he basically had to get Dad's permission in front of all them. And Dad did finally agree after Clay explained how he and I became friends, even though I had told Dad about running into Clay in New York. Dad had totally forgotten all about it." Emma finished her explanation sounding a little exasperated at her father's forgetfulness.

"So, he didn't tell you what he said," Naima stated, more than asked.

Emma shook her head. "Are you going to tell me?"

"I am, sweetie," Naima replied. "Your Uncle Ray told me about it when he came home. He was very impressed with what Clay said."

"Aunt Naima," Emma burst out. "Now you're making me crazy. What did he say?"

Naima smiled at Emma. "When Clay asked your Dad, it was more than a little tense. Your Dad was angry, and that's when your Uncle Ray got involved. He didn't know what they were talking about, and he wanted to see if he could get them to work it out."

Emma frowned. She thought Clay had been glossing over her father's reaction just a little.

"When he found out what your father was angry at Clay about, your Uncle Ray wasn't too happy either," Naima continued. "But then your Dad basically accused Clay of taking advantage of you."

"He never—" Emma exclaimed.

"I know, sweetie," Naima reassured her, "but that's what your Dad thought and your Uncles too. That made Clay angry as well, and he told them that he thought they knew him better than to take him for the kind of man who would take advantage of any woman."

Emma nodded emphatically. "He would never do that."

"No, he wouldn't," Naima agreed. "After that is when Clay explained how the two of you became friends, and then your Dad asked Clay why he wanted to date you. And this is where Clay impressed your Uncle Ray, and your father too, I think. Clay looked your Dad straight in the eye and said that you were smart and beautiful and funny and made him laugh. And that you understood him. Then he told your father that if you were anyone else, he already would have asked you out and he would be trying to convince you that he was good enough for you. And then he said that he had too much respect for your Dad to sneak around behind his back with you and too much respect for you to ask you to lie to your father."

"He said all that? About me?" Emma said wonderingly.

"He did." Naima confirmed.

"That's so sweet," Emma said with a sigh. "That's when my Dad said it was okay."

Naima frowned. "Well, no, then your Dad asked Clay what he would do if he said no Clay couldn't date you and that he had to stop texting you and talking and whatever else."

"Dad said that?"

"Yes, he did," Naima replied. "And Clay told him that if that's what your Dad really wanted, then Clay would stop, but that he'd have to tell you because he wouldn't just cut you off like that."

"Clay agreed to that?" Emma asked, sounding just a little angry.

"He did, Emma," Naima replied, "But I don't think you should hold that against him. He was in a tough position."

"Hmmm…" Emma mused. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Then," Naima continued, "your Dad said it was okay. Actually, I believe your Uncle Ray said your Dad's exact words were, 'Fine. You can date her if that's what she wants.' And then your father threatened to kill Clay if he hurt you in any way."

"Oh God," Emma moaned. "He didn't."

"I'm afraid so, sweetie," Naima confirmed. Emma buried her face in her arms on the table in embarrassment, and Naima reached out and stroked her hair. "That's how I know he's in love with you. He wouldn't have done that for just any girl, Emma."

While Emma and Naima were talking, Clay and Ray had returned to the yard with Jameelah trailing along behind them. They were currently standing under the tree they were going to hang the swing from discussing how best to proceed.

Seeing the others in the yard, RJ climbed down from the bench and headed off to join them.

"Emma, could you keep an eye on RJ and make sure he doesn't get in the way while I get this meat on the grill?" Naima asked.

"Sure, Aunt Naima," Emma replied. She followed RJ into the yard towards Clay and Uncle Ray. Emma thought Clay looked like he was going to climb the tree. She wasn't the only one to think so, because just as she thought it, she heard her Aunt call out.

"Ray Perry, don't make Clay climb that tree. Get the ladder from the garage."

"It's fine, Naima," Clay answered. "I can climb it easily."

"Are you contradicting me, Clay Spenser?" Naima called back.

"No ma'am," Clay replied quickly. "We're getting the ladder."

Emma laughed at Clay. "Don't contradict Aunt Naima, Clay."

Clay and Ray got the ladder out and quickly had the rope tied securely to the tree limb. Ray put a level on the seat of the swing and directed Clay as to how much each side needed to be shortened or lengthened to make the swing even. Once that was done, Clay tightened the knots, and came down from the ladder.

Ray moved the ladder out of the way, while Jameelah started dancing around singing, "My swing. My swing."

"Okay," Ray said, "we need to test this out before anyone can swing on it. Clay you get on. If it can hold you, then it should be fine for Jameelah."

"Me?" Clay asked. "Why me?"

"You weigh the most," Ray replied.

Clay gave a put upon sigh and sat down on the swing. He bounced a little to see if it would hold. Then he pushed off and swung a little.

"Looks good to me, Ray." He stated.

Ray nodded. "I guess the swing is ready."

Jameelah came bouncing over with excitement, ready to swing. Clay quickly got up and helped Jameelah onto the seat. RJ darted forward to join Jameelah, but Emma caught him.

"Push me, Daddy!" Jameelah called, and Ray moved behind her to give her a push.

Clay stepped back to join Emma and RJ as Jameelah began swinging.

"Me, me, me," RJ started crying.

"Your turn next, little man," Emma said.

"Okay, baby," Ray said, "give your brother a turn."

Jameelah looked as if she wanted to refuse, but her father's warning glance changed her mind.

Emma handed RJ to Ray, and he helped his son onto the seat and gave him some gentle pushes.

"Down," RJ said once he had enough.

Ray lifted his son down and RJ headed back towards Emma.

"Can I swing with you, Daddy?" Jameelah asked.

"You want to swing with me, princess?" Ray asked, looking a little confused.

"Yes, you sit, Daddy, and I'll sit on your lap," Jameelah explained.

"Okay, just for a little bit," Ray agreed, "because it's almost time for little people to go to bed."

Ray sat on the swing and lifted Jameelah onto his lap. He pushed off and swung with his little girl.

Emma turned to Clay. "Give me your phone. I want to take a picture."

Clay handed his phone to Emma and she passed RJ to him. Emma took some pictures while Clay tried to hold on to a wiggly little boy.

"Time for bed now," Ray said, ending the swinging. "The swing will be here tomorrow." He lifted Jameelah down and took RJ from Clay.

"Wait, wait," Jameelah cried. "Now Uncle Clay and Emma have to swing."

"Jameelah," Ray said in a warning voice.

"But, Daddy," Jameelah said, looking up at her father with teary eyes. "They won't be here tomorrow."

Emma leaned in close to Clay and whispered, "Good use of the big eyes there."

Clay snorted quietly.

"Okay, okay," Ray gave in.

Jameelah clapped her hands. "Uncle Clay and Emma now it's your turn."

"Okay, Jameelah," Clay said. "I'll let Emma go first."

"No, Uncle Clay," Jameelah disagreed. "You go together. Like me and Daddy."

"Oh, together," Clay answered with a teasing smile. "So, Emma will sit on the swing and I'll sit on her lap, right?"

"No, no, Uncle Clay," Jameelah laughed. "You're silly. You're too big to sit on Emma's lap. You sit on the swing and Emma will sit on your lap."

"Go on, Uncle Clay," Emma laughed. "Sit on the swing."

Clay sat on the swing, and Emma gingerly sat down on his lap. "This thing is going to hold us, right?" She asked.

"Are you questioning our workmanship?" Clay teased.

"Just wondering if the knots will hold," Emma explained.

"Emma, I'm a sailor. I know how to tie a knot that holds." Clay stated, sounding slightly offended.

"Now you can swing," Jameelah sang out.

Clay pushed off a little with his feet to set the swing in motion.

"Okay, Uncle Clay and Emma have tried the swing," Ray said firmly. "Now it's time to go to bed."

"Okay, Daddy." Jameelah sighed.

"Give Emma a kiss goodnight and thank Uncle Clay for helping to hang your swing." Ray swung Jameelah up under his arm that wasn't holding RJ and leaned her over Emma.

"Goodnight, Emma. Thank you, Uncle Clay," the little girl repeated, as she gave them each a kiss.

"Goodnight," Emma and Clay replied.

Ray walked across the yard with a child in each arm, while Emma and Clay continued to sit on the swing.

"Hey, Emma," Clay murmured.

"Yes," she replied turning to look at Clay.

"Please don't ever call me Uncle Clay again," he asked.

"Sure, but why?" Emma wondered.

"Because no guy wants to hear the woman he wants to get naked with call him uncle," Clay explained.

Emma eyes widened and a deep red blush spread up her neck to her face.

"Wow, Emma," Clay teased. "I think that blush started right down—"

"Clay!" Emma exclaimed.

Clay grinned at Emma, then he leaned in and gave her a soft kiss. After he ended the kiss, he leaned his forehead against hers and smiled at her. Emma smiled back, and the two of them were lost in their own world for a moment.

Emma and Clay had forgotten all about Naima at the grill. Both of them were surprised when her voice burst into their little bubble.

"Look this way, you two," Naima called as she held up her phone to take their picture.

They both turned and smiled for Naima to take some photos.

"Dinner's almost ready," Naima said after she finished with the photos. "Why don't you come up to the table?"

Emma and Clay followed Naima back to the deck. Once they reached the table, Emma saw the stack of plates and pile of silverware and she began to set the table for Naima.

"Can I help you with anything, Naima?" Clay asked.

"Could you watch the chicken?" She replied. "The steak tips are done, but the chicken needs a little more time. I need to get some things from the kitchen."

"Sure," Clay said, as he stepped up to the grill. Naima handed him the tongs and disappeared into the house.

Naima came back out with a bowl of garden salad and some bottles of salad dressing, which she placed on the side table where the covered tray with the steak tips was already waiting.

"What else needs to come out?" Emma asked.

"I have some potato salad in the fridge," Naima answered. "Could you get that for me? I'll bring the corn on the cob and the butter."

Emma and Naima went back into the house to get the rest of the food. As they returned to the deck, Ray came out to join them.

"Kids in bed, babe?" Naima asked him.

"Yeah," Ray replied. "RJ is out like a light, but Jameelah isn't asleep yet. She's still excited about the swing."

"As long as she stays in bed," Naima said, "she'll eventually fall asleep. Clay, how does that chicken look?"

"It's ready," Clay announced, as he started putting the cooked chicken on to the platter Naima passed him.

"Great, everyone please serve yourselves," Naima told them.

They each filled their plate and settled down at the table to eat. Naima asked Emma about school, and she shared stories about her classes, friends she had made, and other things she had done in New York. Ray and Clay told some funny stories about the team, and Naima told them about some of the things that had happened at the hospital recently.

Just as Naima was asking them if they wanted ice cream or some of Emma's cookies, a little voice broke into their conversation.

"Daddy," Jameelah cried from the door of the house. The little girl stood forlornly in her Frozen nightgown, dragging a teddy bear behind her.

Ray turned to look at his little girl. "What's wrong, baby?" He asked.

"There's a monster in my room. He gave me a bad dream." A tear slid down Jameelah's face.

"Come here, baby," Ray said, holding his arms out to her.

Jameelah ran to her father and threw herself into his arms. "Hey now," Ray soothed her, "it's okay. I thought we scared away all the monsters a few days ago."

"They came back while you were away," Jameelah said sadly.

"I guess we'll just have to go scare them away again," Ray told the little girl. He stood up with Jameelah in his arms, ready to take care of the monsters.

"Wait," Jameelah called. "Uncle Clay too."

"Uncle Clay too?" Ray asked his daughter, giving Clay an apologetic look.

Jameelah nodded insistently.

"I can come help scare away the monsters," Clay offered.

"Okay, let's go scare away the monsters then," Ray said, as he carried Jameelah into the house.

Clay followed behind with a fleeting smile at Emma.

Naima shook her head as she watched the men leave with her daughter on their mission to get rid of the monsters.

She looked at Emma. "He's a good man Clay Spenser."

"He is," Emma agreed with her aunt. She felt like Aunt Naima was trying to tell her something.

Naima started to speak, then stopped as if she wasn't sure what she wanted to say. She finally said, "I just want you to be careful, Emma."

"I will, Aunt Naima," Emma answered. "I know he's a lot more experienced than me, but he hasn't—"

Naima cut Emma off. "That's not what I meant, sweetie. I mean, I do want you to be careful about the physical side of things, and if you have any questions or concerns, please don't be afraid to come to me. Anything you said would just be between us. I wouldn't tell your Uncle Ray. But, that's not what I'm talking about right now."

Naima sighed. "How much do you know about Clay's family?"

Emma frowned. "His father was a SEAL, who wrote that book, and he wasn't around much, and not just because of his job. Clay's mom couldn't handle raising him on her own and sent him to live with his grandparents in Africa. They raised him."

"You know his friend Brian died during their Green Team training?" Naima asked.

"I remember overhearing Dad talk about it," Emma stated. "I didn't realize that SEAL was a friend of Clay's. He's never mentioned it."

"Clay hasn't had a lot of people to depend on," Naima said. "And the few he's had, his grandparents, Brian, he's lost them. I think his father leaving and his mom sending him away made him feel like there was something wrong with him. That he wasn't enough. When he joined Bravo, it took him a while to connect with the guys. He's never experienced having a Team be his family too before."

"I'm not sure what you're getting at, Aunt Naima," Emma stated.

"Emma, sweetie, I know it's difficult growing up with a SEAL for a father," Naima stated, then nodded at Emma's wry smile in response to that statement. "But your whole life you've known what it is to have people love you, that you can depend on. Not just your parents and Mikey, but me and your Uncles. Clay has never really had that, and I just worry that you could very easily break that boy's heart."

Emma looked at her Aunt in surprise. Everyone else who had something to say about Clay and Emma's relationship was concerned about him hurting Emma, of him taking advantage of her, and being too old for her. No one had ever suggested that their roles could be switched, and that Emma might be able to hurt Clay.

"Clay has already figured out what he wants to do with his life," Aunt Naima continued. "But, Emma, you're still figuring that out. I'm just asking you to be careful and think as you go forward. I'm not saying you should give up your dreams or making plans for your future, or that you should stop seeing Clay, but I'm asking to you think about how he fits into those plans. Is this something casual for you or is it something more?"

Emma nodded slowly at her Aunt's words. Since she and Clay had started dating, she had really been focusing on right now. When she first came home from school, all she thought about was if Clay was even interested in her. Then it was how to handle the situation with her father. Recently it was trying to figure out why Clay kept backing off when things got too physical.

Now she thought about Clay himself. How good he had been to her so far. How gentle he could be, like when she was upset at the beach. How sweet he had been with Jameelah tonight. She remembered his shy smile when he gave her flowers on their first date. And as much as it had annoyed her at the time, how honorable he was about asking for her Dad's permission before he would take her out. She was bothered by the idea that Clay could think that he wasn't good enough for her, or for anything.

Somehow, he had become the person she wanted to tell first when something important happened. When something crazy happened at the hotel, she immediately wanted to tell him and make him laugh. When she had a problem, he was the one she wanted to talk to about it. Clay had worked his way into every corner of her life, and she liked that. She didn't want to lose that. There was no one who was better than him, and she wanted him to know that.

That's when it dawned on Emma that she loved Clay. She was in love with him.

While Emma had become lost in her thoughts, Naima had started packing up the leftover food and stacking up the dirty dishes and utensils and taking them to the kitchen. Emma waited for her Aunt to return to the deck.

"Aunt Naima," Emma with a little bit of awe in her voice, "I'm in love with him. I love Clay."

Naima sat down next to Emma on the bench and hugged her. "I thought you might, baby."

Emma returned the hug, "I haven't told him though."

"Maybe you should," Naima suggested, as she released Emma.

Emma smiled shyly. "Maybe," she said.

Before either of the women could say anything more, they heard Ray and Clay talking as they returned from Jameelah's room.

"What kind of bedtime story was that?" They heard Ray asking Clay.

"Hey," Clay replied defensively as the men came into view, "do you want your daughter to wait around for some prince to save her or do you want her to be able to save herself?"

"If my daughter wants to start doing Parkour, I will make your life miserable, Spenser," Ray answered.

"It was the best I could come up with on such short notice, okay?" Clay said. "Bedtime stories are not my thing. But, Jameelah really liked it."

She's eight, brother," Ray responded. "Her standards aren't that high."

Naima and Emma smiled at each other, and then Naima stood up. "Who wants ice cream or chocolate chip cookies?"

"What's wrong with both?" Clay asked.

"Sounds good to me," Ray chimed in.

Clay sat down next to Emma, and she smiled at him and blushed.

"You okay, Em?" He asked, giving her a probing look.

"I'm good," she replied softly.

"Emma, could you help me serve up the ice cream and cookies?" Aunt Naima asked, saving Emma from Clay's scrutiny.

"Sure," Emma replied, following Naima into the kitchen.

Once the two women were at the kitchen counter scooping out ice cream, Emma spoke. "Thanks, Aunt Naima."

"No problem," Naima replied. "I thought you needed a minute."

Emma just nodded.

Soon enough the ice cream and cookies were eaten, and their meal broke up. Emma and Clay helped Naima and Ray clean up and put things away, and then Naima gave the couple a package of leftovers to take with them.

They all walked to the door and Naima gave Emma and Clay each a hug goodbye. Uncle Ray hugged Emma and gave her a kiss on the forehead, then he slapped Clay on his back. Thank yous were exchanged for dinner and the help with the swing, and then finally Emma and Clay were out the door and on their way to Clay's truck.

Clay opened the truck door for Emma, and she slid inside. While Clay walked around to the driver's side of the vehicle, she placed the container of leftovers Aunt Naima gave them at her feet. Emma's emotions were a muddle as she thought about what she had realized at dinner. She wanted to tell Clay, but she wasn't sure how, or when. There was one thing she could do now though.

As Clay settled into the driver's seat and started the truck, Emma leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek.

Clay turned and smiled at her. "What was that for?"

"That was for what you said to my Dad about me when you asked for his permission to date me," Emma replied. "Aunt Naima told me." There was just enough light filtering into the cab of the truck from a nearby streetlight for Emma to see the blush that rose on Clay's cheeks.

"Those were the sweetest things anyone's ever said about me," Emma added.

Clay bashfully looked away from her and then back with a small smile. Before he could say anything, Emma punched him in the upper arm. Hard.

"Hey," Clay yelped. "What was that for?!"

"That was for saying that you'd stop seeing me if my Dad told you to," Emma replied, letting a little of her annoyance show.

"Em, I couldn't come between you and your Dad," Clay explained. "He's your only parent left, and I would never want to—"

Emma cut Clay off before he could say any more. "And it didn't occur to you that if you came to me and told me we couldn't date and that you were ending our whole friendship because my Dad said so, that it would still come between me and my Dad?"

"Um, well, I guess I didn't consider that," Clay replied with a sigh. "But I probably wasn't thinking straight at that point. I really thought he was about to say no for real, and I wasn't sure how I was going to get over that."

Emma's heart melted a little upon hearing that, but she did her best to harden it up again because she still had one more bone to pick with Clay. While she was firming up her resolve, Clay pulled the car out into the road and began driving back towards his apartment.

Emma glanced at the passing traffic and then looked back at Clay as he drove. "How could you say that you're not good enough for me?" She asked him. "How could you even think that?" Emma was really upset that Clay thought he wasn't good enough for her.

Clay took a quick look at her and then back at the road. "Em, you deserve the best. I'm sure there's some guy out there who's way better than me for you—"

"I love you, Clay Spenser," she exclaimed, "and there's no one out there who's better for me than you."

The second the words were out of her mouth, Emma wished she could recall them. That wasn't how she meant to tell him. She had only just figured it out herself, and she would have liked to have told him in a more romantic setting.

The truck was quiet after her outburst. Emma began to get a little nervous. She definitely should have waited on saying that. Clay seemed to be concentrating on driving, but she worried that he was just trying to think of a way to let her down easy. Once Clay made the turn onto the street of his apartment complex, he looked over at Emma with a grin and reached out and took one of her hands into his.

"I love you too, Emma Hayes."