"Come on Aaron! Can't you just take a break and take me out to the new quesadilla place on the pier? You've been working all day, I'm starving and you have to be starving too. Come on." Emily made up her mind and grabbed Aarons tie and jacket. The two of them were best friends now and it had been almost a year since they first met. Emily had graduated from Yale with no intentions of finding a job anytime soon.
"But I was just finishing up!" Aaron whined. "You can't take me away from a job that I'm being paid to complete. The ambassador wouldn't care for it. I'd be sent away with a snap of her fingers and then you wouldn't be able to see me anymore." Aaron stated.
"Oh hush you," Emily nudged him forward. "The Ambassador happens to be my mother and if I say that you are not to be fired, then she can't say no," she retorted. And with that, the two walked off to go to the Quesadilla Shack.
"So, how do you like working for my mother? She can be a bit of a pain in the butt," Emily deadpanned.
"I like it. And she is not a pain in the butt!" He whined.
"God Aaron, you're sounding like a four year old. Grow up would you?" Emily playfully shoved Aaron's shoulder. When he smiled at her, she blushed. She wasn't supposed to fall in love with him. She wasn't supposed to fall in love with on of her mother's employees.
'What are you thinking Hotchner? You can't fall for the woman whose mother you work for! That's just not on. But her eyes, they're so brown and her hair falls perfectly around her flawless face. Her skin is so pale and her smile. God her smile, is like it was made from God himself. What are you thinking? Snap out of it Aaron! She's just a friend.'
'Why? Why am I not supposed to fall in love with an employee of mother's? He is so nice and although I have only known him for a few months, I feel like I have known him forever! When he smiles, his dimples shine and his face brightens up. His laugh makes me laugh and I can't stop smiling when I'm with him. Emily what are you thinking? He's your best friend! Plus you're not supposed to fall in love with him. My mother will kill me if she finds out. How do I even he even likes me back? He hasn't even shown any signs. Why is my life so frustrating? Should I talk to him? Mother is having a ball. Should I ask him to go with me or will mother flip? Eh, she'll probably flip but whatever.'
"Hey Aaron, what are you doing next weekend?"
"Depends? Why are you asking," he asked with a cheeky grin.
"Very funny," Emily said sarcastically, "Mother is having a party and I was wondering if you would do me a huge favour and attend the event with me?" She asked as politely as she could. He put his hand on his chin in a mock thinking position.
"Hmm, let me think about that," he repeated her sarcasm. "No. Why do you even want me to go?" He asked while busying himself with other security details.
"Well you see, every time Mother has a party, she tries to set me up with a different guy. The thing is, my mother has no taste when it comes to guys. She sets me up with these rich, nerdy, artsy-fartsy guy that I end up hating and avoiding for the rest of my life." She got down on her knees. "Please," she whined. "I'm begging you."
"Fine," Aaron gave in reluctantly having known the feeling of getting set up with girls that he didn't like. "On one condition," he said out of the blue.
"Sure, what is it?" She asked with no concern or hesitation.
"Let me take you on a date. We'll consider this a date but let me take you on a real first date. It'll be a traditional date with a movie and dinner. What do you say?"
"Where did that come from?" Emily asked shocked. She was happy but she was still surprised. 'Did he just say what I think he said?'
When she didn't answer he got concerned and asked: "are you okay? You look more pale than normal. Do you want to sit down?" He worried as he led her to a nearby chair and got her some water. When she sat down and drank the water, some of the colour came back to her cheeks.
"Let me get this straight. Did you just ask me out?" She asked unconvincingly.
From her response, he guessed that the feeling was mutual and grinned. "Yes. Yes I did. And your answer is…"
She mumbled something that was inaudible.
"Pardon me? I can't hear you. Speak up a bit," he pretended to be hard of hearing.
"Yes!" Emily cried as she leapt up from the sofa she was sitting on and practically jumped into Aaron's arms. The new couple stood in silence enjoying each other's company and presence.
Emily took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as she walked elegantly down the stairs towards her new boyfriend. She had had many boyfriends before but none that took her breath away every time he smiled or laughed. Heck every time he was even in the room. She felt like a young girl with her first crush all over again.
When Aaron turned around, the most beautiful person he had ever seen took his breath away. And to think that they went a year without telling one another how they felt. He loved her more than he had ever loved anyone in his whole life. Even when she had just woke up and she was in her pajamas in the kitchen with bed head drinking milk out of the carton, he still thought that she was the most beautiful woman alive. In his eyes, he was the luckiest man alive. But there she was, at the top of the stairs in a crimson red dress that was floor length with a slit up the left leg that went to about three inches of her knee. She wore gold, four-inch heels but that showed no problem. Even in the heels, he was still a good three inches taller than she. This was it. Tonight, he was going to introduce himself to Emily's parents for the first time as her boyfriend.