12:00 pm.

Emily grabbed some files off her desk and shoved them hastily in her bag before leaving her office. She had a lot she wanted to get done before Kendra came over that evening.

As she turned on her heel to exit, she literally ran into Aaron.

"Hey," Aaron said smoothly, "heading out on time?" He steadied her as she bobbled on her heel.

"Yes, for once," Emily said with a laugh.

"Were you going to come say goodbye?" Aaron asked, pretending to pout.

"Of course," Emily said slyly. She was sure Aaron didn't believe her. She shifted her stuff to one arm and put her other hand on his chest. Leaning in close, she whispered, "I promise I'll make it up to you tonight."

"I'm going to hold you to that," Aaron replied smugly. "Let me walk you out," he added.

2:30 pm.

It had taken Emily longer than she anticipated at the grocery store. She put everything away and kicked off her shoes. She had wanted to give her apartment a deep cleaning before Kendra came over, but as soon as she sank into her couch, she knew it wasn't going to happen.

She closed her eyes, thinking she would just take a quick nap…

5:00 pm.

Emily groaned as an incessant ringing woke her up.

"Shit," she mumbled as she sat up.

"Hey, Kendra," she answered her phone as she stood up from the couch. "Shit, I'm sorry." She hung up quickly and rushed to the door.

"Hey," Kendra said brightly. "Chinese," she added as she held up the bags in her hand.

"Oh Kendra," Emily replied, gesturing for her to come in, "I'm so sorry. I fell asleep."

"I figured. You've been looking a little tired lately. Why don't you go change?"

Emily appreciated how kind Kendra was being. It was one of the reasons she invited Kendra over. Genuine kindness was hard to find these days.

7:30 pm.

Emily and Kendra had managed to finish a bottle of wine and started a second. Emily was feeling good. It was nice to have another woman to talk to about work and work gossip and to hear what the gossip was about her. Thankfully, Kendra hadn't mentioned anything about her and Aaron, and she was pretty sure she would have said something by now. Kendra was an awful liar, and Emily was sure she was even more awful with a half a bottle of wine in her.

"So," Emily said casually as she took the last sip of her wine, "Seth has been acting weird lately. Do you know what's going on with him?" Emily's smile grew at Kendra's reaction. Kendra turned bright red and tried to hide her face.

Emily laughed, "is it serious?" Kendra only nodded and giggled and received a giggle from Emily in return.

"Well," Emily tried to say matter of fairly, but her speech was starting to slur, "I think you two are perfect for each other." Kendra blushed in response and asked, "Are people gossiping about us?"

"Wouldn't know. People don't gossip with the Chief of Staff," Emily said seriously.

"I'll just have to keep you filled in then," Kendra said with a grin.

10:00 pm.

Emily was definitely drunk. After two bottles of wine, she was relieved when Kendra called an Uber to drive her home. Otherwise, Emily would have offered her couch. After seeing Kendra out, she quickly texted Aaron.

"Coast is clear."

Emily had felt guilty for not relaying her relationship with Aaron to Kendra, but she just wasn't ready to tell people.

She looked at her phone when Aaron responded. "I'll be there in 20." She felt heat pool in her belly at his response. She wasn't planning on Kendra staying so late. Honestly, she thought it would be slightly awkward with Kendra, but the wine definitely took the edge off. She also wasn't planning on getting drunk tonight. Aaron had never seen her drunk. She only told him stories about her crazy college days.

She cleaned up the takeout containers as she waited for Aaron, trying to ignore the tingling feeling in her lips. As she wiped down the counter, she heard something metal clang to the floor. The key. She mentally kicked herself for forgetting to give it to him. She bent down to look for it when she heard knocking at the door. She quickly stood up and banged her head on an open drawer. "Shit," she yelled in pain, rubbing her head as she made her way to her front door.

"Hey, Em," Aaron said softly as she opened the door, literally taking her breath away.

"Aaron." She tried to make her voice even, but it came out more sing-songy. He kissed her softly on the lips.

"Have you been drinking?" he asked with that smirk.

"Mmm. What did you do today?" Emily asked as she removed his coat and hung it on her coat tree by her door. She grabbed his hand and led him to the couch.

"I got caught up on some work and some sleep," Aaron replied.

"That's good," Emily said as she straddled his lap. "I do recall I have to make something up to you, and I would hate for you to fall asleep." Her lips were next to his ear, and she pushed her chest against his.

"I don't think I'm going to fall asleep," Aaron replied as he traced her cheek with his nose.

12:00 am.

"We should go to bed," Emily whispered into Aaron's ear. She could feel him smirk as she dropped her head and kissed him lazily on the neck. Before she knew it, he stood up with her in his arms and made his way to her bedroom, eliciting a giggle from her.

"I like you drunk," Aaron whispered seductively in her ear causing her to giggle more as he gently put her on the bed. She pulled the comforter up to cover them as Aaron joined her.

"I really like you," Emily whispered as she turned to snuggle closer to him and sloppily kissed him on the corner of his mouth. She liked being drunk or at least tipsy. It was so much easier for her to express her feelings, and she wanted Aaron to know exactly how she was feeling tonight.

6:00 am.

Emily untangled her legs from Aaron's and left the warmth and comfort of the bed. She put a robe on and tied back her hair as she noted the throbbing in her head and the dryness of her mouth. She brushed her teeth quietly, trying not to wake up Aaron. Checking to make sure he was still asleep, she gently closed her bedroom door and made her way to the kitchen. She quickly started the coffee maker and popped some Advil. She had wanted today to be special. It was the first time in a while that they both had off, and she had so many things she wanted to do for Aaron. This was her one day to do them, and her hangover wasn't helping.

She started breakfast. She loved to cook, but she rarely had time for it anymore. She had all four of her burners going, and she was taking the bacon out of the pan when she felt Aaron wrap his arms around her.

"Good morning," she said leaning into him gently as she flipped a pancake.

"Hmm," he hummed in her ear. She could feel his arms tighten, and he pressed against her.

"This is such a turn-on," he whispered in her ear causing her to laugh as he started kissing her neck and his hands started playing with the tie on her robe.

"Don't get any ideas," Emily tried to say sternly as she continued to stack the pancakes.

"Why not?" Aaron whined pulling her even tighter against him.

"This food is not going to waste," she said as she turned off two of the burners and turned around in his arms. She kissed him chastely on the lips and side-stepped him to get a plate from the counter behind them.

8:00 am.

Emily loved mornings like this. She wished every morning could be so relaxing, and she could savor the sweet moments with Aaron.

"That was really good, Em," Aaron proclaimed as he put his plate on the coffee table and leaned back into the couch. His leg brushed up against hers, and Emily could feel her breathing hitch. She knew her reactions to him wouldn't last forever, but she loved the way he made her feel.

"So what are we doing today?" Aaron asked as she put her plate on the coffee table and snuggled closer into his side folding herself under his arm.

"Anything. Everything," she mumbled as she pressed her face into his shoulder. It was a sin for anyone to smell this good. She could feel his fingers graze over her shoulder through her robe causing her to shiver. He moved suddenly, causing her to sink further into the couch.

"I'll clean up."

"I'll help," Emily replied not skipping a beat and picking up the coffee cups to take to the kitchen.

"But you cooked," Aaron argued.

"We'll get done faster if we do it together," Emily cooed as she brushed by him to the sink.

"I like the way you think," Aaron whispered into her ear as he reached around her to put the plates in the sink. She started rinsing the plates as she felt Aaron's hands on her hips pushing himself against her.

"Aaron," Emily warned. He hummed in her ear keeping his body flush against hers. She was finding it hard to breathe. He gently took the dishes from her hands and moved away from her putting them in the dishwasher. She exhaled slowly while grabbing the pans from the stove. As she rinsed and squirted soap onto the pans, Aaron stood behind her again, pulling her hips tightly against his. Emily could feel herself smile. Doing dishes was fun with Aaron.