Quickly pulling away from the kiss, her mind stormed with anger. She'd done exactly what she didn't want to do, she kissed a stranger, this was probably what he wanted anyways. Why else would this man kiss her anyways? Whatever he wanted from her, she wasn't going to give it to him.
He looked shocked as she angrily stared at him, the rain dripping down his face.
And somehow his innocence struck her, that pale face, his breath visible is the cold, and his eyes slowly shattering in the irises.
"What the hell was that." She said breathing heavily.
He shrugged. "Just a risk. A risk that seemed to be successful."
"Excuse me?" She shouted. "You think I actually enjoyed a man I just met kissing me in an abandoned amusement park in the pouring rain?"
"Sounds like quite the romance novel doesn't it."
Emma glared at him, whatever game he was trying to play, she couldn't figure it out. The kiss meant nothing to her, and yes she didn't pull away immediately, but she told herself she was caught up in the moment and got distracted.
"You know what, I'm leaving." She sighed. "And I'm taking my car with me."
"Oh come on, you think that's fair? You practically stole that car from me."
"And you stole it from a dark Portland alleyway, either way the car doesn't belong to either of us, but I need it more."
Neal shrugged. "At least give me a ride home." He suggested. "It's not too far from here anyways, and you can make it up to me for keeping my car."
She found herself driving through the busy streets, the lights were so bright, the yells of the drunks out late and the cars zipping by were all to be heard. He sat in the seat beside her, gesturing directions to this so called home of his.
And when she parked outside the house, her jaw dropped, it was enormous, the thing looked like the damn White House.
"And you live here, and you argued about needing a car."
"I don't live here." He smiled as he quickly emerged from the vehicle and began walking up to the door.
She rolled her eyes and climbed out of the door, slamming the door shut.
"What the hell are you doing here then."
"Just need a little money now and then, these people are filthy rich, luckily they're on vacation on some exotic island."
"And so you're going to steal money."
"Robbing an empty house in the middle of the night is child's play, let the more experienced thief do the job."
She followed him down the side of the house to the back door, which he pried open with ease with a crowbar.
"Alright, listen." He explained. "I'll be back soon, what I need you to do is wait outside, if anything happens, just uh, kick the door or something, just do it casually."
She sighed and stood outside as he walked in and quickly hit the alarm with a rock.
The house was glorious, he gazed at the luxury and the class, it was all so overwhelming for someone like him. He stepped in the direction of the kitchen, which was modern and shone even in the darkest light. He looked around, deciding where some sort of money stash would be hidden. The dishes were washed and stacked, luckily dry, he assumed their maid of some sort had visited earlier. But why would a maid need to wash dishes, when his eyes glanced a dish washer.
He grinned, and walked over to it, opening the machine's door and finding no machine, but a large safe. As he began to hack the code he heard the loud sound of a kick on the door.
All seemed well for Emma until she heard a car park into the driveway, with the engine soon sounding off. The voices of two people could be heard, sounding stressed, but sort of a toned down argument, which made her believe they were a couple.
She froze, but her immediate instinct was to kick the door loudly, so that Neal could hear it.
She had to think fast, and so she collapsed to the floor, to buy time. The couple's arguments were soon pitch silent when they noticed her.
"Oh my god." Said the woman as she dropped her suitcase and rushed over to Emma. "What happened dear?" She said worried.
"I was just at this party." Emma lied, breathing heavily. "A little too many drinks and, I suppose my friends thought it would be funny to leave me here."
"Well, I think it's best that you get yourself home, do you need a lift? Is that car parked outside yours?" Asked the man.
"My friend Jennifer's car." Emma grunted. "I bet she just wanted to watch it unfold, I'm so sorry I've disturbed you, I'll be on my way."
The man continued to walk over to the door and unlock it, however the alarm didn't go off.
"Honey," he sighed, "You forgot to set the alarm when we left for the airport didn't you."
She looked stunned. "Um, no, I definitely set it."
"Well you obviously didn't."
Emma left the two to bicker as she steadily walked away, still trying to look some tipsy teenager. Once she was out of view of the couple, she ran towards the yellow bug, climbing into the driver's seat, no one sat beside her.
She panicked, what if Neal was still in there? Her whole body shook, she wondered if it would be safest to drive off or just try to stall the couple again.
"Neal, where the hell are you." She whispered.
"What sorry?" Came a voice from behind her. She turned around, and sure enough, there was Neal Cassidy, poking his head up from the boot of the car.
"Just been counting the money I took, heard your entire alibi from the other side of the door, genius, being drunk and all. Then once they helped you up I just opened a window from the inside and rushed out back to the car."
"But why go in the back of the car?" Emma sighed.
"Just in case they came to inspect the car, call it our secret hiding spot."
"So how much did you take?" She asked eagerly.
"I've counted $7000 so far, could be more."
Emma's jaw dropped. "They just casually had that kind of money lying around?"
"I told you, they're filthy rich, this was nothing compared to the stash they had in that safe." Neal assured her.
"That should be enough to sustain for a while." Emma smiled.
"Yeah, like stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, us being the poor in this situation."
"What like Robin Hood." Emma laughed. "You stole something, I mean it's illegal, but it's for a good cause."
She gazed into his welcoming eyes, his mouth still smiling, fresh from a laugh. She couldn't tell why she couldn't stop looking at him, whether it was the irises that seemed to flicker different colours, or the defined lips that finished off his perfectly structured face.
Her cheeks went rosy as he continued to talk to her, planning what to spend the money on, but then the subject changed as she begun starting the engine. He climbed into the passenger's seat as she began driving as far away from the house as possible.
"So I told you my story." Neal smiled. "How about yours."
Emma sighed. "Flashback to nearly 20 years ago, baby me was found on the side of a freeway, wrapped in my baby blanket, my name sewn into it."
"So your parents couldn't be bothered to drive you to a hospital, but they knitted you a custom blanket." Neal said puzzled.
"Doesn't make much sense does it." Emma shrugged as she continued to drive. "Then I went in and out of the foster system, lived with lots of families, and they all sent me back. Most of the families had kids of their own too, you see, how could they ever love someone like me, over someone who was a product of their love."
As Emma continued to tell him about her troubled past, Neal's face grew increasingly sadder. And she finished just as they parked in a restaurant car park, and Neal's heart broke as he realized Emma's story didn't end happily so far.
"After I kissed you in that park," Neal began. "You looked ecstatic, but how quickly your emotion changed shocked me, and now I know why. You keep your heart in your chest."
Emma stared at him. "Of course I do, we all do."
"Well theoretically yes, but humans have this thing where they keep their hearts somewhere, and you can tell. Some keep their heart in their hands, where they can openly distribute love amongst people. But you Emma, keep yours deep in your chest, guarded heavily, and you won't let anyone take it out."
"And what if I let someone." She said quietly as she placed his hand on her heart. She gazed into his eyes, this time she leant in, kissing his lips once again, feeling her emotions scatter out of her chest and throughout her body, and this time the kiss meant so much more.