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Emerson jumped slightly upon hearing a knock at his window. He looked over, not sure what to expect, to find Taffy smiling and waving at him. She gestured for him to open the window. It wasn't the first time she'd come to visit him like this but he was still pleasantly surprised every time. Grabbing his cane to steady himself, he stood from his desk and crossed to the window. He slid it up and grinned widely. "Hello, my darling Taffodil! Do what do I owe the pleasure?"
Taffy smiled and leaned in to give him a quick peck on the cheek before climbing through the window. "Can't a girl just come by to see her favorite neighbor? Do I need a reason?"
Blushing and touching his cheek where she'd kissed him, Emerson just smiled and shook his head. "No, I suppose you don't. I'm glad you came over."
He would never get over how at ease and utterly perfect Taffy looked in his space. She made herself comfortable immediately, stretching out on his bed. He tried very hard not to look at the way her shirt rode up over her stomach as she stretched. Taffy, as always, saw him looking and didn't seem to mind. She held her arms open, beckoning. "Come here, Emmy."
Ever cautious, mindful of not coming on too strong and with some part of him still anticipating that this whole thing was a cruel joke of some kind, he did as she asked. He sat down on the edge of the bed and found himself immediately pulled into her arms. He felt her grin against the side of his neck.
"I missed you."
His heart clenched at the sincerity in her voice. "Missed me? Taffodil, I saw you only yesterday at school."
"Mmm, too long."
He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to his chest and kissing the top of her head. Too long? Did she really miss him this much after less than a full day? The rational part of his mind told him that of course she couldn't, she was just being kind and trying to make him feel good about himself. It was working, he had to admit, but it still didn't seem quite real. But the emotional part of himself, the one that wanted nothing more than to be what Taffy wanted and actually convinced himself he could be, thought that maybe she was telling the truth. After all, he missed her after such a short time. Was it really so impossible that she could miss him too?
She certainly seemed happy to be near him. Her head was on his shoulder, an arm looped lazily over his stomach, one of her ankles hooked over one of his for another point of contact. Surely that meant something, right? It had to. It just had to.
He was afraid to break the spell. This wasn't the first time she'd come over. Wasn't even the first time she'd ended up in his bed like this. But it was shocking every time. Taffy was a cheerleader. Popular, pretty, perfect. He was nobody, the weird crippled kid who used a cane and spoke oddly and up until recently had dressed like a Dracula cosplayer. At least some of her friends thought she'd lost her mind even giving him the time of day. Misty in particular had been casting worried glances Taffy's way ever since the Halloween party when she'd kissed him.
She had kissed him. Wasn't that still an astonishing thing to remember? Since then, he'd kissed her. Asking every time, never wanting to overstep. And she let him, every time, without hesitation. Misty thought Taffy had lost her mind. Emerson was oddly inclined to agree. Still...
"May I kiss you, Taffodil?" His soft words broke the silence, and Taffy looked up at him, smiling sleepily. It wouldn't be the first time she dozed off on his chest, and hopefully it wouldn't be the last. She'd been just starting to doze off and her sleepy, sweet expression made his heart swell.
"Of course, Emmy." She cupped his jaw and pulled him down to her for a kiss. He'd gotten used to her trying to make kisses turn needier, dirtier, but so far he was very good at avoiding this particular sweet torture. He allowed his tongue to dart out and trace over her bottom lip, but he wouldn't let her deepen the kiss no matter how she tried. He kept it chaste, sweet, sipping at her lips like a fine wine. Surely, he was drunk on her anyway. Taffy, as usual, tried briefly to deepen the kiss but did eventually give up and just relax into what he was willing to give her. Emerson loved that about her, among the many things there were to love. She wanted more from him, and she made it obvious. She constantly gave him permission to do what he wanted with her. But she never complained when what he wanted was to take things slower.
When she finally pulled away from his lips, she was smiling and he felt dizzy. He brushed her hair from her face, keeping his hands on her cheeks and looking into her eyes. She knew he loved her, it had never been a secret. She hadn't said it back. He honestly never expected her to, it was enough for him that she knew he loved her. Still, the way she reacted to his affection was beautiful. "I love you, my sweet Taffodil," Emerson murmured, pressing his forehead against hers. She ran a hand through his hair, nuzzling her nose against his.
"I know."
It wasn't an 'I love you.' It never was. But those two words made him thrill with how she said them. It was Han Solo speaking to Leia Organa. It was acknowledgement and promise. I know you love me. I can't say it back right now, but I know you love me, and that means so much. His stomach did flips every time she said it, soft words saying so much even as they avoided saying what he wanted.
"Can I read to you, darling?" he asked, kissing her cheek because he knew she would let him and he would be rewarded with the sweetest blush.
She did indeed grace him with a blush, and she smiled as she nodded. "Sure. More poetry?" She'd thought his fascination with dead poets was a little strange when they first met, but it seemed she'd since grown to like it. He shook his head, though, lifting a book off his bedside table to show her.
"I was actually about to start re-reading one of my favorites today. Jane Eyre, have you read it before?"
Taffy shook her head. "You know I don't read very much, Emmy, too busy." He briefly worried she'd be opposed, but she continued. "I'm sure I'd love it if you read it to me, though. What's it about?"
He smiled broadly. "It's a romance, of sorts. But it mainly focuses on Jane, her life, how she came to know the man she would fall in love with and her journey to build her life in the way she wants it. It's a romance, and a tragedy, and a story of her life. Would you like to hear it?"
Taffy smiled and looked at him in a way he couldn't quite interpret, eyes sparkling and soft. "I don't know if it's the story or your enthusiasm that I like the sound of more. Either way, read it to me, please?"
She leaned up to kiss his cheek and he turned his head at the last moment to capture her lips instead. The move made her giggle lightly, the sound making him sigh in happiness. How he loved the sound of her laugh, especially when he could feel her laugh against his lips. She pulled back to settle in with her head on his shoulder, propping herself up so she could help him hold the book open.
Emerson took a moment to consider how utterly lucky he was. This beautiful girl who he'd fallen in love with at first sight, who he'd only grown to love more and more with each passing day of their acquaintance and friendship and whatever they could call this now, seemed to genuinely enjoy the time they spent together. And now she was cuddled up against him, asking him to read her his favorite book.
Placing a kiss to the top of her head, he began to read. "There was no possibility of taking a walk that day."