Chapter Text
Emmett Forrest could not remember the last time that he had woken up feeling so happy. Hell, before last night, he was sure that he hadn't known what true happiness was. He looked down at the petite blonde woman still slumbering in his arms. Somehow, despite her stomach growling loudly enough to awaken him, she was still sound asleep. He let out a quiet little laugh and leaned down to kiss her temple. He would let her sleep in for an extra minute.
He smiled as he thought back to the previous night. He remembered how his heart had jumped into his throat when Elle questioned him about what he had meant when he impulsively declared his love for her outside of her dorm. In the mere seconds it took for him to prepare whatever damage control would salvage their friendship, she had told him, "I'm so much in love with you."
While he had been lost in the moment, a small part of him wondered exactly how long she had felt that way. She had said that she wanted to tell him sooner. Or had he been that obvious?
He was grateful that she leaned in for the kiss, first; after what Callahan had done, he didn't want her to feel like she had to kiss him after simply revealing that she reciprocated his feelings. When their lips had met, Emmett felt his heart and pulse racing at varying, constantly changing speeds. She smelled like the ocean, poppies, irises, and coconut, and she tasted like honey, and he didn't want it to end.
None of the kisses in his life have ever made him feel like this; not his first kiss in eighth grade, his first serious girlfriend, even the woman to whom he lost his virginity. He felt dizzy, but pleasantly so, like he were on a carousel that he didn't want to get off.
His heart skipped a beat when Elle suggested that they slip out of the bar and go to his place. They didn't even have sex; they just laid in bed, snuggled up with each other, and dozed off. If he could feel this much contentment from simply sharing a bed with her, he could only imagine what it would be like to fully make love to her.
But the thought suddenly filled him trepidation. His last romantic relationship had been four years ago, when he was in the middle of getting his master's degree. Meanwhile, from what he had heard Elle say, she definitely had more experience than him in that department. He didn't hold it against her-- he never wanted her to think that he thought of her in the same way others had when she first arrived at Harvard-- and Elle certainly didn't seem like the kind of person to pit lovers, past and present, against each other. But it still sent a pang of anxiety through his stomach as the idea that, when the time came that they would finally consummate their relationship, all he would do was disappoint her.
No, another voice in his head overcame the louder, more nasty voice that usually spoke to him. She loves you, and you love her. When the time comes...
He didn't know how soon that would be; maybe it would be easier for her to take the lead as she had with their first kiss, and he was unsure if it was right to bring up sex after what happened with Callahan. When he had mentioned it last night, she had opted for a quiet night of cuddling and watching TV.
Her stomach let out another loud growl, and Elle's eyes began to open. He let out a small laugh when he saw the confused expression on her face as her eyes scanned her surroundings. He watched as the events of the previous day return to her memory, and a wide smile broke out across her face.
"Good morning," she whispered.
Emmett's heart almost melted as he heard nothing in her voice but pure love and happiness. "Good morning. Sleep well?"
Elle stretched her body out, still keeping herself pressed against his body. "Better than I've slept in months. Didn't realize how awful that mattress in my dorm was."
"And I think my habits might've rubbed off on you a little too well," Emmett joked.
He had been exaggerating, of course, when he had told her that he hadn't slept since 1998, but he always felt as if it were true. And all great jokes did have an element of truth to them.
Elle draped her arm over his middle and lifted her head up to give him a quick kiss. "I wish it was Saturday today-- then we could just lay here together... nothing to do..."
Emmett had to admit that the idea was tempting. Maybe he and Elle could call in sick, hide away in his apartment... But, alas, he had to make money and she had to go to class. Speaking of...
"What are you going to do about Callahan's class?" he asked.
He cursed himself when he felt Elle stiffening at the mention of his name. For a brief moment, he wished that he hadn't brought it up, but neither of them could avoid the topic forever. But he didn't want Elle to feel unsafe in class.
Elle closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "It's school, Emmett... I have to go."
Immediately, a flash of protective anger traveled through him. "No, you don't! I-- I can bring your assignments to you. I'll take notes for you, or you could transfer to another class--"
"Emmett," she laid a hand on his chest. "You don't have to do that; I'm still a student in his class for the spring semester. I... I can handle a couple more months, and then I'll see if there's another class that I can take in the fall."
Emmett's first instinct was to argue; if she wanted to transfer, she could transfer to another class this semester. Reality set in as he realized that even if she could, she would have to play catch-up with the other students.
"Just... if you get uncomfortable, I can make up some excuse about why you have to leave, okay?" Emmett suggested.
Elle nodded. "Okay."
She nestled further into his arms and buried her face into the crook of his neck. She moaned as she felt his arms tighten around her protectively; as much as she wanted to go into Professor Callahan's class today, her head held high with the knowledge that she had proven him wrong, she would have been paralyzed with fright if Emmett weren't holding her right now. No matter where she was in her other classes, she knew that her reaction to Callahan's kiss would probably set her back to square one. She would have to face him everyday, knowing that a man who forced himself on her was in control of her grade.
What was he going to do? Would he fail her simply because she had said no? Was he going to try to keep her in the class so he could have another chance to accost her like that? Or was he going to spin everything to make it sound like she had either wanted it, or forced herself on him?
Her train of thought was thankfully interrupted when her stomach once again protested its emptiness with a loud rumble. Her cheeks flushed crimson and they both laughed.
"I think that's our cue to get up," Emmett suggested, struggling to keep his hand from sneaking under the Harvard sweatshirt that Elle had used as a nightgown and laying it against her belly. "Get some food in you, and head to the campus."
"We could go out for breakfast," Elle suggested. "It's only seven, and neither of us have to be on campus until nine."
Emmett thought it over for a minute. "Yeah, that sounds great."
Though he was reluctant for the both of them to leave the bed, hunger won out in the end. Since they were headed straight to campus after breakfast, he changed into one of the nice dress shirts and pair of pants that Elle had bought him at Hansen-Harkness. But he paired it with the same corduroy blazer that he had worn the day he had met Elle. His Grandma June had given it to him when he was sixteen; it had belonged to his grandfather. Apparently, he had been wearing it when he met his future wife.
"Going back to the scruffy vibe for today?" he heard Elle's voice ask playfully.
He turned around, seeing that she had selected a pastel pink blouse and medium wash skinny jeans that made her look just the tiniest bit taller than she really was. His heart twinged with delight and his stomach swooped with heat as he admired how flattering the ensemble was on her figure.
Get a fucking grip.
"Yeah," he answered a little breathlessly. "The trial's over, and..."
Elle shook her head as she approached him. "You don't have to justify it to me. Like I said, I love it."
The corners of her mouth quirked up with a sly yet unsure smirk.
"In fact... you remind me of my first fictional crush," she confessed.
"Really? Who?"
"Egon from Ghostbusters."
Emmett laughed. "No way."
"Yeah, way," Elle nodded. "The first man of my dreams-- still seem to have a thing for a genius in a suit."
"I wouldn't say that I'm the genius here," Emmett shrugged.
"Hey-- you are," Elle still spoke with a smile on her face, but her tone was a bit firmer. "I may have figured out that Nikos was perjuring himself, you figured out how to prove it. You combed through pages of Massachusetts law in a few hours to try to get me back on the case."
Emmett opened his mouth to speak when his stomach decided to growl loudly as well. His face grew warm and flushed when he saw how Elle's greyish-green eyes twinkled with amusement and empathy.
"I guess we should be heading out now?" she suggested.
Emmett nodded, feeling an unpleasant cramp of hunger precede another rumble from his stomach. "Yeah."