Page 26 of I Met Him At The Library

Taking a step back, I whispered, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” he whispered back, and I turned to my door, unlocked it, and walked in.

Turning back, I smiled softly while he smiled back dreamily, and I closed the door slowly. Leaning against the wall, my smile bloomed into a much bigger one as my hand went to my chest to feel my heart pounding there. Holy shit.

Chapter 15

Ryan

Ikissed her. I kissed Emily, outside of her apartment. Her lips were soft and perfect against mine. Our kiss was better than I could have imagined, and warmth pooled in my chest. It was magical and wonderful and … holy shit! I kissed Emily.

She was so into me.

I released a sigh as I turned to her door. Reveling in the dreamy feeling, I replayed the entire kiss in my head. It was glorious the way her body fit against mine. It was so perfect, I could still feel the warmth of her ghosting over me.

Unable to pull myself away from her door, I stepped up to it. I needed more time with her, and I couldn’t wait. My hand lifted, and I knocked lightly. When she opened the door right away, I was slightly surprised and words escaped me. Had she been waiting on the other side?

“Ryan?” Her brows were pinched together in confusion but her hazel eyes sparkled.

“Can I take you to brunch in the morning?” The words flew out of my mouth.

A blush rose to her cheeks, and her soft smile brightened. I didn’t want to wait to see her at the library. I wanted to spend every waking second with her.

Nodding once, she replied, “That would be great.”

“I’ll pick you up at eleven?” I suggested.

“Sure.”

“Okay. Goodnight again.”

“Goodnight again.” She bit her lip and closed her door.

Once the lock clicked into place, I turned and slowly walked up the steps to the next floor. I pulled my keys from my pocket and unlocked my sister's door before pushing it open and stepping inside.

I slipped out of my shoes at the door and walked softly toward the guest bedroom. As I stripped down to my t-shirt and boxers, my mind turned back to Emily and how she was one floor below me. Did she wear pajamas, or maybe she slept in the nude? Hopefully, I’d have the pleasure of finding out one day.

One day I’d have her curled up next to me in bed. We’d have lazy weekends. I’d make her breakfast in bed before I’d have my own delicious treat. I couldn’t wait for the day to come, and hopefully I’d have plenty of them with her for as long as she wanted them with me.

Laying in bed, I ran through all the possible conversations we could have at breakfast. What I didn’t allow to run through my head were all the ways it could go wrong. I wouldn’t allow anything to burst this perfect bubble of serenity.

Slowly, I drifted off to sleep wishing my arms were wrapped around Emily and her body was pressed against mine.

The next morning, I showered and grabbed some clothes I had left here. Lacey made me promise when she moved in that if I’d ever been drinking and needed to crash I’d come here. Our father tore our family apart with his drinking, so we took the “drink responsibly” slogan to heart. Of course, I only crashed here because we got back so late, and I didn’t drink anything at all the night before, but I sure was grateful I had clothes here. I would have hated going to brunch in last night’s clothes.

I washed and dried my clothes from the night before, trying to pass the time until I could walk downstairs and take my woman out to brunch. Okay, so maybe I was being a bit presumptive about calling her my woman, however, after brunch I’d ask her on a real date, and soon she would be mine, hopefully.

It was finally time, and I left Lacey’s apartment - locking the door behind me before descending the stairs. Knocking on Emily’s door, I waited patiently for her to answer. When she did, the sight of her stole my breath from me. She wore an emerald green sweater with dark jeans and sneakers.

“Good morning,” she said brightly.

“Good morning,” I replied.

“Did you go home to get ready?” She asked, her eyes scanning over me, not disguising the heat growing in them.

Suddenly, I wanted to skip brunch for a whole different type of meal.

“No, my sister insisted I leave some things at her place in case I ever got too drunk to drive. She doesn’t yet understand getting drunk past age thirty turns into a two day hangover, so I rarely do it.”

---