Is this destiny?

Charlie and Emma are sitting on their usual spot in the garden: on a bench in front of the massive white cage with birds.

Charlie is facing the cage and he can't suppress the smile because Emma said 'yes'. She will be his date for the party. He would like more than that, but he does not dare ask for it. Not yet. And he even got to kiss her. There is no mistake, she was dazed by his proximity. Ah, he is making a great progress! He wants to turn toward her, but he is aware that she is staring at him, and he fears that maybe she is considering to take it back… the 'yes' part, not the kiss. She didn't kiss him back, but she didn't dodge it either, so… a progress. And a big one.

Emma is unable to stop staring at Charlie. His slightly messy black hair fits him perfectly, and his profile is so handsome that even that small curve at the middle of his nose is handsome, and his eyes… she can't tell what color they are, brown or green? Some mix of the two. And his thin lips are so kissable… Yes, kissable… Emma can't believe that she is having these thoughts, but… did he kiss her? She still can't wrap her mind around that fact. Charlie kissed her. Did she imagine it?

"Why did you kiss me?"

Emma was not aware how that question escaped her. Maybe she didn't say it at loud… Oh, God! Charlie is looking at her now, so she definitely said it at loud.

Charlie observed her expression and he could not tell what she is thinking. But that was never a problem with Emma because they were always able to talk openly about almost anything. Almost.

"Did you hate it?"

"No, no… nothing like that.", Emma responded swiftly and then stumbled with the rest of her words when she saw his dashing smile. "I was just… uhm… wondering… why?"

"You didn't hate it?" This time his smile reached his eyes. He was hoping that she will say that she liked it… and he finds her flustered expression beyond cute.

"You didn't answer my question…" Emma's last words were more of a whisper and her eyes widened when she saw that he is approaching her again.

His lips touched hers again. Once, twice… few light pecks before he took her lower lip between his and sucked on it gently.

Emma hated that she is frozen again. Unable to respond one way or another because her brain and body refused to cooperate. Or so she thought… she was surprised that her hand is clutching the lapel of his blazer. Is she pulling him closer?

Her lower lip was still between his when his tongue ran over it slowly, sending shivers down her spine and she inhaled more than she intended. 'Oh, God, he smells nice!' And that was the thing she needed to wake up from her stupor and her lips to move and… she kissed him back.

Charlie told himself not to overdo it. He should not force Emma outside of her comfort zone. He already got more than he expected out of this afternoon… but damnit, she is kissing him back! And it is so much better than what he imagined. Her softness, her smell, her taste… everything is addictive. He could do this all day and not get bored of it. But he wanted more. His hands moved around Emma, pulling her closer and he deepened the kiss. He was not sure if he pushed Emma too much but two seconds later he got his response when her fingers laced into his hair and her tongue danced with his.

…

At the table of four who discussed the upcoming wedding in the Chicago area, Sarah straightened her back and looked between Ellie and Jasper with a big smile on her face.

Ellie and Jasper turned to see what got Sarah's attention.

They all saw Charlie and Emma making out like there is no one else present.

"I will tell them that there are kids around!", Aiden grumbled while standing up.

Sarah pulled him back down. "You will do no such thing. They are just kissing, what can happen from just kissing? Kids know about it…"

'Just kissing' words rang in Ellie's mind and she blushed while trying to avoid looking at Jasper. Well, she knows what her super-handsome fiancé can do with only kissing. And she knows that he is looking at her right now and thinking about the same thing she is.

…

Charlie didn't want this kiss to end, but he knows that he can't even dream about anything further than this. Not with all these people present. And it needs to end eventually…

"I kissed you because I like you, Emma.", Charlie's husky voice rang in Emma's ears when he finally responded to her question.

Emma's mind was spinning, and she was high from the kiss. She wondered, how is it possible for a man to taste so good? And did he just confess to her?

"If you continue like this, I might fall for you completely.", she admitted her thoughts.

Charlie's face lit up. "Continue what? Kissing?"

Emma was not sure how to respond to this. It's not only kissing… Today's Charlie is overwhelming her senses. The attraction she felt toward him so far can be described as a mild tropical breeze, while this afternoon is a hurricane. Unstoppable, deadly for a maiden's heart, hurricane.

She took a deep breath to compose herself and glanced around nervously. She was relieved that no one is staring at them. At least how much she can see.

"You are different.", Emma said while her eyes shifted over the ground in front of her.

Charlie frowned slightly. It seems that he pushed too much because Emma seems to be uncomfortable. That is not what he wanted.

"I'm sorry if I acted too aggressively, but I'm running out of time and I don't want to lose you. I don't want to make you rush into anything. I wanted you to know how I feel about you."

Emma looked at him.

"Running out of time?", she repeated.

"I need to take over my responsibilities at the company, and my schedule will be much busier than so far. I enjoy our time together and I'm saddened that there will be much less of it going forward."

"How much is that… less?", Emma asked reluctantly.

He thought for some time before answering. "I do most of my work from Los Angeles, and sometimes I travel, but it's not longer than a day or two… maybe few times a month. On most of the weekdays, we can have dinner together, and I will keep my weekends for you. Sometimes there are functions that I need to attend, and I hope that on those occasions you join me… as my date."

"Like next Saturday?"

"Yes."

Charlie reached to hold Emma's hand in his and he was glad that Emma didn't reject him.

They sat in silence, each with their own thoughts and watched tropical birds in a massive cage in front of them… while holding hands.

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