My Emerald

Soft Touches

He was surprised she did not pull away from him, or chastise him for crossing the line when he kissed her, but maybe she needed the comfort regardless he would take whatever she was willing to give. The bartender saw them coming and had a wine and whiskey ready when they arrived. William managed to secure them a booth and the group moved their things over. William had asked Charlotte to dance but Nancy's laugh put an end to that. “Charlotte refuses to dance, always has, she says she’ll dance when pigs fly.” She winked, blowing her a kiss as David and Josh were dragged back onto the dance floor.

“Well, it looks like it's just you and me Emerald,” William said.

Charlotte leaned on the back of the booth, sliding her feet up as both a way to keep her distance from William and ease the ache from wearing heels all day. William just grabbed her legs, picked them up and placed them on his own, sliding off her shoes to massage her feet.

“So you want to intern at my publishing company, or so Gerald says, tell me about your favorite books/authors?” he looked over at the beautiful pink tint on her cheeks from the alcohol she had drank tonight.

“I’m an English major, I actually dreamed of working in a library or museum curating the classics of history, but Gerald was adamant that I do something that makes more money. A ‘real career’, as he calls it. So, yes, I want to intern at Hartford Publishing, not because you apparently own it or how big it is. But because your company has put out some of the best books I've read in the past century. Thrillers, mysteries, love stories, even fantasy fiction and none of them are over published. They all still sound like the author's voice pulls through. Compared to some of the competitors, everything they publish is the same. Same story line, same character profiles, writing styles, etc. they’re over published. It means a lot to real book nerds to distinguish each author's voice. I think your company does that well.” Charlotte finished sliding her feet back, “I’m actually really tired and think I’ll head home. Could you tell the others for me? They tend to worry.”

“I’ll take you.” William left no room for negotiation as he handed Charlotte her shoes back, “I’ll tell David.”

Guiding Charlotte to the valet, he handed them his ticket as they pulled up in a midnight blue Audi R8, her eyes sparkled.

“I know nothing about cars, but this is sexy.” Her hand clamped over her mouth as William chuckled.

“I’m glad you like it.” He gestured for her to climb in as he opened her door.

He heard her mumble into her hands as he was climbing in, “I cannot believe you said that out loud Charlotte”.

“Where to Emerald?” he asked, trying to keep the amusement out of his voice.

“Home, please” she input her mothers address onto the sat nav and William whisked them off.

The car was small and there was not a lot of room for a guy of Williams' stature. He thought he’d use this opportunity to push his luck. Reaching over, he started rubbing small circles on the back of her hand, never taking his eyes off the road. Much to her own surprise, Charlotte didn’t pull her hand away, it was calming, she felt safe. Something she had not felt for a great many years. The drive was only about 20 minutes from the club. When she made it in, she just wanted to take a bath and get to bed. Climbing into the hot shower, she let the water run over her tense muscles. Her mind began to wander back to the conversation she had with Will about Romeo & Juliet. Goosebumps covered her arms as she remembered his soft touch and warm breath on her neck. She bit her lip, imaging what it would be like if he had kissed her, his strong hands pulling her back into his chest and turning her around. Her back being pushed up to the wall as one hand slid to her waist and the other her neck, pulling her in close as he kissed her softly asking for permission before taking more – no! what was she thinking, this man was to be her boss for an entire year after graduation, so she could be free of her father and keep some finacial burden from her mother. William would never look at her in that way, they came from different worlds, and his was one she wanted no part of. She even chocked up the kiss on her forehead and hand holding to him, feeling sorry for her on her own birthday. She turned off the shower, got ready for bed, plugged in her phone and crashed. She had not realized how emotionally taxing the day had been. That could be the only explanation for her thoughts. She had had boyfriends before but never anything serious. “I’ve got to stop reading all those romance novels” she thought to herself.