Dear Emmett

Chapter Sixteen - [Parker.]

The Fourth of July weekend in Paris was…eventful.

For a small town, I hadn’t expected much. In Los Angeles, they went all out and it could get pretty wild sometimes. But in a town like Paris, I wasn’t sure what they really could do to celebrate.

But I was throughly surprised when there seemed to be plenty of things to do. Aunt Lauren was on call, so she was able to enjoy the festivities with me. 

There were games set up downtown for the kids, a petting farm, food shacks, people selling special things they’d made - clothes, jewelry, etc and even the stores were open late with special deals.

On the Fourth, they had fireworks. I was on a set up blanket near an oak tree, and my aunt was sitting nearby with a couple of her friends. Emmett had joined me, asking my Aunt Lauren if he could steal me away like the southern gentleman he was.

“There’s something..Something I wanted to tell you,” Emmett said, uncharacteristically shy as he played with the frayed edge of the blanket.

“Is something wrong?”

“I’ve got a buddy in Montgomery, Alabama. His  house got hit by a bad storm, and he needs some help. I’ll be gone for a couple weeks. 

“Oh.”

I was quiet, unsure what to say. I didn’t know what I felt about him, but I knew I didn’t want to not see him for a couple of weeks. But what he was doing was very selfless. He was taking time out of his life to help a friend.

“That’s very nice of you,” I said, smiling at him.

We looked up at the sky at the same time, amazed at the fireworks that were going off. This had always been my favorite part of this holiday. Even as a teenager, they always held my attention well. They were just so…

“Beautiful,” Emmett said.

My eyes flickered to him, but he wasn’t looking at the sky. His eyes were staring into mine, and I had to fight back the nerves that were fluttering around in my stomach. Before I could formulate a response, Emmett reached up and pushed my hair behind my ear.

His hand slid from behind my ear to the back of my head, pulling me in gently.

When his lips met mine, the fireworks weren’t the only things that were exploding. A mixture of emotions were swirling around. Fear, excitement, enthrallment. When the kiss ended, I brought a finger to my lips.

I remembered the way it felt when I kissed him that night in Panama City Beach. It was exactly like this. It felt the same. Just as…consuming.

 “Charlotte, are you ready?”

 My Aunt Lauren stood about twenty feet away from me. I hadn’t noticed that the fireworks had ended and people were leaving. The neutral expression on her face told me she hadn’t noticed our kiss.

 “Yeah, I’ll be over at the car in a minute,” I said, offering her a smile. She nodded, said a quick goodbye to Emmett, who had gotten up as well. He offered his hand to me.

“Thank you,” I said, grabbing onto it. He pulled me easily to my feet. “When are you leaving?”

“The day after tomorrow,” He said. “I just found out today, otherwise I would have…" 

“It’s okay, Emmett. I understand.”

“You let me know if you need anything, okay? Call me whenever. Even though I’m away, my mama will be glad to give you a lending hand." 

“Thank you.”

I hugged him, and watched him walk back to his truck with his blanket in hand. I turned around, walking the opposite way back to Aunt Lauren’s vehicle.