A Heart of Stone

It was an hour before Emma came back downstairs, showered and dressed in the same clothes from last night, and far more perky and cheerful than before. She didn't currently have any makeup on, and I noticed a dusting of freckles across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. They were yet another thing about her that I found endearing.

"Hey again," I greeted her from the kitchen. "You feeling better now?"

"Hey," she smiled. "Yeah, I'm much better now. Still got a bit of a headache but it's not as bad anymore."

"Well that's good," I smiled, heading over to the coffee maker. "You want coffee?"

Emma sat down on the couch again, set her heels down on the floor. "Yeah, sure, I'll take a cup."

I made her a cup and brought it over to her. "So, how are you getting home?"

"My agent's coming to pick me up. She'll take me to my car, and then I'll head home."

"You good to drive?"

She nodded. "I should be, as long as I drive carefully."

"Is your agent on her way now?"

"Yeah, she shouldn't be too long, she was just heading to get gas when I called her."

I nodded, and then the two of us fell silent. There was something in Emma's tone of voice that gave me pause. It was a tension, an awkwardness of some kind. My mind returned to last night, the kiss that Emma and I had shared. I hadn't thought much about it at the time, or even in the time since. In hindsight, however, that had to be what she was feeling awkward about, right? I could certainly understand if she was, I highly doubt she'd started our her night intending to kiss me.

A few minutes passed before I heard a car pull into the driveway. Emma looked up, first to the window, then to me. "That's my agent," she said, confirming my unasked question, reaching down to pull on her heels again. "Thanks for letting me stay overnight, Chris," she smiled, picking up her purse from the coffee table.

"You can thank Matt for that. I'm just borrowing his house for the week, remember?" I remarked. I stood up and headed to the front door to unlock it.

Emma smiled. "I'll send you a text when I arrive home, save you worrying about whether I made it or not."

"Sounds good to me." I opened the door. "I'll see you around, I guess?"

"I would imagine so. Maybe we can catch lunch together or something before you have to go home."

"That would be fun. I could go for that."

"I'll talk to you about it later then," she smiled, giving me a gentle embrace before heading towards the car in the driveway. I watched it off down the street, and only turned back inside and closed the door when it reached the end of the road and turned the corner out of view.

After Emma left, I made my way into Matt's office and set my laptop up on the desk. I had a bit of a creative burst and needed to expel it onto a digital page. Where it came from I had no idea, but the words just seemed to flow from my brain and onto the screen, my fingers dancing on my keyboard as if their lives depended on it. As the early evening drew near, my fingers were starting to ache from all the typing. I was thirsty as hell, and I desperately needed something to eat, so I shut my laptop off and headed downstairs.

I grabbed a can of coke from the fridge and a protein bar from the cupboard and planted myself at the island. I sat there and ate, my mind winding down from its creative burst and starting to switch over into a more relaxed state. I was pretty happy with the work I'd done today. At the very least I was pleased that I hadn't used last night and my minor hangover this morning as an excuse and procrastinated all day.

I threw my empty can and wrapper in the trash and was just heading over to the couch to take a seat when the doorbell rang. When I opened it, I was taken aback by who I saw on the other side. "Emma, hi," I said, confused. "What are you doing back here so soon?"

"Hi," Emma answered awkwardly. She'd been home and changed into a pair of light blue ripped jeans and a black sweater. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, of course, come in." I closed the door behind her and followed her into the living room. "So what's up?"

Emma sat down on the couch, set her bag down on the floor. "It's, uh... it's about last night," she said, her voice soft as she wrung her hands in her lap. "I didn't... I didn't come onto you too strongly, did I?"

"What are..." I trailed off as I remembered. "Oh, you mean... you mean about last night?"

She nodded.

"No," I answered immediately. "I don't think you did at all."

"No?"

"No."

Emma looked at me. She seemed relieved if still a little unsure about it. For a moment neither of us said anything. "Well, that's a relief then," she smiled. "I was worried that I had seriously crossed a line last night."

I shook my head. "Don't worry about it, Emma. If I hadn't been comfortable with it, I'd have stopped you. Just like I know you would if our roles were the other way around."

Her smile widened, and she seemed to relax fully finally. "Okay, cool, that's good to know. Thank you, I needed to hear that. Last night was amazing, and I didn't want to worry that I'd ruined that for you."

"No, not at all."

Emma sighed in relief. "That's very good to know, thank you."

"No problem," I smiled.

"There is, um... there is another reason I came over, though."

"What is it?" I asked her.

She leaned over and reached into her bag, coming back up with my book in hand. "I may have slightly misled you the other day when I said I didn't know about your book."

"What do you mean?"

She set the book in her lap, drummed her fingers on the front cover. She sighed, then looked up at me. "So, you remember the other day I told you that I had never heard of your book and that I would keep an eye out for it to read it? That was a little bit of a lie." She picked up the book again and held it so that I could see the cover. "This isn't my agent's copy of your book: it's my copy."

I stared at her for a second, my brain working on processing what she'd just told me. "It's your copy?"

She nodded.

"Why didn't you say?"

"I don't know; I was just nervous, I guess? I didn't want to lose my mind and freak out about meeting you, so I just kept cool and acted like I didn't know the book."

"Well, that is a surprise," I said after a moment of thought. "I would never have guessed that you of all people would be nervous about meeting me. Surely it should be the other way around?"

Emma laughed softly. "I guess it really should be. I'm just such a huge fan of this book, and I didn't want to go full fangirl on you or anything."

"Oh, that's a disappointment. Maybe I wouldn't mind you going full fangirl on me."

"Oh? That's what you think right now. We'll see how you feel after I've fangirled in your face for a while."

"I'm a very patient man," I chuckled. "I'm sure I could last... I don't know, five minutes? Maybe ten at a push."

Emma made an exasperated sigh and laughed. "Only one way to find out, right? In any case, I'm glad you're not mad at me or anything. I wasn't sure how exactly you'd react, but I kinda prepared myself for the worst."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that now, Emma. I'm happy you like the book, regardless of how you choose to show it."

Emma smiled. "Can I be honest about something else, too?"

"Sure thing, what is it?"

"I like you a lot. Like, 'a lot' a lot."

It took a second for me to get her meaning, but when it sunk in, I got the message loud and clear. "Oh."

That was certainly an interesting twist to things.

****

Chapter Five

A few moments passed by with Emma and I not saying anything. We glanced at each other, without really keeping eye contact for any length of time. Eventually, though, Emma set the book back down on the coffee table and looked directly at me.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice soft.

I looked at her and smiled. "Sorry, I was trying to look philosophical again. I guess it didn't quite work this time."

Emma laughed. "No, not quite."

I shrugged. "I tried."

She smiled for a moment before her expression turned serious again. "All joking aside," she said, "what do you think about that? What I said?"

What I said about liking you, I mean—Emma left that part of her question unasked. I took a breath.

"I can't say I was expecting that sort of admission from you," I answered. Of course, I hadn't—how could I have been? Who wakes up in the morning expecting a woman they've known for only a couple of days admitting to liking them like that? I suddenly felt like I was back in high school and was trying to navigate the world of teenage dating all over again. "How long have you liked me for?"

"Honestly?" Emma sighed. "I've liked you for a long time. A couple of years, at least."

"Why me? I'm just a guy who's written a couple of books. I'm nothing special compared to you."

"I wish I could properly explain it; there's just something about you that I'm attracted to."

I kept quiet for a moment, unsure of what to say. "Well, I can't pretend I'm not a little flattered by that," I remarked finally.

"Well, that's good, at least," she smiled. "I think most of it is that I find you rather handsome. You've got a good strong jaw, good cheekbones, some lovely eyes..."

"Wait, are you flirting with me now?"

Emma shrugged. "Would that be a bad thing?"

"I didn't say it would be, did I?"

She smiled. "I know we've only known each other a couple of days, but I just want to say that I would happily date you. I hope I'm not too forward."

"Not at all," I said.

"Do you want to give it a try then?"

I didn't answer straight away. The question bounced around my brain, echoing over and over again. Emma Stone was asking me if I wanted to date her. Despite only having known her for a couple of days, I couldn't bring myself to say no. "Yeah, sure. Let's do it," I smiled.

Emma's smile widened. She reached out and took my hand, squeezed gently. "Well, there we are. We're dating now."

"I guess last night counts as our first date."

"I guess so," Emma laughed. "So, can I kiss you again?"

I nodded. "Sure thing."

With a smile, Emma moved closer to me until our faces were mere inches apart. With a smile, she closed the distance, and her lips brushed against mine. I felt a jolt between us, like a bolt of electricity. Emma instinctively squeezed my hand. Her lips had a sweet, fruity taste as if she was wearing chapstick, but I didn't have time to focus before I felt her push her tongue between my lips and battle my tongue in my mouth. I felt a tug on my arm, and before I knew it, Emma was on her back and I was on top of her. When the kiss broke, Emma and I were both panting lightly, and we held each other's gaze for a moment.

"Oh wow, that was even better than last night," Emma whispered, nuzzling my neck. "I keep thinking I'm crazy for feeling this strongly for someone I've known for a few days at most."

"Maybe you are crazy," I chuckled, smiling down at her, "but I like that about you."

"You're so sweet, I think," Emma chuckled. Her lips found mine again. "I have to say you look pretty sexy from down here."

"You should see the view from where I am."

"I would, but this couch is a bit small, we'd just end up on the floor. Unless..."

"Unless what?" I asked.

"We could go upstairs to one of the bedrooms. We'll have a bit more room that way."

I smiled, brushed a kiss onto her forehead, then stood up. "All right, I'm sold."

We moved upstairs. Emma pushed me into a bedroom, then closed the door behind us.

"Isn't this Matt's bedroom?" I asked.

"Who cares," Emma smirked, pushing me gently down onto the bed and crawling on top of me. Our lips met, and we started to kiss again, our lips parting and tongue battling. Her hair fell across my face as I put my hands on her waist and held her.

We came up for air from the kiss, again panting lightly. "So," I asked, "Is this as good as you thought it would be?"

"Even better," Emma whispered, stroking my cheek, "and I don't want this to end anytime soon." With that, she kissed me again before sitting on her haunches. "There's not a lot of room down here, move up the bed a bit."

As I did so, she reached behind her and pulled off her shoes and socks before crawling up the bed toward me. Our lips met yet again, and this time it was apparent how hungry we both were for this. My hands found her waist and slipped up under her sweater onto the bare back of her skin. She let out a soft moan into my mouth.

When we can up for air again, Emma fanned her hand in front of her face. "Is it just me, or is it getting hot in here?" She asked, and before I could answer, she grabbed the bottom of her sweater and pulled it completely off.

I was stunned by the sight of her torso. Her stomach was tight and smooth and flat, and when I softly ran my hands across her skin, I could feel the muscles rippling underneath. Her breasts were the ideal size for my hands, encased in a plain black bra: for a moment, I thought I was staring at a goddess.

Emma bit her lower lip and looked at me almost shyly as I admired her torso. There was a connection between us now, I was sure, some invisible line we had crossed that meant that whatever happened tonight, our friendship would forever be anything but ordinary.

"You want to ask me something, don't you?" I asked her, my hands resting on her hips.

"Was I that obvious?" She took a deep breath. "I was wondering if you're willing to skip forward a few dates..."

She trailed off. I said nothing, choosing to wait for her to continue.

"I want to have sex with you," she finished finally. "I wasn't planning to ask you that anytime soon, but since we're dating now I don't see why not."

"Do we have any protection?"

"No, I don't," Emma answered with a grimace. "That kinda puts a damper on things, doesn't it? Unless..." She reached over and opened the drawer of the nightstand. "I know Matt was seeing someone a little while back. Maybe he has a condom spare."

"Matt was seeing someone? He never mentioned."

"It didn't work out between them. The girl he was seeing had to move away to start a new job, so they called it off a few weeks in," Emma explained. "I'm just hoping that they- yes, got one!"

She pulled her hand from the drawer, a small foil packet in her fingers. She set it down on the bed beside us, then reached behind her back. The straps of her bra fell off her shoulders, and as she threw it to the floor, I saw her breasts entirely uncovered for the first time. They were small and perky, and her nipples were pale pink and already stiff, a sure sign of how turned on she was. I placed my hand gently onto one of her breasts, my thumb brushing a nipple, and she responded with a sharp intake of breath.

"Sit up," she whispered, kissing me on the neck, grabbing the bottom of my t-shirt, pulling it over my head. "God, you are so fucking handsome." she sighed, kissing my chest.

Seeing Emma here, half-naked on top of me, set a stirring going between my legs. She reached down and undid the button and zip on her jeans, standing up briefly to slide them down her legs, followed by her panties. I worked on removing my own jeans, and she helped me pull them off, throwing them to the other side of the room and crawling back onto the bed.

"Are you ready for this, Chris?" Emma asked, her fingers slipping into the waistband of my boxers, my bulge incredibly prominent.

"I'm ready."

Emma pulled my boxers off.

I felt incredibly self-conscious for a moment. The knowledge that Emma Stone was staring at my naked body hadn't fully registered in my brain. Still, when she put her hand on my upper thigh, I snapped back to reality, and by now, I was now fully hard.

I reached out for the condom packet, but Emma's hand reached it first. She picked it up and tore it open. "Let me," she smiled, her finger and thumb forming an 'O' shape as she unrolled the condom onto my length.

The feeling of her hand on me down there sent a spark through my body. She was slow and careful, her strokes and tender touch being reciprocated by the pulsing in her hand. I could not believe how lucky I was right now. It got even better when she leaned down and kissed the length, head to base, then took it into her mouth. She only had about half in her mouth, running her tongue around it wherever she could and sucking on it lightly. After bobbing her head on me for a few seconds, she lifted off to look at me better but continued to stroke.

"How are you holding up?" She asked me.

"Pretty good so far," I answered, even as I was trying to catch my breath.

She parted her lips and drooled onto my cock, using the additional lubrication to continue stroking me. She took my tip into her mouth again, using her tongue and her hand on me for a few seconds. To my surprise, she moved her hand away, and then her mouth slid all the way down my length until her nose was pressed into my groin.

"Oh my god, Emma," was all I could utter. Her tongue dancing all over my cock was sending waves of pleasure through me. It was almost a disappointment when she pulled me out of her mouth, coughing gently, a string of drool connecting her lips to my cock.

"Wow, fuck," I panted.

"That feel good?" Emma chuckled, wiping some drool from the side of her mouth.

"Good?" I chuckled, still catching my breath. "That's an understatement."

"Thank you," she smiled, gently stroking my cock as we gazed at each other, her hand moving up and down in a slow but steady rhythm. "It's been a little while; I wasn't sure how good that would be for you."

"It felt amazing," I assured her, finding her free hand and taking hold of it.

"How about I keep going then?" She gave my hand a squeeze then lowered her head again, the tip of my cock passing between her lips and into her mouth. The condom numbed some of the sensations, but I could still feel her tongue snaking, working over my shaft as her head bobbed up and down. I could do nothing other than gasp and groan. I didn't dare look in her direction for fear of the dam bursting too soon, but even then I was doing all I could do to last as long as possible.

She pulled off me again and let go of my cock, letting it lie down on my body. "I don't want you to blow too quickly," she smiled, "cause I really need you inside me now."

"Don't you want me to repay you?" I asked, thinking she would want me to eat her out.

"No need," she laughed, reaching a hand between her legs. They came away wet and glistening. "I think I'm ready to go as it is."

She let go of my hand and moved to straddle me, leaning over to kiss me as she took hold of my cock and held it upright. I could feel the heat from her pussy, but I didn't want to rush any part of this. pulled away from the kiss and looked into her eyes, for God knows what number of times that night. "Are you sure you're ready?"

"Absolutely, I'm ready," Emma assured me, reaching down and grabbing me again, giving me a few quick strokes before lining the head of my cock up to the entrance to her pussy. "You don't mind if I'm on top, do you?"

"Be my guest."

With a smile, she relaxed her hips, and I felt the first couple of inches of my cock enter her. "Oh, damn," she moaned, taking a second to adjust to the feeling. She lowered her hips again until I was halfway inside her. "Oh holy... that feels incredible." She wasn't wrong. She was so tight, and wet, and hot that I was lost for words for a moment. All I could do was gasp, a hoarse chuckle escaping me as I threw my head back into the pillow. The feeling of her pussy gripping me, relaxing, and then gripping me again was heavenly. And then, the feeling of her sinking down onto me until I was all the way inside her was just the cherry on top.