Too little too late

You had little time to contemplate your past with Emma as the car pulled into your street and up to the house. Your father's car was nowhere to be seen so you took that as a good sign that he wouldn’t be back until at least later tonight, or hopefully never if you had any say in it. You jumped out the car and before you could head to the door, Mom called your name and pulled you aside.

“Here” she said, giving you some money out of her purse.

You looked at it for a second and was about to return it when she intervened.

“If you're inviting Emma somewhere then the least you can do is buy her something while you're there” she declared, forcing the money back into your hand.

“Were only going to the park, it's not like I’m taking her to a fancy restaurant and besides, we're only gonna be hanging out like normal” you replied, trying not to make a big deal out of your afternoon plans.

“...Be that as it may, you should still have the money just in case” Mom responded, seemingly not buying that you were just ‘hanging out’.

You were annoyed that it only took one comment to somehow unravel the new relationship that you had with Emma and although you weren’t exactly planning on keeping it a secret, having everyone assume something so suddenly just got on your nerves. On the other hand, you were pretty much flat broke at the moment and having any amount of money at your disposal was better than nothing, so you pocketed it and followed Mom into the house.

Without your father here, Lucy was now happily relaxing in the living room with the TV on and no longer felt the need to be confined to her bedroom. Sarah was nowhere to be seen so you headed upstairs to your own room. You got up the stairs and heard Sarah’s voice as you went past her door, only making out a few words as she excitedly made plans for the rest of her day. She probably would have gone out yesterday if not for the family trip that took up a good chunk of the day.

With Sarah preoccupied, you had no more distractions getting in your way and made it to your room, sitting down at your desk and pulling out your phone. Considering you had had the phone for a few days now, it felt strange that this would only be your second phone call with the thing. You had exchanged numbers already with Emma so you found her in your contacts and let it ring. At first, you thought she wasn’t going to answer but just when you were about to cancel the call, the call was connected.

“Hello?” you heard Emma say groggily on the other end.

“Morning sleepyhead, are you really still asleep this late into the day?” you asked her, checking the clock next to your bed to confirm the time.

“It's the weekend. I have every right to lie in. It is a day of rest ya know” she replied, yawning down the phone before she continued. “Well now that I’m up, what did you ring for?”

“Unlike some people, I’ve been up for a while and I was wondering if you wanted to hang out. I’ve got a few things I wanted to mention that would be better face to face if you catch my drift“ you answered, alluding to the KDK without mentioning it by name.

“Oh sure, do you wanna come round or should I head over to yours?” She asked.

“I was thinking we could go out somewhere if you're up for it? It's a pretty nice day plus there's a lot less chance of being overheard by anyone” you responded, suddenly feeling nervous as you waited for her to answer.

“... I’m good with that. It's just been a while since we actually went somewhere that wasn’t one of our own rooms” Emma joked as you heard the background noise of her now moving around her bedroom.

“Oh if that's on the table then I’m happy to come over” you teased, imagining Emma rolling her eyes before carrying on. “You wanna text me when you're ready and I’ll come and pick you up?”

“Sure, I still need a shower so it will probably be 30 minutes, maybe more” she answered, getting an agreement from you before the call ended so you could let her go.

You were already wearing smart enough clothes for going out so you didn’t feel the need to change. Although this should be just the two of you hanging out as normal, you couldn’t help but be a little nervous at the prospect of a ‘first date’. Instead of sitting there twiddling your thumbs as the time ticked by, you got up and freshened yourself up in the bathroom and after doing that, including messing with your hair for a while, you still had another 20 minutes to go.

With a sigh, you went downstairs and sat down on the sofa next to Lucy who still hadn’t moved from when you last saw her. You were hoping for the TV or at least something to distract you but sadly nothing did. Occasionally Lucy would give you a smirk but when you asked her about it she just brushed you off with a “It doesn’t matter” or “Oh, nothing”, which only made the time pass by even slower.

Eventually, your phone buzzed in your hand and you saw the text from Emma to tell you she was ready. You got up and headed for the door only to hear Lucy shouted behind you.

“Good luck” she called out, not turning her head away from the TV, while you went out the door.

You quickly cut across the garden, not needing to hide from the view of the window unlike yesterday's visit, and knocked on the door. No sooner than your last knock, Emma opened the door as if she was waiting directly behind it.

She greeted you with a smile and took your breath away as soon as you saw her. You wouldn’t say she usually wore boyish clothes most of the time but this was the first time you had ever seen her wear a dress.

It was a blue with a floral design that barely made it to her knees but it gave her a welcoming vibe that made your heart beat a little faster.

“You look… great!” you said, giving her a look up and down as you tried to burn your appearance into your brain. This was one of the rare moments that you wish the KDK captured that wasn’t sexual in nature.

“..Thanks” Emma replied shyly, stepping out onto the porch to join you.

She was about to close the door behind her when you saw Grace stick her head out from behind a corner and give you a big thumbs up. Luckily Emma didn't notice her but you still blushed at the fact the two of you were seen. Once she had locked the door, you held out your hand for her and she took it with a smile, interlocking your fingers together as you started your walk.

Neither of you said anything at first, just enjoying each other's company with an occasional wide grin when you both caught each other staring at the other.

“So… have you got a place in mind or are we gonna aimlessly wander for a while? Not that I’m saying this isn’t nice or anything! I just meant that…” Emma nervously rambled, being the first one to break the silence and making you realise she was just as tense as you were.

“I was thinking the park at first but I know there's a coffee shop near there. As much as I’d prefer the coffee place, it's probably better to talk about the other stuff out in the open'' you interjected, taking a quick look around before carrying on. “There's been a few new KDK things and stuff related to that which I think you should know about” you said, frowning a little as you imagined the worst reaction Emma could give.

“Okay, the parks good for me, just don’t expect me to run around wearing this” she teased, noticing the expression on your face and attempting to cheer you up.

It didn’t take long for you both to make it to the park. Considering the weather, quite a lot of families and couples had flocked to the area, probably having the same idea as you for a good outing. You still managed to find an empty bench for the two of you to sit and with nobody in the immediate vicinity, you felt confident that you could talk without anyone eavesdropping on the two of you.

“So what did you wanna talk about?” Emma asked, sensing something important had happened.