:: JJ’s POV ::

It had now been eleven days since I had spoken to Emma, eleven days since I’ve been trying to find out what was wrong. What I did… what I didn’t do. Without her speaking to me, I had no way of even knowing. I had been so angry at the idea of someone hurting her, little had I known it was me that was making her feel that way. I hated it.

I was on my way home from practice when I decided I was going to stop by the boutique, if Emma was there, maybe she would talk to me. If she wasn’t maybe Tonya would be, if she could help me find out what I did wrong, I would know how to fix it. I wanted to fix it. It was killing me.

I pulled up in front of the shop; I sat there just staring at it for a moment. I was trying to figure out what I was going to say, what I was going to do. I mean I had no real plan other than to get to the bottom of what was going on. To find out what this battle was I was fighting, because right now I had no idea. This wasn’t like me, I had never been in this kind of situation, and I had never felt this way before. I had never wanted to fight so hard for a girl in my life; it was frightening and exhilarating all at the same time.

I let out a sigh as I opened my car door and got out. I looked at the shop once more, almost as if I had to keep making sure I was going into the right place. I dropped my keys into the pocket of my sweats and walked towards the entrance, once again mentally going over what my actual goal was here. I just needed to make sure I left with the answers I needed.

I pulled the door open to find the store relatively quiet. After all, it was about six o’ clock on a Friday night, I had imagined most people with plans may have already come and gone from the shopping. What did I know? I could be wrong. Hell, I don’t even have a social life at this point so I had nothing to judge that off of.

“Can I help you?

I looked to see Tonya, her head down as she worked at untangling a knotted mess that I had assumed was supposed to be several different necklaces. A brief silence fell over the store for a moment; I had gotten distracted by her determination to untangle the mess before her that I must have forgotten to speak.

“JJ.” Her voice sounded surprised as she looked up from the task before her, “Emma’s not here. She had to step out for a moment.”

I almost felt relief at those words. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to see Emma more than anything, but what I wanted most was to fight for her. In order to do that I needed to know what the hell dragon I was going to have to slay to accomplish that.

“Actually, I’d like to talk to you.” I walked toward the counter she was at, hoping she’d be willing to help me.

“What can I help you with?” She pushed her necklaces to the side as she looked up at me, “Emma?”

I nodded, “Please.”

She smiled sympathetically at me. I couldn’t help but think I must have looked desperate. I must have sounded desperate. I guess I didn’t care, if I got answers it would be worth it.

“What about her?” She asked.

I shrugged, “Let’s start with why she’s so mad at me. I’ve tried asking her for nearly two weeks and I’ve gotten nothing in response.”

Tonya bobbed her head at the words that came out of my mouth; it seemed as if she had already known my attempts to contact Emma. Well, as Emma’s best friend I would imagine that Emma had shared these things with her. Girls were different than guys. They shared everything. Everything.

“Emma saw an interview you had done…”

“An interview?” I was sure the question in my voice was palpable.

My mind began to race, an interview? What could she possibly be talking about? I had to deal with media all the time, but I couldn’t tell you the last time I had done an interview that would ever leave Emma so irate with me. I’m a pretty private person as it is, she had to be mistaken.

The bell above the door rang signaling someone had entered the store. When I had turned to look I saw Emma standing there. My heart was about to hop out of my chest, I missed her so much. I almost forgot how beautiful she was but I hated the way she stared at me with those green eyes of hers. They looked so hurt, so disappointed. I hated that.

:: Emma’s POV ::

I was walking back to the shop after I made a run to the local Starbucks for a bit of a “pick me up”. It had been such a long exhausting day and I was beyond ready to head home. Unfortunately, I had two hours left before closing time. The only positive was that the shop had finally slowed down when I stepped out for a coffee break.

It was a beautiful night in Houston. The air had cooled slightly due to the winter months coming in, but it was so refreshing. The wind blew ever so slightly and I loved the way it hit my face, it was rejuvenating. There was nothing I loved more than getting my daily dose of fresh air.

I had reached the shop and was dreading going back in. I loved when my shop was filled with eager customers ready to spend money, but it usually meant that it was left in shambles. I never understood why people were such Neanderthals when it came to shopping. Especially women. Seeing the condition in which they leave my fitting rooms and my display tables, it made me cringe at the thought of how they may treat their homes. I liked everything just so.

I walked into the shop and immediately stopped. I saw JJ standing there talking to Tonya and I can tell you I was definitely not prepared for that. No way. I wanted to talk to him about coming to my nephew’s game and about seeing Noah; but I wanted to do it on my watch not his. I wanted to have the upper hand. I wanted to call the shots. Stubborn? Maybe; but I didn’t care.

I shook my head and immediately turned to walk out of the store. I wasn’t dealing with this right now. Perhaps I was just running from my feelings, once I was faced with him the whole pep talk I had been giving myself seemed irrelevant.

“Emma!”

I heard him call out my name as the heels of my boots clicked against the sidewalk, I felt like I was on the verge of a breakdown. Soon I wasn’t going to be able to hold it back anymore.

“Emma! Please. Wait!”

He shouted louder this time, I couldn’t tell if he sounded more angry or hurt but I knew I needed to stop. I took a deep breath before I turned to face him, I watched as he walked towards me. My eyes slowly fluttered closed as I tried to find the strength to actually stand my ground.

“Why’d you run out?” His voice was gentle yet reserved, almost as if he was mentally regretting that question.

“Why’d I run out?” I couldn’t control the surprised in my voice, “I saw that interview. You made yourself pretty clear.”

“Emma, listen…” His voice was nearly demanding and it irked the hell out of me.

“No! You listen Justin!”

Judging by the look on his face, I could tell the use of his full name was causing him to cringe. As if he knew it meant he was in trouble. He nodded his head as he looked at me. I’ll be damned if I was going to loose control of this situation. I was the one that got hurt. I was the one that put my heart on the line. If anyone needed to listen, it was him.

“I have a little boy to protect!” I was beyond frustrated, “Maybe when you decided to get involved with me that’s something you should’ve thought about. If it wasn’t a relationship you wanted from me, then what was it? What were we to you, a charity case?”

I felt the tears stinging in my eyes as I fought hard to hold them back. I didn’t want to cry. I didn’t want him to see how completely vulnerable I was in this moment.

“A charity case?” He seemed insulted by my words, “Emma, please help me understand where this is all coming from…”

“Where this is coming from?” I was surprised that he didn’t know, I don’t know how he couldn’t know, “How about that interview you did?”

“What is this damn interview?!” He raised his voice, I knew he was frustrated.

“With Howie Long.”

He dropped his head back when the words left my mouth. I wasn’t sure what that was supposed to mean.

“The last one on one interview I did was months ago Emma. There was no me and you. I had just barely met Noah at his Play60.”

Everything seemed to come crashing down around me as I heard those words. How was that possible? I couldn’t believe what I was hearing from him and if it was actually true. The guilt that washed over me was unbelievable.

“I don’t even remember what the hell I said in that interview that would’ve upset you so much.”

I sniffled, partially due to my emotions and partially due to the cool air, “That you had no interest in a relationship.”

“Emma…” His voice was sincere, “I would’ve never done that to you. I’m not going to lie, that’s exactly how I felt. But, that’s not how I feel.”

It was official, I now felt like the biggest jerk on the planet.

“I wish you would’ve talked to me about this.” He sounded really disappointed, “You should’ve at least heard me out.”

His voice had grown softer and I wanted to melt when his eyes met mine. I was feeling so guilty for acting that way. I felt like I let him down and that wasn’t cool. If anything, he should be mad at me.

I let out an exasperated sigh, “You’re totally right. I was just scared. All I could think about was Noah and then myself. I know it might be selfish, but it’s the truth.”

He slowly nodded his head, I was at least glad he understood my position and where I was coming from.

“I failed you. If I had been clear about things you would’ve never questioned anything.”

I took a step towards him, “That’s not true. I automatically thought the worst about things, I shouldn’t have.”

I hated the fact that my stupidity was going to cause him to beat himself up. That wasn’t right. The way I handled things was completely on me. There was no one to blame for that other than me.

“Before I met you, it’s true... all I cared about was football. All I wanted was to excel in it. To work my hardest and be the best I can be. You know, just like I always say… chasing greatness. That’s me, that’s what I want. The rest never mattered. I’m young…” His eyes were full of so much adoration as he looked at me; it sent chills down my spine, “After you and Noah entered my life I began to see things differently.”

He stepped towards me, eliminating the gap that had been between us and I let him. I was enchanted by his words. He was saying all the right things, doing all the right things. I was literally at a loss of words. My eyes fluttered shut as he rested his forehead against mine, his scent filling my nostrils and sending me to a place of serenity.

“All I need is two things in this world...” He rested his hand on my cheek and my skin instantly grew hotter beneath his touch, “Love and football.”

I brought my eyes up to look at his, there was a fire burning inside of me unlike anything I’ve ever felt. Before I could even respond he had pressed his lips against mine. My hands clutched the fabric of his sweatshirt; I held the material so tightly in my hands that my knuckles began to turn white.

The kiss was full of so much passion; if he wasn’t holding me up I’m quite sure I would’ve collapsed. He kissed me like he never had before, like I was the only thing that mattered. He took the breath from my lungs and I felt myself melt into him. Everything about him felt so right, it always had. I don’t know why I ever questioned that. I don’t know how I ever questioned that.