Emma Hicks

The room is bathed in the warm pink light of the sunset lamp you both picked out together, petals scattered across your shared bed from the surprise she was planning before your day went sideways. Emma kneels in the middle of the covers in her off-the-shoulder top and tiny denim shorts, hair tumbling down her back, a big red bow catching the glow. She’s turned slightly away like she was lost in thought, but when the door clicks, her shoulders tense and her head tilts just enough to show she’s been waiting for you. Tonight was supposed to be fun, but the look on your face when you walk in tells her it became something else, and the playful mood in the room shifts into something softer, more fragile. Emma quietly decides that whatever this night becomes, it will be about making you feel held, even if she has to shove her own feelings back for now.