Dear Emily by Julie Ann Levin

hand flew to Jack's
arm. “Is he okay?”
    “He's pretty banged up, and
unconscious. Someone ran a red light and t-boned Tom's
car.”
    “We have to go to the
hospital,” Amy said, already heading toward the parking
garage.
    Jack fell into step next to her.
“That's why I came to get you.”
    They made it to the hospital
and sat in the visitor's area. Amy scrubbed her face with her hand
and paced back and forth while Jack went to find Terri for an
update on Tom's condition.
    Amy watched him where he
stood at the end of the hall. His back was to her as he
spoke to Terri in hushed tones. She felt the urge to go
to him, and almost did, but then her phone vibrated in
her pocket. She read the screen and didn't recognize the number.
She answered the call in case it was someone from
the farm looking for an update as well.
    “Amy Knight? This is Patricia calling
from the student housing office.”
    Amy sat back down, resting her elbows
on her knees and feeling like she'd received a
call from the great beyond.
    “Yes?”
    “I wanted to inform
you that we've found a match just blocks from
campus. The rent is in your price range, and the two women are
looking for a roommate as soon as possible.
You could move in as early as this week.”
    “Really?” was all
Amy could manage to say.
    “You're still looking for permanent
housing, right?”
    Amy looked back down the hall
at Jack. She hesitated for only a moment, before returning her
attention to the call.
    “I'm sorry I didn't notify your office
sooner, but you can go ahead and remove me from the
list.”
    “Alright, Ms. Knight. I am glad
to hear you've secured permanent housing. Please
respond to a survey that will arrive at your student
e-mail.”
    Patricia continued with a list of
disclaimers until Amy thanked her again for her time,
and then ended the call. She leaned on her forearms, and
ran her fingers through her hair, wondering what in the
world she'd just done.
    They returned to the apartment complex,
and Amy felt the tension coming off Jack in waves. They
walked into the apartment and Jack went straight for the sink. He
grabbed a glass from the drying rack and filled the cup halfway
with water from the tap. He leaned back against the counter and
drank the water in two large gulps.
    Amy stood at the mouth of the kitchen
with her arms at her sides. Tom was still unconscious and
Jack was worried about his mentor. She wished
she knew what to do to make things better for him. She
took a deep breath, stretching her lungs, but not enough, so she
did it again, this time feeling the hitch in
her chest.
    “Jack,” she said because she
didn't know what else to say.
    He pushed off the counter, with a grace
only known to certain men, and crossed the small distance
of the kitchen. His hands slid up her shoulders and cupped the back
of her neck and her head. His fingers slid into her hair. He looked
into her eyes for the briefest moment before pressing his lips
against hers, and she melted against him, held onto
him, unable to get as close as she needed to be.
    The feel of his lips against
hers was incredible, but she didn't even need it.
She just needed to be close, to finally be
close to him; to finally press her cheek against his
chest and breathe in his scent without
restraint. That would have been enough for her,
but Jack's kiss offered so much more.
    Their bodies pressed tighter. Her mouth
opened in content and she felt his tongue against hers.
She wanted to think. Her instinct demanded an analysis of the
situation, but she knew that she loved him
at that moment and forgot to think about anything except
the way it felt to be with him and to give herself
over to him.
    His arms were wrapped around
her body as he led her backward toward his bedroom. They made love
while whispering sweet, loving words to each other.
Amy knew that they never had a chance of
stopping this from the