Till the End of the Line

Till the End of the Line- Part 13

by avenger-nerd-mom

Actor Chris Evans and his girlfriend Emery Thomas have their first fight.  Emery doesn’t know how their relationship can work when Chris finishes filming, and he just ignores the problem, thinking it isn’t really a problem.  He thought the answer was obvious…

Part 13 in the “Georgia On My Mind” series

Warnings: None, Fluff

Word Count 2800

Previous Chapter “A Night Out” part 12

“Find a quiet, dark place to pull over,” Chris says, his eyes still closed.

“What?  No.  Let’s just go home.”

“No, Emery.  We’re not taking your anger back to the house,” Chris responds, a hint of his own irritation shining through.

She doesn’t acknowledge his comment.   She drives for a few more minutes, before pulling into the parking lot at an abandoned store front.  She puts the car into park; while Chris takes off his seat belt.  “What are you doing?” she asks.

He steps out of the car, and says, “Getting comfortable,” as he takes off his suit coat and tie.

“Chris, what the hell?  Can’t we just go home?”  His behavior is actually scaring her a little.

“Not until we have it out.  I meant what I said.  We’ve never had anger in your house, and we’re not gonna start now.  That was quite a nice little performance you put on tonight.   You’re a pretty damn good actress.  You want to tell me what that was about?”

Emery’s irritation starts to rebuild now that she can sense he is angry at her.  Seeing the veins in his arms as he rolls up his sleeves, that’s a whole other fire…

“I don’t know what the hell you are talking about,” she huffs.

“You were mad the whole damn time; I tried to do something nice. I wanted to be seen in public with you.  I thought you’d like my friends, but underneath all your Southern charm you dished out tonight, you were pissy,” Chris hissed.

He actually hates feeling mad at her; he can feel this growing out of control.  She was charming and sweet at dinner, and his friends had instantly adored her.  He really can’t place why he is angry with her, but he just feels a need to vent.

“I was nice, dammit!”

“I know; you were nice to everyone but me!  What the hell did I do?!”  He yelled at her. Oh, god, he can’t believe he fucking yelled at her.

Emery stops her thoughts.  “Give me a minute,” she rests her head back on the seat.  She closes her eyes, and takes a deep breath.  “Fuck.  Is your gym bag still back there in the back?”

“Yes, why?” The sound of annoyance drips from his voice.

“You are a pain in the ass.  Can you just hand it to me?”  He does and she digs around until she finds the package of new socks she bought him last week.  She kicks off her high heels and puts on a pair, and climbs over to the passenger seat, where he is still standing in the door way.  “I fucking hate high heels…”

She continues: “You’ve been drinking.  You need to stop with the attitude.  If you want to talk, talk, but don’t ever, and I mean EVER, fucking raise your voice at me again, because I swear to God, that will be the last thing you ever do.”

She pushes him back, to prove her point, and climbs out of the car.  For barely five foot tall, Chris doesn’t doubt for a second she meant what she said.  Hell, her stance makes him think she’d hide the body so far away no one would ever find it.

He hangs his head in shame.  He realizes her point came across loud and clear, without even raising her voice.  She says to him, “You’re going to go sit on that curb over there and give me time, because right now, it’s not good.”

He starts to walk away, but just before he exits her line of reach, she grabs his hand.  “Ten minutes and then we’ll talk,” and her tone of voice has changed completely, has softened, to show her forgiveness has already started.  She squeezes his hand before letting it go.  She leans against the back of the car, and he sits on the curb.

While they wait, a police cruiser pulls up the car next to Emery, and stops to check on her.  Chris watches the car drive away again just minutes later.  He can’t handle the feeling in his stomach, and he drops his head down to his arms, folded across the tops of his knees.

He looks up a few minutes later when he hears the car door slam.  Emery is walking across the parking lot, in his socks and suit coat.  She looks so tiny in his jacket, hanging down to her knees.  When she comes close enough in the street light, Chris can see her green eyes glistening with tears.  Shit, he thinks to himself, he is so in trouble.  He knows why she’s mad now, but he still hasn’t been able to figure out what he did wrong that made her angry in the first place

Emery stops in front of him, and reaches down to caress the back of his neck, trailing her fingers across his shoulders, before sitting down… with distance between them.  They sit in silence for a few minutes, both wondering what to say, and where to start.  Finally, Chris just jumps in, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice: “Who was the guy in the restaurant?”

Emery knows her brief encounter with her ex had been the cause of Chris’s frustrations.  “Just a guy I dated; you can’t freak out over every guy I talk to.”

Chris knows this, but it doesn’t stop the jealousy he feels.  “He just seemed overly friendly, that’s all.”

“Well, he is, but I can handle myself.  I don’t need a superhero to jump in and save me every time some DB tries to make a move.  I’ve got teacher skills,” Emery tries to lighten Chris’s mood.  She sees it start to lift as he takes a deep breath and lets out a sigh, yet they both continue to stare straight ahead, not looking at one another.  “You won’t always be here; I have to fight my own battles.”

Shit.  That’s it.  Why hadn’t I seen it before, thought Chris.  “That’s why you’re angry?  You think I’m leaving; that I won’t be here to take care of you?”  A sadness creeps through his voice, and he turns to her.  Tears silently flow down her cheeks.

He desperately wants to reach over and brush them away, to hold her tight, but he can feel she isn’t ready for him to invade her space yet.  “That’s why you still keep a distance between us?  That’s why you won’t make love to me?  You think I’m leaving you behind?”

Emery looks up to see Chris’s eyes have turned a stormy gray, in the dark night and filled with a sadness of his own.  “I just don’t see how we can work.  You’re leaving soon and I have a life here.  And every damn time I bring it up, you change the subject, or act like it’s no big deal.  What did you think would happen when you signed up for that dating site?”

“I didn’t expect to fall in love.  I didn’t expect to find the most perfect woman for me, all of 5 foot nothing, who would change my world.  Emery, we have to make this work, but it sounds like you’re not too sure if it’s what you want.”

“I want it; I want you.  I just don’t see how.  I’ve been trying to figure it all out for days.  And I feel like it’s a problem with no solution.  We both live in different places; we’re both deeply committed to our families; we both have important jobs where lots of people depend on us.  I can’t just follow you around the world, from red carpets to film sets.  And you’d steal the show if you were my date to the school talent show. You know what I mean?  I just don’t know how, Chris, how do we do it?”  Emery’s voice pleads with him to give her the solution she can’t see.

Chris flicks the pebble from his hand he’s been playing with and takes a deep breath.  “We start small.  Go with me to LA before Thanksgiving.  I’ve got a… thing to do- and you will love it!  You can meet Robert.  He’ll love you!  And you and Susan will get along so well…  Then come home with me to Boston for Thanksgiving.”  Hope fills his heart, and he smiles at the idea of showing Emery off to his family, and having her join his family’s traditions.

Emery’s smile twists in sadness, “Chris, I can’t.” Her voice drops to a whisper. “I’ve got school that week, and I’ve already made promises at the shelter.  We go as a family every year and watch the parade with the families there, we cook and serve lunch and play cards.  My service to my community is important.  I can’t back out on something so big with such short notice; you understand that, don’t you?”

Chris feels kicked in the balls.  What is he supposed to say, forget the needs of the homeless, what about my needs?!

With a heavy heart, he replies, “No; I understand.  I do.  And I can’t fault you for that, because it was watching you help others that made me first fall in love with you.”  They both share a smile of the day they first met, when Chris came to visit her at school during one of her after school tutoring sessions.

“And I’m not going to ask you to stay here, with me.  You can’t.  I know you. I know you need to see your mom, and your family.  You stay here much longer, and you just might pick up a Southern accent.  Which would be so hot, by the way, but you need Boston.  Home is like a drug in your veins, and you’re weak without it.  It would be selfish of me to ask you to stay.”

Chris’s heart soars that she understands this about him; and he is secretly grateful she doesn’t put him in the position of making the choice between her and his family.  Which makes him an asshole for asking her to choose…  How do couples do it?  How do they decide which family gets which holiday?

Before he even thinks, he says aloud the first thing that pops into his head, “Come to Disney with me!”

Emery’s heart stops, and she feels like she might pass out.  She really focuses to not have a fangirl moment- any girl with a crush on Chris Evans dreams of hearing these words-  so instead she whispers, “What did you say?”

Chris chuckles; he’s not stupid, and he does know this is a fantasy of many- ok, all- of his fans.  He turns to her, taking her little hands in his and asks again, “Emery Thomas, will you go to Disney World?  With me?  And my family?”

She’s stunned.  She stares at him with a silly grin for a few minutes, her mind racing at complications and scenarios he hasn’t even pictured yet.  Chris scoots closer to her, “Emery, I don’t ask just anyone; you know that,” his voice silently pleading with her to say yes.

“Yes, I’ll go.  Dammit, that’s the week of finals, but I’ll figure something out.  Chris Evans, I would love to go to Disney with you!”

Tears return to her eyes, but Chris can see she is happy.  He is overcome with love for this beautiful, seductive woman.   He reaches for her now as she leans into him.  Their lips meet, soft and gentle, signaling their anger is over.

“I can’t believe I’m going to Disney, with you,” Emery whispers in disbelief.

Chris grins at her, winding his fingers in her hair.  The pull he creates from this simple act is hypnotic to Emery and she moves closer, wanting to feel more of him.  Her eyes close and she clutches his shirt collar.

Their lips continue to seek one another out and her hands graze over his broad shoulders, drifting down his arms.  She squeezes his rock hard biceps, not quite as defined as if he was in Captain America mode, but magnificent nonetheless.

At the cuff of the rolled shirt sleeves, her fingertips follow the veining on his arms to his wrists.  She slides her fingertips over his palms.  She feels his hands shake from her touch, as their kisses continue.  She entwines her fingers with his.  His hands are so strong and powerful and she loves what he does to her with them.  She raises their hands and removes her mouth from his and kisses the back of his hand.

She whispers, “I love you so much; it’s scary.”

“I love you too.  So are we good now? Can we go home?” Chris whines playfully.

Emery sighs exasperatedly. “Honey, that really was just the tip of the iceberg.  I mean, don’t you think there are more things we should try to figure out if we are going to make this work.  We both have pretty set schedules and responsibilities.  And we didn’t even talk about the actual Christmas holiday; just the week before, at Disney.  I don’t want to be away from you on my vacation if I don’t have to be.  I don’t want to spend the holidays alone.”

“Fine.  You’re right.  I don’t want to be away from you either.  You’ve thought about this, obviously, so what are you thinking?” Chris chides her for her habit of being overly organized and scheduled.

They quickly toss around a few ideas about the Christmas holiday.  Chris feels if they were going to spend the holiday together, it would be important to his mother if Emery was there with the family for Christmas Eve Mass, and Emery’s family always has their Christmas dinner on the 25^th at 4pm.  (Her father always insists it’s later in the day so he can enjoy the Star Wars marathon that always seems to play on TV Christmas Day.)

A few swipes of his phone, and Chris has flight plans for them to be in Boston and fly back South mid morning on Christmas Day, in time to join her family for dinner.  And he invites her to join him and his friends for their annual New Year’s ski trip.

“I know this is a bit farther out on the calendar, but I’ve been thinking I would ask off work the first week of May?  I mean, that is if you would want me along for some of the press and events?”  Emery hopes she hasn’t tried to step too far ahead.  Chris’s immediate reaction makes her heart swell.

“Of course I want you there!  I want to show you off, and share all that craziness with you.  You have to be by my side.  It’s perfect.  Really, can you take the whole week?”  Emery shakes her head yes. “Well, if you are asking off time from school, take the Monday after the Super Bowl- the Pats will play again this year- and the Monday after the Oscars.”

Emery giggles as she watches his excitement grow.  “The Oscars, Chris? Really?” she asks in wonder.

“Babe, it’s all I’ve been able to think about tonight, seeing you in that dress and heels, picturing how amazing you would look next to me on the Red Carpet.”

The couple works out a few more dates and vague details, and a feeling of warmth comes over them both, as they realize they will be working towards one goal- making their relationship work.

Chris stands and offers his hands to pull her up to her feet.  He tugs too hard and she flies up, pushing into him.  “You know, Emery, I’m with you till the end of the line?”

Emery laughs, “God, Evans, really?  Even for me, that’s cheesy!”

“Yes, but you love it.  Now can we go home and have make up sex?” asks Chris.  He leads her back to the car.  He’s sobered up enough to drive home.

Emery smiles at him hungrily and says, “I don’t know about that, but you could help me get out of this dress.”

“I guess that’s a no?”

Emery laughs and shakes her head.  “I thought you said abstinence was sexy?”

“I lied.  It’s killing me,” Chris groans.

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