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And that was it. The Wyndham trial was over, and Emmett was so proud of Elle that he thought he might burst. She had cracked the case and she had done it all on her own, despite what she’d been through in the past 24 hours.
She escaped the throng of people that had enveloped her and ran towards him, and he had his arms out for a hug before he even knew what he was doing. They were both laughing, bubbly and giddy in their shared excitement at winning the trial, as Elle crashed into him. She lifted her feet off the ground and he held her up, hugging her so tightly that he worried he might hurt her.
But there was someone else. Emmett spotted Warner over Elle’s shoulder, and felt his joyous mood start to wane. He carefully set Elle back down and stepped back.
"I think someone needs to talk to you. That’s okay, I’m…I’m gonna see you later," he said, and he slipped out of the room.
The courthouse lobby was full of people celebrating Elle’s accomplishment. Emmett didn’t dwell on what Warner wanted with Elle; he was sure he’d find out soon enough what it was about. Instead he skirted around the crowd, scanning for people he knew. Finally, he spotted Vivienne and Enid, and made his way across the lobby to them.
"Where’s Elle? She get bombarded by reporters?" Vivienne asked.
"No, actually, Warner wanted a word with her. I figured I’d give them a little space," Emmett answered. He sounded too casual, even to himself, and knew from Vivienne and Enid’s knowing looks that he was being too transparent.
"Don’t worry about them," Enid said, "I can’t imagine that conversation going any way except for Elle letting Warner down easy."
"She’s right. Now that the trial is over, there’s nothing about being in that room that interests Elle anymore. That’s all right out here," Vivienne chimed in with a smirk.
Emmett felt his face grow hot. "Am I that obvious?" he asked.
"Only to us. Elle may be brilliant, but she certainly seems to have a blind spot when it comes to the men in her life," Vivienne said.
"But anyway, we’re all going to that bar around the corner to celebrate some more. Text Elle that you’ll meet her there, and walk with us to get your mind off all that," Enid said, with a cajoling elbow to Emmett’s ribs.
So he did. He followed them out of the courthouse, and forced himself to put Warner out of his mind. As they walked, they traded their favorite moments from the trial, and Emmett tried to control the wistfulness in his voice when he talked about how incredible Elle had been that afternoon.
When they arrived at the bar, it was already full of Elle’s friends and family. Emmett recognized her sorority sisters and her parents; plus, he could see Paulette and Kyle talking with Brooke Wyndham near the bar. He checked his phone and saw that Elle had texted him that she was on her way over, and that she’d see him soon. He noted that she only used "I" and not "we" in her text, and he felt a bubble of hope start to grow in his chest.
"Elle just texted me that she’s on her way; I’m gonna go wait for her outside," he told Vivienne, as they made their way through the bar.
She smirked at him, and said, "Don’t get too crazy out there," before hurrying to catch up with Enid, undoubtedly to tell her the latest update in his relationship with Elle.
He slipped out the door, and leaned up against the brick wall next to it to wait for Elle. He felt light and buoyant, like he was hovering above the ground. He couldn’t shake the cautious optimism that something wonderful was going to happen once Elle arrived. He was a romantic, he knew that, but he was so crazy about her that he couldn’t stop himself from feeling hopeful. He kept his eyes trained in the direction he knew Elle would be coming from, eagerly scanning for her blonde hair and pink dress that he couldn’t wait to see.
Finally, she walked around the corner, and Emmett felt himself start smiling involuntarily. She waved when she saw him, giving him a bright smile, as she started walking faster to reach him. He pushed off the wall, and it hit him that Elle was alone. However her talk with Warner had gone, he wasn’t walking her to this party, and Emmett felt his smile grow impossibly wider.
She stopped in front of him and said, "Hey, you. Thanks for waiting."
"Hey, yourself. What’d Warner want?" He could hear the forced casualness in his voice, and he desperately hoped that Elle could not.
"Oh, he just asked me to marry him after Vivienne dumped him. Poor guy’s a little misguided these days, I think."
"So you said no."
"Of course I said no, you goofball!" She punched him on the arm and smiled up at him again, and it was clear to Emmett that she knew exactly how cute she was right then. He also had a hunch that she could tell how he felt about her, and, judging by how close to him she was standing and the way she was still smiling at him, something told him that she felt the same way.
Something shifted between them then, and Emmett could feel a warmth spreading throughout his body. He took a step towards her, closing the already short distance between them. "So Warner’s not the one anymore?" he asked. His voice came out much lower than usual.
Elle moved impossibly closer to him, and her voice was low too when she said, "Warner hasn’t been the one for, well, quite some time now."
"Is that so?" he asked, as he brought his hands up to rest at her waist.
"Very much so," she answered.
Her eyes flickered down to his lips, and then back up to meet his own. Blue eyes met blue, and after a half second’s pause, they moved at the same time and their lips met.
Time seemed to stand still, and Emmett wasn’t aware of anything except for the fact that he was (finally, wonderfully, beautifully) kissing Elle Woods. One of her hands cupped the back of his head, and he felt like it was the only thing stopping him from floating away. What had started as a simple, chaste kiss had deepened, and at some point Elle had walked them back, so that he was once again standing against the brick wall. Emmett had barely noticed.
He never wanted this perfect moment to end, but suddenly the door to the bar flew open and the voice of Enid Hoops brought him crashing back to earth.
"Hey, where’d you— oh! Sorry, guys. Don’t mind me," she said, and she quickly disappeared back inside. They heard her call out, "Vivienne Kensington, you owe me twenty bucks!" before the door had completely shut.
Elle laughed, and she leaned her forehead against his shoulder, tucking herself against his chest. Emmett slid his arms around her back, and he was smiling when he pressed a kiss to her temple; this was the happiest he’d felt in years.
"We should probably get in there," Elle said, stepping back. She reached down and took his hand, and Emmett let his free hand linger on her waist. He hated to let her go so soon, but he knew, as always, that she was right.
"They’re going to be…beyond insufferable when they see us," he said. "You know that, right? A whole bar full of people who are going to be unbearable because of whatever Enid is telling them right now."
She laughed again (a sound that was rapidly becoming his favorite in the world), and quickly leaned up to kiss him one more time. "They’re our friends, Emmett, that’s their job. Now let’s get in there!"
He still felt like he’d much rather stay out here, where it was quiet and it was just the two of them, but with Elle Woods holding his hand, he knew he would follow her anywhere. So he did.