Plutarch, this wise Greek poet of antiquity, said that love makes people more warm, cheerful and effusive... It's like drunkenness.
That's how Emmy felt after the kiss she exchanged with Cem... Drunk... from love.
She surrendered to her excitement and lust for Cem and all night she was left in beautiful dreams, full of tension and emotions.

Cem, however, felt confused and disoriented after the kiss.
He couldn't understand what made him kiss her.

He certainly felt so close to her like a good friend.
He trusted and valued her, but he's not in love with her.
As a woman, Emmy was unassumingly beautiful, intelligent, sweet, nothing to do with all the women he'd been involved before.
It would only  create problems to their arrangement if their relationship will change from friendly to romantic. Their impending marriage was to save the company so their relationship had to remain formal.

He'd make sure to clear up the situation as soon as he saw her the next morning.
Sure that he's making the right decision, fell tired to sleep.
But dreams take revenge on us... so all night long this kiss wandered around in his dreams tearing down the big walls he'd built around his heart..

Next morning Emmy awoke in good mood and her heart beating at an unheard of pace for that setting.
A beat that became a song on her lips while she's getting ready for work.

As she prepared to go downstairs to get her breakfast, she found her cousins
Marilou, and Rallia but also Esra  looking at her strangely.
"Good morning girls.. Is something going on?" asked smiling awkwardly.

"That's what we want to know too" answered Rallia, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I didn't understand..aah"" Emmy managed to blurt out because Marilou and Esra grabbed her by the arms and pulled her to the stairs.
"to the kitchen now... You have a lot of explaining to do"

***********************************
Cem buttoned his shirt as a yawn escaped him.
He hadn't been able to get enough sleep the night before due to the stress he's feeling about that'd happened with Emmy combined with strange dreams that kept him jolting from his sleep every now and then.

•I definitely need to talk to Emmy •he thought and looked at his reflection in the mirror.
Only then did he notice that he'd buttoned his shirt up tightly, something he routinely avoided because it  felt suffocated.
He undid the first three buttons and immediately felt relief
"Much better now" he thought while at the same time he heard knocks on the door and before he could even give his approval Kerem entered the room like a siphon.
"Aww, you finally woke up?" his cousin commented with a playful smile.
Cem didn't answer but looked at him with disdain through the mirror while he buttoned his cufflinks.
"...and apparently you woke up in bad mood.." Kerem noted without losing his coolness

"Good morning to you too Kerem" Cem replied with a sigh and turned to grab his jacket from the desk chair.

"As you see I'm not in good mood " he took the jacket in his hands and approached his cousin.
"And since I haven't slept well, say what you have to say " he added and stood in front of him.

Kerem, however, laid down comfortably on the bed, not caring at the least if he'd wrinkle his expensive suit, and placed his hands behind the head like a pillow.
"you didn't sleep well or youdidn't sleep because you're doing other things..with Emmy?" He asked with a wicked laugh.
"Kerem!!! " Cem scolded him.
"There's nothing between Emmy and me"
"Mmm. . . Last night though i saw something else..." his cousin continued to tease him.
Cem sat next to him huffing and puffing.
"What you saw yesterday was a bad moment... We 'd drink a lot and the situation got a little out of hand...
this is not going to happen again"
he justified.
Kerem turned to the side and glared at Cem.
"..are you sure last night's kiss means nothing to Emmy?"
"Emmy is a smart and serious girl I'm sure she'll have forgotten that by now..." Cem concluded.
"when I came back from my morning exercise, I passed from her room heard her singing
"Kiss me " .
Kerem answered and fluttered his eyelids.
Cem felt his mouth go dry and cleared his throat.
"That doesn't mean anything" he went to excuse but Kerem stood up and sat next to Cem so they're at the same height and eye contact.
"Cem do you really believe what you're saying? It's obvious that Emmy likes you." he exclaimed surprising his cousin.
"Yeah but I... I don't... ." he admitted. "Then watch your actions. If you really don't feel the way she does then don't give her hopes .she's going to get hurt....Cem you need to be clear with Emmy."
"Like you and Marilou?" Cem countered and Kerem jumped out of the bed like a spring.
"Me?... I don't have to clarify anything..." stammered the previously relaxed Kerem.
"Ah..yeah? And the kiss?" It was Cem's turn to squeeze his little cousin.
"How much longer are you going to pretend like nothing happened?" he asked him.
"As long as it takes to discourage Marilou." He replied pacing nervously up and down the bedroom.
"She's just a child and obviously gets excited easily. At her age, as quickly as excitement comes, it dissipates quickly. she'll meet someone else and forget me " he justified himself .
Cem stood up, straightened his suit, approached Kerem and grabbed him by the shoulders.
"She's young • younger than you yes but a kid. She is a young woman and has shown her interest in every way she could. Pretending that you didn't understand or that your kiss never happened doesn't make the situation better.
Just tell her you're not interested..."

"What if...if she gets hurt when I'll reject her, no no I can't... I'll just pretend to be ignorant and keep my distance until she returns to Greece." he finally decided.
Cem sighed and motioning Kerem to leave the room.
"A clear rejection is better than a false hope" he muttered closing the door behind them. ************************************

"Oh yeah Oh yeah...." Esra sang in the middle of the kitchen while dancing something..like..belly dancing .
Emy, Rallia and Marilou observed her smiling while munching on their breakfast.
"Well, she 's more happy about the kiss than you," Rallia commented and took a sweet sip of her Greek-Turkish coffee.
"Of course I'm happy..." Esra jumped stopping the celebrations and hugged Emmy tightly.
"Finally my brother opened his eyes and saw what a diamond has next to him" she exclaimed and hugged Enmy tighter.

"If you keep holding me like this I won't be around him for long.
you're suffocating me." Emmy protested and tried to push Esra's hands away from her.
"Oh sorry, I was so excited that didn't realize I hugged you so hard" Esra left Emmy and sat next to her .

Emmy smiled widely and shook her hand.
"It seems like a dream. I still can't believe we've kissed" she admitted "Believe it... sister" Esra teased her and they all burst out laughing.
At that moment the young masters of the house entered the kitchen.
Cem and Emmy's eyes met and for a few seconds they locked until she smiled and Cem suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.
He mouthed a dry good morning and headed over to the counter with the coffee maker and filled a mug with coffee.
He could feel everyone's eyes on his back. He wondered if Emmy revealed to the girls that they kissed.
• Damn I need to talk to Emmy right now to end this..misunderstanding.•he thought.
He took a deep breath and walked over to the table.
Marilou was feeding Kerem with pancakes from her plate while Esra and Rallia were chatting in whispers, casting sly glances at Cem and Emmy who was looking at him with flushed cheeks.
Cem took a sip of his coffee and set the mug down on the table in front of him.
He coughed to clear his throat a bit and turned his attention to Emmy.
"Emmy i wanted to talk you for a while... The two of us... alone.."
Five pairs of eyes immediately looked at Emmy and Cem.
Esra jumped from her seat and pulled Rallia "let's wake up Melis Teize" "Yeah yeah.. let's go." Rallia agreed with her mouth full.
"Um, I'm going out...I'll wait for you in the car." Kerem added and immediately Marilou hurried to follow him.
"I'm coming too, I want to see your car" she said and in a moment they all disappeared leaving Emmy and Cem em alone.
The two young people looked at each other for a while without speaking and finally Emmy decided to break this silence.
"Well .we're alone now... Uh.. basically I was going to ask you to talk too" she stood up and walked over to him at the kitchen counter.
She stood in front of him looking into his eyes.
She bit her bottom lip nervously.
" ... you know about last night ... " She added.
"Yeah that's what I wanted to talk about" he admitted and Emmy smiled shyly.
"Cem about the kiss that..."
"It doesn't mean anything at all..." he cut her off and her smile suddenly disappeared.
" I'm sorry.... don't understand..."

"Yesterday we're emotionally charged, we drank a lot...
I'm sorry if I put you in a difficult position... It won't happen again."
The girl blinked her eyes in surprise.
"But..Cem I..." But once again Cem didn't let her finish.
"I want to be honest with you. We can't be more than friends. I don't see you romantically. I could never..."
Emmy could have sworn that she heard her heart break into a thousand little pieces.
She wanted to talk to him about her feelings too, but confiding your love to someone who never getting a response is like a letter that only has a sender and never reaches its destination.
She decided to accept his rejection with dignity by swallowing her disappointment.

"..Cem I appreciate your honesty.
And don't worry I know damn well if it wasn't for this mess with your grandpa 'swill you wouldn't even be looking at me so I'm not getting my hopes up."
She answered a little more angrily than she 'd have liked.
She left him and approached the table to get her bag.

"And now, if you'll allow me, my work waiting for me," she added and ran out of the kitchen door that leads directly into the garden.

Cem left the mug on the counter and ran after her.

***********************************
Emmy was running towards the parking lot with Cem following her calling her name.

Just before they reached the car Cem grabbed Emmy's arm and stopped her turning her towards him.

"Emmy, I'm talking to you," he blurted out

"Cem...we're going to be late..." the girl said sternly.

" Emmy, is this how we're going to be now? I don't want you to be angry with me..." he begged her.

"I am not angry with you...".
And indeed she's not angry with Cem em... but with herself for believing that Cem might be interested in her. She was so easily excited. She's ungry because that kiss means so much to her.

"I can't be mad at you Cem I never will.... because I. . . ."
BEEEEP........ The sharp sound of honking made them jump.
Startled, they turned their gaze to the place where the sound was coming from, Kerem's red Porsche.
They 're amazed at the sight before them.
In the passenger seat, Marilou has ridden Kerem and kissed him passionately.
†**********************************†

**Obsidian is usually black glass and is created during the eruption of volcanoes.

It helps in sound judgment, speech and equips us with patience.
• Gives courage and strength to face every new beginning, change or transition.

• Protects sensitive people, dispels negative energy, reduces tensions and strengthens thinking.
• Removes negativity, confusion and helps overcome emotional shock.

• It is a powerful hemostatic, stimulates blood circulation and relieves joint and wound pain.

• Due to its heating properties, it is used in hot stone massages.

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I finally uploaded a new chapter after a very long time.
I had family and health issues so i couldn't upload.
From now on I will upload more often. My kisses to all the readers. I'll waiting for your comments.🖋️