I packed up my things, smiling as I straightened the picture I had on my desk. The picture was one of Jackson and me that we had taken on top of the Empire State Building. We looked happy and relaxed with our arms around each other and my head tucked under his chin. Whenever I felt stressed or overwhelmed at work, I only needed to look at that picture to feel a sense of calm. No matter what happened at work, Jackson would be waiting for me at home with a loving smile and kiss.
I said goodbye to Celeste, who had spent the day complaining that she was spending the holiday weekend stuck in her apartment with her husband doing nothing, and I rushed home. Jackson was picking Claire and me up and I needed to finish packing.
When I got home, Claire was in her bedroom and I stuck my head in the open door.
"Hi! I see you're doing the same thing I need to be doing."
Claire had her suitcase open on her bed and was busy filling it to the brim. She sighed in frustration as she waved at her suitcase.
"You'd think we were going for an entire week instead of a weekend by the way I'm packing. I can't seem to decide what to take, so it makes me want to take everything."
"I'm sure whatever you choose will be perfect. I need to change and get packing too."
When I got to my bedroom, I pulled my hair into a ponytail and quickly changed into a white skirt and fitted tee, relieved to be out of my stifling work clothes. I dragged my suitcase, which I had already half-filled the night before, in front of the closet. I was more decisive than Claire in choosing what to pack, probably because I had much less clothing.
I rolled my suitcase into the living room and sat down on the couch, pulling out my phone to make sure I hadn't missed any text messages from Jackson. I saw I had one and opened it, still eager to hear from him even though we had been together for over three months.
Can't wait to see you, sweetheart. I missed having you next to me last night. I'll be there at 6.
I felt a warm glow, happy that Jackson couldn't seem to get enough of me as much as I couldn't get enough of him. I checked the time and saw that it was a quarter to six. Claire lugged her suitcase into the living room, collapsing next to me on the couch. She raised her eyebrows when she saw my Tumi suitcase.
"Nice suitcase."
I rolled my eyes. "Jackson insisted on buying it for me after I told him about the debacle with my humongous plastic burgundy ones. He wouldn't take no for an answer."
It had become a habit of Jackson's to perpetually buy me things, even though I protested. I didn't need a lot of the things he gave me, but he told me that he wasn't buying me things because I needed them. He was buying me things because it made him happy, and his money from his grandmother was just sitting around. Admittedly, it had been fun spending Jackson's money to help him furnish his apartment, but I was okay with that since we were buying things for him.
"Jackson's always been generous," Claire said. "If he can't be generous with his girlfriend, who can he be generous with?"
"I guess," I said reluctantly but then smiled. "Although I have to admit it's nice not having to lug those atrocious suitcases around."
I heard the front door buzzer and jumped up, eager to see Jackson. He was all smiles as he ran up the stairs as I stood in the open doorway, drinking in the sight of him. His green eyes were twinkling and he looked gorgeous with a lock of his dark hair falling over his forehead.
"Hi, baby," he said, picking me up effortlessly and twirling me around. I laughed at his silliness, feeling breathless when he set me down on the ground. "I've missed you."
"It's only been a day since we saw each other," I replied drily, although I had been missing him as well.
"That's one day too many." Jackson leaned down and kissed me and I stood on the tips of my toes, letting him know without words that I had missed him too.
I heard a throat clear and I pulled back, embarrassed that I had forgotten Claire was in the room.
"Sorry," I apologized with a weak grin. "I guess we got a little carried away."
"No problem," Claire said with a bemused smile. "I just don't want to be late picking up Nathan and Mia."
"We should get downstairs. I'm double-parked and the last thing I want to do is get a ticket before we leave."
Jackson carried our suitcases down the stairs with ease and stowed them in the back of the SUV he had rented for the weekend. I slid into the front seat as Claire climbed into the backseat. It was a short ride to Nathan and Mia's apartment and we waited in the car while Jackson called them on his cell phone, telling them we were out front.
"How long will it take to get to the Hamptons?" I asked, practically bouncing up and down in my seat with excitement. Jackson and I had never been able to go away for the weekend before because of his play, but now that it was over, I was anticipating a lot more fun weekends.
Jackson smiled at me indulgently, lifting our hands that were intertwined and kissing the back of mine. "Probably a couple of hours with traffic."
"You're going to love the Hamptons, Emma," Claire said, leaning forward between the front seats. "There's always a ton of amazing parties during Labor Day weekend."
I turned around excitedly. "I heard the food there is incredible too."
Claire nodded, although less enthusiastically. "There's a lot of great seafood."
Jackson chuckled. "I think Emma is more interested in the food than the parties."
"I admit it," I said wryly. "I'm dreaming of lobsters, not parties in mansions."
Our conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Nathan and Mia. They loaded their bags into the back of the car and joined Claire in the backseat.
"Hey, guys," Nathan said. He slapped Jackson on the shoulder. "Thanks for driving, man. It's much better than taking the bus."
"Is this your first time going to the Hamptons, Emma?" Mia asked.
"Yeah. Claire was just telling me that there are tons of great parties happening this weekend."
"And the food," Mia said dreamily. "That's one of the reasons I love going to the Hamptons. The food there is to die for. I just hope someone is having a lobster bake on the beach."
"See!" I said triumphantly, shooting Jackson a sideways glance. "I'm not the only one excited about the food."
Jackson grinned. "Hey, I'm right there with you. I'll take a seafood feast over a swanky party any day."
"Speaking of feasts and parties, I'll have to take some time out from the festivities tomorrow to do some work. My boss needs some revisions done for a presentation on Tuesday and I promised I would get them to her as soon as possible."