Chapter 30 Everything, All At Once #2
Jules swayed into her and used the movement to not-so-subtly capture Catherine’s hand in her own. The manoeuvre took Catherine by surprise, but not unpleasantly so. Holding hands with Jules felt good; it felt really good. She pressed into Jules’s arm and let the world beyond them slip out of focus.
They arrived home too soon. The soft comfortable silence galloped away with Catherine’s racing heart as she unlocked the main door and pushed into the hallway. Jules followed her into the shared space, pushing the door to a soft close behind her. The hallway felt too small and too big all at once.
“So…” Jules said, burying her hands in her coat pockets and jangling her keys.
“So…” Catherine said.
“Thank you for giving me a second chance.”
“Likewise.”
Jules grinned, and Catherine noticed a smudge of chocolate on her top lip.
“You’ve got something here…” Catherine touched her own lip, “…from the churros.”
“Oh?” Jules touched her mouth but missed the spot. “Did I get it?”
“Let me.” Catherine stepped into the space between them and reached up to rub the chocolate away. Jules parted her lips and captured Catherine’s thumb between her teeth.
The air charged with possibility; a wild look passed between them, and everything sped up in a rush of breath, lips, and frantic limbs. Jules tasted of chocolate and cinnamon sugar, and Catherine fell into the kiss like it was muscle memory.
In the frenzied moment, they stumbled back until Jules pressed Catherine against her own front door, sliding searching hands up her neck and into her hair.
“Fuck,” Jules panted when she broke the kiss.
“Yeah.” Catherine’s entire body ached for the woman in front of her.
“Do you…? Shall we…?” Jules glanced around at the staircase. “I should probably…”
“No.” Catherine wasn’t done with her yet. She gripped the lapel of Jules’s coat and pulled her back in for more.
“Fuck, Catherine. If we don’t stop…” Jules rasped between kisses. “You have no idea what you’re doing to me.”
“Oh, I do,” Catherine said in a low growl.
Jules peeled herself away. “Okay, well you need to go in there, and I need to go up there, and…”
“Stay with me.”
“Sorry, what?”
“Please. Stay tonight.”
“Are you sure?” Jules kissed her again, and Catherine had to break away to answer.
“Never been surer.” And even though she’d neglected to wear her nice new matching underwear, this was the truth.
Catherine surfaced through the haze of sleep to Jules peppering kisses on her shoulder. She arched into the warm body behind her, relishing the soft press of bare breasts on her back and the curve of Jules around her as they lay nestled together like speech marks.
“Mmm, morning.” Catherine couldn’t hide the smile in her voice even if she wanted to.
“Sorry to wake you,” whispered Jules.
“You can wake me up like this whenever you want.”
“No regrets then?” Jules kissed her shoulder again.
Catherine twisted around to face her. With mussed hair and smudged makeup, Jules looked the most undone Catherine had ever seen her, but even more devastatingly attractive for it.
“No, no regrets. You?”
Jules moved on top of her and answered with a kiss that awoke the rest of Catherine’s body, making every nerve ending pulse with want.
Jules pressed a thigh between her legs, adding pressure to the aching core of her need, and Catherine moaned into her mouth.
She luxuriated in the feeling of being adored in her own bed, between her own soft sheets.
Why hadn’t she relinquished control years ago to experience this?
The answer was beyond her, but Jules had certainly been worth waiting for.
Jules reached for the lube, a knowing grin lifting her lips. “May I?”
Catherine responded without hesitation, rocking into her with a slow, deliberate motion that drew Jules closer.
Catherine gasped as the cool gel met her heat, and with skill perfected the night before, Jules slipped two fingers inside her.
Within minutes Catherine was teetering on the edge of climax, but rather than giving her the release she needed, Jules eased the pace and pressure, drawing out the delicious anticipation. Catherine arched beneath her.
“We did things your way with the sexting; now we’re going to do it my way, okay?”
Catherine swallowed. She was at this woman’s mercy, literally putty in her hands, as Jules’s slender fingers found a new rhythm inside her, her thumb circling Catherine’s clit with gentle precision.
“I want you to look at me as I make you come.”
Catherine obeyed, her heart hammering against her ribs as she opened her eyes to the sight of Jules above her, pupils blown and fiery red hair, hanging wild and free. The ravenous look on her face unlocked a whole new level of want in Catherine.
“Good, that’s good,” Jules breathed against her ear. “I hope you don’t have any other plans today because I’m planning to make you come so much you’ll forget your own name.”
Oh, fuck. Catherine moaned in rapture, waves of pleasure building with each stroke.
With three more thrusts, Catherine was lost in a blissful release.
Her body convulsed with pleasure and the world narrowed to this single, exquisite moment as she came undone by the fingers of the woman whose name she was screaming.
When it was over, she collapsed back amongst the pillows, grateful it was her neighbour in her bed or else she’d have to pop around and apologise for all the noise.
Spent and breathless, Catherine covered her eyes with her arm. Jules gently tried to prise it away.
“Don’t be embarrassed. Fuck, honestly, it was as hot as hell hearing you come like that.”
Catherine turned her head into the pillow and groaned.
“I’ve never screamed like that before.”
Jules dropped next to her, wriggling down until they were eye-to-eye. Her perfect fingers trailed down Catherine’s arm, sending another shiver of delight through her.
Catherine bit the inside of her cheek to stop her smile breaking through. “Stop looking so pleased with yourself,” she said, even though her body still hummed with pleasure and Jules had every right to be pleased with herself. “Where’s that lube? It’s my turn to make you scream.”
“Trust me, you won’t be needing the lube.” Jules pushed Catherine’s hand into the wetness between her legs, stoking the fire again.
A thunderous noise from above jolted them from their reverie, and they looked at each other wide-eyed until another rumbling stampede pounded across the ceiling.
“Shit — Juniper!” Jules groaned as she sat up. “You’d think it was a baby elephant up there, not a five-kilo cat.”
Catherine chuckled. “I told you, you can hear everything!”
“Oh my God! Yeah, you really can,” Jules grimaced and laughed. “He’ll be hungry and wondering where I’ve got to. Do you mind if I…”
“No, not at all. How about you go see to Juni, and I’ll make us some breakfast?”
“Sounds perfect.” Jules leaned in and kissed her again.
Catherine watched as her neighbour pulled on her underwear, and an idea came to her that was uncharacteristically springing out of her mouth before she’d even thought it through.
“Seeing as we left him on his own all night, why don’t you wedge our doors open when you come back down?”
Jules cocked her head. “You wouldn’t mind if he came exploring?”
“Technically, Juni stayed over before you did.”
“Ha, yeah, okay… and you’re really okay with that?”
Catherine slowly nodded as if weighing the idea. “Yeah, I am. More than okay,” she said and realised she meant it.
“Alright, let’s give it a go.” Jules’s smile didn’t budge as she threw on her clothes. Catherine was sure she had the same silly grin plastered on her own lips.
Dressed but gloriously dishevelled, Jules crawled up the bed and placed a soft kiss on Catherine’s forehead. “I’ll be back soon, lover,” she purred.
Catherine’s heart stuttered at Jules’s choice of word.
It was new; it was all so new, but it felt good; everything so far with Jules felt good. Less thinking, more feeling, Catherine reminded herself as she gripped the front of Jules’s shirt and stole another kiss before she left.
Excitement fluttered in Catherine’s stomach as she busied herself preparing breakfast. Hopefully, she wouldn’t disappoint Jules with her lack of culinary skills, but she couldn’t really fuck up scrambled eggs on toast too badly. She whisked the eggs and dropped a quick text to Penny.
Jules stayed over!!!
Penny:
OMG! That’s amazing. Proud of you x
She’s bringing the cat over for breakfast!
Penny:
I think that’s the most lesbian thing I’ve ever read… And I’m sure there’s a joke in there somewhere about eating pussy x
Penny followed up with a string of confetti emojis, then an aubergine and a splash. Catherine laughed, slipping her phone back into her dressing gown pocket just as the front door opened.
“Hey, I’m back,” Jules called out.
Catherine met her in the hallway. Jules had removed last night’s makeup and tied her hair back.
Anticipating the unspoken casual-cosy dress-code, she’d changed into a well-worn sweatshirt, paired with pyjama shorts and socks.
Jules smiled and glanced down at the furry grey bundle nestled in her arms.
Warmth spread through Catherine like wildfire, her insides aglow — because this was it, this was everything, all at once.
Maybe it was too soon. Maybe it would all go tits up, but she owed it to herself to take a chance, and so far, Jules had been a pretty safe bet.