Chapter 33
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Emma woke to the winter morning sunlight streaming through the blinds, her body light and free for the first time since Freya had walked into her life.
Last night was a night she would remember for the rest of her life.
Even as they made memories with one another, even as their relationship grew into an unbreakable bond, that would be where it had all started for them.
She rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling, her mind replaying it all.
Freya’s small, nervous smile when they’d first walked through the door.
The way she’d relaxed once they’d started tossing the ball around in the garden.
Her cautious questions over dinner, her laughter when Emma had dropped the spoon, the shake in her voice when she’d asked if Emma would go to her football matches.
All of it pressed down on Emma in the best, most overwhelming way.
Vanessa stirred beside her, a low groan escaping her lips as she slowly opened her eyes. She blinked against the light filtering in, her hair a wild mess across the pillow. “Mm. Morning.” She shifted closer and nuzzled into Emma. “You’re awake already.”
“I’ve been awake for a while.”
Vanessa angled her head and looked up at Emma. “Thinking about last night?”
Emma nodded and smiled.
“It went well, didn’t it?” Vanessa drew small circles against Emma’s stomach and sighed. “I didn’t think I’d feel any different once it was all over, but I do.”
Emma swallowed. “Different how, babe?”
“Lighter. Happier. Looking forward to watching it all unfold between the two of you.” Vanessa studied Emma, that breathtaking look of love present in her eyes, and then she reached out, brushing her hand along Emma’s jaw as she pulled her closer.
Emma folded herself into the warmth of her wife, breathing her in.
“I’m so proud of how you handled last night. ”
Emma didn’t respond. She didn’t know what to say.
Instead, she tangled herself into everything Vanessa was, everything she represented, and smiled against her.
The stability, the love, the sense of family…
Vanessa had always been Emma’s one constant over the years, and as she lay here now, she knew she could never possibly find a way to navigate life without her.
Vanessa’s phone buzzed on the bedside table. She groaned, dragged herself upright, and reached for it. Emma cast her eyes over the screen, smiling as Vanessa turned to her. “It’s from Lauren. Daisy’s back to her normal self this morning. Causing destruction in every room of the house, apparently.”
Relief washed through Emma. “Good. I hated seeing her so wiped out the other day.”
Vanessa tossed the phone back onto the bedside table and breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ll take destruction over a sick toddler any day.”
Emma sat up and stretched. She wanted to get their day going, and she wanted uninterrupted time with her wife for as long as she possibly could before they headed out this evening. “Come on. I’m making you breakfast.”
“Oh?” Vanessa grinned as she rose from their bed and slipped her robe on. “Just so we’re clear…you’re making me more than just toast, right?”
“Please.” Emma snorted. “Of course I am.”
“Perfect. I’m starving.”
As Emma left the bedroom and threw a look over her shoulder, she said, “I’m also including jam, marmalade, or your favourite…lemon curd.”
Emma took the stairs, prepared coffee, and started a stack of toast on a plate. Of course she would feed Vanessa more than a couple of slices of bread, but first Emma needed caffeine and a cold glass of orange juice.
As Vanessa landed in the kitchen, she broke the silence. “So, how are you feeling this morning?”
Emma turned, resting against the counter. “Better than I have in a while.”
“Seeing you and Freya last night,” Vanessa said as she lowered herself into a seat at the dining table. “I can’t explain it.”
“Try.” Emma crossed the room with two coffees and sat facing her wife. Breakfast could wait for a few more minutes. “Please…for me.”
“It felt as though you’d known one another for years, Emma.”
That pulled a smile from Emma, one so big that her cheeks ached. “Yeah, I felt that too a few times. Which I didn’t expect to happen. Not even close to anything like that.”
“I know, but I did have a small feeling that it would go better than you thought it would.”
“Right now,” Emma said as she brought one knee up and rested her chin on it.
“I’m just happy there’s progress rather than things continuously stalling.
It’s gone better than I thought it would, and I’m not going to complain about that.
” Emma lifted her coffee and sipped, moaning as the intense arabica soothed her throat.
“I’m also prepared if Freya feels overwhelmed and needs some time to process being here. ”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe the success of last night deserves to be celebrated.”
Emma grinned. “Yeah, I think it does.”
“So, tonight? Is it something you still feel like?”
Emma’s brows drew together. “You mean with Dani and the new girlfriend? Absolutely. We’ve been terrible friends lately, babe. I don’t want to put it off any longer. She’s been there for us both, and we need to make the effort.”
“While I completely agree, Dani understands that we’ve had a lot going on with Freya.”
“I know, but life is moving forward, and I don’t want any of our friends or family to think they’ve lost us to all of this. We need balance. We need other parts of our life to keep ticking over. So, cocktails it is!”
“Cocktails, huh?” Vanessa lifted a brow.
“Yes. Plural. As in more than one.”
Vanessa smirked. “I’ll remind you of that once you’ve finished your second one and you’re on the floor.”
Emma splayed a hand over her chest in mock outrage. “Excuse me. It’s actually three, at least.”
“Mm. We’ll see.”
Vanessa hadn’t realised how long it had been since they’d gone out for the sake of it until she stood in front of the mirror, smoothing her dress down over her hips and deciding she quite liked how the soft cream colour brought out her skin tone.
Behind her, sitting cross-legged on the bed, Emma was fussing with her eyeliner, her tongue caught between her teeth the way it always was when she tried to concentrate.
Vanessa watched her for a moment—the sheer focus on her face, the way she leaned in towards the mirror like the rest of the world had ceased to exist.
“You’re going to make me nervous if you keep staring at me like that,” Emma muttered, not glancing up. “If I poke my eye out, you’ll be going on your own tonight.”
“I wasn’t staring.” Vanessa leaned against the dresser, her arms folded loosely. “I was admiring.”
Emma snorted, dropping the eyeliner back into her makeup bag. “Well, whatever you were doing…I could still poke my eye out.”
Vanessa lifted a shoulder and smiled. “I’d still love you.”
Emma did look up this time. Their eyes met in the reflection, and Vanessa caught the twitch of a smile tugging at her wife’s mouth. “You’re too much.”
“And you’re beautiful.”
Those words may come easily these days, but Vanessa meant them as much now as she had the first time she’d ever said them. Emma’s cheeks flushed at her compliment, though she tried to cover it by busying herself with lipstick.
Unable to resist the urge to push a little more, Vanessa crossed the room and stopped in front of the bed, then leaned in and pressed her hands to the mattress. “If you keep pouting like that while you’re putting your lipstick on, I may have to kiss it all off.”
Emma lowered her lipstick slowly, her eyes narrowed. “That’s your plan, is it? Make me late so Dani thinks I take longer than you to get ready?”
Vanessa smirked. “You do take longer than me to get ready.”
Emma gasped dramatically. “Excuse you!”
Vanessa sat down on the edge of the bed and grazed her knuckle beneath Emma’s chin. “And no, that wasn’t my plan. I don’t care how long it takes us to get ready. Dani is with her girlfriend, and I’m sure they can keep one another company.”
“Then what was your plan?”
“Oh, I shouldn’t say.” Vanessa attempted to stand, but Emma caught her wrist.
“Tell me.”
“I…want to get back to us. The intimacy of us. I want to walk out of here tonight knowing that you’re so wet you can barely concentrate.” Vanessa leaned in and took Emma’s bottom lip between her teeth, releasing it slowly. “I want you dripping by the time we get back home.”
Emma whimpered as Vanessa drew back. “Y-yeah. Um, that’ll do it.”
“Then I’ll meet you downstairs.” Vanessa got to her feet and moved towards the bedroom door. “If I don’t leave you to get ready, we won’t be going anywhere.”
“No?”
“No, because you’ll be busy on your knees at my feet.”
The restaurant Dani had chosen was tucked away from the high street, a cosy place with fairy lights strung across the low beams and laughter spilling out onto the pavements the moment the door opened.
Vanessa had barely stepped inside when she spotted Dani waving them over from a table near the back.
She took Emma’s hand, inwardly scolding herself for starting something back at home she now desperately wanted to finish, and weaved through the tables. They needed this. They needed a night out to let go and forget everything else that was going on around them.
“You made it!” Dani pulled them both into a hug and squeezed them tight. “About bloody time.”
“Blame my wife,” Vanessa teased as she slid into her chair.
“Yeah, yeah. It’s all my fault.” Emma gave an exaggerated eye roll as she sat beside Vanessa. “I’m here now, aren’t I?”
Dani’s face softened as she regarded Emma with a genuine, understanding smile. “You are. And I’ve brought someone for you to meet.” Dani gestured to the woman sitting beside her, a brunette with a stylish fringe and a shy smile. “This is Jessie.”
“Hi.” Jessie’s voice was soft, but her handshake was firm as she took Vanessa’s hand. “I’ve heard plenty about you both.”