Chapter 13 Gemma #2
As she walked, she thought about everything she had looked at this week and wondered how to bring it up in conversation with Rory.
Having moped through her day on Monday, despite having lots to tell her co-workers about her weekend away, she had dived into Instagram and found several masc and butch lesbians to follow.
This had led her down a research rabbit hole over clothes, hair, and even workout programs for butch and masc lesbians.
She wanted to show Rory that she supported her journey, but didn’t want to be pushy.
As she rounded the corner of Rory’s street, her mouth dropped open, partly from the walk and being out of shape, but also because the tree-lined street was gorgeous.
It was a perfect picture of British suburbia.
Unlike her own neighbourhood, which had no parking and little in the way of greenery, Rory’s street had few cars parked on it because it looked like every house had a private driveway.
It was tree-lined and looked like it had been plucked from a film set.
The green of the trees contrasted with the dazzling blue of the sky and the evening sun.
It felt like she was in another world, even though she was technically in the same city as her flat, further highlighting the differences between them.
She slowed her pace and took in the houses.
Most were semi-detached but still pretty big, with a couple of detached houses dotted along the avenue.
It was wide and inviting and, in the early evening sun, looked gorgeous.
She checked her app again and looked up at Rory’s house.
Wow. She knew Rory earned more than she did, aside from being a lawyer and working at one of London’s top firms. Yes, she had looked her up after their opera trip.
The new Porsche and designer clothes gave away that Rory had a decent bit of money behind her.
But her house was something else. Did she really live here alone?
Gemma reckoned her flat would fit three or more times within Rory’s house.
She swallowed a couple of times and walked up the path towards the front door.
Other than its size and location, the property was unremarkable.
It was a standard 1950’s build and fairly generic for the area with light brick work and white windows.
All thoughts of the house flew from her mind as the front door opened.
Rory had obviously just got out of the shower, and her hair was still loose around her shoulders.
She was in a faded pair of jeans and a loose white shirt.
Her feet were bare, and Gemma stood for a moment taking in her appearance.
She had thought that nothing was hotter than ‘Formal Rory’ in a suit.
Then there was ‘Bathing Suit Rory’. Now ‘At home in jeans and loose white shirt Rory’, was taking the top spot in hotness.
Gemma smiled and stepped into a hug with Rory, reminding herself that they were just friends and that spending the evening working out how to get that shirt off her was not in the plan.
“Hey, come in.” Rory grinned and waved an arm in welcome.
Gemma stepped into the hallway, and her head drifted upwards as she took in the entryway. A large hall led to a stairway with a galleried landing. Several doors led off the hallway, and she tried her best not to look like she was gazing into each room.
“It’s gorgeous, Rory!” she breathed. Belatedly, she remembered the bottle of wine and thrust it at her friend.
“Here, I didn’t know what you were planning, so I grabbed this.”
Rory raised an eyebrow at Gemma and then smirked.
“Do you remember the last time we shared a bottle of wine?” Her eyebrow quirked in that adorable way of hers.
Gemma remembered the Christmas holiday when Rory had decided she was going to be a lawyer and then spent hours in the mirror practicing the eyebrow raise for when she was delivering her killer speech in the courtroom.
Gemma shrugged. “We’ve decided to be friends, and that’s the end of it.
I’m sure I can trust you to be well behaved in that chivalrous way of yours.
” She lightly tapped Rory on the arm and looked at the tiled hallway that led to hardwood floors in the adjoining rooms. “Is this a shoes-off house? Please tell me it’s a shoes-off house? ”
Both of Rory’s eyebrows shot up in a question before a smile tugged at her lips. “Could it be, perchance, that your feet are sore because you walked here from the station in shoes you chose for looks rather than practicality?”
The smile on Rory’s face turned into a full-blown grin, and Gemma felt her own face open into a smile at the sight.
It was just like Rory to see through her.
Without saying another word, she unbuckled her sandals and kicked them into the corner of the hallway by Rory’s shoe rack.
She let the cool tiles of the floor soothe her aching feet before turning back to Rory.
“I hate how much you know me!”
“No, you don’t,” Rory replied with a smirk.
She turned and led Gemma to the kitchen.
After putting the wine on the side, she started the house tour in the kitchen.
It was at the back and had a great view over the garden.
Gemma stood at the sink and looked out over the simple but well-kept garden.
The evening sun shone through the trees, and the dappled light gave the garden a soft glow.
“I haven’t done much to the house or garden.
” Rory stood behind Gemma, and she could feel her warmth through her blouse.
Gemma tried to listen to Rory talking about the house but couldn’t think beyond how wonderful it would feel to have Rory’s arms encircle her, how she wanted Rory to pull her against her body and hold her.
She bit back a sigh. Being Rory’s friend, only her friend, was going to be harder than she’d realised.