Chapter 26 #2
The lift dinged, opening onto the first floor. They exited the building in silence, Caitlin holding the glass door for Gemma. In turn, their bodies met the warm June air.
“Where to?” Gemma asked.
Caitlin wordlessly led Gemma down the sidewalk, strolling side by side. The night hummed with the sound of traffic, the subway rumbling beneath their feet.
When Caitlin glanced over, Gemma’s face was illuminated with golden streetlight. Her heart stuttered.
Arriving at their destination, Caitlin ceremoniously pulled the door open for Gemma.
Gemma looked up at the sign. “Ten June? Wow, I haven’t been here since…” She paused, eyeing Caitlin.
“Me either.” Caitlin smirked, reading Gemma’s mind.
They slid into two empty stools at the bar, shoulder to shoulder. Caitlin ordered two scotches—now that she knew Gemma liked to drink hers the same way.
“Of all places, why here?” Gemma asked, facing a long wall of shelves filled with bottles of liquor.
“I remembered this place was nearby. Thought it might be fun to revisit,” Caitlin said with a sheepish grin.
“Well, cheers to not getting kicked out again.” Gemma giggled, clinking her glass to Caitlin’s.
“As much fun as it was to get caught having sex in the bathroom, that’s not my favorite memory here,” Caitlin replied, meeting Gemma’s eyes.
They had taken their first trip together the summer after their high school graduation, not long after Gemma’s eighteenth birthday.
They had driven the hour and a half from New Hope to Manhattan, a city that was new to them both, in celebration before starting their next journey at The University of Pennsylvania.
They devoured New York like it was theirs for the week, exploring every tucked-away alley and glittering avenue.
They’d wandered hand in hand through Central Park, taken pictures above the skyline from the Empire State Building, and kissed beneath the Brooklyn Bridge.
They’d eaten pizza and bagels in rotation until they could hardly move, then had climbed to the crown of the Statue of Liberty, dizzy with the magic of it all.
“It’s not?” Gemma asked, quirking an eyebrow.
“Don’t you remember?” Caitlin smiled sadly. “We ran in here because I had to pee so bad I thought I couldn’t make it back to our hotel.” She spun in her seat, now facing Gemma. “You told me—in this bathroom, for whatever reason—that I was your soulmate.”
Gemma’s features softened as she pictured the scene. “If I remember correctly, there had been a lot of tequila involved.”
“Do you still believe in soulmates?” Caitlin asked, looking deep into Gemma’s bronzed eyes and seeing the same intrepid girl she had fallen in love with a lifetime ago.
Gemma’s hand was suddenly cupping Caitlin’s face, answering the question with her lips. She claimed Caitlin with a slow, sure kiss, sliding her free hand up Caitlin’s thigh.
Caitlin returned the kiss with everything she’d held back for ten years—hunger mixing with apology and promise.
When she felt Gemma’s mouth leave hers, Caitlin slowly opened her eyes, resurfacing with reluctance.
“Come home with me.” Gemma didn’t pose it as a question, and Caitlin didn’t hesitate before getting up to settle the tab.
“My hotel’s just a few blocks away.” Caitlin pointed down the street once they were outside.
Gemma looped her arm through Caitlin’s as they walked, their steps eager and steady.
Caitlin scanned her room key and pushed through the door, her body buzzing with anticipation.
Gemma wasted no time before tangling her fingers in Caitlin’s auburn waves and pressing her back against the wall.
Their lips collided with a desperate need, as if finding water after a drought.
But it wasn’t enough. Caitlin yearned to feel the heat of Gemma’s bare skin.
She slid her hands under Gemma’s blazer, gripping her waist in a claim of ownership.
Gemma bit down on Caitlin’s bottom lip in response, then sucked on the tender skin, causing a raw groan to rise from her throat.
The kiss felt disheveled and beautifully unscripted as a knot of longing loosened between them. Each caress conveyed both adoration and devotion.
“I need you,” Caitlin breathed into Gemma’s mouth.
Afraid to let go of Gemma even for a second, Caitlin reached down and threaded their fingers together before leading the way into her bedroom.
She turned to face Gemma, who gently pushed Caitlin backward until she was seated on the edge of the bed. Standing over her, Gemma held Caitlin’s gaze as she slowly unbuttoned her blazer and slipped it off. Her fingers ghosted along the waistband of her pants in a tease that left Caitlin yearning.
“Please, let me,” Caitlin crooned, reaching out to slide Gemma’s pants down her toned thighs, her movements feverishly measured.
Gemma sank onto the bed one knee at a time, straddling Caitlin’s lap. The warm, familiar musk of her cologne pinned Caitlin in her seat. Her dizzy intoxication had nothing to do with the glass of scotch she’d had, and everything to do with the woman on top of her.
“You’re the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.” Caitlin’s heart hammered in her chest.
Flushed with desire, Gemma bent down and kissed along the side of Caitlin’s neck, unzipping her dress, sliding the straps down her shoulders, and letting the fabric fall into a heap around her waist.
Gemma looked at Caitlin like she wanted to devour her, as if she had been craving her taste for half a lifetime.
She slid off Caitlin’s lap, pulling the dress down her legs before easing her back onto the bed.
Gemma bathed in the sight of Caitlin’s body, laid bare beneath her. Slowly, deliberately, her fingers grazed Caitlin’s porcelain skin, tracing the constellation of freckles across her chest.
Caitlin ached to belong to those hands again.
She looked up at Gemma in longing, their eyes meeting for a soft moment before the heat of passion overtook them and their lips connected once again.
Caitlin pulled Gemma down on top of her, wanting to feel every curve of her body pressed against her own. Gemma’s mouth found Caitlin’s neck, licking and kissing across her jaw. Caitlin raked her nails down Gemma’s back, pulling a soft hum from her lips.
“Touch me,” Gemma whispered into her ear.
Caitlin eased her right hand around Gemma’s side and down her torso, landing between her legs as they spread across Caitlin’s waist. She lightly glided her fingers through the desire that had pooled from her touch.
A shudder wove its way through Gemma’s body.
Caitlin eased two fingers inside, swallowing Gemma’s groan.
She rocked her hips slowly, rhythmically, sinking deeper with every movement.
Caitlin wanted to live inside the moment—forever feeling the slick heat of Gemma’s skin beneath her palms, cataloguing every moan of pleasure, and savoring every shared breath.
“I want to watch you,” Caitlin breathed as Gemma’s lips met the crook of her neck.
Gemma sat up, her legs still spread across Caitlin’s lap, and met her eyes. She rocked her hips against Caitlin’s curled fingers as her thumb circled her clit.
They moved in unison, increasing the pace as Gemma edged closer to ecstasy. Caitlin sat upright, maintaining her graceful rhythm and locking Gemma’s gaze. She wanted to hold Gemma close when her orgasm crashed.
Gemma’s eyes glowed with love, reflecting her own. The bond between their souls felt undeniable. They were destined, created to meet, to belong wholly to each other.
Gemma rode Caitlin’s hand until she was moaning with the promise of release, their eyes still locked.
Caitlin wrapped her free arm around Gemma’s waist to steady her as she began to shatter.
A shaky groan and soft cry escaped Gemma’s lips—Caitlin thought they were the most beautiful sounds she’d ever heard. Every shuddering wave of Gemma’s pleasure etched itself into Caitlin’s memory—divine and sacred.
Gemma collapsed against Caitlin, spent and trembling. Caitlin wrapped both arms around her, holding her tight. Their hearts thudded in frantic synchrony.
Raw and vulnerable, Gemma quietly kissed Caitlin. She began with her lips before moving down her neck and across her chest, working her way over every inch of Caitlin’s body until her mouth suddenly landed on the ache between her legs.
Gemma gripped Caitlin’s hips, teasing her with light strokes of her tongue until she wrapped her lips around the bud of Caitlin’s clit.
Caitlin whimpered in submission to Gemma’s mouth.
Over and over, Gemma repeated the motion, edging Caitlin even closer. Gemma was taking her time, pinning Caitlin’s hips to the bed and torturing her deliciously.
“Fuck, Gemma,” Caitlin cried out.
Gemma’s tongue moved faster.
“Don’t... Stop.” Caitlin gasped. With a final “Oh my God,” she succumbed to her orgasm.
Gemma only increased the pressure of her tongue as wave after wave of release cascaded over Caitlin. Her fingers threaded through Gemma’s hair, locking her mouth between Caitlin’s legs.
A low, feral groan escaped Caitlin’s throat, a sound she’d never heard from herself before. Gemma did things to her that no one ever could, knew her body better than anyone ever had.
Caitlin became weightless as a second orgasm perfused her body.
“Holy shit.” Caitlin panted. “That was…” She fought to catch her breath as Gemma’s movements slowed.
“The best you’ve ever had?” Gemma asked with a knowing smirk as she made her way up the bed to lie next to Caitlin.
“Yeah. Damn. It really was.” She laughed breathlessly. Caitlin flipped onto her side, facing Gemma. “I’ve missed you, Squish.”
There was a softness in Gemma’s eyes, but her smile turned forlorn.
Caitlin gently cupped Gemma’s cheek. “What’s wrong?”
“You were supposed to be the one person who never hurt me,” Gemma said quietly.
“I am so sorry,” Caitlin whispered and gently placed a kiss on Gemma’s forehead, not knowing how to make the pain go away.
Gemma shifted, tucking her body into Caitlin’s.
She wrapped her arms around Gemma, holding her in a tight embrace.
“I’ve got you,” Caitlin promised, kissing the top of Gemma’s head again and locking her arms in place. They stayed like that until their heartbeats slowed and their chests began to rise and fall in unison.
“Can I stay with you tonight?” Gemma mumbled into Caitlin’s chest after a long silence.
“Always.”
They stayed entwined throughout the entire night, Caitlin refusing to loosen her hold as Gemma drifted into a peaceful sleep against her chest. She fought against the weight of her own eyelids for as long as she could, not wanting to surrender a single second.
THE NEXT MORNING, CAITLIN OPENED her eyes at the sound of movement outside the bedroom. She reached for Gemma, but the bed beside her was empty. Panic jolted her upright, and she grabbed her UPenn crewneck from the chair before rushing out.
“Are you leaving?” Caitlin asked, voice tight with dread as she walked into the living area and found Gemma lacing her Doc Martens.
Gemma rose from the couch, crossed the space between them, and pressed a soft, conclusive kiss to her lips.
Caitlin’s knees buckled as the floor tilted beneath her.
One hand wrapped around the door handle, Gemma paused and looked over her shoulder to meet Caitlin’s eyes. Her face was unreadable. A heartbreak later, she was gone.
Feeling unmoored, Caitlin stumbled to the couch. There, on the wooden coffee table, sat a hastily scrawled note on a piece of hotel stationery.
Caitlin,
Last night was truly amazing. These last few months have been everything to me—you are everything to me. I wouldn’t survive losing you again. I can’t risk it. I know leaving this note makes me a hypocrite, but I hope you can understand.
I love you, Caitlin, with all my heart. Again. Still.
Always and forever,
Gemma
Caitlin crumbled into the cushions, the letter clenched tight in her fist. A sharp pain tore through her chest as the silence from Gemma’s absence threatened to consume her.