Chapter Nineteen #2
Em started the shower, throwing her clothes off and stepping in, the hot water pelting her back. She didn’t know how Shae felt, but she would have to be content with that. She’d told herself she wouldn’t push Shae, and she had every intention of keeping that promise.
Em opened the door of the bathroom, feeling semi-exposed.
She was wearing nothing but an oversized t-shirt and her underwear.
Had she known she’d not be sleeping alone in the guest room, she would have opted to bring bottoms. Shae sat on the bed with her back up against the headboard.
Her legs were stretched out comfortably in front of her.
She was holding two spoons and a pint of ice cream, a look of excitement in her eyes.
“I was wondering how long you’d be in there, you—” Shae lost her words as her jaw nearly dropped. Her gaze dragged from Em’s wet hair to the shirt clinging to her frame and back up to where their eyes met. Shae blinked, lips parting like a thought caught in her throat.
“You clean up… dangerously well,” she mustered, clearing her throat.
Em smiled. Enjoying the thought of catching her off guard.
Shae must have gone into the other bathroom and showered herself. A towel now lay draped across her desk chair, and her hair was damp as she sat, cozy in her t-shirt and boxers.
“I thought… ice cream?” Shae held a spoon out in front of her, tapping the empty spot next to her on the bed.
Em dropped her backpack by Shae’s desk and plopped down next to her, taking it from her hand. They clinked the little arcs of silver together—a “spoon cheers,” as they used to call it.
“Mmm, moose tracks… my fav.”
“I know,” Shae boasted, a smile forming at the corner of her mouth. She twisted the container open, exposing the fudgy, peanut buttery swirl. Shae tipped the container toward her, motioning for her to dig in.
Em dipped her spoon in, and Shae followed suit, sliding the edge across the top to scoop up tiny bits of creamy goodness. She popped it into her mouth, leaving a bit of chocolate at the corner of her lip that her tongue quickly chased away.
“So, based on tonight’s performance,” Shae teased, “I think you missed your calling. Too late to change your major now, but… You should have.” The corners of Shae’s mouth curled upward as she sank her spoon into the ice cream again, bringing up a big chunk of peanut butter and shoveling it into her mouth.
“Is that right? What do you think I should’ve changed it to?” Em shifted toward Shae, tucking her legs in.
“Well, let’s see… music, musical theater, dance.” She counted on each finger. “Not psychology.”
Em cracked up, “Dance? I am not a dancer.”
Shae chuckled, watching her, “You could have fooled me. Tonight was pfff, wow.”
Em took Shae in for a minute before saying, “I enjoy learning about people, their motives, their emotions. So that’s why… psychology.”
“Okay. So are you analyzing me right now?” Shae smirked.
“Maybe. Are you saying… You liked it— my perform- ance?” Em rolled her lips in, sliding them against each other.
“I loved it.” Shae slipped the pint of ice cream onto her nightstand and adjusted her body to face Em. She reached her hand over, lacing their fingers together. Their eyes met, and a kaleidoscope of butterflies took flight in Em’s belly.
“I forgot how much I missed hearing your voice. You’re good, Em.”
Em lowered her spoon, fidgeting with it in her hand.
“What’s on your mind?” Shae asked, as if she could feel her unease.
“Being in this bed, it’s...” She shrugged her shoulders. “I…”
“I know,” Shae weighed in. “It takes me back there, too.”
“We’ve sorta come full circle,” Em said, her tongue darting out to wet her lips.
The two of them stared at each other for a heartbeat, Em’s belly twisting with a mixture of excitement and nerves.
With the past playing in the back of her mind like an old season of Friends and the kiss fresh on her lips, Em had so many feelings to sift through.
The last time she was on this bed, she was the one who’d made the first move.
She had wanted Shae to touch her so badly that when she took Shae’s hand and guided it across her body.
She exuded so much confidence and surety that she had even surprised herself.
But that move had changed everything between them in ways she hadn’t expected, and at times had wished she could take back.
Em broke eye contact, placing her spoon on the nightstand.
“Oh my goodness. That isn’t what I think it is, is it?” she asked, her hand flying to her mouth. She looked back at Shae, her eyes growing wide.
On Shae’s desk sat the scrapbook the two of them had put together their senior year, originally meant to be Shae’s senior capstone project.
Em was never meant to be a part of it, but when she noticed Shae silently unraveling under the pressure, the deadline swiftly approaching, she stepped in without hesitation.
What started as help became something else entirely.
They spent a whole weekend together, sprawled across Shae’s bedroom floor, surrounded by glue sticks and scissors and half-forgotten memories.
They tried to make every detail perfect, and in the end, it was.
In the end, it became more than a senior capstone: it became a record of them.
Pressed into paper and ink in a way neither of them noticed they were creating.
She swung her legs over the side of the bed and pushed to her feet. Opening the book with a tender smile. “Look at us,” she said, flipping through the first few pages. “God, we were so creative. And kinda geeky.” She chuckled, tucking her hair behind her ear.
“You were!” Shae quipped from the bed.
“Ahh, I miss this time. This is a great memory,” Em said, bringing the book closer to look at a photo, a tender smile lighting up her face.
Shae came up behind her so quietly Em hardly heard until her body pressed against her back, sweeping Em’s hair aside. She leaned in, pressing a kiss to the curve where Em’s neck met her shoulder. Em stilled, but she didn’t pull away.
“Breathe, Em,” Shae whispered.
Em’s breath vibrated as she exhaled. Shae placed her hands delicately at her hips, molding herself to Em’s back as her lips grazed a trail up the side of Em’s neck.
Her fingers dragged across Em’s waist just below her belly button, trailing up, under the thin fabric of her shirt—an intoxicating movement that caused Em’s hips to lift gradually.
Em sucked in a shallow breath, stuttering out an exhale.
She lowered the book to the desk and reached behind her, her fingers curling around the waistband of Shae’s boxers, tugging her closer.
Shae’s hands explored with reverence, tracing goosebumps across Em’s skin.
“Does it make you nervous?” she said. “Lying in the same bed I touched you in? Touched you like this.” Her hands slid higher, fingertips grazing over Em’s ribs before cupping her breasts in her hands.
She squeezed lightly, enough to send a shiver through her.
Em moaned, a soft, warm heat blooming in her chest and between her legs.
“I knew I wouldn’t be able to stay away from you the minute you stepped out of that bathroom in those panties and white tee—” Her voice darkened. “I can see your nipples, Em. Did you really think I’d be able to keep my mouth off you?”
Em leaned backwards into her, Shae’s breath ragged against the back of her neck. Shae was crowding her against the desk, the edge of it biting into the tops of her thighs. Em didn’t care. She reached back with both hands, grasping Shae’s hips, steadying herself.
Shae rolled her thumbs over Em’s nipples, pinching gently.
Then, in one fluid motion, she eased Em around to face her, pausing when their eyes met and glancing down at Em’s mouth.
She brushed her thumb across Em’s lower lip, eyes searching her as her lips parted, grazing her tongue over the pad of Shae’s thumb.
Shae pressed her mouth to hers, guiding Em back against the desk until she was perched on the edge, her legs opening as Shae slipped between them.
Em could feel something shift in Shae, not just desire, but as though she were letting go, leaning in.
Giving in after all the times she told herself no.
She cradled Em’s chin in her hand, kissing her with a featherlight tenderness that pulled Em into freefall without moving.
The subtle taste of chocolate and peanut butter still lingered on Shae’s tongue, buttery sweet.
Shae broke the kiss to look at Em, her lips mere inches away. “Is this okay?” she asked.
Em’s eyes were heavy-lidded, locked on Shae’s mouth. She didn’t want Shae to stop. She wanted more, wanted her to touch her everywhere.
“Yes,” she breathed, arching her back and wrapping her legs around the back of Shae’s.
She circled her hips into hers, her mouth open, her breath coming out in short, panting waves.
“It’s more than okay.” She slid her fingers through the back of Shae’s hair, cradling her neck and drawing her in.
“I want you.” She breathed against her lips, "I've wanted you for a very long time.” She tightened her legs around Shae, pressing her closer. “Please… touch me.”
Shae slid her hand up Em’s thigh, pausing when she reached the damp heat between her legs. She pressed two fingers against the soaked fabric, rubbing firm circles over her clit through her panties.
“Is this what you want? For me to touch you like this?” Shae pressed her fingers firmer over the swell of her clit.
“Mmmh,” Em moaned loudly.
Shae’s hand shot to Em’s mouth, her eyes flicking toward the door. Her parents’ room was only steps away. Here they were again, like teenagers, muffling their need for one another.
Em swirled her tongue against the palm of Shae’s hand in desperate circles, her hips moving in a tight rhythm, like she was trying yet failing to keep control.