Archive of Our Own

Julia sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror of the elevator, she was only five minutes late, if the traffic was good she would make it on time. She couldn’t exactly tell first year archaeology students to get their act together when it came to making it on time if she couldn’t even do it herself.

She ran a hand through her hair, straightening out the flyaways. She noticed the new blush she bought herself was somehow on her nose so she tried wiping it off with her finger. The door opened to the ground floor of her apartment complex, and she resigned herself to her now slightly red nose.

Expecting Donna, Julia already started the sentence before looking in the direction of the reception desk.

“Morning Don—” It wasn’t till her eyes made it over there she saw that it wasn’t Donna at all. Far from it. The girl’s eyes met Julia’s and she stopped in her tracks.

“You’re not Donna,” She said without really thinking. Duh, clearly not Donna.

“You are right, I’m not,” She smiled and stood up from the desk. “I’m Yasmin, Yaz, if you don’t mind,” She said holding out her hand.

Julia blinked then walked over to shake the woman’s hand. She’d gone from being slightly startled to see a new face to now even more startled by just how beautiful she was.

“What happened to Donna?” Julia immediately regretted asking as Yaz’s hand left hers, in all honesty she didn’t care that much about who was manning the desk, but her brain was not rebooting as quick as she’d like.

“She’s cut her hours down, so you’ll still see her Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, and I’ll be here for the days in between.”

“Oh, well. Cool, er, I am gonna be late, but it were nice to meet you Yasmin.”

“You too,” She said and Julia held her hand up in a semi-awkward wave before leaving, when she turned her back she rolled her eyes, it was like she was allergic to being suave.

///

On route back home after a long day, the thought of Yaz popped into Julia’s brain. She asked herself why she was so intent on seeing the new receptionist, but the moment she posed the question, she knew the answer. The girl was gorgeous. Those dark eyes struck her down the moment she saw them. Her skin was a rich caramel colour, her ebony hair looked like a luxurious silk, and her smile was utterly adorable.

A gorgeous girl was a nice addition to her day, like the first cup of coffee in the morning. A reason to look forward to getting out of the house.

And a nice reason to leave her office on time.

When she opened the door she was greeted by Yaz who was typing away on her computer.

“Hey,” Julia said and Yaz looked up. A smile grew on her face and it warmed Julia from the cold October weather.

“Hi, how's it going?”

“Good thanks, long day. You know,” Did Yaz know? Sitting at that desk all day, Julia imagined the hours tended to drag by.

“I get you. What do you do?” Yaz asked, leaning her head on her palms.

“Archaeology. A teacher of. Well, a lecturer. At Sheffield Uni.”

“Oh cool. My little sister is at Sheffield, second year. Not Archaeology though, she does English.”

“Oh my friend Clara works in the English department, it's a good lot over there.” 

“Yeah, she likes it.”

“Good, well.” Julia had reached the end of things she could think of to keep the conversation going. “Good to see you, Yasmin.” Good to see you? She realised she was going to see her every other day from now on.

“It’s Yaz,” She said.

“Right, yes. Sorry. Yaz, see you.”

She started to walk over the elevator when Yaz spoke.

“Sorry, what was your name?”

Julia then realised she’d somehow forgotten to properly introduce herself.

“Oh, sorry. Scatterbrain. I’m Julia, I live in 102. I mean of course I live here, that's pretty obvious. I’m not just some weirdo who likes hanging out here.” Julia wanted to stop speaking, but words kept spilling out. 

Luckily, it seemed to amuse Yaz, who smiled.

“I mean, we do have pretty good coffee so I wouldn’t be surprised if people did gate-crash. Luckily I’m here to keep a close watch.”

“Good to know.”

Silence filled the reception room and Julia knew she needed to go before this became awkward.

“Goodnight Yaz,”

“Goodnight Julia. See you soon,” 

An idea for a flirtatious reply popped into Julia’s mind, so she said it before she had a chance to chicken out.

“Looking forward to it.” 

Yaz smiled again, a cute, slightly bashful smile. For once, Julia felt like she might have swung and hit something.

She knew it was probably not best to get her hopes up, but she raised her eyebrows at her reflection as she stepped into the lift.

But she certainly had ample opportunities to see where it took her, she’d have one in the morning, and one at night. And probably one whenever there was a delivery, which in Julia’s case was often. When she got to her apartment she settled in and looked in the fridge. What she was expecting to find in there, she didn’t know, but there was yet again food going bad. Whilst the intent was there to cook it, she didn’t bother following through.

She scanned through her phone and browsed the selection of takeaways. She quickly decided as her stomach was already rumbling and picked a pad thai meal and some crispy chili squid. She realised she was going to have to see Yaz again after already saying goodnight. She knew she’d be at risk of really putting her foot in it, so she made a plan to beeline for the door, grab the food and shoot her a polite smile.

It didn’t quite go as planned. 

“What did you get?” Yaz asked, and Julia slowed down her speed walk to an eventual stop.

“Oh, err,” Julia rummaged in the bag. Why couldn’t she even remember at this point? She mentally cursed those doe eyes of Yaz’s for throwing her off. “Pad thai...some crispy squid.” 

“Sounds delicious,” Yaz said.

Julia noticed something shiny tucked in under the packaging. She pulled it out.

“Oh I forgot they always throw these in,” Julia said, showing Yaz the two fortune cookies.

“Nice, it’s been a while since I had one of those.”

Julia instantly walked to the desk and put one of them down, pushing it over the large marble counter between them. Yaz leaned over and took it.

“Thanks.”

“No worries, we could all do with a little enlightenment now and then.”

Julia noticed Yaz was in the process of opening hers, so she thought she might as well too. She set down the bag of food on the desk and got to work opening the treat and cracking the wafer-cookie to reveal its contents.

“Help! I’m being held prisoner in a Chinese bakery!” Julia said. “Joking,” And Yaz breathed out a laugh. “When your heart is pure, your mind is clear,” Julia read aloud.

“Hm,” Yaz said. “I guess that’s a nice sentiment,” She looked down at her own slip of paper. “A beautiful, smart, and loving person will be coming into your life.”

“Well, I am pretty loving seeing as I just gave you a cookie, so.” 

Julia mentally congratulated herself, she just about managed to pull that off as a successful flirtation.

“True, and you are a lecturer so pretty smart as well.” 

“A smart cookie,” Julia said, half-heartedly pointing at the wafer that was now split in two on her desk. She wished she would one day stop making stupid jokes. But it wasn’t this day. Still, Yaz politely smiled.

“And beautiful as well,” Yaz said, her voice a little quieter than before.

“Well, thanks. You too.” 

Again, Jo was greeted with that coy little smile of hers. Part of her wanted to see if she could keep up this winning streak. But the other part knew all winning streaks had to be broken eventually and she’d rather end this conversation on a high.

“Good night again, Yaz.”

“Good night Julia.”

Julia gave a polite smile, and walked in the direction of the elevator.

“Julia?” 

She turned to see Yaz gesturing to the food she’d left on the desk. Julia quickly picked it back up and walked away, she’d been so elated that her attempts at flirting with Yaz had been successful, the food had really escaped her mind.

Back in the lift, Julia took a long exhale. This was looking more promising than she expected, and it was also happening a lot faster as well. Something about their chemistry just seemed to work from the get go. She smiled to herself.

Once returning to her flat she realised she’d accidentally put every piece of cutlery in the dishwasher at once so she had to use two pencils as some make-shift chopsticks. She sat and watched TV while she ate, but her mind was fully distracted by Yaz.

God, that smile. 

After she ate there was a lull in the evening, and her mind was just full of fantasies about her, so she did what any normal woman would do when feeling the pulls of desire. She took her vibrator out of her drawer and thought about Yaz looking up at her from between her thighs.

She came hard and let her name escape from her lips.

Afterwards, she sighed. Her heart-rate slowly returned down to normal.

All the evidence pointed in her favour, they’d had a bit of successful flirting. She liked her chances of turning those fantasies into a reality, she just needed to remember to come across like a normal human being.

///

It was Saturday morning, meaning no work, meaning no excuse to go see Yaz. She did have some research to do for a collaboration project with the anthropology department, and that managed to take her mind off Yaz for a good portion of the morning.

She even managed to book in a grocery order for Sunday, with the promise to herself of actually cooking the food. For tonight though, she was yet again out of options. She put in an order at the local vegan burger place and browsed her laptop. 

John had emailed her, asking about where her marking was that she had promised to take care of by Monday. Her stomach dropped. She wished she could afford an assistant to manage her chaotic schedule. Maybe she could employ Yaz. On second thought, that would probably be more distracting than useful. 

Julia opened up the bunch of essays she needed to grade, and emailed John back to reassure him that she was handling it. An hour later, she looked at her phone that she’d thrown on the sofa. Several notifications from Deliveroo and an email from the front desk.

Hiya, 

I have your food here, come down and get it when you can

Thanks 

Yaz

“Shit,” She cursed, shoving on her trainers.

Once she got downstairs she saw Yaz who smiled and rolled her eyes.

“Sorry, sorry, I forgot to do some marking and I got wrapped up in it. I’m a disaster.”

“No worries, but I think it might need heating up now.”

“Yeah, blitz in the microwave should be fine. Were the driver annoyed?”

“He didn’t seem that bothered to be honest.”

“What did he look like?”

“Err kinda stocky, lots of tattoos..”

“Oh Andreas, he knows what I’m like, he’ll forgive me. I’ll tip him a fiver for his trouble though,” Julia pulled out her phone and tipped him before she forgot. 

“You know your Deliveroo drivers?” 

“Oh yeah, and my Ubereats drivers, they are all aware of my scatterbrain.”

Yaz balanced her chin on the back of her clasped hands.

“Have to admit I nearly caved and ate that so, you might wanna be careful with me around.”

“You hungry?”

“A bit yeah, didn’t have a proper dinner.”

“What do you like to eat?” Julia said, her phone still in her hand, the app still open. 

“Anything, well. I’m pescatarian, but apart from that anything. I could murder pizza right now to be honest. Maybe I’ll see if anywhere is open after my shift.”

“No need,” Julia said, pressing confirm order on her phone. “The best pizza this side of Sheffield is on it’s way.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that.”

“I know, can’t have a hungry Yaz now can we?”

With that, Julia started walking to the elevator.

“Thank you,” Yaz said.

“No worries, see you.”

///

Julia let the burger and fries circle around the microwave until she was bored of waiting. She returned to her desk and ate whilst reading through the next essay. An email came through from her personal account, it was from the front desk.

Hey,

Thanks for the food again, this garlic aioli is amaaazing 

Yaz 

Julia smiled and typed a reply.

No snogging anyone for you tonight, glad you enjoyed it :)

J

She considered a kiss but played it safe.

Don’t think anyone were planning on snogging me tonight lol

Yaz

Julia typed out her reply;

You never know 

J x

Julia hesitated for a bit, her finger hovering over the mouse button. If she was wrong, this could cause an extreme amount of awkwardness of which it would be pretty impossible to avoid. She weighed her chances, her finger touching the button.

Before she could talk herself out, she hit send. A small electric shock pinged through her, but that excitement wore off quickly as the seconds started to drag out. She bit her nail, hoping she hadn’t gone too far.

True, it has been a while as well. I think I’m overdue. x

Julia lit up at the response. She guessed this was Yaz’s way of letting her know she was single and, well into her as well, given the returned kiss. 

I’m sure your luck will change pretty soon, good night 

J x

Again, Julia wanted to end the conversation on a high note. Leave her wanting more, as they say. 

I hope so, sweet dreams x

That night Yaz was the only thing on Julia’s mind as she tried to sleep. Her head ran through scenarios of her in the bed with her, what it would be like to kiss those sultry lips, to run her hand through those silky ebony locks.

She could only hope that her wishes would come true. It had been a while since she’d been with anyone, work always bled over her entire life. But Yaz put that smile back on her face, she put the breaks on and reminded her what having a crush was like.

Eventually, she fell asleep. Daydreaming of the days to come.

///

It wasn’t until the following Monday where Julia saw Yaz again. It had only been a day between their last encounter, but Julia was already counting down the hours. In the hopes of spending a little more time lost in those eyes, she even did something that was unheard of, she actually got up on time.

She looked at herself in the mirror. This was one of her best suits. It was a crisp, navy blue colour which she thought complemented her light skin. She’d had it tailored and to fit her like a glove, and it was a fond choice for days where she wanted to feel her best.

The doors of the lift slid open and Julia took one last deep breath.

“Morning, Yaz.”

“Morning,” Yaz responded sweetly. Julia was instantly struck with happiness when she got to see her smile again, it’d been far too long. “You seem well,” She added.

“I am, in fact, I am actually in good time for work today. I might in fact, be early.”

“Wow, get you.”

“I know, the whole department will be shocked.”

“Well here, take a flyer if you are in no rush,” Yaz said, picking up a piece of glossy paper from its stack and handing it over to Julia who took it from her.

“A Halloween Spooktacular,” Julia read aloud. “Creepy canines, every dog or feline dressed up will get a treat and their photo taken, well that sounds good but I don’t have any pets…” She read on, “Oh pumpkin carving! This sounds great, “Show off your carving skills, carve a spooky pumpkin and bring it down to reception to receive a trick or treat.” What's the trick?” Julia asked.

“Haven’t thought that far ahead yet.”

“What's the treat?”

Yaz ducked under the desk and pulled out several giant multipack bags of sweets and chocolate. Julia gasped, her mouth then widening into a smile.

“You have a sweet tooth then I’m guessing?”

“Oh you have no idea.”

“But have you got the pumpkin carving skills?” 

“Never done it before, but I’ll give anything a go, me.”

“Well I’m sure you’ll do great, what's your favourite sweet out of all this lot?” Yaz asked as she ripped the packets and dumped the individual packets of sweets into a large bowl. Julia took a quick scan of the selection.

“Definitely tangfastics.”

“Well I’ll be sure to reserve you some,” Yaz said, tucking her hair behind her ear.

Julia smiled at her, happy to have Yaz flirt back a little. She imagined she probably didn’t want to stray too far out of the realms of professionalism, but the electricity in the air was causing wild sparks between them. They both held each other's gaze for longer than what would be considered normal. Julia wanted to hold onto that feeling she got when she dived into those eyes.

“Have a good day, Yaz,” Julia said, pulling herself away from the desk. Any longer and she’d be as late as normal.

“You too. See you when you get home,” Yaz said as Julia backed away.

Before she turned to leave, she decided on one final line.

“That’s a lovely incentive for me to leave the office,” She said before turning away, confidence bolstered by the fact there was no room for a response. She could just assume she took it well, rather than actually know.

 ///

On the way home Julia stopped off to buy a pumpkin and some carving tools. She still had no idea what she was going to create, and in the end it didn’t matter, this was all a rouse to speak to Yaz wherever possible. But, she still wanted to showcase something presentable.

“Any ideas?” Yaz asked, eyeing the pumpkin Julia was holding under one arm.

“None yet, I’m sure I’ll come up with something,” Julia kept it short and sweet. She read something once about giving someone a taste and seeing if they go in for more, and plus she really didn’t want to kill the vibe they had by saying something stupid. It was a common error for her unfortunately.

Once she was home she got to work scooping out the flesh of the pumpkin. She took a couple of minutes to try and think of something. Eventually she decided to go with a space theme. She’d always been obsessed with space, she’d watch all the live shuttle launches and go to any talks by the astrophysics department at the University. 

It took a considerable amount of time to scrape out all the innards, once it was finally done she moved onto the design.

Digging into the orange skin, Julia carved out some stars and a planet that vaguely resembled Saturn. When it was done, she was pretty happy with it and she couldn’t wait to show Yaz her creation, an almost child-like giddiness started to bubble up inside her. She needed to decide whether to go back down now, or wait until the morning.

Her friend Amy would always keep people waiting, leave texts on read, and generally play it cool. But she knew that wait was more torture than she was willing to go through with. “Cool” was never going to be a word to describe Julia Smith, and she was okay with that. 

She picked it up and went back downstairs. A familiar tightness in her throat crept up on her as the lift slowly descended to the ground floor.

Yaz was just finishing up a conversation with another resident. The man she was talking to had an American accent and he looked American too, tanned, with the pearly white smile to match.

“I’ll be seeing you,” He said, then winked. Winked. He winked at her. Julia felt an insatiable desire to gouge his eyes out, who does he think he is? 

“Ma’am,” He said as passed by her, she was still a bit lost for words.

“What's with Captain America?” Julia asked quietly, watching him walk into the elevator.

“Oh that’s Jack, he’s pretty nice, actually.”

“Pretty cheesy,” She said, her defences spiking up around Yaz. 

“Are you jealous?” Yaz asked.

Julia turned to look at her then, setting her pumpkin down before she dropped it.

“No, It's just— he seemed a bit...I dunno..” She knew she couldn't really dignify how annoyed she was. 

“I think you are,” Yaz said, her smile bubbling with mischief. Julia didn’t know what to say, maybe she was jealous. And she couldn’t have been less subtle about it, either. “And he’s gay for the record.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, no need to get your panties in a twist,” Yaz said, clearly winding her up a little, and Julia looked away. 

Yaz stood up and turned the pumpkin around.

“Wow, this is great!” She said and Julia breathed again, happy to let the start of the conversation melt away.

“Thanks, I’ve always loved space, I’ve got so many books and whatnot.”

“Well I don’t know the first thing about space, but I still think it’s really cute. Can I display it on my desk?”

“Of course.”

Yaz rummaged around in her drawer and pulled out a candle lighter. She lit the candle and placed it on the glass counter to the side of her. 

“Perfect,” She said before wheeling in her chair to get the big bowl of sweets. “Now it’s supposed to be one per resident,” She searched in the bowl and pulled out three small bags of tangfastics. “But you can have three, seeing as you're my favourite.”

Julia couldn’t help but light up at that. Taking the sweets from her, she knew she needed to think of something to say, it didn’t even have to be that charming, anything would do but it was like the flirtation had kicked her off balance.

“You’re my favourite too,” She replied, immediately regretting her choice of words.

“You’re favourite receptionist? I’m glad I beat the competition. Or are there more receptionists in your life I need to be aware of?” Julia could tell how much Yaz was enjoying teasing her, she let out a breath of laughter and hung her head in shame.

“I meant more like, you’re my favourite person...that I see everyday. Well almost everyday.” There was a beat as they looked into each other's eyes, the air between suddenly heavier than it had ever been.  The tension broke when they both let out a breath of laughter. “And here’s me calling Captain Jack cheesy,” Julia said scratching the back of her head.

“I thought it was more cute than cheesy,” Yaz said. Another pause emerged, both smiling yet unable to think of more to say than that. Reluctantly, Julia decided to call it a night.

“Well, goodnight Yaz.”

“Goodnight Julia. And thanks for the pumpkin, it looks great.”

“And thank you for the extra sweets, I ate the last of my custard creams and I didn’t know where my next sugar rush was gonna come from so you saved me there.”

“Don’t mention it,” Yaz said, the smile never leaving her face.

“Goodnight,” Julia repeated herself.

“Goodnight.”

///

Tuesday was an utterly miserable day for Julia. It would have been a pretty rubbish day anyway considering the virtual mountain of emails she had to reply to and the department meeting which always dragged on longer than it needed to. But it was made all the more crap knowing Yaz wouldn’t be there when she got in.

Seeing Donna was actually rather annoying, even though Donna herself had done nothing wrong and she had no real reason to be frustrated by a person just doing their job but Donna’s smile just made her more irate.

“Evening, Julia. How's work going?” Donna asked.

“Oh you know, same old.”

She didn’t have any work to keep her occupied after dinner, so she tried to watch some TV in an attempt to distract herself. It didn’t help. By the end of the evening and three glasses of wine she decided she was going to ask her out. Couldn’t hurt to try. Well, she knew it could make things a bit awkward if she said no, but that would pass with time.

///

The next day came. It was Wednesday. Yaz would be downstairs and this was Julia’s chance to strike while the iron was hot. But without the three glasses of wine swimming through her veins, the prospect of asking Yaz out was a hell of a lot more daunting. She toyed with the decision to do it in the morning, or do it when she got in, or not do it at all. 

Another idea was to hold off, see if the tension builds any further, gather more evidence that she was actually into her. She was only about 80% sure, there was definitely something, but maybe Yaz was just a flirt by nature.

In the lift on the way down she weighed up her options. She had to ask, and she had to do it now. If she didn’t now, she’d chicken out, and she certainly couldn’t spend her whole working day agonizing over it.

“Morning, Yaz.” 

Yaz looked over and smiled that smile that Julia had spent the past 24 hours missing. 

“Morning, on time again?”

“Yes, it would seem so, in fact I was thinking of trying out this new coffee machine,” Julia gestured to the machine. Luckily she had remembered to bring down her reusable take-out cup with her, and she needed just a bit more time to get comfortable in Yaz’s presence before she broached the subject of a date.

The process of making the coffee was simple enough but she could feel Yaz’s eyes on her when she reached for the sachets of sugar.

“Please stop,” Yaz commented, her voice nearly pained by what she was witnessing.

Julia responded to her plea by dumping all six sachets of sugar in the coffee whilst maintaining full eye-contact. 

“Are you serious?” Yaz asked, bemused.

“Of course, why just have caffeine when you can have caffeine laden with sugar?”

“I mean, tooth-ache for one,” Yaz said.

“Never really had a tooth-ache, and I’d rather suffer at some point in the future than give up sugar,” Julia finished stirring the sugars into her coffee and joined Yaz at her desk. “You’ll never change me.” 

“Doesn’t mean I won’t make side-eye while you do it.”

“I think I can live with that.”

A pause arose in the conversation. Their eyes still focused on one another. There wasn’t a sound in the lobby. This was the moment, if she backed out now she’d kick herself all day.

“So you like pizza,” Julia started.

“I do.”

“Do you like other foods?”

“Yeah, mostly all.”

She said a little prayer, all she needed to ask was if she wanted to get dinner some time.

“...Would you like to eat food...in the same room as me...at some point?” In the same room? What was that? She mentally cursed her own mouth.

But before Julia could turn inwards into her self loathing, Yaz's smile had widened. Those eyes were sultry, and Julia knew she’d struck gold.

“Yeah, that sounds nice.”

Julia heard the choir sing in her head. Yaz bit the corner of her lip, and Julia temporarily forgot she needed to continue the conversation.

“Oh, brilliant! I mean, great. Can we hash out the details later?”

“Sure, you know where I’ll be.”

Julia said goodbye and nearly skipped out of the door, but she waited till she was at least out of Yaz’s eyesight.

///

Julia and Yaz had agreed to meet at the local bar the next day. Yaz was working over the weekend and Thursday was the only day she could really do. Julia took it as a total blessing as it meant she didn’t have that much time to get nervous about it, she only had to survive the work day.

She gave Donna a polite smile when she got home. The moment she got in the door she started getting ready. She quickly stripped off all her work clothes and jumped in the shower, she’d already had one in the morning but it just seemed courteous.

As the water poured over her she looked at her razor debating whether to shave, was it presumptuous to assume that this date would go so well that she’d wished she’d shaved? Would Yaz even care? Why should Yaz care? She was left staring at the razor now pondering how much her desire to shave was her genuine preference for hairless skin or it was her being pushed into a box by the patriarchy. Eventually she snapped out of it and did it anyway, she could ponder all those questions another time.

She flicked through items in her wardrobe, she had an idea whilst she was at work, now she just needed to find it. It was a simple emerald green dress, it left a bit to the imagination but it was still sexy in a more elegant way.

Patting down the fabric on her stomach, she took a moment to gaze into the mirror. She thought she didn’t scrub up too badly, put her face painted a picture of nerves. It was just a simple date, nothing to get too fussed over, but her rationality was fighting a losing battle.

In the Uber on the way to the bar, Julia wondered what Yaz would have chosen to wear. In her head she pictured a tight, satin red dress that hugged her in a way that left very little to the imagination. She knew that wasn’t realistic, but her mind had a habit of escaping to fantasies. This in itself felt like a fantasy. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been interested in someone, let alone asked someone out on a date.

By the time she arrived at the bar, her nerves went from doing a manageable jig to a full blown acrobatic performance. She walked in and looked around the place, it was pretty busy for a Thursday night but not so bad that they wouldn’t be able to hear each other. With no sight of Yaz, Julia made her way to the bar.

She ordered a drink and scanned the bar once again whilst the barman made her order. Then she saw her in the doorway. She wore a black floral jumpsuit with a burgundy leather jacket over it, her make-up was amplified from her usual day-to-day receptionist look, and her hair was softly curled and fell effortlessly around her face. Julia swallowed. She hadn’t spotted her yet, which gave her a moment to compose herself.

Then her eyes caught Julia’s from across the room. Julia was exalted by the rush that now so often swept over her whenever she saw that smile of hers.

“Hey,” Yaz said, leaning in and kissing her cheek.

“Hey, you look lovely,” Julia said, kissing her cheek in response. “Thanks, you too.”

“Can I get you a drink?” Julia asked.

“Err I’ll have a red wine.”

Julia asked the barman when he returned with her own glass of white wine. 

“Oh you’re a white wine gal,” Yaz commented.

“Yup, never really liked the taste of red.” 

“Means we’ll never be able to split a bottle.”

“What a tragedy.” 

Yaz sat on the barstool next to her. 

“How were work?”

“Same old, I tried to grade essays but a million other things kept rearing their heads all day. What about you, glad to have the day off?”

“Yeah, I am trying not to lie in for too long. Jobs won’t look for themselves.”

“What kind of things are you looking at? I’m assuming your major goal in life wasn’t to become a receptionist.”

Yaz smiled.

“No, I just took it because I needed something simple for the time being. I want to do something in the community, I’m thinking about joining the police force.”

Julia’s mind immediately went to Yaz in a uniform. Yaz in a uniform with handcuffs. 

“Well, let me know if you need a reference from a highly praised academic Professor,” Julia said, straightening her blazer.

“Hmm yeah, let me know if you know anyone.”

“Oi!” Julia batted her leg playfully, Yaz’s smirk grew wider. 

They both took sips of their drinks.

“I’m glad you asked me out,” Yaz said.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, I was wondering when you were gonna ask me.”

“You could have always asked me.”

“Couldn’t. It’s in the handbook.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, no fraternizing with the tenants. Donna even told me on my first day as well. Make small talk but keep it light, and if people try to flirt with you, casually shut it down.”

“You never shut down my attempts.”

“Well no, because I was hoping you’d take a hint.”

“I got there eventually. Thanks for bending the rules.”

“Always for you.”

Yaz’s last word drew out into the silence that now wrapped around them. The moment charged around them like electrical wire, a wire that pulled them in closer. Julia took a sip of her drink, keeping her eyes firmly on hers. Finally, Yaz was the one to break. 

“Do you want to get something to eat?” Yaz asked.

“Sure, they do some great tapas here,” Julia said, dragging her eyes away to pick up the menu that had been left for them at the bar.

Lighter conversation followed, as did more glasses of wine and several small dishes they could share. Despite the normality of the conversation which moved from their families to Julia’s work at the University, that spark that was bound around them kept its flowing presence. An undercurrent of sexual tension beneath the surface of their more benign chatter.

“I have to admit I was a bag of nerves tonight, but I’d like to think it’s going well,” Julia said, setting down her third glass of wine of the evening.

“I think it’s going very well,” Yaz concurred, her leg lifting up to brush against hers. “Why were you so nervous?”

“Haven’t dated in a while I guess,” Julia knew that wasn’t the whole truth. Sure, she hadn’t dated in a while, and maybe that was part of the reason, the bigger reason was Yaz. And that spark that lit her aflame every time she smiled at her.

“How come?” Yaz asked.

Julia pondered her question for a short while. 

“I guess I just get wrapped up in work.” Again, it was a half answer. This time she wanted to dig a bit deeper. “After my ex left I just kinda, regressed for a bit. I guess I use work as a bit of an excuse.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Yaz responded sincerely. Julia shrugged.

“It was a long time ago, I wasn't really thinking about dating ‘till you showed up.”

Yaz traced the rim of her wine glass with the tip of her finger. 

“I’m glad I showed up then,” Yaz said. Her hand landing on Julia’s knee. The undercurrent between them set alight from the small contact. 

Julia placed her hand on hers. Raising the stakes ever so slightly. Julia looked down to see Yaz’s hand slowly travelling up her thigh. Yaz was placing another brick on what felt like a Jenga tower of sexual tension. 

“Can I get you ladies another drink?” The barman interjected himself, cutting through the air that had built up around them.

They both ordered another glass of wine and Julia could now feel it swimming around her body, her head felt lighter, her skin warmer, and her yearning for the woman sat across from her intensified with each second. 

“I’m gonna pop to the bathroom,” Julia said standing up, Yaz looked up at her with eyes glazed in desire.

In the bathroom, she pressed her forehead against the cold tile of the cubicle, taking her first true exhale of the evening. She retrieved her phone out of her jacket.

I want to kiss you, but the group of blokes behind us is putting me off x

She pressed send and stepped out of the cubicle. She looked in the mirror and pressed her hand to her cheek, her skin that was flushed with pink. Her heart seemed to be working in tandem with her arousal, whipping her blood around her body faster than a bullet.

“Hey.”

She looked round to see Yaz standing there.

“I got your message,” Yaz said, taking a step closer.  

Julia didn’t have a reply. She didn’t feel like there was any need for one at this point. She closed the gap between them and raised her hands to the sides of Yaz’s face. Julia moved in to kiss her and was greeted by her soft, warm lips. Yaz kissed her back as they delicately explored this new scenario. 

Soon, delicacy and shyness gradually fell away, feelings of desire became exposed. The kisses deepened, with tongues now meeting. Julia felt a wash of desire hit her, she pushed Yaz up against the wall of the bathroom, her hands travelling down the sides of her body, Julia felt her mouth give out a small gasp.

Yaz’s mouth was hot, inviting and impossible to stop kissing. Julia could sense what was happening in her underwear, it was a familiar tightness but not one she’d experienced on this level in a few years. Her lips travelled down Yaz’s neck and she was met by the sound of her sighing.

The next sound was more abrupt, the sound of giggling. It seemed possible that more people would be approaching the bathroom at any moment. Julia looked down at Yaz’s mischievous smile.

“We should probably take this somewhere else.”

“My place?” The words out of Julia’s mouth shocked her. The wave was still washing through her system, injecting her with a boldness she never possessed under normal circumstances. But this wasn’t normal circumstances. This was Yaz. Gorgeous, lovely Yaz. 

“Not a third date type of gal, then?” 

Julia was so distracted by the scent of her perfume that she almost didn’t hear the jibe.

“I mean, we don’t have to, I just—”

Yaz pressed her finger against Julia’s lips.

“Neither am I.”

///

The Jenga tower of suspense had fallen. But the tension of what lay in store grew in droves, the worst of which in the Uber back to Julia’s apartment.

The driver was preoccupied with a phone call. Julia didn’t have the courage to look at Yaz. But Yaz had a plan.

Julia felt the warmth of her hand on her leg again. She turned to look at Yaz, who responded by slowly moving her up her dress. Julia’s eyes darted to the driver and back to Yaz. 

“Shhh, he’s not looking,” Yaz whispered in her ear. Julia bit her lip, her eyes flicked over to the preoccupied man. When she looked back at Yaz her face was close to hers, Julia lamented her protests, knowing she could never put up an argument against those lips.

Yaz pressed a gentle kiss against her lips. Julia’s anxiety faded into the background, it was impossible to focus on anything other than the feel of her lips. Her hand travelled further upwards and Julia was in an eternal warfare between embarrassment over how wet she knew she was, and how much she needed Yaz to touch her. 

The gasp leapt up through her throat. Yaz’s free hand flew to her mouth. 

“Shhh baby,” Yaz whispered, her fingertips pressed against the damp fabric of her underwear. Julia did as she was told, biting down on her lip, refusing to let another sound past her lips. Yaz didn’t make it any easy task when her fingers pressed a little harder against her clit. A strangled, quiet moan betrayed her willpower. 

“You don’t do as you’re told do you?” Yaz questioned. Julia could feel her smirk against the shell of her ear. A lump emerged in her throat, the tantalising thrill of it all played havoc with all her senses. She didn’t know how the hell she’d ended up in this situation, a beautiful girl was touching her in the back of a taxi, this had to be some wild dream. 

But Yaz’s lips on her neck removed her further away from reality. Her neck was a sensitive spot for her, and the smallest touch was enough to spark up even more desire.

She was fully ready to fall backwards into this fantasy, as long as she could hold Yaz through it all. Yaz started to make the tiniest circles over her underwear, her fingertips like a feather on the material. Yaz was trying to push her to the brink of noise, and Julia knew it. Julia turned her head to look out of the window trying to tether herself to a mild distraction, yet it was no use. 

Her senses concentrated in the touch on her clit playing in a sweet yet cruel harmony with the kisses on her neck. Something had to give. She exhaled all the air in her lungs, yielding to her desire.

She closed her eyes. If she couldn’t see the driver, she thought she could fully indulge in the touches. Without sight, all she could do was feel. She wished she could be wrapped up in the warmth of her breath on her neck, to float in the floral notes of her perfume. 

“Victoria Road?” A voice cut through. It was a violent burst to the lust-filled bubble they’d created in the back of the cab. Yaz swiftly reclined back into her seat. It didn’t seem like the driver had noticed. Or if he had, Julia quietly hoped he just wouldn’t say anything.

“Yeah, anywhere here is fine mate,” Yaz said casually. Julia envied her ability to stay so cool. She looked over at the composed woman who had just been feeling her up moments ago.

“Have a good night,” The driver said.

“Oh I will,” Yaz quipped.

Yaz winked at her.

Julia adjusted to the cold night air, along with what had just happened. 

She took Yaz’s hand as they walked up to the apartment complex.

“Shit,” Yaz said.

“What’s wrong?” Julia asked, stopping in her tracks.

“I can’t have Donna see me coming home with a tenant. Rule one of the handbook remember?”

Julia considered it for a second and hatched a plan.

“Wait at the side exit by the lifts, I’ll go through reception and come get you.”

Yaz nodded and Julia did exactly that. She shot Donna a brief, polite smile, and she returned the same. Julia smirked when she got round to the side exit. It added a splash of something a little forbidden into the already steaming pot of sexual energy. 

The lift doors closed and Julia was immediately backed up against the wall, Yaz pinned against her, her thigh in between her legs. That mouth was back on her neck again, and her hands ran up her waist.

“You’ve no idea how long I’ve waited to get you like this,” Yaz muttered.

Julia was about to reply when she felt teeth slowly sinking down on her overly sensitive skin, she yelped out, holding onto Yaz’s jacket. 

“It turns you on doesn’t it? The risk that we might get caught. Who knows if someone is waiting on floor seven.”

Yaz was whispering into her ear, all the while that devilish hand found its way back up her dress, slipping into her underwear. Julia wasn’t embarrassed, that felt like a door she’d long since passed, now all she cared about was this. 

“Yes,” She admitted in a quiet voice. 

Yaz reached over to the panel on the wall  and hit every button.

“Well, let's roll the dice. Are you a betting woman?”

“N-not really,” Julia mentally cursed herself for stuttering. 

“Well,” Yaz leaned into her neck again and moved two fingers inside her, Julia gasped. “I bet I can make you come before we hit the seventh floor.”

Yaz’s thumb moved to press against her clit, Julia at her waist. She didn’t know if Yaz wanted her to say anything in response, she didn’t feel like there was anything she could say. Yaz started to draw wide circles with her thumb and Julia knew only a fool wouldn’t take that bet. Julia tilted her head back and closed her eyes, fully succumbing to the feel of her, she was no longer on the precipice like she had been in the car. There was no holding back now.

She moaned into Yaz’s touch without care over how loud she was being, her muscles relaxed as she swam into the pleasure. Yaz felt like heaven. As if she’d been lifted away from the earth. It was really difficult to care about the potential for a shocked neighbour, she heard the sound of the doors opening as they went up, but it was so distant. Unimportant.

Yaz’s fingers picked up the pace a little, Julia knew there wasn’t much in between her and the edge, and she figured Yaz knew that too. She braced herself, her eyes clenched shut.

“You gonna come for me, baby?”

Yaz’s words were the final straw, causing an eruption. It was hard and fast. Julia gripped onto her for dear life, shaky moans falling from her lips.

Gradually, her breathing returned to something close normal. She opened her eyes to see Yaz’s attention on the opening doors. 

“Floor seven, told you.”

“I…”Julia needed a few more seconds to gather cohesive thought. “I never doubted you.”

Julia opened the door and walked in with Yaz following behind her. 

“Err, I’m just gonna freshen up a bit,” Julia said. She needed to get out of the soaked underwear and try to regain some kind of composure. “There’s champagne in the fridge, make yourself at home.” 

“Alright, bougie.”

“It was a present. Well, won it in a department raffle.” 

By the time she came back into the open plan living space, Yaz was sitting down with two glasses of champagne on the coffee table.

“I’m glad you opened it, if it were me I would have had your eye out.” Julia sat down next to her and took a glass off the table.

“The trick is to not take the cage off, just twist slowly.” Yaz took her glass and tapped their glasses together. 

“Good to know,” Julia said.

“You could take better care of your house plants,” Yaz said, looking over at the feeble peace lily in the corner. 

“Oh she’s a drama queen, that one,” Julia said, taking a sip of her drink.

Yaz smiled. She stood up. Julia watched as she walked over to the book shelf. 

“I think you can tell a lot about a person from the books they keep.”

“I would agree. What can you tell me about myself then?”

“You certainly do like archaeology.”

“Well I wouldn’t be very good at my job if I didn’t.”

Yaz leant down to survey the spines on the lower shelves.

“And that you’re a raging lesbian,” She said pulling out a book and showing it to Julia.

The Love Letters of Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf.

“Also correct.” Yaz turned the book over to read the blurb. “Have you ever read them?”

“Nope,” Yaz said, taking the book back to the sofa. She put her drink down and flipped through the pages. 

“I am reduced to a thing that wants Virginia. I composed a beautiful letter to you in the sleepless nightmare hours of the night, and it has all gone: I just miss you, in a quite simple desperate human way. You, with all your un-dumb letters, would never write so elementary a phrase as that; perhaps you wouldn’t even feel it,” Yaz read aloud. 

“That’s quite a famous one.”

“I can see why,” Yaz said reading on. “It’s beautiful.”

“I wish I could say words like that. That I could...find the words,” Julia said, her hand moving to play with Yaz’s hair.

“What words?” Yaz asked.

“The words that describe...what I want to do to you. How you make me feel. Nothing in my head feels very...adequate.”

Yaz moved closer towards her.

“Maybe you don’t have to tell me.”

With that, Julia put her glass down and closed the space in between their lips. Tongues met, fanning the flames. Julia pressed herself against Yaz, who leaned back. Julia moved her kisses down Yaz’s neck and was met with relaxed sighs.

If she could only remember one thing from tonight, it’d be that perfume. Scents were not so easy to document to her memories, so she took long, quiet, inhales. Breathing her in.

Her hand started to roam from her waist over her breast. Julia noted the jumpsuit was a bit of a roadblock, Yaz caught on too. Yaz stood up and Julia studied her like a painting in a museum as she undressed, her black lacy underwear left little to the imagination but it was Yaz herself, that was the true thing to behold.

“You don’t do things by halves, do you?” Julia questioned. Yaz smiled and shook her head. She held out her hand and Julia joined her. 

“Take off your dress,” Yaz said.

Julia fiddled with the zip at the back, eventually getting it to unzip and letting it fall to the floor. She felt a bit subpar in her plain, cotton underwear. She really didn’t think there was much of a chance of this happening on the first date. 

“Do you like being told what to do?” Yaz asked and Julia was surprised that the observation left her feeling more exposed than the absence of her clothes. She didn’t have the guts to reply, instead she opted for a small nod.

“Then take me to the bedroom,” Yaz instructed. Julia took her hand and led her there, she hadn’t stopped staring at her since she got undressed, she was astounding. Yaz sat on the bed and Julia leant down to kiss her, the kisses travelled further down her neck.

“Julia?” 

She came away from her, looking into those eyes that struck her from the moment she first saw her. 

“Get on your knees.”

No one had ever demanded that of her before. And yet, she’d never wanted to submit to a command more in her life. She gladly lowered herself down, feeling the cool floor against her kneecaps.

“Take my underwear off.”

Julia slipped her fingers around the lace and pulled them down to the floor. She spread her legs enough to see her cunt. She didn’t know if she needed to wait for orders, but she also didn’t think she could bear another second without her mouth on her.

“I shouldn’t have to tell you what to do next,” Yaz remarked. 

She planted a couple of kisses up her thighs, licking her tongue up her thighs. She wanted to at least try and tease her, even for only a few seconds, just so she looked a little less desperate. Ultimately her need for her took over and she licked the length of her. A small moan escaped her lips, and Julia felt her hand on her head.

The taste was better than anything she could have tried to imagine in those late night thoughts under the covers. She dragged her tongue over her clit, and began to lap at it, keeping a constant rhythm. Her ears were filled with the sound of Yaz’s moans, it was a sound so intoxicating, she needed more.

Yaz collapsed onto the bed, her legs hooked over her back, her hand now weaving into her hair. 

“Keep going,” Yaz said, in a now much smaller, raspier voice.

Julia didn’t ever want to stop. She maintained her motion as best she could, all the while looking at this gorgeous creature. All those fantasies didn’t hold a candle to the real thing, she was truly marvelous. And Julia felt almost blessed to be the one lucky enough to marvel at her. 

Her dark skin was illuminated by the moonlight, her flat, toned stomach tensed as Julia worked harder to make her come. Her nipples were hard under the thin lace of her bra. 

“Don’t stop, don’t stop, fuck,” Yaz voice was dry and thick. Again, Julia had no intention of stopping, she could feel how close she was, her muscles were tensing under her hands, her hips lifted off the bed a little.

“I’m coming, I’m—” Yaz didn’t have a chance to finish her sentence. Her words deteriorated into a long, desperate moan. She tensed her thighs around Julia’s head, her hand clutching mercilessly at her hair. Julia carried her through it, making sure there wasn’t a single iota of orgasmic pleasure left in her. 

She finally moved away from her, leaving a trail of kisses up her thigh. She looked down at Yaz who was still panting beneath her. She was sweating a little, her hair was splayed all over the place, and she was perfect. 

Placing little kisses on her neck again, Yaz giggled.

“That were nice,” She said, wrapping her arms around Julia.

“Nice?” Julia probed.

“More than nice, great, amazing, whatever.”

“Good.”

“You did so well, babe,” Yaz muttered in her ear. Julia knew she was saying it just to tease her, but it still gave her rush just to hear those words.

Yaz’s hand travelled over her stomach, down to her cunt. Julia knew she was a total mess down there, watching Yaz come like that was more than enough to send her own arousal haywire.

“I love how wet you are,” Yaz commented, running her fingers up and down the length of her.

“You do things to me,” Julia said against her skin. She wished she had a less vague description in her head.

“What kind of things?”

“You…” Again, words were failing her. Like the dictionary had been ripped to shreds by Yaz’s lips on her skin. So, she chose to borrow them. “ You reduce me to a thing that wants, Yaz.” 

Julia meant it earnestly, and when she looked at Yaz’s face she knew she took it as such. There was a long pause where both women just looked into each other's eyes, neither shying away from the intensity. Instead choosing to face it together, hand in hand.

“And what do you want?” Yaz asked, making soft, teasing, circles on her clit.

“You…” Julia realised she needed to be more specific. “Your mouth.”

“Climb up here then, babe. Let me give you what you want.”

///

Julia was dragged into consciousness by the sound of her alarm going off. She groaned at the sound, patting around the bed to find her phone. She managed to switch it off, but then an arm wrapped itself around her waist.

It all came flooding back as she fully woke up. Yaz was beside her, now beginning to stir. Her hair was a mess, and she had a bit of mascara smudged on her cheek, but she was still the most beautiful sight Julia had ever seen. She did a big stretch before opening her eyes.

“What time is it?” Yaz asked, rubbing her eyes.

“7.30,” Julia replied. Yaz stretched again, now making some form of squeaking noise as she did so, Julia could help but smile at how adorable it was.

“I’m gonna be late if I don’t get up like right now,” Yaz said.

“Me too,” Julia said, cuddling up to her.

“Donna will go mental.”

“Yup, I have a seminar at 9am, I can’t be late.” Julia kissed her neck, moving her leg in between hers.

“This isn’t helping anything,” Yaz said.

“What? I’m getting up, I’m very busy and important,” Julia said, her hand running down from her breast to her cunt.

“You’re gonna get me into trouble,” Yaz meekly protested. 

“Isn’t it a little worth it, though?”

Yaz replied with a little smirk on her lips, and her hips raising slightly to meet the touch of her fingers.

///

Julia did her mascara and her lip balm in the mirrored walls of the lift on the way down to reception. She couldn’t make a habit out of what happened this morning, but the problem was she knew Yaz would always be a difficult thing to resist.

Bollocks to the first years, every sound Yaz made was worth it. 

When she got to the front desk she saw both Donna and Yaz.

“Well I didn’t hear about any traffic on the M18, I don’t even know why you would have to go that way.”

Acting on pure instinct, Julia jumped into the conversation.

“Oh is this accident that happened? My colleague just texted me that they are gonna be late for a meeting,” Julia pulled out her phone and pretended to read a text. “Such a nightmare, he said he’s now stuck on the M18, loads of people trying to cut around the traffic. Honestly, Sheffield commuters, I feel for them.”

Donna took a moment and sighed, ultimately rescinding her investigation into Yaz’s story.`

“Did you get that parcel for me Yaz?” Julia asked, eyeing the package she’d been anticipating for a few days.

“I did indeed.”

“Brilliant, I’ll pick it up tonight, you’re a star.” Julia made an intentional point of singing Yaz’s praises. 

“Well, don’t let it happen again.” With that, Donna walked into the back room. 

“Thank you,” Yaz said.

“Don’t mention it. It was my fault anyway.”

“Yeah, it kinda was.” Yaz skidded on her chair and looked at her computer, her lips curled in a smirk. “You’ll have to think of some way to make it up to me,” She said, pretending to carry on with work.

“Oh, I’m sure I’ll think of something.”

Yaz looked up from her screen, their eyes met and nothing else needed to be said. 

Julia finally tore her eyes away. As she made her way out of the building, she smiled to herself.