Archive of Our Own

She thought people would be... friendlier. 

With the swarm of thoughts currently accosting her mind, that was the one thing that seemed to stick out the most.

She wasn’t sure what she had expected… scratch that, she did know what she expected. Laughter and loud music and a few bold few partygoers already kissing hungrily in the corner. Maybe a handful of party poppers; pretty, open people in corsets shooting glitter everywhere.

Or something.

Which now that she thought about it sounds more like a spring theater school cast party rather than on orgy. She must’ve gotten her wires crossed somewhere along the line.

What she didn’t expect was a bunch of people scattered throughout the house dressed surprisingly casual in jeans and t-shirts, standing around and chatting with one another to a radio station, one designed with easy listening tunes in mind like the songs her dad favored, but currently playing an advertisement for cereal. Like this was just a sad family barbecue.

Maybe she was early. Maybe there was some unspoken rule that things didn’t really get going until a certain point in the night. And that cereal was somehow sexy.

And now... people were staring at her. She had attempted to put on her best ‘you can talk to me’ smile, but it didn’t seem to be working. No one said a single word to her as she moved through the space, but they seemed to have no problem whatsoever gawking at her.

Specifically at the ungodly amount of bare leg on display, peeking out from underneath her short trench coat and spilling into the high heels strapped to her feet.

Dani had sort of bet on the Cabaret cast party scenario she invented in her head and went all-in; choosing to wear a lingerie set and only throw a trench coat over it like she was some sort of bombshell sex fiend breaking hearts in summer blockbuster.

Only to show up at what definitely felt like a regular party. With regular people. She sort of thought they were going to break out a grill at any moment.

She must be early, and it was like a restaurant that morphed into a bar at a certain hour. It still didn’t make her feel better about people staring at her.

Which… Fair. Sure, it was April and the chill outside still had everyone in a chokehold, but she was the only one that was still wearing her coat inside.

She didn’t really have an option though, did she?

She also expected someone to have said something to her by this point. She’d take anything, really. A small hello. A muttered “refreshments are in the corner.” A word from the host, especially.

But she was still standing here by the food table in her coat waiting for anyone to say anything as they instead stared at her.

Was it just because she was… new?

Whatever it was, she didn’t like the attention. Her trench coat, which earlier had felt like a fun and sexy deviation from the norm, was starting to make her feel like a Peeping Tom the longer she stood here like she was an uninvited and unwelcome house guest.

She needed a minute. Disappear until no one would notice her slip out the back of this entirely too large house in shame and run home. Burn her trench coat abd cry into her pillow. You know, normal reactions to this situation.

She tried to keep her pace slow as she walked through the house trying to find a quiet, secluded place to stave off a panic attack. Every door she came across was thrown open, lights dimmed with people milling about inside.

When she poked her head in each room, everyone inside stopped talking to stare at her, looking at her up and down in a way that she didn’t like one bit. Yep, definitely burning the coat. She just smiled and chirped a forced, “sorry, looking for someone!” before scurrying off.

For being so early in the night and literally nothing happening yet, she sure was having trouble locating a vacant room to hide herself in. She clenched her fists as she kept trying; popping her head into each room, finding people already in the space, claiming to be looking for a specific person, cursing her outfit choice again, and moving on.

At the back of the long hallway, she came across a closed door. She leaned in close, trying to see if she could hear anything going on in there. Kudos to anyone that had managed to uhm… start already with the odd sort of feeling this place was giving off.

Not hearing anything, she stood up straight to look at the door. Maybe it was considered off limits; closed off to everyone at the party so they wouldn’t go in.

That would honestly be ideal. If it wasn’t locked she would hang out for a few minutes, regroup, and leave.

She put her hands on the door, leaning her ear against it to be sure she wasn’t about to interrupt something, but the door pushed open from the weight of her leaning and she stumbled inside. 

She heard someone curse under their breath before an entirely too loud, “room’s taken” was shouted, managing to make her cheeks- that had been slowly flushing with pink the deeper she went in the hallway- feel like they were burning red hot from the fresh wave of embarrassment.

Before her eyes landed on the owner of the voice- a woman, she thought- she tensed up, slamming her hands over her eyes and hunching her shoulders, as if she could burrow into herself to avoid this awkward situation.

Of course someone was already in here. What in the hell did she think a closed door meant?

The voice came again loudly. 

“Get the fuck out…“ the voice tapered off, followed by the sound of cheap, hard plastic being manipulated. 

God, she couldn’t imagine what exactly she just walked into.

“I’m- I’m sorry,” she stammered, shaking her head with her hands still covering her eyes, “I didn’t-“

A soft laugh came from the direction of the woman and Dani grit her teeth. Great, she had moved into the ‘being openly mocked’ portion of the evening. At least the people she stumbled across in the other rooms had the decency to keep their quiet judgment to themselves.

She needed to escape and call this night for what it was; an absolute and total failure… before she started full-on hyperventilating in a house full of strangers. 

She started stumbling backwards, clumsily falling into the door and slamming it shut behind her. God.

“Easy, easy…” the voice came again. It was softer this time, like this woman was trying to approach without spooking her. As if Dani was a horse that strayed too far from the confines of her normal pastures. She sort of felt like one.

Dani pushed her hands harder into her eyes, wondering if it was humanly possible to die of embarrassment. She could see the obituary now. 'Dani Clayton: Gone too soon; taken by embarrassment at an orgy she should have never attended (and at which she was clearly not welcome).’

“Nothin’ to be sorry about.” 

The voice was soothing, and the accented lilt made her feel a little warm. Although that warmth might’ve been from the dregs of embarrassment still coursing through her.

“You gonna come out, then?”

Dani spread her middle and ring fingers apart, cautiously peeking through to see a brunette woman, eyes lifted in gentle concern. She removed a large pair of plastic headphones from where they were hanging around her neck. At least explained the shouting. And that odd plasticy sound from before.

A beautiful woman, Dani noted. Looking calm and collected in a simple set of sweats, as if this was just any other night. Maybe it was for her. Dani blinked down at her cartoonish heels and again felt dumb for thinking that this was somehow standard attire for something like this.

She bet that whoever this woman had in the room with her wasn't dressed like this. They were probably cool as a cucumber, like showing up to this thing was no big deal. Like they-

Wait. They. The other person. Or people? Whoever and whatever she’d interrupted when she came barging in. 

She darted her eyes around the large room, struck by a mild twinge of jealously that did not bode well for her for the rest of the night. If she miraculously decided to stay in this uncomfortable situation, that is.

“Just me.” 

Great, the woman was apparently a mind reader too. 

Dani shifted her eyes back to her, noting a bit of a twinkle in her eye, but the way she held Dani’s gaze made it seem like the woman was more amused at the situation rather than actually making fun of her.

Or maybe that’s just what Dani wanted to see. Can you blame her? Look at her. 

The woman confidently shoved her hands in her pockets, setting her shoulders back, and Dani realized that she must have been staring. She snapped her eyes back to the woman’s face, noticing with a blush that her smirk seemed to have deepened.

“Here for the… gathering?”

Dani dropped her eyes to the floor, feeling her cheeks get hotter at the way her accent curled around her words. Who was this woman?

“Yeah, I’m… yeah.” She answered simply, fussing with the straps of her jacket.

After a beat of silence, the woman’s voice came again.

“First time?”

Dani darted her eyes up to the woman’s face, expecting to see judgement or mockery, but was instead met with a soft gaze, the smirk the woman previously plastered on taking a back seat to something that made Dani feel a little safer to answer.

“Is it that obvious?”

“A bit, yeah.”

“Not my first time, first time. You know.” She stammered out. “Because I’ve… I definitely have… well, you know.”

God, she couldn’t stop.

“I’ve just never... one of these.” She exhaled, frustrated that she couldn’t seem to slow her rambling. “I thought- I just thought-” 

Dani cut herself off and covered her face with her hands again.

“Hang on, we just got you out of there.”

Dani dropped her hands and laughed. The woman had already seen her pink face, what’s the point of hiding it? 

“Sorry.”

“Nothin’ to be sorry for.” The woman paused. “Wanna talk about it?”

Dani looked back up at her, surprised to see a look of genuine concern on her face.

“About why I barged in on you?”

“Yeah. Everythin’ goin’ alright out there?” The woman jutted her jaw toward the door.

“I uhm. Uh, yes?” Dani stammered out before sighing. “Well... no.”

Dani wasn’t looking at her, but she could feel the woman watching her intently.

“Who is it? I can sort him out for you, if you like.” 

“Well, that’s not... I uh- don't-”

Her eyes were flitting around the room as she fumbled through, landing on everything but the woman’s face; the bed in the corner of the room, the plants on the small windowsill, a tiny coffee table nestled in-between a loveseat and an ancient television set, a tape deck on top of it.

She looked down at the cord of the headphones, still pointed toward the tape deck as if the woman had gotten up quickly with them still on, pulling the headphone jack out in her haste when Dani accidentally barged in, as if she herself was embarrassed about something.

Did Dani catch her listening to something to get herself... you know, in the mood? It wasn’t unreasonable, Dani herself had made sure to pick specific music for her drive over here. 

Which… did not sound very sexy now that she was thinking about it. 

Something about the possibility of it lit a fire in Dani. The idea of catching this woman sitting here in the low lamplight, working herself up slowly through the verses as  before joining the party with a confident smile as she let her libido lead the way…

“I came to have sex with a woman.”

She hadn’t exactly admitted that part out loud, but it was the entire reason she was here, wasn’t it?

The silence that followed made Dani feel like she was drowning. Like maybe the least sexy thing someone could said was ‘hi, I have no clue what I’m doing here, but I was wondering if maybe, you know...’

The woman’s voice- that voice- was low when she responded. 

“Is that right?”

“That’s why I came tonight. I’m looking- I want... that. And I’ve never…” the confidence surge she got from imagining the woman with her hand down her sweats, writhing beneath her own touch was starting to wane “I’ve wanted, b-but I’ve never…”

“Never?”

“Never.”

She watched as a sliver of red crept into the woman’s cheeks. Dani was absolutely amazed at her ability to drag a whole other person down with her into this deep, dark pit of mortal embarrassment.

“Just want to see what it’s like?” 

The woman’s voice sounded suddenly very small as she asked it. Dani was having a hard time pinpointing why the question made her feel so uncomfortable.

“No, I-I know I’m gonna… I just…” 

She sighed. Here she was, almost naked under a trench coat in front a gorgeous stranger who was listening intently and looking so open she could cry

and she had the nerve to feel awkward.

“I’m gay.” 

Well. There that was.

She’d only said it to herself in the mirror, practicing saying it over and over in a variety of ways- including a few times in in her poor attempts at a few different accents- so it would come out confident when she said it to other people.

Surprisingly though, ‘I’m gay,’ never really needed to be said as much as one would think. A girl sitting across the table from you that you met through the personal ads in the paper already seemed to know that.

The practice must’ve paid off and she must’ve nailed it; the woman’s shoulders relaxed a little.

“There’s a lot of pressure, you know? For the first time to- I provably put it on myself, but… figured I’d take the pressure off by just… no strings, no…”

The woman seemed to understand what Dani was saying, letting her eyes rake over her as she stood awkwardly in front of her door. 

“Can’t imagine you havin’ any trouble there...”

Dani’s cheeks were flushing for an entire different reason now. She swallowed thickly.

“Not trouble, just... a lot of...” 

Women in bars that made Dani feel like she was being hunted. Dinner dates that didn’t go well because because the woman kept sending back her forks with a snide comment to the waitress because they had water spots. Coffee with someone that thought Reagan was the greatest president of all time and wanted to tell Dani all about it. Even strolls through the city where they simply ran out of things to say to one another.

She knew she was gay and that sort of limited her options around here, but she was sure finding out quickly when she didn’t want to sleep with a woman, and that apparently, gay as she was, how she felt about them as a person would always override their attractiveness.

At this point, she was too in her head about it and it was just so much pressure. A lot of pressure out there.

Not like there wasn’t a lot of pressure here in this house too. Just a different sort of pressure. Honestly, the night had been an unmitigated disaster so far.

She looked at the woman, who was patiently waiting for Dani to say her piece. Maybe here in this room it wasn’t so bad.

“I want to- I want to do it right.”

The woman hummed in agreement, seeming to accept Dani’s limited relaying of her thoughts.

“So you thought you’d come here for... practice.”

Dani exhaled, dropping her eyes to the floor. “Yeah.” 

Essentially, anyway.

The room was quiet as she waited for the woman to say anything. It was insane. She knew it was insane. 

She expected the woman to launch into some sort of spiel about how these sorts of gatherings weren’t really meant for the faint of heart but instead designed with people in mind that were a bit more knowledgeable and in tune with themselves. A bit closer to being advanced level sexperts that someone as seemingly timid as Dani could never aspire to be. 

What she did not expect was for her to clear her throat and quietly mutter, “what is it that you… want?”

Dani raised her eyes, finding the woman watching her carefully with her head lowered slightly. As if she was almost as surprised as Dani was that she was asking the question.

Her breath quickened a little as she wondered how stumbling through the house and through this door while trying not to have a breakdown somehow got her to this point. But maybe Dani didn’t seem as stupid as she thought she did? The fact that the woman had yet to kick her out of the room had to say something, right? 

Besides, they were both at this party. Isn’t this why they were both here?

Dani swallowed, slowly undoing the knot at her waist, the sound of the weatherproof material sliding against itself filling the air. When she slipped the coat from her shoulders and tossed it on a stray stool near the door, revealing the matching lingerie set she bought specifically for tonight… she felt almost faint as she watched the woman’s eyes travel over every inch of her.

She squared her shoulders, preparing to be bold. For once in her life.

“I want to go down on you.”

She surprised herself by saying ‘on you’ specifically, but she quickly realizes she meant it; the hazy concept of being with a woman dissolving into a very specific need that could only be satiated by this breathtaking woman standing in front of her. 

It felt like it was absolutely the right thing to say when the woman’s eyes snapped back to hers from where they had been trailing over her body. The woman watched her for a moment, and Dani stood taller, not wanting to reel the sentence back in. 

The woman exhaled, nostrils flaring before she ducked her head. 

In a brief moment of panic, Dani wondered if she had just bared herself only to be told ‘thanks, but no thanks,’ before being asked to put her coat back on and kindly vacate the area. 

The woman brought her hand up to scratch at her scalp before flattening her palm against her neck, levelling her gaze at her for a beat before letting her eyes travel over Dani again with a new sense of interest.

“Okay.”

Something low in Dani’s stomach flipped at the two syllables, ratcheting her nerves and her excitement hi excruciating levels.

Okay. Okay.

She barely had a chance to register it before the woman was moving toward her, Dani’s breath quickening slightly with every step she took. Her cheeks were growing warmer, and she thought she was about to combust by the time she reached her.

The woman seemed to be watching her response to her approach, the smirk shifting to into something that seemed pleased with whatever she was finding written across Dani’s features.

Dani wasn’t sure how someone could be that much prettier up close. She leaned in and Dani inhaled sharply, convinced that the woman might kiss her- god, she wanted her to- but instead she reached around her and unlocked the handle of the door behind before opening it an inch.

Her heart sank; did she change her mind? She didn’t really know this woman but she would’ve thought she would’ve at least let her put her coat back on before shoving her out if the room.

Dani heard the lock click back into place before the tell-tale jiggle of a doorknob being tested. Seemingly satisfied that the handle was locked, she slammed the door shut, hard.

The combination of the loud noise and this woman’s whole body thrusting against hers to close the door caused Dani to let out a surprised breath and drop her eyes to woman’s lips again.

The woman’s eyes darkened, looking over her face as she smirked again. Dani heard her test the handle again, trying to turn it and pull at the door to make sure they were securely locked away. The way she brushed against Dani a few more times as she did so made the coil in her stomach tighten.

The woman turned, walking toward the large bed to the left side of the room. Dani watched, unsure if she should follow or if she should just wait. Either option sort of felt silly.

The woman paused with her back turned to Dani, briefly looking over shoulder as she let her eyes wander over her body again before quickly removing all of her clothing, as if she would lose her nerve if she didn’t. Dani barely had a chance to appreciate the visual from the back before the woman had climbed up on the bed, kneeling stark naked, shoulders back, hands on her hips with that smirk back on her face.

The only thing that belied her confidence was the light pink dusting across the top of her cheeks and spilling down to her chest. Dani couldn’t look away.

Jamie swallow thickly, and Dani noticed the pink deepening. Was she a little nervous? Did Dani make her nervous? That probably wasn’t it… maybe she was doing this all wrong.

Dani tried her best to read up on this at the library from a secluded spot she found in the back corner of the second floor. The hour just before closing was the only time that she could safely read without a parent or a kid from her class coming over to try to talk to her, asking what she was reading this month in an effort to get to know the new teacher a little better.

The librarian had come to clear everyone out; calling out to the entire floor that if there were any remaining patrons, they needed to put their items on the reshelve carts or check them out. Dani wasn’t about to be caught with an armful of books about group sex, so she had shoved them unceremoniously on a totally unrelated shelf- somewhere in the 200s, which she later realized was religion, if you could believe it- smiling politely to the woman as she left quietly. She had slipped back in the next morning with her coffee to shelve them properly; she wasn’t a monster.

While she wasn’t able to find exactly what she was looking for- the books available were annoyingly focused on heterosexual partners or married couples looking to try swinging- she did see some common threads throughout the material. So that was at least something.

Which reminded her…

“Uhm. Safety chat?” Dani fumbled awkwardly. She was kind of hoping that she wouldn’t need to be the one that brought up testing, but she felt- and the books reiterated- that in this day and age, it was important not to gloss over that part.

The woman looked confused for a brief second before the wrinkle in her forehead smoothened. “Oh, right. Right.. yeah.”

She cleared her throat, looking surprised but pleased with being asked. Dani tried to push down the ridiculous pride she felt at being given an A+ in group sex safety by this woman she just met.

“I’m good, I’m clean. Been tested since… well, the last.”

The woman smiled sheepishly and Dani bit her lip, wondering if the woman was trying be gentle by saying ‘the last.’ Trying not to say anything that might conjure images of her, head thrown back in ecstasy in the company of two- maybe three- others.

Little did this woman know that Dani didn’t need any help in the imagination department. 


Dani appreciated the thought, though. More importantly, Dani was happy with the fact that asking for her status hadn’t totally killed the mood. It made her feel safer with this woman. In quite a few ways, actually.

“Me too. I mean. There was only the… only the one…”

Well god, that might’ve ruined it. She knew she didn’t have to disclose her sexual history outside of the safety piece, but her mouth never seemed to listen to her.

She looked up expecting now find that look of mockery that hadn’t been there before- or worse, pity- but only found a warm look of understanding written across her features. How someone could pull off such a soft, kind expression while kneeling bare at the foot of a bed had Dani’s head spinning.

“C’mere.” She said softly, and the fluttering in Dani’s stomach intensified as she squared her shoulders and walked over, trying to feign confidence.

The woman’s smile was still firmly in place, but her breath looked like it was coming a little quicker.

When she was standing in front of her, Dani was surprised at how small her voice sounded when she opened her mouth, dumbly breathing out a “hi.”

The woman smiled at her, warm and intoxicating.

“Hi.”

Suddenly Dani’s mind was blank. Everything outside of this woman’s face and those eyes-god, what color were they?- seemed to blur. She tried to focus on what else she remembered from those books. It won’t due to fall into those eyes and forget entirely why she left her comfort zone; a decision that got here here in the first place, in front of the most gorgeous woman she’d ever seen.

Consent. Consent was important.

“Can… May I… touch you?”

She expected a quip of some sort. Or hesitation. But instead the woman only nodded.

Dani stepped in close, registering that she had freckles lightly dusting everywhere. Dani wanted to count them. Kiss each and every one of them as she mapped her out to never let herself forget this moment.

She reached out, sliding her hands lightly over her sides. She leaned in slowly, placing a light kiss to a lone freckle on her chest. The woman let out a breath, inhaling and pushing her chest slightly into Dani’s lips.

The woman removed her hands from where they were on her hips and Dani’s skin ached to be touched, she needed her to join in. The woman returned her hands to her waist instead.

She drifted a hand down the woman’s arm to lightly hold her hand, pulling it gently away from where it was resting again on her hip. Dani softly kissed her palm before looking up at the woman and guiding it into her hair. The woman took the hint and gently raked her fingers through the blonde locks as Dani leaned in again, placing another kiss, this time on the top of her tummy.

Dani kissed lower and lower as the woman brought her other hand to Dani’s scalp, gently resting both hands there as a comforting reassurance. Dani kissed slowly  below her belly button and the woman let out a sigh. Dani gripped where she had been holding onto the woman’s hips, the sigh feeling like it hit somewhere deep in the pit of her stomach. Dani glanced up, locking eyes with the woman as she felt the pads of her fingertips brush along the hinge of her jaw. She opened her mouth, closing her eyes and…

The woman stuttered out a moan and fuck if that’s not the best sound she’s ever heard in her life. She opened her eyes again to see the woman watching her with her lips apart. Dani dove in again with a little more confidence this time, licking as far into her as the angle allowed, finally tasting how turned on she was. Jesus. This is what she had been missing out on these years?

The woman’s thumb was brushing the top of her cheek as Dani used the tip of her tongue to circle her entrance as best as she could, gathering up her tangy desire as the woman moaned loudly.

Dani was starting to throb with her own want as she kicked off her shoes, pushing her knees into the wooden footboard to dip her head lower and flatten her tongue, dragging it from her opening all the way up to the woman’s clit in one long stroke.

The woman gripped Dani’s hair a little as she twitched, sharply calling out to the room.

“Sorry.” She breathed out from above her, releasing the light grip she had on Dani’s hair.

Dani pulled back, taking deep breaths and shaking her head. She put her hand over the woman’s, gently curling both sets of fingers into a fist again.

“I liked it.”

The woman’s mouth fell open a little more as she gripped a little, guiding Dani’s head back between her legs. Something fluttered in Dani’s chest as the woman took control, desire pooling between her thighs. She hummed into her in appreciation, licking through her folds again.

Dani tried to push in deeper, wanted more room to explore but the angle and the wood digging into her knees kept her from getting where she wanted.

“Can I- can we-“ she pulled back, looking at the bed behind the woman.

The woman looked behind her. “Fuck, yeah.” She dropped on her back with a little bounce, shuffling to the middle of the bed.

If Dani could remember one thing and one thing only for the rest of her life, it would be this; this woman sprawled out in front of her on this bed, legs splayed wide and on full display. For her.

Dani climbed onto the bed after her, interlocking her fingers with the woman’s and burying her face deep, starting to lick and kiss into her in earnest. The woman called out to the ceiling at the sudden intensity; Dani pulled back a little, glad that the tape was still playing because the whole house might’ve heard that if not.

The woman left one hand locked with Dani’s, but the other went back to her hair as she rocked her hips into Dani. Dani tested out different strokes, flattening and pointing, circling and flicking, a mixture of trying to match the rock of her hips with needing to explore with her tongue as much as possible, testing what made this woman’s breath to hitch and what caused her hips to push off the bed.

She felt drunk as she ground her own hips into the bed, hoping for some relief at the wetness pooling her thighs.

Faster than she hoped- faster than she expected- the woman’s moans were coming quicker and higher pitched as Dani settled into a rhythm, driving her to the edge. Dani’s fingers dug into the woman’s skin as the woman let out a long groan with another hard grip of Dani’s hair as she worked her through it.

When her grip loosened and she fell quiet again, she pulled back, breathing heavily as she watched the woman cover her eyes with her arm, trying to regulate her breathing.


God, she looked so good like this. Absolutely wrecked and all because of Dani. Which reminded her…

“Dani.”

“Hmm?” The woman took her arm off her eyes and looked down at her.

“I’m… me… Dani.” She might die on the spot.

The woman smiled, something shiny and bright that doctors might warn you against looking at directly.

“Dani.” the woman said, and the way her accent curled around it, giving it a soft place to land… she’s not sure it’ll ever sound the same again. “Jamie.”

Jamie. It suits her. Dani can’t help but say it aloud so she knows what it sounds like falling from her lips. “Jamie...” It felt almost as good as Jamie did on her tongue.

The woman looked at her as if she’s waiting for her to finish a sentence, and she’s not surprised; she did just sort of trail off there. So she filled it with the first thing that popped in her head.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

Jamie covered her face with her hands and laughed; a hearty one instead of the gentle ones she’d been gracing her with so far.

Great. Good choice, Dani.

She didn’t anticipate feeling this embarrassed after eating her out. She self-consciously wiped her mouth with her hand.

Jamie uncovered her face and looked at Dani, her smile bright enough to knock out the power on the whole block.

“It’s nice to meet you too.”

She couldn’t get the sentence out with rumbles of laughter falling from her, her smile widening at the slightly absurd turn in conversation. Is there any expression that this woman has that isn’t a massive turn-on?

Dani pushed her thighs together briefly as she sat back, her need to snake her own hand down and take care of herself like usual almost unbearable by this point as she tried to navigate everything she was feeling in the moment. She was turned on, amused, delighted, a little embarrassed… and it was all working for her. Jamie was really working for her.

But it wasn’t just about her and what she wanted out of this. The meager literature on the subject at the Chittenden County Public Library was extraordinarily clear on that, and thought- hoped- that bit was applicable here and that it should be about sharing the experience, not just taking what she wanted and leaving. Although what she wanted from this has shifted slightly; the desire to do whatever Jamie wanted burrowing in deep. She wants to… she wants… God, she just wants. 


“Do you… what do you… want?” 


Jamie is still breathing hard, looking at Dani with an expression that Dani can’t place. After a beat, she sat up, scooting herself back to recline against the headboard.

Jamie’s eyes flit over Dani and the way that the throbbing between her legs intensifies with the way that being looked at like this by her should be ridiculous. Does it always feels like this?

“Ride me.”

Something swooped low in her belly, but she held her breath against it. She wasn’t sure what… what she meant by that exactly. Jamie bit her lip, dragging a hand up and down her thigh as her eyes roamed over Dani.

Oh. Oh, so like-

She must’ve taken Dani’s processing time as unwillingness, which was absolutely not the case.

“Unless you don’t-”

“No, no I do.” Dani said, more confidently that she felt. She stood from the bed, reaching back as she fumbled with the clasp of her bra. Jamie cleared her throat.

“Could you- can you keep it on?”

Dani’s eyes drifted up to Jamie’s to find that blush back on her cheeks. For a moment, she worried that Jamie was saying that she didn’t want to see her, but Jamie’s breath had picked back up, her eyes glued to Dani’s lingerie.

“You like it?”

She’d asked that question before- more than a hundred times, maybe- but looking back, she found that she didn’t care one lick about the answer before this very moment.

Jamie’s blush deepened, but she nodded all the same. Dani felt her confidence surge that she had the ability to make her blush without really doing anything. She let her hand drift into her hair, ruffling it a bit before letting her fingers drift down her neck.

“So you want me to ride you…” she dragged a single finger over the lacy hem of the cup of her bra, “while wearing this?”

Jamie swallowed. “Yeah, I do.” Her voice was husky, and the twinge between her legs needed tending to before she burst.

She moved closer to the side of the bed, watching Jamie’s eyes glaze over in want. She paused, dropping her fingertips down her tummy in an way that she only saw vixens do in movies. Was she a blonde bombshell now? She drew her index finger across the waistband of her panties, watching Jamie’s eyes follow the path as she cocked her head.

“… And these?”

“Fuck. Yeah. Keep ‘em… keep ‘em on.”

Dani smiled, climbing into the bed and straddling Jamie’s hips as she exhaled shakily, her eyes unsure of where they wanted to land. Dani inhaled deeply, enjoying how Jamie couldn’t drag her eyes away from her chest.

“Like this?”

Jamie looked up at her, seeming to snap into focus as she smirked.

“Just like that.”

Jamie darted her tongue out and Dani felt her hands skirting up her thighs. She hummed, readjusting a little when Jamie’s hands slid over her backside, the lace of her panties dulling the sensation just enough to drive her insane.

She wasn’t exactly sure what she was supposed to do from here, but the way she felt under Jamie’s darkened eyes was enough to keep any anxiety at bay as she teased out her nerve endings with her fingertips, making Dani’s spread hips ache with the way her hands felt skimming over her tummy and back down, ghosting over the damp lace of her panties.

“Fuck, Dani…”

Dani started to laugh, but it came out as a whine, tummy jumping at the feeling of her thumb swiping over her center.

Jamie leaned forward leaving an open mouth kiss on the swell just above the cup of her bra. Dani’s eyes fluttered as she pressed herself into Jamie’s hand.

Jamie trailed her kisses down over the fabric of her bra, dragging her tongue roughly over where her nipple was straining against the fabric. Dani sighed, breath hitching when Jamie switched to biting it. Dani pressed herself into the palm of Jamie’s hand again.

Jamie emitted a low groan as she used her other hand to pull the form-fitting cup down, finally licking long and slow at her hardened nipple unencumbered. Without the fabric between, Dani threw her head back to moan embarrassingly loud before returning her gaze to Jamie’s mouth, watching breathlessly as she closed her teeth around her nipple and giving it a light tug.

Dani whimpered, the sound turning into a hum at Jamie’s look of intense concentration. Jamie pulled back, looking up at her as a small smile crept on her face. It should be illegal for someone to look so beautiful while doing… this.

The fabric of her bra, which had been trying it’s hardest to slip back into place, managed to snap back suddenly against Dani, making her jump a little. Something resembling a startled laugh mixed with a whine fell from her, making Jamie’s smile go slack.

She whispered a gravely, “fuck this,” as she fumbled her fingers on the clasp of her bra, “can I-”

“God, yes.” Dani leaned forward, giving her more space.

Jamie unhooked the clasp, tossing it blindly across the room. Dani barely had a half a second to laugh at the sudden urgency before Jamie hungrily took as much of Dani’s breast into her mouth that she could fit, sucking and swirling her tongue as Dani’s hips stuttered with the sudden intensity.

Jamie pulled her ruined panties to the side, unceremoniously sliding a finger through her folds, a stuttering sigh escaping her as Jamie hummed against her.

Dani couldn’t handle it, she needed... more.

“Jamie…”

She pulled back to look at her with through lidded eyes before she slipped a single finger inside her, Dani tossing her head back and crying out to the ceiling.  She tilted her head back down and dove in to kiss her, only to pull back the second before their lips touched. She wanted to kiss her so badly, but-

“Am I- is it- can I kiss you?”

Jamie’s hand stilled as a smile crept on her face. Her voice was still low but it help an edge of playfulness when she spoke.

“Dani. I’m inside you.”

Dani clenched around Jamie’s finger at that, feeling her cheeks burn with embarrassment as she looked away from her amused gaze.

Jamie’s smile spread as she cocked her head, catching Dani’s eyes with her own. She slid the finger out of her, lazily drawing a wide circle around her clit.

Dani’s huffed out a laugh at the hard pivot to teasing.

“P-please?”

Jamie hummed approvingly. “Someone’s got a thing rules.”

Dani closed her eyes tightly for a moment before opening them again.

“I just… don’t want to make you uncomfortable…”

Jamie raised her eyebrows as her smile shifted into a smirk. “Do I look uncomfortable?”

Dani pulled back, searching for any signs of discomfort in Jamie’s eyes.

Jamie chuckled, “Yes, you can kiss me, Dani. I want you to kiss me.”

Dani sighed, leaning her forehead against Jamie’s for a beat before kissing the smile straight off Jamie’s face.

It’s exactly what she’d hoped it would be; the soft press of Jamie’s lips against her own. This sensation alone was enough to make her pass out, but when Jamie slipped two fingers deep inside her easily and without warning timed alongside a tentative slide of her tongue against hers, she whined, thrusting her hips forward into Jamie.

Jamie gripped her side to encourage her to do it again. A light shiver ran through Dani, surprised that this is working for her so much.

She’s tried this position before. She’s tried it. She tried it, but- she thrusted again, shocking herself with a loud gasp when Jamie crooked her fingers. She picked up her pace, thrusting harder into Jamie’s hand and let out a whimper.

Jamie wrapped an arm around her waist and kept encouraging her. She sighed as Jamie pressed back into her, matching her pace.

Dani’s thighs started to falter, shaking a little with each thrust. Jamie pressed her face into Dani’s chest, the arm around her holding her still as Jamie doubled down on her efforts, the wet sounds of Jamie fucking into her roughly almost enough to overcome the final chorus of the tape still playing in the background.

Dani’s mouth fell open wide amongst a silent scream, everything in her body clenching with a final push forward, Jamie sighing and grunting as she slammed into her a final few times and Dani tumbled over the edge, waves upon waves breaking as she pressed her forehead to Jamie’s temple.

After a few moments of breathing and just being in each others space, she realized with a twinge of happiness that Jamie’s fingers were still inside of her. Dani kissed her softly, wishing she could come up any reasonable excuse for her to ask her to stay there; she might be able to think of something if her mind didn’t feel so fuzzy right now.

She whimpered into the kiss when Jamie slipped them out, but it morphed in a contented hum when Jamie briefly cupped her before running her hands up and down her back, seeming pleased at the uninterrupted expanse of skin now available for her to tough.

She’d never in her life been able to make that position work for her no matter how hard she tried, and Jamie did it in a matter of minutes. Dani was elated, wondering why she slept so much time thinking she was broken for her whole life.

Her lips tugged upward, making it harder to continue to kiss Jamie the way she wanted.

Jamie pulled back. “What?”

“What… what?” She leaned back in to kiss her, she wasn’t sure she would be able to stop kissing her, but Jamie pulled back from her.

“You’re all smiley.”

Dani put her head on Jamie’s forehead. “That’s never really… worked for me before.”

Jamie hummed, murmuring a quick, “well, haven’t tried it with me, have you?” before kissing Dani sweetly, lazily.

It was a simple statement, but yeah… she guessed it was true. Of course Jamie would be good at stuff like this; she’d had a lot of practice at these… events? Parties. Whatever you wanted to call them.

Something about thinking of Jamie with someone else deflated her a little. Apparently she was sort of the jealous type, which was shocking seeing as she was entirely ambivalent toward women flirting with Eddie, even when it happened right in front of her. She would comment on the attractiveness of the women alongside him; something that he always thought made her a cool girlfriend. Then a cool fiancé. 

God, she should’ve known sooner.

Dani ran her fingers down Jamie’s cheek, melting into the way she was still running her hand along her back. Maybe if Dani kept coming to these, kept practicing, someone like Jamie would think that someone like Dani was melt worthy. Probably not, but it was as good a goal as any.

She pulled back from the kiss, smiling at Jamie, who was smiling back. Dani covered her face and smiled wider, toppling over onto the bed as Jamie laughed following her down and unpinning her hand from behind Dani’s back.

Dani was filled with a giddiness at being here, at feeling so satiated she could cry. She bit her lip, uncovering her face to see Jamie still watching her.

“Alright?”

Dani laughed, “I’m… my legs feel like jelly.”

Jamie tilted her head back to grin widely at the ceiling before facing her again. “Having a hard time feeling badly about it.”

Dani muffled a yawn and Jamie dropped her mouth open on faux shock.

“Is that how it is? I’m borin’ to you?”

Dani laughed, “the exact opposite, actually.”

Truth is, she didn’t know what to do next. She didn’t know how she was supposed to leave. The books didn’t say anything about this part.

More importantly, she didn’t want to leave. She wanted to curl up next to her and hold Jamie close. She wouldn’t say that out loud, it felt stupid to admit that she came to an orgy and wanted to be held by the woman that was just inside her.

It’s why she’s here, right? Absolutely no attachments. To anyone. No worries about her having severely questionable political views, or treating waitstaff so poorly that Dani felt the need to leave double their bill as a tip with a note of ‘I’m sorry’ next to a frowny face. But this… there was only supposed to be this. Only the expectation of tonight and nothing else.

When she looked up at Jamie, something didn’t feel like it added up. Why did it feel like that wasn’t the case right now?

She smiled softly up at Jamie, who she was pretty sure was massively kind to everyone in the service industry- she had that look about her, but Dani wasn’t even sure what that meant- and she was happy to see her smiling back. She stifled another yawn.

Jamie laughed. “Here.” She got up from the bed and moved to her dresser, confident in still being naked; as she should be, Dani noted. She pulled out a shirt and some shorts, walking back over to Dani and handing them over to her.

Something in Dani’s chest fluttered at the gesture and she wondered if the shy, hopeful smile on Jamie’s face was practiced; a small kindness to the poor girl starting out. Maybe she did this for all the new women that came to these things. The welcome wagon, as it were.

In this moment, she found she didn’t care. She’d like to be welcomed again and again and again.

She took the offered clothes, tugging the soft shirt over her head and standing. Jamie bit her lip, eyeing Dani appreciatively before turning her dresser again.

“Bathroom?” Dani asked.

 Jamie pointed to a door in the corner of the room that Dani thought was a closet. “It’s got two doors though, so make sure the other is locked.

Dani knocked, waiting to hear if anyone was inside before unlocking the door from her side and stepping in to the small room. She walked in, catching sight of herself in the mirror.

She looked good. Hair all over the place and wearing Jamie’s shirt over her ruined panties. She smiled, sliding them down her legs as she watched her reflection, feeling like an entirely new person. She leaned into her reflection, smiling and touching her cheeks in an attempt to confirm that yes she was here, and yes that just happened.

She heard a loud, deep grunt just outside the other door to the restroom.

“Oh my god.”

She covered her mouth, running to the door and latching the privacy hook to keep others out. Another voice- a woman that seemed very into whatever was happening whined alongside another grunt.

Dani flipped on the second switch in the room, relieved when a loud fan mostly disowned out the woman’s continued favorable response.

She’d almost forgotten where she was for a second.

When she came back in the room, Jamie had thrown on a new outfit and was putting in a new tape; something calmer and soothing that she almost recognized, but she was too busy being enraptured by Jamie moving through her space. She noticed the framed pictures of Jamie smiling alongside various people and she was struck with the urge to know more about her. About her friends and family. What she did for a living. Anything, really.

“What?” She realized she was staring again. She had to learn to curb that. But god, it was hard to do.

“Nothing.” Dani started walking over to the bed, happy to see Jamie following. She flopped on the comforter, putting her arms behind her head and blatantly running her gaze over Jamie with an eyebrow raised. “It’s just a shame.”

“A shame?”

“Kind of liked what you were wearing before.”

“Nothing?”

Dani nodded her head enthusiastically, sticking another yawn as Jamie chuckled, climbing into the bed alongside her.

“Play your cards right, you might get to see that particular outfit again.”

Dani’s smile fell, glad that Jamie was busy covering them with the blanket to notice how much the idea affected her.

“Alright?”

“Mmhm.”

“Need anything?”

“Mmm-mmm.”

Dani smiled, suddenly feeling a bit shy after what Jamie just said. She hid it, burrowing deep into the blankets.

“Let’s get some kip.”

“Some what?”

Jamie laughed, cutting off her own yawn.

“Don’t worry about it.”

She leaned up, switching off the lamp next to her bed and leaving her room in darkness except for the stream of moonlight spilling in from the window.

Someone was whispering something.

Dani still had her eyes clamped shut, but there was definitely someone whispering inside the room. A gentleman someone. She opened her eyes expecting a lamp or something to be on, but all she saw darkness.

She reached out behind her expecting to find Jamie still next to her, but coming up empty. She wondered if Jamie had snuck out of bed to to let someone in the room to have the quietest sex she’d ever witnessed. To be fair, she kind of took over the majority of the night, limiting who else Jamie could sleep with.

She guessed she couldn’t blame her. Didn’t mean she had to like it.

She would just need to politely give Jamie’s clothes back and go home with her tail between her legs. She lifted her head slowly and peered around, trying not to draw attention to herself while not-so-secretly hoping that her eyes wouldn’t fall on some guy naked in the room.

Instead she saw Jamie standing by her open window, whispering her thanks to a guy with a mustache who was standing just on the other side. He was in the middle of passing her a white bag with a smiley face on the side as quietly as possible. Is that… was she getting takeout delivered to her window?

Now that her eyes had started to focus in the dark, she felt like her ears were following along, adjusting to the quiet. Dani could still hear them, trying her best to ignore what was being said but having a hard time blocking it out.

“-not exactly known for shaking things up.”

“Piss off.”

Dani smiled. That sounded a lot like the way she imagined brothers and sisters sounded when they talked to one another, and she wondered if these two were related. Although something felt a little different about their accents. Maybe he was a cousin. Maybe it was incredibly small-minded and American of her to think that everyone with a British accent in their tiny town must be related. But the way that the man’s voice held a teasing note made her think it might be possible.

“Our Jamie finally coming out of her shell, been ordering the same-“

“Yeah, well, first for everything.”

There was a brief lull as he handed off a second bag of whatever he was delivering slowly, as if any wrong move would cause the plastic to crinkle in his fingers. The man’s voice came again, this time much lower, but she could still hear the hint of playfulness it held. “Who’s the lucky lady, then?”

Dani couldn’t help the fluttered response in her chest, but it quickly deflated when Jamie shushed him somehow both quietly and remarkably aggressively.

He probably didn’t know. He probably had no clue what was going on in this house at this very moment. What kind of shindig he was delivering to. He didn’t know that Dani wasn’t anyone special, just someone that happened to break down Jamie’s door looking pathetic enough that Jamie decided to throw her a bone.

She would laugh at the unexpected pun if she wasn’t trying to pretend to be asleep. And if her stomach didn’t hurt at the mere thought of how it true it probably is.

Dani wondered if he had left based on the silence, but was surprised when he cleared his throat, almost as if they were wordlessly having a conversation and he was signalling it’s conclusion.

“Well. Let me know if you like the potstickers. Made them myself tonight.”

“Shit, really? Lee let you in his kitchen?”

“And why wouldn’t he?”

“You’re a pastry chef. Also a git.”

“You love me.”

Jamie grunted a response and Dani smiled to herself- maybe they were siblings- and she closed the window. Jamie sounded so grumpy there for a second, and this woman seemed anything but with her plants and her music and the way her eyes held nothing but warm understanding- with more than a touch of desire- when they fell on Dani.

Or at least. That’s how they were earlier, in the heat of the moment. Maybe this was supposed to be a hint. Maybe she was ordering herself takeout as way of sort of signalling to Dani that it was time for her to leave.

Dani suddenly didn’t feel as cozy in her spot in the bed as she had felt all night and she waited for her opening to pretend to stir. She heard lids being removed from containers and the soft thud of things being set out followed by a plastic bag crinkling. When she heard a muttered “shit,” she took her opportunity to move.

Dani scooted over toward the lamp by Jamie’s side of the bed and made exaggerated noises before flipping it on.

Jamie was kneeling in front of tons of little containers of food splayed out on the coffee table, using a napkin to mop up a spill from one of the cartons. She blinked up at Dani, adjusting to the light.

“Shit, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” She looked legitimately upset.

“Are you… eating on the dark?”

Jamie laughed.

“I haven’t eaten since a spoonful of peanut butter as I walked out the door…” she made a show of checking the clock on her side table table, “yesterday morning. Then you came along….” She smiled up at Dani, who couldn’t find it in her to feel sorry. “Had plans to order in anyway, but someone else had different ideas.”

Dani smiled, playing with the her of Jamie’s shirt.

“Now that you’re up, you gonna join me? I ordered… everything.”

And she really did. She watched as Jamie continued to pull container after container from the the bags, almost comedically packed like a clown car. Dani’s stomach rumbled as she got up, padding over and plopping down in front of the coffee table across from Jamie.

“Chopsticks or a fork?”

A fork. Always a fork. She looked at Jamie, who had a set of chopsticks already sticking out of a container of rice.

“Chopsticks.”

Jamie handed them over with a smile, picking up her own, loosening the rice from their square form of the container and popping a large bite in her mouth.

Dani pulled the wooden sticks from the little orange sleeve, surprised to find that they were still in one piece. She looked up, noting as Jamie popped a sugar snap pea in her mouth that the edges of her chopsticks were frayed, like she broke hers apart. Dani tugged at her own, happy when there was a satisfying little creak, splitting them apart.

She looked up at Jamie, whose cheeks were full as she smiled at Dani. Dani smiled back, eying the offerings; she really might’ve ordered everything on the menu.

“Everythin’s up for grabs.” She looked back up and Jamie was circling a chopstick over the entire table before pointing to a specific container. “Gotta get one of those potstickers.”

Dani nodded, amused that she was suggesting the potstickers with such enthusiasm when she was just giving that guy guff for it not five minutes ago. She moved her chopsticks to one hand where she had been sitting with one in each hand and tried to mimic how Jamie was holding hers, one over the other.

It felt… off. She tested opening and closing them, both clumsily refusing to come together in any sort of sensical way. Like they were the wrong sides of two magnets and she was trying to force them together when it clearly wasn’t happening. How was Jamie doing that.

She looked up, hoping to catch Jamie’s hand placement again, but finding her hand stilled. When she lifted her eyes to Jamie’s, she looked down at her food quickly, starting to fluff her container of rice again, picking up a pepper and popping it in her mouth.

Dani picked up the potstickers container, shoving her chopsticks in to push them around like she knew what she was doing. She tilted the container, letting one fall onto the chopsticks that she tried her best to hold very still, and let it balance for a second before she felt confident it wouldn’t fall off. She slowly raised it to her mouth, tossing it in her mouth as it was starting to wobble.

“Oh my god.” She said through a muffled mouth behind her hand.

“Yeah?”

“So good.”

Jamie smiled widely at her, as if high praise of the food was high praise for her friend as well. Which, she guessed it kind of was.

She picked up a container of rice, trying her best to stab at it like she saw Jamie do just a minute ago. She tilted the container, trying the same trick as she did on the potsticker. A glob of rice sat balanced, but the second she moved her hand, half of it fell. She frowned, flitting her eyes up to Jamie to make sure she was occupied.

She brought the container close to her face, trying her best to keep the half that remained balanced on the two chopsticks in one piece as she quickly darted into her mouth, only managing to get a few grains to their intended destination.

“Want a fork?” She looked up to see Jamie sticking a smile.

“No.” She put down the rice, picking up another container.

“It’s just… rather painful to watch?”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t be watching me.”

Dani smiled, feeling a little lighter at being caught. Playful, even. Like she was exposed in all the right ways. She looked at her chopsticks and back at the food before dropping one in the box and using the other to spear a piece of broccoli, bringing it to her mouth confidently.

“Maybe I like watchin.’”

Jamie’s voice held a note of playfulness in it but also a note of something darker and Dani refused to look up, instead scrunching her mouth, trying not to react to her.

Jamie sat down her food with a laugh and , crawled over to Dani’s side of the table, scooting herself close behind her. Dani straightened up, liking that the move allowed her to feel more of Jamie’s chest pressed against her back. It was strange how something so small could ignite so much in her.

“Are you gonna- it’s like you’re trying to teach me to like… play pool or… golf or something.”

Jamie nuzzled her nose into the soft spot behind her ear. She waited in anticipation for the press of Jamie’s lips, but inhaled sharply when her lips brushed her earlobe instead.

“I can’t golf for shit.”

The quick huff of laughter that escaped Dani gave way to an appreciative sigh when Jamie tugged her earlobe between her teeth.

“Something I can teach you then.” Dani breathed out, freezing when she realized what she said. This wasn’t something more than right now, she wasn’t going to-

“Only if you promise you do it like this.” She pressed herself fully against Dani’s back, sliding her hands down her forearms. Every nerve ending in her body felt like it was on fire. “Won’t hear me complain if you wear one of those little skirts too.”

Dani laughed, “I used to get fined for those all the time.”

Jamie nuzzled into her neck, making a questioning noise. Dani closed her eyes against the way her neck was tingling.

“It was an exclusive club,” she could hear the disdain in her own voice when she said it, “they forced the women to wear skirts instead of pants for proprietary.”

Jamie scoffed, pulling back a little as if she was actually paying attention to what she was saying. She wasn’t sure what to do with Jamie directing so much attention her way.

“I dunno. Felt like I was sticking it to them a little bit by wearing one that was considered ‘too short’ by the official guidebook.”

Jamie laughed; something genuine and warm to Dani’s ears. She grinned, relaxing back into Jamie a little further.

“Started small. Just a half an inch. But the rush,” she whispered dramatically as Jamie’s laugh came again, “pretty soon it was an inch, two inches…. then I hit the jackpot… I got slapped with a charge of obscene.”

Jamie chuckled, humming her appreciation for the fact, dragging her fingers back up Dani’s forearms and down her sides, muttering a low, “obscene, huh?” as she squeezed the tops of her thighs through the shorts she was wearing.

She sighed, turning her head slightly to see Jamie watching her with a small smile.

“Sorry. You don’t want to hear about my faux-rebellious stage.”

“Oh, I absolutely do.”

Dani smiled and closed her eyes tightly at Jamie- this woman she met at this no-strings-attached party- being so kind about it. About everything. Listening to her ramble about something that would mean absolutely nothing to her come morning.

She pushed the thought aside as Jamie swept her hair to her other shoulder, leisurely kissing along the crook of her neck.

“Bet whoever you were dating didn’t mind it either.” Jamie mumbled in between kisses.

Dani snorted. “Poor guy. I wouldn’t let him touch me. Turns out there might be a reason why.”

Jamie eyed her for a moment, the small smile spreading into something that made something stir again in the pit of her stomach.

“Didn’t want to be dragged somewhere private…” she dropped her voice lower, “semi-private, maybe... your obsceneskirt slowly being hiked up your hips…”

She dragged her blunt fingernails over the fabric of her sweats. As Dani’s breath hitched again, she dropped her voice to a whisper, “positively drippin’ for it.”

Dani bucked against nothing with a groan. “You think you could keep quiet?” She whispered in her ear. Dani exhaled, nodding as Jamie pressed gently against her center, not really accomplishing anything except driving Dani insane. And it’s such a tease, it’s positively unfair.

“These exclusive rich folks milling about, without the slightest clue of the dirty little things you’re up to.”

Dani moaned loudly at the implication, pressing hard against Jamie’s palm as Jamie ground against her from behind.

Jamie bit lightly at Dani’s neck, voice still low as she gently scolded. “Gotta keep quiet for me.” It should be illegal the way her voice drips with honey as she says it.

Jamie tsked playfully. “what d’ya think they’d say… discoverin’ you panting my name? My fingers buried deep inside y-“

Dani couldn’t stand it anymore, crashing her lips into Jamie’s, delighted when Jamie’s tongue roughly dragged against her own with a groan. Dani pushed herself into Jamie, not sure what she needed, but knowing she needed something.

Jamie pushed back against her with a low sound in her throat, climbing on top of her and kissing her hard, rutting lightly against her.

Dani breathed out, pressing herself back into Jamie with a groan as Jamie tugged Dani’s lip with her teeth. Jamie pressed into her again, opening her hips and pressing harder into her. Dani spread her own legs, panting as she pressed back into her and muttering, “didn’t think people actually did this.”

“No?”

“Thought they only did it in… in…” she bit her lip, looking down at where the apex of their legs were intertwined. Jamie readjusted, thrusting against her again at a better angle, the seam of the borrowed shorts pressing exactly where Dani needed it and she let out a soft moan.

“Thought it was only in what, Dani?” She purred knowingly, a small smirk on her lips.

Dani couldn’t help her own caught smile spreading across her face or the accompanying heat on her cheeks. She watched Jamie huff out a small laugh and bite her lip, lightly playfully rutting against her as she likely tried to bury an even bigger smirk from spreading across her face.

Dani’s eyes dropped to the way Jamie’s lip was caught between her teeth and she couldn’t help but think about what films Jamie might’ve seen. If they’d somehow seen the same things. Wondering if Jamie was turned on by the same parts she was.

What it might be like to sit on the little loveseat in the corner of the room with the ancient television flickering enticing and lewd images at them. Seeing how long they could last without caving and touching each other. Without reenacting what they were seeing on the screen. Ultimately not being able to hold out for longer than a few minutes.

The sneaking reminder crept that that this was a one-time thing. That she would never get to see that. She tried to push the thought away, instead grinding against Jamie to encourage her to keep going. If she only got one shot at this, you better believe she’s going to see how good this can feel. Jamie furrowed her brow, instantly ramping up her pace and moving her hips against Dani, who was pushing back with as much fervor.

“Fuck.”

Jamie whispered it before pulling back, yanking Dani’s shorts down roughly, scratching Dani’s thigh in her haste. She ripped off her own, ignoring that the fabric was still caught on one ankle, and pressed her wet center to Dani’s with a shuddering breath.

Dani moaned loudly at the feeling of Jamie’s warmth pressed against her. Jamie readjusted her legs, and at the first purposeful grind, Dani moaned louder at the way she could feel herself dripping against her.

There was no possible way that Jamie could be as turned on as she was in this moment, but on the other hand… the slick between them couldn’t be all her, could it?

The idea of Jamie wanting this as badly as Dani had her itching to touch her. She sat up, trying to touch any part of Jamie, realizing quickly that she couldn’t reach to comfortably fit a palm over Jamie’s breast without losing this blessed angle. and instead drifting her hand over her side. Mesmerized by the way Jamie’s hipbone is jutting out as she swirls her hips against her, she slid her fingers up Jamie’s side instead.

She’s so turned on that even though Dani probably can’t get off from this alone, she’s not sure she ever wants to stop. She let her fingernails drag down Jamie’s torso from where she had been desperately reaching under Jamie’s shirt as she watched her stomach twitch and jump as her fingernails pass.

She continued to drag them down her sides, resting just above her hips. She gripped tightly, watching as though hypnotized as the muscles move and work beneath the pads of her fingers. She dug in deeper and Jamie let out a sigh, starting to move against her faster. Dani gasped, her nipples straining with a full swipe of Jamie’s clit against hers.

Jamie’s fingers gripped at where they’re on Dani’s bent knee for leverage, letting her clutched hand drag down to the flesh of her thigh as she purposefully hits the spot again. Dani groaned loudly at how fucking good this feels.

Jamie mumbled a “fuck,” as she pressed harder, hitting the same spot again and again and again; Dani felt  herself getting more slick with each pass. She didn’t imagine how intense this could feel.

Dani resisted the urge to be an active recipient, instead biting her lip and staring at the glimmer of sweat across Jamie’s forehead; eyes closed as she muttered curses under her breath. Jamie’s breath hitched alongside Dani’s in a way she hadn’t heard before when she hit a spot just shy of fully direct, a deeper sort of satisfaction rolling through her gut at the sensation.

Jamie’s eyebrows drew together as her mouth went slack, grinding in the exact same motion as Dani stuttered out a groan; Jamie- this goddamn sex god- somehow located the sweet spot for both of them.

Jamie panted and grunted with each thrust, either unwilling or unable to keep her eyes off Dani’s as she ground against her, the faint wet sound between them made almost lewd by the way Dani’s chest is swaying and the way that Jamie’s hip bone kept disappearing and reappearing at the extreme rock of her hips.

This whole thing might be comical later; something messy and undignified to be embarrassed about if it didn’t feel so fucking good. Instead, she finds herself wishing she had a camera to film it, to capture the way they look sliding against one another, something to refer back to when she’s alone again and missing the way a woman- the way Jamie specifically- feels against her.

She’s rocketing toward an extreme high, unable to stop screaming out her own pleasure as Jamie rucks against her with a low growl of her own. Dani felt like she was coming apart at the seams; a rush between them that she’s not sure whether is from Jamie or from her, but feels intoxicated by all the same.

“Fuck.” She breathed out as Jamie leaned forward, kissing her fully with a muttered agreeance.

Dani slid her hands up Jamie’s neck, balmy from her efforts, and dug her fingers into her hair, kissing her back with every ounce of what’s left in her. She’s a little sensitive after, so she readjusted herself a bit, feeling herself slick against Jamie’s thigh, but comforted by the weight of her on top of her coupled with leisurely making out after what they just did.

She never knew kissing could be so… fulfilling? She could do this for hours, the heat low in her belly somehow sparked back to life with another adjustment of her hips coupled with a slow slide of her tongue against Jamie’s. Her eyes fluttered, the pads of her fingertips dragging against the base of her skull in an attempt to somehow get closer.

She should laugh. They were making out half-naked on the floor next to a table full of takeout like a couple of college kids. Dani drifted her hands down, Jamie’s skin chilled from being exposed to the cool night air. She dragged hands up under her shirt, luxuriating in the pent up heat from all the work Jamie just put in to get her off, to get them both off.

Jamie hummed against her lips, nipping softly at dani’s lower one. When dani moaned softly at the feeling, she could feel Jamie’s lips curl into a smile.

Dani slipped her hands down her back, in one swift motion, boldly grabbing Jamie, surprising her enough to laugh around a gasp and buck against her.

Dani kissed her harder, deciding she very much liked that particular noise falling from Jamie’s lips. She gripped again, feeling Jamie’s hips shift purposefully into her.

Feeling bolder than she had all night, she flipped their positions, dragging Jamie’s hands above her head. She noticed a flicker of something in Jamie’s eyes- something vulnerable, maybe?- and she quickly released the light grip on her wrists. She buried her head in the crook of her neck instead, softly kissing until she felt Jamie soften underneath her.

“This okay?” She whispered.

Jamie smiled, leaning up to capture her lips in a heated kiss.

She had no idea what time it was.

All she knew is that she woke to surprisingly being curled into Jamie’s back, arm slung comfortably around her waist. The curve of Jamie’s legs fit perfectly over the top of her own and she couldn’t believe she had been missing out on this. All of this. For way too long.

She snuggled in closer, taking a deep breath of Jamie’s hair as she ran her hands down her sides, surprised when at the end of Jamie’s shirt hem, all she felt was skin.

“Don’t.” Jamie mumbled, her voice rough and a little gravely from sleep. And maybe a little from all of the shouting that they did into the night, finding the need to change out the tapes a couple of times.

“We’re Winnie the Pooh-ing it this morning, I see.”

“Shut it.” She sounded stern but the shake of her shoulders told otherwise. Dani smiled leaning into her ear, humming appreciatively as she raked her fingernails over the soft skin of Jamie’s hip.

“It’s like… Donald Duck.”

“That’s it.”

For just waking up, Jamie was surprisingly spry; quick to roll over, pinning Dani to the bed. Dani didn’t bother to keep the grin off her face.

“Someone was insatiable last night.” She leaned down, kissing the crook of Dani’s neck. “Would’ve been a waste of time to put them back on.” She bit roughly, and Dani sucked in a breath sharply.

Dani grabbed her hips and dug the pads of her fingers in in retaliation.

“I was not filing a complaint.”

She sat up, Jamie laughing as she continued to straddle Dani’s hips, falling back a little, but catching herself on the palms of her hands. Dani saw the state they’d left the room in when they passed out and she whistled, looking around the space with a little bit of shame but a weird sense of pride.

“God, we made a mess of it. All that take out-”

Jamie followed her line of sight. “Yeah, wasteful. Got busy, didn’t we?”

“Got busy.” Dani muttered along a smile. Jamie shook her head and started pushing her back into the bed again, hands skirting up her t-shirt- well, Jamie’s t-shirt- as the too-light drag of her fingers caused her to giggle, smiling up at Jamie. She smiled back at her, taking the hint and deepening the pressure so that Dani was humming, stretching her arms up like a cat waking up from a sun nap.

She would be embarrassed, but she honestly couldn’t be bothered when she felt this light. Did everyone else walk around feeling this light all the time?

As Jamie lifted the shirt, kissing the skin of Dani’s tummy, she had to force herself to remember that they weren’t just two people alone in the world, and that they couldn’t necessarily be as loud as they were last night.

It was the light of day; she wondered what would be waiting on the other side of that door.

Jamie was kissing lower and the warmth was swooping through her again. How was she not positively drained from last night? She smiled to herself, watching Jamie’s sift curls trail after her as she kissed lower, wondering how she got lucky enough to find her here.

She flipped through the faces of the people that were out there, loitering in the rooms, having sex just outside the restroom, gathered around the food and drink table-

 She stopped, the food. She laughed, “why did you order takeout? You didn’t want to just grab some of the food that was already out there?”

“I wasn’t gonna go out there.” Jamie scoffed, pulling at the waistband of her shorts- Jamie’s shorts- and nipping low on her waist. “Probably just a bunch of grapes so they can all, y’know, feed them to each other on the chaise.”

Dani laughed. “I think more than that happened on the chaise lounge.”

Jamie laughed. “You’re Probably right.”

Dani laughed along with her, sighing when Jamie tugged her shorts down enough to expose her fully to the morning sun. Dani settled back, biting her lip at the soft press of Jamie’s lips to her upper thigh. Heaven, she was in heaven.

“Wait, don’t you know? You don’t buy the food for your own parties?” She smiled down at her.

“My party? Dani-“

“Jamie!” A voice rang from the other side of Jamie’s bedroom door, aggressively testing the handle.

Dani sat up in surprise, forcing Jamie off her as she pulled her shorts back up.

“Fuck off, Vi!” She called over her shoulder, the handle being tested again, the metal bitting up against the locking mechanism along with a few tugs.

“Oh come on, you locked your door? The debauchery is over, you prude. They’re all gone, you can come out of your hidey-hole now.”

There was a metallic scraping against the handle with a mechanical click shortly after.

“What the fuck are you-“

The door swung open and in the doorway, stood a tall, gorgeous dark-haired woman that Dani vaguely recognized from one of the rooms she checked last night.

“Jamie.” The woman put her hands on her hips, watching as Jamie scrambled to cover herself with her blanket. “Here I thought you said you wanted to do with my little parties.”

Dani ripped her gaze from the woman to gawk at Jamie, who was reddening at the conversation, and not in the same way Dani had her blushing all night.

“Her- oh my god. This isn’t, you weren’t hosting… this?”

Dani could feel the heat rise in her cheeks as she scrambled to get out of the bed.

“Technically-“

“Oh my god.”

Dani thought she was going to pass out again, but this time the embarrassment running so deep that she felt all sorts of jumbled. She jumped out of the bed, searching for her things.

 “I thought you… lived here?”

She motioned to the room around them, pictures of her and her friends dotting the tables and walls.

“I do!”

“But you were-”

“Hiding out in her locked room with headphones on, praying that one of us heathens wouldn’t force our way in to her locked door.” The woman in the doorway supplied, looking absolutely delighted by this conversation. “Which… I guess was a legitimate concern.”

“Jesus, Vi-“ she scoffed, moving to get out of bed but realizing she was naked from the waist down. “Get out! What the fuck are you doing in here?”

Viola raised her hands in mock surrender, but made no move to leave. Dani was still searching for her lingerie and heels but couldn’t seem to locate where anything had been tossed in the heat of the moment, when she… when they…

God, when she misread everything.

Her embarrassment ratcheted up, and decided that she needed to leave while her dignity- what very little of it there was at this point- was still intact.

“Dani-”

“I gotta- I gotta go.”

“Wait… Dani, please just-”

Dani brushed past the woman in the doorway, grabbing her coat and throwing it on, patting the pocket to check for her car keys. She ignored the sound of Jamie fumbling around for something to wear, still cursing at the woman to get out of her room in between calling after Dani.

She ran through the front door and her bare feet hit the cold concrete, making her wish she would have worn sensible shoes and left them by the door. Or never came to this thing at all.

It was way too cold still to be outside in shorts and no shoes, beating the world record for the saddest, fastest walk of shame. And this time, the shame had so many layers to it that she wasn’t able to even begin to try to figure out how to sort through it.

She reached the gravel where she parked her car the previous night, happy to see that everyone was gone and nobody was blocking it. She pressed her lips into a line to keep from crying as the cold gravel dug into the soft skin of her feet, struggling to open the door. When it finally popped open, she threw herself in the driver’s seat, shoving the key in the ignition and turning on the car as quickly as she could muster.

The sound of the music she had been listening to on the way to the party came pouring in through her speakers and she frantically turned the volume down with one hand as the other stayed on the steering wheel, guiding her car backwards. The loud crunch of the gravel underneath her tires spun in place when she switched from reverse to drive, stepping on the gas to get out of there; away from the most embarrassing situation of her life.

As she drove away faster than was strictly legal, she wiped a tear from her cheek; her feet hurt from the stupid pointy gravel, she was mortified, and the fact that she saw Jamie coming running out of her house in her review mirror, shouting something after her that was drowned out by the rev of her engine was just… it was all too much to handle.

Dani was parked outside of the house again.

She looked at the paper bag in her passenger seat, wondering if she should’ve just tossed the clothes instead of trying to drop them off. She had waffled on the thought as she washed them, debated her options as she folded them, and tried to talk herself out of it as she folded over the top of the paper bag before stapling it shut, as if someone was going to open up the bag and steal just one item from it and leave the rest.

In the end, it was the soft threading of the Blondie shirt that made up her mind. It had been clearly worn many times over the years and while she couldn’t go back in time and reverse the fact that she was always going to be known as the clueless lady that broke into Jamie’s bedroom and apparently coerced her into having sex, she refused to be known as the woman that stole from her as well.

Dani took a deep breath, grabbing the bag and getting out of the car right in front of their mailbox. It was early enough in the morning that the grass was still dewy; hopefully no one would see her making a quick drop and vanishing before the sun was fully up. She opened the metal mailbox, the hinge squeaking louder than she would like it to be as she tried to shove the bag into the too-small opening.

She looked around, attempting to brute-force the thing in as it loudly crinkled in her hands, refusing to fit. A dog across the street started to bark out of its window, and she uselessly ‘shushed’ over her shoulder in the direction of the dog before frantically pulling the half-inserted bag out of the mailbox.

She looked at the doorstep, still almost entirely shrouded in darkness as she made a split-second decision to run over, drop the bag, and run back to her car. The dog was still barking at her as she ran through the grass, dropping it right  as a light flicked on above her. She gasped, looking up at the motion light as the dog’s barking doubled down now that he got a good look at the intruder.

She gasped, bolting back to her car and taking off as she peeked in her review mirror, happy that no one opened the door before she turned the corner. She let out a breath, inhaling deep letting it out again as she willed her heart rate to slow.

“Leafling. The Leafling.” Dani muttered to herself, walking along the streets as she read the signs of all the stores she passed.

Rebecca had mentioned this place a few times in passing, so when she showed up at Dani’s apartment with a bottle of whiskey and a huge grin to announce that she got a permanent position at the firm she’d been interning for, it seemed like the obvious choice to grab her a plant for her new offices.

… If only she could find it.

She looked down at the scrap piece of paper she held in her hands as the sidewalk took a steep incline; she really should’ve taken a pass looking for this place in her car instead of parking, figuring she’d find it on foot. At least she would be walking down that little hill once she found a plant that Rebecca couldn’t kill.

When she looked back up, she noticed a little potted plant next to a cream door and she looked overhead, a pink overhang with gold lettering that indicated she found the place. Finally.

She stopped for a second to look in the window at the offerings inside the small shop as she allowed herself to catch her breath; she was never really sure why she felt the need to speed walk everywhere, but she figured it was better to stand for a moment than to show up all huffy.

Besides, now that she was looking at the array of beautiful flowers and healthy plants inside, maybe she might get herself a little something to spruce up her apartment. It had been feeling a little drab lately.

She tried not to think too hard about why that might be.

Dani opened the door, a little bell ringing to announce her presence.

“Be right with you!” a voice called out from the back and Dani paused.

She wasn’t sure which ghost she unwittingly angered to deserve a rapid succession of such horrible luck; if you counted a month in between instances as being rapid successions.

Which Dani absolutely did; a month wasn’t long enough for her mind to dull the edges of that voice in her memory.

At least this time she’d be able to run away with her shoes on.

She grabbed the handle, pulling open the door with another ring to the bell above the door.

“Dani?”

She froze, hoping that if she didn’t move, maybe Jamie wouldn’t see her.

“Dani.” The voice- that voice- said more confidently.

She squeezed her eyes shut, letting go of the doorhandle. Freezing didn’t work apparently; maybe she should make loud noises and wave her arms frantically instead? Although she figured she didn’t need any more help seeming like a lunatic.

She took a deep breath, turning and catching a brief glimpse of that tousled hair before she dropped her gaze to the ground instead. She didn’t think she could stand looking at her head on. She worked at the florist? This florist? How is that possible?

“Hey.” She sounded uncertain as she cleared her throat. “It’s been a minute.”

“I just needed a plant, I didn’t know-”

“Dani.”

Her hands were balling into fists at her sides and she wondered if maybe she looked as terrified as she felt. She flicked her eyes upward, catching Jamie’s instantly.

“Hi… hey.” She choked out.

“You left.” She didn’t look upset, she looked… hurt. Dani couldn’t find the strength to look directly at that. “You didn’t let me…” she shrugged, crossing her arms.

“I… I know.”

She wasn’t sure why she suddenly felt like she was in the wrong somehow, but as she opened her mouth again to say something, the bell above the door rang again.

She turned, seeing a woman that somehow managed to look regal while clearly being overwhelmed- likely by the children whose hands she was clasping, if Dani had to wager- walk in with a relieved smile.

“Jamie, dear, any chance I could go ahead and pick up Henry’s arrangement while-“ she cut herself off when she noticed Dani, “oh goodness, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s alright, you’ve got your hands full.” Dani motioned to the kids, returning her hand to the doorknob. Another reason to get out of whatever awkward conversation was about to go transpire between her and Jamie.

“Hang on.” Jamie directed the comment to the woman before stepping in close to Dani. “Can you… can you stay? Just for a minute, I wanna…”

She surprised herself when she heard “okay,” fall so easily from her lips, but the way Jamie’s shoulders lowered slightly made her feel like she made the right decision.

“One second, yeah?”

She smiled when Dani nodded, and the stupid fluttering in Dani’s chest was back, easy as that. She walked to the far side of the room, looking at the assortment of plants to try to give them space, but could hear every word anyway.

“So, Han… Henry’s arrangement for Saturday?”

“If it’s ready.”

“Just finished a few minutes ago, actually.”

“Bless you.”

“Rough day?”

“Rough week. Sorry I’ve been a bit absent lately. Can’t seem to keep my head on straight.”

“Any word on when he’ll fill the position?”

“It’s been posted for a month now, not sure why we’re not getting anything.”

“We’re very good children.” The little girl piped in.

Dani smiled to herself. Usually, the ones that said that were decidedly not good children, but something about that little voice made Dani actually believe her.

The woman made a noise of agreement at her before continuing, “You are sweetheart, and thank heavens for that. But it’s difficult running the house and trying to keep up with your studies. I’m glad Owen offered to teach you maths.”

Dani perked up at the sound of that name, wondering if it was the same person from that night.

“It’s unfair that he has us baking for lessons though. Feels like work.” The little boy added. Dani could practically hear his eye rolling from where she stood.

“That’s because it is work. A little work never hurt anyone, yeah? Speaking of, I’ll go grab the bouquet.”

She heard a shuffling of feet as Jamie must’ve gone to the back room. Dani glanced up as she returned, eyeing the surprisingly beautiful spring arrangement, calla lilies and  barely budding tulips sprawling from the vase. Warmth spread through her chest at the sight; the woman clearly had an eye for what she did.

She should’ve guessed that she would be good at that; paying attention to shifting needs, figuring out exactly what to give so that plants thrived in their own beautiful, unique ways. Dani was under that sort of attention for only one night, and she wasn’t sure she’d be able to have it any other way.

One night. One. Dani resisted the urge to touch the delicate purple petals of an orchid, not wanting to infringe on Jamie’s space any more than she already has. A single night with Jamie was enough to practically ruin other women for her.

“Aunt Jamie, can we have a present?”

Aunt Jamie? Dani smiled to herself at how adorable that sounded, feeling like she was just let in on a little secret. Her chest clenched; she really didn’t need any help feeling blue. She had spent the best night of her life with this this woman, only to realize that she had certain feelings about the very thing Dani was there to do that night.

And now she gad the audacity to be Aunt Jamie, who worked in a flower shop that unfairly suited her, standing there in suspenders that she wanted to grasp as she pulled her flush against her, kissing her senseless.

“Flora.” The woman holding the little girl’s hand reprimanded.

The little boy leaned to look at the little girl around the woman in between and tutted.

“It’s not polite to ask for gifts.” he said, with an air of maturity that was a little surprising for his age. Dani wondered what happened in his life to make him feel like he had to grow up faster, and she darted her eyes around the group, wanting to know so badly how they all fit in with one another.

“Sorry, petal… just a little distracted today.”

Dani ran her fingers over the pot of one of the plants, letting her attention fall on the grainy texture of the terracotta instead of the idea that maybe she had something to do with that.

Jamie hummed thoughtfully, shuffling her feet as she searched around the space.

“Here we are.”

Dani darted her eyes briefly, wondering what Aunt Jamie picked for the kids. Jamie passed something small and blue to each of them as the little girl- Flora, she guessed her name was- made happy little noises.

“Aunt Jamie! It’s so pretty”

“Is it perfectly splendid?” Jamie asked, and Dani wondered if it was some sort of inside joke as the little girl giggled. Dani smiled to herself; Rebecca had a habit of saying that.

“What does it mean?” The little boy chimed in.

Dani let out a breath, happy to hear him being inquisitive about flowers and their meanings like any other kid. There must be some hope for him yet. She wasn’t sure why she was so invested in these children she didn’t know, but she find

“It means hope.” Jamie said simply, confidently. Dani swallowed, trying not to read into it just because... well, because. “So, is that all for you lot today, then?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Jamie rang up the flowers, and Dani tried to ignore the way the pit of her stomach turned at the idea of being along with her again. What did she possibly have to say to her? It was unfair that she was here, looking like that, surrounded by the beautiful plants that she lovingly tended to with her own two hands, about to shred Dani further into bits.

“I’m sorry I haven’t rung in a bit. While I’m here though, are you alright?” The woman had lowered her voice to a whisper, but Dani could still hear her clearly.

“Fine.” Jamie answered, quick and curt; a stark contrast for how she had been talking to this woman thus far. The woman continued.

“It’s just that Owen mentioned that you’ve been grumpier than usual, ever since-” Whatever she was about to say was cut off by Jamie clearing her throat loudly.

Dani wasn’t facing them, but was it self-centered to think that Jamie might be nodding over toward her? Like perhaps her grumpiness had anything to do with how they left it? She grasped the edge of the table, trying not to let embarrassment overwhelm her again.

“Thank you for letting me pick these up early.” The woman had returned to a normal speaking volume. “Sorry for interrupting; I best be on my way anyway.”

Dani turned, smiling and waving to the woman as she left, both children walking closely behind her and excitedly examining the flowers they clutched in their hands.

Once the woman had left, Dani took a deep breath, prepared to say that they didn’t need to talk about.

“Look, I’m sorry I wasn’t up front with you.”

Dani let out her breath. Okay, so apparently they were going to jump right to it.

“I’m no stranger to the concept, mind. I can’t stand that I made you feel like that might be the case.” She took a deep, steadying breath. Dani found herself hanging on every syllable. “It’s just… situations like that are- well, to be honest, they’re on a long list of shit I’ve done that I’m tryin’ hard to pull away from.”

Dani’s shoulders loosened at that. So she wasn’t judging her for being there. At all. That’s… that something. She opened her mouth to respond before shutting it again when she noticed that Jamie wasn’t done.

“I’m just not… not really looking for any of that anymore, the casual sort of…” she shook her head as she trailed off, sliding her hands into her back pockets.

Dani swallowed thickly, trying to tamp down the way her body responded to that. Sure, she had gone to the party looking for something casual, no strings attached because of a string of bad dates, but the idea of Jamie across from her at a restaurant, or smiling into a beer next to her at the bar as they closed it down, walking through their city together, hand-in-hand…

“Hey I’m not judgin’ or anythin;’ live and let live and all that.”

The way Jamie’s eyebrows were scrunched in concern at having possibly offended her gave Dani a sense of relief, but it now felt like the wind had been taken out of her sails. Just because it sounded like Jamie was interested in dating didn’t mean that she would be interested in dating Dani. After the way things went down all those weeks ago, she might not want anything at all to do with Dani.

“Why did you… with- with me?”

Jamie exhaled around a laugh, running her eyes over Dani before motioning at her helplessly, something like an exasperated look taking over her face.

Dani wanted to laugh. She wanted to disagree, to turn it around on Jamie to say ‘have you seen you?!’ But the way her skin was alight with the simple fact that Jamie was saying that she wanted her, wanted Dani, even if it was just for that night… it caused any sort of protest to die immediately in her throat.

She watched Jamie, who had her eyes trained at her feet. “B’sides… somethin’ about you…” she cleared her throat, still not looking at her, “you were bold and nervous all at the same time. And that’s… I liked it. I liked…”

‘Liked you,’ Dani hoped she was trying to say. She bit back a smile, trying not to get carried away with the thought, the idea that maybe there could be something here making her unbearably excited.

She squared her shoulders, drawing herself up with a renewed sense of confidence.

“When’s your roommate’s next party?”

Jamie’s shoulders deflated a little and she reached up to scratch at her temple, as if trying to come up with the right thing to say. Dani hoped she was reading this right and that Jamie was dealing with a twinge of disappointment rather than preparing to uninvite Dani from parties… perhaps from her life in general. She couldn’t explain why, but now that she met this woman, she couldn’t help but feel like this was where she was supposed to be.

“Right. Right, yeah. It’ll be uh, next… next Thursday. Same time. I’ll uh… I’ll be making myself scarce, but-“

“Would you wanna stay over at mine that night?”

Jamie looked up, a glimmer of something passing over her features that made Dani feel a little breathless. “What?”

“Could even get food delivered to the door this time.” She smiled, watching Jamie throw back her head and laugh, something light and warm. She tilted her head back down, crossing her arms and rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet as she smiled at Dani.

“Now there’s an idea.”

“You might have to teach me how to use chopsticks though. My previous teacher was a little… distracting.”

Jamie cleared her throat with a comical frown, feigning casual disinterest. “Yeah, I suppose I might be able to help you with that.”

Her frown turned into a wide smile that Dani couldn’t help but return. She slowly walked closer, unable to shake the idea that this, this right here, was exactly what she had been looking for all along.