Regina opened her eyes to a pair of bare buttocks less than a metre from her face. As they bent to put a pair of shorts on, Regina got even more of an eyeful and groaned before turning over and facing the wall. It was going to take a hell of a lot to wipe that image from her brain. The man turned and whispered a quick apology before tip toeing into the kitchenette and clicking the kettle on to boil. Regina huffed as she sat up and checked her phone, a text from Emma saying she would be back late and a snapchat from Ruby, undoubtedly of her and Emma at some club somewhere. Looking at the time, Regina growled in frustration. It was barely half past eight on a Sunday and this was her only chance at a lie in all week. And now it had been ruined by some jerk who shouldn't even be here.
The man in question returned to the beds with two steaming cups of coffee. He placed them both down beside Emma's bed before slipping back under the covers and throwing an arm over Emma's sleeping body. Regina coughed and he turned to look at her.
"Thanks for the coffee." Regina glared at him. The guy rolled his eyes before turning back to Emma. Regina continued talking to his back. "You should probably go, she doesn't really like it when they hang around the next morning." She stopped and pretended to think deeply. "Come to think of it, I'm surprised you were allowed to stay over. Usually it's a quick shag before they're chucked out and told to find their own way home." The man huffed, clearly annoyed at Regina's comments. Regina just smirked.
"Listen lady, she passed out on me after we finished and who was I to give up a warm bed for the night?" Regina frowned.
"How drunk were you exactly?" The guy smirked,
"Let's just say she was on her fourth tequila shot when I found her and she must have done at least another three before we left the first bar." Regina's frown deepened.
"So instead of getting her home safely after that, you decided to get her even more drunk and take advantage of her for a quick shag, another notch on your bedpost?"
"She didn't say no so it was fair game. Don't go all feminist on me bitch, I know when it's rape and she definitely wasn't complaining last night. I'm surprised we didn't wake you." The man grinned and winked at Regina who lifted her pillow to reveal an iPod and headphones. The grin flattened into a glare but before he could retaliate, the mound beside him stirred and Emma sat up. Her hair was sitting up at all angles and her once perfect eyeliner was now smudged. Yawning, she rubbed her eyes (making the eyeliner smudges even worse) and turned to face Regina and her 'date'.
"Hey." Her voice was hoarse and she could already feel her hangover taking hold. The man turned and smiled sweetly.
"Good morning gorgeous, I made us coffee." He handed Emma a steaming mug before propping the pillows against the headboard and wrapping an arm around her shoulder, practically forcing her to lean her head against his bare chest. "I was just chatting to your roommate here, she seems to think I took advantage of you but you'll set her straight won't you?" Emma looked meekly over at Regina who was busy checking her Twitter feed and pretending not to listen. "Go on Em, tell her how you didn't say no so I couldn't possibly have been taking advantage of you." He squeezed Emma's shoulder so she whispered,
"I guess not." The man looked triumphantly up at Regina, who rolled her eyes and continued to stare at her phone screen. Emma coughed and muttered something about needing the toilet. She placed her untouched mug of now lukewarm coffee on the side table and all but ran for the en-suite attached to their dorm room. When the door locked, Regina threw her phone down onto the bed and stood. Reaching over the grinning man, she collected Emma's mug and said,
"I think you should leave now." The man scowled and replied,
"I'll leave when Em asks me too, not when her stuck up roommate tells me to." Regina glared at him before turning her back and moving into the kitchenette to make herself a coffee and Emma a cranberry tea. "Y'know, you're only bitter about me being here because you're not getting any. Everyone knows, if a girls pissed off at you she just needs to be laid, simple as that." Regina peered around the doorframe, eyes wide as she tried to process what had just been said.
"Did you seriously just say what I think you did?" The man shrugged. "I think you need to leave before I knock some of your pretty white teeth out." The man laughed at Regina's threat but turned as Emma returned and said,
"She's right, you need to go." A frown formed on the man's face.
"You're just saying that because she is Em. You were loving me last night, what's changed?" Emma crossed her arms and glared at the man still sitting in her bed.
"First of all the name's Emma, it's not that hard. Second of all, I'm asking you politely to leave my room. If you don't I'll have to call security up and say you're harassing us." She glared pointedly until the man pulled back her covers and proceeded to dress. As he headed for the door, he grabbed Emma's waist and pulled her close in an attempt to kiss her. Emma fought her way out of his grip and shoved him towards the door.
"Get the hell outta my room and the hell away from me jerk, if I ever see you again it'll be too soon." The man growled before pulling the door open and slamming it behind him. Emma slumped against the wall and felt a tear track it's way down her cheek.
Regina returned from the kitchenette with Emma's tea and passed it to the blonde before guiding her onto her bed. Tucked up under Regina's purple comforter, Emma curled up into Regina's lap.
"You have to stop picking up low life scum like that dick Emma. I don't see how you could ever find him attractive, even with the amount of alcohol he said you'd drunk."
"I'm pretty sure I hadn't had that much. And anyways, you're gay so you'll never understand how I find guys like him attractive." Regina chuckled, rubbing Emma's shoulder soothingly as another quiet tear fell down the blonde's cheek.
"Why do you pick these guys up? Why don't you go on dates like normal people?" Emma nudged her friend at the jibe and shrugged.
"I don't know Regina. I guess I'm just waiting for the right guy to come along, and this way is faster than the whole wait three dates before sex thing." Regina laughed,
"Ohhhh so it's sex that defines a real man from the boys for you?" Emma shrugged.
"If they're good in bed then I'm not gonna complain."
"Maybe you should try girls sometime? It's true what they say y'know, we don't rush for the finish line and leave you trailing behind." Emma laughed at the absurd metaphor before looking across at Regina.
"Maybe I have tried it with girls." Regina's eyebrows shot up.
"We've been living together for nearly three years and you're only now telling me you've batted for the other team?" Emma shrugged again.
"It never really came up I guess." Regina quirked an eyebrow disbelievingly but didn't push it further. They sat in silence for a while, Emma sipping her tea and Regina her black coffee.
"So what exactly are you looking for in 'the right guy'?" Regina asked. Emma considered her answer for a moment before replying.
"Well they've got to be cute, brunette preferably, taller than me or at least the same height. Erm...charming, they have to be able to make me laugh, stand up for me but also let me talk for myself. None of this ordering salad for me shit that guys think is endearing. If I'm on my period and you're a shit date I'm getting chips, end of." Regina felt her heartbeat quicken as Emma reeled off the list of traits. She had never fully admitted to herself that she had a crush on her roommate. If she did then she knew she would end up making things awkward between them and then she'd be out of a best friend and have nowhere to live. But as Emma snuggled up to her under the comforter and carried on chatting about her perfect guy, Regina couldn't help but apply everything Emma was saying to herself. She was brunette, the same height as Emma. She made Emma laugh on a daily basis and she would never dream of ordering salad, or indeed anything green at all, for Emma.
"Maybe you have found the perfect guy." The words had slipped through Regina's lips before she'd had a chance to stop them, halting Emma mid-sentence (something about baking Regina thought). The blonde pulled away slightly so as to look at Regina properly.
"Who?" The question was simple enough but Regina felt like her heart was about to pound straight out of her chest and her throat was suddenly dry and wouldn't function. Closing her eyes and feeling her cheeks burn, Regina took a deep breath and whispered,
"Me?" Emma frowned, wondering if she had heard her roommate correctly. She had always known Regina was a lesbian and sure, there were times she suspected her roommate might have a crush on her but she didn't realise Regina actually felt this seriously about her.
The silence stretched between them as Emma tried to process what was happening. Meanwhile, Regina's blush had deepened further and she was internally screaming at herself for making a fool out of herself and ruining the one friendship she had hoped to keep after college. She threw her comforter away and jumped off her bed, heading straight for the door. She had nearly made it before a strong hand encompassed her wrist and pulled her around. Before Regina could comprehend what was happening, a pair of warm lips were covering hers and the bitter taste of cranberries was engulfing her senses. Soft hands slid up her jawline and into her hair as Emma pushed forwards and deepened the kiss. Regina stood still, her arms still hanging limply at her sides and her brain still racing to catch up with what was happening here. I mean this couldn't be happening right? This had to be a really really good dream and soon she'd wake up and have to chuck yet another low life jerk out of their dorm room.
But as Emma stepped back, allowing both women to breathe, Regina knew this wasn't a dream. Even she couldn't invent the look of pure lust in Emma's eyes. Barely a whisper above their laboured breathing, three words set Regina's heart alight,
"Maybe I have."