The Roommate - Chapter 3
"…uhm… Regina?" Emma's uncertain voice sounded through the closed door.
Regina's mind spun like crazy. She hadn't invited Emma. Did Kathryn say something to her? Told her to go and have hot lesbian sex with Regina? Was Emma drunk and wanted a confirmation how desperate Regina was to feel those arm muscles? How should she explain that she slammed the door shut?
"Regina?" a worried Emma asked through the door.
She had to open that stupid door and face Emma. Slowly she breathed out and took a quick look in the mirror, which was right next to the door. She smoothed her robe out and with a slightly trembling hand she put the handle down and opened the door.
"Hi." Emma said with a weak smile. "Guess you forgot about me."
"No, no, I didn't. What are you doing here?" At that moment she saw the bag, which was standing right next to Emma. Regina frowned. What was that supposed to mean? Was Emma like one of those 'U-Haul-Lesbians'? Moving in without really knowing the other person. Wait, did that mean Emma was a lesbian?
"Didn't Kathryn tell you?"
"Tell me what?" Regina asked confused.
"Early this morning there was a problem with our pipe system. The water doesn't run down the pipes because something is blocking it. The whole building stinks like a purification plant and they cut the water off so that it wouldn't flood back into the apartments. They said it would take two days to fix it. Kathryn told me, that you said it was okay if I would stay with you until we can go back to our apartment."
Regina's eyes grew wide at the realization that Kathryn had trapped her into letting Emma stay in her apartment.
"You didn't know." Emma noticed, her shoulders slumped down and her happy smile from before vanished. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come over. It's late and I'm probably bothering you." She grabbed her bag and turned around.
"Wait." Regina hastily said while holding Emma's arm so she couldn't walk away. "Of course you can stay. I was just a little surprised, that's all." Regina said with what she hoped would be a reassuring smile.
"Obviously Kathryn didn't tell you about me staying over and I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable and force you into taking me in." Emma said with a sad smile. Her eyes were filled with hurt of being rejected and Regina wanted to take the pain away.
"Kathryn knows me, she knew I would let you stay over. She probably just forgot to text me about it. Come on in." Before Emma could argue she pulled her inside and closed the door. "The couch in the living room is pretty comfortable." She took a few steps towards the living room but stopped when Emma didn't follow.
"You don't have to let me stay."
As Regina looked back to Emma, she could swear that she saw a stray, lost puppy instead of woman. Her heart clenched at the thought that she was responsible for this because of her careless reaction at the door. She didn't want Emma to believe she was unwanted.
She walked back to Emma and shoved her into the living room. "I know my couch is not a 4-star bed, but you will see that it is very comfortable. How about a glass of wine and you tell me how your day was?"
She left Emma standing in the living room while she rushed into the kitchen without waiting for an answer. Regardless if Emma wanted some wine or not, Regina needed it to cope with this situation, a lot of it.
While Regina uncorked the wine she summed all her fails up: First: There was the total awkward moment when she had accidentally mistook Kathryn and Emma and ended up making a fool of herself by telling Emma how sexy she was. Second: She had fleet the apartment and never came back or apologized and she hadn't given any explanation for her odd behavior. Third: She had just slammed the door in Emma's face.
Regina sighed in frustration. She hadn't really thought how to solve the first two problems and now she needed a solution within 5 minutes. Well, she wasn't really friends with Emma and they had only met when Regina had moved in for a few days, so it actually wasn't that strange to not see or talk to each other for two weeks. She could just say that the construction on her building had been finished and she hasn't seen Emma to say goodbye. Unfortunately that was a lie and by tomorrow morning Emma would know when she would see the construction workers. Maybe she should just draw a veil of silence over the topic. Or she could tell that she got sick and had to go to the hospital. But what kind of illness would she fake? She needed something simpler. But what? And even if she found an explanation of why she had suddenly disappeared, she still needed an explanation why she had talked about Emma's ass the way she did. Oh Gosh… Even thinking about that incident made her blush in embarrassment. Maybe she could just say she had been high on drugs, no that sounded too much like a criminal. High on meds? That sounded like she was mentally unstable.
"Do you need help in the kitchen?"
Regina almost jumped out of her skin and by a hair's breadth the wine bottle would have shattered on the floor. Her breath was irregular, as was her heartbeat. Was her heart still in her chest? Probably not.
"No, I'm fine."
She was so not fine. She still didn't have an excuse. Emma would be sleeping in her apartment tonight. More precisely, she would sleep two nights here.
Quickly she retrieved two wineglasses, joggling them both in one hand, while the other hold the wine bottle. Regina took one last deep breath to ease her nerves before she left the kitchen. As she re-entered the living room, Emma was inspecting one of her bookshelves.
"You sure read a lot." Emma said with a smile while she walked to the couch where Regina had sat down and was pouring in the wine into the glasses.
"One of my favorite pastimes."
"What are the others?"
"I like to take walks. Cooking, and I like to groom the herbs I use for the dishes. I wish I had a garden so I could plant some vegetables."
"How does it come I haven't knew that till now?"
"That's because you had just asked me about my favorite TV series and movies." Regina said while lifting her glass to clink glasses with Emma.
"At least I now know why you don't watch TV. You have a whole library in your living room."
Regina chuckled as the glasses jingled and they both took a sip of wine. Okay, maybe Regina took a little bit more than just a sip.
"So how was your day?"
"You mean beside from being chased out of my apartment this morning?" Emma grimaced. "Well I had a double shift today. Which reminds me, do you mind if I take a shower? I must stink like a skunk."
It was true, Emma's scent lingered in the room, but it wasn't unpleasant. On the contrary, it was quite intoxicating and made Regina even a little dizzy. It wasn't a perfume or a shampoo, it was just Emma. That fact alone made Regina lightheaded.
"Sure, go ahead. You can use my shampoo if you want."
"Thanks." Emma stood up, put her still full glass on the table and walked to her bag. She grabbed some clothes and smiled thankfully at Regina before she halted at the door.
"Where exactly is the bathroom?"
"Right here." Regina left the living room, walked to the door right next to it and opened it for Emma to see the bathroom. "The kitchen is at this end of the floor and at the other end is my bedroom." She pointed down the floor.
"Thanks." Emma replied before she slipped into the bathroom and closed the door.
Regina emptied her glass in one big swig before she hurried to her own room and closed the door behind her. She rushed to her phone and dialed Kathryn's number. Regina growled when only the mailbox greeted her, but she still left a message while she retrieved a sheet, a blanket and a pillow. "Why didn't you tell me Emma was going to stay over? Have you never heard of giving someone a heads up? Really Kathryn, what were you thinking?"
She tossed the phone at her bed and growled again. She would definitely bring up James again to annoy Kathryn.
Emma would be sleeping in her apartment tonight. Right now she was showering. Soaping her naked body. Touching her bare breasts. Her hands wandering down to...
Oh Gosh…How should she be able to survive this.
Wine. She needed more wine.
With her arms full she walked back to the living room, but instead of turning the sofa into a bed, Regina poured herself another glass of wine and drowned it.
She could hear the water of the shower and tried desperate not to think about the blonde's naked body. Regina focused intently on the task before her. Soon the sheet covered the sofa and she smoothed all the wrinkles away. She was so occupied with her mind, that she didn't hear Emma returning.
"I used one of your towels, I hope that's okay."
Regina startled and turned so hastily around that she slightly tumbled. Stupid second glass of wine.
"Yeah…that's…fine."
To be honest Regina was slightly distracted by Emma's body. Emma only wore a blank tank top and red shorts, short shorts, like hot pants short, like hot short, like fire red hot shorts. Stupid wine.
Emma smiled. "Second time I startle you to death today."
Third, Regina thought, but Emma didn't know about the heart attack she had had when she had been in the kitchen.
"Oh…well...no…I just…"
Emma sat down on the sofa, pouring wine in Regina's empty glass and then took her own. She patted the spot beside her and Regina sat down, feeling a little bit in trance, a third glass of wine in her hand. Oh boy, so much wine wasn't what she wanted when Emma's bare legs were only inches apart from her own and one of her muscled arm was on the backrest of the sofa.
"I get it." Emma began.
What? Regina's attention was immediately back. What did Emma get? Was the look in her eyes so obvious?
"You were startled because I suddenly stood in front of your door…"
Oh that. Puh.
"…but seriously, if you were scared to open the door why did you even open it? I mean instead of me, some kind of serial killer could have stood there. Why don't you have a chain lock or install a spy hole?
"A serial killer? Really?" Regina asked amused. Emma was definitely watching too much of those crime TV series. But it was kind of cute that she was worried about Regina's safety and that made Regina's heart beat faster.
"There are crazy people out there, believe me. You should be more careful." Emma took a sip of her wine and Regina hang a moment too long on those delicious looking lips. She quickly turned her gaze down to her hands, which played with the rim of her glass. Regina didn't know how to respond, her mind was too occupied with the battle inside of her. One side told her to look at the bare skin in front of her and the other didn't want to get caught.
"So" Emma broke the upcoming silence. "What else did you do today besides from letting potential serial killers into your apartment?"
A chuckle escaped Regina's lips. "Let's see. I almost run into a Zombie Apocalypse. I barely escaped a Vampire who was trying to bite me. I was this close to be abducted by Aliens. By the way I think I saw a killer Cyborg today, you know, like the one with the glowing eye."
"Very funny." Emma countered, while Regina was laughing. "Someone has found her funny bone today."
"Isn't that what usually your evenings contain? Bloodthirsty Zombies, pale Vampires, disturbing looking Aliens and emotionally broken Cyborgs." Regina said with a wink.
"Just because there is nothing else on TV."
"Sure. It's not like you like those shows."
"Of course not." Emma said, hiding her smirk behind her wineglass. "Oh, that reminds me, I found this one show which is really terrible. You have to watch it sometime. It is so bad that it is actually good. The show has more plot holes than a Swiss cheese has holes, some characters just disappear without explanation and the CGI seems like it was made twenty years ago. It's hilarious."
Regina shook her head in amusement. "Sounds tempting, but I guess I will stick with my books."
"Aww, come on. Kathryn started to watch it too." Emma shifted on the sofa to fill her now empty glass. She eyed the almost empty bottle and motioned towards Regina, but Regina hold a hand over her glass and shook her head. She had had already enough and it was hard enough to not watch the water drops running down Emma's chest and disappear into her cleavage. If Emma wore a white top, Regina could most certainly see through the fabric and that thought alone increased Regina's body temperature.
Emma poured the rest of bottle content in her glass while she shook her head in disbelief. "That was fast. You sure that bottle was full when you brought it in?"
Regina's cheeks blushed. She didn't want to admit that she had an extra glass while Emma was showering, so she quickly changed the subject. "So you're saying Kathryn is watching some awful show and likes it?"
"Yepp" Emma responded after she sipped from her wine. "But she just watches it because of the men."
Kathryn only watched shows with handsome men, Regina knew that already. She also knew that her best friend was positively, 100 %, without question heterosexual. If Emma watched the show too, did that mean she also watched it because of the handsome men? Did that mean she had no chance with the blonde? But Emma didn't say 'I also watch it because of that', maybe there was still hope. This was Regina's chance to find out if Emma was into men or women.
Regina's hands got sweaty and didn't exactly know how she should ask the question, but if she didn't ask quickly, the moment for asking would be over. She looked at Emma to catch her reaction as she asked her question.
"Are the men handsome?" Okay, maybe this wasn't the best way to ask Emma if she was into guys.
Emma just shrugged. "What's your type? Maybe he's part of the cast."
That had backfired phenomenal. Regina stared back into her glass. What now? Tell Emma the truth and reveal that at the age of 17 she had discovered that she was into girls or lie and ruin the potential chance to find out that Emma was into girls too.
Wait. Regina didn't have to answer in black or white. She could answer vaguely. "I don't really have one particular type. How about you?" Regina was sure, that out of the corner of her eye she saw Emma's gaze dropping to Regina's bare legs, but as she lifted her head Emma's eyes locked with hers and Emma had a smut smirk on her lips. "Tell me yours and I tell you mine."
Regina's mouth gaped open. Was Emma flirting with her? Was this really happening? Maybe she had too much wine and was hallucinating things. 'Wishful thinking' was the correct phrase if she remembered correctly. How much Regina wished to just launch forward and capture Emma's lips in a passionate kiss. But what if she was wrong? Regina was sure that she wouldn't survive a rejection. She needed to get a clear head and put some distance between herself and those damn water drops which continued to wander from Emma's wet hair to the valley between her breasts. Regina's mouth was dry as she finally found her voice to answer Emma.
"Guess I have to look the show…watch the show and…you know…match the cast…I mean…to see if someone there…matches…as type…" Regina escaped a nervous chuckle. "I'm sorry, seems like I need some sleep." She stood up, still a half-full glass of wine in her hand and fully embarrassed. "I will just…" She motioned to the door and started to walk backwards.
"You okay?"
"Yes, yes, just overtired." Regina bumped into the doorframe and awkwardly smiled while she walked through the door. "I will go to bed. You can stay up, watch TV, you can eat or drink anything you find in the kitchen. If you need anything just take it. Sleep well." She was already half out of sight when she said. "Good night Emma."
"Regina?"
She took a step towards the living room. "Yes?"
"Thanks for letting me stay." Emma's smile was so bright, it dazzled Regina. "Night Regina."
Regina smiled back and waved clumsily with her hand. "Night." She walked towards her room and almost hit the commode and almost knocked over the flower pot which was standing on top of it. It was really time to get some sleep. And a clear head.
As Regina closed her bedroom door she sight out a breath of relief. One evening survived. Only one to go. And a morning. And probably another morning. That was a lot.
One thing was sure: No more wine while Emma was around.
The alcohol and Emma's short pants and tight top had not helped Regina to focus on the words she had said. Tomorrow would be better. She would find out if Emma was into woman or not. But first her dizzy head needed some sleep.
Regina realized that she had carried her wineglass with her and put it down on her bedside table. She removed her robe, laid into her bed and turned off the lights.
But all she saw when she closed her eyes was water drops running down smooth skin, but instead of disappearing Regina caught it with her tongue, her hands wandering to the two globes and…
Regina shook her head violently. She could not have those kinds of thoughts while Emma was sleeping in her living room. She needed to stay innocent before her body told her to throw caution to the wind and just kiss Emma fiercely. But regardless what Regina tried, her thoughts always wandered back to the blonde.
