How's my luck? But somehow I'm with you. Let's leave now, let's leave them, their point of view, my favorite place is me and you. I wake up in the darkest night, watch you breathe in shadow light. A perfect world lies next to me and I don't need to sleep to dream.

I just hope I am good enough to keep you.

Morning sun warms our skin and distant sounds, the day begins. Soon their world will come calling for us, but this is the space they cannot touch.

I just hope I am good enough to keep you.

Space They Cannot Touch- Kate Miller Heidke

Thanks to Emma's helpful parents, unpacking their belongings, Emma's art supplies, and decorating the apartment went smoother than expected, but it still took them about two weeks to fully get settled into their new home. Adele was especially excited at knowing that they could finally share the same space every day, that seeing Emma wasn't limited to just when she could get away with it. The first few nights, they slept on the bare mattress until the rest of the furniture for the bed room arrived, but then Emma had insisted on repainting it after she'd noticed the original coat had begun to peel.

"Maybe it'll last for a few more years." Adele said hopefully as she handed Emma the tray of paint and a roller.

"Il ne faut rien laisser au hasard." she replied with a wink, glancing down from the top of the step ladder. She worked swiftly, her white t-shirt clinging to her torso as she reached over to cover a particular section of the wall. Her faded denim jeans proved to limit her balance, and Adele had to grasp her ankles to keep Emma from falling off the ladder. They worked together all day for a full week on the room, and in the evenings, they would relax in the backyard. One evening, they were smoking and discussing Adele's course load for teacher's college.

"I'm going to have four courses three times a week," Adele complained.

"Don't worry, I'll miss you." Emma said with a toss of her blue hair.

Adele rolled her eyes and gave her a playful slap on the shoulder. She yawned and leaned back to stretch, curving her spine and accentuating the contours of her body. Suddenly, Emma stood up and grabbed Adele by the hand, pulling her to her feet. She then dragged her, bewildered and protesting, inside the house.

"What is it Emma?" Adele demanded, watching her push the grey couch over to her and begin placing blue towels over it. Then she disappeared into the other room, past the stained glass doors, where her studio was and come back moments later carrying a canvas, paints, and brushes. "Take your clothes off and lie down." she commanded Adele.

"No way!" she burst out incredulously. "You're actually going to paint me now?"

"Yes, right now. Please Adele, take your clothes off."

Adele crossed her arms. "I'm not sure this is a good idea." she said hesitantly. Yet her cheeks had begun to flush from more than just embarrassment.

Emma's brow furrowed in concern. "I'd never make you do anything you don't want to, you know that. But I've seen you naked before plenty of times ma chère, and I want your beauty to be known to the world. To be known to yourself." she emphasized. Seeing that she'd almost convinced Adele, Emma moved closer to her and kissed her cheek, while her hands tugged at the bottom of her shirt. Adele raised her hands and Emma slipped it off, followed shortly thereafter by her black bra. Then Emma knelt down and unzipped her jeans, tugged them off along with her panties, and stepped back to admire Adele who couldn't stop herself from grinning and giggling.

Emma smiled warmly in approval. "Voila! Now just lie down." she instructed Adele, who did as she was asked and tried to get comfortable while Emma set the canvas on the easel. "There, hold still!" she exclaimed as Adele turned to her side, tucking her right arm under her head while her left trailed lazily across her stomach. She held that pose for what seemed like forever, shivering slightly, yet feeling heat blossom below her waist every time Emma's piercing blue eyes traveled along the length of her body. With each stroke of her brush, Adele felt as if Emma was right there caressing her, and when their eyes met across the room, Adele's breath caught in her throat. She began to shift her position, for remaining still for a moment longer was torture, until Emma snapped "Don't move!" and Adele obeyed.

When Emma finally finished, she dried her stained hands on her shirt and brought the painting over to Adele who gasped, stunned at how the different hues of blue accented each part of her. There was a sweeping movement to the brush strokes, an urgent desire that flowed to the rhythm of Adele's wild hair. "I'll do the finer details tomorrow," Emma explained, rubbing her eyes tiredly, "but I think that's good enough for now."

Adele rose from the couch and simply tilted Emma's face down to kiss her deeply. "I love you." Adele murmured as she took a breath, right before Emma kissed her back, and the world outside of the two of them ceased to matter.

A few weeks before she was supposed to take her final exams to become a teacher, Adele caught a fever. She'd come home from the florist's shop down the street, bringing Iris's with her, and as the afternoon progressed she felt worse and worse. By the time Emma came home, Adele was lying on their bed, soaked in her own sweat and half delirious. Emma had immediately given her a cold bath to reduce the heat, and afterward she tucked Adele in, remaining by her side all through the night.

"It will pass by tomorrow." Adele kept insisting, but each time Emma quieted her and shook her head. In the morning, she tried getting up but Emma would not hear of it. "You're going to rest until you're better!" For the next few days, Emma postponed all of her meetings with potential patrons, she took care of all the household necessities, and despite her limited cooking skills, managed to make beef and vegetable ragout for dinner which restored some of Adele's strength. She ate slowly under Emma's worried and watchful gaze, licking her lips gratefully when she finished the meal.

"Your forgot to add port wine to the beef." she scoffed after Emma had taken the plates away to the kitchen and returned to sit on the edge of the bed beside her.

"You should be happy I could make it in the first place." Emma mumbled, running both hands through her hair.

"Yeah well, I'm still going to be relieved when I'm better because I don't think I could stand another minute of your cooking." Adele teased as she slipped lower between the covers. "I miss you sleeping next to me." she said after a while, resting her hand on top of Emma's. She intertwined their fingers and leaned in to kiss Adele's forehead. "I miss it too, but it's only for a while longer." Emma waited quietly, watching Adele's breathing become steady. The lamp on the bedside table softly cast its glow on her face, emphasizing the small cleft in her chin and her adorable cheeks. She parted her lips, as she so often did while sleeping, and Emma smiled tenderly, Intending to stand up, she moved her hand away, but Adele's grip tightened on it and her eyes fluttered open for a moment.

Emma leaned in, concerned, but her heart swelled with joy at Adele's words.

"I'm so glad I met you." she whispered, sighed contentedly, then closed her eyes again.

Adele remembered the day Emma washed the blue colour from her hair. She came home later than expected, looking thoroughly disappointed, her hair matted against her forehead and into her eyes. Adele kissed her on the cheek in greeting, taking her tote bag. "Anything wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"I didn't finish the mural and I couldn't get another extension, so I was decommissioned."
Adele's heart sank. Emma had spent months on it, first molding the plaster then outlining the intricate designs, taking care to specifically designate areas where the paint would overlap. Complications arose when the supplies hadn't arrived on time, and when the main paint finally did come, there was not enough of it. Adele hugged Emma tightly, rubbing her back reassuringly as she said "You tried your best, that's all that matters. If they can't appreciate your effort, they don't even deserve your art."

Emma pulled away, gazing at her gratefully. "You're a sweetheart."

"Don't even worry about it. I'm sure you'll do something even more amazing! In the meantime, I can cover our bills. Just sit down now and try to relax."

After dinner, Emma washed the dishes while Adele got ready for bed. She lay naked under the covers for a while, lost in thought, then reached for her notebook. She was still writing in it when Emma came in, and looked up at her expectantly. But Emma went straight into the bathroom and closed the door; after a while, Adele heard the water running in the shower. She tried to focus on the poem she was writing, choosing her words carefully, going over the ones she wanted again with her pencil, crossing others out, then being distracted by Emma dropping the soap and letting loose the foulest, loudest, longest string of curses Adele had ever heard.

"Is everything alright?" she called out after the water was shut off.

Silence.

She threw the covers off and was about to leap out of bed when the bathroom door opened. Emma stood in the doorway, drops of water still clinging along her neck and breasts, running down her legs. Her hair was no longer electric blue, but light brown, pushed back from her face, freeing her wild eyes.

"Emma..." Adele said hoarsely.

Emma was by her side in a few swift strides and clambering onto the bed as Adele's arms brought her closer with possessive strength. Emma entwined one hand in Adele's long hair and tugged it back, raising her face so she could kiss her deeply, while her other hand slipped between her thighs, stroking the slick warmth between them. Adele's hands had cupped her breasts and she pressed against them hard, a perfect rhythmic counterpoint to Emma's deft fingers slipping farther inside her.

Adele breathed out harshly and tilted her head back, exposing her neck to Emma's lingering, incessant kisses, grasping her shoulders when she felt teeth scrape her skin and shivering when Emma's tongue subsequently licked the same spot. She closed her eyes, breathing the faint soapy scent that mixed with the familiar smell of Emma's skin, glorying in the heat that burst forth and tingled all along her body as Emma suckled her breasts. Adele suddenly found herself tugging at Emma's hair with a cry of abandon as she felt her hot breath centimeters away from where she throbbed and ached for her the most. Emma purposefully stared into Adele's eyes as she leaned down, never breaking contact for a moment, even as her lips and tongue greedily, wickedly, caused Adele to arch her spine and convulse repeatedly.

Before she could catch her breath and still her quivering body, Emma parted Adele's legs wider and with startling speed and intensity, plunged her fingers even deeper inside. Her movements were demanding, ruthless, uncontrollable, and she was focusing so intently that she didn't notice Adele's lips inaudibly pleading for her to stop. Not until she'd clawed at her back as her thighs began to shake, her pelvis lifting clear off the soaked bed sheets, her piercing cry causing Emma's head to snap up as if she'd been doused in cold water.

Adele had grabbed her upper arms and was panting. "Please Emma, please, I can't-I don't think I can again, please..." and her voice broke into a whimper as Emma removed her wet fingers, trying to control herself. Adele looked afraid, uncertain-hopeful. Emma gasped as she recognized her gaze was silently pleading for her to do anything but stop, wanting to help her. Yet Emma remained hesitant, caught between the enormity of her desire and the danger of hurting Adele. Tentatively, she leaned in to kiss Emma, their lips fusing together, closing her eyes as she poured herself into it. When Adele opened them again, Emma saw a deep trust that humbled her. Unselfishly, Adele waited for Emma to make a decision, her hands trailing down the length of her spine, down to her backside, caressing it gently, then back up again to her neck, holding her head safely in place. She shifted and slowly pressed Emma back down onto the bed, interlocking their hands together as she rested her weight reassuringly on Emma's hips. Still waiting. Still trusting.

Then Emma grabbed her hips, pushing and pulling them until Adele's eyes widened in understanding. She began to grind against Emma, slowly at first, enjoying her shuddering moans, then began to speed up. She leaned down to plant kisses all over her face, her neck, on her breasts, circling her tongue over the already wet skin around her nipples, accompanied by Emma's encouraging hands roaming all over her. In the midst of their cries, the intensity building between them to the point of explosion, Adele was suddenly reminded of the poem she'd been writing. Closing her eyes, happy that she'd helped Emma find her release as well as happy that her own was tearing through her, the words seemed to burn in her mind:

Explore Me

thoroughly

ceaselessly

truthfully