Sarah opened her eyes to sunlight coming in the opposite window. It took her a few moments of confused blinking to remember where she was. The events from last night slowly began to trickle back and she closed her eyes for a moment, smiling slightly.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a low, insistent humming sound coming from the floor, beneath the pile of her discarded clothes from last night. She fished through the pile, pulling her phone from her black clutch. The screen was glowing, a single name on the screen:

Beth

Before she could answer it, the phone stopped buzzing and a notification popped up in place of her sister's name.

New Missed Call (5)

"Holy shite, Beth…" Sarah whispered. She was about to slip off the pull-out couch when she heard Cosima beginning to stir over on the bed. The dreadlocked woman sat up blearily, looking around with squinting eyes as she struggled to fully wake. Sarah stood up, smiling, and moved to the bed.

"Morning, stranger."

Cosima blinked at her a few times, her eyes sliding open wider as she seemed to recall the events of last night. She put her palm to her forehead.

"Shit! Shit, Sarah, I'm so sorry. How drunk was I last night? Was I a complete idiot?"

Sarah sat on the mattress opposite Cosima, her hand resting on the blanket over Cosima's knee.

"Hey, hey, take it easy. You were alright, really. A little frisky towards the end there, but—"

"Oh no. Sarah, I'm so sorry, I was probably a complete idiot—"
Sarah leaned forward quickly and silenced Cosima's words with a kiss. The other woman inhaled sharply in surprise but it only took her a moment to lean into Sarah's lips. Cosima's hands cupped Sarah's cheeks and Sarah thought to herself that Cosima was a much better kisser when she was sober.

The kiss deepened and Cosima sank back into the pillows, Sarah leaning so far over she was practically straddling her. She felt her heart flutter at the way Cosima's fingertips brushed across the skin of her neck. Cosima sighed into her mouth as Sarah tilted her head at a different angle and something sparked low in Sarah's belly.

Before things could go farther, though, Sarah felt a low buzzing beside her leg. She broke the kiss, opening her eyes to find Cosima smiling with her eyes still closed. Sarah sat back, grabbing her phone, already knowing who was calling before she even saw Beth's name on the screen. She ran her fingers through her hair, smiling sheepishly at Cosima.

"Sorry, I, uh, I gotta take this. My crazy detective sister probably thinks I"m dead."

Cosima waved her hand, a small grin dimpling her cheeks, "Sure, sure. Go for it."

"Kay," Sarah whispered absently, biting her lip to hide a smile as she moved to the balcony outside. She found it remarkably difficult to tear her gaze away from the woman on the bed, but finally she managed, sliding the glass door closed behind her as she brought the phone to her ear.

"Beth, what on earth—"

"Sarah! Are you kidding me? Where the hell are you?"

Sarah winced as her sister's voice blared into her ear. She thumbed the decrease volume button, trying to keep her voice down so her voice wouldn't carry into the bedroom.

"At the wedding, Beth. The one you forced me into going to, you remember?"

"Well considering it was like pulling teeth to get you to go in the first place, dipshit, I didn't think you were gonna stay all fucking night. I woke up at five and you still weren't back, I thought I was gonna have to call Art to go find your body."

"Look, I'm sorry, alright?" Sarah whispered, "I wasn't planning on staying, but I met someone."

Sarah could practically hear Beth's anger stop in its path to be replaced by excited surprise.

"You did!? Who is it?"

"One of Delphine's bridesmaids, actually."

"Wow. Wow, Sarah. Going straight for the wedding party. I'm impressed, honestly."

"Oi, I didn't scope her out, alright? She approached me."

"Okay, okay. So who is it? What's her name? Is she cute? Did you sleep with her?"

"Bloody—" Sarah closed her eyes in exasperation at her sister's exuberance, threading her fingers through her hair. Beth was generally very excitable, but after the drinks and late night, Sarah wasn't exactly in peak form to deal with her high energy.

"Calm down, Beth, okay? Her name's Cosima. And yeah, she's gorgeous, and no, I didn't sleep with her. She was too boozed up for that."

The quiet on the other end was confusing. Sarah had expected excited squealing and a request for pictures at the very least, but Beth seemed to be surprised into silence. When she spoke again, she sounded both delighted and incredulous.

"Wait, Cosima? Cosima Niehaus?"

"Uh…I didn't get her last name but, probably, yeah. Not many people running around Ontario with a name like Cosima, you know?"

"Dreadlocks? And glasses? Talks with her hands?"

"Yeah, like mad," Sarah replied, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "Why? Do you know her?"

Beth started laughing, "Well, kind of. I know of her, for sure."

"What's so funny?"

"She and I went to Berkeley together. We weren't friends or anything, but I saw her around and I know that she had something of a reputation."

"A reputation?" Sarah repeated.

"Yeah, basically everyone wanted to get in her pants."

"Oh." Sarah wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that information.

"Hey, it's cool. I mean good job catching her eye, you know? I never talked to her but she seemed really nice. Even her exes loved her."

"Well," Sarah said slowly, "That's great to hear, I guess."

She turned to look back into the bedroom. Cosima was sitting up in bed, holding her phone in her lap, smiling to herself as she typed. As though feeling Sarah's gaze, she looked up, adjusting her glasses absently. Her smile grew wider but somehow more bashful as she saw Sarah watching her. Cosima gave her a small wave, her fingers uncurling in a jaunty motion, and Sarah felt that fluttering feeling again as she returned the gesture.

"Well listen, I'm gonna let you get back to it. Make good choices. Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Beth said, and Sarah could hear the smile in her voice.

"You bet. I'll be home later. How you feelin, you alright?" Sarah added as an afterthought.

"Oh yeah, the fever broke last night. I'm feeling fresh as a daisy."

"Alright then, I'll see you later, Beth. Call if you need anything, yeah?"

When Sarah went back into the room, Cosima was leaned back, propped up on her arms. Her broad grin was slightly mischievous and Sarah narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Alright, what did I miss?"

Cosima laughed, leaning forward and pulling Sarah back onto the bed. "You think I'm gorgeous?"

Sarah felt the blush travel from her crown to her toes, making her ears go hot.

"Oh. You heard that?"

"Mmmmhm," Cosima hummed, her tongue showing slightly between her teeth. "It's okay. I think you're gorgeous too."

Sarah's small embarrassed laugh was muffled as Cosima pulled her in for another kiss. Cosima's stomach rumbled before the kiss lasted too long and Sarah leaned back with a short laugh.

"I'm famished, too. You wanna go for some breakfast?"

Cosima nodded, hardly able to look away from Sarah's lips, "Yeah. Breakfast. I could go for some breakfast."

"Alright." Sarah kissed her cheek and slid off the bed. "You mind if I borrow something? I don't think last night's dress is really gonna work for me."

"Yeah, for sure, whatever you want."

After Sarah went into the bathroom to change, Cosima flopped back onto the mattress, an idiotic grin stretching itself across her features. She could still taste Sarah's lips, the other woman's musk lingering in her nostrils. She couldn't remember the last time she had so strongly not regretted bringing someone to her room drunk. She also couldn't remember the last time she had missed out on a one-night stand and been so happy about it.

First time for everything, Cosima thought with a happy burst of warmth in her chest.

Something told her that, despite her extensive experience, Sarah Manning had a great many firsts to offer her, and Cosima truly felt that she couldn't be more excited to discover each and every one.