AN: My apologies for the slow update! Things are busy but I promise to update weekly. Thanks so much for the reviews and follows, it really means a lot to me! I'm also reading other stories on here and am so impressed/inspired by the other writers. I'm grateful for the community here. Thanks for following me on this. coco
"Mom?! Mom! Breakfast time! Wakey wakey!" Teri startled from the sound of Maia's voice ringing through the room from the other side of the door. She shifted in the bed, groaning into the pillow as she peaked one eye open and glanced at the clock on the side table. 9:05. Shit. She rolled back on the bed and reached her hand out, intending to shake the sleeping woman beside her, but found only empty space. The realization that she was alone in the bed was enough to make her fully alert. She sat up and looked around the room. Definitely alone. No trace of left behind of the woman who she was sure was in her bed just hours before.
Teri ran her fingers through her hair and over her face. "2 minutes! Coming!" she shouted back, sliding out of the bed and searching frantically through her suitcase for jeans and a clean top. What happened last night? Why did she leave? When did she leave? Is she okay? Does she regret staying here? Does she think I pressured her into staying here? Once fully dressed, she quickly went into the bathroom, swirled some mouthwash around, and splashed some water on her face in attempt to hide the dark circles forming under her eyes.
"Teri, love, we're going to be late." Sherri called from outside the room. She's already with Maia? What is going on? Teri crossed the room, mentally preparing for whatever she was going to encounter on the other side of the door, and took a deep breath.
"There you are, sleepy head." Maia chastised, hooking her arm around Teri's waist and starting to move down the hall toward the elevator. Sherri grinned at Teri and gently nudged her shoulder as Maia moved the two past her. Teri scrunched her eyebrows, trying to convey her confusion through her expression, but gave up when Sherri showed no reaction. It was as if Sherri had no idea why Teri would be confused in the first place.
Maia chattered away at her side, explaining that Cierra would be at the hotel hopefully by the time they were done breakfast, and asking if the two older women were going to stick around for another night to explore the city with the girls.
"Mama is too old for that kind of fun." Sherri made up some excuse about needing to get back for the boys and confirmed that she would be leaving on the afternoon flight back to California. Teri nodded in response, seconding Sherri's reason for leaving – age and responsibilities. The three enjoyed their breakfast in the hotel, all idly discussing the show, the interview, Maia's new fling, life in general. Everything was as it had always been.
At first, Teri tried to read into Sherri's attitude and demeanor, hoping to get a sense of what the woman was feeling. But there was nothing out of the ordinary. The conversations were as light and seamless as usual, absolved of any anticipated tension. Sherri's body language was open and relaxed, casually leaning into Teri's space, moving a hair off her cheek or stealing a piece of fruit from her plate. It wasn't long before Teri let herself relax, hesitantly accepting that, despite their night together last night – which she was almost positive had happened, but couldn't be entirely sure – it hadn't appeared to scare Sherri away or cause any kind of irreparable damage to their relationship. No awkwardness, no tension. Just the same love, openness, and ease that had always existed between the two of them. Could it really have been that easy?
Just as they were finishing up breakfast, Maia had received a text indicating that Miss Thang had arrived at the hotel. They finished up quickly and went to greet their other daughter and costar, all very giddy and excited to fill Cierra in on the interview and their trip so far. After a bit of catching up, Maia and Cierra went off to Maia's room to plan their next 24 hours in the city, Cierra over-the-moon ecstatic about being able to finally see Broadway, and the older women went to their respective rooms to pack up.
About an hour and two long "be safe, don't go off with strangers, always have your phones on and accessible" mama-style lectures, Teri and Sherri were off to the airport, leaving behind two very enamored girls.
The cab ride to the airport had been mostly silent, but in a comfortable way. The little bit of talking they two had done mostly involved reassuring each other that it was okay to leave the younger girls in the city alone for a night, and then of course laughing about the fact that they were sure they were more worried than the girls' biological mothers had been. "You are a very protective mama bear," Teri joked as they finally took a seat outside their gate.
"I'll never deny that." Sherri laughed and started looking through her phone. After a few minutes, Sherri noticed that Teri had lounged back so far in her seat that she was practically horizontal. Her eyes were closed, but her shaking leg indicated that she wasn't actually asleep.
"Tired?" Sherri asked.
Teri groaned in response – an automatic reaction to that question.
"Maybe I shouldn't have stayed last night. I'm sorry if you didn't get much sleep."
So she did stay the night! I wasn't dreaming that! And she's actually admitting to it! But wait, does she really regret it? Teri's mind was suddenly very alert, tuning in to pick up on an subtleties that might be lurking beneath Sherri's words.
Sherri wasn't looking at the blonde beside her, although her tone of voice indicated that she was not angry but maybe a little sad at the idea that her staying over in Teri's room had perhaps caused the other woman to not sleep well.
Teri immediately sat up and angled her body toward the woman beside her, reaching her hand to cover the hand that held Sherri's phone, causing the brunette to look up at her.
"I actually slept better than I had in months, so please don't apologize." The seriousness of her tone surprised her as the words slipped from her mouth. Sherri didn't flinch, her eyes holding their gaze as she tried to process the weight of what the other woman had just said. There was a sudden tension between the two caused by the acknowledgement of the night they had shared, and the potential for what it had meant to each of them.
Overwhelmed by the palpable emotion that was starting to envelop them, Teri pulled her hand back and shook her head. "It's just me and stupid flights. You know how much I adore them." She smiled, forcing a light laugh to accompany that lie. Sherri smiled, nodded in agreement, and returned to looking at her phone.
The flight home was relatively uneventful. The women were mostly quiet, Teri watching a movie on the screen in front of her and Sherri reading a book for the majority of the flight. Upon landing, disembarking, and heading to baggage claim to collect their luggage, Teri was starting to offhandedly discuss the scenes they were shooting on Monday. It seemed like Sherri wasn't really paying attention, so when the two reached the conveyor belt to await their bags, Teri snapped her fingers in front of Sherri's distracted gaze. "Earth to my wife. You okay over there?"
Sherri snapped out of it and blurted out, "Kamar and I are taking a break."
"Oh," was all Teri could say, sufficiently caught off guard by that confession. She took a minute to assess the other woman's stance, trying to best gage what should be her appropriate reaction. When she could see no sadness or anger from the other woman, merely complacency, she carefully asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not really, I just thought you should know. There's been a lot going on at home, as you know, and there's been a lot of stress since the twins were born, so we just thought it would be best to take a break for a month or so. It's an amicable break though." Sherri was sort of rambling. Teri nodded in understanding. "We're both happy about the decision and I think it's healthy. We still love each other, but we need some space. I just wanted you to know so that if I was being too clingy or whatever, you could let me know and tell me to back off." She smiled sweetly and looked away, watching as the first few bags were being unloaded onto the belt.
"You? Clingy? Never." Teri scoffed, but quickly giggled and nudged the other woman gently in the side. She loves him. She just said that they are separating, but she loves him. Well, not separating, taking a break. What does that even mean? Do people really do that and then get back together? Even if they are separating, that doesn't mean anything for me. Do I even want it to mean anything? Ugh! Be a friend, Teri, be a friend. She just needs a friend.
"But for real, I'm here if you need anything. If you ever want to talk or hang out or help me sleep, you know, whatever, I'm here for ya babe." Teri winked, using sarcasm to hide the truth in her words, and pulled Sherri into a quick hug.
"Thank you, love. I appreciate it." Sherri pulled away when she saw her bag heading toward them. Before she could grab it, Teri leaned in and pulled the bag off the belt and placed it beside them, quickly reaching for her own as it had followed Sherri's on the belt. Sherri laughed and leaned in to place a kiss on the blondes cheek. "Always my savior," she beamed.
"Aw shucks. I do what I can for my love." Teri joked, turning to head for the door.
The two parted ways, Sherri being greeted by her mother-in-law with two baby boys in tow and Teri heading for a cab following a quick hello and kisses for the boys. As Teri settled in the back seat of the cab, she let her guard down long enough for her mind to process everything that happened in the last 48 hours.
The connection is unlike anything I've ever experienced before – that has to mean to something. There has to be a reason why she feels like an extension of me, but it's more than that. She makes me a better person, makes me want to be a better person. She's everything I could ever want and more in a companion. We just work. This must be what people talk about when they say that sometimes people just "click." But maybe that's all it is, a connection. A weird, unwelcome connection that binds the two of us together…
The words Sherri had said, about taking a break from her relationship with Kamar, echoed in her mind.
If she is splitting with Kamar, maybe this is our chance? Maybe we do try out this whole thing and see where it goes? Maybe it would be great. Maybe that's what she wants. Maybe that's what I want… But her kids. And my kids. And our job. And the reality that, regardless of the potential greatness of this relationship, there was so much at stake – and way too much to risk losing. There's so many reasons why this wouldn't work out.
Teri shook her head and pushed the thoughts from her mind. Too much to lose. As her heart ached at the realization, the corners of her mouth tipped upward into a slight smile. If this connection with Sherri, and this platonic professional beautiful relationship was all they would ever have, she was at least content with that. She has an amazing friend, fierce companion, and stunning counter-part to tackle the world with as her companion. She couldn't really ask for much more. And that, somehow, has to be enough.