It had been one week since Andy's speech and she couldn't wait any longer if she wanted. She was nervous wreck, but she was going to show up, unannounced, at Miranda's door and hope for the best. She stopped at Starbucks on the way and picked up a coffee in hopes of mollifying Miranda. When she finally arrived at the townhouse her nervousness, mainly about the unannounced part, got to her. Instead of knocking, or even walking up the small set of porch steps, she paced the sidewalk in front of the townhouse. When she realized the coffee was cooling with ever step she took, she took a deep breath and, taking Nigel's past advice, girded her loins and made her way the front door.
Miranda was seated in her den, reading Harry Potter 7. The house was completely quiet, her daughters were with their father. She couldn't erase Andréa from her mind, so she did the next best thing and embraced what she had of the girl. She had been reading for almost two hours and was beginning to have a thirst for Starbucks. She was reluctant, knowing if she stopped reading her mind would become consumed by Andréa's continued absence. She had attempted to take her mother's advice, attempting to come up with a plan for the girl's return, but without a proper image of the situation she was at a loss for how to move forward. So distracting herself from her reading, to make coffee, was out of the question. She was nearing the Battle at Hogwarts when there was a knock at the door.
Miranda wasn't expecting anyone and she was annoyed at the interruption. She marked her page, leisurely placed the book on the coffee table and slowly made her to the front door—whoever it was could wait. She did not bother to check the peephole, she simply swung the door open and one of her coldest voices asked, "What?"
Her tone caused Andréa to take a step back. As Miranda's eyes bore into her ex-assistant she noticed the white paper cup in Andréa's hand and an eyebrow lifted.
"Tall Latte, no foam, two raw sugars, hot as the sun."
Speaking of the sun, Miranda was sure Andréa's smile could give it a run for its money. The anger and annoyance she she previously felt was slipping from her body and she fought to hold on to it. She would give the girl a piece of her mind. She didn't trust herself to just say hello—her relief and joy second to her frustration and impatience—so she said nothing. She silently stepped aside and opened the door wide enough for Andréa to enter. She didn't wait for Andréa to remove her coat, nor did she shut the door. She walked directly to the den and waited.
She was already in the den before she heard the front door close. She had begun pacing at the sound of the closet door opening. Every muscle in her body stood still when she heard the same door close. The anticipation was messing with her breathing as she waited for Andréa to enter the room. The moment she appeared Miranda verbally accosted. "What are you doing here?"
Andréa didn't speak right away. Instead, she just looked at Miranda, a strange type of gratitude visible in her eyes. "Well, I thought you might want a coffee." Andréa held up the cup, then placed it on the table, next to the manuscript. "And this." It sounded like question. She pulled out a business card and placed it next to the cup. "My number and email."
"What would I need that for?" Miranda almost flinched at how her words cut Andréa, but she kept going. "Oh, I get it. So I can call the next time you disappear. Well—"
Andréa's face was light shade of pink. "Do you know how hard that was? Forcing myself not to call you?"
"Oh, I can imagine." Miranda's sarcasm was thick and false. She almost hoped Andréa could see the falseness of her anger. Almost.
"Miranda," she sighed, stepping closer, "I needed to make sure you had time, honest time, to think about everything." She took another step. "But I told you, I'm not leaving again, regardless of what happens next." One side of her mouth curled up, "Plus, there's something else I need to give you."
"Really?" Miranda was pleased her voice didn't sound as choked as if felt, it sounded as bored as she was hoping for.
"Yeah." Andréa slowly closed the distance between them save a step, raising her arms as she went.
"By all means, move at a glacial pace, surely you know how that thrills me." All the ice and boredom had gone, leaving nothing but a calm warmth.
Andréa laughed as her fingertips touched Miranda's cheek. She ghosted them over Miranda, leaving a trail of heat from her jaw to her ear, resting her palm on Miranda's cheek. Miranda's head acted of its own accord and turned into the caress. Andrea's smile widened.
"I have been dreaming of this for so long." Andréa admitted.
"Of touching my face? Really Andréa."
Andréa moved closer removing all but a whisper of space between them, and Miranda's arms found themselves wrapped around Andréa's neck. Miranda blinked as if she was surprised by her moments before burying one hand into the dark brown hair.
Without her heels on, Miranda had to look up to met Andréa's eyes, "Is this all you have been dreaming of?"
Andréa's smile grew bigger still, "No, but I thought this would be the best place to start." Her free hand was now on Miranda's hip, pulling her, closing all space between them. The hand on Miranda's cheek slid around to the back of her neck, softly rubbing shapes in the smooth skin. Miranda was sure she'd feel those lines for days.
Andréa leaned forward, resting against her forehead before touching the tip of her nose to Miranda's. Slowly, she slid it up to the ridge that made Miranda's face regal, before tracing over the top and trailing down until the tips of their noses were touching again, this time at a slightly different angle. They stood there, quiet and still, allowing themselves the time to enjoy this feeling of being wrapped in each other, the feel of the other's breath upon her lips, the very smell of the other woman bleeding into each of their veins.
"Miranda, I know there are still a lot of things we need to talk about. But I need to know we have time. That you will allow us to take that time." Her voice was so quiet, it was only their closeness that allowed Miranda to hear it.
"I let you in, didn't I?" Miranda could not help the smirk that appeared on her lips, that short sentence defining so many levels of their relationship. And then there was the ice that slipped into her tone, even in this she would be difficult. And she accepted that, because Andréa was ready.
Andy noticed that Miranda's normally ice blue eyes had beautiful specks of grey floating in them, along with something she had never seen so clearly in them before, something that made her whole body tingle. And she responded, not to Miranda's words, but to the feeling Miranda left escape with them. "Yeah well, I do love a good challenge."
Miranda wanted to laugh, but Andréa softly placed her lips on Miranda's and all thought left the fashion queen. One kiss, directly on her lips. Two kisses, one on each side of her mouth. Then another, on her nose. Two more, one over each eye, and then Andréa repeated the cycle, backwards, each kiss softer than Miranda could have ever imagined. Four kisses, the very definition of short and sweet. They just let their lips lay next to one another, still, until Miranda felt Andréa's smile parting her lips ever so slightly.
Andréa closed her lips around Miranda's bottom one, before running her tongue across it. When she released Miranda's lip, Miranda moved forward and kissed Andréa with such force that Andréa shivered before spreading her lips making Miranda's open in tandem and running her tongue along the inside of the editor's mouth.
Miranda felt the grip tighten around her silver hair, felt her hand return the favor, pulling the brunette even closer before their tongues met in earnest. Miranda felt her knees give and she was grateful for the hand that tightened around her waist, keeping her upright.
That kiss could have lasted for minutes, hours, or days, but for Andréa, if felt like a lifetime. A lifetime of denial, frustration, anger, confusion, and unrequited longing all dissipating with Miranda's moan of acceptance.
When the kiss ended, their embrace had not. Andréa spoke through her brighten-than-the-sun smile, "So, what were you doing before I so rudely interrupted your afternoon?"
Miranda didn't want to hide or stop the satisfied hum that preceded her, "I was catching up on some reading."
Andréa gave Miranda another peck to the lips, then one to the cheek, before meeting her eyes again. The same cloud of blue was there, only easier to spot.
Miranda bent and picked up the coffee and the manuscript. She handed the coffee to Andréa and took her free hand, "Come. I'm sure we can find something for you in the library."