Good morning, day, evening & night my lovely readers. Thank you again for your feedback to the last chapter. I'm happy you liked it as it is always challenging to write about intimacy without being tacky. Thanks as well to my proofreader. She's fab!
So, we are facing day 8 of this little journey. The chapter is shorter than the usual but you'll see why. Without further ado - enjoy!
Day 8
She turned without opening her eyes towards the bright gleam of light breaking the darkness of her bedroom past her heavy curtains which weren't closed. She revelled in the warmth provided by the sun on her face and the body close to hers. She could smell her, the faint perfume which reminded her of forest and grass in combination with the unique scent of sweet skin. Without much difficulty she could still feel her on her, around her and in her, all-consuming and everywhere. It sparked the need deep within her, but she knew they had time. This was only the beginning. The beginning of something? Or everything?
Clarke finally opened her eyes which gravitated automatically to the serene face of bliss and happiness close to her. Even if she wanted to, which she didn't, she couldn't take her eyes off of Lexa. The unfathomable magnificence and ravishing beauty kept her captured, slowed time and space around her, left her breathless. How on earth did she deserve someone like her? It's not the first time she'd wondered about that, but another thought, very much a premier notion shot through her, curling at her feet and bouncing back, settling deep in her heart, spreading a warmth and profound satisfaction. She finally acknowledged the feeling, and a blush spread over her cheeks and a cheesy happy grin took over her mused features. I love her, Clarke let herself think. I really do, she confirmed to no one but herself, biting her tongue to not spill her feelings into the silent confinements of her bedroom. She'd tell her at the exhibition Clarke decided and another thought crossed her mind. She had two days left to make Lexa say exactly the three words she herself wanted to say to her. And suddenly she understood Octavia. Understood how awful the bet really was. She couldn't tell her she loved her and hear it back for the sake of winning. Not anymore. She wanted to tell Lexa because she felt that way and she wanted to hear it back, because she felt that way. As silently as possible Clarke slipped out of the bed, put on a loose fitting long shirt and left the bedroom on soft feet. She padded over to the kitchen to retrieve her mobile. With one last glance at the sleeping woman in her bed she sent a message and started to create breakfast.
The smell of freshly brewed coffee invaded her dream and morphed her sun induced fleecy clouded sky into a dark storm, twister-roughed mass leaving her wondering of what happened until strips of bacon danced along the tornado front and she started laughing, still not really awake at the absurdity of the dream. Clarke lifted an amused eyebrow and stopped the stirring motion of the coffee drowning out the clinking sound of the spoon.
"Lexa? Babe?" She cooed, hoping to wake her.
"Mmmmm… 5 more minutes." She complained with a sweet smile on her full lips and Clarke leaned in to kiss them softly. Only a second went by before she felt Lexa responding, kissing her back with a soft tongue sliding over her lower lip. Clarke moaned quietly partly due to the smoothness of the muscle but more so due to the memory of what that particular body part was capable of. Half aware of the hot cup in her hand she slowed the kiss down and pecked a kiss on the forming pout.
"I brought you coffee and unless you're into pain I recommend you stop what you're doing." She breathed out, trying to calm her racing heart.
"Oh?" Lexa opened her eyes finally and stared into darkened blue orbs in front of her, grinning happily. "Thanks gorgeous." She settled on her back, pulling up the sheets to cover her nakedness before stretching out her arm to accept the mug. She sighed at the contact of the hot liquid in her mouth, eyes racking over long naked legs wondering how much more clothes Clarke had put on. Or not. "I can smell bacon. Resulted in a really weird twist in my dream." She said after a few more gulps.
"I might have also made you breakfast." Clarke smiled shyly.
"Really? Wow, I'll keep you!" She laughed, discarded her half empty cup onto the floor and pointed to the one in the blonde's hand.
"What?" Clarke let her take the ceramic out of her grasp and observed her repeating the same movement placing it on the ground. Lexa returned to her earlier position, not bothering to cover up this time and pulled her onto her.
"I want to thank you for making me breakfast." She whispered, already pulling her down into a searing kiss letting her hands and mouth do the talking. Her fingers wandered along creamy smooth thighs lifting the shirt and taking it off, leaving the blonde just as naked as her, before turning them over and settling between those fabulous legs once more. It didn't take long for Clarke to be on the edge of pleasure again and she willingly abandoned any breakfast plans in favour of this. Hands greedily kneaded soft flesh, lips hungrily sucked in the bundle of nerves, and Lexa devoured her completely. Not leaving a single part untouched, unloved or unattended. With a long animalistic moan the blonde finally let go and stepped over the border into free fall. Her body shuddered at the intensity of her orgasm and Lexa marvelled at witnessing her coming undone so undeniably, staying where she was breathing in the wonderful fragrance of arousal and release.
After a few minutes of silence a low chuckle escaped into the room and Lexa looked up to see Clarke watching her with a satisfied smirk.
"If that's your thanks for breakfast, I'm going to make it every day from now on." She grinned and let her head fall back onto the pillow. Lexa finally abandoned her favourite position and pushed herself up to leave a kiss on parted lips while soft laughter engulfed the pair. Lexa would happily love Clarke for the rest of her life. Even without getting food. The thought of breakfast however let her stomach growl in anticipation.
"Someone's hungry?" Came the prompt question whispered against the soft skin on her neck and Lexa shivered.
"I had lots of protein already." She smirked, waiting for a reaction, which came in the form of a huff and a slap against her thigh.
"Very funny. That won't last. Come on. We haven't eaten anything since lunchtime yesterday. Besides each other that is." They locked eyes and smiled naughtily at the statement.
"I'm happy with more of you." Lexa pushed herself up and straddled the lithe body underneath her.
"Wow, really? You just had more. If at all it'll be me eating you." The brunette moaned at the words, shifted slightly to grind onto Clarke's thigh, sliding her wet centre against the strong muscle. She whimpered in protest when the leg relaxed only to feel pushed further up. It took Lexa a second until she realised what Clarke wanted her to do.
"I mean it. I want you on my face." Clarke reassured and pushed Lexa's ass further along her body until she slowly settled down, carefully to not suffocate her lover. The first contact was so powerful Lexa saw stars exploding in front of her eyes and the tension built up inside of her like boiling water in a kettle. Slowly from her stomach to her thighs, circling like a burning sensation through her body, before it centred between her legs and stayed, getting more intense with each stroke of the talented tongue and every moan against her awakened nub, and she came just as hard as the night before, leaving her utterly breathless and numb without control of her heart or limbs. She slid off Clarke's body, her head unceremoniously hitting the pillow, legs non-functional half over the blonde's body and half on the bed.
"Wow!" She breathed out after a few moments of regaining control over her body and felt gentle fingertips caressing the soft skin of her side where her tattoo held sway over her flesh.
"Yeah," came the husky reply. "You're so beautiful." Clarke added after a second.
Lexa lifted her head and smiled at the words. "You are gorgeous." She then said and moved herself so she could settle against the warm body. They stayed like that for some time but the growl in their stomachs became louder by the minute.
"Ok woman. Feed me food." Lexa finally said and sat up.
"Follow me then." Clarke laughed and offered her hand. They climbed out of the warm bed, she redressed with the long shirt and offered Lexa one as well. After reheating the bacon and egg they comfortably relaxed on the couch, enjoying the food.
"Mmmm… tastes awesome!"
"Would have tasted better fresh."
"And me missing the sex? No way!"
Clarke only smiled at Lexa. She totally agreed.
"So what are your plans until the exhibition?" Lexa rested her elbows on the table with the mug in both her hands in front of her mouth, looking curiously at Clarke.
"I still have so much to do." Clarke sighed out loudly. "At least no deliveries anymore." She smirked at the memory of Lexa trying to take care of her a couple days ago.
"That's good." The brunette smiled but it didn't quite reach her eyes, remembering the same day. Lexa still felt awful for causing so much trouble.
"What are you up to?" Clarke asked back interested.
"Got to do some work as well."
"What are you writing about at the moment?"
Lexa froze, fork in her mouth, trying to quickly think of a topic to avoid telling the truth. She removed the fork and slowly chewed on the bacon, smiling apologetically. Clarke waited, sipping her coffee. She'd never asked her before although she was interested in her writing. She wanted to be part of Lexa's life and that included her work. She was hoping it wasn't some lame stock exchange article though.
"Um, it's a piece about modern psychology I guess." Lexa answered as close to the truth as possible.
"Wow that sounds intriguing. Can I read it?"
"Um, it's not finished yet." The writer tried to use the same excuse the artist had used when she'd wanted to see the drawing of her on top of Grounder Hill.
"Fair enough." Clarke backed off. "But once you've finished maybe?" She tried, wanting Lexa to understand she was interested in all of what she did. This wasn't just about sex. Clarke felt the connection in all its depth and intensity.
"Yeah. Sure." Lexa nodded, completely caught off guard by the interest in her work. Why now? She hadn't asked before. In fact, she hadn't asked at all about her current assignments. Was she trying to tell her something? Did she know? Lexa felt the old panic spreading through her at light speed and she hopelessly tried to swallow the growing lump in her throat. She needed to change the subject quickly. "So, um… you're busy tonight then?"
"Sorry, yeah. Busy until the exhibition." She put down her cup, misreading the brunette's signals as disappointment for not having time for her. "I can call you maybe?"
"That's ok Clarke. Your work is important. Can I do anything to help?" Lexa felt so conflicted by the various feelings bombarding her mind. She felt sad not being able to spend time with Clarke. She missed her already, but she also felt guilty for everything she had done so far to collect data for the article. Coming along with the guilt was relief for not having to lie any further to her, but then the realisation hit home; she wouldn't be able to see her at all and the vicious circle of her emotions reran once again, leaving her more desperate than ever.
"Hey, hey. Look at me." Clarke tried to cheer her up after seeing the brunette upset, knowing there was nothing she needed help with. "I promise once this exhibition is over, we'll spend proper time together. We could escape for a weekend?"
Lexa looked at her with the saddest green eyes she had ever seen on her, but the expression quickly changed into a sombre, neutral and serious one, leaving Clarke slightly confused.
"That sounds lovely. Let's talk about it when this is over." Lexa replied vaguely, knowing once the show was over, she had to come clean about the article. The fate of their relationship would depend on how strong Clarke felt about her. Judging on the last couple of hours, Lexa felt more positive for a future with the blonde, and she tried to focused on that optimistic attitude and smiled.
"Ok. So calling later is something wanted?" Clarke asked again a little unsure after seeing the emotions playing over Lexa's features.
"Definitely wanted. Actually requested!" She emphasized her words with a soft kiss putting her feelings into it as much as she dared.
"Good!" Clarke mumbled against the warm lips, feeling safe and reassured.
"Good." Lexa kissed her again and leaned back in her chair. "I should let you get ready. Don't want to cause any more trouble."
"You haven't caused real trouble. Stop worrying about it."
"Still. I should probably head over to the newspaper soon."
They picked up the plates and cutlery and cleaned it away, before walking back into the bedroom to retrieve their clothes.
"You want to shower before leaving?" Lexa turned around at the question and abandoned her search to look at Clarke with a small smirk playing at the corner of her mouth. "Alone." Clarke added knowingly.
"Ah shucks. Where's the fun in that?" She joked faking disappointment.
"Just two more days' baby and I'll be all yours." The blonde purred against a pouty mouth. Being reminded of the short time frame once more sobered Lexa immediately.
"Ok. You're right. I'll shower when home as I have to change anyway." She quickly looked around for her underwear having spotted her other clothes by now. When she focused back to Clarke her gaze fell onto the outstretched hand, with one finger elongated swinging her panties suggestively in front of her.
"Looking for these?" Lexa snatched the offered garment out of the laughing blonde's grasp and slipped into them. "Don't hold them hostage!"
"Wouldn't dream of it! Although I could use something to cuddle with."
"Ah that's so cute. Want my sweatshirt?" Lexa answered laughingly.
"You need it more than I do. It's cold. Want me to call you a taxi?" Lexa checked her mobile for the time and shook her head.
"Nah, it's alright. I'll walk."
"It's at least half an hour to walk! Do you want me to give you a lift? I have to drop off Raven's car anyway."
"She lives at the other end of the town, closer to my place than the gallery. Want me to drop it off for you?"
"Really?" Clarke stopped her movements overthinking Lexa's offer. "I mean if you're sure that would be great. Would save me some time."
"I'm sure as long as Raven's not some batshit crazy woman who will kill me for touching her car." Clarke laughed heartily at that but shook her head. "No, she's not. Otherwise she wouldn't let me have it either."
"You're a great driver, Clarke."
"I know. She thinks differently."
"She's wrong. Anyway, I'll do it. Gimme the keys and I'm out of your hair."
"You do know that's not what I want."
"I know babe." It was rare for Lexa to use any term of endearment but she felt so full of love for the artist she couldn't help it slipping out. The smile she earned warmed her heart even more. The way Clarke looked at her in that moment would forever be carved into her memory. Lexa wasn't sure, but she could have sworn she saw equally intense feelings in those blue eyes. Shaking the uneasiness off to revel more in the 'maybe' possibility, she linked their hands and pulled the blonde along to the entrance. "Call me when you have time beauty." She said, kissing her longingly.
"I will." Clarke whispered once they separated and let a set of keys fall into the waiting hand. They stared at each other. Unspoken feelings threatening to tumble out of their mouths, but both bit their tongues and nothing pierced the silence around them.
"Ok." Lexa finally said.
"Ok." Clarke managed as well.
"Talk to you later then."
"Yeah. I'll call, promise."
Finally Lexa extracted her craving soul out of the blonde's embrace; left a kiss on pink lips hoping it wouldn't be the last one she would ever be giving or receiving, and crossed over the threshold into the cold stairwell.
"Take care." She waved a goodbye.
"You too."
Clarke closed her door and leaned against it. Two days was long for her to not say 'I love you', but she felt waiting was necessary. She needed to finish her show to have her full attention on her girlfriend. Lexa deserved nothing less than 100% devotion. She finally pushed off the door and walked into her bathroom to get ready for the day.
Lexa climbed into the car and familiarized herself with it whilst her mind was still on the blonde two flights of stairs above. She has been so close to say 'I love you', but knew she needed to wait and be honest first. In order to do that, she needed to finish the article to let Clarke read it and explain it to her.
With some newly filled hope she could see the possibility of them surviving her assignment, if she handled it correctly. She set off to deliver the car to its rightful owner.
"How come you're here? Is Clarke ok?"
Lexa arrived at Ravens' shortly after, and was surprised when she was asked to come in, having planned to only drop off the car and leave as quickly as possible.
"Yeah of course she is. I offered as I live not far off and the gallery is completely on the other side of Arkadia. She's got loads to do." Lexa offered as an explanation.
"Ok." Raven eyed her suspiciously. After everything she had learned from Clarke over the last week and the early morning text from the blonde, made her really wanting to talk to Lexa. She recalled the message she'd woken up to.
GriffArt (8:43): Ray, remember our lunch conversation the other day? I'm calling it off. You win.
As long as they've known each other, Clarke had never once backed out of a challenge. This was the first time she'd waved the white flag and given up, and Raven suspected her reasons for doing so. She would get confirmation sooner than later she promised herself, but now first things first and although she'd agreed to do this together with Octavia, the chance offered to her this very morning couldn't be passed up. She glanced at Lexa and finally asked: "How are things?"
Lexa looked up from the offered coffee, having completely missed the internal dialogue of the other woman and smiled shyly, remembering the previous night and thinking about the morning.
"Ah that good?" Raven grinned, forgetting her 'best friend seriousness' for a second but sobered up quickly and fixed back on the other brunette. "You do know Clarke went through some shit the last couple of years? She told you, right?" Lexa nodded, wondering where this was going.
"So, I don't really need to say that but I will do it anyway. I love that girl like a sister. She's my family. And if you hurt my family, I'll hurt you. Capisce?"
Lexa's eyes widened at the threat and she ashamedly lowered her head. That's what this was about – the 'best friend's talk'. There was no question about it, so she quickly lifted her head again and nodded. "Yeah I do. I don't want to hurt her. I -" She stopped and bit her lip to avoid revealing something she hadn't even told the blonde yet. Too fresh were the memories of their blissful night. She needed to get a hold of herself. This was getting out of hand. She cleared her throat and added "Listen Raven, I know you guys are close and I respect that. I haven't realised in the beginning and I apologise again for the other night if I've made you or Octavia feel awkward. I didn't mean to."
"No need to say sorry. Just wanted you to know I'm very protective."
"Thanks for being such a great friend to Clarke. She's very special. I know."
"She's a tender cinnamon bun." Raven laughed, somewhat happy with the outcome of their conversation. Octavia might have interrogated Lexa more about her intentions, but Raven trusted Lexa based upon the adoration she saw in the deep green eyes when she talked about their mutual companion.
"Right." Lexa laughed as well, relieved the tension was subsiding and she'd dodged another bullet. She was so exhausted. All she wanted was to leave, finish the article, have an honest heart-to-heart conversation with Clarke, and reveal her true feelings.
"I need to go now. See you."
"Yeah alright. Have a nice day, Lexa."
"You too Raven."
Lexa left and walked home as quickly as possible sending a message to Anya to not worry about her and to tell her she'd be in the office as soon as possible.
Clarke was busy cleaning out paper and wrappings when she heard the front door open. Cursing under her breath for forgetting to lock it, she quickly made her way back to the front to address the visitor. Only when she rounded the last corner, did she see Raven leaning lazily against the counter next to the till, playing with her phone.
"Ray?" She asked walking over to her friend.
"Clarke." Raven grinned at her, putting her phone back into her pocket.
"What are you doing here? I'm sure I haven't forgotten to meet you as I'm crazily busy."
"Nope you haven't. But you've sent me THE message."
"Oh that." She blushed under the interrogative glance of her closest friend.
"You forfeit? Is it really that serious?"
"Yeah, she's the best thing that ever happened to me." Clarke paused, thinking about the reasons she had sent the message earlier. "I can't risk losing her over stupid shit like that. And besides, I want to hear the words because she wants to say them to me and not because I make her say them."
"As if you could make her. We both know Lexa is headstrong. You would have lost anyway." Clarke only shrugged not biting. Raven looked surprised at her. "Really? Not even that gets a reaction? I have insulted your ego, Griffin. We both know you and your ego are bigger than Grounder Hill."
"I don't want that bet on the table anymore. You win and I lose. I don't care I'm losing. Lucky me we didn't fix a betting debt."
"Lucky you indeed, but let's be honest here, you've not only lost the bet."
"What do you mean?"
"Why are you really quitting?"
"Why do you need to know?"
"Cos I want to hear you say it before I let you off the hook."
"Fine." Clarke turned, checking for others around her, but seeing the gallery was empty. "I don't want that bet anymore cos I'm in love with her."
"So in other words, you've lost your heart?"
"Yeah." Clarke smiled calmly. "You could say that." Raven looked at her mirroring the smile.
"Good thing I told her not to hurt you."
"What? What did you do that for?"
"Cos you're my family."
"What did she say?"
"She reassured me she doesn't want to hurt you."
"I think she's just as deep in this as I am, but I don't want to rush anything. We had an incredible day and before you ask, you dirty perv, yeah we also had an awesome night."
"Woohoo! Clarkey got laid real good!" Raven did a little happy dance on one leg before resting against the counter again and asking more seriously: "When will you tell her?"
Clarke glared at her in embarrassment before she replied "After the exhibition. I'll take some time off and we can go on a mini break or something."
"Sounds good."
"You think I'm rushing this? Should I give her more time?"
"Girl, if she isn't sick of seeing your sorry ass nearly every day for the past week, I'm sure you don't need to worry. Besides a week in lesbian time equals what? A month?"
"Where did you read that?" They laughed and Raven shrugged. "No idea."
"Right. Well I really need to get back to work Ray. Are you still coming on Friday?"
"I'm not going to miss the exhibition. One of these shows will be your breakthrough and I want to witness that."
"Good. I asked Lexa to be my date."
"Oooh. Nice. Octavia coming as well?"
"Yeah, she said she would. I'll remind her later."
"Alright C. I'll let you get back. See you latest on Friday!" Raven waved and slipped out through the front door. Clarke followed her with her eyes until she couldn't see her anymore. It had felt good to voice out her feelings. She was not someone who fell easily in love and seeing that she had, made her wonder if Lexa had too. It clearly was possible in such a short time. She never had thought the bet would turn out like that. Though, if she was honest, she felt the connection between them on the first night, in the club. Maybe the concept of soulmates wasn't a fairy tale?
She went over to the door and finally locked it, smiling to herself. She was one lucky bitch, she thought, walking through the gallery to the back room to finish her work.
On her way to the office, Lexa stopped at the coffee shop around the corner to return Anya's favour from earlier in the week. She was just getting in line, texting her friend, when an angry voice cut through the chatter of the seated patrons.
"I did not want normal milk. I requested soy milk."
"Sir, this is soy milk!"
"Oh, then it tastes funny."
"No Sir. Our milks are all fresh."
The woman next to the man, smiled apologetically to no one particular, and took the cup out of his hands to try herself.
"Maurice, this tastes perfectly fine. Stop making a scene, please." She begged after returning the coffee.
"No, have you tried your coffee? I bet they screwed that one up as well? Can you take them both back and do new ones?"
"God Maurice, please." She tugged at his arm, desperate to leave the store as all attention was now on the couple.
"Well if you don't want to make us new coffee, I want my money back." He exclaimed angrily, trying to get rid of the woman pulling him towards the exit. Lexa just stood astonished and surprised watching the show. After a few more moments and more heated words the man got his money back and the couple left. Lexa followed them with her eyes, witnessing a huge fight on the street, which ended with the couple leaving in opposite directions. She cringed at the display but was quickly distracted again as it was her turn to order.
"Ah, the lost daughter." Anya leaned back in her seat when Lexa strolled into the office.
"Haha, very funny." She plopped into her chair and pushed the take away cup over to her friend.
"For me? Wow, you must be in a good mood to willingly spoil me." She winked and accepted the treat.
"Not that it is any of your concern, but I am, in fact, in a good mood."
"Wait after all those years? That's how you're treating me?" She crossed her arms and pouted over dramatically making Lexa laugh in delight.
"Ok fine. What do you want to know?"
"Where were you last night?"
"At Clarke's."
"What did you do?"
"We went to Polis Island."
"I meant last night."
"Really?"
"Yeah!"
Lexa blushed furiously and Anya had her answer. "I figured. I'm glad your dry spell is over. Most literally." She laughed at her own joke while Lexa pulled her face into an annoyed mask of embarrassment.
"Thanks. I guess."
"You're welcome. So where are we now with the article?"
"Well. I haven't written anything else since you'd read it, and Nia had requested more feelings."
"Ah, shitfest. I remember. How come you're so calm about it?" Lexa shrugged and was about to answer when the office door opened and the devil herself strolled in.
"Nia." Anya acknowledged the woman, whilst Lexa only lifted an eyebrow in annoyance.
"Woods! There you are! What have you got?" Nia leaned against the desk, crossing her arms.
"I still have two days."
"From what I've been told, you don't need two days, you'd need a life time to get rid of her."
"What?" Lexa glanced confused to Anya and back to Nia, not liking the turn of the conversation. How did she know of the gender? She'd always referred to Clarke as neutral as possible.
"True or not you spent last night at her place?"
"WHAT?" All possible alarm bells went off in Lexa's head. Was she being followed?
"I've some resources too little girl." Nia sneered. "I'm not paying you to get fucked! Unless you're planning on being an asshole from now on, I suggest you look for a new job." Nia turned on her heels and was almost through the door when she turned back, fixing a murderous glare on Lexa. "I guess you aren't too keen on keeping your position, now that you've found" – she made quotation marks with her hands in the air – "'true love', so I'll make it more interesting." She turned to look at Anya. "If you can't get her back on track, you both lose your jobs. This magazine is done employing incompetent idiots." With the door slamming into its lock the fury was gone.
"What the -?" Lexa stuttered.
"- hell just happened?" Anya finished, just as stunned herself.
Sooooooo... the plot thickens... taadaaa... Sorry for the cliffhanger. Or not. ;-)
Our precious Lexa is faced with a very hard decision. Stick with her friend or run to her lover? Stay tuned to find out next week. Until then - stay happy and safe. Cheers, J