Therese awoke with the light streaming in through a crack in the curtains on to her eyes. She felt so warm, so cosy, so happy that she didn't move for a couple minutes. She lay there, waiting for her brain to come back to speed. She yawned, blinked a couple times and rolled over. And then she realised. Realised why she felt so content and happy. For she had not woken up alone.

There Carol lay, her clear grey eyes twinkling at her in the morning light, her hair messy and untidy and resting on her bare shoulders. Therese could feel the smile building up as her heart beat a little more quickly as Carol opened her mouth and said softly "morning sleepy head."

"Morning," replied Therese.

She reached for Carol and stroked her shoulder. She could not quite believe she was here, at last. It didn't feel real, more like a dream.

"Have you been up long?"

"About twenty minutes or so," came Carol's gently reply as she stroked Therese's face with her elegant hand, her fingers lightly brushing over her lips.

"You should have woken me, sorry."

"Why would I have woken you? You looked so peaceful and relaxed, like all the troubles of the world had disappeared. You looked like an angel."

She moved forwards so they were barley an inch apart and continued, "Besides, it has been too long since I have watched you sleep, I've missed it."

Carol smiled and her lips brushed against Therese's in a gently sweet kiss.

"Hey, I wasn't done," said Therese playfully and she brought her hands through Carol's hair and pulled the woman closer and back into the kiss. She could feel Carol's mouth smile beneath hers as she kissed her.

Then she could also feel her stomach rumble, something that Carol hear too. Therese blushed but Carol laughed.

"You need breakfast."

"No, I'm fine," lied Therese, wanting to lie in bed for as long as possible with Carol, but her stomach growled again.

"Darling, you will be starving, seeing as we never even got around to eating what promised to have been a perfect dinner last night. And we didn't exactly sleep much now, did we?"

Carol smirked a little and Therese's blush deepened. It was true, they had plated up dinner the evening before, when one thing had led to another and they had ended up in bed tangled in each other's arms. Not that Therese would have changed that for the world but now she was beginning to realise her hunger.

"Sustenance is needed," prompted Carol, who slipped out of Therese's embrace, out the bed and stood up, wrapping herself in Therese's robe. "I'm going to take a shower and then I am taking you for breakfast." She then turned with a smile and left the room.

Therese smiled and rolled over in the bed. She breathed in deeply, she could smell Carol's scent lingering on the sheet, the warmth of where she had just laid. Therese breathed out she hadn't realised how tense and uptight she had been feeling, now she felt like she was in bliss. So happy, so euphoric.

Therese slipped out of bed and pulled the sheets back. She looked around her room smiling. Her and Carol's clothes lay scattered around. Flashbacks of the night came flooding back to her as if she were being hit by a wave. The long look, their heads moving closer and then the kiss that had started of the night. The kiss that had led to Carol desperately tearing at Therese's clothes, to the pair stumbling in to te bedroom and to Therese pushing Carol roughly on to the bed. Therese felt a thrill of pleasure at the thought. It had all lead to Carol's fierce and passionate kisses to her panting and moaning in her arms and to Therese waking up next to Carol in the morning.

Therese smiled as Carol came through the door, her hair wet and combed back, her figure wrapped in a white towel.

"Carol, now that is just plain mean," said Therese, giving Carol a stern look.

Carol's eyes flashed with surprise and concern.

"What do you mean?" she said quickly

"You looking like that, how am I supposed to resist you?"

Carol's face relaxed and a mischievous glint came into her eyes. "Well, maybe that was my intention. Maybe I don't want you to resist me."

Therese didn't waste any time, she took the three step towards Carol and reached for the towel, but Carol held on to it.

"Breakfast first."

She smiled at the look of indignatio on Therese's face and pecked her on the nose.

With a huge amount of will power, twenty minutes later Therese was sat in Carol's car driving to Carol's flat. Carol had insisted that they stop by so that she could change into some fresh clothes and do her make up. Therese new Carol too well to dispute this and so the pair of them drove up to Madison drive, parked outside and went up to the flat. Carol unlocked the door and turning to Therese Carol said "I won't be too long, there are some magazines around to amuse yourself, then I promise a good breakfast."

"Sure, sure," said Therese looking around.

The flat somehow felt a lot more welcoming now than it had done before. Maybe it was because there was no longer a sense of anticipation in the air or tension, but Therese felt that it appeared warmer and friendly. She walked over towards the huge windows at the opposite side of the flat in which Carol had placed a large mahogany writing desk looking out on to the busy street below. Therese brushed a finger over the smooth wood. How good Carol was at picking furniture. She, Therese, could honestly say she knew very little about furniture, but all the same, she could not deny that Carol had impeccable taste.

She looked at the table, which had a stack of letters sprawled across it when she spotted it. Her name, on one of the letters, that was half sticking out of an envelope. Therese frowned. Her hand twitched, but she stopped herself. These letters had nothing to do with her, she should not look. That would be a breach of privacy. The seconds trickled by. I mean, it did have her name on it. It wouldn't really be that bad… 'No Therese, don't,' said a voice in her head. Her name seemed to glare up at her from the letter, daring her not to look. Damn. She hesitated, then tentatively reached towards the letter. It was written in a loopy scrawl, very unlike Carol's writing. Her eyes swept across it when it came across:

My dearest, I know how you must agonise over the situation with Rindy and Therese but I promise things will be okay. It is impossibly hard to lose who or what you love (you of all people must know that I understand exactly how that must feel), yet know I am here, always. I will not deny that I can be overbearing sometimes and hard with you but it is because I love you. I love you.

Abby x

Therese stared at the letter, her heart racing. 'I will not deny that I can be overbearing sometimes and hard with you but it is because I love you. I love you.' What did that mean? Did Abby mean as a friend or as something more? Therese felt the clogs in her head spinning at a alarming rate, then she heard Carol footsteps approaching. Quickly, at the speed of light, Therese stuffed the letter back into the envelope and threw it back on the pile then, picking up a magazine from the neighbouring coffee table at random, opened it up and sat quickly on to the sofa, pretending to be deep in thought as Carol entered.

Therese looked up, her cheeks slightly red.

"Found something good to read?" asked Carol smiling.

Therese forced a smile in return and replied, "Yes, yes I did."