A/N: So apparently I'm on a biweekly schedule for these updates now, given all that I have going on. I think there will be about 4-5 more chapters after this, so this story will wrap up within the next month or so. Enjoy this next installment!

16. Regina: Day 93

"Jefferson, you were amazing," Regina gushes as she pulls the man in for a bear hug, wrapping her legs around his waist as he picks her up. Seeing him again for the first time in more than four months makes her realize just how her much she misses her best friend.

"Thank you, Gina," Jefferson chuckles as he twirls her around before setting her feet back on the floor.

"Gina?" Emma asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Only he can call me that. Don't you dare think about it," she warns.

"Duly noted." Emma throws her hands up in mock surrender.

"You must be Emma," Jefferson says with a smile, extending his hand out to the blonde.

"Oh, sorry," Regina says. "Jefferson, this is Emma. Emma, this is Jefferson."

"You really were wonderful. The whole show was incredible," Emma comments as she shakes his hand. Regina watches as they silently size each other up — her best friend of a decade and fake girlfriend of a few months slash actual new friend.

Well, they're more than friends, but Regina hasn't been able to put a label on it. The past month has been a whirlwind, and they have found themselves settling into a routine now that they're living together that often includes cuddling together on the couch for a movie. While that semi-nightly trend had started so they could take selfies to post on social media, now that their relationship is very public, they don't have to try as hard to prove that they're a couple – only a few casual photos now and then are needed to show that they are still happily together. The self-made photo ops have become less and less frequent, but their cozy behavior hasn't changed in the absence of a constant camera presence. Last night on their way to the hotel from the airport, Emma had fallen asleep on Regina's shoulder in the backseat of their cab, and Regina couldn't help but feel a growing fondness for the woman. They had spent most of the day today before the Jefferson's show traipsing around the city as part of their planned "casual couple's getaway," as Gold had called it, and she had been having a great time exploring New York with Emma.

Regina tries not to think about how much she enjoys whatever it is she has going on with Emma. It's surprisingly easy and low pressure, and it works for her. The blonde makes for good company.

*.*.*

"Come on, one more," Regina says to her friends as she slides a fifty dollar bill to the bartender. "Keep the change," she tells him as he pours three more shots of whiskey, which she promptly distributes to Jefferson and Emma.

"Trying to get me drunk?" Emma teases as she raises her glass to clink with the others.

Regina says nothing but she winks, tossing back the shot in unison with the duo. "Come on, let's dance," she says, grabbing each of their hands and dragging them out to the center of the floor where the rest of Jefferson's cast is already out celebrating. His director had reserved the back room of an exclusive club in SoHo for the cast members to have an after party to celebrate the first weekend of their new Broadway musical, which has thus far received rave reviews.

Emma quickly disappears, loudly whispering "I'll be right back," before going off in search of a few bottles of water. Regina misses her presence immediately, but quickly settles into Jefferson's embrace, reminiscent of their awkward college dance parties.

"It's starting to look a little too real, Regina," he whispers in her ear, making her jump at the unexpected comment. "I know you, and I'm not buying that this is all an act. Is there something you're not telling me?"

Regina turns around to look at him with a shake of her head. He knows the truth, as he had been the one to convince her to do it. "There's nothing to tell. Everything is going along as it should be," she says, temporarily sobering up. "But need I remind you, there's an NDA. You can't be talking about this…especially not here."

"Fine, sorry. I'll play along," he says, rolling his eyes.

"Thank you."

"It shouldn't be too hard. You two are very convincing," he says, smirking.

"Of course we are. I'm a great actress," she smirks right back, but it turns into a genuine smile when she feels a hand wrap around her back and the soft lips brush her cheek.

"Miss me?" Emma asks with a dopey grin.

"Always," Regina says, staring right at Jefferson as she does so, silently challenging him.

"Well, I'll leave you to it. I'm going to go grab a beer. See you in a bit," he says, nodding subtly toward the pair as he leaves the dance floor. Regina turns around in Emma's grasp, drapes her arms around the blonde's shoulders and gives her a quick kiss, aware that they do have a few sets of eyes on them. Even though it's a private section for just the cast and their friends, the women are still a topic of conversation, given their growing prominence in the public eye, and all the cast members think they're an item. They have to keep up appearances.

*.*.*

"Get a room," Jefferson comments loudly as he walks by later in the night, casually hip bumping Regina as he passes by, startling the woman who had been otherwise occupied and oblivious in the middle of the dance floor. Regina removes her tongue from Emma's mouth long enough to tell him to fuck off and give him the finger.

"Do you want to get out of here?" Regina asks Emma, realizing that they had indeed just been making out and grinding in the middle of a club. She imagines that Gold will be very happy when photos inevitably are posted online in the wee hours of the morning, but if she's honest with herself, that thought hadn't been what led to her actions. They had been dancing and one thing led to another, and she had just done what came naturally to her. She's sure there are things she needs to unpack there, but decides 1:30am after a lot of drinks isn't the time to play self-therapist.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Emma agrees, looking a little flushed herself.

Regina can't resist and tugs on the blonde's hand, pulling her toward her and kissing her again. It's not long, but it's just as heated. When they separate, she leads Emma back out toward the entrance to the VIP room, and then out through the bar. She notices that a few people do double takes as the women walk by hand in hand, but she's glad they're not stopped by anyone asking for a selfie. As the doorman flags down a cab, Regina pulls Emma in for another kiss.

"Regina…" Emma says, though it's more of a groan.

"What?" she answers innocently. "You never know when the paparazzi may be lurking nearby. Gotta give them a show," she says, thanking the doorman and handing him a small tip as she slides into the cab. She gives the driver the address of their hotel, and as soon as the car is in motion she slides back toward Emma and crosses her legs, draping her top leg over Emma's as she leans up and kisses her cheek. Emma instinctively turns her head toward Regina, pulling the brunette even closer. Regina moans as she shifts more toward the blonde, silently cursing the minimal room they have in the back of the cab, as the front seats seem to be set back for abnormally tall people, resulting in very little leg room for them.

It doesn't seem to matter, as they're pulling up in front of their hotel shortly. Regina pays the cab driver as Emma opens the door and helps her out, thanking the bellman who opens the door to the hotel lobby. "Do you want to get a drink?" Emma asks her as they walk in, passing by the jazz lounge that's just off the side of the lobby.

Regina stops and looks at her incredulously. "Not even a little bit," she says, taking a few steps backward, and pulling Emma toward the elevator. She smiles at an older couple who exit the elevator on the ground floor before stepping inside. As soon as the doors close, she turns around and corners Emma against the back wall, picking up from where they left off on the dance floor and in the cab.

"Regina," Emma says, her voice scratchy as Regina's lips trail down the side of her throat. "There's no one watching us here. We don't have to pretend."

Regina doesn't stop what she's doing, as she replies, "so? Who's pretending?" reversing course and following her path back up the column of Emma's neck, under her chin and behind her ear. It occurs to her that they've never done this before. They've made out, a lot, in public places or at private events, but it's never moved below the chin, never anything more than the standard makeout session for PR purposes. Nothing that could possibly lead to something more. It had always been deliberate and well-calculated. This, she realizes, is new. "Are you complaining? Do you want me to stop?"

"God no," Emma squeaks out, just as Regina gently nibbles on her earlobe, finding a sensitive spot.

They both sigh as the elevator chimes and the doors open on their floor, though Regina isn't sure whether it's in relief or frustration.

Their room is only two doors down from the elevator, and Emma has somehow managed to already have her keycard in her hand. She opens the door and gestures for Regina to walk through first, and that's when Regina makes up her mind.

She doesn't want this to stop.

The door has barely latched behind the blonde when Regina pushes Emma against the door, her hands resting on the blonde's hips and her thumbs gently grazing under her shirt. She kisses her again, this time more fiercely and more in control than she had all evening, knowing exactly what she wants and taking control. She presses into her until their bodies are flush, shifting slightly so that she is, in essence, straddling Emma's right leg as her own right leg falls between Emma's thighs. She pulls back from the kiss just enough to move toward Emma's ear, as she had made note of how the blonde had responded to that action in the elevator just minutes earlier. She repeats the motion, biting slightly harder but then soothing it with a flick of her tongue. She smiles as she feels Emma's breath quicken against her, and it's then that she simply whispers, "fuck me."

"Regina…" Emma growls in an attempted protest, no doubt trying to sober herself up. "You're drunk. And straight. This is a bad idea."

"You're probably right on all three accounts, but tonight, I want this. I want you," she says, letting her hands trail around to Emma's back and down the swell of her backside.

Emma pulls herself away long enough to look Regina in the eye, assessing her and looking for any sign of hesitation. "Are you absolutely sure?"

She smirks as she walks backward toward the bed, sliding off her jacket as she goes, and removing her black thong from underneath her dress, tossing it in Emma's direction. "What do you think?"

"Fuck," is all Emma can say, quickly launching herself off the door and toppling on top of Regina as they fall onto the bed.

There's no going back now.

*.*.*

"Oh God," Regina groans as the light from the sun wakes her up and winces when she sees the time on the clock on the nightstand: 11:30am. Her head is pounding and her mouth is dry. As she sits up in bed, she notices her distinct lack of clothing and the memories rush back to her all at once. "Oh my God," she says, completely mortified by her behavior. How could she have literally thrown herself (and her underwear, she cringes as she remembers) at Emma last night? She's humiliated, and more importantly worried that she's ruined what had otherwise been turning into a good friendship.

She looks over to her side and finds the bed is empty. "Emma?" she asks self-consciously, pulling the bedsheets back up around her chest to cover herself up. "Em?" she tries again when there's no response, grabbing a robe from the end of the bed and poking her head into the bathroom. It's empty — completely empty — it's not just devoid of a human, but she notices that Emma's toiletry case is not on the counter where it should be. "Shit," she says, running one hand through her hair and another down her face, the fluorescent light of the bathroom not helping her hangover. She goes back out into the main room, noticing that Emma's suitcase is gone. "Fuck. Seriously?"

Her embarrassment turns to anger. Where the hell is she? Did she seriously just leave? Her thoughts quickly spiral downward after that, suddenly worrying that this was all some master plan Emma had to get the straight girl into bed as some sort of bizarre conquest. But, she also remembers that Emma wasn't the one who had instigated anything last night, and had even tried (albeit weakly) to protest it.

No, this is all on her, Regina admits. She's the one who initiated everything. But she's not the one who left to avoid the fallout, so her anger grows nonetheless, digging through her purse to find her phone. She sees a missed call from the other woman — but no voicemail — and a few text messages. 'On my way to Chicago for a few days. Got a last minute call early this morning. There's a huge convention for all their professional teams and their emcee cancelled. Neal got me the fill-in hosting gig but I have to be there by noon, so he booked me on a an early flight. Didn't want to wake you. There's aspirin on the nightstand. I'll call you tonight. We should talk.'

She relaxes as she reads them, her anger dissipating back into embarrassment as well as a slew of other emotions. She's happy for Emma, because she knows this will be a great opportunity to build her experience in sports entertainment. She's also dreading the conversation she knows they need to have. She's mostly just grateful when she sees that there is indeed a small bottle of travel-sized aspiring on what had been Emma's nightstand waiting for her. She walks over and swallows a few down, quickly dialing the first contact in her phone.

"Jefferson, I fucked up," she says as she calls him, needing advice from her best friend.

"What did you do, Gina?" he asks.

"Emma."

"What about her?"

"No, Jefferson," she clarifies. "I did Emma."

"Of course you did, honey You're a mess. Meet me at my place for brunch."

A/N: Well, that escalated quickly :)