"Good morning, babe." Franky smiled. She had caught the blonde watching her sleep.
"Good morning," Bridget stretched, then settled back into the younger woman's embrace. "What time do you have to go in today?"
"Not as early as yesterday." The brunette propped herself up on her elbow for a second to look at the clock on the bedside table. "I've got an hour or so."
The restaurant didn't serve breakfast on the weekends. Franky had done this for two reasons. The first was that she wanted to be able to sleep in with Bridget, and not disturb her on the couple of days she had off. The second was that she figured most of their morning business would be people stopping in on the way to their Monday to Friday office jobs. Eventually, she hoped to hand some of the weekends over entirely to Shayne, and Jenna.
"Good." The blonde pulled her in for a kiss.
It was slow, and sweet, and it reminded Franky why it was important sometimes to slow down when things in life were getting too busy.
"I've been neglecting you," the brunette murmured when their lips parted.
"No, you haven't." Bridget understood that Franky had been busier than usual lately, and she knew that after the restaurant was fully up and running with all the kinks worked out, they'd get to have more time together.
"I feel like I have." The brunette brushed her nose against Bridget's cheek.
"You took me on a date just this week." The blonde studied the other woman's face.
"And got you sick." Franky gave her an apologetic look.
"Not your fault. Besides, you looked after me very well while I recovered, and you took care of Em so that I could rest." Bridget saw a flicker of a smile on the younger woman's face. "If anything, I've been neglecting you."
The blonde connected their lips. It was slow, and deep, and she could tell that Franky was two seconds away from taking control of the situation. Bridget reached up, and gently pushed the brunette's shoulder so that she moved onto her back.
She moved to straddle the younger woman, then leaned down for another slow kiss. She felt Franky's hands on her sides; the brunette's fingers trailing up towards her ribcage, taking the fabric of her shirt along with them. Their lips parted for a brief second as Franky pulled the blonde's shirt the rest of the way off, and discarded it over the edge of the bed.
The brunette moved her hands down Bridget's back, and into her pants. She heard the older woman whimper as she continued down her thighs.
The blonde shifted her weight onto one knee, then the other, allowing Franky to rid her of her pants.
"How am I completely naked, and you still have all your clothes on?" Bridget asked with a giggle. She had started this, and yet the brunette clearly had the advantage right now.
"Skills." Franky gave her a small grin. "You want mine off?" She heard the blonde make a small sound as she placed a kiss on the older woman's jaw. "Take 'em off, then."
Bridget sat up, pulling the brunette along with her. She wasted no time in pulling Franky's shirt up, and over her head, letting it fall to join hers on the floor beside the bed. As she connected their lips again, she felt the younger woman's hand move over her hip, and come to rest on her folds.
Franky let the tip of her finger slip just barely inside the blonde, and heard her let out a shaky breath. The brunette was quiet, listening to the other woman's breathing change as she pulled her hand slowly forward, her finger lightly circling around her clit, then pushed it back again. She did this a few times before Bridget spoke.
"I'm the one who's supposed to be looking after you right now, you know." She lifted her head from where it had been resting against the younger woman's shoulder, and briefly held the brunette's gaze before her eyes fluttered closed again. Bridget both loved, and hated how easily her wife could turn the tables in this situation.
"And you are." Franky turned her head, and placed a kiss on the side of her neck.
"I want to make you feel good, and give you what you need." She reached up to tangle her fingers in the brunette's hair.
"And who says this isn't what I need?" Franky gave her a small smile when the blonde lifted her head again. "It doesn't matter to me who's fucking who. What's important, and what makes me feel good is having you close."
Bridget gave a small nod as her eyes fluttered closed, and her fingers tightened their grip in the brunette's hair.
"If you want me to let you take over, I will," the younger woman said softly as she kissed the sensitive spot below the blonde's ear. Who was in control wasn't important to her, but she thought maybe right now, it was to the other woman.
"I'm okay," Bridget said with a small shake of her head. If Franky was happy, then so was she.
The brunette didn't pick up her pace, but each time she pushed her hand forward, she let her fingers dip a bit further into the older woman, and made sure that her palm brushed against her clit. Franky was in no hurry, and she was relishing the quiet moans and murmurs coming from the blonde, and the feel of Bridget's body moving into her touch. This time, she let her fingers sink all the way into the other woman.
"You're so wet." The brunette smiled, loving that she could have that effect on her wife.
"It feels good." Bridget knew that response came nowhere close to explaining everything she was feeling at that moment, but her mind was quickly shutting down, and only focusing on the other woman's touch.
Franky continued slowly, making sure to reach deep inside the blonde each time her fingers entered the older woman. She could tell that even though her touch was light, it was working for the blonde. She felt the muscles in Bridget's back tighten when her breath hitched, and the ones in her thighs when she made contact with her clit.
The blonde rested her head against the brunette's shoulder, letting it fall to the side. She felt Franky doing the same as she had done the previous morning; gently biting, then soothing the skin with a kiss. It had always been something that she noticed the brunette liked to do to her, but lately it seemed like the younger woman was more into it than before. Bridget wasn't complaining. Franky had found, in her opinion, the perfect balance of pain, and tenderness.
"I just need...mm" The blonde had felt the warmth building in her stomach for a couple of minutes, and she just needed a little more to push her over the edge. Her thought was cut off however by the younger woman's movements.
"This?" Franky picked up her pace a bit, and made sure to reach deep inside the other woman. She could tell that Bridget had been close for awhile now.
"Yeah. Fuck." The blonde pushed herself into Franky's hand once, then again, then one final time before she felt her orgasm come over her.
The brunette smiled, as she held onto Bridget. She loved the little whimper that the older woman usually made just before she came, and the sigh of content as her body began to settle afterwards.
Bridget lifted her head, and connected their lips. She wasted no time in pushing Franky down so that she was laying on her back with the blonde once again on top of her.
As the older woman began to work her way down the brunette's body, Franky closed her eyes, and let her head fall back against the pillow. She knew where the blonde was going, and that she probably wouldn't last long.
She felt Bridget take hold of either side of her pyjama pants, and she raised her hips slightly to help her remove them. Franky was expecting to feel the blonde's mouth on her almost immediately, but instead she felt her leg being lifted so that it rested on Bridget's shoulder, then a soft kiss on her ankle, and one a bit further up on the side of her calf.
She smiled, and opened her eyes. The older woman was watching her as she made her way up her leg. Franky wrinkled her nose a bit, and let out a small giggle, causing the blonde to smile against her skin as she placed another kiss on the inside of her knee. The brunette loved these silent conversations.
After a moment, Bridget settled in between the younger woman's legs, leaving one hooked over her shoulder. She knew that Franky had been very patient, and she wasn't going to make her wait any longer. She lowered her head, and ran her tongue up the length of the brunette's folds before she wrapped her lips around her clit.
Franky reached down, and rested her hand against the back of the blonde's head. It was only a second until she felt the warm caress of the older woman's tongue. She ran her hands through Bridget's hair, her grip tightening a bit when the blonde hit a good spot.
"Yes." She felt the older woman's fingers at her entrance, and encouraged her.
Bridget slid her fingers slowly inside the brunette, and curled them as she pulled back out. She could already feel small flutters inside Franky.
The younger woman reached up with her free hand, and squeezed her own breast. Her movement had coincided perfectly with the blonde's fingers, and she felt herself clamp down a bit. Her mind wanted to prolong it, but her body had other plans. She moved against Bridget's mouth, and fingers as her breathing picked up.
It was just a moment later when Franky couldn't hang on any longer. She came hard, and after the initial wave had passed over her body, she found herself looking at the ceiling, trying to catch her breath.
"Hey," Bridget said softly, as she appeared in the brunette's vision.
"Hey." Franky smiled at her, and pulled her down for a kiss. "I love you."
"I love you, too." The blonde gave her another quick kiss.
They laid there in each other's arms for a moment until the sounds of Emily waking up made their way into the room. They'd heard her go into the living room, and turn on Saturday morning cartoons, and knew that it wouldn't be long before she'd come looking for them, and wanting something for breakfast.
"We should get up," Bridget said with a sigh. She heard Franky make a small noise, but neither of them actually made a move to get out of the bed. "Are you taking Em with you today?"
"I'm not sure." The brunette stretched. "Honestly, I kind of knew I had her for the week, and then last night I was so tired we didn't even talk about today. Did you have something planned that you need me to take her today?"
"No." Bridget shook her head. "Actually, I was thinking that if you hadn't already promised her anything then I'd like to have a day with her. I might take her to the reserve or out for a treat."
"That sounds nice. I think she'd like that." Franky hoped that Emily would go without a fuss. The young girl loved her aunt, there was no question about that, but asking her to choose between the restaurant, and anything else, had become a challenge lately.
"I hope so." The blonde had the same concerns, but didn't voice them either. "I'd like to have a talk with her. She's going back to school on Monday, but I just kind of have an uneasy feeling about it."
"You think she won't go." It was a statement rather than a question, and Franky had to admit that she had had the same thought multiple times throughout the week.
"Honestly? I'm worried there's a real possibility that she won't. Not without a huge fight, and tears anyway. I just want to see if she'll open up to me a bit." Bridget remembered how it had taken her niece a little while to finally talk about how she missed her parents, and she didn't want this to go on for that long.
"She will. She trusts you." Franky gave her a small kiss. "I'll try to be home earlier tonight, then maybe we can all do something together before she goes to bed."
"You mean you want to cheat at Junior Monopoly again?" The blonde loved to tease her about that game ever since she'd landed on the movie theater and refused to pay the ticket price because it didn't say which movie was playing.
"It's not cheating. It's called house rules." The brunette tickled Bridget's side, making her giggle.
"Come on, let's go eat." She patted Franky on the butt, then rolled out of bed.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." The brunette caught the grin on the older woman's face as she picked up the double meaning of her words.
"What do you think about the two of us having a little day out today?" Bridget asked the young girl as the three of them were eating breakfast.
Emily smiled as she took a bite of her toast, but quickly turned serious.
"What about Franky?" she asked, as she watched the brunette sip her coffee.
"I have to work today, bub," she said as she sat her mug down on the table.
"You said I could come to the restaurant with you whenever I don't have school." The young girl had stopped eating.
"Yeah, I did, and you can," Franky glanced at the blonde, "but you can also choose not to if there's something else you'd rather do." She hoped Emily would get what she was saying. "I think you and Auntie will have a fun day together."
"I can still come other days?" The young girl watched Franky closely.
"Yeah, of course. Just because you choose not to come one day doesn't mean you can never come again." The brunette wanted to make it clear that Emily was free to choose other things. Even she herself didn't want to be stuck in a kitchen all the time. "A day off doesn't mean you love it any less."
That seemed to be what the young girl needed to hear.
"I want to go with Auntie Bridge today," she said with a smile.
"Good." Franky returned the smile. "I'll want to hear all about your day when I get home."
"Where are we going?" Emily asked as Bridget fastened her into her seat in the car.
"Well, winter is coming, and it's getting a bit cooler out, so we need to get you some new warmer clothes. I thought you might like a new jacket, and a couple hoodies. We should get a pair of warmer shoes, too." The blonde double checked that the seat belt harness was snug. The clothes that Emily had when she'd moved in with them, looked to be at least a year old, and she hadn't grown a lot, but enough that Bridget thought she'd be more comfortable in new ones. Also, now that her niece was starting to have her own opinions on what she did, and didn't, like to wear, she wanted to let her pick out some more of her own things.
Emily gave her a look that suggested that shopping for clothes probably wasn't what she'd pictured for a fun day, but the blonde just gave her a reassuring smile. She had better stuff planned later on. This was just something that had to be done.
The young girl was mostly quiet on the way to the store, but Bridget didn't think it was anything to be concerned about. Emily was usually quiet when they drove unless they had just picked her up, and she was telling them something exciting about her day.
When they arrived at the store, the blonde led them to the children's clothing department.
"Alright, love, let's check out the hoodies first." Bridget had intentionally not gone to either the boys, or girls section. She'd learned last time that the young girl liked to choose things from both.
"I can get whatever I want?" Emily asked, looking up at her.
"We're here to get hoodies, and boots, but yeah you can pick what you want." The blonde wanted to be clear that she wanted her niece to stay within those categories. She didn't want to go home with a bunch of t-shirts when that wasn't what was needed right now.
"I want unicorns, dinosaurs, and Ninja Turtles." Emily said it with such confidence that Bridget figured that must have been what she'd been thinking about on the drive there.
"Lead the way." The blonde let go of the young girl's hand and followed her between the racks of clothes while she searched for exactly what she wanted.
It wasn't long before Emily had picked out a dinosaur hoodie that looked more like a costume, with fabric spikes sewn up the back and onto the hood, a unicorn hoodie, complete with a horn, a Ninja Turtle hoodie, a new warm jacket, and a pair of neon green colored boots. Bridget had decided while they were there that they might as well get her a couple new pairs of pants as well. Her summer shorts were fine since it didn't really matter with those if she grew taller, but the blonde had noticed the other day that she'd grown just enough that she'd soon need longer pants.
"Can I get pink nail polish?" Emily had spotted the display, as they walked by the cosmetics section.
"Sure." Bridget didn't mind getting her a treat once in a while.
"This one." The young girl held up the brightest neon pink on the shelf.
"Oo, that's bright." The blonde loved that her niece wasn't afraid to stand out.
"Is that okay?" Emily suddenly seemed unsure of her choice.
"Of course!" Bridget felt bad. She hadn't meant to discourage the young girl in any way. "It'll go great with the other colors you have."
She dropped the bottle into the basket with the rest of their purchases, and headed to the checkout.
"Where would you like to go for lunch?" the blonde asked while they waited for the cashier to scan all their things.
"McDonalds!" Emily said with a big grin. "I want a cheeseburger."
"Sounds good!" Bridget was glad that even though the young girl was used to Franky's cooking, which the blonde assumed was fancier than the average person made at home, she was still just a kid who loved her fast food Happy Meals, too.
"About time you showed up," Franky said as she caught Shayne entering the kitchen out of the corner of her eye. She had just started cooking the first brunch orders.
"Wha-" He checked the time on his phone. "You said ten thirty, right?" He had thought he was actually a few minutes early.
"I did." The brunette turned her head, and smiled at him. She liked messing with him just to keep him on his toes.
"Fuck, Franks." The young man shook his head.
"How did Jenna do yesterday?" Franky had left them to finish up the dinner service while she worked in her office.
"Good, yeah, it was fine." He gave her a quick smile when he noticed that she was still watching him. "Like you said, she's fine when she's not under a lot of pressure."
"Alright." Franky watched him for another moment before she went back to cooking. "I was thinking that tonight, if everything is going well, I'll leave you guys to finish off the service like last night. I told Gidge I'd try to spend some time with them before Em went to bed tonight. You good with closing up?"
"Yeah, just make sure everything is turned off, and that all the doors are locked." He was looking forward to the chance to prove to the brunette that he could handle responsibility, and be more of a partner, and less of just an employee.
"And make sure the gas is shut off." Franky nodded towards the main gas shut off valve. She knew it wasn't necessary, and that as long as stoves, and ovens were turned off then everything should be fine, but she'd rather be overly cautious than to have some kind of a fluke accident happen.
"Yeah, I included that in 'everything'." He gave her a reassuring smile.
"Good." Franky began plating the meal she'd been cooking. "Let's get started on the next couple tickets."
Bridget, and Emily had spent a couple of hours at the park playing frisbee, and having a game of cards. The day had turned a bit cooler since the morning, so now they were home, having an afternoon pyjama party.
"Can I paint your nails now?" The young girl held up the new bottle of nail polish.
"Sure. Let's pick out some cartoons to watch, too." The blonde was thinking this would be her chance to have that talk with her niece.
Emily wanted to sit on her lap, so Bridget put one arm around her while the young girl painted the nails on the other hand.
"I'm glad we're spending today together," the blonde said with a small smile, as she watched Emily work. "Are you having fun so far?"
"Yeah, I like being with you, and Franky." The young girl took her time painting the first fingernail.
"We like being with you, too." Bridget gave her a gentle squeeze. "Franky said you were a big help this past week."
"I wish I could go back next week," Emily said with a small frown.
"You don't want to go back, and see all of your friends at school?" The blonde knew she'd have to carefully choose her questions to find out what she wanted to know.
"No," Emily shook her head, "I'd rather be at the restaurant."
"You used to really like school. What happened?" Bridget remembered how, when Emily first came to stay with her, she'd tell her each evening about everything she'd learned that day.
"School is boring now. When I finish my work, there's nothing to do. Franky lets me help with stuff, and teaches me how to be a chef." She glanced up at her aunt to see her reaction.
"Franky said you finished all of your school work early." She remembered very clearly how the brunette had dropped the file of finished work onto the principal's desk during their meeting.
"Yeah, and then she let me do stuff. She lets me try everything, even if it's hard. If I can't do it, then she says we can try again another time, or she teaches me." Emily was talking freely now as she finished painting the nails on the blonde's first hand. "At school, I just have to wait, and I get bored."
"Is that why you got upset with your teacher?" Bridget helped her turn on her lap so that she could work on the other hand.
"Yeah." Emily nodded. "I like having something to do."
"You know that school is important, right?" She saw the young girl nod. "Franky, and I want what's best for you, always."
"I just want to cook." The young girl stopped what she was doing, and gave her a serious look.
"I know, but it's important to learn other things, too. That's why everyone goes to school." The conversation she'd had with Franky after their meeting at the school, played in the back of her mind now. "Sometimes when people get older, they decide that they want to do something different than they first thought."
"Did you know what you wanted to be when you were my age?" Emily asked quietly.
"I knew I wanted to help people, yeah." Bridget hadn't always known she'd be a counsellor. For a while she thought maybe she'd be a doctor, or nurse, but in the end, she found that she had an ability to talk to people, and was able to get them to open up to her fairly easily.
"I want to make people happy. I like when I cook something for you, and you like it." The young girl gave her a small smile.
"I like that, too." The blonde took in a deep breath. She could feel herself getting a bit emotional.
"I liked this week when I got to finish with school when I was done my work." Emily sighed. "Why can't I just do that all the time?"
Bridget knew that the easy answer to give her was that she had to go to school instead just because that's how things worked, but she also knew there were options. With those options came challenges though. She needed time to think, and she needed to talk to Franky.
"I know you're not enjoying school right now, but I need you to be strong for me, and just hang in there, okay?" Bridget was relieved that it wasn't a disinterest in learning that was the problem, but rather it was the structure of the classroom. She felt like maybe that was something they could work with more easily.
"Okay." Emily didn't sound convinced, but she trusted her aunt. "I'm finished. Can you paint mine now?"
Bridget looked down at her now neon pink nails, and let out a small laugh. They would definitely stand out at work on Monday.
"Sure, love." She took the bottle of polish from the young girl, and started to paint.
"Shayne, I need some help for a second," Jenna called out to him from where she was working at the stove.
"What's up?" He put down the knife he'd been using, and walked over to stand beside her.
"Can you taste this? I think it's missing something, but I'm not sure what." She held out a spoonful of the broth, waiting to feed it to him.
"Tastes fine to me." He shrugged, and started to turn to go back to his work.
"Wait," she reached out, and brushed the corner of his mouth with her thumb. "I thought there was something there, but I guess not."
"Uh, thanks." He made his way back to his workstation.
"You guys all good here?" Franky stuck her head in through the door of the kitchen. There were only a couple of tables left to be served, then they'd be closed for the night, and she wanted to head home.
"Yeah, we got it, Franks." The young man gave her a nod.
"Good." The brunette looked around the kitchen. "And when Booms gets back, tell her I'm not paying her to take fucking smoke breaks every hour."
Franky wasn't really upset about it. Boomer was a good worker, and it looked like the dishes were all caught up, but the brunette didn't want anyone to think she would go easy on people if they were her friend.
"Yep. See you tomorrow." Shayne smiled at the fact that Franky thought she could pull off being a hardass boss.
"Why are you so antsy tonight, baby?" Bridget asked. She and the brunette had been cuddled together on the couch since Emily had gone to bed, but the younger woman was restless.
"I need to go check." She gave the blonde an apologetic look. "I just need to make sure that everything got turned off, and locked up. I know it's stupid, and Shayne said he would look after it, and I trust him, but I just need to be sure, just this first night."
"Okay," Bridget gave her a soft kiss. She understood what Franky was saying. She needed to see that it would be okay, then she could settle down.
"I'll just drive straight over, check everything, then come straight back. I won't be long, I promise." She hoped the blonde didn't think she was being too obsessive.
"I'll be here." She gave the younger woman another kiss, and a reassuring smile.
"What theā¦'' When Franky pulled up to the restaurant, she could see that there were still lights on in the kitchen area. It was at least an hour past when everyone should have gone home. She told herself to relax. If all that had been forgotten was to turn off some lights, then it had gone okay.
She let herself in through the back door that was down the hallway by her office. She could hear voices in the kitchen, and smell food cooking. It sounded like Shayne, and Jenna were still there.
She walked quietly down the hallway. She didn't want them to know quite yet that she was there.
When she approached the kitchen door, she could see them both standing at the stove. She had an angle where she could just barely see them, but she was out of their line of sight. She quietly watched the scene in front of her.
"Thanks for agreeing to help me." Jenna said, as she smiled up at the young man. "I just don't want to fuck up, yeah?"
"Yeah, I get it. You did really well today though." He gave her a quick smile before focusing his attention back to the pan on the stove.
"You know, when I found out I was going to get to work with you again, I was really excited." She leaned to the side, and briefly brushed her elbow against his arm.
"It's kind of like having the team back together." Shayne had to admit that he thought it was neat that the final few members of the Red team had come back together again.
"We made a pretty good team, too." Jenna looked him up, then down.
"We had a good time, yeah." The young man didn't want to go there.
"We had a couple very good times." She sat her spoon to the side on the counter, and walked around to stand behind him.
Franky saw Jenna's arms wrap around Shayne. She rested one hand against his stomach, and the brunette watched as she slipped her other hand into his pants. Franky could feel her pulse in her neck. She wanted to step in, and save Shayne from making a mistake, but she also wanted to see if he'd make that decision on his own.
"Jenna, I-" Shayne felt her hand wrap around him.
"Remember when we'd sneak off to the shower in the middle of the night?" She rested her head against his back, and gently stroked him.
He remembered. He remembered too well, as he felt his body start to respond to her touch.
"Maybe we can pick up where we left off?" She moved her hand along him.
"I ca-mm." He felt her hand move along him again, her grip just a bit tighter this time. "I can't." He reached down, took hold of her wrist, and pulled her hand out of his pants. He turned, still holding onto her hand. "I can't." He saw the look of disappointment on her face. "I'm sorry. I just can't do this."
"Seems like you can." Jenna's eyes flicked downward, and he awkwardly tried to ignore the fact that he had an obvious erection.
"I'm seeing someone. I have been for a while now, and I love her very much." He stood there while she glared at him with tears in her eyes.
"Why didn't you say anything earlier? I feel like an idiot." She angrily wiped her cheeks.
"I don't know." Shayne knew it was a shitty answer, but it was all he could come up with.
"You thought I'd just walk in here, and pretend like nothing had happened between us?" She took a deep breath as she looked up at the ceiling. "Look, I know we weren't together or anything, but we got along, it seemed like we were attracted to each other, we used to have nice talks. I know shit is different when you're in a situation like we were, but then here we are again, and it seems like nothing really changed. We're cooking together again, having a laugh. I wasn't assuming something would happen between us when I took the job, but you could have told me you were with someone now. You should have told me. If for no other reason than to save me from looking like a jackass."
"I know." He sighed. "Look, I know we work well together, and I think we'd be good friends. I enjoyed what happened between us in the house, but that part has to be over now."
"I should go home now." Jenna wiped her face again.
"Hey," Shayne reached out, and put a hand on her arm. "You don't have to go. I don't want you to go home upset. We can finish up cooking, and have a bite to eat if you want."
"Thanks." Jenna was reminded again why she'd liked him in the first place. "I think I'd just like to go home. Can we forget tonight happened?"
"What happened tonight?" He gave her a half grin.
"Thanks." She reached up, and placed a hand on his cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Franky covered the few steps back to her office quickly, and waited until she'd heard the outside door close behind Jenna. She stepped back out, and walked back to stand in the doorway of the kitchen. She saw Shayne leaning forward, both hands against the edge of the counter, his head bowed. When he lifted his head, he realized that she was standing there.
"Franks." He got the nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach, like when you're on a ferris wheel and you start to drop. "What are...how long have you been there?"
"You mean did I see Jenna handling the goods? I sure did." She walked over to him, and he shifted uncomfortably. "Do you need a few minutes in the bathroom before we talk about this?"
"I'm fine," he mumbled. He had a feeling that the upcoming conversation would kill whatever arousal was still left in his body.
"Good. Now what the fuck were you thinking?" Franky started to pace. It was a habit of hers when she was worked up over something.
"Come on, I stopped her." It was a weak defence and he knew it.
"Yeah, after she already had her hand in your pants. You don't think maybe you could have done something before that? I mean, even I could see that's where she was headed." The brunette shook her head.
"I wasn't thinking properly!" He was beginning to realize that Franky had been there longer than he'd thought, and it all looked bad for him. "I don't know. I mean, I love Vera. I wouldn't cheat on her. Jenna just caught me off guard. I stopped it before it went too far."
"Did you? Maybe you and Vera have a different arrangement, but if I walked in and saw someone with their hand in Gidge's pants, I'd probably think it had already gone too far." She fully trusted the blonde, but just the thought of the fictional scenario made her angry.
"What do you want me to say?!" Shayne needed to make this better, and fast. He hadn't forgotten the talk they'd had when he'd first started seeing Vera. "I fucked up."
"Yeah, you did. You should have at least told me when I asked if there was any issue with me hiring her." Franky shook her head.
"It wasn't an issue. I don't have a problem working with her." He knew he was playing a dangerous game, picking apart the meaning of the brunette's words.
"You know what I mean. You should have given me a head's up." She paced again. "And she's right, you should have told her about Vera."
"I didn't know I had to, and it would have been awkward." He scratched the back of his head. "She said she just wanted some help with some of the dishes."
"And that's fine, but when she says 'hey, can you stay late and help me with these?', all you have to do is say 'sure, but I have to let my girlfriend know I'll be home late', or 'sorry, I can't tonight because I told my girlfriend I'd be home after my shift'. See, it's easy, and all this could have been avoided." She was starting to think maybe she'd given Shayne too much credit. "And on top of everything, she left here pretty upset, and I can't say I blame her."
"You're defending her?" Shayne hadn't expected Franky to be on his side, but he hadn't thought she'd side with Jenna.
"Think about it. You heard what she said. You guys were fucking in there, you enjoyed each other's company, and as far as she knows, nothing had changed since then. On top of that you're already staying here late, alone with her on her second day. You should have told her." The brunette threw up her hands, then let them drop at her sides.
"You're right." He honestly hadn't thought that Jenna would just assume they'd just pick up where they left off. "Are you going to tell Vera?"
"You are." Franky wasn't going to tattle to Vera, but she felt like her friend needed to know what had happened.
Shayne simply nodded.
"I'll just clean up here, then I'm leaving." He started to scrape their unfinished meals into the compost bin. "So why did you come back tonight?"
"I have a sixth sense for sex." She smiled, amused at the look on his face. "I was being paranoid, and wanted to make sure everything was locked up."
"Right." He went back to cleaning up.
"Shayne." She waited until he looked up. "I'm glad you stopped her."
They exchanged nods, and she made her way back out to her car. Shayne was a good guy. He was just young, and had some things to learn about being in an adult relationship. She'd make sure he learned them.
"Was everything alright?" Bridget asked when the brunette returned to the house. She had sensed right away that something was off.
"Yeah. Yeah, it was fine." She walked over to the fridge, opened it, then closed it. "Shayne, and Jenna were still there."
"Kind of late to still be finishing up, isn't it?" The blonde was sure that the restaurant had closed hours ago.
"Yeah. Apparently Jenna had asked him to go over a couple of the dishes that she wasn't familiar with. She didn't want to mess them up." Franky pushed the salt shaker, that for some reason had been left on the island after their meal, to one side with the end of her finger, then pushed it back again.
"That's good, yeah?" She knew that the brunette would get around to saying what was on her mind if she was patient.
"I kind of walked in on something." Franky didn't really know how to say it in a way that didn't sound bad.
"Walked in on something?" Bridget shook her head, trying to understand exactly what the younger woman meant.
"Okay." The brunette took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "When I got there the lights in the kitchen were still on. I figured he'd just forgotten to turn them off, but when I got inside, I could tell they were still in there cooking. As I'm walking down the hallway, I hear Jenna start to talk about stuff that happened in the house while we were filming."
"Stuff..like what?" The blonde prompted when Franky had paused for a second.
"They were sleeping together when we were filming apparently." She saw the look of surprise on Bridget's face. "I had no idea. I swear. Anyway, she says how she wants to continue that, and she walks around behind him, sticks her hand in his pants, and starts rubbing his dick."
"Please say he pushed her away." Bridget shook her head, and closed her eyes for a few seconds, before she looked at the brunette to continue.
"He did," Franky paused, "after a few seconds. He said he couldn't do it anymore, and that he was with someone. She got upset because he hadn't told her, and she'd made a fool of herself. He tried to smooth it over, but she was upset when she left."
"But he turned her down, so that's good." The blonde knew it wasn't all 'good', but it definitely could have been worse. "And, I mean, it's not his fault that she touched him. He probably didn't even enjoy it."
"Maybe not, but at least part of him was into it." She gave Bridget a look.
"Wha-...ohhh." The older woman just needed an extra second to get what Franky was saying.
"It was obvious, and for a second, I really thought he was going to let her keep going. Then I'd have had to kill him." The brunette leaned against the counter, stretching out her back and shoulder muscles.
"But he didn't. He made the right choice." Bridget walked around the island, and placed her hand on the younger woman's back.
"I told him he had to tell Vera what had happened." She turned her head to look at the blonde. "He's only getting one chance to do the right thing with her."
"She'll probably be upset, but I think it'll be alright." Bridget knew that Vera was forgiving, and that she'd probably be the one her friend came to for advice. "You're a good friend." She placed a kiss on Franky's cheek. "To both of them."
"I hope so." The brunette sighed.
"You are." The older woman patted her back. "Let's go to bed. It's been a long day."
"You never told me what Em said about school." Franky looked back at her as they walked down the hallway.
"Oo, that's a story for another day, I think. Let's just get some rest now." She closed the door behind them, and pulled down the sheets, and comforter.
"She's okay though?" The brunette asked, as she climbed into bed.
"Yeah, she is." Bridget pulled her in for a kiss, then snuggled in against her.
"Okay." Franky closed her eyes, and concentrated on the feeling of the blonde in her arms. It had absolutely been a long day.
