AN: I'm sorry for the pause in activity. I took some time to myself and went to see my partner. This isn't strongly edited, for that I'm incredibly sorry. I just felt bad for not having posted and wanted to at least give you guys what I had. Thank you for your continued support.
Music: Cool For the Summer - Demi Lovato
"Wait, you're actually taking a lunch?"
"That so hard to believe?" I laughed, finger flying across the keyboard as I responded to what felt like the millionth chat request of the afternoon. This one wanted to know if I was a real human instead of a bot and the urge to continue the bot persona was almost too much to resist. Be thankful everything I say is documented y'all.
"Um, yeah, yeah it is. You've been here longer than I have and I ain't ever heard of you takin' a lunch. Usually someone's reminding you to eat in general." Ruby's Zoom video filled my third monitor. Her long hair was twisted up in a large, lopsided bun held up by her large headphones. "That pussy must be God."
I snorted, but there was no covering up the broad smile growing across my face.
"Em-ma… are you blushing?" Ruby fluttered her eyebrows suggestively, and I slapped my hand over the webcam momentarily. "You are! Pussy is God."
I rolled my eyes and sat back in my chair. "I hate you so much."
"Love you!" The notification ring indicating a phone call came in on Ruby's side of the Zoom call. "What you want, mother fucker? I ain't got no money." She waved a finger towards the screen as if I needed to be reminded to be quiet. "Thank you for calling DriveSafe Academy; this is Ruby. How may I help you?"
I bit my bottom lip and turned my attention momentarily towards the chat box to see if anyone had responded. As expected, my last response had been read but gone unanswered. Ruby's transition from normal speech to her customer service voice was the most startling of the whole team. I had joked at one point that my customer service voice went to Harvard but then I heard Ruby's and realized that mine may have gone to a community college at best.
"Yes, ma'am. I'll be happy to look into that for you. May I have the first and last name of the student please?"
My phone buzzed from its resting place on my lap, half tucked into the blanket that I constantly kept in my chair. I nearly leapt out of my skin, fumbling for the device. Regina had been quiet for the last couple of hours and I found myself missing her in the silence. Maybe it made me pathetic but I didn't care.
Regina: It's brisk! The weather needs to make up its mind lol
Emma: Brisky lol What the hell are you doin' outside?
Regina: I had to run down to the water department to pay my bill. I may or may not have forgotten to do that yesterday. Someone… not gonna say names… decided to distract me.
Emma: Hey now! I wasn't the one who sent that picture!
The picture in question flashed in my memory and I found myself yearning for it to have been sent through text messages instead of SnapChat so I could stare at it one more time. Regina had been in the bathroom at the courthouse with its aging subway tile and tacky green stall dividers when she had snapped a selfie. Her silver blouse had been unbuttoned to the fourth button, allowing me to see the swell of her cleavage and the edge of her black lace bra that made my toes curl. Everything about the image had oozed sex and needless to say, the merciless teasing had started then and had ended in us sprawled out half clothed on the living room floor of my house, panting heavily through blissful smiles.
We had hardly been able to keep our hands off each other. The dam had broken and teleported us right back into the mindset of horny teenagers.
Regina: I was absolutely not complaining. I couldn't feel my legs after that one lol.
Emma: I could feel your legs if it counts for anything. They were very nice.
"Emma? Earth to Emma."
My head snapped up to see Ruby leaning in towards the camera, her face unnaturally close and smirking. Busted. I smiled uncomfortably, eyes darting towards anything but her direction. "Um…"
"That Reggie?"
"God, don't call her that." I grimaced, shaking my head. "So uncomfortable, and honestly, she might kill whoever called her that. Reggie is the dude who works at the gas station."
"Y'all really gotta find a bigger town to live in. At least back home, I didn't know everybody. I could, like, go to the store and not be bombarded."
"I was upset; I did the first thing that I knew to do and that apparently was to banish myself to the wasteland that is Storybrooke." I closed the now idle chat and solved the Zendesk ticket with a flourish of keystrokes and mouse clicks. "I wasn't really in the mood to move to a place where I didn't know anyone."
"I mean, respect, but hopefully it's not permanent."
"I have no idea what the plan is anymore," and it was the truth. At one point in my life, I would have scoffed at myself for even the mere thought of moving back to my childhood home after all that it had dished out at one point or another. Now, it was hard to think of being anywhere else. Hard to think of being anywhere that didn't have Regina in it.
My heart tugged uncomfortably.
What did that mean?
"There's no rush. I'm sorry if that came off as pushy," Ruby pressed on, voice laced with concern. I knew Ruby enough to know she was genuine. We'd been friends since my first week with DriveSafe. In truth, I shared more with her than I did anyone else. She just took my words and wasn't afraid to ask questions when what I said inevitably didn't make any sense.
A SnapChat notification chimed and I nearly dropped my phone at the picture Regina had sent. It was yet another from the courthouse bathroom. Her back was to the full-length mirror, the camera portion of her phone just visible over the top of her shoulder to capture a picture of her ass and legs in the tailored gray slacks she was wearing. The black turtleneck was form fitting and showed off every curve of her torso.
"Jesus, fuck me…" I murmured in a strained voice, thumb poised on the screen to keep SnapChat from taking the image from me for just a few more moments. Her body was a gift and a delicious sin. I couldn't get enough of her. She had opened a can of worms and now I was practically a hormonal teenager who found their bodies flushing to live with renewed need out of nowhere.
"Um, now I have questions," Ruby said coyly, reminding me for a second time that I was not alone. "Also, I know that Jesus is a big deal there, but I'm not sure he's DTF."
I cleared my throat and spun my phone around, careful to keep my thumb on the screen so I could hold it up to the webcam. "This woman is gonna kill me."
"Oh shit! Can I be next in line?" Ruby asked, leaning into the computer to get a better look. I quickly dropped my phone.
"Abso-fuckin'-lutely not. You're strictly-dickly anyway."
"Hey, everyone's a noodle honey." I rolled my eyes and set my phone down on the desk. I would have to find a way to get back at Regina once I was out from under Ruby's prying eyes.
Emma: You're such a fuckin' tease. Imma kiss whoever made those pants.
My office phone began to ring through my computer, making me jump and jerk towards the mouse. "Fuck, I gotta go. I'll call you later."
"Sounds good. K biee!"
The zoom screen closed unceremoniously, and I clicked the call, "Thank you for calling DriveSafe Academy; this is Emma. How may I help you?"
"Um, hi. I wanted to schedule a lesson for my daughter–"
Emma: You wanna have dinner later?
"-She just got her permit today, and I want to get her started as soon as possible."
"I'll be happy to look into that for you. May I have the address you'd like our instructors to pick up from so I can pull up the pricing and availability?"
Regina: I would love that very much.
I practically ran out of the house the moment Regina's car pulled into the driveway, door slamming behind me. The sun was bright despite the waning hour, leaving a deceptive taste of warmth in one's mouth. Inside the car, Regina had shed her coat, leaving me to drool over her outfit all over again.
"You have hungry eyes," she teased, already leaning in across the console to meet me in the middle for a long kiss. Her lips were like lava against my own cool lips and tasted like gum and faintly of Chapstick. My body instantly melted with an audible sigh, fingers reaching up to thread themselves through her hair. One would have assumed I hadn't seen her in days when in reality it had only been a little over a day at the most.
"Hungry eyes?" I pulled back, breathless and tingling. "I mean, my stomach is growling."
"You're adorable." A broad smile tugged at her lips as she swept her thumb over her bottom lip to right her makeup from where our kiss had smudged it slightly. "Do you have a food preference?"
"Mexican please."
"Mexican you shall have."
I tucked my leg up under me in the seat and settled in as Regina backed out of the driveway, fingers reaching for the volume on the stereo. It was always Bluetoothed to her phone, and I found myself yearning more and more for a glimpse into her music preferences.
One glance at the words scrolling across her screen let me know she was listening to 'New Look' by Rita Ora. The song already began to fade out, but was quickly replaced by the sound of a familiar song that lived on my liked song list on Spotify as well. I found myself smirking.
"Oh no!" Regina went to turn the song but I smacked her hand away, a wild laugh escaping my lips as the first lyrics spilled out of the speakers.
'Tell me what you want, what you like, it's okay
I'm a little curious too.'
"Secret's out now!" I let my body sway slightly as I turned up the music even more.
'Tell me if it's wrong, if it's right, I don't care
I can keep a secret, can you?'
Regina was blushing deeply, two hands on the wheel as she shook her head, but I already knew enough to know she was relenting to my decision to subject her to 'Cool for the Summer'.
'Got my mind on your body and your body on my mind
Got a taste for the cherry, I just need to take a bite
Don't tell your mother
Kiss one another
Die for each other
We're cool for the summer.'
By the time we reached the stop light, Regina's leg had already started tapping in tempo, her head swaying. The music seemed to worm its way inside of her. I watched as her lips began to move silently as the chorus started, and I pushed her gently despite bouncing in the seat.
A laugh erupted from her, and to my surprise she began to sing. It was soft at first, hesitant, but it didn't change the fact that I could hear her sultry voice. A voice that sent chills down my spine in the best possible way.
Regina ran her hand back through her hair, pushing it away from her face with a flourish. She flashed me a devilish smile.
'Tell me if I won, if I did, what's my prize?
I wanna play with you too'
Her nimble fingers trailed slowly up my thigh, making my center pulse suddenly under her attention. I let out a quiet moan despite myself.
'Even if they judge, fuck it, I'll do the time
I just wanna have some fun with you.
Got my mind on your body and your body on my mind–'
She palmed my thigh as high up as she could go, fingertips brushing against the crotch of my jeans. I practically gulped, eyes glued on her as my legs parted involuntarily. Her eyes had darkened, sparkling in the sun as she glanced my way momentarily before looking back towards the road. She knew what she was doing– a master temptress.
'Got a taste for the cherry, I just need to take a bite
Don't tell your mother'
Unsure what to do with my hands as hers began to move up my stomach, I mimed keeping a secret, a trembling finger bumping against my lips. The action made her laugh, but that did little to steal her exploring hand. She overwhelmed me, her voice filling the car with practiced ease as the back of her fingers grazed my jaw.
Her hand planted firmly on the steering wheel again as she turned a corner and began belting out the chorus. This Regina was close to the one I saw on the first day, emboldened in her illusion of privacy. Her hips were moving; the music had transformed her, and it was magical at the very least.
The engine roared to life, pitching me slightly in my seat and shocking a subtle squeak out of my lungs that spilled into a full on laugh as I grabbed onto the console. The shock didn't matter. Nothing could steal my attention away from the goddess to my left. I knew she had wanted to write music, but for some reason, the reality that her voice could be so entrancing had escaped my thoughts.
We pulled into the parking lot as the music faded out. My heart was hammering with a mixture of adrenaline and hormones. Why had I suggested Mexican? Why had I suggested food at all? I wanted to go home and feast on her instead.
Regina flashed a wide smile, cheeks slightly flushed as she parked at the edge of the parking lot near a parking pole that had absolutely seen better days. A free hand came up to brush her hair back into place.
"Where did that person come from?" I breathed, awestruck.
"What do you mean?"
"That fuckin' sex goddess that practically humped the steering wheel at one point." I jabbed a finger towards the steering wheel as if to prove a point. "Your voice is amazing."
Her head fell back against the headrest, smirking as she stared at me in comfortable silence. 'Addicted to Love' by Florence and the Machine had started to play, and she reached up to turn it down before finally speaking. "I'm an onion."
"That's putting it lightly."
"You just make me feel safe. It doesn't feel so bad to sing in front of you."
"Do you not sing in front of other people?" I cocked my head, confused. Why would someone with such a voice choose not to sing? Even I, someone who's voice made dogs howl, sang whenever the urge struck.
She shook her head and mouthed a silent 'no'. Her bright expression had dimmed slightly, but she managed to uphold her smile. "I don't make a habit of doing that anymore, no."
"Well, you should. You're incredibly talented. Just don't, like, do the hip thing to anyone else. That's mine."
That was enough to make her laugh, chocolate brown eyes rolling. "You have nothing to worry about. I don't act like this in front of anyone else." She sat up straighter. "So, what do you want to eat?"
I knew the rules at this point. We never went into the restaurant together. It had been an unspoken agreement from the beginning. If we were in town, we made an effort to not be seen in the same place at the same time.
"Um, Pollo Playa." I always ordered the same thing.
"You got it, babe." She winked and opened the door. "I'll be right back."
I watched her go, spinning slightly in my seat to watch her go. Her hair was being tugged by the breeze, hips swaying with a practiced ease only accentuated by her heels. The urge to hurry after her was overwhelming. I just wanted to be next to her. It didn't make sense to me. Physical closeness wasn't one of my favorite things. Typically, reclusive behavior was much more favorable. Even when in a relationship, I found more comfort in the silence offered by being in the same space as another but not necessarily in the same breathing space. I liked knowing the person was within ear shot. There was comfort in not being completely alone.
I sighed as Regina rounded the corner out of eye sight, and folded back into the seat. Instead, I took the time to inspect the interior of the car. It was flashy in comparison to my own. There were knobs and buttons everywhere one looked. I knew little about the car itself except that it was comfortable and the leather accents felt soft under my fingers.
With one searching glance towards the restaurant, I hopped over the console, careful not to knock anything with my feet as I slid into the driver's seat. There had been no thought behind the action other than I was suddenly overwhelmed with the need to do so. My hands caressed the steering wheel, thumb brushing against the 'F Sport' emblem embedded in the bottom of the wheel. Silver pedals stared up at me from the floorboard. My left foot, so used to the clutch always being present like it was in my own vehicle, tapped lightly at the foot rest where the pedal should have been.
The car reeked of money. I was fairly certain that I could have bought 10 of my own car with what it cost to pay for the one I was currently all but fondling. At the same time, it felt like Regina. It would have been weird for her to have anything else.
I adjusted the seat slightly, pushing back from the steering wheel until my legs were comfortable. I had become so absorbed in my fiddling that when the driver's side door opened and Regina nearly swung her leg in, I practically jumped through the ceiling.
"You scared the shit outta me!" I breathed, cornering myself in the edge of the seat and the console, staring up at Regina.
She let out a laugh. "I scared you? When I left, you weren't in the driver's seat."
"I'm sorry. I got curious." I shrugged.
"I'm guessing you would like to drive us back?"
I smiled, sheepish. "Please?"
"Just do me one favor?" She must have taken my nod as an indicator to continue. "Please, dear god, do not punch it."
"Punch it?" I furrowed my brow, glancing at the dash and then back towards Regina. "Why would I punch your car?"
She shook her head, amused by something that I couldn't place. "No, honey, don't punch the gas. It's got a lot more engine than you think. That's all I ask."
"Oh… Yeah, I won't drive crazy. I don't want to have to buy it if I break it."
"That's what they all say." She shut the door with a soft thunk and rounded the front of the car to slip into the passenger seat, white plastic bag tucked under her legs. The whole cabin suddenly smelled of warm Mexican food, making my stomach growl.
I put on my seat belt and put the car into drive. As I pulled towards the street, I couldn't figure out what Regina had meant. It felt like a regular car, engine practically driving itself with very little pressure from my foot.
"I don't understa– Holy shit!" I let out a wild laugh as the car practically launched out into the street, exhaust roaring to life. My heart thundered pleasantly in my chest as I eased off the gas. Even with little provocation on my part, we had eaten up the pavement. "Okay, I get it now. I'm sorry."
Regina reached up to cup the back of my neck with her cool hand, thumb brushing across my pulse point. "She's much more than she seems on the surface. I really thought you would have noticed."
"I like cars but I couldn't tell you much more than what brand a car was." I shrugged, leaning into her touch as I passed through an intersection. "Logos are interesting to me."
"Well, this is a IS 500. It was a dumb purchase because I really did not need it, but I really liked it."
"I wish I knew what that meant," I snorted. They were just numbers and letters to me. All I knew was the car made my brain buzz with excitement. "Except that it's fun."
Regina chuckled. "Yes, yes it is."
We pulled into my driveway a few minutes later, Regina's hand still resting comfortably against my neck. Her fingers, though no longer cold, had left a ghost of a handprint. I parked the car and gently pushed the brushed metal power button.
"You want to know a secret?"
"Always."
"You're only the second person to drive it other than my father."
"Really?" I found myself smiling broadly.
She nodded and gently pulled me towards her for a soft kiss, lips feather light against my own. "Really."
My eyes fluttered close. Even the smallest of kisses made my stomach flutter. She had embedded herself inside of me, filling every corner with something I couldn't place. She made me feel warm and free. She made me feel a lot of things.
"Let's go eat dinner." She brushed a thumb across my bottom lip, smiling softly. "I can hear your tummy rumbling."