Title: A Little Respect
Author: Misty Flores
Teaser: Pursuing a relationship with Aiden after discovering Bianca in bed with Babe, Maggie begins to question even her own self worth when she finds herself delving deeper into a baby kidnapping mystery, and an intense love triangle.
PART EIGHTEEN
I blessed the day I found you
I want to stay around you
And so I beg you
Let it be me
Don't take this heaven from one
If you must cling to someone
Now and forever
Let it be me
Each time we meet love
I find complete love
Without your sweet love
What would life be?
So never leave me lonely
Tell me you love me only
And that you'll always
Let it be me
-- Let it Be Me, The Everly Brothers
Bianca was drowning.
She could feel herself thrashing, fumbling for purchase, icy cold water closing around her, sucking her inside like a cold, deep, dark hold.
Her buoys were slowly floating away from her, fingers found outstretched hands only to lose them again, and Bianca paddled desperately toward the sounds of a child screaming, crying out for her, before the waters sunk her further, before Bianca lost her.
The water was up to her chin now, and Bianca struggled, her legs weighted by lead, screams and shouts coming at her from all around, making it impossible to find her.
"MIRANDA! I'M COMING!"
But she choked on the dirty water, gagged on its bitter taste, and tried hard to find her rocks, her shelters. But they weren't there - they were gone, and the water was up to her nose.
She was choking.
And Miranda still screamed.
--
She fingered the letter in her jeans, the flat paper crinkling under her questing digits, as Bianca waited for the elevator to take her up to the Fusion loft.
It was a coward's way, she knew, Frankie's way, and maybe that's why she did it - she didn't have the energy or nerve to see Maggie now.
But Maggie would be thinking of Frankie tonight, just like her, and somewhere, Bianca still hoped Maggie understood that they would always be friends, that Bianca would always love her, even if Maggie didn't understand.
The elevator bobbed to a stop, and the doors slid open, revealing the darkened shadows of Fusion, empty tonight.
Bianca let out a breathless sigh, eyes roving over the open office, the headquarters of her sister and her mother's empire. She was thankful it was empty. Bianca was on the precipice of her choice, and while her loyalty never wavered, she would be lying if she didn't admit, if only to herself, that her heart ached and her loneliness was affecting her.
The anniversary of Frankie's death had never been a good day. That it presided the evening before Miranda's benefit was something she hadn't thought about at the time - but tonight she was consumed with her loss.
She wouldn't sleep tonight. Bianca doubted she could deal with the nightmares.
It was the reason for the red-eye - Bianca would have rather tackled the pain on a plane than in her empty apartment.
Still, it didn't leave her with much time, a few hours to gather her things, avoid her sister's direct questions and almost threats, and somehow convince her to keep quiet about her doubts long enough to get them all to Florida.
There, she would see Babe - and her loneliness would disappear, if only for a second.
She longed for Bess, but J.R. wouldn't let her near her now, and the years before, Frankie's anniversary had been spent with Maggie...
Licking her lips, Bianca shook herself out of her small lapse, moving instead to gather her ID and a few other essential items from her desk, sorting through them, already walking for the elevator once again, when her cell phone lit up, buzzed from inside her purse.
Steps faltering, Bianca dug inside, fingers closing around the small object and holding the LCD screen to her, discovering the caller ID bore a familiar name: Lena.
It was a relief, and Bianca found herself pushing out the breath she had been unconsciously holding, as she flipped open the phone and placed it to her ear, suddenly desperate for an affectionate 'I Love You' from the woman who had never hesitated to tell her so.
"Hello?"
"Bianca."
"Lena!" she answered breathlessly, "Hi." Remembering suddenly that Lena had already tried to contact her another way, she continued immediately, "I got your email, what's so urgent?"
A small hitch of breath, Lena was hesitating, and just the small action dropped a rock in the pit of Bianca's stomach, suddenly concern flooding her.
"Is your mom okay?"
"No, my mother is fine."
Bianca blinked at the cold tone, confused. "Well, I'm glad..." Lena was unusually cold, her tone was different, and it was not what she needed right now. "So then what's wrong?" she asked simply. "You sound..." she struggled to find an adequate description for the desperation creeping through her now, "Well, I don't know how you sound but you're starting to scare me."
"Bianca, I'm just trying to find the way to say this-"
A hand gently settled over her heart, squeezed it, forcing her to gasp at the pain. "Well then just say it," she said, shoulders straightening, suddenly in no mood for the run around. "Please," she added, trying to maintain at least a semblance of politeness.
"Fine," Lena answered, "I'm tired of this, Bianca. I'm tired of your excuses. If you want this relationship to continue, then I need you now. Come to Poland."
The sentence was almost ludicrous. It was a start to the same fight they had been having for months. Apparently, Lena had moved from asking nicely to making pure demands. "I can't just leave right now," she snapped.
"Yes you can." Lena's voice was edged with ice. "I want you on a plane tonight, Bianca."
"Tonight," she repeated. "Tonight!"
"Yes, tonight."
"Why does it have to be tonight?"
"Because if it's not tonight it's never, Bianca."
And there it was, Lena's ultimatum. Bianca considered it, listening to the edge in her voice, a different Lena she didn't know, or maybe hadn't chosen to remember.
There was a part that wanted to fight for this, to keep from losing her hold on the one security she had had these past few months, the ring on her finger, the promise of a future.
But Maggie's kiss burned on her lips, and Frankie's face buried in her mind, and there was no way Bianca was leaving when Babe needed her, and she knew now, either way, Lena would never forgive her for any of it.
"Then it's never."
The word was spoken into abrupt silence, and it sunk deep into her own despair, as she closed her eyes and felt her heart throb with the cementing of her own fate. Of Lena's fate.
"I see."
"I'm sorry, Lena," she said softly. "I want you to be happy-"
"You could care less about my happiness, Bianca."
"That's not true-"
"If it were you'd be here with me."
Bianca's mouth formed a thin line, and she discovered tears stinging her orbs. She wiped them hurriedly, taking in a deep breath that ached in painful retaliation.
"If that's how you want to see it, I can't change it," she said quietly. "Goodbye, Lena. I wish you all the best."
There was quiet nothing on the other side, and Bianca forced herself to pull the phone from her ear, and end the call.
In the dark emptiness of Fusion, Bianca sank into a chair, and buried her face into her hands, the tears spilling over, covering her hands with wet desperation.
She was drowning, had cut everyone from her, and Bianca would not regret her actions.
But it hurt. Deep inside her, it seared her, and she gasped in painfully, shuddering in her loneliness, reaching into her pocket for a tissue.
Frankie's letter came out instead, and as Bianca trembled, she carefully unwrapped it, holding it in her two hands, reading her words to Maggie.
Tears fell on the white sheet with black letters, blurring her words, muddying them to incoherence.
Bianca brought it to her face, inhaled, and let herself sob quietly.
--
Kendall would admit, she had a soft spot for J.R.
He was an insecure little boy in the body of a scared man, and his bitterness was something she recognized, tasted and dealt with inside herself.
He loved his Bess fiercely and without apology, and it was because of that, Kendall felt actual guilt, as she held the small test tubes she had procured up to the shimmering light of SOS, making out the fine little black hairs that signified their proof. Miranda's proof.
Kendall felt like she was walking on water, ready to slip. J.R. hadn't understood why she had been so affected by the little girl's smile as she held her in her arms, and Kendall's couldn't begin to explain it was because she saw Bianca's eyes shining up at her from that beautiful little girl's face. Bianca's hope, and Kendall's salvation.
She held the little girl so tightly in her arms, squeezed and never wanted to let go, gulping down her sob as J.R. continued to look at her oddly, forcing her to give up her niece before he got too suspicious.
She knew she was betraying him. She even felt badly about it.
It didn't change the fact that she would do it.
Pulling the other tube from the pocket of her satin lined coat, Kendall took Bianca's sample and clinked it against Miranda's, comparing the strands together, searching for similarity, some unspoken connection that would be more significant than looking at two glass tubes of hair.
"You look concerned."
The disembodied voice startled her enough to bring down her tubes, as Aiden, shrugging off his leather jacket, scooted into the booth beside her. Rolling them between her fingers on the wooden table, Kendall frowned, watching the hairs jump from the movement. "Hell's frozen over," she said flatly. "I actually feel guilty about something." Aiden stared at her, and she sighed. "Once J.R. finds out how this was done, he'll never talk to me again."
Aiden kept quiet, but she saw the brief flicker of sympathy in his face, and she didn't like it. Straightening, she hardened her tone, waving off his concern. "Don't get me wrong, I'm still doing it. I'm glad I did. I'll do anything for Bianca and that baby girl."
Aiden's dark eyes were running with thoughts, but he wasn't sharing them. Instead, he concentrated on the little glass tubes that Kendal ran between her fingers, watching them slide along the wood.
"There are many people that would," he finally said simply.
Kendall took that in, arching her neck to look a little closer, discovered a small flash of something in his eyes.
"Where's Maggie?"
The words were stolen from her mouth, and Kendall looked up in surprise as Anita sank down on the other side of her, eying the crowded club for any sign of the spunky blonde.
"She's not feeling very well," Aiden said easily. "I thought I best to let her study. She doesn't have to be here for this."
"Are those the tubes?" Anita asked, wearing a grim expression, and Kendall blinked, all business, pushing the vials to her, suddenly nervous, watching as they disappeared into the folds of Anita's coat. "Okay," she said simply. "Aiden and I will head back to the hospital," she told Kendall. "We'll take care of it-"
"Wait- don't I get to come?" Kendall asked, heart jumping suddenly, palms shifting into fists in her sudden panic. "What about the results?"
"The test'll take a few hours," Anita answered simply, once again wearing that grim expression that didn't seem to match the kind face Kendall had seen before. "We'll call you when we get the result."
Kendall's eyes widened, and she jerked her head back to Aiden, suddenly wrought with panic. "That's not good enough!" she snapped, slapping her hand on the table. "We get on a plane in a few hours! We'll be in Florida and then what!"
"Then you do whatever it takes to stall." Kendall scoffed at Aiden's suggestion, blowing out her breath in a big pfft.
"Excuse me?"
"Kendall, think about it," Aiden frowned, leaning forward. "If the proof is true, then our best chance of catching Babe and Jamie is at that concert-"
"So now my sister is bait."
"I've already booked a flight, Kendall. First thing in the morning - but we need the proof. I have to stay behind to get it. You need to watch out for Bianca."
He was making sense. Like usual. Kendall hated when Aiden made sense.
"Fine," she snapped, eyes on the table. "But I need a lot of alcohol now and I need it fast-" Already lifting her hand, she snapped her fingers for the cocktail waitress, lifting her empty martini. "Something harder," she said, and in a burst of unexpected politeness, turned to her companions. "You?"
"I'll take a scotch," Anita said, breathing out unsteadily, her husky voice slightly uneven. "On the rocks. Make it a double."
It was an odd drink for a Saintly Santos, and while Kendall just quirked an eyebrow, Aiden gave his order and then asked what was wrong.
Anita smiled bitterly. "Nothing! I'll be toasting to my independence. Call me Miss Santos."
Ah. Kendall felt her mouth twitch at the insinuation, and when Anita glared at her, she sucked in her breath, the guilt thing coming back to kick her in the ass, as she remembered the part she played in the destruction of Anita's marriage.
Paying Bobby to seduce Greenlee hadn't been one of her better moments, that was for sure.
"I'm sorry," she said honestly.
"Yeah, right." Anita was bitter and angry, but Kendall didn't blame her.
"Anita-"
"No - you did me a favor." Anita's eyes lifted, and locked onto hers. "You showed me Bobby's true colors. And now... Somehow, I have this light feeling. It's scary, but kind of free. Does that sound heartless?"
Aiden's mouth twitched but Kendall only arched an eyebrow, suddenly impressed. "Not at all," she said tacitly. "Welcome to the gay land of Divorcees."
Aiden rolled his eyes, trying a different approach. "Anita, this is the first time in your life that you've really been on your own. This is a new chapter for you."
Beautiful Anita Santos considered that, sucking in a painful breath that made Kendall smile sadly alongside her.
"Exactly. Yeah. I mean, I've never made a decision for myself, by myself. The future is in my hands, and it's -- it's liberating."
"Preach it, sister," Kendall said, as the cocktail waitress came back, setting their drinks in front of them. Reaching for her martini, she lifted it high. "To the future, whatever it may bring us. Really, who the hell could guess it would bring the three of us to this point?"
She actually got a smile out of Anita, and Aiden smirked, obviously amused at her crudeness, because some things never changed.
"Here's to night one of the rest of our lives." Anita wavered, and took another breath, "I have the feeling it won't be boring."
They clinked, and drank, a brief moment of true companionship, preparation for the long night, and the very long weekend that faced them all.
--
Reggie sprawled carelessly on her couch, so at ease Maggie envied him. He wore a tight smile, an almost frown, obviously not pleased to discover Aiden had moved in, and his tone was so weird, Maggie had to ask what was with him.
"It's just the end of a dream of mine," he said finally, "I kind of pictured you with someone else."
The thought of Reggie as a matchmaker brought a welcome smile to her lips, and she rolled her eyes. "Who?" she asked, chuckling. "You?"
"No," he said shortly, obviously not amused at her small descent into conceit. "Bianca." The name did it's job. Her smile left immediately, and that painful ache that she had been free from for half a minute slid back into place, like a steel trap over her heart. "I kind of figured it would be you two in the end."
She felt a wave of irritation float over her spin, forcing her jaw to harden as she tried hard to control her sudden anger.
"Me and Bianca," she repeated, tone hard. "Why would you even suggest something like that?"
The exasperated tone did nothing. Reggie only snorted, planting his foot on her coffee table. "Yeah, cause that's the craziest thought ever," he drawled sarcastically, and a flush of heat rippled down her body, forcing her to retreat to the counter, clutching it, suddenly in need of an anchor. " You think I don't notice these things because I'm a guy?"
Maggie grimaced, holding in a small breath before letting it out, licking her lips. "Yes, Bianca and I get each other," she admitted, deciding it would be fruitless to try to keep denying it. Reggie had been around, Reggie had seen the looks. "That's all true. But she is with Lena-" Reggie rolled his eyes, shifting his feet. "And it's big and great and it's not going anywhere."
"Anywhere except for halfway around the world! To Poland!" Maggie sighed, moving not to the kitchen, suddenly desperate for a distraction. " I used to mess with this girl in Center City. Now, how long do you think that lasted?"
"Yeah, well you're you and Bianca is," she began immediately, and her beating heart caught her words in her throat, losing steam suddenly when Reggie got up, came at her, "... Bianca," she managed feebly.
Reggie didn't even bother to try to hear that. "All right," he said, leaning over the counter, staring at her, "When you think about Bianca and Lena together-" Maggie rolled her eyes. She really tried not to. "Do you actually think that's a together forever type thing? NO! But when you think MAGGIE and Bianca-"
"Okay, Bianca and I are just..." Once again, she lost her argument, head already shaking with the image of her and Bianca on that couch- "friends-"
"All right, all I'm saying is you two match. That's all."
He made it sound so simple. So easy, and Maggie was surprised at just how quickly the tears burned in her eyes.
Swallowing down the frustration, Maggie took in a breath. "Okay, Reggie? Whatever I thought of Bianca, Bianca doesn't want me. And now I have Aiden. And we match. You know what? I'm very happy that she does have someone, because now I am finally happy."
He narrowed his eyes, taking in her words, tasting him on his mouth, letting them roll around.
"You could be happier with Bianca," he said flatly, and Maggie sucked in her curse, eyes on her counter, trembling slightly.
"Shut up, Reggie," she snapped back, turning away from him.
--
Maggie was never the kind to try to consciously wallow in self pity. There were moments when she had her own latitudes of despair, but she had learned a long time ago to lock her pain inside of her, keep it close to her like a well guarded secret.
Bianca had weaned her off of that, taken her hard heart and pried it open, with the depth of love for Maggie's sister.
Maggie had always been jealous of Frankie's freedom, but she had never been jealous of Frankie's life. Maggie had gotten out. Frankie hadn't.
She had never wanted anything Frankie had until Bianca.
But it was Frankie who found Bianca first, who took Bianca's heart and made it her own, and while Frankie loved her for only a short while, Maggie knew, deep down, if Frankie lived, this would have been her place. Her life. Her love.
Bianca loved Frankie with the intensity with which she would never love Maggie.
Aiden called a while ago, checking in, and she smiled through her sorrow and told him again that she was fine, for some reason not wanting to let go the reason for her depression: missing the sister she hardly knew, unable to explain why she felt like there was a hole in her heart.
The Everly Brothers crooned at her, one of Frankie's guilty pleasures, taken by her mother, who would put them on and listen to them, high off her kite, sobbing in her couch for hours at a time.
Maggie would watch as sometimes, for the briefest moments, she would grab Frankie and hold onto her so tightly, sobbing into her little sister's hair.
Closing her eyes, Maggie imagined herself wrapped into her mother's embrace, curling around her, picturing Frankie's face, Frankie's desperate need for affection.
When the knocks came at the door, she didn't want to move. Considered ignoring the visitor and hoping they'd go away, but her music was on, and it was loud, and she knew whoever it was, they had heard it.
They wouldn't go away.
She shoved the book she wasn't reading off her lap and headed slowly toward the door, taking a moment to suck her breath in and steady herself, before she unlocked the latch and pulled it open.
Bianca, dressed in a purple shirt, stood in the doorway, in her hand a single white flower.
--
She had surprised Maggie, that was evident. Bianca felt horribly fragile, standing there with her single flower, as Maggie's expression tightened, and before her friend had a chance to throw her out, or slam the door in her face, she sucked in her breath, and began in a halting voice.
"I know I don't deserve this right now," she began softly, "But I'm thinking about her, missing her, and I know you are too. I need my best friend, Maggie, I want to be with you tonight, and I'm hoping that we can... just be with each other, without all the other stuff getting in the way."
Maggie's mouth was a firm line, staring at her, expressionless.
"What, like a truce?"
"Exactly like."
A horrible moment of waiting, and then Maggie pushed harder, and the door opened. Her smaller friend stepped to the side, allowing her entry.
The relief she felt was tangible, and Bianca blew out her breath, grateful, as she fought to keep from staring at Maggie, instead stepping into her apartment and handing her the single rose.
"Thank you."
Maggie twirled the flower in her fingertips, and Bianca watched, heart suddenly full with unexpected longing, as she sank down on the couch and waited for Maggie join her.
Her friend looked especially beautiful tonight, light brown hair pulled back, small smattering of bangs wisping across her forehead. Her eyes, dark with moisture, were magnetic, and afraid of drowning inside of them, Bianca jerked her gaze down to her fingers, digging into her pocket for her letter, fumbling with it as her voice began to tremble.
"I... I um..." she swallowed, tried to steady her voice. "I wrote you this." She thrust it toward her, and Maggie, still wearing that careful, closed expression, took it from her, opening it in front of her, skimming it. "It's smudged," Bianca added. "I'm sorry."
"You were crying." Maggie's voice was flat, to the point, and Bianca swallowed yet again, suddenly lost without her anchor, unsure now how to handle the feelings sifting through her.
"Yes, I was."
Beside her, Maggie continued to study her, until Bianca's eyes shifted, locked onto hers, and Maggie moved off the couch. Bianca kept her gaze on her lap, taking in a haggard breath, forcing herself to keep from following Maggie with her hungry stare.
Lena's rings were gone. She studied her bare fingers, found the delayed reaction to what she had done jumpstarting some hope in her heart.
Maggie returned, her fingers brushing against hers, a small touch that sent a jolt within her. Bianca took the wine glass pressed into her, and smiled tightly. "Thank you."
"I wasn't sure if this would be a good idea," Maggie said, and Bianca almost winced at the memory she was inferring to. "But we're both adults - I think we could use a drink."
"I know I could." She drank in a large gulp of Maggie's wine, feeling the alcohol move down her throat, settling into her stomach like liquid poison. "Maybe we're better friends for it."
Maggie arched an eyebrow, placing her own sipped glass down on the coffeetable in front of her, repositioning herself more comfortably, legs tucked under.
She wore a striped shirt that spread tightly across her chest. Bianca found herself lingering on the sight.
Her bare hand felt naked, and Bianca smoothed her other hand over it, absorbing the feeling, getting used to it.
"I hate that this is awkward."
Bianca lifted her head up, caught Maggie's face as she said it, as her exhausted friend held her fingers on her temple, closing her eyes and whispering the statement sadly.
Bianca's tension flooded from her, and she reached for Maggie's hand, carefully cupping the palm in her own. "It doesn't have to be. Maggie... I just... I wanted to be with you tonight. It didn't matter that we were fighting."
"Is that supposed to mean something?"
"It means I love you."
"Right," Maggie's tone was bitter, a harsh laugh. "I thought it may have had something to do with Frankie - tonight-"
"Yes, it does," Bianca said slowly. "Maggie, I wanted to be here for you. I wanted us to be here for each other. Just tonight, if that's all I have from you. Then we can go back to fighting, but there's no one here but us. Please, just give me that."
Maggie's eyes opened slowly, took in her expression with a dark, intense gaze. "Should I?"
She didn't deserve it. She knew that. But Bianca was so lonely, and so sad, and Maggie called to her like a drug. She wanted nothing else but to be with her, and it had been an impulse she hadn't been able to ignore, any more than she could ignore her fluttering heart and her heady desire.
"If you want me to leave, I will."
Maggie closed her eyes, sad and tired, and Bianca's heart shuddered when Maggie whispered slowly, "I don't want you to leave."
They spoke in low tones, reverent of the night, and the awkwardness transformed into something else, as Bianca's heart began to fill with the smell, the presence of Maggie. She was drunk not on the wine, but on Maggie, head thrown against the back of the couch, focused intently on Maggie's voice, Maggie's face, Maggie's movements. Everything Maggie did was just beautiful and perfect, and watching her, Bianca bit her lower lip, nearly ready to cry from the newfound pleasure of just watching her friend.
Lost in conversation, Maggie chuckled about something, and as Bianca's laughter died, she found herself caught up in the sudden silence that filled the room, as the cd lapsed between songs, and suddenly violins smoothed into her ears.
The Everly Brothers, Let it Be Me.
She listened to the words, felt the lyrics seep into her soul, as her eyes dragged back to Maggie, staring at her with the drunk fascination that came with being in love.
Bianca closed her eyes from it, afraid of being overwhelmed.
"Frankie loved this song," Maggie whispered.
"I know." Her eyes blinked open, watering with tears. "She made me listen to it once."
Maggie was almost pressed against her, leg thrown over hers, head resting against her shoulder, and she smelled of Fusion perfume, her breath warm tufts against Bianca's skin.
"She wanted someone to love her this much," Maggie managed, "She wanted to feel this ache, no one ever loved her like that. Until you." Bianca sucked in a painful breath, as Maggie shifted and stared up at her, "You loved her this way."
There was admitted longing in Maggie's voice, and overcome, Bianca's palm drifted over Maggie's cheek, feeling soft, satin skin, unable to get enough of it.
"I love you this way," she whispered, so reverent, so delicate, heart pounding with feeling.
Maggie let out a ragged breath, as Bianca continued to worship the beauty of her face, the delicate features, striking and uniquely Maggie.
"Bianca..."
She smiled painfully through her tears, overwhelmed with pure desire. "I'm in love with you, Maggie."
The Everly Brothers crooned in harmony, filtering her confession with harmony, aching want in their own lyrics.
Maggie's mouth opened against her questing thumb, allowing her to feel, and her eyes were dark, so dark and beautiful.
Closer still, Bianca lowered her head, until Maggie sighed and suddenly there were velvet lips sliding against hers, a warm rush of breath that made her sigh into them, sinking deeper into the moist, glorious cavern of Maggie's mouth.
She kissed her slowly, dipping into Maggie's mouth, tasting something precious, infinite. A tentative swipe of Maggie's tongue on her bottom lip made her groan, as Bianca shifted and deepened her exploration, holding Maggie's head tilted, touching her tongue to hers and tangling around it, drawing it into her mouth, sucking on it.
Maggie's cry, ripped from her throat, set a flame of roaring desire inside Bianca, a liquid heat that made her shudder uncontrollably, break free of Maggie's lips for a pant of air, before dipping again to capture Maggie's lips, feeling Maggie shift in her arms, warm body settling into her lap as they kissed, Bianca's palms smoothing down Maggie's side, trying to grab fistfuls of cloth in an attempt to hold onto her, worship this body, this face.
Her head was light, dizzy, and she pulled away from that tempting mouth to slide her lips against Maggie's glorious throat, dragging her tongue along the column of her neck, nipping and suckling.
"Oh, God," she heard above her, and Bianca closed her eyes, hugging Maggie to her, suddenly delirious with want, with need. "Stop."
She didn't hear her, too caught up in sucking on soft skin, blood rushing in her ears, heady with desire. "STOP, Bianca!"
Hands pushed, and suddenly Maggie was away from her, palms pressed against her shoulders, as the woman in her lap stared down at her, breathing heavily.
"What the hell are we doing-" Already, Maggie was shoving off, and Bianca wanted to suddenly cry at losing the warmth of her on top of her.
"Maggie-"
"What the hell were you doing!"
Bianca swallowed, desperate with need, with the cascading truth of her own feelings, open now, raw, as she looked up at Maggie beseechingly, frozen, still hot, still wanting her so badly, torn between reveling in her now spoken feelings and coming back to this reality, to Maggie's terribly confused, dark eyes.
--
end chapter
coming soon
Frankie's anniversary, continued. Bianca tries to explain but finds it may be too little, too late. Aiden and Anita conduct the DNA test, and Maggie issues an ultimatum of her own.