—The Tension—

Guess who got sick of first person's POV?

It's been six months since that kiss. Six months and a few days since a somewhat unusual conversation with a colleague had turned into a very unusual situation. And she couldn't pretend it wasn't still on her mind.

The way she tasted, the way she had cornered her against her desk, the way her hands seemed to know exactly where to go- touching all the right spots. The way her fingers had slid inside and had known exactly what to do. The way she had found the exact right amount of dirty talk to take things to the next level.

Not that Andy thought much about it.

It plagued her dreams from time to time. She'd relive that evening in her dreams, the whole thing so realistic she could swear it was real. She'd wake up in a sweat with her hands down her pajama shorts, only to roll over and find Milo sleeping next to her, blissfully unaware. Usually she would wake him up; he never minded a middle of the night roll in the hay.

The fact that what had happened between her and Lu had ended up being almost common knowledge around the hospital certainly didn't help. It had earned them more than a few lewd comments, mostly from Nick it seemed. Other than that she had gotten used to the stares.

It had been worst the first week after it had happened, and after the kiss Lu had planted on her lips on Monday they had had barely any contact at all for a little while. Being alone together only seemed to make it harder to resist anything happening, but their distance had only sparked more rumors.

Staying away from each other seemed to make people think that they had something to hide- not realizing that, unfortunately, they already knew the story from cover to cover. It was a short story, not even worthy of being called a novella. And that was the way it was supposed to remain. They were both very happy in their relationships with Milo and Jonas, and Andy could hardly remember how she had even let anything happen.

Until now.

It had taken a few months to rebuild their relationship. To silently tell each other that anything more than a hug was unacceptable. To be able to once again confide secrets in each other, discuss patients, talk their private lives over, but to avoid any mention of what had happened that cold April evening. But now it was almost like it had never happened in the first place, they were almost back to their pre-coital status quo.

However, sitting across from her now, in the office where it had all begun, Andy could feel the tension. It had started with a discussion about one of their patients, Andy couldn't remember which. It had turned to talk about their private lives, about their respective romantic relationships, and from there to awkwardness.

Sitting across from each other in the small chairs, Andy regretted not remaining behind her desk. Any kind of barrier to make sure they kept their senses.

Her legs were crossed, sometimes being pushed together a bit tighter as she shifted in her seat. ''Let's not do this,'' Andy said, it was barely a sentence but it was a beginning.
''Do what?'' Lu asked, trying to make herself sound as innocent as possible.

Andy looked away. ''Pretend.''
''Pretend?''
''This isn't working,'' Andy said. ''I don't know about you but I can't just sit here and pretend that nothing happened. That you didn't just-''

''Me?'' Lu shot up in her chair, her usually calm demeanor easily made way for outrage, as it often did. ''Let's not forget that you came on to me first.''
''I did not,'' Andy said, leaning back in her chair.
''Telling me about your boyfriend's sexual fantasies wasn't a come on?'' Lu asked, her eyebrows high, challenging Andy to deny it.

''It was…'' Andy started, not sure how to finish it. She looked at Lu who looked like she was dying to know the answer. ''It was something I needed to share with someone, it wasn't a come on.'' Lu huffed. ''You made the first move,'' Andy added.

''You broach the subject and then wait to see what my next move is going to be.'' Lu said. ''That way you don't have to take the blame and can say that I started it.''
''I do not do that,'' Andy said.
''Maybe not usually, but when it comes to,'' Lu waved her hand back and forth between the two of them, ''it sure seems to be. It feels like that's what you're doing now.''

''I'm not,'' Andy said. She stood up and walked over to the other side of the desk, leaning on her hands she looked at Lu.
''Whether you do or don't, you certainly don't seem to resist all that much. Or at all.''

''You caught me at a weak moment,'' Andy said. She knew- and she knew Lu knew- that there had been nothing out of the ordinary that had happened that week until their conversation. Things had been smooth sailing for a while, no weak moment in sight.

Lu squinted her eyes at Andy, standing up as well. ''What are you-'' she cut herself off this time, deciding on a different strategy. ''Is this a weak moment?'' She asked, sounding as casual as she possibly could. Aside from the weather, this evening wasn't all that different from April.

Andy closed her eyes for a second, a frown forming on her face. ''What?'' Lu was looking at her for a yes or no answer. She had trouble even remembering how their conversation had led to this. Talking to Lu like they did at evening, catching a whiff of the perfume she had been wearing that evening as well, it made her a bit hazy. ''No?'' It was more of a question than an answer, and she sounded more unsure than she'd usually be comfortable with.

Lu sat back down, her legs crossed. Her body was turned towards Andy who was watching her every move. ''Do you ever think about me?'' She asked, watching Andy watch her.
''Excuse me?''

''Do you,'' Lu held eye contact as intently as she could, ''ever,'' her hand gripped the armrest a bit tighter, ''think about me?'' She finished the question. The ball was in Andy's court and she could only guess how far the other woman would take this. It was all up to her now.

''Think about you?'' Andy asked. She had to swallow back the word yes, which would have come out with the completely wrong intonation. She straightened her back, ''in what capacity?''

Lu stood up and leaned on the desk the way Andy had until a moment ago. ''Any capacity you can think of,'' she answered simply. When Andy didn't respond she figured now was as good a moment as any to kick things up a notch. ''Do you dream about me?'' Andy was good at putting up a façade; no doubt a result of her years in the army, but Lu could see right through it and knew the answer. It wasn't enough. ''Do you think about the way I kissed you? Do you think about me when you're taking a shower, all alone with your showerhead?'' Lu raised an eyebrow, leaning further over the desk until her face was mere inches away from Andy's. ''Do you think about me when you're screwing Milo?''

''Leave him out of this,'' Andy snapped. She could feel her cheeks getting hot and flustered and hated the way it gave her away.
Lu backed away, ''that's what I thought.'' She straightened her lab coat a little bit and was weighing her options. Andy had turned her back to her and she had known she had pushed it too far, so she could either kiss and make nice- not literally- or leave.

Her hand was already on the doorknob when Andy finally spoke up. ''Do you?'' She asked, her arms crossed and she wasn't even sure she really wanted to know the answer.

Lu hesitated for a moment but decided not to look back. The only thing she had left to give to Andy at this point was a short, not-as-as-ambiguous-as-it-sounds answer. ''What do you think?''

Andy let the door fall shut behind her as she entered Milo's apartment. Her daughters were with their father for spring break so she had opted to stay with Milo for the week, letting Kayla have the house to herself.

''I'm home.'' She could hear a TV on somewhere but her mind was too foggy to even register it. She could feel she was shaking a bit and remained standing in the hallway, contemplating what to do.
''In here.'' She followed Milo's voice to the small sitting area off the dining room, where he was sitting with a book.

He had his reading glasses on and somehow they made him look better, not older. She grabbed the book from his hands-she was sure it landed at least somewhere near the side table- and slipped into Milo's lap. She planted a kiss on his lips, ''Hi.''

''You're sure happy to see me,'' he said, drawing her face closer to his for a second kiss. It was rare that they had as much time to spend together, being openly affectionate, as they did this week. Milo took his glasses off and looked Andy over, something seemed off. ''Are you okay?'' He asked.

She gave him a small smile, ''never better.''
''Are you hungry? I made dinner, I put the leftovers in the fridge,'' he looked over in the general vicinity of the kitchen but she wasn't listening. As Andy stood up from his lap he couldn't help but let out a disappointed groan.

Her hands reached out to him, pulling him up from the overstuffed, red chair- Andy didn't particularly agree with his style- and without another word she led him to his bedroom. He closed the door by pushing her up against it, ''the bedroom?'' He asked, raising an eyebrow at her before he continued kissing her.

''Why not?'' Andy said. ''We've had every other room in your apartment this week.'' His hot breathe tickled her neck and she couldn't help but push him away. When they had first gotten together it had surprised him how ticklish she was there, strange how she didn't run into the same problem with Lu…

She took a deep breath. She could prove Lu wrong. She could screw Milo without thinking about Lu. In theory it was simple. She was attracted to Milo, and even now after a few years together he still gave her butterflies. One kiss from him and the whole world seemed a bit brighter. Looking in his eyes she couldn't imagine spending the rest of her life with anyone else, falling asleep next to anyone else.

So how was Lu always on her mind? When Milo kissed her she couldn't help but compare it to how Lu had kissed her. When he went down on her she couldn't help but imagine how Lu would do it. When he fucked her she couldn't help but think of how Lu would go about that if such a thing were possible.

She could feel Milo kiss her everywhere, her neck, her ears, her collarbones; he pushed aside her shirt to kiss the exposed skin there. This was what she couldn't imagine Lu doing. Taking her time to get into it. Lu had gone straight for the prize; she had one clear goal and didn't take any detours on her way from A to B. She had pushed a third finger in even when Andy could feel it was too much- knew instinctively that she was now bleeding- just because it would help her reach her goal faster.

Milo took his time. Tortured her until she was begging for him to be inside her. She could feel one hand on her ass, kneading the flesh there. The other hand was trying, and failing, to take her clothes off. She pulled away from him, lifting the shirt over her head and letting it drop on the floor. Somehow he seemed to shed all his clothes aside from his underwear on their way to the bed, where she pushed him down.

As she crawled on top of him she softly grinded against his erection. ''Minx,'' he muttered under his breath, followed by more than a few curses as she did it again. As he rolled her over and got on top of her, her hands roamed around.

''I sometimes think about Lu,'' she said. The butterfly kisses everywhere were nice, but sometimes it was difficult to resist the urge to push his head down.
''What?'' He asked as he looked up at her.
She bit her lip, not wanting to rehash the past too much but feeling he should know. ''You asked what my fantasies were, when I'm by myself. And I told you that I think about you.'' He nodded. ''I sometimes think about Lu.''

Milo seemed to think about this for a second. ''Is this something you consider acting on… again?'' He asked. Watching one of his fantasies come true right before his eyes had been thrilling for him to say the least, and he hadn't been as jealous as he had expected to be. But when he looked back on it later, the way Andy had moaned Lu's name and not his, it stung.
Andy hesitated for a few seconds, ''I don't think so,'' she said, aware of the uncertainty in her voice. She grabbed his face in her hands, ''it's you I want to be with, and it's your cock that I want to feel inside me.'' She squirmed underneath him.

She could see his eyes darken further, as it reminded him of what they had been doing before she had interrupted. He resumed his attack on her senses when the doorbell rang.

''Should we get that?'' She asked him, not wanting to. As Milo seemed to work his way down until his head almost disappeared under her skirt, he poked his head up.
''Get what?''
''The door,'' she said. She could feel her skirt riding up as Milo wasted no time getting down to business. She could hear the doorbell ring a few more times but the sound all but disappeared as she focused entirely on what Milo was doing.

''Andy?'' She could hear Lu's voice drifting through the solid wood door.
Before she had realized it a groan escaped from her mouth.
''Don't get that,'' Milo said as he held her hips down with his hands.
''Come on Andy, I know you're in there.'' Andy could hear the annoyance in Lu's voice. ''Milo told me.''

Andy gave Milo a look. ''She called earlier.'' She could see it had completely escaped his mind. She pushed him away, getting up from the bed. ''Don't move,'' she told him as she closed the bedroom door.

Making her way down the hall she could think of nothing else but telling Lu to piss off. Their conversation earlier hadn't helped their strained relationship. ''What?'' She asked as she swung open the front door.

Lu was taken aback by the sight in front of her. Andy was standing there in a skirt and bra, her hair tousled, and her lips red and swollen. Quite a sight. Not that she minded. For a second she forgot why she came here at all. ''We need to talk.''

''I really don't think we do,'' Andy said, ready to close the door.
''Ands…'' Lu rested her head against the doorframe. ''After what happened this afternoon, don't you think we should?''

''We talked about it six months ago.''
''Yes, and you said that we were okay and we're so clearly not,'' Lu said. Despite her insistence that Andy had come on to her, that she was just going along with what Andy had initiated, she was having a hard time maintaining eye contact. She had caught a glimpse of Andy's white, lace bra that wasn't leaving that much to the imagination. She had caught a glimpse of her stomach, even the strong shoulders which were usually hidden from view.

She hadn't seen any of it in six months. And that's how long she had both been trying to forget what it all looked like, and desperately hanging on to the memory not wanting to forget any of the freckles covering Andy's chest, not wanting to forget what the dimple at the base of her sternum looked like. The trail of hickeys leading from under her bra to below her skirt was new though.

When Andy didn't resist she made her way into the hallway, closing the door behind her. ''Is Milo…''
''Don't bring him up, he has nothing to do with this,'' Andy said as she made her way into the kitchen, Lu following her.

''He has everything to do with this,'' Lu countered as she watched Andy take a swig from a bottle of wine before pouring herself a glass. ''If it wasn't for what he told you none of this would have happened.'' No response from Andy but a sigh. ''Look, obviously there's something here or we wouldn't keep butting heads like this.'' She watched Andy down her glass of wine and refill her glass, ''do you have anything to say, anything at all.''

Andy shrugged, ''you wanted to talk.'
''With you, I didn't come here to deliver some monologue.'' She eyed the wine Andy was drinking, ''give me some of that.'' She didn't think it would be possible to laugh during this conversation, but being handed the entire rest of the bottle evoked at the very least a small huff and shake of the head.

They drank in silence for a few minutes. ''So what do you want?'' Andy asked. ''I mean, I don't know where what you said this afternoon came from, but…''
''I wanted to see how you would react.'' Lu said, taking a small step towards Andy. ''I wanted to know if after what happened you would just push me away.''

Andy swallowed the last of her wine. ''You know I wouldn't do that.''
''Yeah well maybe you should,'' Lu said. ''Maybe you should've just pushed me away six months ago, at least then we could still stand to be in the same room together, alone.'' She watched Andy for a reaction but nothing. ''I want us to be friends.''

''Me too,'' Andy said.
''But now it's hard to think you of you as just a friend,'' Lu said. She knew the wine was at least partially to blame for her honesty, but she was glad for it.

Milo came walking into the kitchen. His black underwear was still on but nothing else, but neither one of the women seemed to take notice. ''I got tired of waiting,'' he said to Andy as he grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator. He looked back and forth between them, noticing the way they looked at each other. ''Will I at least be invited to join this time?''