"Oh yes, I'm learning so much in college. Like for the most part students didn't know how to do their own laundry, which frankly is quite sad and a little appalling at the same time. And skipping class was normal." Belle stated through our video chat.
"Skipping class has always been normal." Killian deadpanned as he sat back in his chair and adjusted the earpod. His hair was unusually messy and he rubbed his face as if he was trying to dispel the ache that resounded in his eyes whenever he was exhausted. Belle rolled her eyes in response with an annoyed huff. Based off what I've heard it didn't seem like I was missing much in college. Belle talked about how there was no common courtesy in the bathrooms that they all shared and the stupid fad of writing on the bathroom stalls still happened. Killian wasn't a fan of his roommate due to the loud snoring and the early basketball practice sessions. In addition from what I could see in the background his roommate was very messy. Belle's background was a little different. Books lay open, scattered across her floor along with multi-colored note and high-lighters strewn about as if she had been studying when we called.
"How are things going with you two?" Ruby asked, leaning her elbows on the desk.
"Things are actually going really well." Jefferson replied, as he took the laptop from me and began going into great detail about his assistant position at an ad agency. "Oh and-" he glanced at me hesitantly before a smile crossed his face. "Emma has a lunch date today."
"WHAT?!" the three shouted at the same time, but Ruby was the loudest.
"When were going to tell us?" she continued and at this point Jefferson handed me the laptop back, purposely putting me in front of the firing squad.
"I didn't want to make a big deal about it." Shrugging my shoulders and shooting a glare at J who just held up his hands, got off the bed and started rummaging through my dresser. For what, I didn't know. "It's just lunch, it's not a date."
"Who is she?" Killian pressed.
"Is that why you're all dressed up?" Belle added.
"Where did you meet her? Dish. The. Tea." Ruby finished.
Fucking Jefferson. "Her name is Kiya. She's another instructor that I work with at the gym. All she did was ask me out to lunch. And…I'm not dressed up. This is my usual attire." I was wearing a crop top and skinny ripped jeans. Nothing special. But compared to what they saw me wear in high school, until I met Regina, I shouldn't be surprised that my friends would notice. I glanced at the time on the bottom left corner of my screen. Oh shit. I gotta get going. "Speaking of, I have to leave, otherwise I'll be late."
"Wait what were her exact words?" Belle asked, and even through the screen I could see the gleam in her eyes. Belle, damn did I miss her supportive attitude. I guess I got lucky for to be around people so positive.
"She said 'are you free tomorrow around noon? I would like to take you out'."
"It's a date." They all replied, once again in unison.
"Y'all stop. You're making me nervous."
"Why are you nervous? It's not a date, right?" Ruby raised an eyebrow sending a crooked smile. I rolled my eyes as the heckling and teasing started through the speakers I couldn't really be mad at them. Some part of me kind of missed this, and I big part of me really missed them. After saying my goodbyes, Jefferson took over the conversation and lounged on my bed. I raced downstairs, grabbed my keys, helmet and took off to sushi restaurant Kiya picked. The roads were fairly clear this afternoon and allowed me to go fast on my motorcycle, making a tunnel through the liquid sunshine that was shining on this beautiful September day. The restaurant came into view too fast for my liking and finally the nerves hit. Was this a date? No way, right? She just wanted to lunch, with a friend…right?
I shook the worries away. It's just her and I. Me and her. Just two regular folks who work together having lunch. Finding a parking spot directly in front, I turned off the bike, taking a deep breath hoping it will settle my emotions. Kiya's bright smile shown through the door, and when I opened it I couldn't help but take in her beauty. Her braided hair was held up in a high bun, a tight white low-cut shirt clung to her beautiful brown skin and jean shorts that cut off just under her cheeks made her already long and toned legs look even longer.
"You look beautiful." Shit did I say that out loud? Way to keep it not date like. Her blush bloomed like roses. The color infused cheeks dimpled with the blossoming smile and her eyes shone in a way that only genuine happiness can bring.
"So do you." She walked up to me with her arms out and pulled me into a hug. Damn, did she smell delicious.
"Your table is ready." The waiter said, clutching two menus against her chest. We pulled back, and Kiya walked in front of me giving me another chance to look at her backside. The waiter put us in the corner booth next to another couple who didn't care about the sushi on the table because they were so involved in their own make out session. As social media redefines the boundaries of privacy, and the term public expands to limits that I couldn't fathom public displays of affection are no longer avoidable. They used to be avoidable, but since a relationship isn't officially recognized by the public these days without an incessant display of a couple's inseparability, here we are.
Kiya shifted in her chair uncomfortably, giving side glances to the couple next to us. When the menus were placed down in front of us she immediately picked it up. I skimmed over the options doing my best to ignore the slobbering sounds next to us as we stole peeks at each other from over our menus. "See anything you like?" and I couldn't tell if her words had some double meaning to it. "On the menu, I mean." She clarified, clearing her throat lightly.
"Oh, yea, of course…" that's what you meant. Need to get my mind out of the gutter. "I'm torn between the spicy tuna roll and the salmon."
She sent me a dazzling smile before putting down her menu. "Get both, that way we can share."
"Okay." I sent her my own impressive smile. "I like the sound of that."
Her eyes blazed under her the sexy cape of confidence she was wearing. I looked at her then back at the menu. Why am so nervous. We've hung out countless times, we've been out to lunch before, so why does this feel so fucking weird? Before I could contemplate the thought too much the waiter came back with two waters on the tray. "What can I get started for you two?"
"We'll have the spicy tuna, salmon roll, albacore, and some garlic edamame for the table." Kiya cooly regurgitated and as I slowly dropped the menu she took it out of my hands and handed it over.
"Great, I'll get that started for you." She looked between us before a knowing smile crossed her face and she swiped the menus and walked off. Are we giving first date vibes? I grabbed the cool glass of water and Kiya reached for hers, our knuckles brushed and she shot her hand back quickly, spilling some water onto the table. I chuckled, handing her a napkin. Another bout of silence mocked us, I used the straw to mindlessly stir the ice cubes around and she did the same. Letting the straw drop back into the cup she sat back in the booth and looked straight at me.
"Well, this is awkward." Yes, I'm so glad so she said that. A laugh broke from my chest immediately cutting the tension down between us.
"I know it's like falling asleep at a funeral. Awkward." My comment made her laugh as I had done before and she nodded her head.
"It's like sitting in the middle of a group while they sing happy birthday to you. Awkward." She added, and pretty soon we both seemed to relax in our seats.
"It's like dating two friends at the same time…"
"Awkward." We both said in unison and busted out in hysterics, effectively breaking up the couple next to us out of their make out session. They shot a glare our way as if we were the ones being disrespectful. Psh, fuck y'all.
"Maybe, we're looking at this as date." We are? "And if we look at it like two friends just getting to know each other, it would be less awkward." Friends. I can do friends. "Did you really fall asleep at a funeral?" she continued, looking at me with a bit of disbelief.
"Dead people are so boring." I replied, feeling the corner of my mouth lift. She chuckled, earning me another dazzling smile. From here we easily flowed into conversation that was deeper than the superficial work talk we generally got into. Talking with Kiya was almost a verbal dance. One that's beautiful and chaotic, one that switches on the heart and makes you laugh out loud. I guess you could say it was banter that I lived for, looked forward to, and if I could I would've spent the rest of the day with her. Together we are funny, which is saying something because I'm not always funny with others. But with her, she just brings out this sense of playfulness in me.
"So then I rip my note cards." She continued, leaning in as if to add seriousness to her words.
"No." I replied, feigning surprise after swallowing the spicy tuna in my mouth.
"And say, 'Fellow students, forget these silly cards. I'm going to speak from the heart'."
"Going rogue, I like it."
"And then, from the back of auditorium, Renee yells… 'those cards are blank."
Laughter bubbled up from my chest almost choking on the second piece of sushi rolling around in my mouth. "Noooo, Renee is the worst."
"The. Fucking. Worst." She popped the edamame in her mouth then slid it in between, never taking her eyes off of me.
"She sounds like B-I-T of a J-E-R-K." Kiya almost spit out her soda and when she swallowed, dissoloved into a puddle of laughter, so hard that I can see her stomach shaking. I loved it. Her laugh was like ripples in a still pond after a stone has been thrown in. It radiated outwards through the packed restaurant.
"That's not what I thought you were going to say. Wait until I tell you about the Winter Ball." she finished. We finally settled down, but my new found ambition moved me to ask a question I had been wondering about since she told me.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Fire away." Sitting back in her seat, intense eyes gazed up on my lips.
"Yesterday you said you were in a bad relationship. What happened that made it that way?"
She cleared her throat and did a small tap with her fingers on the table. The chopsticks in her left hand were set down next to her drink-an unspoken decision between us that food could wait for right now in the midst of this oncoming deep conversation.
"Well," she began. "To start let me say, that I'm bisexual." Her gaze darted up as if testing to see how I would react which is understandable, given that she never mentioned this to me before, so I nodded my head telling her to continue and a wave of relief crossed her once hesitant features. "I was dating this guy, Cole for almost two years. He was the first person that I had told about my sexuality and at first he was cool with it. At that time there were no red flags that popped up for me." Soon her eyes glazed over as if she was looking at something in the distance-a blank stare. The light that was once there had left and it wasn't so much of a cold stare but a vacant one. Like her spirit had passed on but her body hadn't realized. "But when I started having more female friends, one who was a lesbian and her name was Malory, he started making snide and jealous comments. They started off small, calling her 'that person', then saying stupid things like 'Malory? More like Faglory'. Stupid shit like that." Straight up, if I ever meet a Cole I'm going to punt kick him in the balls. I don't care if it's the same Cole, he's getting kicked in the nuts. "Anyway it got worse, but I was so in love with him that I didn't see it as bad. Eventually it mounted to mental abuse towards myself and Malory, then physical abuse. I had to get out and so I did."
By the end of her explanation, she was looking out over some of the other diners sitting at their tables, some in idle chatter, others laughing, others just scrolling through their phone. She spoke with a tone that I had never heard, it seemed to reflect the bitterness towards the situation but also with a far-off somber care for what used to be the good parts of the relationship and the man she fell in love with. I reached across the table and covered my hand with hers. Brown sad eyes glanced down at the touch then to me. "I'm sorry." Because what else do you say other than that? I'm sure it didn't do much but it was all I could offer. I realized how lucky I was to be surrounded by such an accepting group of people.
Her shoulders shrugged in response like she didn't care, "You have nothing to be sorry for. I was only sorry I hadn't defended myself sooner. The worst day of my life was the day he got power over me, the day I handed him the keys to my mind, body and soul. He should be sorry, he's the entitled and bitter asshole. If I stood up to him, been stronger, I could've snapped myself out of it. That's all I'm sorry for, everything else was defensive, defending myself and those who I love and cared for." I was in in complete awe at the strength exuding from the woman before me. "What about you? Any bad blood from your past?" She questioned, taking a sip from her drink. And as fucked up as this may sound her story made me even more comfortable around her. I pulled my hand off hers and sat back in my chair.
"I dated my physics teacher." I all but blurted out and her head quickly shot up at me. Thank fuck the conversations were so loud that it drowned the words that I spoke to any nearby ears. "My female math teacher." Like I was watching a flip-book, there were two vivid expressions that shined upon her beautiful face. First, happy excitement dawned on her, and I assumed it had to do with the fact that we shared a taste in the same sex. The second was vivid curiosity as she leaned in closer to me.
"Your teacher?" she clarified.
"Yeah," I answered like it was no big deal, but I mean let's be honest. It's kind of a big deal. "It was a bit tumultuous and not as long as yours, but there was some real love between us."
"How-what…" Her eyes widened as the comment registered. "How does that even happen? Did you know she was into women?"
I blinked as memories began to filter in and out of my mind. "Actually, no I didn't. At least not right away. One day she said she was never into labels. But she also had a long relationship before we met. But it just kind of happened naturally. I'm sure that's boring, but it's the truth. She was really nice and we got along well. We would hang out for lunch and her brother was my volleyball couch so I saw her at practice. Things developed between us, but it was bumpy because, well, she was my teacher."
"Wow…" she whispered, processing this information. "How did things end?" Yup, I should've known that was coming.
"Uh. She…well, actually," suddenly my chest tightened, my words tumbled together, and I realized that I was going to have more trouble talking about this than I actually thought. "I basically fucked up, by letting her mom know what was going on and she used that against us." I dropped my head, feeling the guilt come back up again. Full fucking force.
"You couldn't have fucked it up that bad." A soft smile graced her lips and now it was her turn to place her hand over mine. "People do fucked up things for their own selfish reasons, you can't put all the blame on yourself." Her fingers glided across my knuckles, drawing comforting patterns over my skin. "Are you doing okay, now?" This question tugged some emotional instability to the fore front and all the growth I had built was ready to come crashing down. This conversation hadn't seen the light of day in a while and the insatiable need to truly let go of everything hadn't gotten its fill yet. Instantly my limbs seemed to sag and my neck dipped slightly, in preparation for the heaviness that would seep through my skin in reaction to these memories. "I'm okay now. We had been up and down for a little bit so I guess it was only a matter of time before the house of cards came tumbling down."
She gave a comforting squeeze to my hand, "If you ever want to talk about it more let me know, I'm here for you." Her tone shifting to something a mother would adopt if they were consoling their child on their first heartbreak. Our eyes met and we smiled at each other, as if to cement our friendship even further. It felt nice to talk about it with someone else.
"Thank you, same for you. High school fucked both of us up." She chuckled at my response, taking her hand off mine and back to the chopsticks.
"Shit, I don't think anybody leaves high school unscathed." Isn't that the damn truth. We both popped a piece of sushi in our mouths, signaling that it was the end of the conversation.
"So, the Winter Ball…" I started, being the first one to break the silence. Her eyes widened, brown iris's and black pupils becoming the focal point of her features.
"Let me tell you what a B-I-T of a J-E-R-K stupid Renee was being…"
I did a once over of our apartment, making sure I had all the necessities for an incredible night with Roland. I got home later than expected from my lunch with Kiya, but it was worth it. The doorbell rang and I got excited. Tonight it would just be Roland and I with Jefferson going to work. Opening the door I saw Lexi, with my favorite little boy holding her hand, and a nice little shiner around his eye. What the fuck. It must've been those boys at his middle school that keep picking on him. Lexi looked like she was in a rush though, so I wasn't able to get too much detail on it. With a quick kiss to him and hug for me she rushed out the door and to her car.
As soon as the door closed I dropped to my knees and brushed his hair back so I could get a good look at the bruise. "Those eighth graders picking on you again?" and when he nodded I felt the blood boil under my skin. Fucking middle school. I know exactly which punk he's talking about and where that fucker lives. Dropping my hands to his growing shoulders, I slid them down and made my way to hands, flipping them over to see the damage. A frown crossed my face when I noticed they were skinned. "Does it hurt?"
He straightened his back as if to seem tough, "No they don't hurt."
"Yea they do. Come here." Tenderly I rubbed my fingertips over the scratches then pulled him in for a hug. Sniffles reached my ears and I realized he was trying not to cry. Regina and Zelena must have not seen this yet, otherwise he'd be telling me how they dropped the little punks like a bag of potatoes. "Do they do that a lot?" I asked, when he pulled back, wiping his sleeve under his nose.
"No." Big brown eyes averted my gaze and I sighed, clicking my tongue in the process.
"You know you look away when you lie?" His gaze quickly reached mine and a smile crossed my face. "The next time those dudes mess with you, tell your aunts. They'll straighten them out. And if they don't you let me know and I'll do it. We'll go egg their houses."
"Can I come with you?" A smile finally graced his young face and I felt triumphant. I shouldn't be condoning payback but what the hell. Kyle and friends won't get off that easy.
"I wouldn't imagine doing it with anybody else." Standing up I took his hand and walked to our living room area. It was only then that he took in the new space and when his eyes reached the TV seeing that I had already had Rock Band loaded, more teeth began to shine from behind his mouth. After giving him the short tour we landed in the kitchen. "How's the wedding planning coming?" I asked. One thing about Roland is that the older he gets the more adult our conversations become.
"It's okay I guess." He reached for two soda cans in the fridge, setting on the counter for me and popped the other one open. "Marian and Dad are out of town this weekend, so I get to spend time with mom."
"Nice." Turning around I leaned my back against the counter. "That's great for all of us. They stay happy and stress free, we get to hang out, and I get paid." He sent me a smile, taking a quick swig out of his drink.
"I'm like your little prosthetic."
Wait…what? He must've picked up on my confusion because his laugh filled the house. "You know, because I have to pay you to hang out with me." Prosthetic? That doesn't…Oh!
"Do you mean prostitute?" I asked through fits of laughter. How in the fuck did he even know how to use that in a sentence. "That would actually make me the prostitute and your parents the client. That's a terrible analogy, the worst one ever created."
"Hey, at least I used it in a sentence correctly." I stared at him in mock horror, placed my soda on the floor and grabbed my head as if I was in pain.
"Stay out of my head." I cried out in agony. He wasted no time jumping on my back, trying to pull my hands away. We tumbled into a light wrestling match before I had him on the ground tickling all his hot spots. Not to long after he was screaming mercy until I let up. This was the second time today that I felt so fucking alive. This kid, he breaks it out of me one way or another, the real me. "You know I'd hang out with you even if I wasn't getting paid?"
He sat up and eyed me carefully, "Really?"
"One hundred percent. Besides I have, what, like two-three years tops before you're too cool for school to hang out with me." Standing up, I reached down and helped him to his feet.
"I'd never be too cool to hang out with you." He stuck his finger out and like E.T. I touched it with mine before we both 'buzzed' when they met.
"What do you say we start up Rock Band?" Instead of responding he ran off to the console and wrapped guitar strap over his shoulder. Jefferson and I use to play this game all the time before it became an obsolete dinosaur. Luckily he never through it away and now we're about to bring this back from the dead. I let him pick the song and to my surprise it was one of my favorites. Before long the MC on the game was counting down and before long Alanis Morissette's You Oughta Know played through TV. I grabbed the mic and began to singing as Roland pressed the buttons on the guitar and flicked the pick. We were hitting that shit perfectly. As he strummed effortlessly he began to rock his head back and forth, brown hair whipped around and I joined, taking my hair out of its ponytail head banging with him. We jammed with each other and soon it was as if our souls were connecting on another level, taking over our intuition and keeping us in sync. Regardless of how bad I sound in the mic, I didn't care, singing the shit out the next verse: Cause the joke that you made in the bed that was made/And I'm not gonna fade as soon as you close your eyes/And you know it/And every time I scratch my nails down someone else's back I hope you feel it/Well can you feel it? Well I'm here to remind you/Of the mess you left when you went away/It's not fair to deny me/Of the cross I bear that you gave to me/You, you, you, oughta know/Why I'm here, to remind you/Of the mess you left when you went away/It's not fair, to deny me/Of the cross I bear that you gave to me/ You, you, you oughta know.
As the song began to end Roland took the strap off and pretended to smash the guitar on the ground while kicked the mic stand over before we both fell into a fit of giggles. We continued to play through the rest of the set. Twelve songs later until his fingertips were red, and my voice was hoarse. That was when we switched to Super Mario Kart. I was trying I really was, but damnit if Roland didn't beat me every time, so much so that I was wondering if he was whipping out some secret cheat codes on me. But the only thing that I really cared about was if he was having a good time. So if that means he beats me at the game, well so be it. We played until the sky went from blue, to orange and pink, and finally when it was dark our stomachs growled angrily letting us know we had neglected them for too long.
"Pizza time." I sang, and he followed me to the kitchen. Roland jumped on the counter while I got out the dough, pizza sauce, meats, vegetables, and cheeses. Immediately he put his hand in the bowl and grabbed some cheese, dropping it in his mouth with his hand held high.
"Alright, time to play dream team." He stated, with his mouth full of mozzarella. "So you're being sent on an explorers' mission to find a sustainable planet for humans to live on because the end of the world is coming. We don't know when, or if, you'll be coming back, right?
"Right." I responded, drizzling the pasta sauce on the dough.
"Okay, so you have to fill the starship full of the best people, aliens, or robots to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life. To go where no one has gone before. There may be danger so choose wisely."
"How many seats do I have on this starship?" I said licking the sauce off my fingers.
"Five."
"Damn, only five?" I questioned, before dumping the bag of cheese on the sauce.
"Okay, six but that's only if you have a duo. And it can't be a Predator and an Alien." He added taking off the pepperoni off and shoving it in his mouth.
"Of course, the Xenomorphs and Predators would mess up the ship before we even took off from Earth. Okay, okay, I got it. One, Star Lord. Two, Ripley. Three Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones from Men In Black. Five Cyrax. Six, and hear me out, Kronika."
"Woah…" Roland breathed out, I know right. Major flex.
"Yeah. So here's the plan Star Lord is the captain because he is used to flying in space. Then when we get close, Tommy Lee and Will get off the ship and make sure the new world is clear testing the atmosphere with their Men In Black gadgets, killing any enemies that get in their way."
"That's fair, they do it all the time." Roland added in agreement.
"So while they're out Star Lord tells Ripley to guard base camp and she starts bitching because she doesn't want to do it, but she has to. After all this is her area of expertise, plus we are trying to save the world."
"The entire human race!" he said with excitement in his eyes.
"Exactly. So Ripley guards base camp while Star Lord blasts those tunes that we love and tells Cyrax to meet MIB inside, providing any cover that they may need. He does his little teleport thing to reach them. Communicates their findings and boom, brings them back to the ship. But wait, a big bad comes out of nowhere. Luckily for us Ripley brought a Xenomorph egg. Plants it outside, they race back to the ship and boom. Big bad is dead."
"What happens if they don't make it out in time?" he pressed, as if he found a loop hole in my plan.
"If, for some reason this bad ass squad doesn't make it back, Kronika can just turn back time, reviving the dream team once more and we try again. Boom! Emma out." Throwing up one hand in victory I brought the other to my face and proceeded to blow the smoke away from my fake hand gun. He laughed, bowing in the process. Honestly, I have no idea if that could work but he seemed to buy it. Once the pizza was dressed to our perfection we placed it in the oven then got set up for our movie. I pushed the two air mattresses together to make one large bed, grabbing pillows from my room and Jefferson's along with four blankets so we could really make this comfortable.
I turned off all the lights and we slid under the blankets. Roland got close, leaning his head on my chest. Wrapping my arm around his back I pulled him in close and a sigh left fell from his lips. "Don't fall asleep on me." I teased. He chuckled but a part of it felt forced.
"Are you coming to the wedding?" he finally asked, sitting up so his brown eyes could be fixated on me. Well fuck, I was hoping we wouldn't have to talk about this, but I guess I couldn't have expected him to hold off on it the entire time.
"Honestly, I don't know," gravity pulled his head down, the sadness he was emitting was palpable. "But regardless, if I go or not we'll still hang out when they leave for their honeymoon." On cue, there was a light 'ding' from the oven. Thank fuck for that. I don't think I can handle disappointing him any longer. Getting up, I power walked to the kitchen and reached for an oven mitt to pull the pizza out. The light sizzling from the cheese reached my ears and I couldn't help but moan at the smell. Quickly I sliced us up some pieces, grabbed paper plates so I didn't have to do the dishes and walked back into the living room. Roland had positioned a few pillows behind him so he could sit up and watch the movie. Handing him the plate, I sat down on my side and we shamelessly chowed down. I don't consume food prettily while alone, and it was all I could do eat prettily in the company of Kiya earlier today. But now, sitting here with this young man by my side I didn't need to fear judgement. Less than ten minutes later both plates were clean and we were once again snuggled up.
Soon I heard the light snores coming from him and ran my hands through his curly chestnut locks. He breathes like he made it an art form, his chest rising and falling with sedative qualities of a lullaby. I hear each breath with ease and smile creeps on my face. I let it sit there. My phone buzzed beside me but I didn't check it, assuming it was Jefferson or Lexi.
Thoughts of the wedding filtered in and out of my brain and I wish that I had a magic mirror to show me the truth and help me resolve this inner conflict. Is it silly of me to not go because of my own ridiculous insecurities? Because if I'm being honest with myself I would like to go. Unfortunately I couldn't think about it too much when a light knock hit the door, bringing me out of my deep thinking. Slowly, I untangled myself from Roland, careful not to wake him. Tip toeing to the door, another smell hit me. But it couldn't be. There's no way.
But as I pulled open the door I realized I couldn't be further from the truth.
Ho. Ly. Shit.
My breath caught in my chest as the smell that I didn't realize I missed wrapped around me like a warm blanket. Within milliseconds the whole sequence from Benjamin Button sprang forth into my mind-all the small, tiny decisions that people whom I had never spoken to had to take in order for Regina to be standing on my porch. A lump forced its appearance in my throat and refused to move. The light background of the TV droned out to be replaced by a muteness within my brain. As I noticed yesterday, her hair had grown considerably longer, auburn and light brown highlights streaked through her hair and under the moonlight it shimmered. Cheek bones pronounced and demanding as they had always been. A tight white, thigh length dress hugged her in all the right places and my body responded. A Gucci black purse hanging off her elbow and the Christian Lousboutin heels made her calves pop in ways I hadn't recognized before.
Her gaze moved and connected with my eyes, her eyebrows raised widening as lines creased in her forehead, looking just surprised as I must have. Those chocolate orbs moved back and forth rapidly from my face, my hair, my mouth, my body, and then finally ending once again on my eyes. Her brows scrunched in alarm and confusion which allowed me to finally swallow the nervous lump in my throat. The air around us sparked with electricity, similar to the environment when a large thunderstorm is overhanging and the hairs on the back of your neck begin to rise. Why was she surprised? Did she not know Roland was with me? Did she not know that I'm the one baby sitting him?
"Uh, hey Emma-I…what-I'm…" she stuttered and stammered. Jaw remained slack, her mouth agape and her manicured eyebrows creased so firmly that the worn line between them became more pronounced. "I was just, um, I was just here to pick up Roland." Without responding I stepped to the side, allowing her to walk in. When I shut the door the air felt tighter and the tension between us both seemed to grow, stretching languidly out as though waking up from a long nap. Her hands remained glued to her sides and I understood that the familiar tingles that had hung onto every moment from our relationship were exceedingly resounding in this present moment. Their effect usually was disorienting but right now, it was as though they were demanding to be felt, heard, and dominate every thought and muscle function as soon as my skin touched hers. They were acting like a woman scorned and in a bitter action, commanded to remind me of the intense attraction between us.
I walked around her and sat down on the mattress, sending her a look. She understood and came down, albeit awkwardly in her tight dress and extremely high heels but she made it. The mattress shifted and plastic bottom began squeak under the adjustment. We sat in silence, I pretended to stare at the TV watching Armand try and teach his husband Albert how to act like a straight man. Obviously, she's not here to hang out so I should probably say something. "How are you?" I began, reaching for the remote and pausing the movie.
A smirk tugged at her lips and I knew she was amused at how I chose to begin this conversation. "I'm good, Emma. How are you?" My skin began to crawl because of the way she said my name. It reminded me of the first time I met her, speaking with so much professionalism as if the relationship we had built had no longer existed. But…it didn't exist…right?
"Good." I replied as Roland stirred in his sleep, flipping on his back and tossing one arm over his head. I nodded and she nodded in return. We stared at one another and now that the awkward small talk had hit a brick wall, all the memories from our past seeped through the mortar and trudged slowly towards us, swallowing everything in it's path. The same way it did this afternoon.
"Sorry for popping in on you like this." She dropped her gaze and brought it to Roland. "Lexi was supposed to pick him up but she got caught up in something. So I told her I'd get him from the sitter." She bit her lip as if she was thinking over a comment, "I didn't realize you were that sitter." Her tone was clear, impassive, restrained.
"No need to be sorry. I was just taken back by seeing you" I offered unsure of what else to say. For fuck sakes it's been three months. Regina kept her eyes one the sleeping boy below us. Her face shifted into confusion. A small gasp echoed through out the room.
"What the…" she trailed off, staring at the bruise around his eye.
"Fucking kids at his school," I shook my head. "I already have a sworn mission to egg his house sometime this weekend." Regina chuckled from this, cracking the tension building between us.
"Let me know when and where. We can get double the coverage if there's two."
"Three." I pointed to Roland between us. "So triple the coverage." Another light giggle filled the room. A small, almost invisible nod was sent my way while she started running lithe fingers over his hair. Once again we fell into silence, only this time it wasn't as awkward. As her fingers moved over the curly locks I couldn't help but miss her touch on my skin, I couldn't help but capture the way her looks demanded my attention. Her eyes came up, looked at me for a split second, and then wondered around my apartment.
"So this is your new place?" she finally asked, bringing those beautiful eyes back to me.
"Yea, Jefferson and I got this place together." There was a flicker of pride behind her widening pupils that stared me down and I wallowed in the feeling. "Feels nice to have our own place. And, not be in high school anymore." My tone almost sounded like a challenge for her to take. Judging by the small twitch of the corner of her mouth and the reddening of her cheeks, she also received the statement in a similar manner.
"Yes, it does." She muttered, as she began to stand up, this time with elegance and ease. It took me a little bit to get off the mattress that was starting to deflate from all the movement. With strength that I forgot she had, Regina reached down to pick up Roland. Immediately his head slumped over her shoulder, still knocked out from our fun shenanigans. "Well, I should get going."
But I felt a pull. Something strange. Until I realized that I did not want her to leave. Instead of voicing my opinion I bent down to pick up his shoes and handed them to her. We stayed in silence while walking to the door.
"It was good to see you, Emma." Her voice once again, shifting to the professionalism I disliked so much.
"Yea. Yea you too." And without thinking about it I place a hand on her shoulder. The tingles ripped through my body and I guessed she must've felt the same way as she shuddered under my touch. She didn't say anything else, opening the door and stepping out into the crisp night air. I let my eyes linger on her ass a little longer than I should have, before whispering a quiet 'goodnight', reveling in the warmth of tingles buzzing under my skin.