-Past-
"Again? Didn't you go last night?" William follows Delphine into their closet.
"I did," she flips through the plethora of options, settling on a short black dress.
"Should I be concerned? You're going by yourself, aren't you? Meeting clients alone?" He watches her change, noting the absence of her bra.
"I go by myself, yes, and I don't really see clients anymore," she admits, even though she's never met a single client at Martell. "You don't need to worry, though," she explains, slightly exasperated. He's never taken interest in what she does in her free time before. "Plenty of handsome young men ask to buy me a drink or to dance, but I promise, I've denied them all and will continue to deny them all".
"Why do you go there regularly? It's every week, isn't it?" He follows her to the bathroom like a puppy on her heels. "And now twice this week".
"First of all, I already told you that I needed to retrieve my car today since I took a cab last night. But I go regularly now because I've become friends with someone who works there on Fridays," she starts digging through her makeup, making as much clatter as she can manage, just to bother him.
"Friends?"
"Yes," she scoffs at his attitude. "It's a woman".
"Hm," he shoves his hands in his pocket and leans against the door frame, clearly still troubled. "What about Alex?"
"God, Will," Delphine turns to face her interrogator. "Can't I associate with someone other than your sister?"
"Alright, alright. Have fun," he says in a way that Delphine can't tell if he's being passive aggressive or apologetic. The man finally walks away, and she decides to the house early just to put distance between them.
Present
"Shit, Mads. There she is," Cosima jumps up, her vision tunneling.
"Cosima, get your ass back here," Madeline grabs ahold of her ankle before she can run off.
"What the fuck, why?" The frustration in her voice isn't hidden well.
"Because you still have half your crap to pack up, and honestly, because your obsession with her is starting to scare me".
"I'm not obsessed. Why are you being such a bitch about this?" Cosima tries to shake her leg free, but Madeline only grips her tighter.
"Why are you so hostile all of a sudden? Dude, you never even get irritable and now you're always at a baseline of grumpy when you're not around her," Madeline lets her go when she sees Cosima relenting.
"I'm sorry I've been in a bad mood lately. But seriously, I'm fine". Cosima's fingers twitch anxiously.
"Cosima," the girl sighs, looking up at her friend. "You spent your Sunday just waiting at the bar. You've come in every day since then, volunteering to do tech work or whatever else on your days off. She's only ever come in on Fridays. I don't understand why you can't just leave–"
"Ugh, Madi you are starting to sound more like your mother every day," Cosima tries to redirect, but Madi can hear the desperation in her voice just to get to the blonde.
"Fine, Cosima. Go flirt with a straight, married woman". Madi shakes her head and puts her attention back into cleanup. Cosima feels the pang of guilt, but her other, more sinful needs are insistent.
She hops off the front of the stage and peers over at the bar. Delphine is wearing skinny jeans and a dark tank top. It's a definite contrast to her typical getup. As Cosima starts toward the blonde, she sees another person sit down next to her – a dark-haired business-looking woman.
"Hey, I was worried I'd never see you again after Saturday," Cosima sits to the left of Delphine, trying to keep her jealousy in check. Delphine turns to smirk but her attention is pulled away almost immediately.
"What happened on Saturday?" The new woman raises her eyebrow at Delphine.
"Not much," Delphine shrugs. "I was forced to run the lights for a show," she points toward the stage. "And then I took this woman home with me, we threatened to rob and murder Will, and then I drove her back to her apartment and tried tricking her into kissing me, but I'm not her type".
"Christ, you can never be serious, can you Delphine?" The woman scoffs and Delphine only shrugs. "You should go into writing. You've obviously got enough skill in bullshitting".
"This is my husband's sister, Alex," Delphine turns to Cosima, the customary unseen smile still present.
"Hey," she waves to Alex. "I'm Cos–"
"I saw you up there earlier," Alex interrupts. "Do you work here?"
"Yeah, I work here. Tech support and performance stuff. Usually run amateur night".
"Amateur night. This place has amateur night?" Alex leans forward on the bar to get a better look at Cosima.
"Yeah. The last Friday of the month we do something extra after our set. Usually it's amateur night, but sometimes they try stand-up or poetry readings. Tried karaoke once. Did not work out".
"Delphine, you should've introduced me to her earlier. I could go a whole different direction with their piece of the article. Special events. It could give me a leg up – one step closer to a promotion or even just some vacation time," Alex complains, swatting Delphine's arm with the back of her hand.
"You're writing an article on this place?" Cosima's bright tone feeds Alex's ego and Delphine has to roll her eyes.
"It's a part of a bigger piece on the popular places to go for a drink and a dance floor. Not that you guys really have one, which is another reason something like amateur night would've been helpful," Alex and Cosima both glance over their shoulders at the empty floor space reserved for the few people who like to dance. "Anyways, that's when Del started coming here. Will says you've been coming here every single week for months now ever since I brought you here," Alex turns her attention back to Delphine.
"I'm surprised he even noticed. He's not usually around on Friday nights".
"Alright, well, I'd rather not get into the drama," Alex sighs and slaps her cash down next to her empty glass. "I'm heading out. See you Sunday, Del," she slips out of her seat and kisses Delphine on the cheek, making Cosima squirm briefly.
"Funny," Cosima draws Delphine's attention to her finally. "My friend was just telling me that she thought I was being obsessive about you, but it sounds like you're not so different".
Delphine is able to preserve her mysterious indifference, but Cosima still spots the slight blush tinting the blonde's face. "Obsessive sounds rather negative," she replies finally, paying the bartender for her drink, even though it's only half empty.
"You're leaving already?" Cosima can't keep the disappointment out of her voice. "I had like fifty questions for you".
"It's too loud. Take me someplace quieter and I'll give you fifty answers," she explains, despite the lounge's mellow environment at the moment, taking her change and folding it into her bra.
…
…
…
"It's technically a storage room, but the manager let us turn it into our little backstage chill-zone," Cosima shows Delphine into a relatively large room at the end of the hall behind the stage. Delphine locks the door behind her. Cosima pretends not to notice.
"This establishment confuses me," Delphine looks around at the vintage furniture placed in front of metal shelves with boxes of napkins and extra receipt paper. "The drinks are moderately expensive, well made, and everyone seems to dress nicely, but then I look at the chipped tables and concrete floor and wonder if it's all a ruse".
"Ha," Cosima falls back onto an olive-green couch with a dramatically rounded back. "Yeah, it's kind of a hipster joint. The owner's son is in charge of the, like, vibe or theme or whatever. It's where the few successful entrepreneurs and rich kids just getting out of college go. If you want high-class, you should walk a few blocks down. I hear their cheapest drink is, like, forty bucks".
"I'll pass," the blonde rolls her eyes, remembering when Will took her to a place like that. Everyone was so stiff and old. "Alright. Question number one?"
"Hm, I guess we could start with why your sister-in-law was sent to supervise you," Cosima watches her stroll around the room with her hands in her back pockets.
Delphine chuckles, "She wasn't sent to supervise me. I don't think, at least. We're friends. The first time I came here was with her".
"Right. Then you saw me and just had to keep coming back week after week," she rolls her eyes, voice thick with sarcasm. The blonde just smirks, making Cosima wonder if she was actually spot on. She knows it's true to an extent, but never believed it was the very first time the blonde attended their show. "Do you come alone so nobody discovers your infatuation with me?"
Delphine looks up at the paneled ceiling, stained and pale. "William certainly wouldn't like it if there was…someone else. But I don't think he'd be as upset if that someone was a woman".
"Why? Because he's into the whole lesbian fantasy?" Cosima scoffs.
"No," Delphine answers firmly. "Whatever happens between two women, in his mind, I think he considers it faux. It's not real because nothing real can happen between them. Imitation. Fraud. So, if I ever showed inclination toward that kind of behavior, he'd probably think of it more like a child acting out or going through a phase".
"That's…" Cosima doesn't know how to describe what she's thinking. Delphine makes eye-contact with her from across the room, waiting for an end to the sentence. "Is that what you think, too?" she settles on.
"Hmm," she smiles, crossing her arms and making her way over to the couch. "What do you think, Cosima?" Delphine sits just inches away from the brunette, folding her leg underneath her and resting her head on her fist, propped up by the back of the couch, her whole body facing Cosima.
"I…" Cosima stutters for a moment, not used to the full and direct attention that Delphine insists on never giving her. "I think I'd like to move to a different question".
"Ask," Delphine stares into her eyes in a way that makes her writhe internally.
"You…why did you seem so sure with your assumptions? Last Saturday, when you came to my apartment," she tries her best to look away from the fiery eyes but can't bring herself to.
"About whether you'd try anything or not?" Cosima just nods. "Hm. I think because you are usually so charming with the women that I see you with, and you typically end up initiating something more physical. But with me, your charm seems to falter frequently, so I would assume the end result would be different as well".
"I guess, yeah. My charm doesn't work so well on you," she smiles with exasperation. "I'll have to practice more".
"Oui, I think so," Delphine finally breaks her intense gaze and examines the couch's floor area. The excitement she feels from the interaction rises with an equal level of frustration. The same frustration she felt when she left Cosima's apartment.
"Wait, the women you see me with? Where? How many?" Cosima sits up a little straighter.
"Just here," Delphine motions toward the door in the direction of the actual bar. "Maybe eight or nine women".
She never really thought about how many people she hooks up with. "Uh…Okay, next question…what do you want?" Cosima asks with a nervous chuckle. "Like, I think it's pretty clear what I want, at least in the short run. But you…"
"Well, what is it that you want, Cosima?" Delphine reconnects her stare, a grin curving her lips just slightly.
"You know, I would do just about anything for another chance to kiss you," she can't stop herself from saying. The blonde smiles, first in a charming way, glancing around the room. But then it shifts to a smile with slightly squinted eyes, right back at Cosima.
"Anything…like, maybe…finish that bottle?" Delphine nods her head toward their feet.
It takes Cosima a few seconds to spot it, a small cubby in the bottom of their makeshift coffee table filled with liquor. In front of the collection of brown liquor is a nearly empty bottle of vodka. The blue-ish glass taking center stage among its neighboring dark containers sits right behind three dirty shot glasses. "Oh God, that's J's".
"There's some Everclear in the back if you don't want to–"
"Nope. Nope, that's worse," Cosima sighs but can't contain her grin. "If I finish the Pinnacle, I get to kiss you?"
Delphine reaches down to retrieve the alcohol and the cleanest of the three shot glasses. She pours the liquid expertly and hands it to Cosima. "I believe you asked for the chance to kiss me, not an actual kiss," she clarifies. "But neither are relevant. You can kiss me whenever you like".
Cosima is about to respond, but Delphine taps the little glass, prompting her to drink anyways. She doesn't know why, but Cosima complies. "Fuck". She covers her mouth with the back of her hand, hoping it makes the taste disappear.
"Why do you dislike vodka so much?" Delphine takes the glass and fills it up again.
"I don't know. Just the taste. Especially the stuff they use up at the bar. It's, like, a spicy burn or something. Just unpleasant". Delphine hands her the second glass with a soft grin. "Why on earth would I take another shot?"
The blonde leans forward to kiss her on the cheek, taking her time to complete the action. When her lips do leave Cosima's skin, they don't go far, whispering in her ear, "Because I want you to".
"This is both the most and least enjoyable form of peer pressure I've ever experienced". It only takes a gentle nudge of the blonde's fingers on the glass for Cosima to throw it back with a grimace. "I think…I still have questions," the smaller woman asserts hoarsely. Delphine nods her head, prompting her to go on. "Why, uh…how often do you do this kind of thing?"
"What kind of thing?" she pours another shot. Cosima takes it without question this time.
"Like, flirt with people who aren't your husband. And almost kiss people who aren't your husband. And touch people, like…" she can't find the right words, the alcohol already taking a toll on her fatigued brain.
"Never," another shot, another grimace.
"Never? You've never done this before?" Delphine shakes her head, pouring yet another glass. "Why now, then? Why me?"
Delphine glances at the glass in Cosima's hand, prompting her to drink. "There," she takes the glass and sets it next to the now empty bottle that Cosima is just noticing. "I'm surprised you made it all the way through".
"I hate vodka," Cosima mumbles. "And I hate you".
Delphine just smiles at the pouting woman. "Kiss me".
"What would you do if I said no?" Cosima crosses her arms across her chest. "You seem pretty enthusiastic. Why don't you kiss me?"
"I'm a married woman, Cosima. What would I tell my husband?" Delphine smiles calmly through her inner turmoil. She enjoys the game more than she should, but she's also tired of it. She just wants the prize already.
"Ah, so I shouldn't kiss you at all, then," Cosima leans back and crosses her legs, calmly smiling through her own inner turmoil. She's always liked the chase, she's always been good at it, but the finish line is so much more appealing with Delphine. Madi is probably right. She only wants her so badly because she really shouldn't have her in the first place. "I should leave you alone and go find other girls to flirt with. Unmarried girls".
Even though Delphine knows she's not completely serious, the statement gives her a slight panic. "I'm no authority on what you should and shouldn't do. Just as long as I don't have to directly lie, I can–"
"Oh, that's why I have to be the one to kiss you," Cosima interrupts excitedly. "Because then, if anyone asks, you can just say that I kissed you, not that you kissed me. Is that it?"
"Essentially," Delphine nods in thought.
"Huh," Cosima nods back. "So, if I just refuse to actually make any kind of move on you, then you'll just…just…you'll totally break. I know it".
"What makes you so sure?" She glares at the brunette, half frustrated, but still half invigorated. "You think you're that charming?"
"Apparently I am. You've seen me in action," she shrugs. "However, I think you'll break because, not only am I that charming, but you want it, too. If I hold out, you'll just end up initiating it yourself".
"I have a lot more self-control than you, though. And less than thirty minutes ago you said you'd do anything for the chance to kiss me".
"Oh, but the tables have turned," Cosima moves herself so there's no room between them on the vintage couch. Her smile widens as she watches Delphine's focus jump back and forth between her eyes and lips. "I have the freedom to do whatever I want, when I want. You can only wait until I initiate something, or…" she pauses to slip her hand up to Delphine's neck and slides her fingers up through the hair on the back of her head, pulling her in as close as possible without completing the motion. "You can wait until your will cracks from your carnal cravings," she finishes with a wink and a smile.
"Cosima," Delphine looks back up to the woman's eyes, suddenly more interested in defending her pride. "I've spent my life learning to control myself," she starts leaning forward, but only to push Cosima back slowly. "You spend your nights giving into your carnal cravings," Cosima has to take her hand back from Delphine's neck as her back hits the seat cushions of the couch. "I doubt I will be the first to give into anything, chérie".
"But…" Cosima starts, out of breath for no reason, distracted by the gorgeous woman hovering over her and still feeling dizzy from the alcohol. "But you admit to your carnal cravings".
Delphine smiles, glancing at her lips. "Why would I admit to something like that?"
"Jesus," Cosima closes her eyes and tries to calm her nervous fingers, restraining them from grabbing onto Delphine's waiting waist. "You are really good at…evasion.
"And you are very bad at self-control, so it's only a matter of time before you fail".
"But just the fact alone that you want me to fail is enough motivation for me to seduce you into failing. I'm very competitive," Cosima can't help thinking what she would be doing if it weren't Delphine above her. Any other girl would've been undressed by now.
"Seduce me?" Delphine has to break her smoldering eye-contact to laugh. "How weak-willed do you think I am?"
"Well, I mean, you–"
Only Cosima's attention is pulled away when Delphine's phone rings. The blonde doesn't seem to care until Cosima makes it clear she's waiting for her to answer. She rolls her eyes, sighs and reaches for her phone. "Hello?"
"Where are you, Del?" her husband's voice comes through loud enough for both women to hear.
"I'm with my new friend. She took me to a secret back room where I forced her to drink vodka and now she's trying to seduce me. Don't worry, I won't let her," she winks at the woman still panting below her.
"I'm surprised you went into business instead of fiction. You could've been a well-known author by now," Delphine rolls her eyes again.
"Alex said the same thing earlier. I could still pursue writing. Maybe I could write a book about my rebellious lesbian affair," Cosima just watches the interaction with curiosity. Neither party seems truly upset, but there's still resentment on Delphine's side and annoyance in her husband's voice. It's like they're comfortable with being irritated with each other.
"It's late. Come home," he orders firmly.
"Or what? You're going to ground me?" Delphine bites back playfully, completely unfazed by his demeanor.
"Now, Delphine". The man hangs up before she can argue further.
Delphine shoves the phone back in her pocket. "He seems nice," Cosima comments, treading carefully.
"Oh, just the sweetest man alive," she confirms in an oddly convincing tone.
"How long have you two been married?" Cosima's heart sinks when Delphine starts to sit up, intent on following her husband's orders apparently.
"Eight or nine years, I think," she shrugs, standing and making her way to the door and unlocking it. Cosima can only nod.
"Hey, wait, just two more really quick questions" she manages to stop the blonde before she leaves. Delphine shrugs and returns to her seat next to Cosima. "When's the last time you had sex with your husband?"
"Euh, this morning," her eyes wander across the walls. Her sex life with her husband has been significantly more active since she started seeing Cosima. Since the growing tension started becoming more and more unbearable.
"So, did you do what I asked this morning?" Cosima smiles, unsure if the woman even remembers the favor.
"Hmmm," Delphine stalls.
"It's a yes or no question. What's taking you so long?" Cosima pokes.
"I'm trying to decide which of the two truths to tell you," she glances around in thought, as it feels she's been doing all night.
"Why are there two truths? Tell me both," a bit of anxiety invades Cosima's voice.
Delphine considers the suggestion. The truth is that she thinks about Cosima all the time when she's with her husband, but if she tells her that, Cosima might think she has more power over her. She wants Cosima to be the one to break, not only so that she doesn't have to lie, though. She wants to be the person to break her. She wants Cosima to be the vulnerable one.
"The first truth," she decides to share, thinking it may be more like dangling temptation in front of Cosima instead of reinforcing her predictions. "I did not think about you the next time I was with Will, which is what you asked of me. The second truth, I did think about you this morning since today wasn't technically the next time that I was with him".
"Ah, I see," Cosima's features are clearly drowsy, but a cocky smile finds the energy to move her lips. "How often do you think about me when–"
"You've already asked your questions," Delphine interrupts. "Save some for next time," she leans forward to kiss Cosima's cheek.
"Can next time be now?" Cosima whines, accepting the disappointing peck. Delphine shakes her head and returns to the door. "Are you going to start thinking about me every time?" Cosima asks with a dopey smile, giddy even though Delphine is having sex with her husband and not her.
"I don't know what made you think I didn't already," is the last thing Delphine says before closing the door behind her. Drunken-Cosima hastily hops up and tries to run after her, but drunken-Cosima trips and falls over the wrinkled rug on the cement floor.
"Oh, fuck you, Delphine," Cosima sighs, smiling through her irritation.