Apologies again for the delay in updating but I have been sick, I wasn't very well mentally and had to move out of university for a while after a break down… slowly getting back to normal now so thanks for being patient! I hope you enjoy this next chapter and as always suggestions are welcome
_
After a quick drive the black Mercedes pulled up outside a run-down apartment building. Emma smiled sweetly, "Umm, okay this is it… do you want to come up or are staying in the car?"
Regina looked over as she turned of the car and stepped out. She would never admit it, but she secretly wanted to see the inside of Emma's apartment as well as her pets.
"Just… make sure you lock it" Emma said simply and lead Regina inside. The place was dirty and grotty with music coming from various apartments as well as yelling in various languages, however, when they got to Emma's apartment on the third floor it was totally different. It was simply decorated and almost empty, but still had a homely feel. The living and kitchen were a small open space with a corridor leading to Emma's room and the bathroom. Whist it was cosy and homely, there were no personal things except for a photo of Emma and Ruby on the fridge, Emma sat on her knee and laughing whilst Ruby was kissing her neck. There was also a well loved white baby blanket with her name on screwed up on the couch.
As soon as the door was open a small black cat with white paws flipped to her back right in front of Regina's feet. Emma giggled softly "She isn't gonna move till you give her belly rubs."
The older women looked around a little confused, wondering if Emma just moved here. Her eyes landed on the photo of Emma and the brunette and it felt like her heart had been squeezed at how happy they looked. Of course, Emma wouldn't be single. She forced a smile but raised an eyebrow at the cat rolling around at her feet. "It's not a dog" she thought cats didn't like their bellies being touched.
"She's weird" Emma shrugged and chuckled as she bent down to pick her up, the cat happily lay on her shoulder as she went inside properly "What time do we have to be there? Should I change now or at your place?" she turned to face her boss.
Regina chuckled softly as she looked at the cat, the fur ball really did love Emma, she sighed softly "you can just change at my place dear."
"Okays." She nodded and placed the cat down on the floor "Just let me grab my stuff. You don't have to stand, you can sit if you want." She pointed to the couch as she walked to the fridge and grabbed lettuce and strawberry's before going down the corridor to her room.
The brunette sat and looked around again, she giggled softly as the cat jumped up and nuzzled her hand "okay needy one." She said smiling as she gently ran her hand up and down its back. "That girl is very lucky to be able to kiss your owner like that." She said quietly, not that the cat understood her.
About five minutes later Emma returned holding a bag containing her make up and heels that would match the dress "Just let me put her some fresh food down then I'm ready."
Regina continued to pet the cat and scratch under its chin, she had never petted one before one before, her mother would never allow it. "You and your girlfriend look cute." She was happy for Emma… at least that's what she told herself.
"My what?" she looked up confused, "Oh! Umm nah that's just Ruby. We… we're not… I mean she's not my girlfriend." She filled the cat's food and water bowl.
Regina couldn't help the smile that formed on her lips. "Really? Are you sure she knows that because she seems pretty happy to be kissing your neck like that." She groaned and bit her tongue. "I'm sorry, its none of my business."
Emma blushed and shrugged "It's just… we aren't together. We just… you know we have fun." She bit her lip wondering if Regina would get what she meant. "I love Ruby, just not like that." She walked over and sat at the other end of the couch "She's helped me through a lot. And besides even if I did like her Ruby isn't a one women kinda girl."
Regina felt shocked by that. She wasn't expecting Emma to be the kind to have casual sex, not that it was a bad thing. "I understand." She nodded and chuckled softly thinking about the last time she had sex she actually enjoyed… "My sister is the same." She rolled her eyes.
"Ruby is great really. She's like family." She shrugged and smiled a little. Emma didn't have a family, Granny and Ruby were the closest thing she had.
Regina nodded as she stood making sure she didn't disturb the happy cat purring away, "What's its name, the cat I mean." She pets it one last time with a soft smile.
"She…" Emma smirked a little correcting her boss "Her name is Boots."
The brunette shot Emma a glare and rolled her eyes at how she corrected her "How original."
"I thought it was cute okay." Emma chuckled softly.
Before Regina could reply the bedroom, door opened with a crack as the large tortoise wondered in slowly. Her head snapped around and her expression turns horrified as she looks at the large creature. "They let you have that thing in here?" she snapped a little as she hid behind Emma, noticing how close they were, taking in her scent.
Emma couldn't help but laugh as she watched Regina's expression. "Come on, he isn't even fully grown yet." She rolled her eyes "he isn't that bad… you'll hurt his feelings."
Regina slowly reached her arms out to hold Emma's hips gently as she pretended to hide behind her, her body pressed to the taller women's back. "Does he bite?" she whispered not wanting to startle the animal into an attack.
Emma laughed again, it was nice seeing a different side of her boss, she was just so serious, even cold sometimes. "No… no he won't I promise."
The brunette looked at Emma's creamy neck and her breath quickens with her heart beat. She gently backed up, no matter how much she wanted to press closer. She smelt of roses. She pulled her self together and looked down at the creature curiously.
He wondered down the corridor and into the living space, not even acknowledging his human and her visitor, "You see, he's chill."
"Can I touch him?" Regina asked, almost shy.
"Sure." Emma nodded before getting of the couch and kneeling next to him. She grabbed a lettuce leaf of the coffee table and held it out to him as he munched happily. "I pinkie promise he will not bite you."
The older women knelt next to her assistant and looked at him confused, blushing at how stupid she must look. "I'm sorry I haven't been around animals before, only horses. How should I touch him?" she asked carefully.
Emma turned her head to look at her boss, "Just stroke his shell. Well, you can try to touch his head, but he'll probably hide in his shell if you try. You won't hurt him I promise. That shell is pretty hard."
"I suppose he is cute." She admits as she pets him next to Emma's hand.
"Told you." She chuckled "I wanted a parrot. They are kind of noisy though… I have never seen a horse in person." Emma blushed a little embarrassed.
"I always wanted a pet, but mother wouldn't allow anything but horses." She smiled softly "Well, one day I'll take you to the stables."
"I never had a pet either till these guys. Do you still have horses?" she cocked her head curiously.
"Mother does yes." Regina laughed softly as Boots jumped back in her lap demanding attention.
"She likes you."
Regina looked up at Emma with sad eyes, "That new… people don't tend to like me." she said softly before looking down at the animal again.
"I… I do… you're not that bad."
Regina stood and walked towards the door. "You're only saying that because I'm your boss dear." She forced a smile as she walked out the door and down to her car waiting for Emma to join her.
Before Emma could even reply Regina had walked out. She let out a soft sigh before grabbing her stuff, locking up and heading down to the car. She got to the car and decided not to say anything to avoid upsetting Regina more. It wasn't true though, sure, sometimes her boss was cold and even a little mean, but Emma could tell there was more to Regina then that.
The brunette chewed the inside of her cheek as they sat in silence. She could feel the tension. She looked at the road and began to speed. Yeah was illegal, but she wasn't really worried about getting a ticket, she knew a lot of the cops in this area anyway, so it wasn't an issue. They got to her place in under 20 minutes, she quickly got out the car already feeling a little better. She waited for Emma to join her and smiled a little, she punched the code in to open the lobby door and walked to the elevator without looking at Emma, "I wasn't expecting guests, so my place may be a little messy, I do tend to keep it clean." She smiled a little as she opened the door and nodded to the manager behind the desk.
Emma looked around wide eyes, she looked around curiously carrying her bags, noting how the place was like a hotel, the kind you see in movies.
Regina smirked at the blonde's child like wonder. Gosh she wished she could kiss those soft pink lips. She realized she was staring and looked away just in time for the elevator doors to ping open. "Thanks Jerry." She smiled giving the bell boy a twenty-dollar tip. There were two apartments on this floor due to their size but the one next to Regina's was empty.
The young women raised her eyebrow at the large tip as she quickly followed, still looking around in wonder.
When they first walked in to the large apartment they entered a small hall way. To the right, was a small coat rack with a closet to the left. The wood floor leads the way to the kitchen, the kitchen was stunning with beautiful white marble tops and small table that would hold four people. There were two cups sat in the sink causing Regina to groan. The living room had white carpet and lights that you could turn the dimness up and down. There was a grey leather couch with a brown blanket over the back of it. In front of that, sat a black, glass coffee table with a bowl of fake fruit in the centre. The big flat screen TV sat on a modern looking entertainment system with movies filling the storage shelves. To the right of the TV was a large book case filled with books and nick nacks here and there.
Emma noted a small hallway to the right that led to Regina's room, the room held a queen-sized bed decorated in black and white pillows and blankets. There was a small chest at the foot of the bed and a large desk in front of the window. Her closet was in the corner with the bathroom on the other side of the hall.
There was an elegant red dress hanging on the closet door and Regina groaned softly, "My mom must have been over." She said softly, noticing the dress was new. She walked into the closest and grabbed some black heels."
Emma looked around with wide eyes, she was a little embarrassed of her own place after seeing where Regina lived. It was huge, and Emma was sure her entire apartment could have fit in Regina's living space. She followed Regina to the bedroom awkwardly, it felt weird seeing her boss's bedroom. "Your place is beautiful Regina."
Regina smiled brightly, "Well thank you, it's much to big for me, but mother insisted." She chuckled "Your place is much more inviting." She pointed to the rest room "you can change in there if you want or the closet, its big enough." She spoke softly as she slipped out of her heels and blazer.
"I'll use the bathroom its okay." She smiled politely as she headed into the large bathroom. Emma did her hair first, putting it into a tight French fishtail braid on one side of her head before curling the rest and pinning it up of her neck into a tight, organised messy bun. She smiled, happy with the outcome before covering it in hair spray to keep it in place. Next, she did her makeup, she kept it light and natural but made sure to her highlight her eyes since Regina had called them beautiful. She wanted to look good for her boss. After that she slipped into her dress and her ears before changing her flower ear rings into some simple diamond studs. It took just over an hour and a half for her to finish getting ready but when she did she left the bathroom holding a clutch bag that didn't even match. She had a soft blush on her cheeks as she stood in the door and cleared her throat "I… I think I'm ready." She shifted a little awkwardly as she waited for Regina's reaction.
Regina on the other hand had decided to keep with her every day lipstick and changed her lipstick to a deep red, the darker colours always highlighted her scar. She heard Emma enter the room and bit her lip softly with her back to Emma "What would you have done if I was naked dear? Knock next time." She chuckled softly but still didn't look at her "Can you zip me?" she asked softly. Of course, she could do it herself, but she wanted to see if Emma would do it for her.
"I'm sorry" Emma went a deep shade of red "Y… umm the door was open so I just… oh yeah sure." She zipped Regina's dress and cleared her throat again. "There you go."
The older women chuckled softly at the blonde squirming. She smiled softly and turned around. Once again, the sight of the blonde took her breath away. She looked Emma up and down and her eyes stopped on those perfect pink lips, she chuckled softly as she used her thumb to correct Emma's lipstick.
"Thanks." She smiled "Umm m-my bag doesn't match but I didn't have another." She chuckled a little nervously, she really wanted to impress Regina 'jeez Emma it's a work thing.' She reminded herself.
Pulling her hand away, Regina looked down at the bag and smiled, gosh she was cute. "You shouldn't wear heels, makes me look short." She winked as she walked into her closet picking out two clutch bags, a red one to match her own and a dark blue one to match Emma's. "how about you use the red and ill use the blue?" she smiled at the nervous blonde.
"Okay." She removed her phone, ID and money from the bag and put it in the new one Regina handed to her. "I can change my shoes?"
Looking down at her Rolex Regina smiled "We should get going or we'll be late." She said softly as she leads the way out of her apartment. "And no. don't change them." She winked as she pushed the elevator button.
"Okays." Emma nodded, once they were in the car she began to chew on her lip. "Miss Mills? I… I mean Regina."
Regina smiled to herself when Emma said okays, so it wasn't a misspelling on the text then. She looked over at the nervous looking blonde, her heart speeding up at the way Emma pronounces her name. "Yes Emma?" she asked softly.
The younger women was fiddling with her fingers, something she did when she was nervous. "Umm is this… I mean sister said your mother said you had to bring a date and you asked me, but I know this isn't a date but are we supposed to be pretending it is or…?"
Regina felt her heart tighten when Emma said it wasn't a date. She knew that, but she wished it was. "Would you be mad if I said it was a date?"
"Ummm no." Emma looked down at her hands and shook her head, Regina was her boss. This was a bad idea.
The brunettes heart thumped hard against her chest, "I know this is wrong, but you make me feel alive again Emma. Before I met you, I was numb and angry. Then you walked into my office with your shyness and mistakes. Gosh you've made me go soft already." She chuckled softly, "I know I am your boss, so I understand if you say no, but I would like this to be a date." She said softly and took Emma's fiddling fingers in her own.
Emma looked up with her wide, bright eyes. She rolled her eyes and smiled with a soft blush "I am not that shy." She mumbled and looked down at their interlinked hands. "I would actually really like that."
Regina couldn't hold back her smile and giggle "This is a horrible first date. But it's a start." She chuckled again and squeezed the blonde's hand.
"I'm sure it won't be that bad… although I'm not sure how I feel about meeting your mother on the first date."
Regina scoffed "I wouldn't want you to meet my mother at any time." She chuckled, gently pulling her hand away. "Try not to be offended. She's allot more straight forward then I am." She told Emma softly as they drove the rest of the short distance.
"Oh… well that's comforting…. I guess." Emma scrunched her nose sarcastically before getting out the car waiting for Regina.
Hi guys, hope you enjoyed, this chapter was a shorter one and the next one will be short too, but it'll be up in the next few days as its almost finished. The ones after that will be long again, I'm sorry for the slow update, as said I've been sick but slowly getting back to normal. Feel free to review and leave suggestions again.