Jane's early morning workout went a long way. Apparently, she'd had a little more in her than she had realised. And, other than sweating like a pig (sorry, glowing like a pig), her thinking certainly seemed a lot less cluttered and for that she was thankful. Somewhere between her time on the rowing machine and beating the crap out of a boxing bag she realised something; They're relationship now wasn't like the one they had before. There are no restrictions, except for the ones they wish to impose themselves. They weren't going to get in trouble or be banned from seeing each other. Not only that, but she could be open with Maura unabashedly. Although she didn't self-harm anymore (mostly), she wasn't scared to core that Maura would then go tell another teacher or her parents or force her into counselling. If she opened up about family Maura wasn't going to call Social Services or anything like that. They could just be. Of course, those thoughts had come into her mind before that moment but perhaps she just wasn't ready to hear them.
She shot Maura a text:
Thanks again for last night. :)
Jane took a quick shower before throwing on her work clothes and heading up to the office. She didn't feel the need to take a look at her scars but did note: I guess being tired can mess up your thinking.
•••
By the time Maura read that message, it was already recess. She couldn't quite pinpoint why but it seemed like Jane was in a better mood. This made her smile.
You're always welcome. Are you free for dinner tonight? X
A while later, Jane replied.
Nah, can't. Tomorrow night?
Sounds good. I have a couple of things to do for my students but they should mostly be finished by that point.
All good. I finish work at 4 tomorrow so do you want to do 6? Or I can pick you up from school if that makes things easier?
I'll tell you what, come by mine whenever you want. I'll be back from about 4:30 PM. We can go from there. As long as you don't mind me doing a little work. You can hang out with Bass though?
Great. X
For a moment that seemed like it until Jane sent a second message.
Thanks again Maur.
•••
Jane stood at Maura's door staring at her watch. It was 4:28pm and Jane didn't want to seem too keen, nor did she want to annoy Maura. She stood, staring and waiting. 4:29:10pm hit and she decided it couldn't wait. She rang the door bell.
Barely ten seconds passed before Jane heard the rattle of the keys on the other side of the door.
Opening the door with a smile, Maura said, "Hello Jane," before giving her a quick peck on the lips.
"Please come in."
The moment the door closed behind them, Jane backed Maura against the wall and kissed her passionately. It was the way she'd wanted to do it for, in this moment, it was what felt true. Although initially taken aback, Maura was quick to engage moving her hands to Jane's waist, lightly tugging her closer. After what seemed like forever, they finally parted lips and each smiled at each other, still in each other's arms.
Maura asked, "What was that for?"
Jane shrugged it off a little as if it were nothing and said, "Just wanted to say thanks." She glanced away at the end of her words, only to be drawn back by Maura's hand on her jaw.
"Always, Jane. Always," she said with a squeeze of Jane's waist.
The afternoon was pretty ordinary, which neither of them minded. Maura did some of her school work, Jane pretended to do some of her paperwork before opting to watch television and then when she got bored she would go over to Maura and annoy her with silly faces.
They ended up getting take-away from a local Lebanese place that they both loved. After dinner, they retreated to Maura's bedroom where they scrolled through Netflix on Maura's laptop trying to find something to watch. Without really noticing how or why, their legs had begun entwined as Jane placed one of hers between Maura's with the laptop sitting on top of them. Without either of them noticing what was happening, one of Maura's hands rested upon Jane's leg, slowly making its way up the outside of Jane's thigh. Maura could feel the subtle little raised bumps that were the scars on her leg but tried to keep her hand still. For Maura, it wasn't about the scars. She just liked feeling the warmth of Jane's skin against hers. Her toned physique never bothered her either.
Jane didn't flinch when she felt Maura's fingers trace up towards. She was comfortable and unafraid. She was happy. They both were.
It seemed that tonight, everything Netflix just wasn't appealing to them.
"Well, that sucks," Jane uttered aloud.
Maura hummed in agreement.
"What d'you wanna do?" Jane asked.
Maura closed the lid of her laptop and set it on her bedside table. She thought for a moment. "I quite like what we were doing before," she said hintingly.
Jane silently considered what they'd done before replying, "You want me to pull faces while you do school work?"
Maura pursed her lips in feigned annoyance. "Just one face," she corrected. "And no school work."
"Oh," Jane said in sudden realisation. "We can definitely do that," she smiled.
Maura manoeuvred herself onto her side a little more so she had better access and began tracing kisses up Jane's neck and toward her lips. She could feel a small smile creep onto Jane's lips as they continued to kiss. Maura smiled back before, almost instinctively, pressing harder against Jane once again. The kiss begun to get deeper as time went on and neither wanted it to end.
Jane found herself tracing her fingertips along the dainty bones that were the side of Maura's ribcage; thumbs gently grazing over the supple skin of Maura's breasts. Maura flinched at first at cold fingers but was quick to give in with her own hands becoming deeper entwined in Jane's hair.
Throughout it all, their bodies had gotten closer, the inside of Maura's leg now wrapped around Jane's, making sure she stays close. Jane's skin was like velvet against her own and she couldn't be happier.