Sara found Catherine in her office. Perfect strawberry blonde ringlets fell around her face as she sat hunched over her paperwork. There were those damn butterflies in Sara's stomach again as she stood there watching, realizing that maybe, just maybe, she did have a "thing" for Catherine after all. The thought terrified her more than anything had in a long time.
"Cat," Sara called softly, startling the other woman slightly. Catherine removed her glasses, staring at Sara a moment, silently perplexed.
"You must have made a wrong turn," she finally spat bitterly, replacing her glasses and turning her gaze back to her desk, "but I think there's an empty lab down the hall, if you're looking for a place to hide."
Ok, I deserved that. Sara told herself as she tired to ignore the way Catherine's words had stung.
"I… I was wondering… if we could… talk," Sara tried to keep her voice from shaking along with her body.
"You've spent the entire night avoiding me," Catherine began, still bitter, continuing to scribble across the papers in front of her. "And now, now, you come to me and want to know if we can talk?" she paused to shoot Sara a look of pure rage before concluding. "No, Sara. I don't want to talk. I have absolutely nothing to say."
Gathering all her courage, Sara stepped inside and shut the door, flicking the lock into place.
"We need to talk," She said again, trying to sound firm, though she only sounded terrified. Which, to be perfectly honest, she was.
"Fine," Catherine snapped through gritted teeth, throwing her pen down on the desk hard enough that it bounced up again before landing on the floor on the opposite side. She didn't seem to notice, removing her glasses once again as her eyes burned into Sara. "Let's talk then."
"Catherine… I'm sorry," Sara sputtered.
"Your sorry," Catherine laughed, making Sara wince. "How about this, I'm sorry. Because you see, as I recalled you were a more than willing participant. But apparently I was wrong, because all day you've made me feel like I've violated you in some way, like I coerced you into sleeping with me. So I am sorry, Sara. Sorry I molested you." Catherine's voice was dripping with sarcasm as she hissed the last sentence. "There, feel better now? Shut the door when you leave."
Sara might have left then, but she heard Catherine's voice finally crack as she'd told her to leave. Looking more closely, she could see the tears threatening to spill out of Catherine's eyes, and for the third time in less than 24 hours, Sara's heart broke.
"I don't feel like you violated me, Catherine," Sara whispered, taking a tiny step closer. "Not even close."
"Well what then, Sara?" Catherine sobbed, as the tears now streamed freely down her face. "What did I do wrong? Did I just want it too much? Push my own desires onto you? Because I gave you every chance, Sara, every chance to say no. You didn't have to… you shouldn't have done it, if you didn't want me."
"I did," Sara said, swallowing hard as she knelt down in front of Catherine, who covered her face with her hands as she continued to sob. "I did want you, Catherine. I still do."
Sara's confession seemed to momentarily stun Catherine, as Sara gently pulled her hands from her face. Her sobbing subsided, though the tears still streamed quietly down her cheeks.
"What?" Catherine finally managed to squeak out, as Sara tried helplessly to wipe the tears from Catherine's face, which were immediately replaced by fresh ones. Catherine looked so lost, so confused, and Sara wanted so badly to take away the hurt she had caused. Giving up her losing battle with Catherine's tears, Sara cupped the other woman's face in her hands, pulling her a little closer as she leaned up to press their lips together. Catherine gasped at the contact, and Sara immediately took the opportunity to slide her tongue into Catherine's mouth. Sara kissed her slowly and deeply, pouring everything she was feeling into that kiss, hoping that Catherine could feel it, until she finally felt the tiny body relax and go limp in her arms.
"I said, I still want you," Sara repeated when they finally came up for air. Catherine leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Sara's neck, pulling her close. Sara snaked one arm around Catherine's waist, tangling the fingers of her other hand into the strawberry-blonde curls. "And I really hope you'll forgive me for how I treated you today," Sara whispered into Catherine's hair, "because to be honest, Cat, I only just figured this all out about five minutes ago."
Sara felt Catherine chuckle lightly before she continued.
"At the motel, all I knew was that I couldn't resist you, but I didn't know why. Then all morning, and all through this shift- even in my sleep!- last night, being with you… it was all I could think about. And I was just so confused. But I do want you, Cat, I know I do. I'm just so damn scared."
"Why are you scared?" Catherine asked gently, squeezing Sara a little tighter.
"Because," Sara paused, "because of how badly I wanted you, before I was even aware of it. It really caught me off guard, Catherine. Shocked the hell outta me."
Catherine loosened her grip and pulled back a little, but still kept Sara close. Her cheeks were still damp, though she wasn't crying anymore. She smiled at Sara and nodded her head slightly.
"I understand, Sara, I do. And of course I forgive you," Catherine whispered just before locking her lips onto Sara's. Sara couldn't get enough of the taste of Catherine's tongue, the feel of her skin. So, slowly she stood up, pulling Catherine right along with her in order to be able to hold her flush against her body. Sara held on tightly, still greedily exploring Catherine's mouth. As she had last night, Sara already felt her panties becoming moist as their lower bodies rubbed together. Catherine moaned loudly, letting Sara know she was feeling a similar sensation.
Sara knew they shouldn't be doing this, not on the clock and certainly not in Catherine's office. But she just had to touch her, she simply couldn't resist.
"Cat," she whispered against Catherine's lips, "let me make you feel better."
Catherine let out a whimper and she nodded, as Sara reclaimed her mouth and pushed her up against the desk.