Chapter seven: Waking up

When Lara awoke, it was still mostly dark outside, the sound of early morning traffic could be heard. Still a little groggy, the redhead reached onto the night stand to get her alarm clock.

"Fuck, it's only 5.30.", she groaned, setting the clock back on its place.

Then she noticed the arm draped across her stomach and a happy smile stole its way onto her face. She turned her head to the right to take a closer look at the person the arm belonged to. Dana was still fast asleep, her head leaning against Lara's shoulder, her right arm and leg across Lara's body. The sous chef felt a peace settling inside her heart and immediately knew that this was what she wanted, needed to have. Just by looking at the sleeping tennis player, dressed in one of her pajamas, she knew that she could spent the rest of her life with her.

"You are so beautiful, Dana.", Lara said, stroking some strands of the athlete's hair out of her face.

Dana sighed in her sleep, pulling herself closer against the chef. Another smile found its way on Lara's lips as she thought about what had happened just a few hours ago, after they had left The Planet.

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As the door to Lara's apartment fell back into its lock, their mouths met again. Lara pushed herself into Dana, backing her up against the door. Her whole body was on fire, she was going crazy with desire. The only thing she could think about was having sex with Dana. They had agreed not to rush into having sex just one night ago, but this agreement seemed forgotten as they eagerly kissed.

"Oh, God...", the tennis player breathed out when they broke the kiss. "You're one great kisser, Lara."

The sous chef simply grinned, pulling the other woman along with her as she moved through the apartment. She was shaking with desire by now, her groin aching for attention, her breathing shallow. She didn't even give Dana time to admire her apartment, since she would have enough time for that in the morning. Finally they reached the bedroom. Lara swirled the athlete around, pulling her into another hungry kiss. When she thought that she had lavished enough attention on her lips, the redhead moved to kiss the brunette's neck, sucking the sweet skin into her mouth, softly biting down on it, eliciting a low moan. Lara moved her hands down the other woman's back to the rim of her t-shirt, while Dana kept running her hands through the chef's red hair. Just as Lara moved her hands under the t-shirt to take the disturbing piece of clothing off of her, the tennis player unexpectedly stiffened, pushing her away ever so slightly.

"What's wrong, Dana?", the chef asked concerned. "Did I do anything wrong?"

Dana shook her head, looking at the floor. "No, Lara, you didn't. It's just, you know, I..." Her voice trailed off.

Lara put her hand under the other woman's chin, making her look up. "You can tell me, Dana.", she said softly, noticing the somewhat scared look in the smaller woman's blue eyes.

The brunette swallowed audibly. "I can't do this.", she admitted in a low whisper, sounding defeated. "It's not that I don't want you, Lara. Believe me, I do. I really do. It's just...I just can't, not tonight. I don't even know why, but...I'm so sorry." Her head hung again.

Lara pulled Dana into a hug, all of her earlier desire replaced by a deep concern. She had never been comfortable when people she loved were depressed and Dana was no exception. The redhead began to run her hands up and down the athlete's back, trying to cheer her up.

"It's okay, Dana.", she whispered. "You don't need to apologize. We don't have to do anything you don't want to tonight."

The tennis player sighed lowly. "Still, I'm sorry for turning you on and not letting you have any.", she said, pulling away ever so slightly, smiling again.

"Yeah, that was some mean thing to do.", Lara said, chuckling. "But, you know, I'm like an elephant, I have a fantastic memory. I'll get back at you for it one day."

Dana grimaced. "Oh my God, I'm dating an elephant in disguise.", she said in mock astonishment, not able to contain her laughter.

"Very funny, Dana.", the sous chef said, but soon joined Dana in her laughter. "So, what are you going to do now?", Lara asked when she had been able to regain composure.

Dana hesitated. "Umm...I could get a cab or maybe call Shane or Alice to give me a ride."

"At half past three in the morning?" Lara raised her eyebrows.

"Well...", the tennis player didn't seem to know what to say.

"Well, Dana, you could as well stay here, you know.", the chef suggested, gesturing around the room. "You would have, if...", she trailed off, looking at the brunette, who's eyes sparkled at the suggestion.

"And you really don't mind if I sleep here?", Dana asked, seemingly unsure.

"Dana, I wouldn't have suggested it, if I did mind.", the sous chef answered, making her way towards her wardrobe to get Dana a pair of pajamas.

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Lara didn't mind not having made love, not if it would have made Dana uncomfortable. She wanted, needed Dana to enjoy making love. Taking another look at the slumbering beauty next to her, Lara sighed contentedly. Right at that moment the redhead felt as save and loved as she hadn't in a long time. Deciding that she could need a few more hours of sleep, she closed her eyes again, wrapping her right arm around Dana in a protective gesture.

The next thing Lara remembered was waking up without Dana sleeping next to her. The space where the other woman had been lying was still warm, so she couldn't have been gone too long.

"Where is she?", the redhead wondered, sitting up in bed. "Did she go home while I was asleep?"

Her thoughts continued to run wild until she heard the faint flush of the toilet, telling her that Dana hadn't left. It didn't take long until the tennis player came strolling back into the bedroom. With her hair tousled she looked irresistibly cute to Lara.

"Hey, where've you been?", the chef asked as Dana crawled back into the bed and snuggled up to her under the sheets.

Dana smiled. "I had to pee, so I went looking for your bathroom.", she said simply. "You have a nice apartment, Lara.", she added.

"Thanks." Lara grinned happily. "Were you snooping around?", she asked with a giggle.

"Are you hiding something that I might have discovered?" The athlete raised her brows questioningly.

The chef paused, thinking of something to say. "Yeah, well...", she began, her voice low. "You could find all the hidden peanuts in the cupboards, indicating that I'm truly an elephant..." Suddenly she slapped her hands across her mouths as if she had said something she didn't want anyone to know.

"I knew it. I knew you were an elephant from the moment you told me about how you tend to step onto people's toes while dancing.", Dana said, barely able not to laugh.

"Yeah, you got me." At that they both burst into laughter.

To Lara talking to Dana had seemed so easy from the first moment on. She could talk to her about everything without feeling either way older or way younger than her as it had been the case with former girlfriends. The redhead smiled and wrapped her arms around the tennis player, who snuggled even closer.

"Do you want to have breakfast with me?", the chef wondered. "You know, we could go to The Planet if you want."

"Yeah, let's do that.", the athlete said, smiling contentedly.

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at SuperGirl06: Wow, I never thought I'd inspire anyone to write a story, but it's always nice to hear. I already read your story and I gotta tell you (once again) I love it. As for Dana and Lara having some dessert...well, they haven't had any, but I hope you liked it anyway...

at Totallygay: Don't worry, I'm not gonna stop this story so soon...

at auggy1984: Thanks for telling me that you could feel the passion between them. I was kinda afraid you couldn't...