A/N: dear readers, I really am sorry for the delay in updates but life is just extremely stressful these days. I'll be glad if I can make to Christmas alive. thank you for your patience, and I hope you enjoy this lil' chapter.
22.
Emma took a deep breath, warm air filling her lungs. A soft breeze whispered along her bare arms and she briefly glanced up at the star filled sky.
The red dress fit perfectly. It revealed quite a bit of skin but was still more elegant than anything she'd ever worn. She really didn't want to think about how Cora could've possibly known that the dress would look amazing on her.
She turned her eyes away from the nightly sky and stared at the wooden door in front of her.
She was standing outside one of the restaurants that belonged to the hotel. After running in circles for a little while and asking a couple of questions, she'd finally figured out that Regina and Henry were having dinner here. She had glanced inside through one of the large windows on either side of the door and realized that the main room was fairly empty. Most guests were seemingly out on the terrace that overlooked the beach.
It was a beautiful night, Emma had to admit, and she was almost reluctant to ruin it for Regina and Henry.
Looking around again, she caught her reflection in one of the many windows. Her hair was braided away from one side of her face and cascaded down the front over her left shoulder. Aside from the red lipstick, she had decided not to overdo it with make-up and the result was truly quite surprising.
She had to admit that she looked good, really good, and it made her feel confident. Which was great, because she could use every ounce of confidence right now.
She jumped slightly when something touched her shoulder and spun around, finding an elderly couple standing behind her. The man smiled at her. "We were just wondering whether you wanted to go inside or not?"
Emma felt heat creeping up her neck. She probably looked like an idiot standing in front of the restaurant. Nodded slightly, she held the door open for the couple so they could go inside first. They thanked her and she took several deep breaths before she followed them.
Her hands wandered over the front and sides of her dress while she made her way over to the terrace. She stepped through the glass sliding doors and waved off a waiter who was trying to show her to a table. Her eyes quickly swept over the many dinner guests until she spotted them.
They were at a table in the corner. Regina had her back toward her and she watched Henry take a giant bite of what looked like a piece of melon.
She took several steps toward them but stopped abruptly when their laughter carried through the air. Juice was running down Henry's chin and he grinned broadly with half of the red melon showing through his teeth. Regina was trying to wipe at his face but he kept squirming away.
Emma's heart was beating furiously in her chest at the sight and her stomach was telling her quite bluntly that her breakfast was not far from making an appearance.
She couldn't do it. There was no way she could this. Not now. Maybe not ever.
Her thoughts flashed to that rainy night Regina had stopped by the road to offer her a ride. It all seemed like an act of fate, because what were the chances that the woman needing to hitch a ride happened to be the mother of the kid you'd raised for the past eleven years? Maybe it was a cosmic joke after all and she wasn't meant to hold on to either Regina or Henry.
She was about to turn back around and hightail it out of there when Henry's eyes met hers across the terrace. He froze for several seconds until a brilliant smile lit up his entire face.
Emma was basically torn. Part of her wanted to break into a run but the other stood rooted to the spot.
Regina must've seen Henry's expression because she slowly turned around. It seemed to happen in slow motion and Emma watched horrified as Regina's profile came into view until her entire upper body was fully turned toward her.
Dark brown eyes found hers immediately and Emma held her breath. And held it. She was waiting for a reaction, anything really, a thrown glass, a smile, a scream, but Regina seemed to have turned into a statue. Well, she was beautiful enough, no questions asked.
So Emma simply forgot to breathe. She only realized that something was missing when she began to feel lightheaded and her chest constricted with the obvious lack of oxygen. She had to reach out and grab the back of a nearby chair to steady herself. She'd never actually been this close to fainting and she took several deep breaths, the queasy feeling in her stomach finally lessening.
Another dizzy little wave hit her when Regina rose from her chair. She was wearing a flowing black dress with white highlights in the front and sides. She looked like a goddess.
Emma glanced briefly at Henry. He was watching them both with a nervous look on his face. He seemed just as unsure about Regina's reaction as she was.
Emma took a tiny step back when Regina started walking toward her. She didn't want to run but every part of her body was telling her to. Why was she so afraid? Rejection, a little voice provided. She didn't want Regina telling her to leave. It would hurt so much and she was already on the verge of a nervous breakdown. What had Cora been thinking? Maybe she'd thought Emma would drop dead before she even got this far and all the problems would be solved.
Okay, focus Swan.
Regina was almost level with her now and she forced herself to stay in place.
Here it comes.
Emma stared mesmerized as Regina walked right into her personal space. She stopped mere inches away and Emma could feel the heat radiating off of her body. Her breath was tickling against the side of her face and she couldn't see anything beyond those brown eyes. She couldn't have moved even if she'd wanted to.
"You…" Regina began but it seemed like she didn't have any idea how to continue.
Instead she grabbed Emma's face with both hands and pulled her into a surprisingly passionate kiss.
All adrenalin left Emma's body in one swoop as soon as Regina's lips touched hers and she rested both hands against Regina's waist to stay upright. Heat flooded her entire system and her eyes closed without her consent. She pulled Regina closer and relished the feel of those soft lips moving against her own.
…
Emma bounced on her feet and glanced at the clock on the far side of the room. It was almost time to go. Her hands were sweaty and the fabric of her dark pants stuck to her legs in various uncomfortable places. She walked over to the mirror and glared at her reflection. She reached up to make sure that her hair was still smoothly pulled back into a ponytail before trailing her hands down to the collar of the beige shirt she was wearing.
"Good enough, stop freaking," she told herself and turned to leave. She hesitated at the door, thinking back to the previous evening.
Ugh that kiss. To say that she'd been surprised by the kiss would've been an understatement. Regina had knocked the air right out of her and she'd forgotten pretty much everything around them for several moments.
But with Henry only a few feet away she'd somehow managed to detach her mouth from Regina's and sit with them at the table. They'd already ordered dinner and Emma was served some lobster as well without a comment from the young waiter.
Henry seemed overjoyed to have his moms reunited and declared himself genius master of operations. But after stuffing his face he'd been pretty much dead on his feet after a day at the beach.
During dinner Regina had remained quiet, either looking at Henry or Emma with a thoughtful expression.
At least she hadn't right out sent her packing but Emma had the feeling that Regina wouldn't make this easy on her once she got over the initial shock.
Well, she'd had a night to think it over and Emma on her part hadn't gotten much sleep at all. She'd wrestled the promise from Regina to meet her for breakfast so they could talk. Now it was time for breakfast and she felt like hopping right back onto the plane. If she thought she'd been nervous the night before, then this was as close to a heart attack as she would get in the next fifty years or so.
She kept the kiss at the forefront of her mind, getting as much comfort and calm from the memory as she could. Regina wouldn't have kissed her if there wasn't a chance for them to figure everything out. And she wanted them to make this work.
She'd already known that a life without Regina and without Henry would be pretty bland and really lonely the moment she'd let Regina walk out of her apartment a few weeks ago. She still hadn't figured out how Regina had managed to track her down but she hoped that they would have plenty of time in the future to talk about all these things.
She exhaled quietly and left her bungalow. There were several restaurants all over the area that belonged to the hotel and they had agreed on a quaint little place right by the ocean.
She took a deep breath, inhaling the crisp morning air, and for the first time since her arrival took a moment to appreciate her surroundings. She'd never been to a place like this. Even though she still felt wildly out of place among those people who spent more money on a car than she would ever earn in her entire life, she had to admit that she enjoyed everything about the easiness of an expensive vacation. A super soft bed to sleep in, the sound of the ocean calming her and absolutely no need to cook for herself.
She walked along a shady path, palm trees on either side of her and watched the people milling about. Several families with children headed toward the beach while a group of young people had gathered at a nearby bar. She wasn't paying much attention to them until she saw someone approaching out of the corner of her eyes. The guy was wearing a blue collared shirt and shorts. He was grinning broadly and dragged a hand through his shaggy brown hair. Emma tilted her head to the side, thinking that he looked a little like an older version of Henry.
"Hey, uh, I just saw you walking by and I thought I'd ask if you wanna join us? I'd love to buy you a drink," the guy said as he stopped in front of her.
Emma raised her eyebrows. He probably wasn't much older than twenty-one and judging by the look of his friends they were a bunch of college kids. She was admittedly flattered by his attempt to flirt but could only smile at the thought of how this guy didn't have a snowball's chance in hell.
"Thanks but I'm meeting someone," she replied.
The guy seemed genuinely disappointed that she declined the offer but he still invited her to a party that was supposed to take place at a nearby club around ten that night. She left him hanging with an indecisive 'maybe' and went on her way with a grin on her face. A little ego boost seemed just like what she'd needed. Good to know she still had some game but that didn't mean she wanted to have any with anyone but Regina.
She kept walking down the shadowy path, her eyes on the ocean, until the little restaurant appeared around the next corner. A few people were sitting on the small veranda because the morning wasn't too hot yet. She couldn't see inside but guessed that they had some more tables there. She was about to move toward the entrance when she noticed a figure approaching from another path. She didn't need to see the woman's face to know it was Regina. The self-assured stride gave her away and Emma smiled as she turned to trail her gaze from shapely legs up to deep brown eyes.
Regina didn't return her smile but there was a certain warmth in her eyes that set Emma at ease.
"Hey."
"Hello Emma."
She hadn't expected another kiss but was still disappointed that Regina stopped several feet away from her. She was trying to control her eyes but they kept skipping across Regina's body. The forest green dress she was wearing ended mid-thigh and brought out the tan she seemed to have acquired after a few days in the sun.
"You… you look great."
"Thank you. You look lovely as well."
Emma tried to stand as still as humanly possible while Regina scrutinized her outfit. She'd tried to look as classy as possible, somehow hoping that if she could fit in at a place like this, she would also fit into Regina's life.
"Henry, is he…?"
"With my mother," Regina replied, finally meeting her eyes again, "she arrived this morning."
"Really? That's…uhm… that's great."
Regina nodded then inclined her head toward the restaurant. "Shall we?" She turned and walked over to one of the tables on the terrace somewhat separate from other guests. Emma followed her and sat opposite Regina with her back to the ocean. The view in front of her was much more fascinating than any body of water would ever be.
The waitress approached so quietly that Emma almost didn't notice her. Regina ordered a fruit plate and some French toast while Emma stuck with her usual omelet and bacon.
The waitress retreated as silently as she'd appeared and Emma leaned back into the chair. "So I'm guessing Cora took the earliest flight out of town."
Regina looked at her, not a single facial muscle betraying her thoughts. "She did."
"Alright…uh… so she told you how I managed to make it to Florida in the first place?"
"Oh yes, and if I hadn't seen you myself I would've thought she was making things up," Regina replied with a smirk.
Emma laughed quietly. "Yeah I was pretty surprised too."
"I'm glad she did. Give you her ticket I mean," Regina added, her voice low.
