A/N: The response to this story has been great so far. THANK YOU.
"Good Morning."
It's half past seven and you're leaning on the frame of her bedroom door.
"Maura..."
You've been awake all night.
"Hey Maura, it's morning."
And yet you don't feel sleepy.
"Your favorite bakery is opening in half an hour."
You move close to her bed and reach for her arm.
"Hmm?" She stirs.
"You need to get moving or something. Drink some water too."
You sit on the bed near her legs and start unconsciously rubbing them.
She looks up.
"Hey. G'morning."
Smiling. At least until she remembers. If she remembers. You don't know what you'd prefer.
"I'm determined to get you up and moving, eating too. You pretty much can't shake off my babysitting today." Your tone is playful. It comes naturally. She chuckles as you put on a strict and firm face and stretches her arms.
You like the lightness of the situation.
Again, until she remembers.
She looks down at herself and raises her eyebrows.
"Why... am in my pajamas?"
"What do you think? It's cause I put you in them!"
"You put me in my pajamas?"
Her continuous laughter as you nod enthusiastically relaxes the tension in your shoulders, and more importantly, in your chest.
"Come on, out of bed!"
You think this might not go bad.
"Jane, what exactly happened last night?"
Oops, never mind.
There's a soft pressure on your fingers that you realize you're applying yourself. Your head is turned away and your eyes are unfocused, scavenging random points on the wall.
"Look..." A strange force is holding your tongue stuck in your mouth. You convince yourself you can do it. You can speak. It's just Maura. Maura who you work and hang out and watch crappy movies and boring plays with. Maura who you were kissing last night. Maura, who laid naked below you. Your best friend Maura. Just Maura. "If I tell you everything you're just gonna regret it and feel bad. It was what it was."
"Jane, I don't regret it. Plus, I remember things, a lot, it's just a little... blurry. There are images and things I just don't know everything."
You want to turn your head and check for hives. The force has apparently moved from your tongue to your neck. So you can't.
"Yeah right."
"I'm serious. Please?"
"Maura I'm not like, gonna...I don't know, tell you a story."
She finds it amusing that you are evidently flustered. The rustle of sheets tells you she's getting up, and she walks up in front of you, as if daring you.
"Why not?"
Her eyes make contact with yours for a second before she proceeds to the bathroom.
You feel the need and desire to play along with this more than you want the Red Sox to win all of their games this season, more than you want to have a week off instead of just a few days, more than you want coffee. Yes. More than coffee.
"Jane, I'm a tease, get used to it."
The memory of Maura's soft lips seductively uttering that phrase over a month ago discourages you. If she wanted it, she'd go for it. Like last night. Now it's just talk. All talk.
"I don't have underwear on!" she calls from behind the semi-open bathroom door.
"Yeah. I didn't wanna go through all your drawers."
You remember all of the lingerie that was spread out on the bed. You could've taken some of that. But then, how uncomfortable would that be to wear while sleeping?!
In a few minutes she returns and opens one of the wardrobes, pointing to a shelf. "Look, this is where I keep it, just in case, for next time."
You almost don't notice what exactly she says, but when you do some muscles on your face contract and you end up with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.
"Next time?".
She's teasing. And joking. Classic. Damn it Jane, why did you fall for it?
"You never know." A smile.
"Good to know." Fucking tease.
It's been less than 24 hours since you felt what her lips tasted like, how wet her tongue was on your neck, what her breasts felt like through her top, how smooth her back was, how comfortable the weight of her body was when she laid on tip of you, how much you wanted her. And now you want her more. It's evening and you summon the courage to actually ask, since she didn't drop a single hint pointing to a concrete yes or no. Or maybe you didn't see it. Point is, you've been stuck in a repetitive interrogation of every move she does and you've come up short.
"Would you repeat it?"
"Not really."
A rock heavier than all those weights that are just a joke to you in the gym settles somewhere in your chest.
You liked it and you have admitted it to yourself. She didn't.
"Okay."
"I mean, I liked it Jane, yes, but I think I've decided I like men more."
Of course.
"It's okay, I was just asking."
You tell yourself you won't bring it up again. It was a clear no, a clear rejection.
You see her rambling through the clothes and she pulls out a bra, a pair of panties, a blouse and jeans. And then, unexpectedly, as you politely turn your head away and back to the bed, she practically jumps under the covers. You see her hands doing something underneath and as your brain is trying to decipher her movements she pulls out her pajama bottoms and puts them aside, grabbing the panties and sneaking them under.
You're suddenly very amused by this childish behaviour, her jumpiness completely untypical for someone that passed out seven hours ago.
"You're awfully awake and not cranky for someone who should be in the middle of a major hangover."
"Oh the fact that the throbbing in my head is to an almost unbearable extent doesn't mean I have to project negative energy."
"Wordy too."
"What?"
"I'm just saying, your early morning assortment of expressions is-"
She cuts you off.
"Assortment of expressions? You're not any less wordy yourself."
The little invisible man sitting on your shoulder controlling your involuntary eye movement makes them roll far back into your head and then everything feels light. Everything feels normal. Sure, I mean, you stuck your fingers deep into your best friend last night, but it's like nothing has changed. You revel in the feeling and you lie down on the bed, leaning back on your elbows.
Okay.
"Anyways, I'm planning on returning to bed as soon as I get those little French croissants. Too bad they don't deliver." She takes her top off. There's nothing underneath. Your head automatically leaps to turn away but it's stupid because, let's face it, you had your hands and lips all over those last night. And, let's not forget, you don't want to turn away. Your eyes start drowning again but you snap them back to her face. She's eyeing you curiously as she reaches for the pile of clothes.
Let's play.
"Oh, you're not doing that under the covers?"
"Nope, that's okay."
"Aha, I see, that is okay."
"What, you wanted me to show off and change fully in front of you?"
You don't think she'd be that blunt. She's playing wild cards. But you have moves too.
"Nah, that's okay. I already saw everything last night."
Her head pops out of the blouse she is just putting on.
She purses her lips unable to withhold her grin.
When she's all set and her jeans are on too, she lies down alongside you, like one of those uncountable times that you've decided to take a nap together. It's become a second nature, that closeness, physical warmth and comfort of another person's body next to yours. You let your head fall back as you lie properly and she settles her head in the crook of your neck. Your arm automatically wraps around her back, tracing irregular patterns on her upper arm with your thumb. You are close. So close. The soft caress of her breath on your lower neck is making you feel things that you are trying to stifle ever since you got here. You remind yourself that you two used to do this same thing, fully platonically, before anything. It means nothing. It means nothing. It means nothing.
The silence is broken by the grumbling of your stomach.
"Hungry?" she asks you.
"Take a wild guess."
"Alright, alright, we're going."
"Get up." you shake her with the arm that's hugging her.
"You get up."
"Hey, you're the one above me. You have to get up first."
"Okay."
She stays still.
"Maura if you don't get up I'll tickle you."
You've discovered that this is a legitimate threat, working a satisfactory portion of the time. Now is one of those times. She retreats and lies back, staring at the ceiling and murmurs.
"Fine..."
She might be lying back but your faces are still close.
The next few seconds feel like an eternity.
A/N: Last thing people, please please pleaaase review. It means a lot to me and shows me other perspectives, it usually helps me improve. Thanks :D