They took a seat at a corner booth in the back, gave their orders, and thanked the waitress for their drinks.
Jane wrapped her hands around her coffee mug as Maura sipped her water. The brunette stared at the white diner mug, not sure what to say or do.
"Jane, do your hands hurt?"
"What?" Her head shot up. "Why would you say that?"
"You normally wrap your hands around warm cups of coffee when your hands hurt." Maura gave her an encouraging smile. "Are they bothering you?"
"They're fine," the brunette quickly pulled her hands away from the mug, but the grimace she had on her face gave away her lie.
"Give me your hands." Maura reached across the table and laid her hands down, palms up.
"No, Maura. I'm fine."
"Let me help, Jane." The blonde continued to gently smile at her. "I can help."
Reluctantly, Jane placed her hands on top of Maura's, palms down. Maura gave them a reassuring squeeze before pulling her hands out from under Jane's. "Leave this one flat on the table." Maura gave the back of Jane's right hand a gentle pat. "I assume your left hand is more bothersome than your right?" Jane nodded. Maura turned Jane's left hand over and cradled it between her two hands so that her thumbs came from either side and rested in her palm. With gentle motions, Maura began to rub Jane's hand.
Jane swallowed hard. It felt good. It felt good in more than one way.
She closed her eyes and allowed herself to relax into the feel of the other woman's touch. She normally didn't allow anyone to touch her hands, but there was safety here. She signed as Maura switched hands.
After long moments of contently allowing herself to trust Maura's touch, she realized that Maura had stopped rubbing her hands and was simply holding Jane's right hand in her left.
Jane looked across the table and blushed. Then, she smiled and laughed. "Thank you."
"Of course," Maura started to rub her thumb almost absentmindedly across Jane's palm. "Do they feel any better?"
"Yeah, actually," she flexed her right hand. "Where did you learn how to do that?"
"I've studied some reflexology methods, and," Jane saw a slight blush begin to rise up Maura's neck, "I've also studied various massage techniques."
"Really?" Jane couldn't stop her smirk. "Well, it paid off." She took a sip of her coffee.
When their food arrived, Jane was surprised that her immediate response wasn't to pull away so the waitress wouldn't notice them holding hands. Instead, she was slightly disappointed that they had to stop holding hands to eat.
The conversation was what it always was as they ate. They talked about work, Jane's family, their animals, and assorted other topics. It was easy. It felt right.
"It's getting late. We better go." Jane stood up and offered Maura her hand. At Maura's touch, Jane shivered. If the blonde noticed, she didn't say anything, for which Jane was eternally grateful.
"It's uncomfortably cool out here. I should have taken my jacket with me instead of leaving it in my car." Maura wrapped her arms around herself. Jane pulled her suit jacket off and helped Maura into it. "Thank you, Jane." Maura gave her a smile. It felt very personal to Jane. It wasn't a smile she could recall seeing the other woman give before.
"You're welcome," she opened Maura's door. As she slid into her seat, she noticed Maura yawn. "You okay to drive home? I can take you home and pick you up tomorrow if you want."
"I'll be fine, but thank you for asking." There was that smile again.
Jane parked and walked Maura to her car. She wanted to make sure Maura was safely in her car before she hopped back into her own car to drive home.
She was inside her apartment, after walking Joe, before she realized that Maura still had her suit jacket. She smiled. She was surprisingly okay with that.
This one is progressing a bit slower than the other storyline, but I think it's coming together well. There's something poetic about Maura being the reassured one in this blooming relationship... I dunno :shrug: