As promised since yesterday's chapter was so short. Thank God 2 of my 3 exams are behind me now!
The next morning I went to Granny's for coffee like I do every morning. "You seem unusually happy this morning Emma. What happened?" Ruby came and sat since there wasn't anyone else in the diner yet. Ruby knew that I liked Regina and also knew about our dates. She, Granny, Jefferson, and Henry were the only ones who knew. I trusted Ruby and Granny so I told them. "Did your date with Regina go well the other night?"
"It did very well. And Regina made if official by dumping Graham. Though the funny part is Graham thinks Jefferson is the reason Regina broke up with him. He thinks Jefferson is after Regina not me." Ruby frowned her brows and tilted her head.
"You're joking right? Jefferson is the gayest dude in town and everyone knows it. Besides, he has the hots for Graham not Regina." I nodded and tried not to laugh too much.
"Yes I know. And I told Graham that Jefferson was gay but he thinks it all an act." Ruby laughed as Granny walked by.
"What's so funny?" We filled Granny in and she just shook her head. "That boy is good at his job and a good person but he isn't the brightest some times." Not long after did the morning crowd start to gather and filter into the diner. That was my cue to head to work. I left Ruby my normal ten dollar tip for a cup of coffee. It was free refills so averaged to about three cups.
When lunch rolled around I grabbed lunch to go and decided I'd be nice and take Henry food. I got to the school and the kids were outside eating since it was a gorgeous sunny day. "Emma!" I looked around and found Henry on the playground up in the wooden fort thing they had. I waved to Mary Margaret and went to climb the rope ladder.
"Grab this kid." I handed the bag of food to Henry and climbed up. "Good grief. Now I remember why I hated rope ladders as a kid. How are you?" I sat cross-legged and started to empty the bag. "I didn't know what you'd want so I just went with a grilled cheese and a coke."
"Thanks Emma. I'm good. How are you? Oh! Great job with Mom. She's really happy that the two of you are together." He lowered his voice when talking about me and his mother. The joy that showed in his eyes made my heart swell. He was such a good kid.
"Well I'm glad it's working out too. She's a very nice woman once you get past the castle walls she has built around her." I munched on the sandwich as Henry and I continued to talk about Regina. Time passes quickly when you're in good company. Next thing we knew Marry Margaret was calling the kids inside.
"Bye Emma." Henry shocked me by wrapping his arms around my neck in a big hug. I hesitated before hugging him back. I wasn't used to being hugged by anyone. "Have a good rest of the day. And thanks for lunch."
"You're welcome. See you later. Now get to class." I smiled as he turned around to go down the slide. For the fun of it I attempted the same but my shirt got caught on a nail and I was stuck. I couldn't reach the nail so I had to just cut my loses and jerk on the nail which made me fall off the slide and land flat on my back.
"Emma!" I heard Marry Margaret run towards me.
"I'm fine. I'm fine." Slowly she helped me sit up and dust myself off. "Okay next time I'm taking the steps." Mary Margaret was worried but she chuckled when she saw I was okay.
"Are you sure you're okay?" I nodded and started to get up.
"Yeah. I'll just take it easy for the rest of the day." When I got back to the station Graham noticed me limping.
"What happened to you?" He was reading the paper at his desk and didn't even move.
"I fell. I'll be fine." I collapsed into my chair. "So what's on the agenda for today?"
"How do you know you're gay?" I frowned my brows and leaned towards my desk. Where the hell did that come from?
"Uhm…you just know I guess. Something doesn't feel right when you're with the opposite sex and or you just don't feel attracted to someone of the opposite sex. Why?" I'm not about to tell him I know this from personal experience.
"Then why does Jefferson live with you if he's gay?" Why do I get the strange feeling Graham is slowly starting to figure something out? That fact was starting to make me nervous.
"We're just friends. I needed a place to stay and we were always close." Please don't ask what I think you're about to ask…
"Are you gay too?" Fuck. Can I lie? I better not. Yes. No. Yes. No.
"Yes I am gay and so is Jefferson." Graham seemed shocked about hearing that I was gay.
"Really? You don't seem gay. I mean you don't look like a dyke or butch." I gritted my teeth. I hate those damn stereotypes.
"Yeah. I'm not the type of lesbian who wants to go screw every female there is. I'm more of a lipstick lesbian who is touch I guess you could say." Graham fell silent for a few minutes.
"Do you know why Regina dumped me?" Now I lie.
"No. I don't. Were you truly happy with her?" Please say no. I don't want to feel like a home wrecker any longer.
"I don't…think so. I mean she's a gorgeous woman don't get me wrong but…when we'd have sex something didn't feel right." The idea of them having sex made me sick.
"Can we not talk about y'all having…sex please?" I was about to vomit.
"You like her don't you?" I was caught. Damn it. "You have feelings for Regina." I leaned my head back. Oh why the hell not?
"Fffuuuccckkkk." I grumbled and ran my hands through my hair. "Fine. Yes. I love Regina Mills. Happy now?" When I looked back at Graham he just blinked at me a few times.
"You're the reason she dumped me aren't you?"
"Well you were being an asshole to her. Never treating her like a Queen or even having manners." It came out before I knew it. I wasn't sorry for it either. He bowed his head and I suddenly felt bad. "I'm sorry. It just came out."
"How did you get her to like you? I mean, she didn't seem like a lesbian to me." I chuckled thinking of that day. "And she seemed to not like you much at all."
"It's a long story. Why all these questions all of a sudden?" Once again, Graham was quiet.
"I don't know. I just got to thinking about things and stuff started falling into place."
"Do you want a date with a guy? So you can see how it feels?" Jefferson is either going to love me or slap me when I tell him about this.
"You think Jefferson would mind taking me on a date?" I smiled.
"He would love to. I'll let him know and see what we can do to set y'all up." That night I walked into the house with a big smile on my face and a bounce in my step.
"Did someone have sex with her Queen or become the Mayor's pet? You're quite perky tonight." I laughed as I hung up my coat.
"Sadly, neither of those. But, you have a date with the sheriff." Jefferson was quiet. He was trying to figure out whether I was joking or not.
"Stop yanking my chain Emma." I wrinkled my nose.
"Jefferson, you more than anyone, knows that is the LAST thing I want to yank." He chuckled and went to the living room.
"Are you serious though? How did all that come about?" I joined him on the couch and explained everything. He was just as shocked as I was. "Good grief. Well at least I didn't have to drag it out of the boy myself. He's coming to me."