Author's Note: so sorry for the delay folks. RL has been exceptionally busy lately. Also, this is the last update until December because I'm taking part in NaNoWriMo during November. There is one more chapter left to go, so consider it a xmas present when the time comes :)
Two Months Later
"So, I'm due a weekend off soon and I was wondering…if you could manage it…if you'd like to come down and visit? Perhaps stay a couple of nights? Sammy and Orla too, if they'd like?" Julie was apprehensive about making the suggestion in the first place and it all came out in a nervous rush. She wondered if Gill could hear the thumping of her wildly beating heart over the phone and tried to recall some breathing techniques from her yoga days to calm herself down. The idea of the suggestion was to get Gill out of her comfort zone and into Julie's new, neutral, territory to see if they could make it work away from all of the pressures that had previously worried Gill. Their telephone calls back and forth had been going so well and it had naturally slipped beyond a simple chat as friends a couple of times a week. It was all very well making declarations of love and promises from a city miles away but when it came down to it could they both actually go through with it? Gill was momentarily left speechless. Did Julie mean what she thought she did?
"As in…together? For a weekend?" Julie grinned to herself, she found Gill rather cute when she was flustered.
"Yes, together, together. As in, same room, same bed." Julie waggled her eyebrows suggestively and despite not being able to see her, Gill could hear it in her voice.
"Well…I don't know slap, you know how busy my schedule is. Besides, I'll have you know I've been beating them off with a stick these last few weeks. What makes you think that you're the special one?" It was a testament to how hard they had both worked on their relationship since Julie had been gone that they could even joke about such things.
"It's up to you love, but it's a one-time offer only. There's a gorgeous blonde DSI in UCOS that I've been liaising with this week and I'm pretty sure she's been giving me the eye." In fact, Sandra Pullman hadn't been at all subtle with regards to her intentions towards her northern colleague. Julie had gently turned her down but not before the promise of a drink and an explanation of her circumstances. She was actually very much looking forward to it and felt she might just have made a new friend.
"Huh! Well if that's the way it is then I'd better get down there and stake my claim."
"Ooh, I love it when you get possessive!" There were a few seconds of silence on the line before both women fell about laughing hysterically. Once Julie had managed to calm down and get her breath back she continued. "So you'll come?"
"Yeah, why not?"
Julie's rented flat was situated in a North London suburb, close enough to her temporary office in Finsbury Park so that she only had a short commute but far enough away from the centre of town to get a bit of peace and quiet on the rare occasion she had some time to herself. She was also close enough to the North Circular, A10 and M25 that she could hop in her car and take herself out of the Capital for the day. Gill was due late on Thursday morning, giving them the best part of four days together. Sammy and Orla had declined Julie's invitation on this occasion but had promised to come and stay another time. Orla had never been to London and was keen to experience shopping in Oxford Street, Regent Street and the Westfield shopping centre in Shepherds Bush. Julie hated waiting and fought not to bite her nails down to the flesh of her fingers in anticipation of Gill's arrival. She had been to to the gym, cooled off with a swim, come home and showered, eaten some breakfast, put on some fresh coffee and plumped the cushions on the settee for the fifth time. It was ridiculous just how nervous she was and she could only be grateful Gill was driving and not being met at the train station. Her mobile rang out a tinny tune from its place in the hallway and she leapt up to answer it.
"Hiya!" Quite obviously it was Gill and Julie just hoped that she hadn't changed her mind.
"Hiya Slap. Just got on the A10 from the M25, so I'll probably be another twenty minutes or so?" Julie could tell Gill was being a good police officer and used the hands-free set to make her call.
"You've made good time. Want me to stick the kettle on?"
"Ooh, would yer? Ta love and see you soon."
Gill turned into Julie's road and looked at the door numbers to work out where she needed to be. Fortunately the woman herself had been looking out for her and had bolted downstairs to the gated entrance in order to greet her guest and let her through. They'd grinned at each other before Julie had punched in her code to open the gates. Gill drove through but stopped just inside as Julie waited for the gates to close behind her. She wound down her window and let Julie catch up with her.
"If you just park anywhere on the left, they're all guest spaces." Gill made her way over to where Julie had indicated and parked. She wound her window back up, turned off the engine, got out of the car and stood staring at Julie who was waiting patiently for her with a beaming smile on her face. Phone calls and emails had been perfectly adequate until this moment. Seeing Gill stood before her looking every bit as beautiful as she ever had done was more intense than she had been expecting. Even without everything they had gone through the last few months, they had never spent quite this amount of time apart in all the years they had known each other.
"You're here." Julie said reverently, as though she had needed to say it aloud to be able to believe it.
"So I am." Gill remarked before they both gravitated towards each other and wrapped themselves up in a hug. Julie didn't want to let go and buried her head in the crook of Gill's neck. She took in a long deep sniff of Gill's distinctive familiar perfume and own unique scent. Gill's nose was being slightly tickled by Julie's mid-length dirty blonde hair but she didn't care, she finally had the woman she loved so dearly in her arms after too many weeks of being so scared of putting her heart on the line. They eventually loosened their hold on each other and pulled back enough to lean in for a kiss. They were both conscious of the fact that they were in the middle of Julie's car park where any of her neighbours could witness their reunion so they kept it short and sweet but no less meaningful.
"Come on, let's get you and your stuff inside." Julie held onto Gill's hand and turned towards the boot of her car, depressed the button on the inside of the handle and lifted the door up. She grabbed Gill's holdall, slung it over her head with her free hand and went to close the door.
"Wait!" Gill let go of Julie's hand and pushed the boot door fully open. She reached towards the back of the boot and took out a gift bag. "I've brought you a present. Just because…" It seemed silly now really but Gill had seen it and she wanted to leave Julie with something when she left. "I'll give it to you properly later."
Gill had needed to stretch her legs after her journey; it was a pleasantly mild and dry morning in London; despite its reputation it didn't always rain! Julie had taken Gill on a walking tour of the local area; through the closest park, up to the nearest tube station, over to the local high street and stopped off for a drink at Starbucks. They had walked and talked, caught up on what they had missed the last few days and what Julie had planned for the rest of the weekend. Today was theirs to get reacquainted with each other and to simply relish in just being together as a couple. After a few tentative starts Gill had slipped her hand in Julie's and held firm. Julie had in turn smiled encouragingly at her and relaxed at the thought they were going to make this work.
Once back at Julie's flat the sense of anticipation that had been building reached it's height and Gill could no longer hold back. She caught Julie by surprise in the hallway just as they had walked into it and pushed her back up against the wall before throughly kissing her and making her intentions clear. Julie's brain ceased to think rationally and it was so good to just feel for a change. There was still a small amount of apprehension right at the very back of her mind but a lot had happened in the last few months and she just had to trust that it had been enough to settle any of Gill's lingering doubts.
Julie allowed Gill to take the lead, as she had done the first time they had made love. They had an entire weekend to explore and learn about what they both liked, to take turns at giving and receiving and to express how they felt through sex. Gill pressed herself against her lover, hips meeting hips awkwardly because of the height difference between them. Fortunately Julie was wearing casual, flat shoes but she still had a few inches on Gill. Julie's hands naturally found their way to Gill's tiny waist. Julie was tall and slim but she was fairly solid. Gill had always seemed delicate and fragile with her petite stature and bird-like frame. Of course, Julie knew differently and that Gill had a personality which more than made up for what she lacked in physical build. Gill teased her mouth with her kisses, their tongues meeting occasionally, deep and light, hard and soft. Their kisses seemed to go on for an age, neither of them willing to be the one to break it off first and simply savouring the novelty of being able to. Finally the need to breathe became more urgent and Gill had to stop before she went dizzy through lack of oxygen and fell over. Thank goodness for Julie's hands around her waist! She rested her forehead against Julie's and nuzzled her nose against the blonde's. She dropped the occasional kiss in different places against the flushed skin of Julie's face and neck.
"I feel…" How could Gill put into words exactly how she felt in that moment? There were too many emotions heightened by the rush of hormones flooding her senses. But she knew that she had to say something, make Julie understand that she really wasn't going to run away this time, that this was perfect and wonderful and everything she had wanted it to be. "This is…" Julie could barely think herself but somehow she understood what Gill was trying to say. She nodded and lifted a hand up to brush an errant strand of hair away from her eyes.
"I know." That earned her a grateful smile and Gill took a small step away from the taller woman. Julie allowed Gill to slip from her hold on her waist and instead was taken by the hand and led to her own bedroom.
They stood at the side of the bed and Gill reached for the hem of Julie's long sleeved, loose fitting top. She concertinaed the fabric in her hands as she pushed it up Julie's torso. Julie helped by holding her arms over her head so that Gill could pull the garment off completely. Julie followed Gill's instructions to lie down on the bed and kicked her shoes off as she did so. Gill grinned seductively as she stripped off her own top, undid the laces of her trainers and pulled them off along with her socks. She crawled over Julie on top of the bed and insinuated her body in-between Julie's legs.
Gill balanced her weight on her elbows and forearms and used her hands to play with Julie's hair as she studied her face intently. She had gentle lines on her face now, with crow's feet at the corners of her eyes and creases of concentration ingrained on her forehead. Julie's eyes were captivating with their glittering green colour, very much the windows of her soul if the look of love that shone in them was anything to go by. Julie's hair felt silky through Gill's fingers and she could easily see the patches of grey that were now beginning to infiltrate the dirty blonde streaks of colour on top. Gill didn't think that she would have fancied Julie twenty years younger half as much as she did now. Of course she would still have been feisty and confident but there would have been something missing, a spark of something undefinable that Gill had seen grow over the years they had been friends. Gill dipped her head and kissed the older woman gently.
Julie never liked to be far from control and wrapped her long, lithe legs around Gill's waist, crossing them at the ankle. She added a little pressure and pulled Gill towards her. She cheekily grinned at her lover as she caught hold of the back of her thighs and moved her hands up to her bum. Despite Gill's tiny frame she had a rather cute, compact backside which Julie had admired from afar more times than she cared to admit. Gill had recently cut her hair back into it's shorter, choppier style which seemed to accentuate her natural waves. She had tended to straighten her longer bob, which had looked neat and professional but Julie felt that she had suited the natural wilder look better. It was more in keeping with Gill the person and not DCI Murray, police officer and boss.
Gill allowed the gentle pressure Julie was putting on her waist with her legs to pull her flush against her so that their pelvises pressed firmly together. Julie smiled widely and they began to move; the friction of their jeans against each other aiding the delicious pleasure they both felt. Gill scattered kisses over any part of Julie's face and neck that she could reach, her tongue tasting the slight salt of her skin as she did so. Julie eventually put her legs back down, feet flat on the bed so that she had some leverage to flip them over. Gill's delighted laugh in turn made Julie giggle and she blew a raspberry on her stomach for good measure. While she was there she made short work of both their bras and began to attack the fly of Gill's jeans. Gill offered some assistance and between them they managed to rid each other of their trousers and underwear.
Their lower limbs entwined, Julie thrust her upper thigh hard against Gill's sex. At the same time she straddled Gill's thigh and together they created a mutual rhythm of give and take. Julie worked to alternate between long hard thrusts and shorter, shallower movements. She buried her face into the crook of Gill's neck, her hot, gasping breaths tickled the younger woman on the sensitive spot behind her ear. Gill wrapped her arms around Julie's torso and ran her hands up and down the straining muscles of her back and shoulders. It didn't take long for Gill's breathing to become erratic and that tell-tale tingle of sensation crept over her. Every muscle in her body tensed in anticipation and then spasmed in release. She was still conscious of Julie's needs and rubbed her thigh against the taller woman harder and faster until she was climaxing on top of her only moments behind. Gill held Julie close and turned so that they were both half on their sides. She reached out and brushed some damp tendrils of Julie's blonde hair to one side and cupped her cheek as she kissed her lips. Gill didn't want to stop there and kissed her way down the length of Julie's body. She ran her tongue along the bones of Julie's hips and pelvis, a particular sensitive spot for the older woman, until she was squirming all over again. Gill kissed Julie's lips once more and settled herself against her side as she stroked down her body with her hand. She briefly cupped Julie's sex before gently inserting a finger into the heat of her wetness. She was silky slick inside and Gill easily slid a second finger straight in. She curved her fingers slightly to hit the right spot inside of her lover. Julie gasped out 'more' as she reached a hand down to encourage Gill further. Gill slipped in a third finger and Julie moaned deeply at the feeling of them moving inside of her. Her own hand guided Gill's deeper and harder inside herself. And then Gill ran the nail of her thumb across Julie's clit several times which made her orgasm again.
Finally sated, the pair scrambled around to get inside the duvet and snuggled up to each other as they rested against the pillows. Julie nuzzled her nose against Gill's as she firmly held her hand on top of the covers.
"Are you happy?" She'd been hesitant to voice the question but she lived in constant fear of yet another rejection from Gill. The younger woman nodded against her and squeezed the hand Julie was holding in reassurance.
"Mmm hmm. More than. Exceedingly so." Gill looked her lover in the eye and Julie could see that what she was feeling was the truth. There was a raw honesty there that she felt all the way down to her toes. It inspired confidence in her that this time Gill wasn't going to run away. Julie still had something left to pull out of the bag this weekend but for now just being together was enough. They could take the time to learn what each other liked when it came to making love, the shape and feel of their bodies, the sensitive spots and no-go areas and to finally connect with each other on a deeper level. "And you?" The question caught Julie off-guard.
"More than I thought was possible." Her voice had been choked with emotion and Gill placed a gentle, languid kiss to her lips.
"I love you." Again, Gill appeared to be nothing but honest as she looked Julie square in the eye.
"And I love you."