A/N – Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. I hate leaving a story for this long, but college work has been piling up by the stacks. I am trying to find time but at this rate chapters will be coming at you much slower. I am truly sorry, but I hope the story line is enough to keep you guys interested and coming back for more. Enjoy.

"You clearly haven't been dating the right people then have you." I gave her one last quick kiss before setting myself back in my chair and heading off. Hopefully, what I had in mind was going to keep these feelings and the atmosphere going. I liked it and I never wanted it to end.

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"Where are we going?" Regina had been asking me the same question for the past 20 minutes. It was adorable that she was so curious. And I could tell that she was getting more and more anxious.

"Would you relax? It's not like I'm some sort of serial killer who is going to kidnap you and hide you away. I promise." I looked over and saw the uncertainty in her eyes. She was playing, but it was still so cute to watch. I looked back to the road, just round the corner and we were there. "Look, we're here." She turned her attention to the building in front of us, and I wasn't quite sure how to read the reaction on her face.

"'The Forbidden Fruit'?" She looked back to me with that look in her eyes that said she wasn't sure if she should be terrified or excited. I parked the car, and we made our way to the café.

"It's a little café my parents always used to bring me to when I was younger. It hasn't changed a single bit. Other than the staff that work here. But I do still know of one man that works there. We were childhood friends. He is such an amazing man, even Graham thinks so, and that man has some serious standards." I looked over to Regina and just saw her smiling. "What?" I started laughing slightly. "Is something amusing you?"

"Yes." She took my hand in hers, and entwined our fingers together. Her hands were always so soft. It was such an amazing feeling. "You are. I have never seen you talk so much about one thing. It's a side of you I haven't seen before." The smile on my face only grew.

"What can I say? I have my moments."

"I hope I get to see more of them." Her smile turned into a smirk, and I just couldn't help myself. I leaned over and placed my lips on hers. It felt as though each kiss was better than the last. It was just a small peck on the lips, but it was still just as amazing as any other.

"I'm sure you will." I looked into her eyes, and a sudden flash of desire crossed them. Maybe I shouldn't have said that. It isn't exactly helping our situation. We made our way through the front door, and the café was relatively busy considering it was lunch time, but not completely packed. Which meant finding a table was no problem. We sat down opposite each other, and waited for a waiter to arrive. It didn't take long.

"Hello, and welcome to The Forbidden Fruit. My name is August I will…" He looked right at me and froze. "And I am going to shut my mouth and give you a hug!" He leant down, over the table and wrapped his arms around me. It had been a while since I last saw him. "What are you doing here stranger?" He pulled back and looked at me. I looked to Regina and saw the surprise on her face. He always was a bit over the top, and took a bit of getting used to at times.

"Hey August. Regina, this is August. My best friend in the entire world."

"Hello." She gave him a small wave, and a curtesy smile.

"And August this is Regina. My…" I didn't really know how to finish that sentence. I looked to Regina, but her face didn't change, she just smiled back at me before turning to August with her hand still in his.

"I'm Regina. Her girlfriend." August shook her hand, with a little look of surprise on his face. Which was nothing compared to the look on my face. I had been wanting to say that for a while now, but I didn't want to move to fast and freak her out. But I forgot that Regina has more confidence than anyone I have ever met. I looked up at August who had now let go of Regina's hand, but the look on his face hadn't gone.

"Okay, I know about you and the girl's situation, but when did this…" He gestured between Regina and I. "Happen?" I looked between Regina and August, and I wasn't really sure what to say. Have we been like this since we first kissed, or since last night when we finally made the decision to go for it. I looked to Regina for another answer. She seemed to be full of them at the moment. She just smirked at me and looked back to August once more.

"It's a little complicated." She gave me a quick side glance before continuing. "We've known and liked each other for a while now, but we kind of made it official last night. We're just taking things slow at the moment. We don't want to rush into anything." She spoke the last part to me, and my heart began to fly. She was completely amazing, and I was completely in love. But I couldn't say that yet. I couldn't scare her away now. Not when we had made such progress. It was still way too soon. I needed to find the right time. I looked back to August, and found him staring at me.

"Satisfied now?" He tries to hide his laugh but he never was good at keeping things hidden. "Look, if you wouldn't mind," I looked down at my watch and saw that 20 minutes had already passed. "We would like to get our lunch before dinner tonight. So if you could please…get us our lunches that would be fantastic."

"Fine. What can I get you?" I looked to Regina and by the look on her face, I'm pretty sure there is only one thing on the menu she would want to eat.

"We will have 2 quail salads, and a root beer each please." August made the note on his pad and started wandered away. I looked to Regina and it almost looked as though she was offended. "What?" August stopped dead in his tracks.

"Am I incapable of ordering for myself?" It didn't take long for me to work out what had her so offended. But why she was so worked up over it is beyond me. I leaned back in my seat and placed my hands in my lap. I look at her but don't say anything for a minute. I thought it could be fun to watch her just sit and squirm for a second. I seem to have that effect on her without doing anything.

"I'm fine with grilled cheese, but I get the feeling it would get to you." She let a small laugh out and dipped her head down. It was so adorable to look at her when she was like this. Giddy and shy…and just perfect. She sat back up and put her forearms down on the table.

"You have the eating habits of a 7 year old." She stopped and smiled. "And I would never want you to change that." I furled my brows in confusion. She looked over to where August was standing next to us. She must have mouthed something but I completely missed it. August went back behind the kitchen and I turned to Regina with my brows still furled.

"What did you just do?" She smirked right back at me and didn't say word. Now she had me squirming. I hated squirming. Regina, however, seemed to be loving it. "This is so not fair." It made her laugh again.

"How is this unfair? You wouldn't tell me where we were going for lunch, and now I have a little secret of my own." Suddenly her face turns slightly sour.

"What's wrong?"

"I need to ask you something. But I don't want to hurt you when I do." Now my face turns sour. I couldn't quite think of anything she would need to ask me. But whatever it was, she clearly felt strongly about it or else she wouldn't be having such a hard time trying to ask me it.

"You know you can ask me anything. You don't have anything to worry about." I looked right into her eyes and tried to tell her that everything was going to be okay. But she still looked just as unsure as she did in the first place. She took a deep breath and looked down at the table where her hands sat. She took a deep breath and looked back up to me.

"Who actually knows that you're a lesbian?" Her head was lowered, but she kept her eyes locked on mine trying to see how I would react. My face stayed neutral for a second, but I could only hold that for so long, before I burst out laughing. Her face turned to hurt and I tried to straighten out my face, but I just couldn't.

"I'm sorry. It's just…you have no reason to have been embarrassed about asking me about that." I saw her cheeks gaining a slight hint of pink, and I just kept laughing. I felt a bit bad because she obviously felt ridiculous, but it was just too good to resist. Once I finally got my laughing under control, I regained my breath, and looked her right in the eyes. "The only people that know I'm a lesbian is you, obviously." She gave me a little smirk at that. Good to see her normal again. "Ruby and Belle. Henry. August." I pointed over to where August was serving another customer. I looked back to Regina and thought for a second. If anyone else knew. "Oh and Graham."

"So, your parents don't know?" I wasn't really sure what she was looking for. She wouldn't be asking all these questions, unless she was looking for something in particular.

"No. They don't know I am a lesbian." Regina didn't say anything else. She looked down at her arms again, and was completely silent. I lowered my head slightly so I could catch her eyes. "Regina, why are you so curious about who knows if I'm a lesbian or not?" She finally looked up at me again, and the worry on her face had me worried.

"I'm not normally one of those people that care what others think." She paused, but didn't look like she was going to say anything else.

"So why are you caring so much about it now?" She let out a deep sigh, and I could easily see that whatever it was she was thinking was bothering her. August put Regina's plate down in front of her.

"Okay, we have one quail salad, two root beers and…" He lifted the plate high above his head so I couldn't see. I was tempted to just jab him in the stomach. But that would just mean a plate coming down and crashing on my head. "One grilled cheese." I looked up at him, and the grin on his face was brilliant. He almost looked proud. I looked to Regina, and suddenly, whatever was on her mind earlier was gone. Not a trace of worry was left on her face.

"Thank you." I mouthed to Regina. The look in her eyes made me feel all warm inside. And no matter how cliché that sounds, it's true. She makes me feel things I never have before. I felt August leaning down next to my ear and whispered.

"She's a keeper." I never looked away from Regina.

"I know." August stood back up and just walked away, leaving us to our lunch. Regina smirked at me for a second longer before grabbing her fork and looking to her lunch. I did the same, but no fork was required. My eyes went wide, and I felt my stomach grumbling for it. We ate most of our lunch in silence. But just because we weren't saying anything, didn't mean my thoughts were silent. I kept trying to work out what Regina was going on about earlier. She was concerned about something, but I couldn't put the pieces together. But I came to the conclusion that if she really needed to ask me something then she would. I wasn't going to be pushing her into anything.

By the time lunch was over, we were both full, and we were both happy with each other. It had been a quiet lunch for the most part. But what had been said was rather enlightening for the both of us. To a certain extent. Not everything had been said. When August came back with the check, I saw Regina reaching for her purse. I looked to August who just looked at me like I should be doing something. I was going to anyway, but I just wanted to see the look on his face. It is always priceless.

"Don't even think about pulling your purse out." Regina's head snapped up at my warning.

"You aren't going to pay for my lunch Miss Swan." Why does she call me that? It just…does things to me. I looked to August to see his reaction to the name, and it was clear to see he was desperately trying to hold back a laugh. I swung my arm up, and slapped him in the stomach.

"I am paying for your lunch, because I was the one that asked you to lunch. Meaning, I pay for your lunch." She slumped her shoulders and looked at me in disbelief. "Put the purse…down." She pursed her lips together as though she was contemplating whether she should do as I said. She tried moving her hand in further into her purse. All I did was tilt my head and quirk my eyebrow, almost daring her to try that again. She just smirked at me and removed her hand from her purse. She placed it down on the seat next to her and clasped her hands together in her lap. I smiled in victory and went to grab my own purse. I placed the money down on the tray with the receipt on it, and handed it back to August.

"Thank you Emma." August gave me a gentle pat on the shoulder. He walked away and left Regina and I to ourselves. We still had a little time left in our lunch break before we had to head back to the office, and I was hoping to finish our earlier conversation.

"Regina…" She looked up from where she was straightening out her clothes. "What were you so curious about? Earlier?" She furled her eyebrows for a minute before she realised what I was talking about. Her face went glum once more, as much as I hated seeing her like that, my curiosity was getting the better of me. She took a deep breath to calm herself before she spoke.

"I can't actually tell you. It has something to do with that special project Mr. Gold has had me working on for the event." She was starting to shrink into herself as though she were a child who knew they had done something wrong and was waiting to be told off.

"Regina, it's okay. I'm sure whatever you're doing, I'm going to love it." She let a weak smile cross her face, but that was all. It was as though she was scared of something. But what she could have possibly done wrong, I have no idea. But I didn't want to push it any further. My interrogations already made her feel uncomfortable, I don't want to make her feel any worse. She reached her hand across the table and took mine in hers.

"Thank you." She smiled at me for real this time, and the sparkle in her eyes returned. She looked down at her watch, and she suddenly looked panicked. "We need to be getting back to the gallery. Lunch is almost over, and we still have your speech to figure out." She picked her bag up and threw it over her shoulder. I grabbed my things and waited for her to shimmy out of the booth. As we walked towards the door, I passed August and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"See you around buddy." We kept walking before something crossed my mind. I turned back to face August where he was standing behind the bar. "Hey, you're coming to the Gallery Event on Saturday right?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." He gave me a wave as we walked through the door. We climbed into the car and made our way back to the gallery. Everyone was already back in action at their desks, but that didn't stop them from sending some curious looks towards Regina and myself. I guess seeing the boss going to and from lunch with the event planner would seem a bit strange.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX – Skip forward to Event Day

I only had another hour left until I was meant to be at the Event. Being the owner and host of the Event, it's not as though I had a choice of being late. I was rushing around the house like a mad person. Trying to find all my last few bits; phone, keys, purse, shoes. The doorbell went off, and seeing as how I was completely freaking out, I just yelled at Henry.

"Henry!"

"I got it. Don't worry." He was already downstairs. That made things easier. I heard the door open, but nothing after that. Either the blood pumping in my head was getting too loud, or someone decided to play knock down ginger on my house. Either way, I didn't really have time to worry about it. I was too concerned about finding my dress for the evening. I had been running round the house in my bra and underwear and dressing gown since I got out the shower. I ditched the gown and was now walking round my room in my bra and underwear. I grabbed the bag that was covering my dress and hoisted it up to pull my dress out. I heard someone coughing behind me, and assumed it was Henry, so I darted into my bathroom to cover myself.

"Jesus Henry! You know better than to come into my room without knocking. I thought we made a deal. You knock for me, I knock for you!" I was yelling from the bathroom. He still hadn't said anything, but I was sliding my dress over my head, so I wouldn't hear him even if he had. I couldn't reach the zipper on my back, so I made my way out of the bathroom, and had my back turned on Henry. "Henry, could you do my zipper up?" He still didn't say anything, but I heard the shuffling of feet behind me. The silence was sort of freaking me out so I turned my head round to make sure he was alright. "Regina?" Not who I was expecting. I didn't really get much of a chance to register that Regina was standing in my bedroom before I felt her lips on mine. It certainly wasn't an unwanted feeling, but at this point, my head was trying to think about so many things I couldn't let myself enjoy the feeling properly. I pulled back and turned to face Regina fully.

"Hello Miss Swan." I felt the shivers running down my spine. I wonder if she knows what she does to me when she says that.

"Hey Regina. What are you doing here? I thought I was supposed to be meeting you at the event." Her lips turned into a smirk, and the purple lipstick she was wearing only made it all the more menacing.

"I thought I would surprise you. And by the looks of it…" Her hand came round to my back, and I felt her pulling the zipper up my back. "…you could use some help getting ready." The zipper reached the top, and her hands fell down to my sides. I had to take a quick breath to keep myself under control. I know that today was event day but I wanted it out of the way before anything happened between us. And she wasn't making that decision any easier. I grabbed her by the wrists and placed them back down by her sides.

"Only a few more hours and then you can have me all to yourself." She gave me a small pout, and the biggest puppy dog eyes I have ever seen. Even bigger than Henry's. But years of seeing Henry's puppy dog eyes has almost made me immune to them. "Nice try. But Henry is my son. You think I haven't built up some sort of resistance to all that?" I was gesturing towards her face, and them I moved over to my dresser to put on my jewellery and make-up.

"Have you built up some kind of resistance to all this?" I turned around, barley, before I was being pushed back against my dresser, and Regina's lips were once again on mine. But this kiss wasn't soft. This was hungry. And desirable. This was the Regina that had kissed me the first time. And as desperate as I was to let her keep going, the voice in the back of my head was reminding me of my time limits, and the fact that Henry was right downstairs. There was no chance anything was going to happen yet.

"I'm working on that one. But for now I need you to be Regina, the one that helps me and doesn't try driving me crazy. Not Regina, the one that seems to want to rip my clothes off." I let out a small laugh, and she knew I was starting to get a little nervous. Tonight was a big night. And I was completely freaking out about every little detail. So, being the caring and understand woman she is, she backed away. And hopefully, this would be the last time she would need to. Her hand came up to my lips and wiped away what I assumed was the remnants pf her lipstick. I looked down at my watch, and there was only about another 50 minutes before I needed to actually be at my event. I needed to drop Henry off round at Peter's house for the night. Hopefully those two won't go getting themselves into any more trouble than they always seem to. And then I still had to get to the Gallery from there. That meant I would need to leave the house in about 20 minutes. Regina placed her hand on mine and lowered it back down to my side.

"Would you relax? Why do you think I am here?" I couldn't tell if she was being serious or not. So I decided to play it the way I always do.

"To make everything in my head seem even crazier than they already are?" Make a complete arse of myself.

"Ha ha. I am here as you organiser. Now let's go through a quick check list. Have you got your shoes on?" I looked down at my feet even though I knew I wasn't wearing any shoes.

"They're downstairs by the door waiting. Along with my jacket for the evening."

"Okay. Have you got your phone? Purse? Keys?"

"All packed up in my handbag."

"Let me help you with your make up. I think you're in such a hurry you chose two different shades of blue eye shadow." She started laughing, and I turned around to see for myself. And she was right. I am so glad she showed up. She fixed my make-up and stood back to see the full picture. "You're missing one thing. But what...is…it? OH!" She made me a little jump. "Have you got your handbag?" She was looking at me like I was an idiot. Which was a fair enough assumption. I whirled around and picked up my bag and through it over my shoulder.

"Have now." I gave her a cheeky little grin as to say I had never done anything wrong in the first place.

"And last but not least, have you got your speech notes?" I sudden bolt of panic went through me as I realised that was something I almost missed. I practically ran over to my bed side table and opened the draw and pulled out a few cue cards. I turned back to Regina and the cheeky grin still hadn't left my face.

"I knew you were good to have around." She waltzed over to me, and looked me dead in the eye.

"Now take a deep breath, and just stop for one minute." I closed my eyes and tried to control my breathing which had become rather erratic without me even realising. I felt Regina's hands brushing up and down my arms, trying to sooth me. And it was working. "If it makes you feel any better we can leave now, get there early and you can see the Gallery in all its glory for the Event. Does that sound like a good idea?" I opened my eyes, and just nodded. I didn't trust my voice at this point.

We made our way downstairs. Henry grabbed his overnight bag. I donned on my jacket and shoes, and Regina stood by my side as we walked to the car. Tonight was going to go well. Everything just felt better when Regina was with me. Everything just worked.

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A/N – Again, I am so sorry for the long wait. My exams start in a little over a week, and I am going crazy with revision. Please don't be too upset with me. Next chapter obviously is all about the event. And Regina's little surprise for Emma. I will try not to keep you guys waiting too long, but I do have my other stories that have been suffering as well. See you guys next time, and remember to let me know what you thought of the chapter. Goodbye my lovelies.