"So Regina is flying down tomorrow?" August asked as he pumped butter on his popcorn.

Emma didn't say anything at first. Instead, she watched as her friend added more and more of the liquid butter to their popcorn. She knew she looked disgusted and quite honestly couldn't for the life of her understand why someone would find that much butter appealing.

"Dude, think you drenched it enough? The popcorn is ruined. It's going to be all soggy now," Emma whined and gestured towards the large bag in her friends hands.

"What's wrong with you? Movie theater popcorn is supposed to be a soggy and a salty mess." He defended as if his point was truly a logical one.

"I value my organs." Emma quickly spat back.

"More for me then." He smiled and crunched down on a buttery piece of his sickening popcorn.

"You did that on purpose so I wouldn't have any didn't you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." August winked at his friend as they made their way to theater nine.

"Whatever. Wasn't like I was going to eat any, anyways." She commented.

"Sure you weren't, Swan. Just wait, you'll be sneakin' some before I know it. So I know you've been busy with stuff for work and, well, talking to Regina. But, have you given any thought to what you're going to say to her, or how you're going to broach the topic?"

"August," Emma said in a warning tone. "I can't right now. Let's just enjoy the movie and talk about this, later on, tomorrow."

"Are you going to wing it? Because we both know that's a horrible plan for you. You get all nervous and batty."

"I didn't say I was going to wing anything. I just can't think about that right now. I'm already on pins and needles. Just shut up about it, okay?"

"Fine, but tomorrow let's talk. I'll help you sort out your head and offer any support that I can. I know this is hard for you. It's a huge step to take with someone. I know how much you care for Regina, and I hope she see's that."

"August, I swear to mother-loving God, my patience is wearing thin." Emma snapped. She opened the door to theater nine and walked up the entrance ramp and into the theater. When the pair turned the corner to where the seats were, Emma asked, "So where is it that you wanted to sit? Looks like we have to fight for some seats."

August rolled his eyes, "Ha-Ha, funny Swan. Seems you picked the worst movie playing tonight."

"Whatever. It looked good." She said as she started marching up the steps looking at where each of her feet went in fear that she would fall going up the steps.

August, on the other hand, trucked behind her carelessly shoving fistful amounts of greasy popcorn into his mouth like an animal.

The pair shifted to the middle seats of the top row and settled in. The previews started to roll and Emma shifted in her seat to turn her phone on silent.

"So, uh, what's the movie about anyways?"

Emma set her phone in the cup holder and answered. "It's one of those girls who see ghosts movies. Looked interesting in the previews on TV. That Tom Hiddle -whatever his last name is- plays the male lead."

"You know, I think that's the best Reader's Digest synopsis you come up with for a movie."

"Really?" Emma was shocked. "I mean, I thought it was pretty basic, but-"

"I was kidding. It was awful. So the girl see's dead people, there's got to be more to it than that."

"Whatever, I thought it looked cool."

By the end of the previews, Emma's hand gravitated to the large bag of popcorn in August's lap. Mindlessly, she picked up a few puffs of salty goodness before her friend popped her hand. The three pieces of popcorn flew back into the bag.

"No way, Emma. What do you think you're doin'? You don't get to diss a man's popcorn and then try and sneak a few for yourself."

"I was hungry." Emma shrugged with a smug smile.

"Eat someone else's, oh wait, 'bout that, there's no one else in here because this movie is going to suck."

"Even if there were someone else in here, I wouldn't go up to someone and be like, 'Scuse me, can I have some popcorn?"

"Yeah, I would laugh in your face if you came up to me. You know what your problem is?"

"I have a problem? I just wanted some popcorn, jeez." Emma said, shrinking into her seat.

"You need to learn to live a little more on the edge. Be daring, Emma. Playing it safe is boring."

"Whoa. I didn't see how me wanting popcorn turned into me needing to be more daring. Besides, aren't I already sort of doing that by having a dating profile? I would never do that."

"Exactly, you would never. If you recall, I made it for you."

"Oh right, there is that small little detail." Emma nodded. "I feel like you're politely calling me boring and I'm not sure how to take that because I'll have you know-"

"You're boring," August said, cutting her off.

"As if!" Emma whined back before laughing at herself. She really needed to get out more. She watched a movie marathon the day before, Clueless being one of the romantic comedy's she watched. Netflix and was a soul sucker.

"Okay, Cher from Clueless, prove it." August challenged.

"What do you mean, prove it? And how the Hell did you know that was a movie reference? Are you a closet romcom fiend?" Emma asked.

"I have dated a ton of girls who have made me endure too many chick flicks. What I mean is, prove it. If you're not boring then, you'll have no issue tonight while you video Regina proposing a game."

Emma squinted her eyes. She knew he was up to no good. "What kind of game would I be proposing? I've got this feeling that it can't be good."

"It's simple, really. It's a game you've played all of your life. Paper, rock, scissors."

"Yeah, no, there's more to it than that. Spit it out, I can't read your mind?"

"Well, excuse me, I thought you were telepathic and could read my mind, my bad." August joked. "Fine. I was kidding, but you're right, there's more to it." August wiggled his nose and smirked at Emma.

She knew she was in for it now. "Shit, I'm nervous," She said as she sank even further into her seat. Her friend was ballsy, she'd give him credit for that. The last time he challenged her to do something, she basically ended up asking Regina how she felt about men and sex with them. Not by any means was she a dude, but she still had a penis. So that was a little more than uncomfortable and Emma can still recall how nervous she felt that day. She even changed subjects to clowns of all things. Whatever August had in store for her was bound to test her limits again, as if the first time wasn't hard enough.

"Okay, let's hear it, what's the catch?"

"It's simple. When someone loses a round, they must remove one article of clothing."

Emma gulped. "You're kidding?"

"Prove to me that you're not boring, Emma."

"I can prove it, but that doesn't mean I need to take my clothes off." She snapped.

"Someone's defensive."

"August, you can't be serious. I'm not ready-"

'Shush, the movie is starting and Tom Hiddle-whatever his last name is- is about to be talking." August smiled as he tossed a few pieces of popcorn in his mouth.

Emma turned in her seat and said, "Oh, don't you dare use my line."

"Shhh."

Emma turned, faced the large screen, and crossed her arms. August was a daring little shit. He knew she couldn't step down from a challenge. He liked to test his limits with her, always had.

While the movie's opening scene was visually captivating with the lead actress in the snow crying doing a voiceover, speaking words of insight about ghosts, it failed to live up to Emma's expectations.

By the middle of the movie, August was slumped over in his seat, snoring. It didn't take him long before he'd fallen asleep. It wasn't even thirty minutes into the movie before his head did that game where it would dip down and he'd jerk awake.

The movie was pretty awful. Perhaps she should have taken the Rotten Tomato rating more into consideration before picking it. Emma turned over to her friend who was starting to twitch in his sleep and said, "August?" She waited for a second before trying again, "August?" This time, she shoved his shoulder.

"What?" He said, his eyes still closed, and his body still slumped over. Emma had no idea how it was even remotely comfortable.

"This movie sucks!" She said as she threw some popcorn at her friend.

"You thought it was okay to wake me up to tell me something I already knew? Why else do you think I was sleeping? That Tom Hiddle-whatever his last name is- sucked and that girl was just, no. Also, you're going to pay for throwing my own popcorn at me!"

He lunged from his slumped over position and threw the entire bag of popcorn over Emma's head.

"August, the butter!" She yelped. "Not cool dude." She stood and licked her lips.

"I have napkins." He laughed as he handed out the two that he had. "Besides, the butter probably is a good moisturizer for your hair."

"You suck, you know that?" She laughed as she cleaned off what she could and sat back down.

"Besides, I didn't wake you to just say the movie sucked. I, you really think I'm ready for this? With Regina that is? Like we haven't even had sex yet."

"Stop being nervous. Turn that off in that brain of yours. You overthink everything." He said as he pointed to his head. "Just let it go and live Emma. I hate to be a lame cliche greeting card, but you really do only live once, so just let go and enjoy yourself. Have some fun with Regina tonight. Create memories."

"I, yeah I get that. I just don't know if I feel okay with taking my clothes off."

"I said take your clothes off if you lose. I never told you to lose." He deadpanned.

"But I could. It's a game of chance."

"So, still, I never said to reveal anything. The idea is to tease and entice the other person. Make her ache for you. Crave your touch, your body, lips, and for your voice to be the one whispering sweet nothings into her ear."

He paused for a second and considered his next words wisely. "Emma, I sincerely believe Regina wants you, not only emotionally, but physically too. Teasing each other will help you both build this connection and desire that is needed to strengthen what you already have." He paused. "I may not have a relationship to speak from, but I really think that building this type of connection on top of an emotional one will most likely help. Whether it's to help her understand her own feelings for you more so, it won't be so bad when you tell her. I'm not saying it will make it any easier by any means."

Emma didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. August did have a point. She and Regina had a good thing going for them. The whole thing was still very new, but it was nevertheless a strong bond. Emma only hoped to make the connection stronger when she revealed more of herself with Regina this weekend; both emotionally and physically.

Being transgender wasn't just a physical thing, it was emotional more than anything else. More than anything she wanted a relationship that went beyond the confines of friendship, but one that was solely based on… love.

Emma would be lying to herself if she said she didn't need that kind of fulfillment in her life. She needed someone who wanted to be with her.

She wanted that person to see beyond the thin veil she wore. She constantly felt the need to hide herself and to always pretend she was fine. Here's the thing, Emma knew she wasn't always fine. The fact is, going without affection for so long can wear someone down. She'd dealt with so much in her life; gender dysphoria, shame, and depression. For her, depression stemmed from feeling like she wasn't adequate enough, worthy of someone's affection, and just the overall feeling of being dubbed as unnatural.

Fortunately, Lily taught her that wasn't always the case. Since then, Emma looked at life differently. Yeah, maybe she wasn't daring like August, who was pushing her to take more risks for the sake of not being boring. She valued his friendship, how he always pushed her to her limits. He made her feel alive. Having had Lily and August in her life she found acceptance and happiness. She knew she could be loved. It was a matter of finding someone to be intimate with again who accepted her for who she was and supported her on where she was heading. There's a lot of catfish in the lake, as her southern mother kindly reminded her too often, it's about finding the right one.

While Emma knew she had grown a lot as a person since she lost Lily, she still had a long road to travel down. She needed someone who was confident, strong, and to love her fiercely.

Emma pulled out her phone and smiled as her finger glazed over Regina's name in her inbox. Regina was all of those things, confident, strong, and bold. She was successful and smart too. Emma couldn't ask for more in a person and really hoped that when the time came for her to have 'the talk' that at the end, Regina would still be standing beside her along for the ride. Part of Emma believed that would be the case, but at the same time, she knew to not be foolish. Doubt liked to remind her that life isn't always that easy.

She clicked on the message and typed out a text. August had a good idea, but she wasn't sure if she was one hundred percent comfortable with the idea. Despite that, she knew Regina and Emma trusted her. Besides, a little teasing never hurt anyone and who's to say Emma won't be the one who wins?

Leaving the movie soon. It's pretty terrible. When I get home, can we video? I know you are busy packing and stuff. I have a … interactive game for us to play!

Emma hit send and waited for Regina to respond. It didn't shock her that it didn't take her long at all.

I finished packing already. I'll be free, what's this game of yours?

Emma smiled.

Well, let's just say, I hope you're wearing underwear.

She knew that would get a rise out of Regina. The three little dots popped up instantly and a message soon after that.

Oh? I think I see where this is going. You're on.

"So I asked Regina to play that game with me." Emma told August, who had miraculously fallen back to sleep.

When she didn't get a response, she beamed him in the chest. "Hey, I'm talking to you."

"What?" He said as he wiped his eyes.

"I said, I asked Regina to play that game with me."

A shit-eating grin spread across his face. "Is she home now?"

"Yeah, she finished packing too."

"Screw this movie, we weren't into it anyway. Let's go." He stood and pulled Emma out of her chair.

"What? We're leaving now? The movie is getting better the creepy sister is all suspicious." Emma motioned toward the big screen in front of them.

"Yes. You need to get home to that pretty woman of yours."

The pair left the movie and before Emma knew it, she was busy running around her apartment trying to get ready for her call. The whole point of this game was to be a tease. Normal cotton bra's and tee shirts wouldn't do.

She threw on a button down shirt over her Calvin Klein bra. She knew that no matter what was going to happen that she wasn't supposed to revealing anything.

When she finished getting ready she walked over to her laptop and pulled up FindLove on her browser and logged in.

Regina was online waiting and Emma clicked on her icon to video her. Regina's face popped up a minute later, beautiful as always causing Emma to immediately smile. She was never going to get over how infectious her girlfriend's face practically glowed when she saw her.

"You have my attention, so what's this game you texted me about?" Regina asked, intrigued.

"Let me preface this with that August called me boring and dared me to do this and I'm never the one to back down from a challenge."

"Okay, well that's not shocking. What's the game?" Regina asked again.

"It's paper, rock, scissors. The loser of each round must take off one item of clothing." Emma watched as Regina raised one eyebrow and smirked back at her.

"What is considered a round? One hand or three?"

"Let's do one." Emma winked. "I plan to get you naked Mayor Mills."

"Oh? You think you're so sure of yourself." Regina said as she started to roll up her sleeves to her shirt.

"Okay, that's sexy." Emma said as she watched the woman move her delicate fingers against the folds eloquently.

Emma watched as the other woman laughed and asked, "You ready?" She brought her fist up to the palm of her hand for Regina to see.

"Yes." Regina said as she finished rolling up her sleeves. She brought her own fist to the palm of her hand and focused on the camera. Emma watched as Regina tried to weaken her resolve, with a perfect tongue licked that licked her lips in a slow, seductive manner.

Emma trembled a little as she tried to keep it together before the game even began. They said in unison, "Paper, rock, scissors, shoot!"

Emma's eyes grew two sizes larger than average. "I won!" She said out loud in disbelief.

"Well, someone's humble." Regina said as she accepted her defeat. "What do you want me to take off?"

"It's not in the rules that I have to tell you what to take off. You can decide."

"I know, but I'm giving you the opportunity to decide."

Emma felt her heartbeat pick up, she may have won, but at this moment, Regina was the actual winner because she was putty in her hands.

"Uhm, take off your shirt."

Emma watched as Regina smirked as she stood in front of the camera. She slowly popped each button for Emma to see exposing her olive skin.

The whole thing was hotter than anything had done before online. Her hands were starting to sweat and sweet little baby Jesus, Emma was twisting in her seat when Regina's shirt hit the floor.

"Oh shit. That was hot." Her mouth watered.

"See something you like?" Regina purred into the camera.

"I see a lot that I like." Emma nodded. "That bra is, hot. You better wear that this weekend. I want to take it off of you."

Regina was wearing a lace push up bra that pushed her small breasts up. Emma was trying to maintain her composure, but damn it was hard when her eyes traced her girlfriend's soft curves. "God, I've missed your body. I just want to reach out and touch your skin."

"If you want, it can be all yours on Friday night." Regina said, with a hint of vulnerability in her voice mixed with desire.

Emma started to feel the nervous jitters in the pit of her stomach that she had that morning she first set her eyes on her.

She cleared her throat. "Before that happens we have to talk about some things. Is that okay?" Emma asked.

Regina sensed the seriousness in Emma's tone. "Yeah. Of course, is there something you want to tell me now. Whatever it is, I'm sure everything will be fine."

Emma scratched her head and tried to not think too much into what she had to tell Regina. Instead, she admired the image on her screen of the other woman. Her features were so soft and her skin practically glowed. Sure the image was a tiny bit pixelated, but still, Regina was still gorgeous, radiant even. Shyly she looked away from the camera, "No, in person is better."

Before Regina was given the chance to ask any further questions, Emma brought her hand back up to her palm and started the next round.

"Paper, rock, scissors."

As if fate was on her side, Regina lost again. Regina didn't even seem bothered by it and asked Emma to tell her what she wanted.

Emma didn't hesitate to say, "Pants."

Before they knew it. Emma was watching Regina stand once again. She unbuttoned her pants and slowly unzipped her them for Emma to see. She slowly pulled the long black slacks down her contrastingly white legs that seemed to shimmer in the light. Her legs were strong and perfectly toned. Now Regina was left in lace that concealed Regina's modesty. Emma wished she had x-ray vision because her eyes begged to see more.

Regina looked back at the camera and smiled. "You've got me out of my pants and it's not even the second real date. Should I be worried?"

"Nope. Not with a body like that. You're breathtaking."

Regina blushed. "I wish I could say the same, but someone keeps winning."

Emma smiled. "You never know, my winning streak may end."

Regina smirked. "That's true, or I may end up naked."

"That's not a bad thing at all."

"Not for you."

Emma nodded. "Shall we?" She brought her hands up, her fist resting on her palm. Together in unison, they repeated the three words again.

This time, Emma wasn't so lucky. She looked into the screen and asked Regina what she wanted her to take off and like Emma, Regina said the top.

So there Emma sat in her Calvin Klein bra with a smirk on her face. They were really doing this. She didn't feel weird and nor did she think Regina felt like that either.

"Next round?" Regina said, interrupting Emma's thoughts.

"Yes."

"Paper, rock, scissors." They repeated and as if fate was a funny thing, Emma lost again.

"Hm." Regina mocked a thinking face. "How about that lovely bra of yours." She winked at the end.

Emma slowly slid the straps of her bra down her shoulders and freed her arms. Bringing one arm around her front side held the material close. The other hand worked it's magic and unclasped it in the back. Instead of letting the bra hit the floor, she slowly pulled away. What Regina didn't expect was for Emma to do that all in one motion and to still have her arm covering both of her breasts.

"Tease." Regina said back in response.

"Takes one to know one." Emma kissed to the screen.

"Fine. Next round." Regina dared as her tongue licked her bottom lip.

Emma used one hand and played rock. To her dismay, Regina played rock as well.

Emma gulped back, and asked, "Again? Or do we both take something off?"

"No, we do a tie breaker." Regina instructed.

That next time Emma played paper and Regina did scissors. Emma was officially losing.

"My, my have the tables turned on you, Emma. Let's see you take those pants off."

Emma looked off to the side and down to her lap. For her to take her pants off she would need to use both of her hands. While she didn't care if Regina saw her boobs, she didn't want to take her pants off, not yet. She wanted to do that in person after they talked.

This game, while it seemed like a great idea at the time, was too much. It wasn't fair to Regina. She had no idea what was really going on and now Emma felt like it was nearly twenty-five hundred degrees in the room.

"Emma?" Regina asked.

Still Emma didn't turn to face the camera. She felt ashamed and everything was too much because of the guilt she felt.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Regina tried said in a soothing tone. "We don't need to-" She was cut off.

"It's nothing. I've gotta go." Emma said as she turned to look at the screen. Her eyes were met with concerned and patient ones that begged to know more.

"It's fine." Emma said looking away.

"It's not fine, something is wrong. Talk to me." Regina tried to comfort Emma.

"When you get here. I'll see you soon." Emma said biting her bottom lip willing her tears to not fall from her embarrassment. She closed the laptop screen and picked up her clothes. Her phone buzzed instantly and she couldn't bring herself to even look at the message that was inevitably from Regina.

Emma put her shirt and bra back on and she sat back down. After a few seconds, she picked up her phone and read Regina's text message.

Emma? Talk to me. What's going on. You're upset and I want to know what I can do?

This was all her fault. Emma knew she should have come clean sooner than later. Now Regina had these expectations, perhaps thoughts even, about Emma and they weren't true.

Emma felt like she mislead Regina and all she wanted was to fix everything and race back into time to make it all better.

Please don't shut me out. If something is bothering you, then I want to know. I'm your girlfriend and I'm here for you.

"We'll see about that, won't we." Emma said as she dialed August's number.

"Hello?"

"How could you let me do that? What's wrong with you?"

"Emma? What happened."

"Nothing happened. I just feel like a steaming pile of horseshit because she doesn't know and I fucked up."

"Emma you need to calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down. I don't know what to do? I'm so screwed. I told her we needed to talk before we had sex and she was fine with that. But then I froze when it was my turn to take off my pants play that dumb game of yours because clearly I would lose. What kind of message do you think that sends?" She said, heatedly.

"It could send a lot of different messages. I promise you the last thing she's going to think is that you're transgender. You need to call her back and just talk to her. You don't have to tell her anything you don't want to. Save the real conversation for in person, but just tell her you froze and you felt uncomfortable."

"I feel so embarrassed now." Emma said into the phone that buzzed for the third time.

Emma?

"I'm sure Regina feels confused and maybe even a little hurt because she doesn't know what the Hell just happened. Just talk to her. Don't feel the need to be embarrassed."

"Okay." Emma said into the phone. This whole ordeal was stressing her out and it needed to be taken care of she could barely wait another day, or two to get all of this off her chest. At the same time, while she wanted relief from the guilt she was afraid of losing Regina.

"I'm going to go. You've got this." Her friend reassured.

"Thanks." She hung up and looked back down at her phone for a few seconds. She knew what she needed to do to clean up her mess. She took in a deep breath and dialed Regina's number.

"Emma?" Regina asked, her voice oozed of concern.

"Hey."

"What's wrong?" Regina softly asked.

"Look, we've got a lot to talk about on Friday. I completely froze when we were talking and I felt really embarrassed. I'm really sorry to make you worried." Emma told her honestly. Her body throbbed as anxiety twisted through her veins. Her heart felt heavier in her chest as it beat slower. She tried to keep it together.

"Do you think telling me now will make you feel better?" Regina asked.

"Not really, I want to talk to you in person. I think that would be better." Emma swallowed thickly. She honestly wanted to curl up into a pile of ash on the floor.

"Honey, I promise everything is going to be okay." Regina said in a sweet and sympathetic voice.

"I hope so. I really do, babe. I can't tell you enough, how much I like you."

"I know. I really like you too. You've brought some light back into my life. Everything had started becoming too robotic. I felt like I was being pulled in too many different directions. I had no free time and I can't tell you enough how thankful I am that my company is being acquired." Regina spoke, freely. "It's just one less thing on my plate and I can focus solely on being a mayor. Even still, now that work is sorting itself out, I have missed something in my life. You're one of the best thing that's happened to me." She sweetly told Emma trying to reassure her. "Everyday I get to come home to you is a better day. You mean a lot to me and I never thought I find what I have found with you. So remember that when you are worried about something and how it may affect us, or me." Regina paused and then asked, "Did you want to sleep alone tonight?"

A shitstorm was raging war in the back of Emma's mind, and while her entire body itched and ached for relief from the pain and nervousness, there Regina was soothing all of that. She was calming her down and bringing her back to reality while reminding Emma that she wasn't the only person in this relationship. It did bring her comfort. Regina made her feel like there was hope to still be had, despite the guilt that she suffered from. And, if Emma was honest with herself, she really didn't want to go to sleep alone. Especially not after they started falling asleep together every night. It made her feel like Regina was really there with her.

"Not really." Emma admitted into the phone. "I've really gotten used to having you with me when I sleep."

"Okay, why don't you log back in online and call me back. I need to go to sleep early and be up even earlier."

"Regina?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being you. I couldn't ask for more. I can't wait to lay by your side in a few days, for real. I know that sounds super gay, but my body really misses yours. This long distance thing is really hard."

Regina laughed. "It's natural to feel like that. I haven't online dated or been in a long distance relationship before. I find myself sometimes, during the day, missing you more than I thought I ever would. I didn't know how we would end up when we first started talking, but it has been a pleasant surprise. Also, I'm here for you, Emma. Maybe I'm not there beside you, but I am only ever a call away. I care so much about you and this weekend when you're ready to talk, I'll be there to listen."

"Thanks, I really hope it's as easy as you make it seem. This whole thing is really new to me. I have only ever been with one person and I trusted her implicitly." Emma sighed into the phone. "I'll call you in five minutes."

"Sounds good."

Emma ended the call and set her phone down. She took in a deep breath and said to herself,

"Hold it together, Swan. It's just a few more days. You can do this."

She knew that it was only a matter of time before her secret was out in the open. All she wanted was to feel that huge sense of relief and move on to the next step, whatever that may be. One thing was for damn sure, she hoped that whatever that next step was, that Regina would be there with her.