Thirty-Three

Tori toweled her hair dry, leaning against the bathroom door frame, watching Jade, who stood at the kitchen counter, preparing hot chocolate for them both. The other woman had gotten out of the water and changed clothes. She seemed quiet and pensive, which struck Tori as a little strange, given Jade's cheerful attitude earlier.

She really liked Jade, and that was the problem, unfortunately. As long as she could consider this a crush – or at worst, a playful experiment – things were okay. They didn't have to worry about what her family would say, or what the consequences were, because, after all, it was just a little fling, right?

But it wasn't just that anymore. Jade was getting more serious. She herself was getting more serious. This was already way beyond a crush for her, and way past an experiment. It was wandering into the realm of realness that made her stop and take stock of where she was and what she wanted in the future. Above all, she didn't want Jade to get hurt… and she could already sense that both of them were moving toward a point of no return.

If they weren't already there.

The Latina sighed, eyeing her companion. Jade leaned over the counter, waiting for the microwave, and as Tori watched, she reached a hand up to push her damp hair back behind one ear. Tori squinted a little. She realized Jade's hands were shaking. And as Tori took a deep breath, she slung her towel around her shoulders and walked over.

Soothing hands found Jade's back as she softly said, "Hey…"

Jade stopped briefly, catching her breath, and it was funny that Tori could spot when Jade was putting on her protective armor. "Hey… almost done."

Tori rubbed at the arm her fingertips had landed on and felt the chilled skin under her fingers. "You're cold."

A nod and the other woman tucked her hands under her arms as she folded them across her chest. "A little… it's chilly in here," she acknowledged, keeping her eyes on the microwave.

Tori rubbed her skin gently, sensing the upset in Jade's body. The raven-haired woman's jaw muscles were tensed, and she seemed withdrawn. Tori hesitated, then took a breath. "Why don't you go sit down? I can bring these into you. Maybe change into some sweats or something?"

Jade looked at her, the blue eyes dim and shadowed. "No… it's alright… I'll be fine."

She decided to be more direct. "Jade, what's wrong? You got so quiet all of a sudden." The microwave beeped, and she forestalled the other woman, opening the door and removing the cups herself. An idea occurred to her suddenly… "Is your side hurting?"

Jade shrugged. "A little," she confessed, taking her cup and following Tori into the living room. "So… what is it we need to talk about?"

Tori could hear the uncertainty in her voice, masked though it was.

Oh…

She took a sip of her chocolate as she sat down on one end of the couch, tucking her legs up under her and taking a deep breath. Where do I start? Maybe I should lay it out for her, she'll understand.

She was silent for a moment, collecting her thoughts. "You know… " Jade's eyes were drawn to her face, and she almost flinched at the wary look in them. "It occurred to me that earlier tonight… when those guys came at us, you got between them and me."

Jade shifted a little and cleared her throat. "I guess I did," she admitted. "I… uh… I didn't think about it, I just… wanted to make sure you didn't get hurt, that's all."

"That's a nice feeling," Tori said softly. "When you do it anyway," she reflected soberly. "I … when I was a kid, Jade, I had a lot of people who said they were looking out for me… You know?" She paused. "Making sure I had the right friends, the right clothes. My mother had aides – bodyguards, really – who would go around and report back to him about things they thought weren't good for us."

Pale blue eyes watched her intently. Jade nodded, wanting Tori to go on. The tension slowly left her.

"And, I had… There were a few kids I really liked over the years that weren't… well. They were poor, or not our religion, or… and the funny thing was, when I found one friend I really liked, but my folks didn't, after a little while they would go away." Tori kept her eyes on her hands. "I'd just go to school one day, and they'd be gone… moved away… sent to another school… Whatever."

"Happens sometimes," Jade breathed out softly.

"I thought that too… until I heard one of their mothers saying they'd been forced to move," Tori replied quietly. "But it was like that with everything… toys. I had a stuffed Cuddle Me Cathy doll I used to sleep with. They thought I was too old for that, so I got home from school one day, and it was gone."

"Tori…" Jade's voice had gentled and deepened.

"I… Uh… I had a puppy…" Tori went on, her emotions kind of remote, as if she had disconnected and traveled to the past as she spoke. "A little golden cocker spaniel named Susie." She took a sip of her chocolate and managed to swallow it. "I loved her. She was so cute. I played with her all the time. We would run around outside, sometimes with my sisters, sometimes just us. She knew how to fetch really well, and I would sit and comb her hair – you know how they have that long, silky hair?"

Jade's eyes lowered. "Yes, I know." Her heart went out to the Latina sitting huddled on the couch next to her. She could see it was hard for Tori to get this out.

"I was playing with her one day, and Gary…" Tori's voice twisted. "Came to get me and told me my mother wanted me and my sister to pose for some pictures. Some magazine people were there. I told him I didn't want to… that I wanted to stay and play with Susie." She nodded a little. "And the next day, I came home from school and found that Susie was gone." Her eyes filled with tears, even now, even all these years later. There was complete silence from Jade, and Tori didn't dare look at her.

"I searched and searched – until finally, three days later – they told me she'd been taken to the shelter. They wouldn't take me down there, so I ran. I ran… but I got there too late."

She felt the misery all over again, of going down the long, ill-lit hall with the smell of alcohol and hopelessness around her… and all those sad faces behind the grills.

"They told me she'd been sick… and that they'd put her down that morning." She paused and waited for the lump in her throat to go down. "I think the worst part for me was knowing she'd been alone. With no one to pet her."

She heard a soft, incoherent sound from Jade but kept her eyes on her cup. This was the important part. She wanted Jade to understand. "So I learned, Jade… I learned not to want anything. Not to care for anything… because as soon as I did, it would be gone." She took a shaky breath. "That's how it always was."

She met eyes so dark with rage they almost seemed purple in the amber light. Jade's entire face was still, and her body tense and motionless, save for her right hand, which was slowly clenching and unclenching.

Tori put her cup down and stood up, walking over and crouching down beside Jade, putting her hands on the other woman's knees. "Jade?" It was like touching a vibrating engine. The tension fairly sang out of her body. "Are you… " She let her words trail off, amazed at the pure anger generated in her behalf.

"How…" Jade managed to get out in a half-growled, half-groan, "Could they do that to you?"

Tori wiped the moisture from her eyes and shrugged. "They thought they were doing the right thing. I guess in their eyes, they were bringing me up properly." It was a defense she'd used for comfort for a very long time. It was easier to believe that than the alternative.

"In my eyes, that was criminal child abuse, and they should be shot," Jade answered through clenched teeth. "And then beaten, and then stabbed, and then dragged behind a tractor down the 101."

Tori was surprised at how strange it felt to hear that… "Jade, they are my parents," she objected softly. "I'm sure they thought they were doing what was right."

"I wouldn't care if they were Michelle and Barack Obama," Jade replied as she reached out and caressed Tori's face, "how could they think taking away things you loved was right?"

The warm affection felt so good it almost hurt. Tori tried to resist it, but she found herself moving forward, being pulled into a gentle hug that threatened to become her whole world. She wanted – so much – to let it.

She wanted to let her fears go and fall into the strength of the woman whose arms she found herself cradled in and never leave it. It hurt to tear herself away and move back, peering up at the blue eyes that ached with misery for her.

For her.

"Jade," Tori said softly. "I thought I could keep this nice and simple. But I can't, and the more drawn I am to you, the more I come to care for you, the more I think about what they would do to you if they found out. Jade, I can't watch you get hurt on my behalf… I can't." She put a hand on Jade's upper arm. "I'd rather lose… this than to see anything happen to you… Understand?"

There… that was the worst of it. Now it only remained to see what Jade's response would be.

Jade pulled Tori into her. "They can't hurt me," she whispered into the ear closest to her.

Tori took a shuddering breath and pulled back again. "They can and they will. Jade, I'm telling you… Mom has Gary, and all he does is hunt around all day looking for dirt and finding ways to screw people over." She felt exhausted, having struggled with the worry for so long. "It's like a game to him."

Jade felt an unnerving combination of relief and sorrow fill her. "Tori… there's one thing he can do that would hurt me," she told the woman gently. "And that would be to drive you away… to take away from me a friend I've come to value very much." Jade touched Tori's face. "Don't let him do that… please."

"But…" Tori started to protest, "Jade… I can't…"

"Unless what you're saying is that you just…" Jade's jaw worked for a moment. "That you aren't interested in– in which case, I understand." She couldn't hold Tori's eyes any longer and let her own drop to study the tile floor. "And even then, I… still… don't want to lose you as a friend."

Tori stared at the dark, bent head in shocked silence for a long moment, then let a small sound of dismay escape her throat. Her hands curled around Jade's and squeezed hard. "God, no… that's so not the case. Jade, I'm sorry… I didn't mean for you to…"

Blue eyes peeked up at her quietly. "Okay… I was just…" being criminally insecure, she admitted to herself as she folded the other woman into her arms again. They both exhaled simultaneously. "I'm so sorry that happened to you."

Tori sighed. It felt so good to tell someone. Even Andre only knew bits and pieces.

"Gary is the worst part. He's my mother's bodyguard. Daniel is his nephew." Her mind pictured this tall, silver-haired sleekness, and her stomach turned. "He does most of the dirty work. Sometimes I'm not even sure my mom knows half of what he does." She let her head rest against Jade's collarbone and paused for a moment.

"When I got out of college, I was going out with a guy I'd known for a few years. I really liked him, and he was a nice guy – good family, very religious – you'd think I'd finally found something my parents would approve of."

Jade waited, glancing down to see the lost, aching expression in Tori's eyes. "What happened?" She had a feeling she wasn't going to like the answer, but now that Tori was talking…

"He… Gary said they didn't really think this guy was right for me… but… he said he knew how stubborn I was, so he had to make sure I did. The right thing." Tori's voice went flat and remote. It made the hairs on the back of Jade's neck stand up. "So he took me into the back laundry room and…" she went silent and shook her head. Jade was nauseated at the implication. "And he told me he'd tell John all about it if I ever saw him again."

Jade exhaled slowly, feeling the rage start to build again. "What did he do to you, Tori?" The Latina didn't answer for a long time, her face sad and lost as she gazed into the darkness of the memory. Jade merely waited, holding her in silence.

"He raped me," she whispered. The sudden soft words ruptured the stillness with an uncommon ugliness. "Funny… it's the first time I've said that word… even in my thoughts." Tori's head slowly dropped, and she uttered a soft groan.

Jade closed her arms around Tori's shaking body, almost lightheaded with rage. The Latina took in several deep breaths and then straightened, composing herself.

"I was stupid. I went to my mother and told her what happened… and you know what she did, Jade?" Tori smiled bitterly. "She talked to Gary and decided I was lying. She brought him in and made me apologize to him. And the whole time, Gary just smiled at me." She laughed humorlessly. "Then, of course, my dad got to me, chewing me out for upsetting my mother with my shameful tales." A pause. "I think… that night was the most alone I've ever felt."

"Tori…" Jade whispered.

"I wanted to die. I felt so small," Tori's voice sounded more tired than anything else. "I decided it wasn't worth fighting anymore." She let her head rest against Jade's arm. "After that, I just went along with everything. Whatever they decided, was fine. If they wanted me to pose for pictures, fine… if they wanted me to marry Daniel, fine… it just didn't matter. Nothing did."

Jade simply held her.

"Now, I've found something worth fighting for again." Brown eyes searched Jade's face. "And I'm scared," she lifted a shaking hand and touched Jade's face. "I'm so scared that I'll lose you."

"That's not going to happen," Jade quietly reassured her, "I'm not leaving… And I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you. Tori, I promise you that."

Tori spent a moment in quiet memory. "Saying goodbye to John was hard. He didn't understand."

Tori looked up at the pale, quiet face above her. "I can imagine what you're thinking," she concluded wistfully, knowing Jade would never have let someone control her like that.

"No, you couldn't," Jade managed to get out. "And I'm glad for it." Where had that image of drawing and quartering come from?

Tori just looked at her, prickles running down her neck at the fierce tone in Jade's voice. "I guess it sounds so unbelievable, I just learned to live with it," she concluded, softly.

"I didn't even realize life could be different until I came to San Francisco. Being on my own has been…" She stopped. "God, I can't describe it – to make friends with whoever I wanted, do what I wanted when I wanted to do it…" She reached out a hand and touched Jade's face. "And now you… I'm so scared, Jade, whenever I have really wanted something… I've had to watch it drift away. And I…" An awkward pause. "I really want this," she whispered.

"You…" another longer pause. "Us…" she concluded softly.

"So do I," Jade felt herself calm. Her questions had been answered, and the problem was put forth. She set aside both the rage and the shy joy and considered the problem first. "Do your parents support you financially?" Jade asked.

Tori looked at her puzzled. "I don't understand the question."

"Do you owe them anything? Do they have any legal strings holding you?" Jade asked, brows creased.

"No…" she answered, shaking her head. "You pay me so much I don't even have to think about it."

A tiny smile. "So he can't actually force you to come back."

"She'd find some way of getting me fired," Tori replied darkly. "Some way to blow up my spot."

A low, soft chuckle. "Not in this company… I am this company. No one is going to go head to head with me over this."

"Then she will go after you," the Latina stated, seriously. "She will find some way to dig and dig… until they uncover something they can use against you… and Jade… The most obvious thing that pops to mind is us," Tori reminded her. "I know we said we'd keep it low profile… but you know people talk. I'm sure at least a few of them are already."

The dark-haired woman didn't look dismayed. On the contrary. She looked intrigued. "Then I'll have to go after her first," she answered quietly.

"What do you mean?" Tori asked hesitantly.

"You said she digs things up?" Jade asked.

She nodded. "She has investigators… that kind of thing."

A slow nod of Jade's head. "So do I… only they are not the kind that wear twelve-dollar fedoras and smell of cigar smoke. And I don't have to pay them over time." She gazed at Tori. "This is the information age, Tori… and the truth is out there… you just gotta know where to find it."

"Your hackers…"

Jade smiled and took Tori's hand, running her fingers over the skin lightly. "Just leave it all to me," she told the Latina. "And Tori?"

"Yeah?" The reddened eyes blinked. "I'm sorry I got like this… I don't usually," she apologized.

"Don't be sorry. I'm glad you said it so we could talk about it…" Jade replied quietly. "Rather than you just walking out or whatever…" Jade finished with a shrug, hinting that this was the root of her worry.

Tori closed her fingers around Jade's. "Is that what happened to you before?"

Jade stared off into the darkness beyond the patio doors. "Something like that, yeah." She dropped her head back against the couch. "Every time I thought that I … had found someone… I wanted to share my life with… I guess it just never turned out they felt the same way." A pause and a sigh. "I stopped trying after the last time."

Talking about herself was very hard, Jade realized, and as Tori's hand reached out in gentle comfort, she continued. "You get told you're not capable of holding onto love often enough, you begin to believe it." Another pause. "I did… I'm… very stubborn… I don't play well with others, I'm cold… unfriendly… mean." The touch became a stroke. "Makes sense, hell, even my own mother didn't want me around."

Jade couldn't believe she'd said that, unsure of where it had come from. "Sorry, I didn't mean to go into that. We were trying to work out your problem, I thought," we're each other's answers. Tori sighed inwardly as she studied the angular face above her. I've finally found my other half… and she finally found someone who won't abandon her.

"Jade… I promise you… I'm not going to give you up." Pale blue eyes studied her, and enveloped her.

"No one is ever going to hurt you again, Tori."

Their hands met and tangled, fingers holding together as their gazes locked.

It was a strange moment, Tori thought; she could feel a faint shiver go down her back, and as she looked at Jade, some pale, almost translucent barrier between them seemed to drop. "That's what friends do… they stand by each other… right?"

"Right." Jade smiled, "Friend."

Tori slid gladly into the waiting arms and let the warmth wash over her. She was still afraid, and no amount of words could change that, but…

But, they'd find a way through it.

Together.

Jade leaned back against the couch, content to simply sit and hang onto Tori, who was peacefully resting in her arms. They had been sitting like that for a while, in relative silence, only the softness of the waves audible through the half-open patio door.

"Hey…" Jade finally murmured. "You like strawberries?"

Tori seemed to come back from very far away. "What human being doesn't like strawberries?" She inquired, reasonably, soothing her finger over the soft cotton of her friend's shirt. She could feel the gentle motion of Jade's breathing, which seemed almost hypnotic to her. "Why?"

Jade felt Tori's touch idly roaming her body, and she had to swallow before she answered. "But you want some?"

"Means I have to move," Tori complained, finding interesting things to trace with her fingers. "And I really like where I am," she concluded softly. Meaning it.

"That's true," Jade acknowledged with a smile. "But they're nice, big, juicy ones… And I have melted chocolate to dip them in." She teased.

Tori smiled, "Do you always make a habit of spoiling people you like?"

She peered up at Jade's face, which had creased into a smirk. The expression faded after a moment, though.

"I don't know… Haven't had much practice," Jade admitted quietly with a faint shrug. "I just do what comes naturally."

Tori's brow furrowed. "Jade, do me a favor, okay?"

"Okay."

"You haven't heard what it is yet," the Latina woman objected. "If we ever bump into any of the people you were involved with, let me know."

Jade looked taken aback. "That's not really likely, but… Why?"

"So I can kick them in the shins," Tori told her. "And if you're really nice, you'll tell me ahead of time so I can put on the pair of steel-toed cowboy boots I bought in Austin last year." She felt Jade's body jerk as a laugh was forced out.

"I mean it."

Jade hugged her. "Thanks."

Tori was so different from anyone she had been involved with before… Certainly worlds better than the tall, aristocratic Elena. Maybe I've been barking up the wrong tree all these years, she concluded with a sigh. Even the best times with anyone else, it hadn't felt anywhere near as it did right at this moment.

Tori smiled and wiggled closer, continuing her idle tracing. A button worked itself free somehow, and she traded cotton for skin, feeling Jade's hands begin a gentle massage on her back.

"That feels great. I'm going to be so sore tomorrow," she commented with a sigh. "After that climbing wall, I'll be limping around all over the place. People are going to think I'm the world's biggest klutz." Her fingers moved lower. She felt a temperature change – Jade's skin felt very warm. Puzzled, she probed a little further and heard the soft sound as Jade stifled a gasp.

"Hey." Her brow creased, and she unbuttoned a few more buttons, pulling aside the woman's shirt and peering underneath. "Oh my God, Jade."

guiltily, Jade glanced down. "It looks worse than it really is." A bruise covered a space the size of a soccer ball just under her ribs.

"It's just a little sore." "Jade, that's bullshit!" Tori objected. "You need to get that checked out… Geez! You could have ruptured something…!"

Jade had to smile at Tori's indignant speech. "I'm sure I'd have keeled over by now if that was the case," she told her friend. "It's really nothing."

Brown brows knit. "Oh yeah?" Tori eyed her. "Sit up." She paused. "Without using your hands."

The other woman hesitated, a triumphant smirk appearing.

"I said I was sore," she grumbled. "Talk about klutzes… I should've gotten out of the way."

Tori chuckled. "Jade, Jade, Jade. Would a cold pack help?" She asked sympathetically. "You came over and helped me out. I guess it's my turn." She paused, wincing at the bruise. "You sure you don't want to get out? This time of night on a weekday… It probably won't be busy at the hospital."

"I hate hospitals," Jade replied stubbornly. "But… If it still hurts tomorrow, I'll stop by Dr. Dodie on the way to work and have them look at it. Okay?" She paused and cleared her throat a little awkwardly. "But… An ice pack is probably a good idea."

Tori patted her shoulder. "Stay here… I'll get it." She rose up off the couch and headed toward the kitchen. "And bring back some of your strawberries, too."

Jade settled back with a smile. "There's a plastic container on the counter. If you put it in the microwave for about three minutes, that'll about do it."

"What is that?" She wondered briefly as she turned on the blender and watched it make snow. After a minute or two, she sniffed at the air. "Yum."

The blender stopped, and she put the ice in a heavy plastic bag she dug out of the closet, then set it aside and peeked in the microwave as a blast of warm, rich chocolate scent hit her.

"Oh my God." She gingerly pulled the container out and opened it, revealing a warm pool of the stuff. "Oh boy…"

She put the dish on a small tray, then, glancing around, she poked her finger in it and tasted. "That's wonderful."

Being around Jade, she realized, was an extremely sensual experience – and her senses seemed to be on hyperdrive lately. She left the tray and went back to the refrigerator, opening it, and kneeling down, blinking when she spotted the strawberries.

"Holy shit, Jade!" She yelled into the living room. "Teenage Mutant Ninja strawberries!, where'd you get these? A field outside Turkey Point Nuclear Plant?" She heard the soft laugh as she pulled the box out. It was a long plastic container with approximately two dozen of the fruits laid out like roses on stems with the leaves still attached.

They were nearly as large as an average peach, and the scent was almost intoxicating. With a laugh, she took them out, washing them off before adding them to the tray, then carrying the entire thing out to where Jade was peacefully waiting.

"Here…" She put the tray down and settled into the leather next to Jade, feeling the sudden impact of those blue eyes on her. Tori picked up the ice bag and gently put it in place, tucking the edges of the terry cloth towels she wrapped around it carefully. "How's that?"

"Nice." Jade regarded her quietly. "You have very gentle hands." She captured one of them and studied it, turning it over and stroking the palm.

It was like getting an adrenaline shot right to the groin. Tori had to swallow before she could make an attempt to regain her composure.

"Thanks," she whispered, wanting to continue the contact. "They seem to be that way around you, for some reason."

Jade smiled at her, then lifted her hand and traced her cheekbone with a feather-light touch. "Yeah," she said, feeling Tori lean into the pressure as her eyes fluttered closed. "Strange…" The touch circled around the blonde woman's neck, pulling her down as their lips met. Tori's hands found a place on either side of Jade's head, and they slid together, the ice forgotten. The berries forgotten. Even the chocolate was forgotten.

Jade leaned back and stretched her legs out as Tori fit herself into the space next to the back of the couch. Feeling the touch of the leather warm against her skin. She was not to jar the other woman's side as she nibbled the soft skin of her neck, inhaling the smell of cotton mixed with chlorine that still clung to Jade's body. I haven't touched her side, and she drew a sharp breath as she slid down die, feeling the muscles move under her hand as the other woman shifted, pressing her back against leather into a very safe space. Lips found her earlobe, then her throat, sucking gently at her pulse point which jumped under the attention.

She had an idea. She reached over to Jade and stuck a finger into the warm chocolate, then brought it back and painted a line down Jean's face. She tasted the chocolate.

" oh… That's nice." She licked it off and spread a line lower hearing a soft chuckle sound deep in Jade's throat.

"This is gonna get messy." The other woman rumbled softly, reaching over and getting a blob of chocolate and applying neatly along Tori's collarbone. "Glad the couch is leather." She pulled the T-shirt down off of one of Tori's shoulders and cleaned off her handiwork, as she felt a warm stripe traveling down her breast bone, followed by a tongue and lips.

"mmm…" Tori painted a set of circles.

"Good chocolates, huh?" Jade managed to whisper, finding a nice well in the belly button to hide some.

"What chocolate?" Tori hailed, sliding a hand down Jade's stomach, "Oh… Right… Yeah. "She was careful not to press against the bruise, but she wanted to touch every other square inch of her, her lips roaming over the soft and tasting, breathing and touching.

The pressure built again as Jade's hands moved, and her dark hair brushed against Tori's sensitized skin. She cried out, softly.

"You alright?" Jade's voice vibrated down her ears, a gentle concern lacing her words.

"Yeah… just…" Tori could hardly stand the intensity, pulling the other woman closer, letting the sensation build until they were both helpless in a tangle of limbs. The release left them gasping, bodies intertwined in the soft nest of damp leather. Tori managed to stir, shifting up and nestling her head against Jade's shoulder as she wrapped her arms around her and hugged her mindlessly.

Jade let her eyes slide shut, feeling her heart begin to slow its hammering as she stroked Tori's hair gently. Sweetness filled her, and she smiled a bit. "Feels so good," she murmured. "Different."

A faint nod against her chest. "Beautiful," Tori said, thinking about being surrounded by warmth and security like none she'd ever known. And something else. She looked up at Jade's face. "I've never felt like this before," she admitted quietly.

Silence.

"Me either." Jade's eyes were open now, meeting hers.

Those blue eyes… Tori had never seen any others. They were as familiar to her as her own reflection. She knew the tiny crinkle at their edges, the way a smile could creep into them, and how they narrowed and darkened when deep in thought – as though she had known them all her life. And so, now, when they opened, gentle and warm on her face like a soft hand of sunlight, she had no doubt of the emotion behind them.

"Jade?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you think it was really tacky of me if I told you I'm hopelessly in love with you?"

Jade actually, stop breathing. Her chest stilled. She paused a beat before a startled, but delighted smile shaped her lips. "You are?"

She looked like a child who had been given a surprise gift on her birthday. Tori decided she hadn't seen that on TV once.

"Yeah," she replied softly.

Jade's face had an expression that was a cross between embarrassment and happiness. "At least you have the sense to figure it out for yourself. I had to have the damn doctor tell me."

Tori gaped at her in cautious hope. "Tell you what?"

She means… No, she doesn't… Yes, she does… Oh, Jesus… Yes… Yes… Yes!

Jade gave in, letting emotion take over. "Tell me the reason I've been feeling so damn strange." She traced Tori's eyebrow. "I didn't have the sense to know what love was when I fell into it," she said softly. "So no, I don't think it's tacky… I think it is the most amazing thing I've ever heard in my life."

Yes! Tori felt a little giddy, her eyes lighting up, and a big grin spread over her face.

No, she felt a lot giddy. It wasn't at all like the romance novels said it would be, but she'd take it. She sighed happily. Wait.

"Been feeling?"

Smiles. "I think I should've realized something was going on with me after I found myself at the mall, of all places, that first time we went shopping."

Tori blinked. "The mall? Oh my God… The mall!" She stared at Jade, then laughed in delight. "Jade! That's… so sweet!"

The darker-haired woman tried to scoff first, but finally just gave up and laughed. Tori laughed too, and they ended up hugging each other, squeezing tighter until Jade finally sucked in a breath and gasped.

Tori released her immediately. "Oh God… Sorry, I forgot." Her hand went to cradle Jade's face, which was tensed in pain. "Jade… Are you alright? I'm so sorry."

The pain subsided, and the injured woman sighed softly.

"Whoa," she muttered. "That stung."

Tori hitched herself up on an elbow and scratched her nose, then prodded Jade's shoulder. "Remember you said you were going to stop by the doctor's tomorrow if it still hurts?"

Blue eyes glanced at her. "I said?"

"Well, you're not getting a choice," Tori informed her. "Because I'm going to take you there myself."

A dark brow rose.

Tori leaned over and kissed it, then backed off and waited.

Jade chewed her lip, then let a slow grin take over her face. "All right," she said. "You win."

Yeah. Tori retrieved the ice pack, now sadly worse for wear, and settled it back over Jade's ribs. We both win. She squirmed back down against the leather, watching Jade retrieve a strawberry and scoop up a bit of cold chocolate. She brought it over and offered it. Tori took a bite and chewed.

"God, that's good."

Jade took her own bite and stretched her legs out a little, feeling Tori settle against her with a warm familiarity. Everything was changing. Her life was now a wonderful, frightening chaos.

It felt awesome.