"Why did you decide to open a sex shop?" We were walking outside. The food in the restaurant had been delicious, but I still had to give Emma her birthday present. I didn't want our evening to end yet and this question had been stuck in my mind for weeks.
"Eh, it's a long story," Emma replied and hooked her arm in mine. "Let's save it for another day."
"Okay," I said. I knew she'd said that before, but I wasn't going to force her to tell a story. We'd been inside the restaurant for longer than I'd thought and the streets were empty and dark. I really had to invest in better street lights, but it also created a nice atmosphere. "Do you want to go for a walk before we head back to our apartments?"
Emma nodded. "I'd like that," she said and we started walking at a higher pace. "Thank you, again, so much for dinner. The food was amazing and the company even better."
I laughed softly. "You're, again, very welcome. I enjoyed myself as well," I replied and looked around. We were nearing the even calmer part of Storybrooke, with just a few mansions in the street. "I got you something."
"What for?" Emma asked, confused. I grabbed a little box from my purse and she squinted her eyes. "Are you proposing to me?"
"Yes, Emma Swan, will you marry me?" I sarcastically quipped and she chuckled softly.
"Yes, yes, a thousand times yes," she joked and then turned serious. "But Regina, you don't have to give me any gifts for no reason, I.."
"I always give people gifts on their birthday," I said and she fell silent. She started stuttering some vowels and I merely smirked.
"How did you know?" she eventually managed to ask, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.
"I know everything," I teased and handed her the box. "You mentioned it somewhere in our mails, when you introduced yourself. I can't believe you didn't mention it at all during dinner, though."
"I don't want to make it a big deal."
"Why not?"
"Because it isn't," she said with a shrug. She sighed softly as I put the little box in her hands. "Every year on my birthday, I just feel horrible, because it's just a reminder that I haven't accomplished anything in life. Just the thought of having to do all this year in, year out, is exhausting."
This was quite upsetting to hear. I knew Emma must have had some complications regarding her feelings about life, but hearing her say it out loud, was heartbreaking.
"Emma, you've accomplished so much. You found yourself in a new town, opened a store that convinced even the prude mayor that sex is good to talk about, got over an old relationship and made tons of new friends. I know life can be very tiring at times, but we have to make the best of it and that we can do by celebrating that you made it through life another whole year, with new people and friends."
"Thank you," she muttered, softly and with a weak smile. She looked down at the wrapped gift in her hands. Her fingertips slowly moved to the tape and she carefully took the paper off the small box. She opened it and looked at the silver necklace inside of it. "Wow, it's gorgeous, Regina."
Her eyes met mine and she smiled widely. The pendant was a swan, with subtle, small lines that made it very detailed. It showed a few tiny diamonds that shimmered in the light, but that wasn't visible in this dark.
"I.. I don't know what to say, it's really beautiful. You really didn't have to, but I appreciate it very much. Thank you," she said and took it out of the box. I smiled as she struggled with putting it on.
"You're welcome. Shall I help you?" She nodded gratefully and handed the jewelry to me. Emma moved her hair to the side and I went to stand behind her. I easily put it around her neck. She released her hair and turned around. I was suddenly very aware of how close we were standing and I was terrified to move, scared that she'd step back.
I enjoyed being so close to her. Her arms wrapped around me and she put her head on my shoulder. "You're really sweet, Regina."
"So are you," I whispered back to her as I reciprocated the embrace. I pulled her warm body close to mine and I could feel her heart beat fast against her chest. If only I could touch that chest again, touch her bare skin, touch her.
She slowly moved her head back, but stopped when her lips were near my cheek. Her breathing was loud and I felt the urge to kiss her grow with the second. I figured I didn't have a lot to lose and carefully connected my lips with hers.
In my head I'd constantly replayed our kisses, but the memories didn't live up to the actual experience. It was as though a fire ignited underneath my skin and I craved every bit of touch from her.
Emma pulled back after a solid ten seconds though and observed me for a second. "Regina, this is wrong, this is.." she didn't finish her sentence. Instead, she kissed me again and moaned softly.
Her lips were so soft and her kisses were so gentle. Emma's body was pressed against mine. I slipped my tongue between her lips and our tongues found each other. A rhythm was created for our kiss and I moaned in utter pleasure. I didn't think I'd ever feel this way again, though it was the best feeling in the world. The feeling of kissing someone I genuinely liked from the bottom of my heart.
Eventually, I pulled away and panted loudly. "I am actually still married though, but.." I kissed her again and cupped her cheeks. This one didn't last long though, because Emma moved away from real and looked intensely at me.
"Yes, you are married," she said. "And I'm going against all my principles by kissing you. God, I should've been stronger. I'm sorry."
"If anyone's to apologize, it's me. I'm the one that started. But I don't want to apologize, because I don't regret it. I enjoy hugging you more than I enjoy my most intimate moments with Robin."
I stepped closer towards her and hugged her tightly. "I think we should head home," she said and I nodded. I really hoped things hadn't changed between us.
~~~~
The hallway was empty, but I was absolutely certain I'd heard someone knock on my door. I didn't expect anyone, though. Robin was away with his friends on a "boys' weekend", in Will's beach house and the friends I'd contacted to hang out had other plans.
I closed the front door again and heard a knock on it not long after. I opened the door and found Emma. She looked at me in silence. It was Friday night and she was appeared as though she was on her way to go out.
"Never mind," she muttered and walked away. I frowned and followed her, grabbing her wrist. She seemed like her mind was completely somewhere else.
"What's going on?" I asked.
She stayed quiet for a moment, until she cleared her throat. "Are you home alone?"
I nodded. "Yes, Robin's out with friends. He won't be back until Sunday night. Why?" I had no clue as to why she'd asked it. I'd texted her before if she wanted to hang out, but she'd declined the offer for some reason.
"No reason." Emma opened the door to her own apartment and I looked confused at her. She was behaving oddly and I didn't really know what to say.
"Do you want to come over?"
"I don't think that's a good idea."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm horny and looking for a fuck buddy. The last thing I should do now is hang out with a married woman, whom I'm very attracted to and whom I've slept with before," she said and immediately stepped back.
"There are a lot of other attractive people in town," I said, trying to help her, because I knew Emma didn't want to have sexual intercourse with me. I was craving her touch, though, but she'd made it abundantly clear that we were never going to do it again.
"No, there aren't. There are a lot of hot people in this town, not a lot of them are attractive," Emma replied, much to my confusion. I'd always thought the two terms were similar. "Someone can be very hot and be nice to look at, but if their personality or attitude sucks, they're not attractive in the slightest. Somehow I still feel attracted to you, even though you tried to boycott my shop, disliked me before you even met me and have extremely loud sex with your husband."
I bit my lower lip. This was quite confrontational and frankly, I was surprised she still hung out with me. I had acted very dickish towards her, yet she hadn't given up on me.
"I've acted horribly towards you. I'm sorry," I said and grabbed her hand. "I still would enjoy your company, though." I opened the door further and she evidently hesitated.
"I don't know, I really want to find someone to.. you know."
"You've become too shy to say the word "sex"? I remember a time where our roles were reversed."
"You can be really annoying, you know that?" Emma said as she stepped closer towards me. I inhaled deeply and smirked as I observed her face. She was very pretty.
"Oh, I only learned from the best."
"I was just saying, because seconds ago you were apologizing for acting horribly towards me and now.."
"Now, I'm depriving you of spending the night at the bar with some mediocre sex."
"You seem rather convinced that you're better than the average Storybrooke citizen."
"If I wasn't, would you really be standing here, wasting your time on my doorstep?"
She immediately came closer and pressed her lips against mine. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her inside, our lips still connected. I was too exhilarated to think rationally and stop it. I wanted to kiss Emma. I loved that it had been her, taking the initiative, instead of me.
Emma kicked the door shut and claimed my mouth with her tongue. It was something I'd never get tired of. I was aware that I was completely ignoring all my morals and wedding vows, but if it was so wrong, how could it feel so good?
~~~~~
One of the perks of being your own boss, was being able to work wherever and whenever you wanted. I opened some mails on my laptop, at home, because no one was supervising me and forcing me to work in the office. Usually, I preferred not working at home, but it was just plain rude to leave guests behind without a message. And Emma looked too cute when she was asleep, I wasn't going to wake her up.
As always, my emails had nothing interesting to tell me, but I was obligated to respond politely and inform my citizens on certain topics. I'd been going through emails and documents for about two hours now, but Emma still seemed to be fast asleep in the other room.
The sound of the bedroom door opening proved me wrong and I smiled when I saw Emma walk into the living room. She seemed as though she'd only been awake for a few seconds and yawned loudly.
"Good morning," she said and approached me.
"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" I asked and stood up. "What do you want for breakfast?" She didn't say anything and hugged me from behind as I was trying to make my way to the kitchen.
"Yes. For the amount of noise your bed makes, it sleeps surprisingly well. I'm still tired, though," she said. "It had not been my intention to fall asleep here and spend the night."
"Then you shouldn't have come to my apartment all sexy and horny," I responded and turned around to meet her face, once she'd released me from the embrace.
Last night had been an incredible night, yet again. Emma and I hadn't done a lot different from last time we slept together, but it already felt so natural, and we'd gone much longer. I was surprised Emma hadn't gone to someone better at the bar, but apparently she did genuinely like the time we spent together in bed. I wasn't that bad, so it seemed, and that made me happy.
"Can't blame me. You're the one that told me you're home alone and looking for "company"," she quipped and I flashed her a brief smile. "Were you working?"
"Yes," I replied as I started the coffee maker. Emma raised her eyebrows.
"So early in the morning? What time is it?"
"I don't know, I think around ten o'clock," I guessed and Emma's eyes widened. She immediately walked back to the bedroom and I wanted to follow her and ask what was going on, but she returned thirty seconds later, fully dressed with her hair in a messy bun and her shirt inside out.
"Thank you for your hospitality, but my shop should've been opened a half hour ago and I'm not there yet."
"I can see that," I said, "but you're not leaving without breakfast."
"Sorry, I have to. I can't..." My stern glare shut her up and she sighed loudly. "Fine," she grunted as she sat down at the table. I chuckled softly as I placed a cup of coffee in front of her.
"Do you like scrambled eggs?" I asked and she nodded.
"Yes, thank you. I'd like that."
I started preparing her breakfast. Fortunately, we could still keep up a conversation, given the architecture of the apartment. An open plan kitchen was a real delight, as long as you had a good extractor hood.
"Would you like to stay over tonight as well? Robin's still away on his "boys' weekend", so I'll be alone anyway," I said as I broke the eggshell and let its inside glide in the pan.
Emma sipped her coffee and looked at me. She was tapping anxiously with her feet on the floor and I figured that was because she was late for work. I didn't care, though. My guests weren't to leave my place without the most important meal of the day.
"I'd like that," she said. "I do, however, really want to go now. I'd made an appointment with a customer. They had some questions and I don't need breakfast."
"Do you often skip breakfast?"
Emma kept quiet for a moment. She shrugged, but gave me a curt nod. "I'm often not hungry in the morning. I prefer lunch."
"How can you start the day without a proper meal?" I asked, in slight dismay. Ever since I was a young child, my parents had emphasized the importance of breakfast. Maybe they'd exaggerated, but I wouldn't get it out of my mind.
The eggs were done and I scooped them on a plate, spreading the scrambled pieces on the slice of bread. "Here you go," I said and put it down in front of her. She touched my hand briefly and smiled.
"Thanks," she said and I felt my heart pounding somewhat faster in my chest. My skin tingled from where she'd touched it and I sat down across her, at the table. "You're really just going to watch me eat breakfast?"
"I've watched you eat other things," I said and her eyes immediately widened. I didn't understand the extreme reaction my comment got, but she laughed wholeheartedly.
She cleared her throat and took a sip of her coffee. "Like what?"
"Well, at the party and the pizza, and probably some things I forgot, like.." I didn't know why she found it so laughable, but it was amusing to see her like this.
"Pussy," she muttered and I squinted my eyes.
"Pardon me?"
"I thought you were leading with that one, but I'm far more dirty minded than you," Emma said and continued eating. I felt like I wasn't going to understand this one, so I let it slide. She seemed to find that even funnier and continued chuckling softly. "You're still so innocent. What do you know about sex?"
I smiled slightly and felt a red hue appear on my cheeks. "I know I enjoyed last night," I said and Emma nodded profusely. "Are you enjoying breakfast?"
Emma continued nodding as she swallowed her bite. "I enjoyed last night as well," she said and looked down at her food. "And this is surprisingly good. Not the best thing I've ever eaten, but it's great."
"Now, I'm curious. What's the best thing you've ever eaten?" I asked.
"You," she said.
"You're a cannibal?" I responded, with a calm but confused tone. I didn't understand what her eating references were about, but I was certain it was something sexual.
Emma grabbed my hand and trailed her fingertips across the back of it. She had a faint smile on her lips and averted her eyes to meet mine.
"I feel like you're not aware of the term "eat someone out"?" she asked, and given my confused expression, I knew there was no need for me to verbally respond. "It's the same as cunnilingus, orally pleasing someone. It means licking and sucking a person's vagi.."
"I get it," I quickly interrupted. A part of me still didn't appreciate such talk at the dinner table. Old habits die hard, right? She chuckled softly and ate the last of her breakfast.
"Now, I do have to go," she said and hastily got off her chair. She wanted to grab her plate and cutlery, but I shook my head.
"Oh, please, let me do it. I've kept you here way too long," I said and she smiled. I put the dishes in the sink and watched as Emma put on her shoes.
She got up, once she was fully ready to go and looked at me. "Do you want me to be here same time as yesterday?" she asked, kindly, and I tucked an unbrushed strand of hair behind her ear.
"If you'd like, you could come sooner. I'm making lasagna. There'll be plenty for two people," I offered and she nodded.
"I'd like that very much."