Blessings In Disguise (lesbian)

(17) You're Thinking Too Loud

As she lay on her side with her cheek propped in her hand, she lovingly gazed upon her sleeping companion. Awake before the sun finished rising, Dylan surmised that she may have slept a total of an hour. When they weren't making love, she thought about today, counting down the time she had left with Layne and Robin. She kept wondering how she would be able to drive them to the airport later that morning. It could prove to be the most difficult trip of her life. So desperate was she to thwart their plans, Dylan had thought about pretending that something was wrong with her car so they would miss their flight. However, common sense assured her that such a ruse would just delay the inevitable. They would eventually leave regardless of any machinations she could concoct.

"You're thinking too loud."

Dylan chuckled while light eyelashes fluttered, amused eyes soon revealed. Those eyes focusing on her, one winked. "How long have you been awake?" the brunette inquired, the fingers of her free hand beginning to caress an exposed hip.

"Mm, about a minute." Enjoying Dylan's touch, she briefly closed her eyes. "You?"

Oh, about two hours. "A little longer than that."

One eyebrow slowly rose. "I get the feeling that you've been awake for more than a 'little longer'."

"Is that so?"

"You brushed your hair, your face appears freshly scrubbed, those gorgeous blue eyes are bright and your breath is minty."

"You should join a CSI team."

Offering up a faint grin, Layne sat up and glanced toward the bedside clock, noting that they had a good four hours before it was mandatory to leave for the airport. Announcing that she would be back shortly, the nude blonde stood and began to head toward the bathroom, oblivious to admiring eyes. When she returned, her hair was neater, face cleansed and breath just as minty as Dylan's.

Reclaiming her spot, which remained warm during her absence, Layne inquired about the yellow legal pad the other woman tapped a pen against. With a line drawn down the center, the words 'stay' and 'go' were printed in Dylan's handwriting on either side of it.

"I intend to make you realize that your reasons to stay outweigh the reasons to leave," Dylan softly replied while continuing to nervously tap the writing implement against the pad.

Sighing, Layne shook her head. "Dylan, I--" An index finger pressed against her mouth prevented further speech.

"Hold on," the brunette insisted, removing her finger so she could hold the legal pad with one hand while furiously writing with the other. After about a minute, Dylan started to talk, pen unfaltering. "If you stay, you'll have family. A surrogate mom, Angie, Mike, Reggie, Jimmy, Oliver...If you go, although she's amazing, the only family you'll have in New York is Robin. If you stay, you'll also have a great assortment of friends such as Henry, Lindsay, Adriana, Alexis and Nancy. And I recall you mentioning that you didn't have many friends in New York, because most of your friends were Kirsten's friends. Now look how many friends you've made in the months you've been here. Genuine, fun, kind, loving along with a little crazy friends."

When Layne attempted to speak, she held up a hand. "Not yet. Back to Robin, if you stay you'll have plenty of free and willing babysitters. In New York, you'll have to hire babysitters or a nanny. And then you'll have to go through all the trouble of interviewing them and that can be a giant hassle. You already know and trust your San Francisco babysitters.

"Your job. You can paint in any place that has walls. And guess what? San Francisco has plenty of walls just like New York! You're your own boss and you don't have any permanent employees, which means that you are free to move your business as you please. I believe it's already been established that you can be successful here as a muralist, because you've had more than a handful of clients. And since Jimmy has enhanced the Bishop Designs website, the amount of projects you'll receive will just continue to bloom. Also, if you need to confer with him about updating your website, it'll be easier to do that if the two of you live in the same city."