The following morning, Wren began to wake up slowly with her arms enveloping Madeline beside her. She raised her head and kissed Madeline's cheek lightly then took back her hands from under her body without waking up Madeline. She grabbed her clothes from the floor and wore her pants and her shirt but then she heard Madeline mumble in her sleep as she stirred, turning her body to Wren's direction with the blanket covering her body.
"Where are you going?" she asked sleepily and Wren smiled, moving closer to the bed.
"I'm going out."
"No, stay." She wined, pulling her down. Wren chuckled and caressed Madeline's hair then kissed her temple.
"I have to go. There is something I need to do today."
"What's more important than doing me?"
Wren laughed lightly and Madeline smiled widely. "Nothing. There is nothing more important than you." She gave her a peck on the cheek. "It's just some work that I need to finish the half of it before tomorrow."
"Do you really have to go?" She wrapped her arms around her.
"... I wish if I could say no."
"Ugh!" She groaned in defeat and pulled the blanket up to her face.
Wren shook her head with a smile across the face, pulling the covers down to see Madeline's face and so that their lips could meet.
"I'll call you, okay? You come over to my house whenever you finish. I'll be waiting for you."
"Okay." She nodded, smiling and Wren grabbed her face and placed a soft kiss on her forehead before pecking her lips a few times in a row as a goodbye.
..............................................
Madeline got dressed in comfy clothes, black sweat pants, and light blue sleeved shirt. She was waiting for Eva to spend the day together and discuss the wedding plans. Twenty-five minutes later, Eva arrived and they sat on the bed, leaning their heads against the headboard as they talked.
"When are we gonna go to the bridal boutique?" asked Madeline.
"Maybe, tomorrow. I don't know. The wedding is in two weeks and I'm not even panicking or making a great deal about it."
"Yeah, I thought you had a fever or something because the Eva I know would go to the bridal boutique and try literally every dress there."
Eva chuckled. "I'm just enjoying every minute right now."
"Do you want a bachelorette party?"
"Umm, no."
Madeline raised her eyebrow at her while Eva rolled her eyes. "You sure you are Eva? My Eva? My loud best friend Eva who loved to party?"
Eva laughed softly. "Yes, Madeline. I just don't want a bachelorette party that's all."
"Okay then what do you want? Tell me and I'll comply."
"I want to get married and tomorrow we can pick the dress!"
"On it. Did you send the invitations?"
"Paul will take care of that part. We chose the invitation card and they will be sent to everyone tomorrow." Eva played with her fingers and looked at Madeline. "Madeline?"
"Hmm?"
"Does your family know about you and Wren?"
"... Why do you ask?"
"Because since you and Wren are invited and so is your family. I'm just concerned about them rejecting you or something."
"Well..." She sighed. "I told my dad about me and Wren but that was when we weren't together... he said that he accepted it but I don't really know. My sister was happy about it back then. So to answer your question... no, they don't have a clue that we are back together."
"Are you afraid?"
"Afraid?... not really. Wren and I love each other and that's what matters but I can't deny that my family's opinion matter to me as well." She smiled sadly.
"So, you are basically gonna surprise them on my wedding day?"
"Most probably yeah."
"Okay if that happened... I don't want any family drama or I'm gonna kick all of you out."
Madeline and Eva laughed as they hit each other with the pillows and once they went back to normal, Madeline popped a question.
"Are you planning on having any babies soon?"
"Oh, no, I don't want to get the mommy belly so early."
"You sure?" She smiled at her friend.
"Well, Paul and I discussed this before and we decided if it was a girl we would call her Madeline and if it was a boy we will call him Wren. How does that work for you?"
"I'd be honored if one of your babies is named after me and Wren but why would you call a boy Wren if the real Wren is a girl."
"Duh! She is androgynous and she has a unisex name. It works both ways, sis.... and she's hot."
Madeline giggled. "I appreciate all the compliments but I think you should tell Wren about your future plan."
"Oh, you think she would refuse? Pfft, I can convince her. I have my own way... and she is Wren for god's sake! She's always kind."
"Yeah. She finds that hard to believe though." She muttered under her breath and Eva heard her.
"Why?"
Madeline turned to Eva with a sad look. "Last night she came over here and she said that she thinks she is a wreck and she isn't worthy of love. I just wish if she could see herself like I see her and stop self-degrading herself. I admired her since day one when I worked for her and she thinks she has troubles, but she is so soft hearted, caring, gentle."
"Maybe she thinks that because she was never in love like right now. She is afraid to lose you, Madeline... that's why she can't express her feelings in positive words. You told me that she got hurt in the past because of a girl she dated in college and that in my opinion made her scared of losing you. She thinks that you are wasting your time in loving her, but truth to be told, you guys are perfect for each other."
Madeline nodded and smiled, reaching for Eva's hand giving it a light squeeze, appreciating her words as she started thinking about them.
............................................
Wren was running the track with her father and they were chatting together while jogging.
"You know... for an old man like you, dad, you are getting really good at running."
"I'm not that old and you aren't that young either."
"I'm 25 years old, that makes me young."
He chuckled and went to sit on the bench while panting and sipped his water as Wren joined him.
"How is Madeline?"
"She is good..." She smiled. "I'm glad I found someone like her, dad. It's like... she gets me. And every time I feel weak she is always there for me."
"Mm-hmm..." He nodded and looked at the field. "I wish if I was there for you in the past years. You are my daughter and I abandoned you for a long time. I regret missing everything that mattered to you. The college, your graduation, your first day you stepped in your own company, your galas, everything no matter how small or big it was."
"Dad, it's fine. I'm not mad about that anymore, I have you now and I'm glad we became like friends more than a father and daughter relationship."
He turned and looked at her. "Your mother would be proud of you, Wren... and she would've loved Madeline too."
"I don't doubt that."
He smiled at her genuinely and extended his arm to pat her shoulder.
"So..." He got up with a soft grunt. "ready to lose a race against your old man?"
"You said it yourself, you're old." She chuckled getting up and stretching her limbs.
"Maybe from the outside but from the inside I have a horse's spirit."
He said smirking and took off sprinting without even counting and Wren followed him, laughing at both of them when they both hit the finish line despite her father's cheating.
Afterwards, Wren went back home and took a shower then went to a café shop near her house. She wanted to work in a different environment instead of her usualy work routine. She found herself a table near the window glass and took a seat, opening her laptop as she started working while the barista filled her cup.
She started moving her fingers across the letters on the laptop as she was typing and she moved the other hand to get the coffee, taking sips occasionally. She pinched the bridge of her nose and looked away from the laptop to rest her eyes. Her eyes wandered through the tables around her and eventually landed on a table across from hers by four others. The person who was sitting was wearing a dark shades covering the eyes and most of the face. Her hair was long and black like the shades she was wearing, her skin was fairly white, she was a pretty young lady but to Wren she looked familiar, the way that woman held her cup up to her lips was sort of recognizable by Wren as the woman blew the top of the cup softly.
The phone buzzed with life on the table, and she darted her eyes from the woman and stared at the phone and she had to answer her client and glue her eyes back on the laptop screen. When she finished her phone call, the woman stood up from her place and walked past Wren's table and headed out.
.............................................
At night, Wren finished her dinner and brushed her teeth then went to bed, feeling exhausted, she said she would finish half of the work but she never thought that it would be more than half.
She heard the doorbell rang and that made her frown, wondering who was at the door at that time. She went to get the door and when she opened it, she felt sad because she forgot about Madeline.
"Oh, crap." said Wren covering her face. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
"About what?"
"I... I forgot about you. I feel like a complete douche right now."
She let her enter but Madeline wasn't sad or anything because she knew that whenever Wren is exhausted, she doesn't only forget about people around her but also forgets herself sometimes.
"Babe, it's okay. I'm not sad." She grabbed her arms.
"But I'm."
"Don't be."
She hooked her arms around Wren and rubbed her back gently while Wren released a sigh, feeling completely worn out.
"I can leave if you want to have some rest."
"No," She hugged her tightly. "you aren't going anywhere, missy"
"Okay."
They hugged for a long time comfortably and Wren broke the hug and cupped Madeline's face while Madeline's hands went to her waist. She kissed her lips firmly and softly nibbled on her lower lip when she was pulling away slowly.
"Long day?" asked Madeline.
"More like exhausting for doing half the work which turned out to be more than half but also needed to be done because of tomorrow's meeting and I can't believe I forgot about you, I'm probably the worst girlfriend ever."
"No, you're not." She chuckled at her and grabbed her hands, leading both of them to the bedroom.
"Take off your shirt and lay down on your stomach." ordered Madeline.
"What are you planning to do?" She smirked, making Madeline chuckle.
"Just gonna pamper you."
Wren pulled up her shirt over her head and tossed it on the ground and did as she was told, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes.
She felt Madeline's body press against her gently, right on the small of her back and soft hands went up to her shoulders, massaging them mildly as her fingers moved slowly in circles.
"This feels good." said Wren beneath her, sighing deeply. "Just keep going."
"That's a big knot." Madeline released a small chuckle and continued with her hands going down to her back muscles, kneading them. "I can't believe my best friend is getting married."
"Me neither. This is Eva we are talking about here. You know when you came over here and told me that she wanted to tell us big news, it never occurred to my mind that Eva is getting married..." She sighed again with a smile. "I just thought it would be a girly problem... like, she broke her fingernail or her hair got burned or some mean girl came back to life and bullied her."
She chuckled. "Sounds like Eva, but you're making fun of me as well."
"I am?" She looked over her shoulder with a smirk.
"Yeah, girly girls aren't that silly."
"Yeah you are right but sometimes Eva gives me that impression. But Eva is an exception here, she's funny and a good friend."
"Couldn't agree more."
"I wish if I had a best friend like Eva back in high school. She would scare anyone who wanted to bully me."
"Did you ever got bullied?"
"No, but I'm saying if."
They stayed silent for a moment and Wren's body started to relax under Madeline's touch.
"Eva told me the funniest thing ever today." said Madeline giggling softly recalling her day with her best friend.
"Mm-hmm."
"She wanted to name her future babies after us, if it's a boy she'll call him Wren, if it's a girl she will call her Madeline and she said if you disagreed, she will somehow convince you and that's the part that scares me..." She laughed softly and when she didn't get a respond, she looked down at her. "Wren?"
She stopped in her delicate fingers from moving over her skin and stared down lovingly at Wren who already fell asleep. Madeline slowly got off Wren and moved to the side and caressed Wren's hair, placing a kiss on her head.
"Night, love." She whispered in her ear and pulled the blanket over her, tucking her in, then extracted a paper and a pen from the drawer and wrote down a message for Wren when she wakes up.