{Meg}
"Mummy." Abby calls as she runs into my arms. Only a few weeks ago the chance of leaving her overnight would have been non-existent. Now she can barely say hi to me before going back to whatever game she's playing with the boys.
Gracie laughs at the quick interaction, beckoning me to the kitchen to chat.
"Did she behave?"
"Good as gold. Now what about your night, how did that go?" Gracie asks with her back to me, puttering around.
"Where to start. Let's see, while I'll was waiting outside the restaurant I ran into Trina."
Gracie whips around so fast that tea goes flying from the cup she'd just picked up. "Shit." She says, putting the cup down and grabbing a tea towel.
"Are you okay? Did it go over your hands?" I ask worried she burnt herself, I should have probably timed that better.
"I'm fine don't worry. What's this about Trina?"
"She was going in the restaurant."
"Did you speak with her?"
"Yeah." I sigh, remembering the awful encounter.
"Did she apologise for breaking your engagement? Did she apologise for leaving you a week before your due date, causing you to go into early labour?"
"What do you think?"
"Oh, you don't want to know what I really think." She says hotly, before saying exactly what she thinks. "I think she is a vapid excuse for a human being. She preys on women, telling them how special they are. Only it's not in a sweet way, no she does it in a way that makes it sound like she's the only person who will ever think that way about you. She's manipulative. I think the best thing she ever did for you was leave."
Wow, that was a pretty real reality check. Everything she said was true but it still hurt to hear, to know I fell for those pretty words. I was the perfect target. Insecure and shy from lack of parental love, only open about my sexuality for less than a year when I met her. Still heartbroken over Layla. I was a baby lesbian with confidence issues, easy pickings for a player like Trina.
Gracie grips my hands in hers, forcing my eyes up from the table. "You were always too good for her. She needed you more than you needed her and it killed me that you never saw that. You're my baby cousin and I wanted to protect you but I couldn't. Meg, you are bloody amazing. I've always known it; Abby knows it and so does Layla."
"What would I do without you?"
"Live a very boring life." She says causing us both to chuckle. "Now tell me, how did Layla react to Trina, please tell me she knocked her out?"
"Actually, they never met. Layla didn't turn up at the restaurant."
"Wait, what?" Gracie's tone quickly changing from jovial to protective big cousin.
I explain what happen, all the misunderstanding and the argument. She calms down by the end but she does threaten to slap Layla upside the head for being stupid. Then I make the mistake of telling her we slept together.
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, finally. I don't know how you've gone this long without getting laid." She chuckles.
I bury my face in my hands and decide to rest on the table. She can be so mortifying sometimes.
"So was it as good as you remember. Wait, you did used to have sex with Layla when you used to date right? She was your first."
"We were each other's first, yes."
"And now? Was it good, I bet it was good, Layla seems like the type that knows what she's doing?"
I know if I don't answer her, she will pester me endlessly and knowing her ask Layla as well. Time to nip this in the bud. "It was better."
"So, tell me more. How did it happen? Where did it happen?"
"I kinda initiated it while we waited for the food to arrive." I cringe, waiting for ...
"That's my cousin, you get in there." Waiting for that, she didn't disappoint.
"You're so weird." I say with a chuckle then I remember the embarrassing start and groan. "We were on the sofa and, oh god, I barely lasted two seconds."
There is a moment pause before she cracks up laughing. "Sorry, I shouldn't laugh." She says while still laughing at my mortification. "It's just, gosh, it has been a while haven't it. It happens though, how did Layla react?"
"She was lovely, and sweet. Told me not to worry and that she's going to make it her personal mission to get my stamina up." I say the last part behind my hands again. Remembering the cheeky glint in her eyes as she knelt in front of me. We worked on it a lot over the night, and a little bit more this morning. A brief pause came when food was delivered. Layla answering the door with only one of those blankets with sleeves covering her, giving me a delightful eyeful of her full moon. It may not have started off great but the ending was amazing.
"By that smile on your face you're not going to put up much of a resistance. At least this time you both don't have to sneak around. Bet that ruined your sex life a few times when you were teens."
"It definitely made it harder. Although there were some benefits to my parents being my parents, I had the house to myself a few times."
{Eleven years earlier}
My parents decided to go away for the weekend leaving me home alone. When they'd left this morning, I sent a text straight to Layla. She turned up about one o'clock, the intention of this afternoon clear for the both of us.
It's been less than a year we've been together but recently things have been getting more intense. Each kiss, which was magical at first, seem to set a fire burning in me. It is with great difficulty and regret that we stop our make out sessions at just kissing. Always waiting for the interruption.
Only we've got the house to ourselves today and nobody is going to stop me from taking the next step.
We start by watching a film together, keep things normal and organic. By the midway point I'm really struggling to follow the film, even though its one I've seen multiple times. I'm sitting here curled up in my girlfriend's arms, a place that makes my heart race but at the same time makes me feel calm. When she starts lightly tracing a line on my arm over and over again, I feel like I'm going to combust.
Forget waiting for the end of the film.
I turn and claim her mouth with my own. Kissing her hard and needily. She has a dazed look on her face when I pull back. Smiling I stand and hold out my hand. "Oh, we're doing this now. Okay then." She says taking my hand and following my lead to my bedroom. I love it when I catch her off guard.
Once the door closes, we're on each other in a flash. A hunger and desire for her pushes my nerves over this being my first time into a tiny ball. Clothes go flying amid giggles, until I realise, I have no more clothes on my body.
Layla seems to realise this at the same time and freezes over me. Kneeling next to me with her hands hovering above my body.
She looks at my bare body intently, visibly gulping and licking her lips. "I'm almost afraid to touch you." She says breathily.
"It's going to make things more difficult if you don't."
Zipping her gaze straight to my eyes, a smile forms on her face. "You're beautiful Meg." Gently she places a palm on my belly before moving it to my side and up. My breath hitches when her thumb rubs the base of my breast. Keeping her one hand firmly on my chest, she lowers herself back over me. Kissing and exploring my body at the same time.
--__--__--
Some deliriously happy amount of time later and Layla and I are simply lying next to each other. We've long since caught our breath and just lay there in silence. I just had sex with my girlfriend the voice in my head is screaming in joy. It was weird but wonderful. If it wasn't for my body feeling like jelly right about now, I'd be all for doing it with her again. Maybe in an hour or two. Maybe we should have something to eat first, get our strength back. This is a work-out I can very much get behind.
A knock at the front door brings all my wandering thoughts to a halt.
"Are you expecting someone?" Layla asks.
I sit up and look to my closed bedroom door like it will have answers. "No."
The knocking keeps going so I throw on a pair of pyjamas and go to investigate.
Layla covers herself with my dressing gown and peeks her head around the top of the stairs. I peek a look through the window and tense up at whose there. "It's Dan." I whisper shout to Layla.
"Shit." She mumbles before retreating back to my room.
After taking a calming breath I open the front door. "Hey Dan. What's up?" I say in a very poor attempt at normal.
"Like I would let you stay on your own for the weekend." He says making his way into the living room. I have a moment of panic trying to remember if there would be any evidence of Layla in there but find the room as clean as when my parents left. Did I not offer her a drink?
"Did we plan this and I just forgot?" I ask following him into the room.
"No, I just thought an unplanned sleepover would be more fun. I want to catch up with you, I feel like we barely see each other lately."
I bite my lip nervously trying to think how I'm going to get out of this situation. Dan's right, I have been spending more time with Layla as of late. Maybe a night of movies and take-out would be good for us. Then I remember my naked, hot girlfriend upstairs who I've just slept with for the first time. How can I ask her to leave without it sounding rude? I need to talk to Layla.
"I'll go get some blankets. Why don't you pick something to watch?"
With Dan's focus on the tele I close the door to the living room and run upstairs. Instantly I'm disappointed to find Layla fully dressed. "You're going?" I ask.
She smiles warmly at me and gathers me in her arms. "This afternoon was amazing but you need to spend time with Dan as well. I understand, as I've kinda been blowing Jas off a lot lately as well."
"You don't have to leave though, the three of us could hang-out."
"Meg, if I don't leave now, I'm going to want a repeat of this afternoon and I won't care that Dan is in the room. You're too stunning for me to keep my hands off."
"I feel like I've just used you for sex and now I'm kicking you to the curb."
"Well, you kinda are," she jokes, "only this is definitely not a one-time thing."
"Better not be." I say nibbling on her earlobe.
She groans before pulling away, giving me a wag of a finger as a telling off.
Quietly the two of us creep down the stairs, me leading the way. At the front door Layla plants a kiss that leaves me panting. "I love you." She whispers before shutting the front door behind her.
After quickly trying to fan my face down I walk back into the living room. Depositing the arm full of blankets in the middle of the sofa.
"Who was at the door?" Dan asks without looking away from the tele.
"Hmm, oh, no-one, it just didn't look closed properly so I was checking if it was." He takes my lie and moves on to tell me what he has planned for the night. In the quiet moments though my mind jumps straight back to Layla.
{Present day}
Later that night and it's just Abby and I home, Layla is on nights. I'm watch the news report about the factory fire not far from here, watching the thick black smoke fill up the night sky. The remains of the building are engulfed in the bright yellow and orange of the fire, while the smoke billows out. We're close enough that the smoke is starting to be seen outside the window, it's not as thick as on the screen, just a slight foggy look. The smell is the worst part, I've already gone around the house closing up all the windows. The reporters say this could take a few days to put out. Abby's asleep in bed so I'm sitting here, in the spot that only yesterday Layla was doing things to me, worried that she's in danger.
Suddenly my phone rings causing me to jump out of my skin. Seeing Layla's name has me rushing to answer.
"Hey." I rush out.
"Hey, you watching the news?" Layla asks.
"Yeah, you're not out there, are you?"
"Not yet, it's not our territory but we're just waiting for the call to help."
"Oh."
"Look, I want you and Abby to go stay with Gracie for a few days. This is too close to home."
"Yeah, it's starting to look foggy outside."
"I was afraid of that. Close all the windows, pack a bag and get away from there. I don't want the two of you exposed to the smoke."
"Okay, I'll call Gracie now."
A loud ringing sound can be heard through the phone. "And there's the call." Layla says almost absent-minededly. "Meg, I'll call when I can to check on you both. Stay safe, I love you, I love you both." With that she hangs up and I'm left trying to process those last few words.
She loves me?
Okay she said she loves both Abby and I but still. She loves me?