Those Who Wait

by Haley Cass

  Who was giving her a contemplative look that Sutton knew enough not to trust even before she asked, “Right. Speaking of friends – why don’t you tell me a little bit about Charlotte Thompson?”

  For just a moment, Sutton panicked at the idea that somehow her mother could see her phone, see the texts. Which was dumb, because even if she could, that message had been truly innocent.

  It was just her own thoughts that weren’t.

  “I – what? She’s nice. Um, smart. We – we met at…” quickly, she wracked her brain for whatever Charlotte had told her father over a month ago at their surprise meeting. “Topped Off. Getting coffee.” She took a moment to clear her throat, hoping that her blush wasn’t as visible through the webcam. “Why, uh, do you want to know about her?”

  Her attempt at casual was the least casual response in existence, and she knew it. Christ, Sutton was not in the habit of lying to or keeping things from her mom, especially when asked outright like this.

  But it wasn’t as though she could tell her mom about whatever sexual stuff was going on between them. If anything was even going on between them.

  Charlotte – 6:23PM

  My apartment. It’s been such a long week,

  I’d rather not go out. I just need to relax.

  Charlotte – 6:24PM

  I’ll be out of the office in about an hour, so

  I’ll see you around 8?

  The small squeak that left Sutton’s throat was completely involuntary, as heat flashed through her body because – this was affirmation about being friends with benefits!

  Maybe?

  Right? Because by Charlotte’s own admission, she used sex as stress relief, and it’s been such a long week that she just needed to relax.

  Sutton – 6:25PM

  Yes. Yeah, I’ll see you then. And there.

  Before she could run her mind around what this might possibly mean, or if it meant anything more than what was written, the way her mom cleared her throat was somehow knowing, and it made her freeze.

  Katherine lifted an eyebrow. “Well, it’s strange that you didn’t tell me about when you met her. We usually talk about all of your friends.”

  It was unquestionably true, but she forced a shrug. “It, um, was more about . . . her career. And Dad. You know how he can be, about politicians and all.” She tried to make the lie roll from her tongue seamlessly.

  If the slight look of disbelief on her mother’s face was any indication, she failed miserably. But, well, she couldn’t really dwell on that at the moment.

  Shifting slightly in her seat, feeling somewhat restless now, she glanced down at the clock at the bottom of her laptop screen. “Aren’t you supposed to get that call from your editor in, like, two minutes?”

  It was a saving grace against any more Charlotte-related questions.

  “Yes, but I can miss that if you want to keep talking. Not necessarily about your new friend, but about anything. You’re more important than that.”

  Despite the Charlotte-inspired anticipation that had cropped up in her stomach, Sutton paused to allow herself to feel the appreciation slide through her once again. “I know. But, we don’t have to talk anymore about it. Not today.”

  “Okay. If you’re sure, then, I should probably go to take my call. I love you,” Kate stated, almost as emphatically as she had a bit earlier, and it was still just as comforting to hear.

  “I love you, too.”

  She had a second to take in a deep breath, before her phone alerted her to another text.

  Charlotte – 6:29PM

  Great. I have something exciting to show

  you, too.

  That – what did that mean? She was already excited and flustered and confused – emotions that were not foreign to her especially where Charlotte was concerned – and she quickly closed her laptop and tossed her phone to the side.

  God, she had so much to get ready!

  An hour had already passed by the time Sutton was back in her room. She’d taken a shower, shaved, and dried her hair, letting it fall straight over her shoulders and down the back of her robe as she deliberated what to wear.

  More precisely, what underwear to wear.

  Shaking out her hands slightly, she bit her lip as she contemplated her options. Should she go for something sexy? Not that she really had a ton of “sexy” things, but some things were more enticing than others.

  Or should she just act like this was a normal day, where she wasn’t spending too much time thinking about what underwear she should wear to hang out with a friend?

  She jumped in surprise as her door swung open, spinning on her heels in time to see Regan – clad in the sweatpants that signaled that she was going to have a night in – take a few steps in, while focused on her phone. “Hey, I was thinking about ordering a pizza. You haven’t eaten yet, right? I’m starving. Let’s get two pizzas.”

  Sutton slammed her drawer shut, and she flushed, annoyed with herself for being so obvious. “I, um, no I haven’t eaten. But…” She cleared her throat as Regan looked up, lifting an eyebrow when she realized that Sutton was still in her robe. “I’m actually going out.”

  It was useless to hide the truth, and Sutton knew it as Regan took a few steps closer. She was so well-versed in reading Regan’s face that she swore she could see her thoughts processing. Dark eyes were first alight with curiosity, moving swiftly into intrigue, then excitement – all in a matter of moments – before her gaze darted to the drawer that Sutton had snapped shut.

  And then she saw the dawning of understanding. “You’re going to sleep with Charlotte.”

  Sutton only rolled her eyes back at her, then repeated the action more dramatically when Regan groaned and threw herself onto Sutton’s bed.

  “Is there any use in trying to talk you out of it?”

  “You’ve already tried,” she reminded her, exasperated. “Regan, you’re the one who has always been telling me to get out of my bubble and live a little.”

  It was actually a major component of their friendship.

  Regan gave her a look of utter disbelief. “But I didn’t expect you to ever actually listen to me! Need I remind you that the last time you went along with one of my dumb ideas two years ago, we were stranded in bumfuck Maine for the whole weekend, without cell service?”

  God, that weekend had been horrible; truly she should have known better than to not look over the travel plans Regan had come up with before leaving with her.

  “You’re obviously the logical thought of our operation here and it’s served us very well for almost two decades.” Regan flopped onto her back, gesturing without looking up at Sutton, “And if you’re going out and making the irresponsible decisions, what am I supposed to be doing, hmm?”

  With an incredulous laugh that Sutton couldn’t help, she retorted, “Maintaining your composure, clearly. And you’re doing such a good job already.”

  When they made eye contact, Regan stuck out her tongue and Sutton grinned back for a moment. Before she glanced back at her phone, and the thought of Charlotte and what might possibly be happening between them came rushing back.

  She sighed before dropping onto her bed next to Regan. “Look,” she bit her lip for a moment to try to search for the right words. Because no matter how ridiculous Regan was, Sutton knew that her friend was just trying to look out for her. “This isn’t crazy.” At least, she didn’t think so. Even so, if this might not be the soundest decision she’d ever made, it was hers to make. “I’ve thought about it, and I want this. So, can you just . . . support me? Even if you don’t think it’s the right move?” She was quick to add on.

  Regan gave her hand a comforting squeeze. “I do support you. At the very least, Stunning Charlotte must really be something in bed if Sutton Spencer wants to engage in a sexual affair.”

  “Shut up. And it’s not an affair,” she muttered, because it wasn’t like they would be doing anything illicit. Her other hand came up to pull at the end of her robe, which
had fallen onto her thighs when she’d sat down. “Besides, I don’t even know if she wants to do it.”

  Even if attraction wasn’t in question anymore, Charlotte had never done something like this before, either. The sex, yes, clearly. But not sex with a friend or even the same person multiple times.

  Regan gave her a look of disbelief, before she very obviously trailed her eyes over Sutton’s robe, then also tugged at the hem. She ended by flicking at her knee. “Oh, she wants it, dummy. You can put the Charlotte into the Sutton, but you can’t take out the obliviousness.”

  “You are the worst,” she groaned.

  Her friend ignored her, flicking her wrist over in the direction of Sutton’s wardrobe. “Wear the matching black set you have. With the lace. Show off a little.”

  ***

  Less than a half hour later, Sutton’s hands shook lightly with nervous excitement as she knocked lightly on Charlotte’s apartment door. She could hear quiet music playing from inside and she focused on it as she took a deep, calming breath.

  She knew what she wanted to happen tonight and she just hoped that Charlotte wanted the same thing. And she had already gotten her hopes up because of the whole relaxing aspect. Plus Charlotte had something to show her?

  What was that supposed to mean?

  And with Regan there to bolster her confidence – in addition to the very vivid memory of the way Charlotte had kissed her last weekend, with hunger on her lips, maybe her hopes weren’t that far off from reality.

  Charlotte opened the door already smiling and, as if part of a chain reaction, Sutton’s stomach erupted in butterflies. She drank in the sight of her because a week was the longest they’d gone without spending any time together in months, and as always, Charlotte was a gorgeous sight.

  She had already changed out of the form-fitting business clothes that Sutton knew she must have worn earlier, and was instead wearing her green tank top and yoga pants. Sutton made the conscious effort not to let her eyes wander to take her in.

  Light brown hair that had clearly been in an up-do all day fell down around her shoulders, tousled and messy, and Sutton’s fingers tingled with the memory of running her hands through the soft strands.

  She felt herself grinning in response, taking in the wine glass in Charlotte’s hand. Charlotte followed her gaze before elucidating, “Today was a long day.”

  Her eyes narrowed slightly as she took in Charlotte’s smile, which didn’t seem strained or tired, as it did on days where she’d had a taxing day. Instead it was soft and warm, and Sutton tilted her head as she took a guess, “But a good one?”

  “You could say that.” Charlotte winked, and Sutton swore that her heart stopped for a moment, only to pound harder than ever when Charlotte’s gaze ran over her body. The glint in her eyes seemed to sharpen and those hopes she’d muted grew with leaps and bounds. Before Charlotte’s eyebrows crinkled almost unnoticeably and smoothed out again in the blink of an eye. Sutton didn’t have any time to reflect before their eyes locked again, and the smile on her face was inviting. “Come in, you look cold.”

  Shaking her head slightly, as if she could take herself out of the buzz that settled low in her stomach, she took the invitation in even as she refuted, “I’ve told you; you just don’t have a cold tolerance.” She’d especially giggled over it when Charlotte shared that her family had spent all of their winter breaks in their home in the Florida Keys.

  She laughed at the way Charlotte exaggeratedly rolled her eyes. “Mhmm, so I hear.”

  Unzipping her coat, her fingers fumbled with the zipper slightly when Charlotte leaned over, her shoulder rubbing against Sutton’s arm, so she could shut the door.

  It took a few seconds for Sutton to gather herself, but she gamely tried to appear normal. Clearing her throat she asked, “So, what made today such a good day?”

  When Charlotte straightened out, she reached out to help Sutton out of her jacket. Soft, nimble fingers brushed against her own and was it just her imagination or were they lingering? Then Charlotte leaned back, Sutton’s jacket in hand as she shook her head. “We’ll get to that in a minute. Now, tell me, how was your busy week?”

  Her eyebrows crinkled slightly in confusion as she toed off her shoes. The thing was – Charlotte knew how her week was. She knew because even if they’d been avoiding the topic that was hanging between them even now, they’d still talked. And yet, Charlotte was still interested. It was in the way she quirked her head to the side slightly, her eyes alight and questioning. Like she wanted to know all of the little details that you didn’t text because they were nearly insignificant.

  Which – gave her that feeling. The one with her stomach dipping low as her chest seemed to warm. Biting her lip, she shrugged. “You already know most of it. Just… a lot of school stuff. Oh!” Feeling like an idiot, she gave Charlotte a small, sheepish smile, because there had been at least one decently sized development that she hadn’t yet told her. “My mom knows. About me,” she added, so that Charlotte didn’t think her mother knew about them. Or the possibility of them, anyway. Even if she possibly… suspected. “That I’m bisexual,” she clarified.

  “When did that happen? We don’t see each other for a few days, and I miss the big moments,” Charlotte lightly teased, but her tone was sincere, “Is everything all right?”

  Sutton took in a deep breath, shrugging even as she unstoppably smiled, thinking about her mom’s face from a few hours ago. “She – well, she already knew, honestly. And then I blurted it out anyway.”

  “I’m shocked,” Charlotte deadpanned.

  The bright laughter in those eyes, shining right there along with something that Sutton thought was pride, made her feel a hundred feet tall. “But it was good. She was the best.”

  Charlotte gave her a warm look before quickly placing her wine glass on the small table next to the door. She whirled back around and before Sutton even realized it, strong bare arms wrapped around her tightly. Charlotte’s hand stroked along her back, making her arch into the tingle from the sensation.

  Charlotte spoke softly next to her ear, “I know you were nervous about it. I’m so glad for you, Sutton.”

  For a second, she wondered if her brain was short-circuiting, because she couldn’t think of many times that they’d hugged before. Charlotte did a lot of touching. She flushed at the thought, flashing back easily to last weekend, but she meant in general.

  Charlotte kissed her cheeks and held her hands and ran her fingertips through the ends of Sutton’s hair. She’d learned early after meeting her in person that Charlotte was a fairly tactile person.

  However, they hadn’t really hugged like this. Where her whole body pressed against hers, able to feel her warmth through their clothes, feeling Charlotte’s cheek rub against her own.

  Her own arms wrapped around Charlotte after managing to shake herself out of her thoughts, and she took a moment to inhale. Her subtle perfume mixing with her shampoo was familiar and easily swept up her senses.

  Before Charlotte pulled back and reached for her glass again, a pleasant flush apparent on her cheeks. Which, admittedly, made Sutton even more curious about what was going on in her mind.

  “So,” she started, “That was my good news of the day. What’s got you all…” she trailed off, waving her hand toward the wine glass and then up at the smile on her face.

  In response, Charlotte ghosted her fingertips over Sutton’s wrist before she reached out to wrap her hand lightly around Sutton’s. “It’ll be better if I show you.”

  A pleasant rush swam through her from the contact as she more than willingly followed Charlotte down the hall, peering around as they went. She didn’t know what to expect or where they were going to end up, but she was more than ready to find out.

  Nothing appeared out of the ordinary. Not to her, anyway. The walls were still a calming green, the beautiful and undoubtedly expensive paintings and artworks strategically placed remained the same.

  Charlotte slowed down as t
hey turned into the kitchen and she walked over to her small table. She gave Sutton’s hand a squeeze before dropping it as she came to a full stop, peering down at the tabletop before glancing back at Sutton with a quirked eyebrow, a smirk, and that gleam of excitement in her eyes.

  Curious, she peered over Charlotte’s shoulder as she walked closer to the edge of the table. And then came to a stumbling stop, crashing right into Charlotte when she was able to actually see what was there.

  Her eyes widened when they landed on what amounted to what must have been over thirty different photographs of Charlotte. They were all professionally done, which meant that Charlotte was well-dressed – all beautiful, expensive clothing, with nothing that was really revealing, but was enough for someone with an active imagination like Sutton to imagine the possibilities.

  In each picture that Sutton managed to take in, eyes darting from each one to the next, Charlotte could honest-to-God be an actual model. She vaguely thought of the pictures she’d first ever seen of the woman standing in front of her on SapphicSpark. Which had mostly been selfies, but Charlotte still managed to capture the camera completely with her presence.

  It didn’t matter if the pictures were professionally done or not, Sutton decided, because the way Charlotte looked coupled with the way she simply was, meant that anyone’s attention was grabbed by her immediately.

  “What do you think?” Charlotte asked in a tone that was somehow both self-assured and genuinely inquisitive.

  Sutton could feel her gaze as she waited for her answer. It took a few moments, though she figured that her thoughts – which really could be summed up by wow – were probably visible on her face. She ran her fingertips above the pictures, not quite touching, as she murmured, “They’re all really… amazing. You’re so beautiful,” she let slip out as she paused over one of the pictures where Charlotte was wearing a fitted suit, her hair up in an intricate bun.

  Charlotte’s smile was full-blown and smug, in an unduly attractive way, and Sutton tore her eyes off of the picture for a moment so she could roll her eyes. Even with her cheeks heating in a blush because she hadn’t meant for the words to sound so… reverent, she tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Like you don’t know that.”