Most Wonderful

by Bryce Oakley

  She gave a small, slow spin.

  "Emilia, I..." Cody said, the words getting lost. Her eyebrows raised, and then she was reaching, pulling Emilia to stand in front of her, while she kissed every inch of Emilia’s skin she could reach.

  Emilia felt like a goddess, as though Cody was worshipping her body.

  Cody moved again, flipping Emilia onto her back.

  She tugged on Emilia’s underwear, whispering that there were three seconds before she was going to rip them, and Emilia slid them down her legs and tossed them onto the floor beside the rest of the pile of their clothes.

  “You are unbelievably sexy,” Cody whispered, spreading kisses over Emilia’s shoulders.

  Emilia’s cheeks hurt from smiling.

  Cody paused, bringing her mouth down to Emilia’s again, brushing her lips softly. Emilia lifted her head, pressing into the kiss, deepening their connection as she slid her tongue along Cody’s lip.

  Emilia turned Cody onto her side, squeezing a knee between her legs and reaching for her.

  Cody moved her hand and touched Emilia, pushing into her, and Emilia could feel herself tighten around her fingers.

  She reached for Cody, her own fingers finding the spot that made Cody moan in pleasure.

  They moved their hips in rhythm, their fingers circling and pushing, slowly at first, their lips trailing across shoulders and necks and chests.

  Together, the rhythm quickened as Emilia ground her hips into Cody's hand, riding higher and higher towards her release. Cody moved her thumb to circle Emilia’s clit, over and over, only hitting the most sensitive spot after Emilia had begun desperately writhing her hips against Cody's hand, her own hand quickening the pace as Cody began to bury her face into Emilia’s neck, moaning her name.

  Cody began to cry out first, her body stiffening against Emilia’s, and Emilia’s own release came only moments later. She shattered around Cody’s hand, feeling as though she was flying apart at the seams. She slowed the pace of her own hand on Cody as her pleasure crested, then began to ebb.

  They lay in silence as they each tried to catch their breath. Cody pressed her lips against Emilia’s neck, her shoulder, her collarbone. A kind of quiet, new intimacy lay with them, something familiar and comfortable.

  Cody pressed a kiss to Emilia’s forehead, wrapping her arms to hold Emilia tightly against her.

  Emilia settled her head against Cody’s chest, feeling warm and protected and exhausted.

  Chapter 12

  Cody

  Cody pulled up in the thrift shop parking lot.

  Emilia turned to her, her brows furrowing together. “We’re… thrifting? That was the big secret date you have planned?”

  Cody grinned. “Not all of it,” she said. She didn’t dare let Emilia in on too much of the plan. Keeping secrets from a person who obsessively needed details was almost as fun as what she had planned.

  Emilia blinked, tilting her head. “Care to explain?”

  Cody turned off the car and hopped out. “Not at all," she said with a laugh.

  They walked into the store hand in hand, and Emilia shoved her free hand in her pocket as though she was afraid to touch anything.

  There were racks stuffed to the brim with clothing in every direction. It was just as perfect as she remembered.

  "This is a goldmine,” Cody said, rubbing her hands together.

  “For what?” Emilia said, clearly trying to be polite and hide the grimace on her face.

  “Oh, come on, you never thrifted as a teen? I can so see you going through an emo phase,” Cody said with a laugh.

  “My parents loved these shops,” Emilia said, and Cody nodded in understanding.

  “Well, it’s time to take back the thrifting experience, then,” Cody said.

  “What are we looking for?” Emilia said, steeling her expression as if she was preparing for battle.

  “Ugly Christmas sweaters,” Cody said, pointing to the rack of sweaters.

  Emilia balked in surprise. “Seriously? Our date is looking for ugly Christmas sweaters?”

  “Oh, ye of little faith, Emilia Marin,” Cody said, shaking her head. “Just try to find an uglier sweater than me. Try it.”

  Emilia’s brow quirked. Ah, that was the trick. Cody just had to make it competitive.

  Twenty minutes later, they were standing in front of a mirror laughing as they tried on different sweaters. Emilia found one with pom-pommed reindeer, but Cody definitely had her beat with glittery elves.

  Emilia stared at the sweater in the mirror, giggling. “This is so bad,” she said.

  “So bad it’s good?” Cody asked, wrapping her arms around Emilia and kissing her cheek.

  Emilia caught her eye in the mirror. “Almost. Almost there. But I think I can find better.”

  In the end, Emilia settled on a sweater so heinous that Cody could barely look at her with a straight face. It had tinsel, a fake fireplace, puffy embroidered presents… it was truly horrible.

  Cody decided on a sweater with puffy sleeves full of neon snowflakes with the words JOY and NOEL stitched across the front in bright pink.

  As they climbed back in the car with their treasure, Emilia turned in her seat. “I always hated thrift stores,” she admitted.

  Cody raised her eyebrows. “I would have never guessed by the very casual way you entered that one, though,” she teased.

  Emilia rolled her eyes. “They just remind me of my parents, but I guess that doesn’t always have to be a bad thing.”

  Cody reached across the center console and took Emilia’s hand, giving it a squeeze. She didn’t dare say anything to make Emilia self-conscious, but it meant a lot to her that Emilia was able to talk about painful things in front of her. It was real and raw and vulnerable, and it made Cody feel closer to her.

  They drove across town and parked in front of a bar.

  “And now what?” Emilia said, looking thoroughly confused.

  “Put on your sweater,” Cody instructed, reaching into the back to get their shopping bag.

  Emilia did as she was told, trying to get more information out of Cody.

  “Are you always this skeptical of surprises?” Cody asked.

  “Only when I have no idea what’s happening,” Emilia said, pulling on her sleeve to straighten out her tinsel.

  They walked into the bar, which was so dark Cody could barely see. A giant projector was playing the opening credits of A Christmas Story on the wall. Every patron in the bar seemed to be watching the movie with rapt attention.

  Frankie and Nico waved from across the bar, gesturing to two seats at their table. Cody led Emilia through the crowd and sat down at the table.

  “You're late,” Frankie stated.

  “Well, Emilia took awhile to find just the right sweater,” Cody said.

  “Yeah, but I won,” Emilia said, gesturing to her sweater.

  “We got you each a beer to start,” Nico said, smiling.

  “What are we all doing?” Emilia leaned in, whispering.

  “It’s A Christmas Story drinking game,” Cody explained. “Don’t worry, everyone will loosen up after the sixth time he talks about the Red Ryder BB gun.” She grinned.

  “I’ve never seen this movie,” Emilia said, looking slightly worried.

  “You’ve never seen this movie?” Cody asked, astounded. “Have you spent every holiday season under a rock?”

  “I’ve tried,” Emilia said with a grin. “But how will I know when to drink?” Emilia asked.

  As if on cue, everyone in the bar yelled, “Drink!” and Cody glanced up to see that Ralphie’s brother was crying on the screen.

  She raised her glass to Emilia. “That answers that,” she said.

  “Oh no, we’re all going to get drunk, aren’t we?” Frankie said dramatically, her eyes wide with mock-worry.

  Emilia rolled her eyes.

  Cody watched her, wondering how often she let loose, especially around Frankie. Maybe it had been a mistake to invite Fran
kie and Nico, but she wanted to see Emilia in her element.

  Emilia leaned, resting her cheek on Cody’s shoulder. Cody leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

  It felt so normal. It felt like she was just out on a date with her girlfriend. With someone she could be herself around. With someone who accepted her, her flaws and history and wild spirit –– all of it.

  She loved that about Emilia. About that level of familiarity, even from the start.

  Whoa, had she just thought the L word?

  She shook her head, clearing her thoughts.

  “Everything okay?” Emilia asked, looking up at her.

  “Everything’s wonderful,” Cody said, reaching down to give her a soft kiss.

  “Get a room,” Frankie called out in a hushed yell.

  Emilia laughed, turning back to the movie.

  Cody stopped drinking after one beer so that she could get Emilia home safely. She finished the movie with water, chugging an entire glass when the kid got his tongue stuck to the pole, then again when Ralphie actually shot his eye out.

  She reveled in watching Emilia laugh as she watched the movie for the first time. Cody had always watched it with her mom several times every year, to the point that she could recite almost every line.

  She almost felt homesick, thinking of her mom. She’d try to remember to call her later and tell her about the entire bar yelling out, “Soap poisoning!”

  After the credits rolled, Emilia was still smiling. “That was better than I thought it would be,” she said.

  “‘That Was Better Than I Thought It Would Be: The Emilia Marin Story,’” Frankie said, as if writing it in the air.

  “No, it will be on your tombstone,” Nico teased. “Emilia Marin. Died of sheer embarrassment after admitting she may have been wrong about something.”

  “Hey,” Emilia said, her forehead wrinkling.

  Cody wrapped an arm around her. “Baby steps,” she said with a grin.

  The bar had begun to empty. “We should go somewhere else,” Frankie said, finishing her beer.

  “I’m down,” Nico said.

  “I think I’d better get home,” Cody said, watching Emilia yawn.

  “Spoil sport,” Frankie said, eyeing Cody.

  “Someone has to be the responsible adult,” Cody said, trying to appear dignified as she said it.

  As Cody and Emilia walked out to the car, Emilia paused, looking up at the falling snow. She pointed up.

  “It’s snowing,” she said, as if she had rarely seen it before.

  Cody smiled, looking up. “Big flakes, like the Christmas tree lot night,” she said, her chest growing warm with the memory.

  Emilia stuck out her tongue, catching a snowflake. She looked childlike in her wonder.

  “Come on, catch one with me,” she said.

  Cody wrapped her arms around Emilia as Emilia leaned back, her arms spreading wide.

  “This was a very good night," Emilia said, standing up straight and wrapping her arms back around Cody.

  Cody smiled, her cheeks hurting from smiling so much around Emilia. ”So, what's next? A trampoline adventure park? Laser tag?" Cody said, wiggling her eyebrows.

  "How about my place?" Emilia said, shaking her head.

  "I think I can be convinced," Cody said, leaning in to kiss Emilia under the falling snow.

  Chapter 13

  Emilia

  Emilia sat at her desk, her head in her hands.

  Though she usually took Sundays off, she had come in just for a few hours to get some marketing efforts done. She had been slacking a bit with work, which had felt simultaneously wonderful and scary.

  Cody made her remember what it was like to go out, have fun, take pleasure in something that didn't relate to money or business or goals she had set years ago.

  Now, reading over her very full inbox, she had come across a giant wrench in their brand-new relationship. Or whatever it was.

  The landlord had emailed back to say that the glass woman was not interested in relocating and would be renewing her lease.

  Damn, bad news.

  But then another option had presented itself: the bakery.

  Specifically, Henry had approached the landlord about not renewing his lease due to his retirement. Surely, Cody would have mentioned that to her by now if she knew.

  The bakery was, obviously, a fantastic option. It was slightly larger than the glass shop, and it opened up the opportunity to expand the coffee bar into a cafe with a small kitchen.

  Or they could tear the kitchen out entirely and rework the space to have more substantial community events.

  But what was she going to do about going ahead with the expansion and still keep her relationship with Cody, whatever that was?

  Emilia didn’t do relationships for a reason. Business was too important to lead with the heart.

  Emilia looked up at the computer screen, her hands working at the tension on her neck. She grabbed her phone, dialing Frankie's number.

  They were business partners, and Frankie had a good head for approaching difficult situations and finding the best way to get through them.

  "Hey, I'm just parking, are you in the shop?" Frankie answered.

  "Yeah, I'm in the office. Meet me in here when you're ready," Emilia said, hanging up.

  She had a date with Cody tonight, but they weren't meeting for a few hours. That gave her enough time to discuss the idea of the bakery expansion with Frankie.

  Without Cody knowing, she thought with a tiny pang of guilt. It wasn't personal. It was just business. And it might not even work out in the end, so why even mention it to her if it wasn’t a reality?

  Cody was growing important to her, though, but her business had always came first. It had to.

  She thought back to a few nights before, standing in the parking lot, catching snowflakes on her tongue.

  When was the last time she had acted like that? Maybe she was really falling for Cody. She couldn't think of a time she had ever felt so happy in her entire life.

  Flashes of Cody's sleepy face as she woke up in Emilia’s bed, the slow way her smile drew over her mouth, her sweet smell still on Emilia’s pillow. Traces of honey seemed to follow her everywhere. Honey was precisely like Cody: sweet, slow, melted on the tongue. Emilia grinned at that mental image, too.

  She wished she was the journaling type. Or the meditative kind. Or had literally any outlet besides people who were too close and involved in the situation like Frankie. Discussing with Nico would be inappropriate. Maybe she really should just buy a journal…

  Someone knocked on the door. That was odd, as she realized Frankie wouldn't knock.

  Emilia called out for the person to come in, but she wasn't prepared to see Cody.

  God, she looked positively divine. Her hair was messy, and she wore a casual white t-shirt and jeans combo. There was something very James Dean Sex Goddess about the whole look.

  Emilia cleared her throat, trying to act pleasantly surprised. "Hey, you. I wasn't expecting to see you here," she said, straightening papers on her desk. When she was stressed, things turned messy around her.

  Cody smiled, sitting down in a chair across the desk from her. "Hey, sorry for the surprise. Nico told me you were back here."

  "I'm happy to see you. Work today has just been…" She tried to make an overwhelmed face to explain. She was a lousy liar and a terrible actress, so she decided to stick to omissions, instead of flat out lies.

  "Is everything okay?" Cody asked, leaning forward to rest her arms on the desk.

  "Of course," She said. There went the omissions. Straight into lying. "Yeah, great."

  Frankie opened the door and looked startled to see Cody. Emilia was relieved that she hadn't come in talking a mile a minute. Instead, she looked white as a ghost.

  "Are you okay?" Cody and Emilia asked in tandem. She stood to offer her seat.

  "Yeah, sorry, some crazy driver just nearly took off my door when I opened it to get out," she said,
holding a hand to her head as if still trying to regain her cool.

  Cody shook her head. "That sounds awful. You aren't hurt, right?" She said, looking her over.

  "No, I'm fine, just weirded out," Frankie said, shaking her head. "Emmy, you sounded like you wanted to talk about something?"

  "Later? It's just business stuff," Emilia tried to keep an air of casualness while giving Frankie the tiniest head shake to tell her not to ask further questions.

  Thank goodness for Frankie. She gave an equally subtle head nod and walked out with a wave behind her, saying she was going to grab a coffee.

  "Poor thing, that near-accident seemed to have freaked her out," Emilia said, looking at the door.

  Cody just shook her head, her face sullen as she sat back down.

  "Oh, I'm sorry, we shouldn't be so cavalier about car crashes," Emilia said, her cheeks flushing red with the embarrassing revelation.

  "Em," Cody said, her brows drawing together. "I haven't been totally honest with you."

  Emilia’s heart began to beat wildly in her chest. Something told her she was about to hear something that might change her opinion of Cody forever. Cody’s darkened, honest face was too much to bear. "Oh?" She squeaked.

  Cody cleared her throat. "There's been so much I want to talk to you about, but I've enjoyed getting to know you and putting that first."

  Emilia nodded, not quite seeing where the conversation was going, which made her entirely too nervous.

  "My entire life, I've been kind of floating. I've been untethered, kind of drifting. I baked, then I had other dreams, then I became a paramedic, and I moved a lot. I crave change, always," Cody said.

  Emilia tried not to jump to conclusions, but Cody’s mood was so strange and hard to read.

  Cody chewed on her bottom lip and Emilia grew increasingly nervous. She felt the subtle beginnings of a panic attack and tried not to think about how small the office was.

  She tried to keep her face as neutral as possible while her mind raced.

  Was she trying to end things between them? Cody knew for a fact that she hated change. That she craved routine. She tried her hardest to stay silent, waiting for Cody to go on when she was ready.